P E N C I L M A T I O N !

Still Alive!

Ross — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:55:49 +0000

As mentioned in earlier posts, I have been living on a farm in Shelbyville, Kentucky since the beginning of June, recording some music. My cartoons have been on the back burner for the past few months, but I assure you, I have no plans to stop making them altogether. Mid-September I am travelling to Russia for the KROK animation festival where Hook, Line, and Stinker will be screened (appropriately) aboard a seafaring vessel alongside other animated films. I will be doing that for about two weeks and afterwards am visiting some friends in the Netherlands for a couple more weeks.

I can’t make any promises, but I may have time to finish up the latest episode while I am abroad. The new episode is very close to being completed, but the trouble is that I don’t have much time to work on it these days.

By November I will have more time and will be animating more regularly. Let it be known that I am not giving up animation! Just taking a little break…

In Future Pencilmations…

Ross — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:01:44 +0000

What do you guys want to see the most in my future cartoons? I am curious. Right now, as you may know, I have been taking a little break from my animations to work on some music, but I would like to hear from you what sort of stuff you’d like to see most so that when I do get back to the ‘ole drawing board I can populate the web with cartoons of the utmost enjoyability.

Also, I added a new poll (I really enjoy these things…) on the sidebar of the site asking the same question.

Pencilmation How-To Book?

Ross — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:21:31 +0000

So, lots of people ask me how I make these cartoons, and I just got to thinking today, maybe I should self-publish a book that teaches people how to make animations like these.

Here are chapter titles off the top of my head:

What you need to get started and how you can get it cheaply
How to come up with cartoon ideas
Designing the animated storyboard
Animating
Inking/Tracing
Sound and music design
Sharing your cartoon with the world!

So maybe it wouldn’t be a very long book, but it would have pretty pictures and would walk the reader through my cartoon making process from start to finish. It could also include example files that the reader could open on their computer. That would be cool!

What do you guys think about that? Is it a good idea or am I getting ahead of myself at this point?

Moving to WordPress.com

Ross — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:12:23 +0000

As I’m sure you all have noticed, I still haven’t been able to get rid of the virus. How long has it been..? Six months maybe? I have been fighting this thing for a long time and have tried everything I can possibly think of. Now as my last resort I am moving my whole website to WordPress.com instead of hosting it on my own. I am having to make some major sacrifices to the design, but now there is no way the virus can break in to my site. What’s most important is that everyone can view my website virus free. So, I hope you like the new design alright!

I am in Virginia visiting my family for the next week, and then will be going back to Kentucky for a few more months. In September, episode 10 “Hook, Line, and Stinker” is going to be in a film festival on a boat in Russia. I am going to make the trip and then spend a little bit of time travelling around Europe.

It has been slow going in cartoonland, but I assure you, Pencilmation is not dead, and it will not be overrun with viruses!

In Shelbyville, Kentucky

Ross — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:45:08 +0000

Hello all! I realize that I have been a bit absent as of late, but please allow me to explain.

A few days ago I arrived in Shelbyville, Kentucky where I am spending the summer living on a farm with my band, The Dead River Company. Out at the farm we don’t have internet, so I have been making treks to a local coffee shop every few days for WiFi access. Progress as been a bit slow on the new episode, but as soon as I get settled in, I will start cranking and have something new for you guys to watch. Stay tuned!

Held Up

Ross — Sat, 22 May 2010 12:55:54 +0000

I’ve been held up on a job that I am doing, so I haven’t been able to make much headway with the latest cartoon. Hopefully that will change in the next week or so. I just want to make funny cartoons!!

Monty Python

Ross — Thu, 13 May 2010 19:49:51 +0000

I watched a couple episodes of Monty Python’s Flying circus as recommended by Moo. The only Monty Python I had ever seen was The Life of Bryan and The Holy Grail, but holy moly, the Flying Circus is SO FUNNY. I’ve really been missing out. Both the dialogue and the acting is phenomenal, and believe me, I’m taking lots of notes! If you’ve never watched it before, I recommend checking it out right now.

Toon update: Still making some changes to the rough draft of the latest episode, but hopefully in the next week or so, I will have something to show everyone. I’ve spent a lot of time editing the timing and am really happy with how this cartoon is coming out!

Hank Drives a Car

Ross — Tue, 11 May 2010 14:49:17 +0000

Hank driving a car. I think there’s lots of comic potential there. Of course there must be banjo music in the background.

Best Film on Campus

Ross — Mon, 10 May 2010 19:33:17 +0000

Episode #010 – Hook Line and Stinker is being featured on the front page of mtvU’s Best Film on Campus, and I am listed as their featured filmmaker.

Formed from primordial ooze, Ross has been making cartoons and playing music for an eternity. He currently resides in the Large Hadron Collider.

How strange…

Brushing up on my Comedy

Ross — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:23:35 +0000

I’ve been feeling lately like I could use some schooling in my gags. Sometimes I feel like I am repeating myself or reiterating the same kinds of jokes, not that they are bad, but I think there is potential for my cartoons to be WAY funnier. So before I start the next episode, I am going to watch a bunch of films by Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and others to see if I can garner some of their joking expertise. Fortunately, NetFlix has lots of the old stuff available to watch online, and Youtube has a pretty fine selection of old slapstick films as well, so I won’t have any shortage of material. If anybody has a favorite, please let me know. Also, I’m sure there is some good reading material on this sort of stuff. I will look into it.