Happy Halloweenie!

Tonight is the night when witches fly on their brooms. Cats and bats are all around. Goblins and ghosts are behind every corner. And who wouldn't love to snuggle up to a ghost like this one on a night like this?

Animation Magic

Look what Animan found on Ebay: Popular Science from September 1944!

And inside is an article about Walt Disney's animated feature in production at the time, "The Three Caballeros". This article explains how the Disney animators were able to make Donald Duck dance the samba with Aurora Miranda (Carmen Miranda's sister). In some scenes, she acted, danced and sang in front of a projected image. In other scenes, the animators added drawings of Donald Duck and José Carioca in front of her. You can watch it here.....

And then read all about it here!

"Can I view these on my iPhone if I don't have a computer?"

"Can I buy this and watch it on my iphone?"
Animan received this message today. And here's his answer:
"Thanks for asking. I don't put my cartoons on my own iphone, but a lot of guys do. I'm not sure how they do it, though. I'm going to post your message on the latest post on this blog, and see what the other guys say!"
So, if you're watching Animan vids on an iphone, how do you do it? Share the secret with all of us! Thank you!

   An actual frame from "Animan's All-Stars", if you can believe it!

When When When?

Animan always knows when his cartoons are taking a super long time to get completed, because fans start asking "When?"  Animan doesn't mind, actually. It would be a sad world indeed if nobody cared at all. So, to those of you who DO care, Animan says "Thanks Guys, and hopefully sometime in November". Here's another background from the Palm Springs pleasure palace. Oh, if only this inflatable lounge chair could talk, what stories it would tell!

Eleanor Audley (1905~1991) the Ultimate Disney Villain

When Walt Disney made "Cinderella", Eleanor Audley went before the microphone and provided a chilling voice for the stepmother, filled with authority. And then, she went in front of the cameras to act out the role, so that the animators could incorporate her movements and mannerisms. And, they used her face as a model for the stepmother.

                                Copyright Walt Disney Pictures               Photo from The Dick Van Dyke Show

A few years later when Disney made "Sleeping Beauty", the same technique was used for Maleficent. Here is Eleanor acting the character out for the Disney cameramen. Her peculiar tilt of the head, and ways of using her hands can be seen incorporated into the animation of her characters. Both the stepmother and Maleficent wore large rings, which also reflects Eleanor's taste in jewelry!

The Scene of the Crime

Animan video sales are at an all-time low. Is it because of the U.S. money situation, or is it because Animan's "fans" keep uploading his stuff to free video sites without Animan's permission? It's probably a combination of the two.

This background is the Animan version of a Palm Springs hotel for guys. I've been to Palm Springs twice and want to go back again. 

Life Imitates Art (again!)

This is Leonor Alcácer, who plays the part of the bored housewife Laura Costa in the Portuguese soap opera, "Os Nossos Dias", which can be seen here: http://www.rtp.pt/play/p1305/e129244/os-nossos-dias

This wonderful actress has nice, high cheekbones, and an interesting way of scrunching up her face when she's angry at her husband, which reminded me of "Cruella deVille" in the Disney feature "101 Dalmations".  After adding the black and white hair and the fur coat, sure enough, she seems to look like the animated version (at least Animan thinks so).

It's Background Time!

Here's another background from the upcoming All-Star video. In case you've forgotten, the players will be Bill from "Twist Party", Coach Fokker from "Sex Ed", Coach Ben, Larry the Lifeguard, José and Escamillo from Carmen, Nooky Man and Axel the black dude from "Super Hero", Lex, and Lieutenant Commander O' Reilly from "G.I. Bananas". 

Will the Real Maleficent Please Cast a Spell?

In 1959, Disney Studios made "Sleeping Beauty", and the evil fairy "Maleficent" was a major character in it. Now, a live-action film about Maleficent is being made, with the alive-and-well Angelina Jolie in the starring role. I think she's a marvelous actress, but I really don't know if she's the Maleficent-type.

In 1962,  Mexican actress Maria Félix starred in the motion picture, "La Bandida".  Does she look more like Maleficent than anyone else does? I'll let you judge for yourself!

Two More Animan Illustrations

Today's illustrations were made for eco-friendly articles. The first is for a hybrid car which produces magical, green exhaust fumes! Who wouldn't want one of these?

Next, we have a factory which is investing in Father Earth.

While You're Waiting...

Animan is hard at work on the upcoming video, but it's all secret, and there's not very much that he can show here. So, as a change, I thought it would be interesting to post some illustrations I did for an in-flight magazine some years ago.  

The first one is for an electric bike that makes going uphill a breeze.

The next illustration is my favorite, "Slime into Oil". People ask me what software I used to make it, and they're surprised to find that I used my animation software!

513,024 Total Page Views!

Amazing, but true! Animan is happy and proud that his rather conservative-looking little blog has attracted this much interest in such a short time. Through it, I have become acquainted with thousands of the kindest, nicest, most warm-hearted people on Planet Earth. One thing we all have in common, is that we all like to have fun, even if we're all a little naughty! 

As long as there is an Animan, there will always be an Animan's World. May it be a place where all our dreams can manifest more clearly, and where magic and fun are always a possibility.

Animan is looking forward to the next 513, 024 page views with great anticipation!

As always, my thanks to all of you, Animan's Friends.

What's Happening in Animan's World

Hi guys. Here's a background from the next cartoon, The Animan All-Star Video.  I have only finished a little bit of it. Why is this video taking so long to complete?

1. There are 10 Animan characters, all with completely different faces. Everybody knows what they look like, so I have to make sure they look right. I feel the pressure!

2. And, my computer broke down a couple weeks ago, and that delayed everything! It's working again and all my data was rescued.

3. Animan always tries to make each new video better than the last, and this one is no exception. And when there are more drawings involved (for more intricate action), it tends to make the production process move snail-slow. Oh well, Animan is up to a challenge!

Recently, the weather has been awful where I'm living, and there's not much chance to get out and get some exercise.  So, when I'm not drawing, I'm sleeping. I seem to be in sort of a mild depression/slump. I can't figure out why--life is going fairly well. Maybe we all have to go through a slump sometime, and it's my turn. I'm sure Animan will be his old, naughty self very soon.

Dropbox and iPads and Rollerball Cat

Many of Animan's friends are using iPads to watch their Animan videos, and sometimes ask me questions about the downloading. This morning, Animan received this message:

Animan,

Good to hear that your "Animan Shop" is doing well!  You deserve it!  Congrats!!

I wanted to share something with you that I read regarding Dropbox.  Since I have a subscription to Maclife and Macworld, I read an article about Drop box sharing files using the iPad.  There is a Drop box App, it is on the Apple app store.

Dropbox.com/mobile  the middle icon has the iPad.  I hope that you may be able to use this information for buyers that are interested in using dropbox to download your toons using their ipad.

I hope this helps!

Good Enough to be True

Good news! This morning, I received my 4th payment from Selz and an e-mail explaining the payment schedule. I shall spend today re-setting up The Animan Shop.

So, just WHY did Animan freak out, when it seemed that all was lost? Well, when I was very young, I was living in a foreign country, and had to teach English to keep from starving. It was strictly forbidden by immigration laws to do that. Driven by hunger, I still dared to go to the "English school", run by two Americans, and one of them was a minister! What I didn't know, was that they NEVER paid their teachers.

When they didn't pay me, my friends said, "Oh, they will! Just give them the benefit of the doubt!" So, I kept working. When I finally left them, I had worked several months, and they owed me over $3,000. They did this to other foreign students who were teaching for them, and who didn't dare complain to the authorities. If they did, they'd also be arrested.  It was a tough lesson, but I learned it.

When things start to happen in a similar way, a loud alarm goes off in Animan's head, accompanied by a flashing red light. WARNING! Can't help it.

In matters of business, it's always good to watch out for little signs of trouble. That way, they can be dealt with while they're still small.

I have chosen to delete yesterday's DISMAL post. In response to it, I received wonderful, uplifting and loving comments. Although they will not be posted, they will STAY in my e-mail inbox, so that I can go back and read them again and again! Thank you Friends of Animan, for your kind outpouring of understanding!

A Favor for Animan

My sincere thanks to all of you! Your support is appreciated more than words can express.

Recently, buyers are illegally uploading Animan videos onto gay porn sites at an alarming rate. People are watching them for free. This is eating into Animan's "Future Animation Project Fund".

Then, Animan has to write letters to each site, asking them to remove his copyrighted works. Instead of making animation, Animan spends lots of time doing this legal paperwork. This is eating into Animan's "Future Animation Time Allotment".

Time and money--without them, the Animan Animation Machine will grind to a halt.

Please have a heart. Just give Animan a fair chance to succeed--because if he does, the videos will just keep coming, and it will be in part because of your cooperation! Please don't upload Animan's copyrighted videos. 
   
                                             Drawings by Arthur Zaidenberg

Blog Message of the Year

In a past posting on this blog, Animan's World had made mention of sites that show Animan videos free. The post is entitled "Here's a Pretty How-De-Do", for those of you who are interested.

In response to that old post, Animan just received this message. It's so good, that I'm posting it here for everyone's enjoyment!

*****************************************************************

Hey, Animan!

Learn to fucking draw something that doesn't look like shit and maybe I'll pay for it instead of laughing at your skeevy ass behind your back.
*****************************************************************
Wow!

Dropbox Blues

Animan has received e-mails from people who say they have trouble downloading the video files from Sendspace. I know myself, that I couldn't download them directly into a mobile device.

So, when Animan is at home, and has access to his computer, he has been sending the vids via Dropbox.  

Some people love Dropbox, and others prefer the Sendspace links. It seems to depend on the individual computers and users.

A friend wanted to download a vid into a mobile device, so I recommended Dropbox. This friend installed Dropbox, but has not been able to view the video file for some reason... 

If anyone out in Animan's World has any advice about this, please let us hear from you!  Thanks!!

Another thing about Dropbox--when you get the shared folder, you should download the file to your own device, and not just watch it from the shared folder. The best way is to go to Dropbox.com the website, and download it there.

Léonidas aux Thermopyles

Here's another painting by Jacques-Louis David that Animan really enjoys. There's a nice 3 dimensional sense of space stretching way back into the distance, and so many things seem to be happening at the same time. 

The character in the center looks a bit like Mars in the previous painting. And Man, dig that crazy ensemble--a helmet, a scabbard, a cape and sandals!

Mars Desarmé par Venus

Here's one of Animan's favorite paintings from the 19th century. It was painted by Jacques-Louis David. On the left, we see  the god of war, Mars, being "disarmed" by the goddess of love, Venus.  From the distant look in his eyes, it appears to not be working. Nobody can wear doves the way Mars can! I love the setting up in the clouds--it's a heavenly day!