Nelson Brown's Animation Blog

Madagascar 3 Trailer is out!

2011-12-16T10:31:00.000-08:00

Hey all, the trailer for Madagascar 3 hit the Internet this week. This is the film I've been working on for just under a year. I'm a HUGE fan of the Madagascar films, so getting to work on the series has been a dream for me for sure.

The trailer hits theaters this weekend with "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," a film that a number of my friends worked on down at Rhythm and Hues.

My primary contribution to this trailer was the panicking casino patrons about a minute in. Thanks for taking a look!

Live action short: "Too Late"

2011-12-06T10:12:00.000-08:00

I recently had a chance to be involved in a live action short film with the talented guys at Side Films. Have a look! And if you happen to dig the film, feel free to toss a "like" our way on Vimeo. "Too Late" was directed and edited by Rani Naamani with makeup effects by Nedy Acet, and color/post by Carlos Puertolas. Acting by yours truly, the laziest blogger in the world.

One Year!

2011-04-07T23:27:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, I've been at PDI/Dreamworks for one year! It's a tradition at DW to recognize year anniversaries at the company, so today I received the awesome gift you see below.

Needless to say, it's a fantastic place to go to work everyday. I work with so many incredible people who have really made me feel like family. I'm having a blast and feel so blessed to be able to do what I do for a living!

"Megamind: The Button of Doom"

2011-02-14T21:50:00.000-08:00

Hey friends and family!

The trailer is out for the Megamind DVD short I worked on following the film. And would you believe it? The shot that kicks off the trailer (Megamind and Minion running through the wall) was animated by me! Anyway, had a great time working on this. Our Director, Simon Smith, was a ton of fun in dailies. I definitely hope to work with him again in the future! DVD and blu-ray coming along February 25th!

Open Season 3 Out Today!

2011-01-25T01:13:00.000-08:00

Open Season 3 is out today! Find it in the U.S. on Blu Ray and DVD. I had the opportunity to contribute some animation to this show with the awesome crew down at Reel FX Studios. I had a great time with those guys and everyone worked so hard to make this the best film they possibly could. This will be my first chance to see it all finished and I can't wait!

Open Season 3 Official Site

CTN Animation Expo

2010-11-23T22:50:00.000-08:00

Headed down to Burbank this past weekend to check out the second annual CTN Animation Expo. It was a blast and a great shot of inspiration! It was great to see so many of my friends from the industry and from Animation Mentor. The presentations were fascinating all around, including a Megamind presentation by Jason Schleifer! Here are a few other highlights:

Got to visit and get a tour of Dreamworks' beautiful Glendale campus.

Caught a presentation by legendary drawing instructor Glen Vilppu.

Fascinating "How to Train Your Dragon" Flight School panel with Professor of Biology Stuart Sumida, and Dragon's head of character animation, Simon Otto.

THE Eric Goldberg (The Genie, Louis the Gator, etc.) working on an actual Rabbit shot from "Winnie the Pooh"!!!

"Untangling the Look of 'Tangled'" panel, including directing animators John Kahrs and Clay Katis.

Animation LEGEND Andreas Deja. Roger Rabbit, Gaston, Scar, Jafar, Lilo, Mama Odie, and more. This guy drew my childhood! I couldn't have been any more of a geek.

Andreas animating some Tigger poses. Can't wait for "Pooh"

Pixar animators panel with Carlos Baena, Aaron Hartline, Michael Makarewicz, and Victor Navone. Moderated by Andreas Deja.

Two of my favorite character designers, Carter Goodrich and Peter de Seve

Wrapped up the weekend with a screening of Tangled at Walt Disney Animation Studios! Such a fun and beautiful film. Sure to be a new Disney classic and chock full of gorgeous animation!

With my brain all packed with all kinds of inspiration, set off for a late night drive back up north.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Last Day on Megamind

2010-08-30T00:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my last official day on Megamind. It's been a crazy experience coming in this late on the film, but it's been great working with so many ridiculously talented animators. They've been pouring so much hard work into this film and I can't wait to see how it turns out all finished up. That will be November 5th, 2010!

Photo courtesy of Dreamworks Animation SKG

Megamind kicks off Comic-Con

2010-07-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

In case you missed the Megamind madness at Comic-Con yesterday, here's an article as well as 4 minutes of new footage from the film. Beware, a little spoilerific.

- Article (with video of the panel)

- Footage:

Megamind Trailer Premiere!

2010-05-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hey friends and family, Yahoo has the trailer premiere for the film I'll (soon) be working on. Check it out!

First Day at PDI/Dreamworks

2010-05-16T01:14:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I've already been in the Bay Area for three weeks! It really has flown by. I've finally got internet hooked up in my apartment so I thought I'd finally post some pics from my first day at PDI. It was, like most experiences in my animation career, an opportunity for me to completely geek out!

I wanna be just like Pete Docter when I grow up!

2010-04-17T22:42:00.001-07:00

Just sayin'. But seriously, I got to go see his QnA at the Dallas International Film Festival today and what an inspiring guy to listen to. It's just so obvious that he loves what he does so much. The QnA was followed by a screening of "Up" and I'm pretty sure I cried even more than the last few times I've watched it.

Last day at Reel FX

2010-04-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

Had a great time with a fantastic group of people!

Migrating North!

2010-04-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

Hey all - my time at Reel FX has been awesome!!! I've had a blast working on two really fun projects and I've met so many great people that I sincerely hope to work with again in the future.

In a week I'll be heading north to Redwood City, CA, to start work as a cycles animator at PDI/Dreamworks! I can't tell you how excited I am to work on their upcoming film, MegaMind. Any of you friends and AM folks in the Bay Area - give me a holler!

Photos property of Dreamworks Animation L.L.C.

Canvas For a Cause

2010-03-31T22:11:00.000-07:00

"Canvas for a Cause" is a charity event that Reel FX puts on each year. Every employee is given a canvas and allowed to create any piece of art we would like. The finished pieces are then sold at a gallery show held at the studio. 100% of the proceeds as well as proceeds from a silent auction go to Children's Medical Center in Dallas. It's been way too long since I've painted anything traditionally, so I thought this would be the perfect excuse to get back into it. I decided to use a gouache liftout technique to paint a still life of one of my favorite subjects: beer. A black and tan, specifically. My inspiration came from a bunch of photos I took this St. Patrick's Day, and chopped together into a comp. I thought it would be fun to document my process, which you can check out in the video below. All in all it was a lot of fun. Hopefully it won't be another few years before I pick up a paintbrush again! The gallery show is tomorrow night. I'll keep my fingers crossed that someone will be willing to buy it up to help support the Children's Medical Center!

Painting process from a guy who doesn't know how to paint. from Nelson Brown on Vimeo.

Dave Lisbe in the makeshift fine art studio.

Snowy Reel FX!

2010-02-11T21:48:00.000-08:00

This isn't the Texas weather I'VE heard about!

First week at Reel FX

2010-02-03T21:25:00.000-08:00

My workspace. Note the classy potted plant. Thank goodness it's plastic, so I won't be responsible for killing it. Monday was my first day at Reel FX in Dallas! So far I've gotten my first two shots assigned, sat in on dailies with the director, and constantly hounded the poor supervisors with my incessant questions. Actually, everyone's been really nice and helpful, and I'm really excited about the projects I'll be a part of!

Oh, and they've really made me feel welcome:

Migrating South!

2010-01-21T01:38:00.000-08:00

I'm pleased to announce I've accepted a job as an animator at Reel FX Creative Studios! In just over a week I'll be zipping down to Dallas to start work on commercials for Shrek 4. I know there are quite a few mentors and fellow grads from my school down there, so I'm really excited to work with some folks that I can learn a lot from!

I will of course be keeping in touch with all my friends and family here in Washington, and hopefully making new friends down in Texas!

AM Graduation!

2010-01-21T00:29:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I got to meet up with my fellow graduates for Animation Mentor's 7th graduation ceremony! If you've ever attended an AM graduation you know it is quite a show. My family came down to share the time with me and we got to celebrate my mother's birthday in San Fran as well.

What other graduation ceremony starts off with ninja action?!

Carlos's Avatar getup.

The Founders! Shawn Kelly, Carlos Baena, and Bobby Beck.

Gradeatin'

Bobby BOOM!

Nicole Herr, my class 1 mentor!

Fellow grads Emilie Goulet and Rob Somers, watch out for these guys!

Fellow grad, Washingtonian, game animator and video ref partner... Dennis DeMercer!

My wonderful and supportive family!

Demo Reel

2010-01-20T22:50:00.000-08:00

Update with some new polish.

Click here for a higher quality Quicktime version

Seattle Animation Mentor Gathering

2009-11-22T23:38:00.001-08:00

A bunch of Animation Mentor ninjas in the Seattle area got together tonight to enjoy a few liters at Feierabend. We had a few folks starting next quarter, a graduate from the first ever AM class, and everything in between. Thanks to Faisal (Fes) Navqi for setting it up!

The Princess and the Frog Video Game Out Today!

2009-11-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" for Nintendo Wii, DS and PC, available now! Developed by Griptonite Games.

Click Here or here for more info

Trailer courtesy of Disney Interactive Studios.

John Lasseter checks out my animation (sort of)

2009-11-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine just forwarded this photo of John Lasseter himself playing "The Princess and the Frog" on the Wii!

Photo courtesy of Disney Interactive Studios.

Full article available HERE

Where the Wild Things Are: the Video Game

2009-09-21T14:05:00.001-07:00

New trailer for one of the more recent projects I've been able to contribute to:

Video Games | Where the Wild Things Are | TGS 09: Max and Carol Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Graduated!

2009-09-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

So as of yesterday, I have officially completed the "advanced studies in character animation" program at animationmentor.com. It was an awesome experience all around, and I would recommend the program in a heartbeat to anyone with a passion for learning animation. One of the best parts of the school is the great community of friends and contacts that you build, and I really hope I can stay in touch with all the fun, talented people I've met. Blog-wise, hopefully I'll get around to posting all of the leftover stuff that I neglected to post while the program was going. What can I say? Too busy doing homework : )

Pencil Test Depot

2009-09-15T13:55:00.001-07:00

If you're an animator, chances are you've already seen this, but if you haven't, go take a look. It's a blog that collects up pencil test footage by a ton of amazing animators from all over the internet. Head on over and drool.

http://penciltestdepot.blogspot.com/

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New Demo Reel Posted

2009-08-31T00:08:00.000-07:00

Link also posted up there, top right.

Nelson Brown Demo Reel

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You've GOT to see this film!

2009-05-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

"Who's Hungry?" By David Ochs from CalArts. Proof that dark, tense, scary material can be done effectively in animated short form. Warning for delicate eyes: super dark and pretty violent as far as cartoons go.

audience reaction:

Face Poses

2009-04-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

Like hand poses in class 3, For class 4 we found interesting face poses and tried to capture their essence with Bishop. It's incredible how big of a difference little details can make.

Monologue - now complete with facial!

2009-04-18T02:44:00.001-07:00

With David's help I made a few alterations to the body animation and then dove into the new world of facial animation.

Class 4 - Advanced Acting

2009-04-18T02:41:00.000-07:00

My mentor for Advanced Acting was David Gallagher, a longtime vet of Blue Sky and now splitting his time between Blue Sky and Lumenas.

David's website

Class 3 complete!

2009-04-18T02:39:00.001-07:00

Marek and my classmates really helped me grow over the course of this quarter. Here's the latest progress reel:

Monologue

2009-04-18T02:30:00.000-07:00

Time really flies, my first AM shot with voice-over! In this class we focused almost completely on body motion with a little work on eyes and jaw, the plan being to wrap up the facial animation in Class 4.

Audio from Reel Big Fish's "You Got to Give it to Me"

Hand Poses

2009-04-18T02:19:00.000-07:00

Completed a number of hand poses along with our animation assignments; hand poses that should look interesting, as well as communicate an idea or emotion.

Angry:

Relaxed:

Surprised:

Pantomime

2009-04-18T02:03:00.000-07:00

Had to create a scene with two distinct emotional beats. I definitely want to come back to this shot one of these days. As you can see from the video ref, this shot went through some pretty big changes, with Marek's guidance.

Class 3 - Intro to Acting

2009-04-18T01:54:00.001-07:00

My mentor for this quarter was Marek Kochout, from Dreamworks. I had a fantastic time in this class. Marek has definitely been one of my favorite mentors so far.

Marek's filmography

Class 2 complete!

2009-04-18T01:47:00.000-07:00

Here's my progress reel for Body Mechanics class. Thanks to David Breaux for all kinds of awesome information!

Heavy Weight Pull

2009-04-18T01:33:00.000-07:00

Video Ref co-starring Mr. James Lutz (www.lutzanimation.com)

Post Jump

2009-04-18T00:56:00.000-07:00

Worked up to a character with a torso. Working on balance primarily.

Worked up to a character with a torso. Working on balance primarily.

The blog that's not a blog...

2009-04-18T00:50:00.000-07:00

Soooo, obviously I'm a colossal procrastinator when it comes to this blog (my two readers), so now for your viewing pleasure, I'm going to play a posting game of catch up! Enjoy.

Richard Williams!

2008-10-30T11:04:00.001-07:00

Last night I had the lifetime opportunity to meet the man himself and hear him speak. Tony White, one of Richard's former assistants and directors (Pink Panther Strikes Again, Hokusai) is an instructor over at Digipen in Redmond now, and was able to get Richard in town for a free presentation. Richard gave us previews of a number of segments from his new dvd set and shared some awesome stories about his experiences with Milt Kahl, Art Babbitt and Ken Harris, and the pearls of wisdom he learned from them. After, he signed some books (The Animator's Survival Kit, for those that don't know) and took some pictures for us fanboys and fangirls. It was an incredible experience to meet someone who's had such a huge effect on my animation education.

For more info on local animation events, check out 2dornot2d.org

180 Turn Final

2008-10-21T00:25:00.000-07:00

AAUUUUUGGGGHH! RIP Bill Melendez

2008-09-03T21:27:00.001-07:00

Holy Moly I am a bad blogger, I really need to post some, ya know, WORK up here.

However, I felt compelled to write a few words. If there's a character that's as close to my heart as Mickey Mouse, it has to be Charlie Brown. So naturally, the Peanuts animated specials were incredibly influential to me. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was a revolutionary achievement in animation and television history. Nobody could have brought the Peanuts to life but Bill Melendez, or provide the instantly recognizable voices of Snoopy and Woodstock. Mr. Melendez passed away today at age 91 and the animation world has lost another legend. Thankfully, he left a lifetime of work we can appreciate and learn from.

Alright, enough words. WORK to come soon.

180 Turn Blocking

2008-07-14T02:27:00.000-07:00

Just waiting on my crit, polish to come soon!

Waaaaaaaaallllllll-E

2008-07-08T00:52:00.000-07:00

It's time for me to add my voice to the choir of praise for Wall-E. I finally got to see it this weekend. Twice. It's every bit as good as you've heard. It's right up there with The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Of course, Nemo is a masterpiece in its own right, and I could watch Monsters Inc. every day and still be entertained. It's so hard to pick my favorite! Well anyway, the point is, Wall-E is a magnificent film and Presto is unbelievable. I won't ruin a second for you. Do yourself a favor: stop reading this ridiculous blog post and go see Wall-E. Then see it again : )

It's ME! (180 turn planning)

2008-07-08T00:44:00.001-07:00

So, I'm no Jeff Gabor, but I thought you might enjoy some embarassing video reference, and the drawings that came of it.

Skidoosh!

2008-06-23T02:25:00.000-07:00

Finally saw Kung Fu Panda this weekend. It's a killer film packed with kung fu action. Check out the subtle shakes on Oogway, the facial animation on Po, and my personal favorite, Tai Lung.

Class 1 Progress Reel

2008-06-23T02:18:00.000-07:00

Class 1 with Nicole Herr is wrapped up! I learned a ton and had a great time. Got a one-week breather then I'm on to Class 2, body mechanics. here's all my shots from class 1 compiled together.

Pregnant Ballie and Balance Pose

2008-06-23T01:58:00.000-07:00

Yeah, there's a bit of theme going. Trust me, it has nothing to do with my personal life. Anyway, this was my "walk with personality."

A Pose communicating "balance"

Vanilla Walk, Concerned Pose, and Exhausted Pose

2008-06-23T01:57:00.000-07:00

A generic walk.

A pose communicating "concerned"

A pose communicating "Exhausted"

Tailor and Strength Pose

2008-06-23T01:54:00.000-07:00

Even more Overlapping Action!

A still pose to communicate "strength."

Pendulum

2008-06-23T01:53:00.000-07:00

Overlapping Action!

Obstacle Course

2008-06-23T01:51:00.000-07:00

Squash and Stretch!

Bad Bad Blogger...

2008-06-23T01:14:00.000-07:00

So, I realize I've been absent from this blog for way too long. For your viewing pleasure, I present a huge cascade of new stuff - all at once!

Nocturna

2008-05-28T12:20:00.001-07:00

I got a chance to see "Nocturna" (http://movies.filmax.com/nocturna/) This memorial day in the Seattle International Film Festival. For those who haven't heard of it, it's a Spanish (English Language) film created by Sergio Pablos's Animagic Films as well as a number of other artists and studios. I enjoyed it a lot. It's a slightly dark fairy tale about a world that comes alive at night. SIFF described it as "Monsters Inc. crossed with the work of Hayao Miyazaki" which I found to be a pretty accurate description. The visuals were gorgeous, and the story was clever and enchanting. If I have any complaint, it's that at times the animation dropped from beautifully smooth, in-betweened shots, to only key drawings on sixes or so. This is something I noticed on Curious George as well and I assume it must have something to do with budget. To an animator's eye it was a little distracting but occurred rarely and ultimately didn't detract too much. I hope that it will eventually get a decent DVD release, and if you get the chance to see it, I would highly recommend it.

Ok, I promise I'll post some work soon. LOTS of it.

Heavy/Light Balls

2008-05-11T04:48:00.000-07:00

Hey, so I know it's been forever and ever since I've made a post. So, for your viewing pleasure, I present the heavy/light ball bounce. Also, a "Devastated" pose.

The Ol' Bouncing Ball

2008-04-28T00:06:00.001-07:00

Where every animator begins! I haven't animated a bouncing ball in a long time so it was refreshing to go back to basics. Here's my revision after Nicole's crit! Also, we had to produce a pose communicating "excitement"

Together Again...

2008-04-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

For those who haven't heard, Ollie Johnston passed away today at age 95. Ollie was the last living member of the legendary Nine Old Men, Co-Author of "The Illusion of Life" with lifelong collaborator Frank Thomas, and one of my number-one heroes. He literally wrote the book on Animation and he will be missed incredibly. Thanks for all your teachings and inspiration, Ollie!

First Assignment!

2008-04-13T02:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, so a lot of posts are going to be "firsts" for a while. This week we did some observational sketches in a public place (Bellevue Square mall, for me) and the assignment was to take one of these sketches and "refine" it into a pose displaying strong line of action and silhouette. I chose to go with number 18, but I took a crack at number 15 as well. Now just waiting for my critique!
(4_28_08: Uploaded Revised "number 18" pose)

First Day of School!

2008-04-01T02:02:00.000-07:00

I've got my lunch packed up, my shoes tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight, oohhhh, back to school... Today was my very first day of Animation Mentor and I'm psyched! I'll be going through "Basic Foundations" class with my first mentor, Nicole Herr (www.nicoleherr.com) from Sony! She's worked on some great pieces and I'm really excited to start learning all I can from her. I've been spending the evening cruising the AM community, getting familiar with the site and posting on other student profiles. If you're another AM student, come by my profile and say hi!

Yop!

2008-03-19T16:26:00.000-07:00

Went and saw "Horton Hears a Who!" on Friday and once again this week. LOVED it! It was funny, in a refreshingly silly kinda way, the story had me glued to the screen, and the animators produced some fantastic acting. A wonderful tribute to Dr. Seuss and Blue Sky's best work.

So... I lied.

2008-03-09T12:53:00.000-07:00

This IS another Animation Mentor blog. I'll be starting in Spring Quarter on March 31st and I'm going to try to use this space as a kind of diary of my progress. Periodically I'll be posting some of my work and thoughts as I go through the program. Excited that I'm finally doing this. Ready to LEARN!