Continue reading »]]>  Click here to see a bigger image at Flickr.com

I have been a big fan of the master French comic artist Mobius (aka Jean Giraud) since my college days where I was inspired by his style, technique and color use. With his recent passing I thought I would, like so many around the world, draw a tribute to the master.

My piece is based on Mobius 1985 “Starwatcher II” which many have been doing their version of in the last few years. To read more I would recommend the Tumbler Blog ‘Quenched Consciousness’ which has been my favorite place to follow the work of Mobius.

Visit the official Mobius website http://www.moebius.fr/ 

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I am helping to organize a special inkDrinkDraw San Francisco event on Saturday May 26, 2012, Mini-Comic Day. The event is FREE and open to anyone interested in joining us.

WHEN: Saturday May 26, 2012 – 11am to 5:30pm
WHERE: The Cartoon Art Museum Bookstore
655 Mission St. San Francisco, CA 94105
(between 3rd street and New Montgomery St., two blocks from Montgomery St. BART) (415) CAR-TOON – http://www.cartoonart.org

COST: FREE!

DETAILS: Mini-Comic Day at the Cartoon Art Museum Bookstore
For the May inkDrinkDraw we will return to the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco for
Mini-Comic Day. Come join us and take the challenge to create and publish your own Mini-Comic with your fellow artists in a day or less. Paper, pens, pencils, and long neck stapler will be provided as well as printed templates to help make your book and there are two copy shops in walking
distance to make copies to trade and share with your fellow creators. (Sorry, you will have to pay for your own copies.)

From the official
site http://www.minicomics.org :
“On Mini-Comics Day, participating cartoonists from around the world will write, draw, and print copies of a mini-comic, completing the entire process from start to finish in a day or less. Anyone in the world can participate. Mini-comics have been democratizing the art of
making comic books since the 70?s or earlier… with the popularization of photocopiers, it became apparent that anyone with an inclination and some spare change could print a little comic book. Wildly varying in both form and content, mini-comics are a wonderful synthesis of cartooning and hand-made art objects.

Guidelines: To participate, create a mini-comic from start to finish on May 26th, 2012 (including writing, drawing and printing it). You can make your mini-comic by yourself or with other artists.
…” (visit the official site for more guidelines for the event)

So, come on down, grab a seat and make a comic. And don’t be shy about bringing down your mini-comics you have all ready made too!

The Two Copy Shops nearby are:

Copy Central 22 3rd street, San Francisco, CA 0.1 mi W (415) 882-7377 ? · copycentral.com - 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Fed-Ex Kinkos – need to verify location do to wonky web listings.

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I will be returning to the Cartoon Art Museum to teach another summer of Cartoon Boot Camp. Our third week is July 9th to 13th, 2012 – Comic Book Creation.

You can sign up for all 3 of the Cartoon Boot Camps at our GUEST LIST PAGE << click here 

 July 9–13, 2012: Comic Book Creation Time: 11am – 1pm – Ages: Intermediate Artists ages 10-14 This boot camp features the process of making a short comic book story (2 pages) through the classic technique of page layouts, character design, penciling, and inking. Skills featured: Basic drawing techniques, storytelling

Time: All sessions run Monday through Friday from 11:00AM to 1:00 PM at the Cartoon Art Museum (For past students: please note the time of these classes is different.)

Number of students: The class size is limited to no more than 14 students. The class is filled on a first come, first served basis.

Cost*: $100 per week for CAM members, $135 non-members – per student for each session. Fees must be paid in full to secure a seat in the class.

Sign up as a member and save! ( http://cartoonart.org/join-support/membership/ )

Supplies: Basic Drawing Materials will be provided. Students are welcome to bring in their personal sketchbooks and materials.

Please also fill out and submit the waiver and emergency contact form. This will be emailed to you when you sign up.
Mail, email, fax or hand-deliver the completed waiver and emergency form to: Cartoon Art Museum; 655 Mission Street; San Francisco, CA 94105 attn: Cartoon Boot Camp, email to: office@cartoonart.org or fax to: 415-243-8666. For any questions, please call: 415-227-8666 x300.

*Cancellation: All participants must be pre-paid prior to the first day of the session. Full refunds given with 2 weeks cancellation notice prior to the first day of the session. 50% refund given within 7 to 13 days of the first day of the session. No refunds given within 6 days prior to the first day of the session.

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I will be returning to the Cartoon Art Museum to teach another summer of Cartoon Boot Camp. Our second week is June 11-15, 2012 – Introduction to Stop-Motion Animation.

You can sign up for all 3 of the Cartoon Boot Camps at our GUEST LIST PAGE << click here 

 June 11-15, 2012 – Introduction to Stop-Motion Animation Time: 11am – 1pm – Ages: Intermediate Artists ages 10-14 Stop-motion Animation is the technique in which objects are brought to life by filming them in a different position for each frame of film or video as seen in films like ‘Wallace and Grommet’ and the ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’. This boot camp will explore different variations of the technique as teams: live action/time-lapse, cut-outs, puppets/objects as well as the basics of telling a simple story. Skills featured: Teamwork, Frame by Frame Animation, Digital Video Editing, Storytelling.

Time: All sessions run Monday through Friday from 11:00AM to 1:00 PM at the Cartoon Art Museum (For past students: please note the time of these classes is different.)

Number of students: The class size is limited to no more than 14 students. The class is filled on a first come, first served basis.

Cost*: $100 per week for CAM members, $135 non-members – per student for each session. Fees must be paid in full to secure a seat in the class.

Sign up as a member and save! ( http://cartoonart.org/join-support/membership/ )

Supplies: Basic Drawing Materials will be provided. Students are welcome to bring in their personal sketchbooks and materials.

Please also fill out and submit the waiver and emergency contact form. This will be emailed to you when you sign up.
Mail, email, fax or hand-deliver the completed waiver and emergency form to: Cartoon Art Museum; 655 Mission Street; San Francisco, CA 94105 attn: Cartoon Boot Camp, email to: office@cartoonart.org or fax to: 415-243-8666. For any questions, please call: 415-227-8666 x300.

*Cancellation: All participants must be pre-paid prior to the first day of the session. Full refunds given with 2 weeks cancellation notice prior to the first day of the session. 50% refund given within 7 to 13 days of the first day of the session. No refunds given within 6 days prior to the first day of the session.

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I will be returning to the Cartoon Art Museum to teach another summer of Cartoon Boot Camp. Our first week is June 4-8, 2012 – Character Creation: Superheroes.

You can sign up for all 3 of the Cartoon Boot Camps at our GUEST LIST PAGE << click here 

 June 4-8, 2012 – Character Creation: Superheroes Time: 11am – 1pm – Ages: Intermediate Artists ages 10-14 POW! BOOM! WOW! Learn how to create and draw your own superheroes. Includes: instruction on anatomy, action, costume, personality, back story, and rendering and finishing with a final illustration. Skills featured: character design, basic drawing techniques, storytelling.

Time: All sessions run Monday through Friday from 11:00AM to 1:00 PM at the Cartoon Art Museum (For past students: please note the time of these classes is different.)

Number of students: The class size is limited to no more than 14 students. The class is filled on a first come, first served basis.

Cost*: $100 per week for CAM members, $135 non-members – per student for each session. Fees must be paid in full to secure a seat in the class.

Sign up as a member and save! ( http://cartoonart.org/join-support/membership/ )

Supplies: Basic Drawing Materials will be provided. Students are welcome to bring in their personal sketchbooks and materials.

Please also fill out and submit the waiver and emergency contact form. This will be emailed to you when you sign up.
Mail, email, fax or hand-deliver the completed waiver and emergency form to: Cartoon Art Museum; 655 Mission Street; San Francisco, CA 94105 attn: Cartoon Boot Camp, email to: office@cartoonart.org or fax to: 415-243-8666. For any questions, please call: 415-227-8666 x300.

*Cancellation: All participants must be pre-paid prior to the first day of the session. Full refunds given with 2 weeks cancellation notice prior to the first day of the session. 50% refund given within 7 to 13 days of the first day of the session. No refunds given within 6 days prior to the first day of the session.

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Cartoonist Jeffery Brown (jeffreybrowncomics.com) has a new book called Darth Vader and Son, which the trailer above promotes. I wanted to post the trailer here at MotionComicMagic.com since it’s a great example of taking existing art from a book and re-purposes it for animation, plus it’s really cool.

What if Darth Vader took an active role in raising his son? In this hilarious and sweet comic reimagining, Darth Vader is a dad like any other—except with all the baggage of being the Dark Lord of the Sith. Celebrated artist Jeffrey Brown’s delightful illustrations give classic Star Wars® moments a fresh twist, presenting the trials and joys of parenting through the lens of a galaxy far, far away. Life lessons include lightsaber batting practice, using the Force to raid the cookie jar, Take Your Child to Work Day on the Death Star (“Er, he looks just like you, Lord Vader!”), and the special bond shared between any father and son.

Jeffrey Brown is the author of numerous graphic novels and comics, including Cat Getting Out of a Bag and Cats Are Weird. A lifelong Star Wars fan, he lives in Chicago with his wife and five-year-old son.

Plus: You can see the artwork for the book at the Cartoon Art Museum this summer (in San Francisco) April 28 – August 5, 2012!

…the 18-piece exhibition Darth Vader and Son, featuring artwork by award-winning cartoonist Jeffrey Brown. This exhibit opens on Saturday, April 28. Brown will sign copies of his book at the Cartoon Art Museum on Thursday, May 17, 2012 from 7:00-9:00pm.

A post on re-purposing comics and illustration into animation

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A post on re-purposing comics and illustration into animation

Time for a little “Practice-what-I-preach.” I have been posting examples of re-purpose artwork (comics, illustrations, photos) for animation for a while, but I have not posted much in the ways of my own animation. I do cartoons and illustrations, but also do some work with motion graphics and animation as well. In fact I am teaching a motion-graphics/animation workshop at a youth center in San Francisco currently.

My latests project was a promo for my workshop starting a Blue Dog I drew while teaching a cartooning workshop the youth center I work at. Here is a sample of the final animation…

Blue Dog test animation from Brian Kolm on Vimeo.

The animation above is a mixture of different techniques in Adobe After Effects (I am using CS4).
- Puppet Tool
- Liquefier
- Parented Objects
- Nested Compositions
- gg_puppet tools script to help automate coding the null layers to control the puppet pins on the figure.

And here is the original art…

I would be happy to post more description on how I achieved it if anyone is interested. Just let me know.

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This is one of my favorite pieces I created at 111 Minna gallery and club in San Francisco for the Sketch Tuesday artist event on 3/21/12. The event allows artist to make art on the spot and place it for sale for patrons visiting the space. The art is black acrylic ink and watercolor on watercolor paper.

I started with some light blue pencil lines, then etc on wet ink, then loosely painted the figures with broad watercolor strokes and finished with some more ink. Fun!

Continue reading »]]> I will be teaching two workshops on Friday March 23rd at the Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa CA.

Making Mini Comics
FRIDAY, MARCH 23 ? 9am–12:30pm
Join cartoonist Brian Kolm and learn to make your own comic book. From story creation, to developing characters, to adding action and adventure, explore the basics of creating a comic and make your own mini comic book in class.

Monsters and Mermaids
FRIDAY, MARCH 23 ? 1–4:30pm
Learn to draw fantastic and mysterious creatures from the black lagoon and beyond. Combine different creatures to make your own with cartoonist Brian Kolm.