Sunday, May 31, 2009

Batman 2.0 and the Many Faces of Robin

During the Batman R.I.P. saga a few months ago I did a recap of the various incarnations of Batman over the years. Since the disappearance/death(?) of Bruce Wayne the Battle for the Cowl has been waging in Gotham with the heaviest contenders for the mantle being Nightwing (Dick Grayson/Robin #1), Tim Drake (Robin #3) and Jason Todd (Robin #2/Red Hood/Red Robin).

The final images of the story reveal a mysterious new Batman who is almost certainly Dick Grayson (with a very slight chance of it being Tim Drake, but that's unlikely).

We also get our first glimpse of the new Robin, Damian Wayne.

With this I decided it's time we recap the history of Robin and have a look at who's been wearing the green speedos and elf boots .

Robin #1 - Dick Grayson
After eventually hanging up the Robin costume, Dick went on to become his own vigilante hero Nightwing. After Bruce Wayne died(?) recently he took over the mantle and is currently the new Batman 2.0, and rightly so I say.

Robin #2 - Jason Todd
Jason was a more free spirited and violent Robin and eventually got himself killed by the Joker in the Death in the Family storyline.

In true DC fashion he is resurrected in a bizarre space/time ripple caused by Superman Prime and stumbles his way from the grave to eventually become the troublesome Red Hood and eventually Red Robin. After Batman R.I.P. he crowns himself the new Batman wearing an armoured suit,using guns and killing criminals. After Dick beats the shit out of him he pisses off to become Gotham's new crime lord Black Mask.

Robin #3 - Tim Drake
Tim Drake was the latest Robin up until the Battle for the Cowl story. He retired breifly at his father's request, leaving a gap to be filled by the 4th Robin (below) but returning soon after to continue as Robin. After Bruce's apparent death he briefly donned the Batsuit if only to keep the symbol alive to the Gotham citizens but once Dick officialy became the new Batman, Tim stepped aside to take over the Red Robin role that Jason had previously used.

Robin #4 - Stephanie Brown
Stephanie hit the Gotham scene as a rogue vigilante named Spoiler who pushed to join Batman's team. After Tim retired, Bruce reluctantly brought Stephanie in as the first female Robin. She proved to be uncontrollable and Bruce eventually fired her, offering the role back to Tim. Defiantly she ventured out again as Robin only to be killed in the process. Naturally, however, she manages to return from the grave (apparently her death may have been staged) and continues fighting crime as Spoiler.

Robin #5 - Damian Wayne
After Bruce Wayne's brief love affair with Ra's Al Ghul's daughter Talia, she gives birth to Damian who is raised by Ra's as a member of the Assassin's League. During the recent events Damian battled his way through the Bat team in an attempt to claim his birthright as the new Batman, eventually becoming the latest Robin alongside Grayson's Batman. The new Bat duo is born.

Robin #6 - Carrie Kelly
Carrie becomes the second female Robin in Frank Miller's brilliant story the Dark Knight Returns. As a fan of the original Robins, she makes her own costume and saves the life of the aging Batman (Bruce Wayne) who takes her on as his new Robin. This story is a kind of 'what if' idea and therefore doesn't technically fit into the official storyline of the mythos.

So there you have it, 5 Robins (and a hypothetical 6th) with the current one being Bruce Wayne's son Damian. Whew :)

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Yuki 7 Trailer

This is an awesome Flash trailer for a sexy spy action flick called Yuki 7 by Kevin Dart. The 70's film stylization is spectacular.

Korgoth of Barbaria

Hilariously violent fantasy/action/comedy about a big barbarian dude with anger management issues. Twisted , wonderful stuff!
The great cities have risen and fallen. Civilization's grip on mankind has grown weak and arthritic. Dark forces seek to renew forgotten covenents, and primordial beasts reclaim the wilderness. Out of the frozen North, a MAN emerges, a man of a BARBARIC AGE, whose MERCILESS SAVAGERY may be the only key to his SURVIVAL. They call him... KORGOTH!

Monday, May 25, 2009

More Animation Tips

I just found 3 more amazing sites with loads of high-end animation tips & tricks etc. Since I'm fucking sick of doing shitty animation for TV, I have been eating up these sites with actual high-end animation notes that are getting me jazzed to get back into producing real animation and not the crappy pumped out shit TV always demands.

A.R.C. (the Animaiton Resource Centre) run by Ian Lacey who is an animation teacher at the Southbank Institute of Technology in Brisbane Australia.

CarlosBaena.com. Carlos is a Pixar animator who's generously sharing his knowledge to us free on his personal site. He also has some great personal art on there.

Keith Lango's tutorial blog page. Keith is an all-rounder who's been in the game for 15 years doing a variety of features, tv shows and shorts etc.

Awesome! I feel that passion returning thanks to these great finds. I'll keep you posted as I find more.

Booty Babes

I love these sculpts by Spencer Davis. They're super sexy. Me want!





Check out the collection at http://www.bootybabe.com/

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Bitey Castle Academy

Adam Philips, another ex Disney colleague (and the guy who personally taught me how to use Flash), is writing a Flash training ebook and posting it on his website with the first 2 chapters free http://www.biteycastle.com/bca/bca.html

Also make sure you check out Adam's amazing animations etc on his main site at http://www.biteycastle.com/

And while I'm at it Adam also has a YouTube channel to view all his films; http://www.youtube.com/user/chluaid

Andries Maritz

Check out the blog of one of my ex Disney colleagues Andries Maritz; http://andriesmaritz.blogspot.com/ He also has an official website too at http://www.beetleboxhome.com/ Here's some samples of this amazing dudes talent;






SynchroLux

I found an amazing animation blog called SynchroLux with some fascinating articles. Categories on the blog include; animation techniques, eye movement, film analysis, shot flow, story etc. Inspiring and educational stuff. Check it out at; http://www.synchrolux.com/

Ayahuasca - A Filmic Interpretation

Having journeyed on the Ayahuasca plant myself I can say with experience that this is a fairly accurate visual interpretation of the experience, albeit a filmic dramatisation made to look somewhat cool for that Hollywood sort of impact. It's not so much the content but the fragmentation and movement of this short that seemed accurate to me, though no film imaginable could ever truly represent what the spirit medicine itself will show you.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Video Game Art

I stumbled across this fun art by a dude named Orioto on DeviantART.





Who's On First?

Just becasue it's fucking brilliant, here's Abbott and Costello's famous vaudeville performance of their baseball sketch 'Who's On First?'.

$9.99

Based on the Short Stories of Etgar Keret, and adapted for the screen by Etgar Keret and Director Tatia Rosenthal, $9.99 is an Australian made stop motion animated feature which "offers slightly less than $10 worth about the meaning of life".

Baby, Baby, Baby

This music video by French electro group 'Make the Girl Dance' has cute, naked women strutting through the streets of Paris. Need I say more? I particularly enjoy the onlookers' expressions.

Disney's Mars and Beyond

Here's a remarkable series Disney made for the Tomorrowland specials. Amazing stuff.




FREE Gesture Drawing book

Here's a wicked FREE book by Walt Stanchfield on Gesture Drawing for animation. What a guy!!!

Stanch Field Book Stanch Field Book Christopher

Joshua Hoffine Horror Photography

I love this amazing photography by Joshua Hoffine. These are actual real-world photo setups using models, sets and props. Amazing! Check out his website (http://www.joshuahoffine.com/) and blog (http://joshuahoffine.wordpress.com/) which has behind the scenes info and pics.

Samples below:





Ninjerktsu

Check out this awesome blog by Dreamworks storyboard artist Willis Carrier http://ninjerktsu.blogspot.com/

Here's some samples out of context: