Miyazaki's Spirited Away

Last September, Hayao Miyazaki finally announced his retirement. *tears* so today I would like to give tribute to his legacy and tell you my favorite movie of his! Okay, if you don't know Hayao Miyazaki is, you're definitely missing a lot! click here to know more about him. Miyazaki is a world- famous Japanese screenwriter, director, animator, and artist! He has been making countless animated movies and all have been loved and praised all over the world.

My ABSOLUTELY favorite movie of his would be Spirited Away and I first watched this in its original Japanese version with English subtitles. I had another opportunity to watch it few years later dubbed in English voice over when Disney bought the rights to produce the movie's English version. I'm a sucker for magical fantasy themed stories and this particular is one of the most beautifully and creatively made fantasy stories of all time. I love how the culture of Japan and the spirits were incorporated into the magical theme too.

Here's a short gist of what the movie is all about..Spirited Away is about a tale of a ten year old girl named Chihiro, who discovers a secret spirit world when she and her parents get lost and venture through a hillside tunnel. When her parents underwent a mysterious transformation into pigs, Chihiro must fend for herself as she saves her parents from the evil sorceress. She ventures out into an adventure working for the sorceress as she encounters strange spirits and creatures while finding her way back home to the human world.

I love how detailed the movie is with its props and background. Miyazaki's ideas went overboard crazy and it was very very original. The characters & the plot were very unpredictable and Miyazaki was able to put a touch of magic in every part of the movie.

Spirited Away is one of the most successful film in Japanese history ever since it was released. Acclaimed by critics all over the world, the movie was considered as one of the best films of the 2000s decade and one of the greatest animated films of all time. I couldn't agree more!! It won numerous awards including the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards. Need I say more? The movie is literally for all ages, so please do watch it if you haven't because you're missing out! 

Thank you, Hayao Miyazaki.

#nowwatching The Croods

ola mi amigo! The latest movie I've watched is DreamWorks Animation Studios' The Croods. The film was released early this year, but I never really found it interesting at first. I thought this would be another typical 3D animated movie about cavemen with funny lines in the script every now and then. Last weekend, my brother finally convinced me to watch the movie with him and boy, I was wrong!! I love love love the movie and a couple of tears were shed here and there too. Not only did I find the story quite unique, I certainly love the animation ESPECIALLY the visual development! Yes, the characters & the plot was certainly adorable and very witty, but what stood out to me was  places the characters had been. It certainly reminded me James Cameron's Avatar.

Here's a really short gist of the movie and don't worry, I won't spoil anything for you if you haven't watched it yet! :) After their cave was destroyed, the Croods family was forced to treck through unfamiliar world with the help of an inventive boy named Guy to save themselves and to go off to "Tomorrow". Of course the movie is much much more interesting than that, so be sure to watch it too okay? Check out the trailer here :)

Going back, The Croods' visual development was absolutely stunning. It was set during the pre-historic age of our Earth and DreamWorks was able to execute the world we never knew in a beautiful creative way. Here are some visual development designs released y some artists for DreamWorks.
Credits to conceptartworld.com for its featured artists articles!  All rights reserved to DreamWorks Animation Studios.

Jason Scheier : click here for his portfolio

Arthur Fong : click here for his portfolio

Leighton Hickman : click here for his portfolio

Lorelay Bove

Tadaaaa. I immediately fell in love with these art works when I first laid my eyes upon them! These are made by none other than the lovely Lorelay Bove. When I first stumbled upon her works, I immediately googled her and ended up in her blog : lorelaybove.blogspot.com. Not only do I love her style, but I love her job as well!! She's currently working at the Walt Disney Animation Studios as a visual development artist, a.k.a. my dream job. Stalking about her life and what nots, I can honestly say that she's one of the people who inspired me to pursue the career of illustration. When I saw her career of illustrating characters for movies and designs for children's books, I said to myself, "I want need this!". 

Born in Spain, Lorelay Bove moved to Los Angeles when she was 14. After graduatingfrom CalArts in 2007, she started in working int he visual development department at Pixar Animation Studios as a trainee. Now, she has worked on Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" doing colors, characters, propes, and the overall visual development. She also worked on "Tangled", "Winnie the Pooh", "Prep and Landing", "The Ballad of Nessie". Lastly, she was the lead designer of "Sugar Rush" in "Wreck-It-Ralph"!! 

Her influences in her art style was Disney, according to her, since she grew up with the classics. She also admires painters like Miro and Kandinski. Her style reminiscences of illustrations from the 50s and 60s. She is fond of that time period as she grew up with classic hollywood films. She loves the style, colors, and the simplicity of the design.

Do check her blog out! :)

Disney Baby

I'm 100% sure that you know this picture. Yes, I am!! If not, then you're probably a person without any childhood an alien! How can anyone NOT recognize the orchestra sounds, the castle, the fairy dust, the ever famous "Walt Disney Pictures", and the giddy feeling in your toes whenever we're about to watch another epic movie from Disney. I'm a Disney baby and I'm proud of it! I grew up watching Micky Mouse and his adventures with Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Daisy, and yes, the lovable Pluto. I would dress myself up to be like the Disney Princesses I've grown to love, I can even memorize Under the Sea, I Won't Say I'm In Love, and other Disney soundtracks by heart! Who doesn't love Disney?? 

Walt Disney Animation Studios was founded on October 1923 and since then, it has produced 52 feature films up to date! Beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves showed in 1937, the studio has been successful in producing films that have captured hearts of both young and old. Currently, Walt Disney Animation Studios is producing Frozen, their 53rd feature and the studio has been incorporating both hand-drawn and computer generated imagery techniques. However, I would like to focus more on the hand-drawn part of animation. If I haven't been able t emphasize it enough, Disney has been more than just part of my childhood. It brought itself to a very special place in my heart and it was a BIG part of my decision in pursuing arts. I am simply in awe on how much a little idea, a little scribble of sketch, can turn into. A simple drawing of a character, with enough magic, can be real, can be alive. I told myself that I want to be part of something so great and magical. With my passion in drawing, I want to be help create something that one day will affect someone's life. Just a smile from a child, or a memory brought back to the old ones. One simple magical feeling brought by a character from a story. Amazing, isn't it?

 Look at the picture above! Just a simple sketch of Ariel and the actual scene the sketch has been turned into. Gosh, I am so excited to learn as much as I can to be able to do that already!! Here are some pictures behind the scenes of the makings of the films. Actual actors were used to portray some scenes in some of the stories, so that the animators would be able to imagine the characters in details.

To be able to work for Disney is one of the top of my list in my bucket list and I don't know how I'll get there, but hey, we can all dream, can't we? Thinking about working for Disney and to be part of these processes makes me giddy already! However, the point of the matter is, I want everyone to know how animation and illustration can leave so much impact in someone's life. I mean, can you really imagine your childhood WITHOUT those Disney movies? Life would be so sad..hehe. The little things do matter, don't you agree? and hopefully, in the future, I'll not only be able to do what I love, but to inspire and be part of someone's life because of what I do too :)