Latest news with #animation
The Citizen
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Afro Geek festival brings gaming, tech and arts to Soweto youth
To close off African Month, Afro Geek hosted its second festival in partnership with Vumatel at Jabulani Safe Hub, Soweto, on May 24. The vibrant festival brings together cosplay, gaming, comic books, animation and tech through a proudly African lens. Afro Geek is a community and a hub r talent within the African space. This includes STEM, science, technology, engineering, arts, gaming, and mathematics. It was started to bring geek culture into the local communities so that they are also exposed to things such as gaming and robotics. ALSO READ: Noordheuwel triumphs in thrilling 21–20 victory over Jeppe at KES Easter Festival Creative Director and co-founder of Afro Geek Thapelo Zwane shared that as a Geek from Soweto, he saw it fit to bring that culture to his hometown and expose the community to things such as the arts and gaming. ''We do see that people from our communities are interested and like things such as gaming and comics and everything that is exhibited here, and we decided that instead of travelling to your upper-class locations, let us bring that to our local communities. 'One of our main goals is to expose children from different schools, so we invited some learners to showcase to them,'' said Zwane. The festival had stalls that showcased different products, ranging from artists with their vibrant paintings to edtech stands that dealt with robotics, gaming, and designers. Marketing CSI coordinator of Vumatel, Thandazile Mkhize shared that Afro Geek shared their concept with them and thought that it was something that they would want to venture into as they are for supporting for the community. ALSO READ: St John's U16s closes festival with a win of 42–26 over Northcliff She added that they assist with connection and hope their contribution makes a difference. Zinhle Mfaba, an artist showcasing her art at the festival, said, ''I believe that the festival is a great way to showcase talent, especially local talent. 'We are not exposed to such and I believe that this is a great initiative that will make a huge difference and give us better opportunities.'' At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Japan Times
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
Mateusz Urbanowicz: ‘Miyazaki inspired me to put the audience first'
Mateusz Urbanowicz, 38, is an artist and animator from Bytom, Poland, who now lives in Chiba Prefecture. He worked on background art for anime such as 'Space Dandy' and 'Your Name.' Since leaving a full-time career in animation, Urbanowicz has released several art books including 'Imaginary Storefronts,' his latest publication that explores the beauty of mundane storefronts in Japanese neighborhoods. 1. What sparked your career shift from electrical engineering to animation? I always drew, painted and was into computers. I worked at a company in Poland selling drawing tablets and making illustrated demos. Working on digital art brought me to Japan and got me my first job in animation. 2. Who is your biggest artistic influence? Hayao Miyazaki. I watched his documentaries often while working in animation. He influenced me to put the audience first, rather than choose what would be easy to make or sell. 3. How long did it take to find your artistic style? My art is more of a tool for what I want to convey. For a while I was into making things realistic, but still painterly. At some point I started to veer away from that to make my pictures simpler and looser. I am still developing my style. 4. How has illustrating Japanese neighborhoods helped you rediscover Tokyo? It's a two-way process: I get inspired and then I'm inspired to hit the streets again. Lately I try to experience more freely, instead of getting hung up on capturing the perfect frame with a camera. Even if I don't take a photo, an image will still percolate in my brain and end up in some of my art. 5. What kind of preparation and research do you do to draw backgrounds for movies such as 'Your Name.'? For animated movies like 'Your Name.,' there's a team or background director that does the research for you. They provide sketches, photos and color palettes that you have to match. You are like a craftsman making a pot that has to be similar to other pots. 6. How was it adjusting your style to the movie's? I'm not formally trained. I learned all my skills from other people's art. I had an easier time looking at what everyone was doing, or how my art was being fixed by the art director and seeing my art improve with feedback. 7. How do you set boundaries between work and illustrating for fun? I don't do art for fun. Mostly I do art to create something good. And it requires me to be more intentional and focused. There's this pressure that if you aren't hustling, then you aren't really working or aren't really an artist. This is why my partner and I moved to a cheaper place to have more space to spare. 8. What do you do when you are creatively stuck? When I feel stuck, I know it means I lack knowledge about the subject. It took me five years to complete the 'Tokyo Storefronts' book (published in 2018). I wanted to make a book that was realistic enough where the storefronts seemed like they could actually exist, and fantastic enough that readers would want to visit. It was difficult because I am not used to drawing from my imagination. I draw from references. 9. What makes a great storefront? I love the human-designed aspect of storefronts. I think about what decisions they make, like where they would place flowers. 10. Traditional storefronts are increasingly shutting down as Tokyo goes through redevelopment. What are your thoughts on these disappearing shops? Tokyo is fast at redevelopment. They just build a high-rise there and nothing good really happens for the neighborhood's residents or visitors. The city would be better if it redeveloped with more conscious direction from the city and local government, as well as with people who care about the beauty of the neighborhood controlling this process. In your latest book, you create storefronts inspired by real ones you have encountered. 11. Can you tell us about one of your favorites? The ones where I've figured out the human dimension are my favorites. For example, I imagined the owner of a dry cleaner as a guy who once was a master cleaner in a fancy hotel in Tokyo. He is the perfect cleaner. He can erase any stain, and has perfected cleaning sheets. After leaving the hotel, he came back to his old town and set up a small shop. He wanted to be as independent as possible so he has a mishmash of Showa Era (1926-89) architecture with tanks, ducts, pipes and machinery. He likes giving lessons in cleaning. I had fun figuring out the quirky details. Urbanowicz has a soft spot for fleshing out the 'human dimension' of storefronts by inventing backstories and characters that inform their architecture and design. | Mateusz Urbanowicz 12. What do you want visitors to take away from visiting Japan? When people visit Tokyo, they already expect a retro-futuristic city. I recommend taking a step back to remember that people live in cramped spaces full of cars and architecture, and still manage to be civil and friendly. 13. What is an underrated anime with iconic scenes of Tokyo you recommend? 'Whisper of the Heart.' The scenes of 1980s to 1990s suburban Tokyo danchi (public housing) living are inspired by Sakuragaoka (Tama, Tokyo). I started watercolors because of the bicycle boy character. 14. What's one art tool you can't live without? A pencil, mechanical or traditional. Even though I paint with colors, I am a line person. 15. What is your favorite pencil? A 1960 Caran d'Arche 1.18-millimeter lead pencil. 16. What are your favorite colors for a limited watercolor palette? Lemon yellow, ultramarine, Naples red or any earthy red color, another red, another blue and orange. I like the combo of ultramarine and reddish brown to make neutral tones. 17. Do you have a sketchbook with you wherever you go? Yes, although I don't think of it as a sketchbook, but a secret journal to draw and take memos in. 18. What do you recommend for a travel-friendly sketchbook kit? Ballpens are great. I have an oil-based one and use it to draw line sketches and take memos. They are reliable, low-maintenance and waterproof. Great for fast sketches cause the line pops on watercolor. Also a small watercolor kit and a pencil. 19. What do you want people to take away from your art? To be more conscious about your surroundings. My biggest dream is that someone will read my books and see my Tokyo storefronts, and when it comes time for them to make a decision about their new house or garden, they will think more about what impact this will have on people when they see it. 20. Where can people learn more about your art process? I have a website and have made a lot of YouTube videos in the past. I also have a Patreon for Q&As about my art and techniques. To see more of Mateusz's work, find him on Instagram @mateusz_urbanowicz or YouTube @mattjabbar.
Geek Tyrant
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Pixar's ELIO Film Takes Inspiration From E.T., CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, and THE THING — GeekTyrant
Pixar is no stranger to pulling emotional strings and breaking visual ground, but with Elio , the studio is doing something a little more unexpected. Yeah, it's a heartfelt story about an outsider kid getting swept up in an intergalactic misadventure. But, behind the vibrant animation and charming alien creatures, the film actually borrows visual inspiration from film such as Steven Spielberg's E.T. , Close Encounters of The Third Kind , and John Carpenter's The Thing . During an early press day for Elio , directors Domee Shi ( Turning Red ) and Madeline Sharafian revealed they didn't just look to Spielberg's warm-and-fuzzy side for reference. They also went to the dark corners of sci-fi cinema, pulling in vibes from Ridley Scott's Alien and The Thing . Sharafian said: 'I was really excited to partner with our DPs, Derrick Williams and Jordan Rempel on diving into the aesthetics of the Spielbergian sci-fi movies, like E.T., Close Encounters, and some of the more kind of scary ones like Alien and The Thing. 'We watched them with a fine-tooth comb for the visual look, which gave Jordan a lot to work with. So we made these sort of darker, deeper shadows.' While no one's getting devoured by a shape-shifting monster here, the influence is clear in Elio's atmosphere. From the footage we've seen in the trailers, you can spot the soft, misty glow of nighttime light sources—something Sharafian was especially happy about about. 'One of my favorite things is atmosphere, where sometimes you'll watch a Spielberg movie and there's like mist in the room and you're like, 'Why is there mist in Elliot's bedroom? I don't understand.' 'There's something about that, that dreaminess, got us really excited, and it's about the way that you feel, not about what's real in a movie. That's what excites me about animation, and I'm really happy with the way things turned out. That was really fun to nerd out about.' But beyond the mist and moody lighting, the filmmakers pushed for a truly cinematic look, even using virtual anamorphic lenses in the animated production. Sharafian explained: 'We shot the film with an anamorphic lens, which I know it's an animated movie, but we use real cameras the same way a live-action film would. 'So you'll see little touches of that. There's a red ring around a light that might be shining right at you. This is all for the film geeks.' This could very well be one of the studios more aesthetically ambitious films, and it opens in theaters on June 20, 2025. Via: /Film
Forbes
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Netflix's Best New Movie Has Near-Perfect Critic And Audience Scores
The Wild Robot It can be tough to know what to watch on Netflix in a given day or night, but the service has licensed one of the best movies I've seen in recent years, kid-focused or otherwise. While children may have been its target audience, it's a movie that all ages can enjoy. That would be The Wild Robot, the 2024 Dreamworks film about a lost robot that bonds with forest animals and ultimately becomes their guardian against encroaching technology. Here's the synopsis: The Wild Robot has stunning scores from both critics and audiences. With 253 reviews in, The Wild Robot has a 96% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and with 5,000+ audience reviews, an even higher 98%. On IMDB it has an 8.2/10, which in the context of that site, is extremely high, and a full quarter of its reviews are 10/10. Having seen the film myself, I think it very much lives up to these high scores. The Wild Robot It's a kids movie, but it isn't. It's one of those situations where a movie aimed at children can be so good that parents and kids alike will enjoy watching it together as opposed to the adults just sitting around flipping through their phones while it's on. For me, the best part of The Wild Robot is its absolutely gorgeous animation, where I've really never seen anything quite like it. The story is good, sure, perhaps a tiny bit cliché, but there is no frame of this film that isn't fantastic to look at. It's an easy recommendation for all ages, and family statuses. If you don't have kids or aren't watching it with any, it doesn't matter, as it's worth checking out for anyone. There are likely going to be two more films in the series adapting two more books that the first one was based on, but we do not have much information about those as of yet. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
CNET
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
I Watch a Lot of Sci-Fi, and This Mind-Altering Adult Swim Show Is One of the Year's Best
Before I get into it, I must come clean: I am not a big fan of present-day animation. Sure, I can get down with some anime classics and will always give experimental stuff like Love, Death + Robots a shot. But there's this unfortunate trend of cookie-cutter projects getting the green light with the goal of replicating the success of animated hits like Rick and Morty instead of giving risky, original, cutting-edge programs a chance to find an audience. All this said, Adult Swim's conspiracy thriller Common Side Effects floated under my radar when it premiered on Max this year. I was aware of its existence but paid the show no mind. With names like Beavis & Butthead's Mike Judge and The Office's Greg Daniels attached as executive producers, you'd think I'd have perked up. Well, I didn't. My watch-list as a TV critic is always crowded, and, honestly, my patience for trying shows like this is quite slim. Yet, one of my goals for 2025 is to fight the persistent urge to say no. So I eventually found it and clicked play. And hoo golly, I'm glad I did. Alan Resnick plays Zane, the drug-loving pet store owner in Common Side Effects. Screenshot by Aaron Pruner/CNET Common Side Effects centers on Marshall Cuso, an eccentric anti-establishment dude who goes out in public bare-chested and preaches the wonders of a special blue mushroom (known as the "blue angel"). It was discovered in the jungles of Peru and contains magical properties that can cure any medical ailment. When there's a limited supply of a wonder-cure-all mushroom, the possibilities of solving humanity's problems can boggle the minds of those striving to uphold the greater good. Unfortunately, there is also a collection of selfish, profit-minded opponents who have a considerable presence in the world. So if word got out about such a discovery, you'd have to expect Big Pharma, rogue criminals and special interests within the government would all come out of the woodwork to get control of the substance. Read more: Max Streaming Service Review: Loads of Content, but You Have to Make It Fit You Being a stereotypical recluse whose closest friend is a tortoise named Spartacus, Marshall is evidently dedicated to keeping this mushroom discovery close to the vest. Yet, after running into Frances (Emily Pendergast), an old high school friend he believes he can trust, he lets her in on his secret. Unbeknownst to him, she works for a pharmaceutical company named Reutical and is the right hand to the company's dopey CEO, Rick Kruger (voiced by the iconic Mike Judge). These events, which all transpire in the first episode, kick off a layered conspiracy that finds Marshall fighting tooth and nail to keep his mushroom safe from the power-hungry hands of greed that will eventually come to surround him. On one side, there's his potential relationship with Frances, which leads the audience to consistently question her motives and how their partnership could put Marshall in danger. On the other side are quirky DEA agents Copano (Joseph Lee Anderson) and Harrington (Martha Kelly), tracking Marshall's every move. To them, he's a domestic terrorist tied to the illegal drug world. You have a group of backwoods militia who align with Marshall's mission to grow this mushroom but they're part of the illicit drug world I just mentioned. Mike Judge voices Reutical Pharmaceuticals' CEO Rick Kruger in Adult Swim's conspiracy thriller Common Side Effects. Adult Swim Topping off this conspiratorial triangle is Jonas "the Wolf" Backstein (Danny Huston), the sinister owner of Reutical, whose influence impacts politicians, the FBI and other such government entities. Backstein is the epitome of bad guys. He's kind of like this show's version of the Smoking Man from the X-Files. Our would-be hero -- this harmless, unbuttoned, tortoise-loving man who just wants to help people -- ends up being a high-value target on multiple watchlists. His journey to save humanity turns into a race to save not just others' lives but also his own. All while opponents with ulterior motives consistently fire weapons at him, spy on his every move and erratically chase him down on the highway. The result is a riveting conspiracy thriller unlike anything I've seen in an animated series. Okay, here's where I do my best to quantify all the ways Common Side Effects is a success. First, I have to acknowledge the creative narrative skills of the show's co-creators, Steve Hely (who cut his teeth on comedies like The Office and Veep) and Joe Bennett (the man behind the beautiful, yet creepy, animated series Scavengers Reign). They put their heads together and blended their understanding of comedy, crisis, capitalism and conspiracy to create a program that taps directly into the zeitgeist. On the other side of the coin is the show's nature element. This aspect of the story recalls the type of science-minded individuals who journey into the jungle to find new medicines. Aside from the Ayahuasca vibe of it all, this component further examines the public's hunger to find alternate cures aside from what Big Pharma could be pitching, as well as digging into the negative cost these ecosystems undergo, all in the name of profit. I realize how heavy this all sounds. But, trust me, it's all worth your time. Common Side Effects does a fabulous job of balancing the drama with a steady flow of unique bits of levity. Through captivating animation sequences, like the ones depicting the mushroom's various types of hallucinatory drug trips, the offbeat relationship dynamics of nearly every character featured in the show -- the partnership of Copano and Harrington is an absolute highlight; pet store owner Zane is a laugh riot -- the unique synth-heavy score by Nicolas Snyder (which reminds me of The X-Files, as well) and the impeccably placed needle drops, the show delivers a storytelling experience that is equal parts thought-provoking and awe-inspiring. Oh, and it's fun. To offset all this magic, the creators found a voice cast that delivers an understated performance, which oddly elevates the story. These are actors who are not at all acting and what I mean by this is that everyone's dialogue has a flawed quality, which helps ground things in a relatable human way. The show embraces mistakes, stutters and deadpan inflections, which coincide with its rudimentary animation style quite well. As grandiose as the story becomes, these elements offset things in a welcome way while steadily building the emotional stakes. I never thought I'd connect so much to a shlubby mushroom nerd, but here we are. Joseph Lee Anderson and Martha Kelly play DEA agents Copano and Harrington in Adult Swim's conspiracy thriller Common Side Effects. Adult Swim With shows on Adult Swim, I have seen a whole slew of big creative swings that, to me, haven't fully stuck the landing. Common Side Effects is a breath of fresh air for the studio. It's original, enthralling and delightfully unpredictable. A surprisingly hopeful vibe permeates the story through all the drama and kept me glued to the screen. Simply put: This is one of the best sci-fi shows of the year. I'm not sure I'd have the same opinion if it were live action. I truly hope season 2 will continue pushing the story envelope and expand the miraculous canon of Marshall's mushroom mission. Until then, you can find me recommending the brilliance of Common Side Effects to anyone who'll listen. This is the hill I shall die on. It's that good, trust me.
