goodeaton

Sure, there’s a new Keith Richards autobiography out (in which he either remembers everything, or doesn’t remember anything) but equally interesting (if not more) is the Keith doppelganger of Like A Rolling Stone.  Steve Kurutz’s book documents a year in the life of a Rolling Stones tribute band, and it’s a fascinating look at creativity.  No matter how talented and charismatic these guys are, they keep hitting a self-imposed glass ceiling of success— after all, a cover band can only be so big.  You repeatedly root for them, then are struck by the fact that their best is a really good mimicry.   A very recommended read!

This past week, I went to Lansdowne, VA for a Toon Boom workshop led by Rusty Mills, and hosted by Studio Kinate.  I’ve been animating & teaching using Toon Boom Studio & Animate for several years— this was a nice way to get more in-depth knowledge of Storyboard Pro & Animate Pro.  I hope Toon Boom gains more traction with the industry in New York — it’s really the best way I know of to integrate hand drawn animation into a digital workflow.   As a 2D industry veteran with a solid digital grasp, Rusty Mills is a great teacher, providing lots of examples and anecdotes from American Tail, Animaniacs, and Pinky & the Brain.  It was much more interesting than just learning the software — often, class discussions were just about classic animation.  The other attendees were excellent too – everyone was really interested & passionate about animation, with a variety of backgrounds, making it a treat to be there.  Thanks to Char for putting it all together!

Up for auction are sketches for an unfinished, unpublished Dr. Seuss book about sports from the late sixties.  It’s interesting as some insight into his creative process, and despite the sketchy layouts (some are on hotel stationery) it’s easy to imagine how it would look fully-formed. The page layouts are similar to those completed books we’ve all seen as kids.  There are a couple versions of the same pages, particularly towards the end, where he is evidently deciding where to next take the story.  After cataloging all manner of sports and games, the pages stop. A newly invented sport is called “blumf,” which could either be the most brilliant Dr. Seuss sport ever, or else the sound of Seussian writer’s block: “I could blumf.  Or blumf blumf blumf blumf blumf.”

(via flavorwire)