Animation Mentor 2008 Student Showcase

Speaking of great student work, check out the latest from Animation Mentor grads:

Oktapodi

Here's another great short film from the French animation school, Gobelins. This one got a lot of attention at SIGGRAPH, though it's been floating around for a while. Great animation, and the rigging on the Octopi is pretty impressive. This clip might not be on YouTube for long, so enjoy it while you can!



You can find the home page and a neat mini-documentary here.

Save Totoro Forest!

A few of the artists at Pixar have started a fund-raising effort to help the Totoro Forest Foundation, a national trust set up by director Hayao Miyazaki to preserve Sayama Forest, which was his inspiration for the film My Neighbor Totoro. Many renowned artists from Pixar and elsewhere have contributed original art to be auctioned for this cause. You can learn more about the auction (which will take place at Pixar in September) and the cause here. Be sure to check out the gallery to see all of the amazing Totoro-inspired artwork.

If you can't participate in the auction, there will be a book of the art for sale, and there are other ways you can contribute as well. Do it for the kids!