In what I believe is one of the smartest moves a company has made in a long time,

Pixar quits Disney talks, seeks new partner

LOS ANGELES, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Pixar Animation Studios Inc.(NasdaqNM:PIXR - News) said on Thursday it ended talks with Walt Disney Co.(NYSE:DIS - News) to renew a lucrative movie distribution deal that has resulted in such blockbusters as "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo."

Pixar, the computer animation pioneer founded by Apple Computer Inc.'s (NasdaqNM:AAPL - News) Steve Jobs, said it would look for another studio partner to distribute its films starting in 2006, when its current deal with Disney expires

Read the whole thing in this Yahoo article. I say good for them! Let Disney rot in the hole they dug for themselves. Disney needs them and not the other way around.

I hope there is a much brighter future on the horizon for the creative minds at Pixar!

What if an artist could find a way to do a quality anime feature in six months?

PlayStation 2 comprises more than 66% of the home console market share, with its closest competitor at less than 20% according to research from the NPD Group.

I remember the days when everyone swore up and down that XBOX would take the market. They boasted of how it was catching up to PS2 and overtaking its market share. What happened you guys?

Thinking Time...

Not to give the idea that I am doing absolutely nothing over here, some work on Occult Salvation is moving forward, but as the title suggests, it's thinking time...

As you know I was very disappointed in my year in reviews for 2003 and have no intention of repeating the mistakes of the past. It's time for real strategy. If nothing else, I have learned an incredible amount about the business at large during that year. I have seen the potential for the DVD market exponentially bloom. I'm talking about for the indie too! I know there are many steps to take, and this time, I intend to take them correctly.

In the next two weeks I will be wrapping up the World of Hartz manga project. I am almost finished with the polish and have been admonished to dive into the final chapter of new pages. This is good. The plan seems to be for an April or May release. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out. Here, a year later, after testing many roads, the book seems to have followed the exact course of the "Hearts" film I was originally planning for the Asian market.

The Asian market is key. DVD has exploded to the point that Video Business Journal claims that market will account for 50% of home video sales of our product in the coming years. Can you imagine?! Occult Salvation is aimed for that market. The key is how to get from the chair I sit in at this very moment, to there. Not necessarily physically, but considering all aspects of getting the show done, out and in the hands of those who would see it.

It's time to really sit and think... (but not for too long.)

IT'S NOT OVER!

Disney may be doing their best to spell the end of 2D animation in our world, but those who actually do the work may have other plans. This seems certainly to be the case for Legacy Animation Studios.

As their name suggests, they are doing it the old fashioned way and keeping 2D animation alive. And what a legacy they have come from as well, as on their own page they say:

Its founders are former artists and animators from Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida.

Legacy's goal is to create quality animated films with compelling stories and strong characters and to continue Walt Disney’s legacy of hand drawn animation. Legacy will also be dedicated to developing original properties for television and film.

Let's all hope to see great things from them in the near future!

And it Gets Worse

Walt Disney Studios is expected to tell the nearly 260 artists at its Orlando feature-animation studio on Monday that it will close the facility.

Nearly all of the employees, whose credits include Brother Bear and Lilo & Stitch, are expected to lose their jobs, although some would relocate to Burbank, Calif., sources familiar with the matter said Friday. The sources asked not to be identified because the layoffs had not been made official.

Disney officials would not comment.

Now you have to imagine what this means for the animation world at large. Remember that they very recently shut down the Paris studio and also that which was in Tokyo. Also add to that the "pencils Down" article I posted even for their home studio. What kind of message are they sending to the 2D animation world?

Now we need to know, this is just their message. It has no real bearing on the actual state of 2D animation unless we all choose to believe and follow their message. Not everyone is going to follow that message. See the above post...

New Projects Will Come!


Click here for larger version

I believe I said in a post before, "I have for a long time been wanting to do a much more "fun" anime in the tradition of many "shonen" shows like Naruto, Beyblade and Hikaru no Go." In fact, I was just looking at some drawings from Hikaru No Go and I love the design style of the more action oriented children's anime.

I'm not playing games this year, folks. Expect to see more in the coming weeks. Now I will get on with the "name" for the final chapter of the manga.

I'M WORKING!

As I said, I don't intend to waste time this year. I am getting right into production on new projects and wrapping up the old. You may remember from some of the posts late last year on all the new techniques I came up with to even more tailor my production pipeline to me and drop even more methods that I have carried over from studio work. And why should I need them? I can work in the fashion that best suits me and the film I want to make. (this was in my Way of Manga, Way of Film post.)

I will soon be wrapping up the old, starting with the World of Hartz manga. I have one final chapter to do for the book. Now if I was a Japanese artist like Masashi Kishimoto of Naruto fame, this would be a week's task. I may not do it that fast, but I don't expect to spend all month on it either. I will do the "name" for this new chapter tomorrow and Friday. All of it. Over the next week I will finalize the pages and call this book in the can. I mean, a whole year to do one manga. Let's be realistic. Still, I will not get into that. That was last year. I will wrap it up.

I don't yet have solid production schedules for my new projects. I don't know how long they will take, but they will be pursued diligently and you will see constant updates of new characters, images and trailers as great changes overtake this site in the coming months.

Well I am back, and what an experience. Man, I wish I had a digital camera. Last night there was a near full moon falling over the ocean making it look like silver. The clouds looked painted and it was an amazing site. Did I not say that I would one day start carrying a digital camera with me always?!

Day 2 at the Marriott hotel. Man this reminds me of the time spent in China, on high floors, looking out over incredible views. Granted, back then it was the beautiful city of Shanghai with that great harbor. This time it's the ocean. If I was at my computer I would check to see if I wrote something on Q's old blog about the hotels there. (*whispers* I hate to say it, but this hotel, nice as it is, is not quite up to the level of those I stayed in over there.)

In a meeting, I was asked to consider if these new shows are really what I should be doing. What if I should be doing something else? What if I should have been doing something else?

I am currently at the Marriott hotel in Marina Del Rey overlooking the beautiful waters of the sea. Apparently I am going to be here for a few days. This is not to say that work will not be getting done however. We shall see what happens in the coming days.

In the image below you are seeing a new lead character for one of my next projects. Until I have a bit more to show, I will not reveal too much. I can say that I have for a long time been wanting to do a much more "fun" anime in the tradition of many "shonen" shows like Naruto, Beyblade and Hikaru no Go. Of course, with my interest in archaeology, ancient language and culture and mythology, you can see where this might go.

UPDATE!

Don't think I'm not doing anything out here.