The preview night/opening reception will be held on March 12th in Los Angeles at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, California.  The New York event took place on February 26th and thanks to the support of so many wonderful individuals, it was a sold out show!  There’s still time to see these wonderful works of art so be sure to get your tickets now for the LA show before they run out! Sale ends March 10th, but tickets can also be purchased at the door on the night of the show.

The official online auction will begin on March 12th, 2011.  For more details, visit the Art Blocks blog and the Picture Book Foundation site.

Hope to see you at the show!

Some blocks from the project…

Max Boas

Art Director

DreamWorks Animation

CTN Expo will be held in Burbank this coming Friday and will feature animation artists, filmmakers, studio recruiters, art students, and fans at one of the most exciting animation events in Los Angeles.

From Cartoon Brew:

“The exhibitor room includes booths from Walt Disney Animation, Warner Bros., Stuart Ng, Pascal Campion, Dean Yeagle, Sony Pictures Animation, Cal Arts, Titmouse, Animation Mentor, Nancy Beiman and over 100 others.

Panels include a preview of Warner Bros. new Looney Tunes Show (Friday @ 12:30pm), Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois interviewed by Charles Solomon (Friday @ 6pm), Jill Culton interviewing Peter de Seve and Carter Goodrich (Saturday @ 2pm), and dozens more seminars, discussions and demonstrations.”

Complete schedule here

Be sure to check us out at Stuart NG and CTN Expo for your chance to meet and mingle with the artists of the book!

Stuart NG signing – November 13th

CTN Expo – November 19th – 22nd

We are happy to be invited to take part in an artist book signing at  Stuart NG Books in Torrance, CA on November 13th!

This is such a great opportunity to meet the talent and creators of the book, as well as get a look at some other personal publications from featured Moonshine artists.

Check out the website to find other publications and restaurant and area accommodations!

The signing will be held at Stuart NG books:

20655 S. Western Ave., Suite 104

Torrance, CA 90501

(Where the 405 and 101 freeways meet. Halfway between LAX and Long Beach)

3:00-5:00pm

King’s Hawaiian will be catering the event.

I studied in New York at The Art Students League and in Chicago at The American Academy of Art. While in New York I attended class with noted New York artist Harvey Dinnerstein and in Chicago with Irving Shapiro.

Where do you find inspiration for your work? Who are your 5 favorite artists?

I find inspiration by reading literature, traveling America  and  visiting other countries for inspirational locations.  The artists I admire are: Burt Silverman, Edgar Degas, Harvey Dinnerstein, Mary Cassatt and David Levine.

What inspiration would you give to aspiring artists?

Gather all the information on artists you admire and look closely for clues on the fundamentals of putting a piece together. Look for the positive aspects in your peers work and help each other to achieve artistic goals. Remember, we also learn from each other. Artists egos sometimes bruise easily, so go easy on yourself and others.

What current project(s) are you working on at DreamWorks? Elsewhere?

Currently, I am working in Visual Development on Kung Fu Panda 2.  I am also putting together work based on the fables and myths of Russia for an exhibit in Taos, New Mexico.

Where do you see yourself in 10-15 years?

Hopefully, with the training I have amassed here at Dreamworks, I’ll have a better understanding on how to integrate the worlds of animation and my personal art work. In order to grow as an artist, setting goals will help attain a deeper understanding of my view of the world around me.

Visit my blog here.

-Bill

Nothing could have excited the artists and fans more than seeing all this hard work put together in a perfectly bound arrangement.  Not to mention the overwhelming joy of these DreamWorks Animation celebrities and their fabulous talent being displayed for everyone to see.  From the bottom of our hearts, thank you : )

If you happened to miss the book signing and would still like to receive your book, visit the amazon site to order yours today!

Photos courtesy of John Truong. Check out more Moonshine photos here.

The expo has been so gracious as to offer a promotional discount of  10% discount off on any 1-day or 3-day general pass at CTNX when registering online with the special code below.  Every time your code is used not only do you get 10% off but you will receive a 10% rebate on the full ticket price.

special code is MOONX10

http://www.regonline.com/ctnx2010

Check out more on the CTN Expo and stop by the “Moonshine” booth to receive a copy of your book!

I grew up in the south Parisian suburb in an average French neurotic family. When I was a kid I wanted to be a stuntsman, then a cop, an explorer, or at least an astronaut. To avoid frustration and be able to be all of that and more, I decided that I would be a “dessinateur”, which in French means more or less “someone who draws” (I prefer not to use “drawer” as a translation, it makes me feel I am part of a piece of furniture). But I quickly understood that it was not a reasonable thought and I put this grotesque idea in a dark part of my mind (some kind of drawer probably). I then grew a mustache and at 18 majored in Economy. The problem was that at this point I had no idea whatsoever what my near and distant future would look like. At last, I decided that I was done with Economy, let my hair grow and entered the Ecole du Louvre to study history of art and archaeology for three years. But Indiana Jones probably stole the only cool job in the field; hence I had to make yet another crucial decision. I then decided that I was old enough to seriously consider such a silly option and decided to become a dessinateur (the guy in the drawer, remember ?). I cut my hair, studied very hard in the studio of my mentor Yannick Francois and graduated a few years later from the ESAG Penninghen in Paris. I then became a freelance illustrator, a graphic designer, and a drawing instructor.  I exhibited in a few galleries and in the Cherbourg fine art museum for a solo exhibition in 2005.

I was then abducted by aliens and sent in Ohio to study American people for 18 months.  Even though I really enjoyed snow, I decided to work on a portfolio that would permit me to live with the other aliens, in California. A few sweated bullets later, I was hired by Imagi to work as a visual development artist on Astroboy and six months later was hired by Dreamworks, where I worked on “How to train your Dragon” and on “The Croods”.

2.  Where do you find inspiration for your work? Who are your 5 favorite artists?

I mostly find inspiration in nature and abstract random designs such as dubious scribblings, cloud patterns or ink stains. I pick a lot of branches, shells, old tires that I store everywhere around me.

My favorite artists are Rembrandt, Giovanni Tiepolo, Sergio Toppi, Carlos Nine and Franquin.

3.  What inspiration would you give to aspiring artists?

Follow every advice from you teachers when you are at school. When you graduate, seriously reconsider everything.

Be as curious as possible, in every possible way (as long as it is morally ok).

4.  What current project(s) are you working on at DreamWorks? Elsewhere?

I am currently working on “The Croods”. I am also trying to put a blog together, but since I have been talking about that for several years, I would not count on it too much.

5. Where do you see yourself in 10-15 years?

I don’t do that, it’s silly.

-Nicolas

I’ve always loved to draw and imagined myself working as an artist or animator.  I didn’t understand how animation worked but I knew they were moving drawings, and that I really wanted to do that someday.  Growing up I was surrounded by passionate influences and a family who really supported the arts and drawing from your heart.  For college I moved to Florida to study Computer Animation at Ringling College of Art and Design.  After my second year at Ringling, I had the opportunity to intern at Walt Disney Animation Studios as a artistic intern focusing on character design.  My mentors really taught me a lot about character.  I learned that characters are more than shape language… you need to know who they are and create personalities and relationships with your designs.  Back at Ringling I really tried to incorporate what I had learned at Disney into my work.  I gained a stronger focus to grow as a visual development artist and storyteller.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

I don’t do much to go out of my way to be creative and get inspired. Inspiration seems to happen on accident when you’re living life. It’s hard to plan. I guess for me it’s more about trying to see the artistic charm in our daily life experiences. My favorite ideas have come from personal experience, sometimes it’s a character, memory, or story message that rings true to me.   I’m inspired by my experiences, what I know, what I observe in life, and what I daydream of.

There’s so many inspiring artists out there but if I just name 5 that inspire me…Charles Harper, Norman Rockwell, Egon Schiele, Sterling Hundley, & Chris Ware.

What inspiration would you give to aspiring artists?

Remember why you’re an artist and enjoy becoming, growing, and experimenting as an artist.  Animation/Art is part technical skill, but so much from life.  Good animation, stories, and creativity have to come from an honest place.  I would tell aspiring artists to remember that art is fun and creative and that we are able to make things for people… so make things personal, give your work heart, and pull from your own unique experiences.

What current project(s) are you working on at DreamWorks? Elsewhere?

I’m currently working on art for Madagascar 3.

Where do you see yourself in 10-15 years?

Currently my greatest ambition is to make short films.  I recently finished my thesis film “Anchored” It was the greatest project I ever worked on.  Working on it was so stressful, exciting, and addicting.  I loved making my own film.  I’m craving to do more work like that in the future.  There’s so much you can do artistically and so much I want to do.  Right now I’m happy at DreamWorks and I’d love to grow within the company.  But I’d like to try a lot in my life, freelancing, traditional painting, teaching, and experimenting.  There are a lot of possibilities…but my greatest ambition right now is to just share my own stories with an audience, uplifting and inspiring people.

Be sure to visit my blog!

-Lindsey

I was fascinated by drawing ever since I was a little child.
After graduating High School I went to an animation school called “The German Film School for digital production” near Berlin.
I graduated in 2005 and started working as a freelance character animator and visual development artist for TV commercials and Feature Films.
Prior to DreamWorks I was working as an animator on “Niko And The Way To The Stars” (US title “The Flight Before Christmas”) at Pictorion Magma in Germany.

In August 2008 I was hired by PDI/DreamWorks as a visual development artist.
Projects I’ve worked  on so far are Merry Madagascar, Megamind and Madagascar 3.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

Traveling to different countries is a good way to get inspired. I also like to visit art galleries, taking part in art events like sketchcrawl.com and going to comic conventions.

Browsing through artist blogs and participating in online art forums can give you tons of inspiration too.

What inspiration would you give to aspiring artists?

Go to an art school, attend painting workshops etc.
Work hard and eliminate your weaknesses step by step. Not all at once.
The key is to stay focused on your goals. Don’t be scared of Failing. Failing is good and necessary for you to grow.

My favorite quote:

“Don’t Bail, the best gold is at the bottom of barrels of crap”

- Randy Pausch

What current project(s) are you working on at DreamWorks? Elsewhere?
Madagascar3


Where do you see yourself in 10-15 years?
One of my biggest goals was to come overseas and work at a big company like DreamWorks.
10-15 Years gives me enough time to think about new goals to tackle. I’m pretty sure that I will still be working in the entertainment industry but I always
leave a door open for other possibilities.

Visit Goro’s blog and website!