2006 A YEAR IN REVIEW

Well another year is over, and its time again for me to list my most memorable moments of 2006. Yes, 2006 had its moments of both happiness and sadness.

2006 was the year when us at the Animation Arts Center (AAC) said goodbye to our lightables and cubicles, and enbarked on our journey into the world of computer animation. It was terrifying, I won't lie, but we stuck it through the whole semester without jumping off the fourth floor of tel building. Especially me. I feel as I enter second and FINAL semester, I am a little more confident with myself, even if my animation looks like a monkey just mashed the keyboard.

2006 was the year of celebrity stupidity. Yes, stupidity was the in thing this year. From Mel Gibson's Jew-bashing rants to Michael Richards N-word fiasco, Hollywood really showed its class. How could anyone forget Britney's underwear incident, or non underwear incident. Smooth Brit real smooth. Or when Danny Devito showed up drunk on the view, Actually I have more respect for him for that, bad example. And of course Paris Hilton, I just Fuckin hate Paris Hilton so I dont care what she did she still a moron. All in all this year truly was the year hollywood put its foot in its mouth.

2006 also brought the deaths of some of hollwood's best. Peter Boyle, who was well known for portraying the monster in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" and of course portraying Frank Barone on CBS's hit "Everybody Loves Raymond": died on Decenber 13, "(my birthday -eeek) Also another true hollywood legend and a pioneer in animation, Joseph Barbera. He was reasponsible for such tv hits as "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons", and if anyone needed me to tell you that shame on you. On Christmas Day, James Brown, the godfather of soul died, I bet now you finally "feel good". Last night former president Gerald Ford died, now Im not an American but I give respect to a man that ended the Vietnam war. And finally Kevin Federline's debut Cd, poor lil' guy, never had a chance. May they all rest in peace

2006 was also the year of the glut of animation. 15, count em', 15 animated movies hit the silver screen this year, topping last year's record of...3. As an animator in training, and lover of everything animation, I must say only a handful of the animated films in that list were actually watchable. "Cars" and "Monster House" were the best out of the glut. But I must give noteable mentions to films like "Open Season", "Happy Feet" (havent seen it yet but heard its very good) and "Curious George" (for keeping 2d alive) This year proved to the hollywood morons that just because animation is hot now dosent mean you gotta overload the market with rushed crap like "Flushed away", "Doogal". If they keep shoving crap out the public wont respond and animation with fall into another spiraling black hole. But they never listen. Why do I smell another "Black Cauldron "coming?

2006 also was the year of the gameshow. First the money show. "Deal or no Deal", the hit on NBC has become so huge that so many crappy game shows are coming out of the woodwork just to try and be like it. "1 VS 100", "Identity", and that one with William Shatner that was cancelled so fast I cant remember the name. Second, America is back in love with dancing for some reason. "So you think you can Dance?", "America's got Talent" and "Dancing with the Stars" are all big hits and pretty much all about dancing. Oh I feel another "who wants to be a Millionare?" fiasco upon us.

2006 was also the year of band members saying "fuck it" and going solo. Gwen Stafani took a break from "No Doubt" and released two "GREAT" albums. Fergie saw that and said "fuck it" and went solo from "Black Eyed Peas" and released her also "GREAT" solo album. So did the lead singer of "The Pussycat Dolls", I dont know her name, but shes hot, thats all I can tell you. Also Chris Cornell of "Audioslave" went solo for a while and recorded the 'crappy' title track for the new 007 movie. Noel Gallager of 'Oasis' also went on a solo tour this year. Hey, when your bands holding you down, shed that baby and fly solo, hey it worked for Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys.

All in all 2006 wasn't a bad year, it also wasn't the most memorable year. Who knows what 2007 holds for us. Possibilites, just possibilties.

Score: Y2K 0 HUMANS 6

Top Movies of 2006

Superman Returns

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Pan's Labyrinth

Cars

Monster House

Casino Royale

Borat

Stranger than Fiction

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

The Prestige

Accepted

X-men : The Last Stand

Top Shows of 2006

Heroes (NBC)

Smallville (The CW)

Entourage (HBO)

The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)

Rome (HBO)

South Park (Comedy Central)

Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)

The Hour (CBC)

Top Albums of 2006

Monkey Business - Black Eyed Peas

Blach Holes and Revelations - Muse
Love, Angel, Music, Baby - Gwen Stefani
Love - The Beatles
Back to the Basics - Christina Aguilera
Future sex/Love sounds - Justin Timberlake
Dutchess - Fergie
Playing the Angel - Depeche Mode
St.Elsewhere - Gnarls Barkley
Set Yourself on Fire - Stars

Confessions on a Dacefloor - Madonna

Top Songs of 2006

"Wind It Up" - Gwen Stefani

"See Right Through me" - Mobile

"Supermassive Blackhole" - Muse

"Starlight" - Muse

"Ego-Polotics" - Muse
"My Love" - Justin Timberlake ft Ti
"Feel it" - Black Eyed Peas
"Hurt" - Christina Aguilera
"HollaBack Girl" - Gwen Stefani
"The Pot" - Tool
"Let the Drummer Kick" - Citizen Cope
"Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley
"Fergalicious" - Fergie
"Comin' Home" - City and Colour
"Precious" - Depeche Mode
"Dance, Dance" - Fallout Boy
"Get Together" - Madonna
"My Style" - Black eyed Peas
"Sexy Back" - Justin Timberlake
"The Kill" - 30 Seconds to Mars
"Aint No Other Man" - Christina Aguilera
"Move Along" - All-American Rejects
"When You Were Young" - The Killers
"Pump it" - Black Eyed Peas
"No Heaven" - Dj Champion
"Hips Don't Lie" (World Cup Version) - Shakira
"Welcome to the Black Parade" - My Chemical Romance
"I Bet you look Good on the Dance Floor" - Arctic Monkeys
"Stoned in Love" - Chicane ft Tom Jones

Top Music Videos of 2006

OkGo- "Here it goes Again"

Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy"

Madonna - "Get Together"

Justin Timberlake ft Ti - "My Love"

Fergie - "Fergalicious"

Christina Aguleria - "Hurt"

RISKY DRAWIN'

Have you ever been just so bored an begin drawing a rough sketch, and it ends up actually not looking half bad. Let me turn up the heat a lil bit, I was drawing this straight ahead, no planning went into this drawing, plus it was in pencil crayon, and you know how hard it is to erase pencil crayon.

Every now and then its kinda cool to do a risky drawing.

THE NIGHTMARE OF 3D!

Tonight was the night that I had been waiting for all year. Since I saw the trailer during Monster House, I was dying to watch this movie. Although I own the dvd, and have it taped on VHS, I still wanted to watch it theatres, and especially 3D!!

The night began well, went out with some friends wearing our "nightmare" t-shirts, had a nice dinner and then we proceeded to the movie theatre. We walked in and too my surprise we waited in a long line. I was Suprised and kinda excited. Excited cause lines gets my anticipation up, and surprised cause I never thought a film that is being re-issued would cause a line up. Anyways. We get our seats and the lights turn down. The theatre is packed with all adults, I didn't see one kid in that theatre. Take that you people that consider animation a children's field! The Walt Disney and Tim Burton credits come up, and cheers begin to ring out, and more when the title "The Nightmare Before Christmas" appears. But to all of our surprise, THE 3D SUCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I had just come off of hearing how "Amazing" and " Breathtaking" this 3d format was. Even Tim Burton himself praised it. The characters had depth, but it was all inside the screen, nothing was really in my face, as the PROMISED! Now maybe, and hopefully, the digital projection was off, because Jack and the gang never came an inch off the screen. With a film like "Nightmare", where literally every scene has something coming at you, the potential was clearly there. Either Disney just didn't take advantage of it, or the projection was off. The high point was that I was still watching nightmare in theatres, which I never got the chance to back on its initial release. The sound was top notch, the songs sounded beautiful, and more intense. All in the all the night wasn't a total bust, I still managed to start a pretty rousing applause out of the crowd at the end of the film, because as bad as the 3d was, the film itself is still a masterpiece and deserved a applause.

I hope to get the chance to see again, FOR FREE at another theatre to see if it was indeed the projection at my theatre that screwed it up, or just another Disney let down.

HALLOWEEN ROUNDUP PART ONE

Here's a list of my top five Halloween flicks

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Topping my list is The Nightmare Berofe Christmas. Who could have seen this coming? This is by far the best Halloween movie ever made, but it's also the best Christmas movie ever made. Tim Burton's masterpiece, and one of the greatest animated movies ever made, is a film that can be viewed on both Halloween and Christmas, why? Because both are so clearly defined in the film, that it can be watched on both occasions. The whole film works, the casting is briliant, every voice is well suited for each character.and the animation is stuning. The fact that these puppets move with such life, but are not actually alive is so exicting and wonderful to experience. The music is also great, Danny Elfman's songs are probably some of the very best in the history of the animated film. The songs are so catchy and well fleshed out, no one can tell me they never got "what's this" stuck in your head. The look is so distinctivly Tim Burton, from the swril it the mountian right down to the leaves on the ground. This film is truly a groundbreaking film and continues to gain more and more fans every year. And now, being show in 3d in less than a week, it will reach a new audience and hopefully mezmerize them, as it did me.

THE WIZARD OF OZ

The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite movies of all-time, but it's also a great halloween movie. The whole film is about a strange land, people in costumes, and a wicked witch. How closer to Halloween can you get. Another reason why this is on my list is because its a damn good movie. It was so ahead of its time, story and effects wise. The acting is still top notch and out does many of todays actors. Judy Garland who was only 16 when she made this film, carries the film so brilliantly and effortlessly, you really start to care for poor Dorthy. There hasn't been an actress like her since. This movie is just so warm and fun to watch all year around, but on Halloween you get a different feel that you wont feel any other time of the year.

BEETLEJUICE

Tim Burton's second film on my list, and boy is it a good one. Beetlejuice is one of the weirdest movies I've ever seen, but it's also one of the funniest. Michael Keaton plays Beetljuice so brilliantly, you wouldn't even know its him playing the role. Although Beetlejuice is only in the film a total of 17 minutes, he's still the heart and soul of the whole film. The production design on this film is so amazing, this is probably one of the live action films were Burton's style is so clearly visible. The film was made on a shoe-string budget, but suprisingly became a huge hit, and launched Burton's career.

SLEEPY HOLLOW

Another Tim Burton Classic on this list. I saw this in theatres, and was absolutley amazed by it . I was interested in seeing it, because I loved the Disney animated version, but I was blown away at how different it was. The Disney version, although it was dark had nothing Burton's version. Heads being sliced off and all the bright blood squirting all over the gray setting was just so brilliantly shot. The movie also took us deeper into the Headless horseman's back story, and told us how he became headless. A truly amazing halloween flick, and another triumph from Tim Burton.

CASPER

This is a classic film based on the popular comic book. I saw this movie when I was only 9, and I fell in love with it. It had a more serious tone for a kid film, maybe thats why I fell in love with it. Watching it again now, shows how dumbed down family films have become. Films like Casper appeals to kids and adults, and still holds up today.

SEASON SIX BABY!!!

:Warning if you havent watched the season premiere, dont read this!

Well Smallville's sixth season premiere has come and gone, but man what an EPISODE! The episode opened right where the finale left off, with a trapt Clark in the Phantom Zone. We finally got to see inside the P.Z, and man was it good. Props to the crew for shooting an amazing scene. The set was a dessert like wasteland with these jagged mountains and kryptonian spikes coming out of the ground. Really cool. It was shot very Minority Report-ish, with that blue un-saturated look to it.

Clark also met a hot kryptonian named Raya, who ends up dying saving Clark and helping him escape the P.Z. Auggh, how come all the hot ones always die. Meanwhile back on earth Lex is still possesed by the spirit of Zod, and his plans of rebuilding Krypton on earth is going as planned, that is until him and Clark square off in probably the BEST tv fight I've ever seen, thus freeing Lex from Zod and saving the world.

All in all this was probably one of the best Smallville episodes ever, if not the best.

I applaude the writers and directors of the show on continuing to make a great quality program like Smallville.

Well the animation roadshow came around again, its a animation book fair for those that don't know what the animation roadshow is. Every year I tend to lay down at least 80 bucks on books there. This year I didn't spend as much, thankfully, but I did pick up two great books.

The first is Mariachi Samurai by: Jose Lopez. This is probably my favorite of the two because the style is so cool and so ispiring. This is one of those style changing books, every now and then I get a book that affects my way of drawing, this is definetly one of them. Every cartoonist should add this to their book shelves. Also look out for Jose's artwork in the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie coming out next March. Apparantly he did designs for the film.

My second is simply titled Chris Sanders sketchbook 1b. I've loved Chris Sanders' art every since I watched Lilo & Stitch, which he directed. His style has always amazed me, no one draws quite like him and he's inspired me to draw my characters differently then I would, especially my women. His lines are so lose and curvey, I just love it. So if your a big fan of Chris Sanders or are just rying to dab into different styles, this is definetly a good buy. Look out for Chris' next movie American Dog due out in 2008, It's still far away I know, but some amazing artwork is online. It's worth a look.

MALEFICENT

I was watching Sleeping Beauty and decided to dabble with Maleficent, for the very FIRST time. I can't believe that I never drew her before either!

Not as tight as should be, but still ok for a first attempt.

MAYA

The hell Begins..........

Just finished my first week of Maya, and to be completly honest it wasn't that bad. I mean It's only been a couple of days, and I only have a couple of spheres rotating under my belt so far, but I'm really enjoying this. I've heard so many horror stories about Maya and how hard it is, and how by the second day your gonna be crawling back to hand drawn animation, but I'm enjoying every minute of it.

It is difficult, I mean it is the hardest thing I've ever done, but I 'm lucky to have great instructors that are very well rounded in Maya and are very good at explaining it, so thats been really good. The other day we made a little virtual solar system, just a way how to learn to rotate spheres on their axis'. We also did some basic lighting stuff and some texturing. The hardest part about Maya is just learning where everything is, every little thing is inside a folder and then you gotta open a file. That's pretty much the hardest part.....so far.

So I'm really looking foward to the rest of the year.

Pixar I'm one step closer.

JUST SOME DISNEY STUFF I DID TONIGHT.

KIRA

Check out this cool podcast with a lengendary Disney cartoonist, Floyd Norman.

His reputation includes Disney comic strips and films like Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan and even Toy Story 2.

http://www.o-meon.com

ACCEPTED

I just saw this movie last night, and I must admit I totally loved it. It looks like another dumb teen movie, but its surprisingly very good. It has the appeal of an American Pie or Eurotrip. The cast is really good, the music is good and the writing is sharp.

I encourage those of you who wanna sit back, relax and dish out about $10.95 for a funny movie, choose this one.

...and also, don't forget about Talladega Nights, another brilliantly funny film.

CARS

I know it's kinda late. About 3 months late, but I feel I still must tell you what I think about this movie. Ok, sure it was no Toy Story, but what film is? Beyond what everyone thought prior to it's release, Cars did indeed deliver. I loved everything about this film. It reminded why I love PIXAR, they tell great stories with great characters. Now I know Lightning McQueen and Mater are not quite at the ranks of Woody and Buzz or Mike and Sulley, but they are great characters. I did care about them and the rest of the cast.

The basic story is nothing fresh, a cocky kid gets a life lesson by some unlikely sources, seen it a thoudsand times before, but Cars has a unique way of doing it. John Lasseter, Who is a GOD in my books, takes a modern day racing car and puts him with old rusty retro cars. It's from these old cars that the hot shot racing car (lightning Mcqueen) learns that life isnt just about being the best and winning trophies, it's about the people who touch your life that makes it worth living. Thats what I got out of Cars. It touched me personally because lately I too have been showing some Mcqueen-like tendancies. My dreams of becoming an animator have ingulfed me so that I began to ignore the people closest in my life, and kinda shoved them aside. I didn't think I would get that from a film about talking Cars, but that's when I remembered I was watching a Pixar film and I thought "would I expect any less?" They're films have touched my life so much, and Cars was no exception.

The animation really wowed me in this film. I am wowed by all they're films but this one really took the cake. All the characters moved as if they were alive, and they're cars. The way those animators were able to move the wheels on the cars as if they were arms and legs totally blew me away. Mater, for example was my favorite, not only was he hilarious, but he moved and talked so well. Every movement was delivered so well, the exagerated mouth moves, and the way he would hop around like a dog around the other characters was just brilliant. Lightning Mcqueen was also really well animated. There is a scene where Doc Hudson is telling him about his life story and Mcqueen's facial movements were just spot on. His eyes shifted side to side so effortlessly as if he was really listening to what the other character is saying. To a guy that's read 'The Illusion of Life' cover to cover twice, Mcqueen achieved a level of believable animation that hasn't been scene in a long time. The nine old men would be very proud.

The voice casting was also great. Im always impressed at Pixar's roster of cast members. Unlike many studios today, Pixar only hires a voice if it works for the character, not if the actor is famous. They could have easily gotten johnny Depp to play Mcqueen, Julia Roberts to play Sally and Jack Black to play Mater, but they didn't cause the voices would have not matched the characters or the story. I think thats a valuable lesson for any studio. Find an actor that suits the role, not one that you can just advertise on your posters.

All in all Cars was a great film from the folks at Pixar, and a fine addition to their library. I mean it's not a Toy Story or a Nemo, but they know that. I think Pixar just wants to tell stories that they want to tell, it's up to the audience to deside its fate, and Cars has done really well at the box office, $238 million ain't bad folks.

Here's one person who can't wait until it's released on DVD on Nov 7.

TARZAN

MY ATTEMPT TO DRAW TARZAN, BUT ALAS I'M STILL NOT GLEN KEANE.

U2 - PENCIL CRAYON ON BLACK PAPER

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

PENCIL CRAYON ON BLACK PAPER

WOLVERINE- WHITE PENCIL ON BLACK PAPER

V FOR VENDETTA - PENCIL CRAYON ON BLACK PAPER