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

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

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The Kiss

In Bed (1893)

I came across Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's paintings in an illustration blog during one of my past times. Below one of its paintings, there was a small paragraph of how one blogger was imagining the feeling of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec when he was painting these artworks because of the "trials" he had gone through his. That instantly made me curious. Hence, I started researching about Toulouse-Lautrec and his life.

 I've chosen quite a few of my favorites among the artist's paintings and they're all posted above. I love how the intimacy and connection of the couples are so strong. On the contrary, the artist's life was a far cry from these intimate happy ever afters. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was born in 1864 in southern France. He was the last in line of an aristocratic family. As a child, he was weak and often sick. At the age of twelve, he broke his left leg and at fourteen, his right leg. (how unfortunate, really :( ). His bones did not heal properly and his legs ceased to grow. When his younger brother passed away, his parents separated. Deprived of the life without physical incapability, he lived completely for his art. He would dwell in Montmarte section of Paris and dance halls, night clubs, prostitutes - all were memorialized on his canvas. He would often stay in crowded nightclubs and make a quick sketch of what he sees. He was an alcoholic and it would later be the reason for his death.

My point is..for him to live a life with a scarcity of attention and genuine love, he was able to paint such pure paintings. What was he feeling then, to paint something that he, himself, had and will not ever experience? 

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! :)