Digital Anarchy, a provider of cost-effective software for Adobe and Apple products, has released ToonIt! Photo 2.0 for Photoshop. ToonIt! reliably and easily creates cartoon-like images from photographs, freeing artists from time consuming techniques such as hand painting and masking. The filters use advanced algorithms from Toonamation Inc to create cartoon shading and outlines in Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.
THE DARK KNIGHT, DR. SEUSS' HORTON HEARS A WHO! and the fourth season of LOST arrive on DVD and Blu-ray, plus Oscar-winning Best Animated Short PETER & THE WOLF makes its U.S. DVD debut, and more.
Cartoon Brew's Amid Amidi reported Thursday night that the massive layoffs at Viacom (850 employees across all sectors) mean the entire Nickelodeon Digital Animation Studios division in New York is closing. The productions housed there will continue mostly intact, but will likely be moved to different locations or be outsourced.
Nickelodeon runs the last remaining network animation studio on the East Coast, so the closing of the Times Square-adjacent office is a blow to the New York animation community.
American Greetings Properties, the intellectual property and outbound licensing division of American Greetings Corporation, continues to expand the international footprint of CARE BEARS across the globe with a slate of new deals in key territories. Through a partnership with Spain-based retail giant Oysho, American Greetings Properties recently launched CARE BEARS classic apparel at all Oysho stores worldwide.
Contender Entertainment Group and Studio AKA's adaptation of the much loved Oliver Jeffers book LOST AND FOUND, published by Harper Collins, is due to be broadcast on Channel 4 in the U.K. this Christmas. The 25-minute animated film will be screened on Christmas Eve and again on Boxing Day.
IDW Publishing will release the new graphic novel by Troy Little entitled ANGORA NAPKIN in January 2009. An animated pilot of ANGORA NAPKIN is also in production and set to air on Teletoon in Canada in March 2009.
ANGORA NAPKIN is an adult comedy about a pop music trio of girls who constantly find themselves mired in the horrible and confronted with the macabre. Unable to recognize the dark side of any situation, they always seem to come out on top (with the help of their impromptu peppy songs).
ASIFA-Hollywood has announced the nominations for its 36th Annual Annie Awards, recognizing the year's best animated features, television productions, commercials, videogames and short subjects. DreamWorks Animation's KUNG FU PANDA leads the field with 17 nominations out of 27 overall for the studio, including Best Animated Feature, and individual nominations for character animation, character design, directing, music, production design, storyboarding, voice acting and writing.
Japanese artist Takashi Murakami will be opening an animation studio in Los Angeles next summer, according to the LOS ANGELES TIMES.
Called Japan's Andy Warhol, and based in Tokyo, Murakami is known for his oversized anime style and already has a studio in New York. The new studio will operate under Kaikai Kiki, his production and artist-management company. Murakami works in painting and sculpture, film and mass-produced goods all under one company.
The Encounters Short Film Festival announced Saturday the winners of its 14th annual international competition to find the world's best new live action or animated films of under 30 minutes length.
At a gala ceremony -- held before a capacity audience -- the five-month long judging process, with the submission of 1,183 entries from 63 countries, reached its finale with presentations of the festival's principal prizes.
International Jury Award, for the best entry overall
DENNIS
Fred Patten takes a look at this new book cataloging Spike & Mike's festival compilations and well as other notable edgy indie shorts.
