Websites That Make Me Smile Part 6
Just a few to mention this week, that really caught my attention. The first one is a blog instead of a website, but the artist is John Kricfalusi creator of Ren & Stimpy so you know it’ll be good! John K has a great imagination and style, which is why I fell in love with his work. He continually pushes the envelope in animation and humour, from the obscure backgrounds to his characters ever changing facial expressions John K has changed the way we perceive animation. Pick up a copy of The Ren & Stimpy Show ‘Uncut’ Season 1&2 for the commentary John K and the rest of the Spumco team provide throughout the three disc boxed set. It’s like getting a private animation lesson in your own home! Or you can donate a little cash to John K’s Curriculum and follow along as John takes you through the fundamentals of animation and cartooning. It’s amazing to see how the comic/animation industry has evolved with technology to bring the reader so much content at the touch of a button. Which is why a lot of animators are now blogging or streaming live podcasts to keep up interest in their work because of the number of ‘up and coming’ artists out there.
Another way artists are raising cash for their projects is through Kickstarter.com Though the site is still in BETA mode, Kickstarter.com is an incredible platform. “Its’ purpose is funding, but we find ourselves gaining so much outside of collecting pledges. For us, Kickstarter has been a powerful tool to connect with a community passionate about our work.” Quote from Lumi Corp. Check out ‘Frog in a Suit’ and donate a little money to Joe Murray’s Kaboing TV idea and help get it off the ground! Perhaps some of you don’t know who Joe Murray is; well he’s the creator of Rocko’s Modern Life that was aired on Nickelodeon back in the 90’s. A truly brilliant ‘independent’ animation show, which created 52 episodes and had legions of fans and followers across the globe. Kickstarter.com is great place to witness new up and coming talent and provides a means of funding your own project. Perhaps Jumping Toaster Productions will ask for funding to produce a couple of Beany & Ralf animated shorts when the time comes.
Lastly, a neat little website Exploding Rabbit.com who produced the Super Mario Bros Crossover video game! A great flash game that recreates the original Super Mario Bros for Nintendo and allows you to play as characters from other classic Nintendo games like Megaman, Metroid, and Contra just to name a few. Great frame rate speed, online playability without having to download any of the content and to put it simply great Nintendo action! Jay Pavlina, the creator has some funny videos of him playing his own game for additional content on his site. Great job Jay, you’ve fulfilled one of my ‘pipe dreams’ from the 80’s and allow me to play as Megaman and blow the Goombas to dust!
Enjoy
🙂