Sophie Lécuyer

Every now and then I stumble upon a new artist that has me instantly transfixed. Sophie Lécuyer is definitely one of those artists – I have a feeling I will be returning to her work again and again.

Giacoma Balla

A couple years ago I posted this image:

It is a painting by Giacoma Balla, entitled Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash and it is one of my favorites. I love when artists capture movement in a still image…it probably appeals to my love of animation.  

Somehow I never bothered to look up Balla’s other paintings. Tonight I did a long overdue Google search. Here are two more that stood out to me (Street Light and The Hand of the Violinist):

 

 

 

Sylvain Chomet does the Simpsons

Sylvain Chomet (director of ‘Triplets of Belleville’) is the latest to animate a Simpson’s couch gag. I am loving this trend and hope the Simpsons keep them coming!

If you need me I’ll be watching this in my room for the next month.

The Bear and the Hare

It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a good behind the scenes video, but boy this one has set fire to my brain. If anyone wants to buy me a laser cutter for Christmas, BY ALL MEANS. 

The Bear & the Hare is a John Lewis Christmas advertisement directed by Yves Geleyn and Elliot Dear. The hand-drawn animation was done by Dominic Carola and Aaron Blaise, two veterans of the Disney Florida studios.  If you’re interested in seeing the full advertisement, you can watch below:

 

Genevieve Godbout

Colored pencils illustrations by Genevieve Godbout. The following illustrations are all from the same children’s book about an ogress. (Unfortunately I’m having trouble finding the book’s name…) In any case, the illustrations are my favorite from her blog. There’s a nice contrast between the ugliness of the ogress and the softness of the colored pencil.

{via Cartoon Brew}

Ralph Bakshi’s Kickstarter

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything, but I’m back to spread word of Ralph Bakshi’s new Kickstarter.

The world needs a new Bakshi cartoon, and that’s reason enough to donate. But as added incentive, he’s also giving away some great prizes. Original Bakshi doodles start at just $35. Plus loads of cels and artwork for the larger donors.

There are only 10 days left, so donate today!

Kirsten Lepore and Garrett Davis

Last night was Bill Plympton and Patrick Smith’s second annual drawn film festival. I enjoyed many of the films, but Story from North America was by far my favorite. It was directed and animated by Kirsten Lepore and Garrett Davis back in 2007 (Davis also wrote and performed the film’s music) Everything about it is so endearing and infectious to me – it totally won me over. Don’t make any judgements from the still image! Just hit play!

I wrote about Kirsten back in 2010 when I saw her stop-motion film, Bottle. Check it out if you haven’t already!

Mordicai Gerstein

Illustrations from Something Queer is Going On, written by Elizabeth Levy and illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein. 

{via Vintage Kids’ Books my Kid Loves}

 

Brian Wildsmith

Illustrations from Brian Wildsmith’s book, Wild Animals.

{via Vintage Books my Kid Loves}

Jeannie Lynn Paske

 

Illustrations by Jeannie Lynn Paske