So, instead of posting lots of separate posts with interesting links (and making my blog seem really cluttered), my goal for 2009 is to post them in groups. Sometimes they will have a common theme, but a lot of the time they will not.

Tips for making an animated film (via CartoonBrew.com) “Jim Capobianco, Pixar story artist and director of the short Your Friend the Rat, is nearing the end of production on Leonardo, a personal short of his own. He’s been documenting the production on a production blog at leoanimation.blogspot.com. Last week Jim started a series of blog posts called ” 10 things I’ve learned in making a short film.” The advice in these posts is wonderfully informative and in-depth. Jim openly shares his experiences and offers case-specific examples in every blog entry.” I have been reading Jim’s notes and he gives good advice for any sort of creative project. Really a fun read and his film looks really fun.

Komar & Melamid: The Most Wanted Paintings Artists Vitaly Komar and Alex Melamid decided to use market research to find out what kind of paintings that people all over the world liked and the results showed that most people have a lot in common. Check out the results. The artist also did the same experiment with music. I heard about the experiment on the most recent episode of This American Life (88:Numbers – act two).

Mickey Mouse in Mousepotamia The Classic Cartoon blog has posted a rare Mickey Mouse comic strip from 1950 that features a tie in to the then current film release Cinderella and features the mice Jaq and Gus. In the comic they kidnap Mickey and take him to a kingdom of mice who need help dethroning “The Iron Mask.” The art is really great; clean and fresh and looks more like a comic book then a newspaper strip.

Cool web games Try the cool flash web adventure games from Amanita Design. Cleaver with high quality art. I really liked the Quest for the Rest game.

artist Alec Séverin I have seen the work of Belgian artist Alec Séverin before, but did not connect who he was till recently. The work is really really good. This is an artist I want to see more of, but I also found on lambiek.net that “In early 2008, Alex Séverin announced his departure from the comics profession.” So now I am feeling bummed that we might not see anything new from Mr. Séverin. I searched the internet when I saw Al’s drawings of horses on Comic Art Fans and fell in love with the incredible work. Check out HERE, HERE, and HERE. I also really like his tributes to Flash Gordon and Tin-Tin. There is also some art samples, via annoying java script animations, at exposalecseverin.free.fr.

Well, maybe I will be able to meet Mr. Séverin if I visit his home country of Brussels. And if I do I can visit the Belgian Comic Strip Center. I really hope I can make it to Europe in the next few years (and the economy gets better)