Thursday, November 19, 2009

New Animation Blast!

In the last decade, I have been supremely disappointed in the quality of animation out there. There has been a lot of success for Pixar, and a lot of companies trying to get a cut of the digital animation market. Basically there has been a major lack of diversity. Recently, I have been so excited because there have been some really cool things out there exploring different mediums. Here are some that I am excited about with commentary!

CoralineWow! Coraline was so amazing! The animation was so interesting and modernized classic stop motion. If you do a little research on how it was made, you'll be amazed. Look at the set below!!! Coraline was adapted from a Neil Gaiman novel, which I didn't know when I saw it. This made up big time for the poor Gaiman adaptation of Mirrormask, which made me sad because it was a Henson company failure. Anyhow, Coraline story was unique and the images were fantastic.

Coraline Set

Fantastic Mr. Fox
This is one movie I have yet to see, but I have pretty high expectations. I don't know whether I will like the actual content of the movie or not, but I am sure I will LOVE the stop motion they used. I am a huge fan of stop motion. It reminds me of my trips to the Field Museum and looking at all the taxidermy animals. They are kind of grotesque but the animals are beautiful. In this movie, they have tiny retro-preppy clothes and pajamas, which I must admit looks pretty neat. I have heard a lot of controversy about how involved Wes Anderson actually was with the stop motion aspect of this film; but overall, the stop motion team alone deserves a huge amount of credit for this.

Mary and Max
This animation style reminds me of the Wallace and Gromit animation, and trust me, its done well! I just saw Max and Mary and it was a beautiful film. I recommend it for everyone. Philip Seymore Hoffman does the voice of Max and he does an outstanding job! A lot of care was put into animating this film and it pays off. The colors and images set the tone for the film. Please see it! I cried.

Ponyo
Yay! Miyazaki makes another beautiful animated film. This tale was simple and delightful. I respect Miyazki so much because he will not budge from doing hand drawn animation. And in the end, it makes for a better story. You can tell he and his team have taken time to craft beautiful pictures which creates a provocative story. His work compares to the old days of Disney for me. He is so bold to keep doing what he is doing...and successful. Ponyo had some crazy characters. Its great!

Yo Gabba Gabba
This is not a movie, but a children's TV show. My obsession with this show runs deep. I think it is the answer to all the worlds problems! Haha! It does not use animation, but well designed costumes, which I think have been greatly missed ever since the hey-day of the Muppets. This show is just plain fun, and wildly creative. Its great for kids and adults. It also uses the great concept where toys turn into characters. The original Winnie the Pooh did wonders with that concept, and so does Yo Gabba Gabba.

Where the Wild Things Are
I put this last for a reason. I thought this movie was pretty bad, BUT I really do give it credit for the costumes they used. I thought most of them were lovely and majestic. Like I just said, I am happy that the use of costumes is coming back. My major problem with the costumes, though, is that the faces were digitally animated. This completely threw me off and angered me. I understand why the choice was made: to make the monsters more expressionistic. But, I thought the choice made the monsters look cheap and tacky. Overall, I commend the style of this movie, but unfortunately, I didn't really like it.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

New Little Guy

I just made this little guy...his name is Sticker!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Post-Halloween


On Halloween I ended up being Pippi Longstocking....here's the photo matchup:

Friday, October 30, 2009

Halloween Costumes!

This weekend is Halloween, one of my favorite holidays. The only problem is, every year I plan on making an amazing elaborate costume, but don't, so I have to throw things together in a few days. Yesterday I was googling costumes for ideas and here are some favorites that I found! I think I am going to either be Alice in Wonderland using a nice vintage blue dress, or Pippi Longstocking, or Pippi Långstrump; which is the original Swedish name.

DJ Lance from Yo Gabba Gabba...equipped with boombox!
The original Pippi...so cute.
Old California Raisons pattern...classic.
Rad crocheted hamburger dress.
I love PEZ!
Has anyone played Katamari on xbox? This costume rules.
Yes!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Paper Foldables

Paper Foldables.....they are brilliant! This guy, Bryan, designs all of these amazing foldable paper patterns that usually turn into an awesome weird person or object. The coolest thing that on his website you can download the pdf of all of his patterns, print the pattern and fold it yourself. I think I stumbled upon this website after discovering the IFC tv show, food party, which I obsessed over for quite a bit, and will post on soon. Anyhow, he made a food partyfoldable which is super neat. I was also blown away by the foldable typewriter he made to promote a novel by Christopher Hertz. I'm about to print one of these things out now and fold my own!


Food Party Foldable

Hamburger Guy Foldable

Friday, October 16, 2009

Efterklang

I just found this video from the Danish band Efterklang. They make beautiful eerie music and costumes to match the sound. I really enjoyed their performance and especially liked the stage design. The stage background includes numerous spikey mountains. It reminds me of a Kinderfluff mountain toy I use for display.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Astulabee

Wow!!! I have just found this fantastic artist Astulabee!!! I am in love with her work. She makes woodland creatures and that are straight from a fairy tale that has not been written yet. I wonder how she would make a plush of my siamese kittens? I'm sure it would be beautiful. I noticed an amazing mobile Astulabee made on the Needle blog, and luckily discovered her long list of plush.
bear from mobile...so cool!
mobile!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Dear Creatures

I am very excited about this years fall fashions...as I am every year! One of my favorite designers is Dear Creatures. They have so many things I would love to buy. Their fall 2009 photo shoot is very colorful and crafty. Here are a few images.


Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Pilli Pilli

Oh my gosh, I just ran across Pilli Pilli....who does beautiful crochet work. I am in love with the colorful "scarflettes" she makes. A scarf with a little animal head on it...so darling! They remind me of an updated version of the mink furs that used to be popular. The minks are cute, but of course real fur makes me feel extremely bad and sad. I think I may have to make a major etsy splurge on one of these scarves. I haven't done that in awhile. Pilli also makes lovely pins and jewelry.




Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Cinco

Cinco is this band of artists from Argentina. Their work makes me ultimate happy!




!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Pogo

There's nothing I love more than tiny sweaters...I mean NOTHING! These are great because some of the sweaters are knitted into the doll. These guys are called Pogos, made by Pogo of course. I especially am mad about the photos. I know the maker probably didn't intend this, but to me they are hilarious and melodramatic. It looks like the Pogos all star in a Pogo remake of 90210. The first photo is so photo-shootey, it is my favorite. These Pogos rule!




Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Tiny Sleeping Bags:

WOW! I spent all day yesterday making these tiny sleeping bags to go with one of my monsters. Renegade Craft Fair is coming up this weekend, and of course I always put things off until the week before. I'm pretty proud that I finished 27 bags yesterday. Today I have been working on larger sleeping bags for the bigger monster of the same vein. Its hard to make them perfect, but I think that it is worth it in the end.



Faux Fur!

I love using faux fur, it is one of my favorite materials. It is a challenge to work with, but very rewarding in the end. Amccahon uses bright colors, and her fellows are very inviting and menacing at the same time. Her etsy shop is well named: Friendly Fiends.




Monday, September 7, 2009

Le Petit Yubbie Toys

Le Petit Yubbie toys are great! This accordion is excellent! I love all of stuff she does.