Posts tagged with animation
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![‘The Blue Umbrella’: Inside a Pixar Love Story
The process began on one of those unusually rainy but otherwise ordinary California days. Pixar camera and staging artist Saschka Unseldwas walking through downtown San Francisco. Something caught his eye. He looked down, studying more closely an object stuck in the gutter in front of him.
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“I still remember the moment,” he says. “It was a half-broken and drenched umbrella, and it was one of the saddest-looking things ever.”
Unseld had always been enthralled by the Venn Diagram intersection of the arts and computer science, and so he stood there wondering what happened to the contraption: how it got there; where it came from. He decided to make up a story about it — a 7-minute love tale called “The Blue Umbrella,” which will air in front of Pixar’s next full-length feature, “Monsters University,” in June.
“The Blue Umbrella” plays off that original San Francisco moment to introduce the story of two umbrellas (one red, one blue) as part of a dreary, rain-soaked cityscape, muted in blacks and grays. When red looks over at blue, there’s a spark of attraction. One stares longingly at the other. When the glance is returned, awkwardness ensues. It looks like love at first shade.
Part of the charm of a Pixar production is the way its animators and filmmakers sprinkle their moviemaking pixie dust over commonplace bric-a-brac like lamps, robots, and, yes, umbrellas. With a little studio wizardry and storytelling that brims with heart, they make the inanimate come to life.
But the process of creating such animation isn’t one that’s often seen outside Pixar’s walls. Which is why, about a year ago, Unseld decided to open up “The Blue Umbrella” to the world.
Armed with an iPhone camera and a Tumblr called Rainy City Tales 332 (the 332 stands for Unseld’s Pixar office number), he filmed his team trying to capture the sound of objects rattling in the wind. He documented them working creating the effect of cars on a wet street. He showed lighting experiments, and rainy street scenes of San Francisco and New York that he used for inspiration. He posted them all on his blog, ruminating about capturing the right “feel” for two umbrellas falling in love.
Ultimately, Unseld says, the film (as well as his documentation of the process) charted new territory — as the first time producers used photorealistic images to make the two umbrellas look, well, real.
Pixar has produced almost two dozen shorts now — each an attempt, says Unseld, to showcase the studio’s technical capabilities. (Pixar’s first short, “Luxo Jr.”, aired in 1986; a decade later, ”Tin Toy” became the first computer animated film to win an Oscar for Best Short.)
Unseld describes the shorts as “Pixar’s legacy, its roots.” He references the company’s charming early attempts with shorts like “Luxo Jr.,” the two-minute film that showed a pair of seemingly life-like lamps, one happily chasing a ball. (That lamp, of course, still hops out and bounces up and down on one of the letters in the Pixar name on the studio’s title screen before its full-length features start playing.)
“We have kept the idea of short films around not only to give people a little extra something at the cinema but also to mix things up a bit,” says Unseld.
How it works is surprisingly democratic: anyone can pitch. The best pitches are vetted by Pixar’s chief creative. If the idea is good, it gets made. Which is pretty much how it happened with “The Blue Umbrella”: Pixar, naturally, signed on.
The film pulls off a curious effect, seeming to attach animated features like eyes and a mouth to otherwise real-looking umbrellas. Life-like sunlight glistens off the umbrella covering, and droplets of water trickle down the side in little rivulets of melancholy.
“The reason for this unusual look lies in the story,” as the characters, Unseld explains, slowly morph from object to life. The transformations start incrementally, and early, against the backdrop of a wistful soundtrack, soft dripping of the rain and the kind of droning hum of pedestrians. Various features of the city — sewer drains, windows, doors — start coming to life at the 40-second mark, and they team up to help unite the two umbrellas unite.
“It was really important to me that this moment — the step from inanimate to alive — is magical and unique,” says Unseld.
In the end, the seemingly doomed lovers do what doomed lovers always do best on the silver screen: come together.
— Andy Meek](http://25.media.tumblr.com/71969d99c639c71d2eea24d95b532687/tumblr_mkaehvYN351rrpm57o1_r1_1280.jpg)
‘The Blue Umbrella’: Inside a Pixar Love Story
The process began on one of those unusually rainy but otherwise ordinary California days. Pixar camera and staging artist Saschka Unseldwas walking through downtown San Francisco. Something caught his eye. He looked down, studying more closely an object stuck in the gutter in front of him.
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![Marlo Meekins: Caricature as Character
Marlo Meekins is a legendary creature: the continuously and gainfully employed artist, illustrator, and cartoonist who’s worked on everything you love, but you still somehow haven’t heard of. Unless you’re into illustrators on Tumblr of course, in which case it’s hard to miss her distinctive line.
Hailing from the cluster of suburbs on the New Jersey side of Philadelphia, Meekins wanted to learn animation in college, but settled for illustration and design. That turned out not to be settling at all, as the discipline obviously informs her work and creative life. After school, she went right to regular illustration and character design for the studios, taught drawing and cartooning, and entered the world of competitive caricature. In 2009 she was named Caricaturist of the Year by the International Society of Caricature Artists.
Meekins spent a hot second working on The Simpsons but dropped the gig to join John Kricfalusi at Spumco, where she met her husband, director Nick Cross. Since then, she’s been contracted on all kinds of developing shows (including one for Disney), while still omnivorously teaching, drawing, and posting her work online.
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What does it mean to be a “character/concept teacher”?
I teach college-level animation majors. I’m teaching concept art courses and illustration at Durham College near Toronto, which has a great animation program. I mostly teach design and drawing through character design and concept art projects. I only teach part time, a few classes a week, and freelance and do my own projects. I have also been doing talks on drawing and style at colleges and festivals.
You also work on a various shows in development. What’s that like?
Unfortunately I am not able to post any of this work, and many of the shows don’t get picked up. However, it’s still paid work and I enjoy it. The problem with working in development is that it’s so private, and I’m a really social person, an extrovert … I like to sort of perform and show off my drawings (which comes from doing live caricature I guess). Doing my comics is a way to reach out to my friends … I originally thought only my friends would see my comics, but they really took off!
How did you end up teaching?
I am a natural teacher. I believe the best thing to give during a developmental stage is positive encouragement, which is evident in my inspirational comics. Teaching is always something I will do, at least on the side.
You have a distinctive visual style that varies between cartoon-representational and caricature; have you always varied like that depending on subject, or was it something you grew into?
Caricature is my true passion (besides humor in general), so I’d say caricature is really my true calling. My comics on my Tumblr are less formal — something I do for fun just to tell stories and jokes. I never made a film, but I am a huge fan of animation, and I hope to stay working in animation for a while.
You also paint. What inspires you there, versus your drawings?
I enjoy painting a lot … at least the results. It takes a really really long time since I like to render and use oils, so it can be pretty boring and unchallenging. I actually have a whole pile of huge paintings that I haven’t posted and have been saving for a gallery show coming up. Some of my paintings took years to complete … ugh. I prefer a quicker result, and I think my best work is completed loosely and through emotion. Which is why I prefer watercolors as apposed to oils.
Who are your stylistic influences?
John Kricfalusi is probably my biggest influence … maybe not his exact drawing style, but definitely all the theories and methods he taught me over the years. Like most creator types, I’m influenced by a lot of artists. Other caricature artists — Al Hirschfeld, Dr. Seuss. I’m influenced a lot by life.
What’s your personal workspace like?
Oh god. I have a really nice studio space, but I always end up working in the dining room or on the couch. I have another room filled with piles of drawings and a light kit set up for photographing my work. I don’t scan my work … takes too long. I just photograph it all on an SLR camera.
What interferes with your ability to create, and how do you overcome it?
Lack of confidence always gets in the way, which is super irritating and horrible. I think we all deal with it. I yell at my brain to shut the fuck up, that I’m awesome, and I’m going to draw something good.
What drew you to start posting work on Tumblr, and how do you feel about the reception you’ve gotten there?
I started posting on Tumblr because it is currently the most popular blog? I started posting comics because I was influenced by my friend Kate Beaton (she’s great, obviously). For some reason I thought a comic needed to be really long and overworked? I saw a Katie comic on Twitter about her dad offering her Raisin Bran, and she goes into the kitchen and there’s only a bunch of Corn Flakes boxes. The comic was so hilarious and expressive, but really short, so I thought I’d actually start posting my short comics. I never posted my one-panel comics before; I’d been doing them for years, but never thought they were worth posting. But Tumblr is perfect for those (since everything is small or short on there).
Why did you stop doing bento portraits?
Those things take forever, like hours and hours … And I have not had a lot of time lately. I would like to start making them again, though! I thought about doing a comic out of food, but it would probably go bad before I finished it.
— Chris Mohney](http://25.media.tumblr.com/a41889d0f0538d28fd725eff68daabfe/tumblr_mjpjfcUQpc1rrpm57o2_1280.jpg)
![Marlo Meekins: Caricature as Character
Marlo Meekins is a legendary creature: the continuously and gainfully employed artist, illustrator, and cartoonist who’s worked on everything you love, but you still somehow haven’t heard of. Unless you’re into illustrators on Tumblr of course, in which case it’s hard to miss her distinctive line.
Hailing from the cluster of suburbs on the New Jersey side of Philadelphia, Meekins wanted to learn animation in college, but settled for illustration and design. That turned out not to be settling at all, as the discipline obviously informs her work and creative life. After school, she went right to regular illustration and character design for the studios, taught drawing and cartooning, and entered the world of competitive caricature. In 2009 she was named Caricaturist of the Year by the International Society of Caricature Artists.
Meekins spent a hot second working on The Simpsons but dropped the gig to join John Kricfalusi at Spumco, where she met her husband, director Nick Cross. Since then, she’s been contracted on all kinds of developing shows (including one for Disney), while still omnivorously teaching, drawing, and posting her work online.
[[MORE]]
What does it mean to be a “character/concept teacher”?
I teach college-level animation majors. I’m teaching concept art courses and illustration at Durham College near Toronto, which has a great animation program. I mostly teach design and drawing through character design and concept art projects. I only teach part time, a few classes a week, and freelance and do my own projects. I have also been doing talks on drawing and style at colleges and festivals.
You also work on a various shows in development. What’s that like?
Unfortunately I am not able to post any of this work, and many of the shows don’t get picked up. However, it’s still paid work and I enjoy it. The problem with working in development is that it’s so private, and I’m a really social person, an extrovert … I like to sort of perform and show off my drawings (which comes from doing live caricature I guess). Doing my comics is a way to reach out to my friends … I originally thought only my friends would see my comics, but they really took off!
How did you end up teaching?
I am a natural teacher. I believe the best thing to give during a developmental stage is positive encouragement, which is evident in my inspirational comics. Teaching is always something I will do, at least on the side.
You have a distinctive visual style that varies between cartoon-representational and caricature; have you always varied like that depending on subject, or was it something you grew into?
Caricature is my true passion (besides humor in general), so I’d say caricature is really my true calling. My comics on my Tumblr are less formal — something I do for fun just to tell stories and jokes. I never made a film, but I am a huge fan of animation, and I hope to stay working in animation for a while.
You also paint. What inspires you there, versus your drawings?
I enjoy painting a lot … at least the results. It takes a really really long time since I like to render and use oils, so it can be pretty boring and unchallenging. I actually have a whole pile of huge paintings that I haven’t posted and have been saving for a gallery show coming up. Some of my paintings took years to complete … ugh. I prefer a quicker result, and I think my best work is completed loosely and through emotion. Which is why I prefer watercolors as apposed to oils.
Who are your stylistic influences?
John Kricfalusi is probably my biggest influence … maybe not his exact drawing style, but definitely all the theories and methods he taught me over the years. Like most creator types, I’m influenced by a lot of artists. Other caricature artists — Al Hirschfeld, Dr. Seuss. I’m influenced a lot by life.
What’s your personal workspace like?
Oh god. I have a really nice studio space, but I always end up working in the dining room or on the couch. I have another room filled with piles of drawings and a light kit set up for photographing my work. I don’t scan my work … takes too long. I just photograph it all on an SLR camera.
What interferes with your ability to create, and how do you overcome it?
Lack of confidence always gets in the way, which is super irritating and horrible. I think we all deal with it. I yell at my brain to shut the fuck up, that I’m awesome, and I’m going to draw something good.
What drew you to start posting work on Tumblr, and how do you feel about the reception you’ve gotten there?
I started posting on Tumblr because it is currently the most popular blog? I started posting comics because I was influenced by my friend Kate Beaton (she’s great, obviously). For some reason I thought a comic needed to be really long and overworked? I saw a Katie comic on Twitter about her dad offering her Raisin Bran, and she goes into the kitchen and there’s only a bunch of Corn Flakes boxes. The comic was so hilarious and expressive, but really short, so I thought I’d actually start posting my short comics. I never posted my one-panel comics before; I’d been doing them for years, but never thought they were worth posting. But Tumblr is perfect for those (since everything is small or short on there).
Why did you stop doing bento portraits?
Those things take forever, like hours and hours … And I have not had a lot of time lately. I would like to start making them again, though! I thought about doing a comic out of food, but it would probably go bad before I finished it.
— Chris Mohney](http://24.media.tumblr.com/e167679360ba94a75ee107a043fc9405/tumblr_mjpjfcUQpc1rrpm57o1_1280.jpg)
Marlo Meekins: Caricature as Character
Marlo Meekins is a legendary creature: the continuously and gainfully employed artist, illustrator, and cartoonist who’s worked on everything you love, but you still somehow haven’t heard of. Unless you’re into illustrators on Tumblr of course, in which case it’s hard to miss her distinctive line.
Hailing from the cluster of suburbs on the New Jersey side of Philadelphia, Meekins wanted to learn animation in college, but settled for illustration and design. That turned out not to be settling at all, as the discipline obviously informs her work and creative life. After school, she went right to regular illustration and character design for the studios, taught drawing and cartooning, and entered the world of competitive caricature. In 2009 she was named Caricaturist of the Year by the International Society of Caricature Artists.
Meekins spent a hot second working on The Simpsons but dropped the gig to join John Kricfalusi at Spumco, where she met her husband, director Nick Cross. Since then, she’s been contracted on all kinds of developing shows (including one for Disney), while still omnivorously teaching, drawing, and posting her work online.
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Muhammad Ali Goes to Mars: The Lost Interview
It was in the summer of 1966 when a star-struck 17-year-old set out to interview his idol: Muhammad Ali. Twenty miles from the South Side of Chicago, in Glencoe, Ill., Michael Aisner was calling repeatedly to the gym where the boxing champ was training. Finally, a man named Mr. Shabazz — Jeremiah Shabazz, perhaps? The man who introduced Ali to Islam? — picked up.
“Where are you from?” Shabazz asked the boy.
“I’m from WNTH, a high school radio station,” Aisner said.
“The champ doesn’t have time to talk,” he told him.
Aisner called back two days later. And then two days after that.
“Can I interview the champ?” he asked again.
Finally, Shabazz relented.
“Ok,” he said. “The champ will meet you.”
Later that week, with a suitcase-sized tape recorder in a back seat, Aisner and his best friend Pat were driving from the the tree-lined suburbs to inner-city Chicago, where Ali’s fan club was headquartered. It was two years after Ali had trash-talked his way into a victory over Sonny Liston; a year before he would refuse to go Vietnam. At the time, many black Muslims, led by Malcolm X, were advocating for “total separation” of the races. And so, for a scrawny white boy from the suburbs, heading to the heart of Chicago’s gritty South Side was no small thing.
“We parked as close as we could to the building,” Aisner, now 63, laughs. “White Jewish boys from the suburbs did not go to the south side of Chicago.”
The Muhammad Ali fan club was housed in a small brick building with a gold-foil sign out front. Next door was Muhammad Speaks, the black Muslim newspaper. From inside the club, Aisner and his friend watched out the window as Ali screetched up in a red Cadillac convertible, parked in front of a fire hydrant, and jumped over the car door.
For the next 20 minutes, Ali talked boxing, footwork, why he wanted to fight — and launched into an epic riff about traveling to Mars and fighting for the intergalactic boxing title. All went smoothly — until Aisner realized he’d forgot to record the Mars bit.
“I was mortified,” he says. “I said, ‘Champ, do you think you could do that again?’”
The champ obliged.
The interview aired a few weeks later, in the first of what would become a lifetime of radio work for Aisner. And for nearly five decades, Aisner kept the original reel-to-reel recording of that interview with Ali, as well as a signed copy of the champ’s poetry album.
“There were two huge loves of my life at the time: astronauts and Muhammad Ali,” says Aisner, from his home in Boulder, Colorado. “So here is Ali doing a routine that has to do with him going to Mars — there wasn’t anything that could have been cooler.”
Last month, Aisner heeded a call for lost interviews and loaned the tape to Blank on Blank, a newly-launched nonprofit that brings lost interviews back to life. Now digitized for the first time, we are proud to present this joint production between Blank on Blank and Tumblr Storyboard.
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