AnimationResources.org – Serving the Online Animation Community

YOU MISSED IT! IT WAS GREAT! See you next month.

Animation Resources is hosting monthly Discord parties on its Discord server. Join us the last Saturday of every month to participate in discussions and network with fellow artists from all over the world. The party starts at 4:30 pm (PDT) and the program begins at 5:30 pm.

THIS MONTH’S PROGRAM

Our schedule of monthly programs under the banner Discord Discussions continues Sunday June 27th!

Buster Keaton is one of the greatest slapstick performer/directors who ever lived. His impact on both live action and animation cannot be overstated. The acting, staging, and composition of his films are so well executed that they almost demand repeated viewing. Join Animation Resources President Stephen Worth and Director of Programming Davey Jarrell on Sunday, June 27th on Discord as they break down Buster Keaton’s techniques and how modern-day animators can utilize them. We will be discussing scenes from “Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow”, a 1987 documentary that essentially gives viewers the opportunity to sit at the feet of a master. Doors open at 4:30pm PDT and program starts at 5:30pm PDT!

ANALYZING BUSTER KEATON

At The Animation Resources Discord Server
SUNDAY JUNE 27th, 2021 5:30 pm (PDT)
HOSTED BY DAVEY JARELL WITH STEPHEN WORTH

Animation Resources is one of the best kept secrets in the world of cartooning. Every month, we sponsor a program of interest to artists, and every other month, we share a book and up to an hour of rare animation with our members. If you are a creative person interested in the fields of animation, cartooning or illustration, you should be a member of Animation Resources!

ABOUT YOUR HOSTS

Davey Jarell is a member of the Board of Directors of Animation Resources. He is a professional storyboard artist for television and acts as our Director of Programs.

Stephen Worth has been an Animation Producer for 35 years, and is the President of Animation Resources.

ABOUT DISCORD

Discord is a free chat app that supports video, voice chat and text chat. Discord servers are divided into channels, which all have their own subject or theme of discussion. Members are assigned roles which helps everyone keep track of who’s who. The Animation Resources Discord channel is a virtual meeting place for our supporters. You can meet other Animation Resources members, talk with the people behind the scenes at our organization, and attend lectures and screenings— all without leaving your home. It’s free and open to everyone in the creative community. If you’d like more info on how Discord works, see this article: What is Discord?

Here’s how to install the Discord app and login to the Animation Resources Discord Server:

1. INSTALL DISCORD
• iPhone or Android: Download the app from the App Store or Google Play Store and install.
• Desktop: You can access Discord for your Mac or PC from discordapp.com. You can choose to download and install the free Discord app, or enter our channel directly using your web browser. https://discord.gg/cuvNvsMNQP

2. CREATE AN ACCOUNT
• Just follow the prompts to create your own login account.

3. JOIN THE ANIMATION RESOURCES CHANNEL
• Click the plus sign to the right of the app and select "JOIN A SERVER".
• Enter this invite code: vES5YsV

4. YOU’RE THERE!
• Take a moment to look around, read the rules and introduce yourself.

The Animation Resources Discord Server is open to the public right now. Pop in and look around, and make a point to visit on Sunday!

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Do you know who this is? Read on and find out!

Just a reminder that on our Members Only page, we host a series of podcasts called Animated Discussions. The first one is hosted by Animation Resources Board member, Taber Dunipace.

CLICK TO LISTEN NOW: Animated Discussions 001: The Sawmill

Titled “Animated Discussions”, the Members Only page features analysis of one of our RefPack videos, Larry Semon’s “The Saw Mill”. Back in the golden age of animation, animators at all the major studios would pack into a screening room to study silent comedy films frame by frame. There’s a lot for animators to learn from slapstick, and the film we are discussing today is a little known classic.

MEMBERS: Log in to download the film so you can follow along with the scenes we are discussing frame by frame… https://animationresources.org/membersonly/

If you aren’t a member yet, now is a great time to join! https://animationresources.org/membership/levels/

All right! Now we’ll answer the question at the top of this post. This guy with the eccentric facial hair and putty nose is none other than Oliver Hardy, before he teamed up with Stan Laurel! We discuss his amazing talent for physical staging in the podcast. Check it out!

Animated Discussions 001: The Saw Mill

Here is a frame by frame breakdown of a great punch by Oliver Hardy.

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YOU MISSED IT! REFPACK 040 HAS REPLACED THIS ON THE SERVER.

Every other month, Animation Resources shares a new Reference Pack with its members. They consist of an e-book packed with high resolution scans and video downloads set up for still frame study. Make sure you download the Reference Packs before they’re updated. When it’s gone, it’s gone!

Last month’s Membership Drive was a big success. As a thank you to our faithful members, Animation Resources has expanded the offerings in our Reference Packs. This time you’ll find several new sections… International Animation, Slapstick Analysis and Breakdowns. As we get more members, we share more wonderful material with them. Here’s an overview of what you will find in RefPack039…

In our last Reference Pack we featured a podcast called “Different Artists, Different Paths” where we discussed advice for independent animators. In this RefPack, we are highlighting an independent animated feature film that you probably haven’t seen that checks off just about every one of the suggestions on our list… Borley Rectory by Ashley Thorpe.The genre of film making, the way the story is presented, and the techniques and tools used to make the film all work together to create an efficient animated feature that follows no established model. The film is a brilliant example of “thinking outside the box” and if the art of animation is to progress, it needs to push the boundaries of what an animated film can be.

In our new International Animation section, we present a sampling of Russian animated propaganda films spanning the years between the 1920s and the 1970s. They chart the path of animation in Russia from the earliest years after the revolution, through Stalinism and beyond. You can clearly see how American and European animation and design influenced Soviet film makers and I think you will be amazed by the diversity of styles and incredible draftsmanship in these films.

For obvious reasons, Soviet authorities aren’t motivated to share obsolete propaganda like this any more; and revisiting these films likely isn’t viewed favorably by Russian citizens either. Film prints don’t exist outside the Soviet Union, so they have fallen into a cultural black hole. Animation Resources is lucky to have obtained copies of some of these fascinating films to share with you. In the future, we will share even more little known Russian animation.

In the next new section, we feature a landmark documentary on one of the greatest slapstick performer/directors who ever lived… Buster Keaton. As we have mentioned before, during the late 1970s and early 1980s, many great documentaries on film history were produced in Great Britain. One of the best of these was a three part series titled, “Buster Keaton- A Hard Act To Follow”. Over the next few Reference Packs, we will presenting this whole series, starting this time with episode one.

If you have never seen a Buster Keaton film before, this documentary will give you a taste of what you’ve been missing. If like me, you have studied all of his films over and over many times, you will learn new things about Keaton and his creative process that you didn’t know before. It’s a rare opportunity to sit at the feet of a master, and even though these films were made a century ago, “A Hard Act To Follow” allows you to do just that.

With every Reference Pack, we’ll be including a bonus video or e-book from one of our past Reference Packs. This time we are sharing a monumental book that was originally published in 1871 outlining the life and works of James Gillray, the Caricaturist.

James Gillray (1756–1815) was an English caricaturist and printmaker famous for his political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810. Best known for his works satirizing King George III, prime ministers and generals, Gillray’s wit and humour, knowledge of life, fertility of resource, keen sense of the ludicrous, and beauty of execution, at once gave him the first place among caricaturists.

One of the most popular features of Animation Resources’ social media accounts is our breakdowns- short clips of great animation, slowed down so you can see the nuts and bolts of how it works. We will be sharing a batch of them with you in each Reference Pack, so you can download them and build your own library of breakdowns. Organize them into folders by subject, like “walk cycles” or “takes” and refer to them when you need inspiration in your own animation.

And that’s not all… We maintain an archive of our podcasts on the Members Only page as well. We’ve had programs covering advice for finding your place in animation, Chuck Jones’ bar sheets, how to break down slapstick films, examples of great background layout and more… When you log in, you can spend hours learning and getting inspired!

At Animation Resources, our Advisory Board includes great artists and animators like Ralph Bakshi, Will Finn, J.J. Sedelmaier and Sherm Cohen. They’ve let us know the things that they use in their own self study so we can share them with you. That’s experience you just can’t find anywhere else. The most important information isn’t what you already know… It’s the information you should know about, but don’t know yet. We bring that to you every other month.

Haven’t Joined Yet?

Check out this SAMPLE REFERENCE PACK! It will give you a taste of what Animation Resources members get to download every other month!

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD A Sample RefPack!

Animation Resources is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization dedicated to providing self study material to the worldwide animation community. If you are a creative person working in animation, cartooning or illustration, you owe it to yourself to be a member of Animation Resources.

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