Re-Living

I'm off sick from work at the moment, but I've been cheered up by the fact that I have finally found a life drawing class after months of searching! I've been told again and again that I should concentrate on drawing from live models (most recently by the great Richard Williams), so I've been desperate to get cracking. This class only runs for the next six weeks, but they are hoping to make it a more permanent thing on account of the amount of bookings they have had. I hope they do! It starts on Tuesday evening, so expect to see my progress from then on.

On another subject, I thought I'd point out a new stop-motion film being released next month. Somehow I had not heard of it until someone at work mentioned it, so I figured maybe there are others out there who have not. It's called "Coraline" and is directed by Henry Selick, of "Nightmare Before Christmas" fame.
I'm a big fan of stop motion, and am always baffled by how the animators keep track of what's going on, particularly when they have to deal with multiple characters. I'm actually thinking about having a go at it myself, having just ordered some of the materials I need to make an armature. I won't be doing any films in the medium anytime soon, but instead intend to just do some typical exercises like lifts and pushes, just to see if I can do it. There are quite a few stop-motion animators at work, so I have lots of people to ask about the process!Anyway, I'm excited by the look of this film. I wish more stop motion films were being made, just as I wish there were more hand-drawn ones. This one looks quite promising at least!