VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists!

... mmm-MMMM!  Just in time for Thanksgiving we as a people can finally come together to celebrate not just the gifted or "talented" artists, but the 100 SEXIEST ARTISTS.  Check out the short animation above (credits) that I worked on & for more of Malika Favre's excellent work go here!  I haven't seen the show on TV but I can make a few guesses as to who they may have picked for their top 100:

1.  Shirtless Picasso ... obviously.

2.  Ann Romney

3.  Billy Zane as The Phantom

4.  James Quall 

5.  Courtney Stodden

6.  Mama Berenstain Bear

7.  Young Tim Meadows

8.  Robocop Action Figure w/ Battle Damage

9 - 100.  Grace Kelly, because my goodness!

Philip De Guard x "Bewitched Bunny"

Can anyone ever get tired of Looney Tunes?

I was doing a bit of traveling this weekend and managed to watch a few episodes before my laptop crapped out on me.  These screenshots were taken from the Bugs Bunny episode "Bewitched Bunny"[YouTube]:

Bugs Bunny is as dapper as his framing.

Everything about the witch's house is so crooked.

The backgrounds by Philip de Guard are frustratingly good.

Amazing wall-art for any child eater.

I think more posts about Philip de Guard are in order... 

Wild Wild West Intro

Animation on American television was going thru some awkward times in the 1960's.  Gone was the heyday of earlier decades; the artform had become cheaper and rigid looking (see: Bugs Bunny & Kool-Aid), but I was impressed when I came across this show opener for the old CBS show Wild Wild West earlier this week.  The animation is better in places than others, but I really enjoy how the characters and posing is rendered, almost like they were drawn for figure drawing or fashion.  The animator behind this sequence is Ken Mundie, a former apprentice at Disney studios before he went into commercial work and.... Life with Louie?  Small world!

Coming Soon: My Personal Favorite

Very soon I'm going to breakdown shot-by-shot one of my favorite animated scenes of all time.  I've been wanting to do it ever since I started this blog and I'm super excited to finally sit down & put my appreciation to writing.

Marked Animation on MTV

Well it sounds like the day may finally be here...

After more than 11 months after completion, the Locksley Music Video "All Over Again" will be finally receiving its broadcast premiere Monday, September 8th on MTV! I know what you're thinking, "Wow Mark, they still play music videos on MTV?" My answer to that is a resounding "Maybe!" The video will be shown in conjunction with Locksley's appearance on MTV's "52 Bands/52 Weeks" feature, so it'd probably be better to just TiVo the whole week of programming. You never know when those boys pop up during an "America's Next Top Model" marathon!
In other news, I just finished up some storyboards for an upcoming project this morning and felt really good about them until I checked out the new United Airlines spots on Motionographer.com. Seriously, what's up United?! Why you gotta make everyone else look so bad?
They're great animated pieces, check them out if you haven't already!

My Love Affair with Tim & Eric

I'm not going to try to defend Tim & Eric Awesome Show: Great Job! by any means, because I understand that calling it an "acquired taste" is an understatement. I think the show's irreverent humor is brilliant, and the way it embraces and champions poor & ugly-looking broadcast production is icing on the cake. Here's a favorite clip of mine from this week's episode: