What kids are searching for online

via eSchool News:

What are students searching the web for most frequently while at school? Turns out, it's math games, animals, and historic figures and events, according to an unscientific index of the 15 most popular in-school search terms released by Thinkronize Inc.

Here's the full list:

1. Games
2. Dogs
3. Animals
4. Civil War
5. George Washington
6. Holocaust
7. Abraham Lincoln
8. Multiplication
9. Math Games
10. Weather
11. Frogs
12. Fractions
13. Planets
14. Sharks
15. Plants

--I loved this quote:

I really think it says, 'I want something more than what I'm getting from my [textbook].'

Also glad to see Sharks still have their pull!
Thanks, Brian!

Nintendo the new Disney?

I've heard people compare Nintendo to Apple as of late, but here's an article from the New York Times which basically compares Shigero Miyamoto to Walt Disney. And Mario to Mickey Mouse—apparently Mario is only second to Mickey as the most recognized fictional character around the world (I guess they both have white gloves!). A fun article; give it a read. This was something of particular interest to me:

"Just as a film is not measured by the quality of its special effects, a game is not measured merely by its graphics. This concept is lost on many designers, but not on Mr. Miyamoto. And just as a film buff might prefer to watch an old black-and-white movie instead of, say, “Iron Man,” even Mr. Miyamoto’s earliest games hold up as worthy diversions."

via Cartoon Brew

Ugly Dolls + Flash

I am a huge fan of Ugly Dolls. A few months ago, I stumbled on their website and signed up for updates. (nerd) Anyway, one of the most recent updates announced a new website. Check it out, it's an interesting blend of "hand drawn" illustration and flash animation. (plus they have some super cute icons you can download)

uglydolls.com

Kung Fu Panda

I was just looking at some images from Kung Fu Panda, due out in theaters on June 6th. The film is getting a lot of positive buzz in animation circles. The character design and color design are right up there with anything Pixar has put out recently, so it looks like Dreamworks is finally stepping up its game. Though I'm a little sick of all these animal films, and I'm not sure how the story will hold up. Take note of the use of limited palettes and unconventional color.

Go on over to the Character Design blog to view a series of striking animation stills. The blog regularly features character design from animated films past and present.

WiiWare

via Wired Blogs:

We didn't get a Wii just so You-Jin could beat Keith in boxing. What game could we make? WiiWare is on the way. Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of Mario and Zelda) spoke to Wired recently. Read the article.

"With WiiWare, Nintendo is attempting to flip the equation. By opening the service to even the smallest indie designers, the company hopes to tap the talents of the world's brightest gamemakers and snag brilliant new ideas for its popular Wii console. If the company finds the next little thing that blows up big -- like 2007's sleeper hit Portal, which got its start as an undergraduate project -- Nintendo will benefit from both the sales and the critical buzz. And it will do so with a minimal investment."

Put your gamer-caps on!
Official info from Nintendo--->here

UPDATE: Here's a review of a game called Lost Winds (a title coming to WiiWare). Looks great! Thanks, Keith.

Great Color (and bugs!)

Another nod to Rex Hackelberg for some beautiful
color schemes and bug designs.


Previously blogged about.

Brad Bird on Fostering Innovation

via Gigaom:

We were just talking about Brad Bird today (and his work on The Incredibles). Read this article about why he was hired to Pixar, and some ideas he has on fostering innovation. Here's specifically what Steve Jobs told him:

"The only thing we’re afraid of is complacency—feeling like we have it all figured out,” Bird quotes his boss as saying “…We want you to come shake things up." Bird explains to McKinsey how he did it — and why, for “imagination-based companies to succeed in the long run, making money can’t be the focus.”

He offers 9 key lessons (detailed in the article)

Herd Your Black Sheep
Perfect is the Enemy of Innovation
Look for Intensity
Innovation Doesn’t happen in a Vacuum
High Morale Makes Creativity Cheap
Dont Try To “Protect your success”
Steve Jobs Says ‘Interaction = Innovation’
Encourage Inter-disciplinary Learning
Get Rid of Weak Links
Making $$ Can’t Be Your Focus

--Thanks, Matt!

Twistori: A Microblogging Microscope

via Compiler:


---> Twistori

"Strip Twitter down to its raw, emotional core with Twistori. The simple website scrapes Twitter posts for exactly six keywords using the search engine summize. Now you can filter the Twit-o-sphere to see what your fellow microbloggers are loving, hating, thinking, believing, feeling or wishing."

Very cool. Nice design, too.
Reminds me of another great site: We Feel Fine

FV Character Silhouettes

My first experiment in cartoon silhouettes was a blast, and I've been surprised by how much attention it's getting in the blogosphere. I even found blogs that picked up the image in Finnish, Portuguese, and Spanish, to name a few. So thanks, everyone! But this post is targeted at those of us within the FableVision bubble. I gathered up a bunch of our recent characters and assembled this massive group silhouette. Click on the image above to see a larger version. Sorry if I left any out, but I think this is a good sampling of FV-designed characters from recent projects. I've broken the rule again about posting client work on the blog, but my excuse is that they are "disguised" in shadow. Some are more obscure than others. If you don't know the characters, at least take a moment to look at their shapes and forms.

You should notice a couple of things. Some characters look very different from one another, while others very look similar. There is overall less variation when you compare it to the Cartoon Silhouettes image. I see a lot of thin characters that are about the same height, baseball hats, big heads, skinny necks. But we do a lot of people, so that's not surprising. But we can strive for more variation. Animals and creatures are at an advantange (which is why some of the most iconic cartoon characters are not human). Strong poses help make a silhouette more prominent, and a lot of the time we design are characters standing straight up and down. So think about personality when you draw your characters.

I have the cheat sheet if anyone wants to see it.
(But it will come at a price...)

Cartoon Silhouettes

I have a fun game for everyone to play that could also be educational. If you click on the above image, you'll find silhouettes of 34 different cartoon characters. Even at the small size all of them should be recognizable (which in itself is an amazing feat---for the characters, and your BRAIN!). I've talked a little about character design on this blog. I wanted to test the theory that a memorable character, one that is entirely unique and original, will have some semblance of strong design. Which boils down to having contrasting shapes and forms, which in turn should reduce to a distinctive silhouette. This isn't perfectly scientific, because pop culture presence, humor, voice, and writing all play a role in constructing the perfect character. But I'm speaking purely visually.

I'm going to guess that you'll be able to identify most of them (if not all of them---depending on your familiarity with the characters). You should notice right off the bat which one's pop out the most to you. Some are recognizable, but have much more complicated shapes. Notice the variety! Especially in the somewhat limited cartoon genre.

Notice the pairs of characters I've included. If you're designing a duo---design them together. See how the negative space around the pose is crucial to making them look active and dynamic—how each character fits into the other.

Here's the take away. When you're designing a character, pay attention to the form...think about positive and negative space, and how it would translate to a silhouette. The language of cartooning lends itself to this so well, which is why so many characters become icons. It might be fun to do a quick line-up of some of our FableVision characters, to see how they stand up to the silhouette test.

Hope this was fun! Let me know your thoughts :)

UPDATE (6-23-08) I just found a great post over at Aviary by Meowza who offers a great analysis on the importance of silhouette and foundation in character design. Definitely go check it out!

Colorful Illustrations 93°C - Please DO NOT buy this book!

A couple of you already know, but I got an email from the Darren Di Lieto of the Little Chimp Society this morning:

"I just wanted to bring to the attention to those who don't that recently the LCS was plagiarized (images and LCS interviews) and published as a book called Colorful Illustrations 93 degrees C! This was done without the knowledge or permission of me or anyone involved."

The Little Chimp Society is an online illustration portal where young artists are interviewed and featured for the amazing work they are doing. Apparently, a publisher from either Spain or Japan (the details are fuzzy) published the entire contents of the website in a book and is charging $100 for it. Imagine someone going to your website, pulling down all you artwork without your permission, and publishing it for a profit. I especially feel bad for Darren, who has spent the greater part of the the last three years growing an amazing web community. But a lot of artists are getting completely ripped off here. This is a major blow to the art blogging community.

I'm trying to do my part by spreading the word. These people need to be held accountable.

This is what Darren has to say on his blog, where he links to photos of the book. So many stolen illustrations! Luc Latulippe is one of the 93 artists whose work was plagiarized, and he also has some valuable thoughts on the issue.

Righty or Lefty?

Which way is the figure turning for you?
Clockwise or counter-clockwise? Apparently, if you see it clockwise, you're right-brained (and vice versa). I can only see it going counter-clockwise...hmmm....

From the Herald Sun:
Most of us would see the dancer turning anti-clockwise though you can try to focus and change the direction; see if you can do it.

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking