The Prodigal- concept sketches

Our animated short The Prodigal is finishing its festival run and can be viewed at: https://37stories.com/

We’ve also translated the film into over 40 languages, and are trying to put it into more.
https://vimeo.com/37stories

While many of our concepts were made in paper cut-outs I managed to do a few exploratory sketches. Atmosphere and landscapes became characters in the film.

Ultimately we would like to create 37 short films. One for each parable.
We are trying to raise funds for the next two shorts.

21Martyrs short film- Concepts 1

For the past few months we’ve been developing an animated short film project about the 21 migrant workers who were beheaded for their Christian faith in 2015.

A still from the film released on Jan 15th 2015 showing the beheadings.

Here are a few exploratory concept sketches, inspired in part by Coptic and Orthodox Icons. We are trying to capture the emotion of the story with line, color and texture.

To read more about, or donate to the project please visit: HERE

The Prodigal- Teaser

For the last year we have been developing a short film inspired by the biblical story of the Prodigal Son.

Prodigal is what we hope will be the first of 37 short films based on biblical parables.

If you are interested in learning more about the project or contributing to the series ... 

please visit https://37stories.com/give/

Noosa Yoghurt spots

Above: Concepts and final images for several Noosa Yoghurt commercials.

Produced at House Special Productions, Directed by Aaron Sorensen

Book Of Life Color- Cont.

Various color exploration for Book Of Life.

NobleTales Shorts

Looking back at a few of my personal short film projects.
Each short film I make really reflects a certain period in my life. "Al Tudi Tuhak" was made when I was a lonely 20 something trying to find my way in the world. "The Pumpkin of Nyefar" was made after the death of  my mentor Maurice Noble. Created both as a tribute to the man, and a way for me to deal with loss. The same is true of "The Escape of the Gingerbread Man!!!" after the death of my father. It was my "angry" film, that helped me through the mourning process. Since the birth of my son a few years ago, I'm at a much happier place. The new films that I'm working on now are really for him. Seeing the world again anew, but through his eyes.

Tong Daeng color

A while back a friend asked me to help out with some color sketches on a short film he was putting together about the King of Thailand's beloved dog, "Tong Daeng."

A progression of color for the fire sequence.

The overgrown temple, badly in need of repair.

Fire destroys the building.

Above: A small selection of sketches from Tong Daeng.

The main goal with these sketches was to provide a strong atmosphere for each of the environments. These were imagined in an almost impressionistic way to fit each of the story moments. The sketches would then be used as a guide and inspiration for the Imagimax artists.

Thailand has been such a great inspiration for me over the years, and it's always a pleasure to explore beautiful Thai landscapes and architecture.

All images (c) 2015 Imagimax

Cocoa Astronaut

Above: A Cocoa Puffs commercial from House Special, directed by Aaron Sorensen

A while back I was asked to design a space themed commercial spot featuring Sonny and his "Koo Koo for Cocoa Puffs." Commercials can be a lot of fun because the schedules are short, and you often get to work in a style that you normally wouldn't.

A few of the key sketches I created for the spot.

The Book Of Life: Guitar Exploration

Above and below: Variations on a theme... early guitar exploration.

At long last "The Book of Life" is out on the big screen and I am now able to share some of the concept art for the movie. 

My main focus on the film was exploring what was called "The Land of the Dead."  Marketing thought the word "dead" was a real downer... so the land was later renamed "The Land of the Remembered." 

Director Jorge Gutierrez described the world to me as one of"...whimsy... full or round fun shapes... a land that is essentially one long continuous party." Here is a few takes on a guitar... some of my first designs on the movie. As far as I know none of these designs were used as seen here... but led to other ideas. And helped the art team better visualize what the Land of the Dead would become. 

Jingle Bells

A number of years ago I proposed a title sequence for a series of direct to DVD Christmas specials I was supervising in the Philippines.  My inspiration was classic Christmas card art. There was no real budget per say, so I proposed titles that would be inexpensive to produce, using lots of animation cycles, and panning artwork etc. Ultimately the studio decided to go in a different direction... and even though these are just rough sketches, there is something about them that I like.

All art copyright Tod Polson

Undercover Blues Trailer

While I was still in college I worked for a small animation company called CimityArts, ran by producer Barbara Cimity. Working in a small studio is the best training a young animator can have... and I recommend it to anyone starting out in the industry.  The fact that the crew is so small, you end up doing whatever comes in the door; animation, design, boards, ... even directing.

A section from my "Undercover Blues" trailer board.

One of my early assignments was the trailer for the family film "Undercover Blues." (1993) I was asked to art direct, and board the trailer. This was in the days before computers were really part of the production process... so we shot actual objects... and actual baby under camera. We had a "spare baby" stashed in back just in case the first one didn't work out.

During this period I was heavily influenced by the art of the amazing designer, Cliff Boule. Cliff sort of took me under his wing, and showed me the ropes production wise. At the time he was well known for his black paper pencil sketches.

I have a video copy of the trailer on 3/4" tape... one day I hope to transfer my old work to digital media... and will post the video at that time.

A Little Lindy

 As a youth the story of Charles A. Lindburgh inspired and captivated me. Through the years I have played around with the idea of making a short based on his first trans-Atlantic flight. A friend of mine even built a 3D model for me as reference. Recently I bought a balsa model of the "Spirit of St. Louis" with a 34 1/2 inch wing span!

In honor of "Ink-tober" I decided to post a few of many quick inspirational ink sketches I did for the project. In these sketches I tried to explore Lindy's inner thoughts and feelings rather than simply re-telling his story.

All images copyright tod polson

Pumpkin Miniatures

Above: Early concept sketches for "The Pumpkin of Nyefar."

I have long been an admirer of Persian and Turkish miniatures, and have always wanted to design a film in that traditional style. While researching "The Pumpkin of Nyefar" in Turkey years ago, I saw my opportunity, and made a number of small paintings inspired by the art I saw on tour. Much of my early concept art attempted to remain faithful to the style of the miniatures. But as the story of "Pumpkin" developed, and became more and more wacky. It was clear that the artwork needed to follow suit.

Above: Stills from "The Pumpkin of NyeFar. Character layouts by Mark Oftedal.

So instead of trying to replicate Turkish miniatures, I tried to create a look that better fit the story... but still contained elements of the miniatures that I so loved. One day I hope to have the opportunity to design a film that will allow me to explore this style further.

art © tod polson, film stills © tod polson and Mark Oftedal

Animation from the movie "Howl" (2010)

Howl is a 2010 American experimental film which explores both the Six Gallery debut and the 1957 obscenity trial of 20th-century American poet Allen Ginsberg's noted poem Howl. The film is written and directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman and stars James Franco as Ginsberg. (from wiki)

My role on Howl was as the animation art director, and animation production supervisor. I would take storyboards from animation director John Hays, and designs from art director Eric Drooker, and use them to direct the crew at "The Monk Studios" in Thailand. 

One of the biggest challenges we faced on Howl was figuring out how to bring John and Eric's vision to life on such a tiny animation budget. Working with CG supervisor Salvador Simo, we broke each scene down into 2D elements, 3D elements, cut-outs, matte paintings, and full 3D sets. The 2D sequences were animated and rendered by my students from "The Animation Workshop" in Viborg, Denmark who joined the crew in Thailand for 3-4 months.

For those that are interested, you can see the original proof of concept for the film  HERE.

From the final film... see some film stills HERE... and a few color scripts and designs HERE.

A Noble dream fulfilled

Above: Mr. Noble at work in his home studio

Maurice had wanted to pass on his knowledge about animation design in book form for many years. Now with the help of many talented artists and friends, his dream is a reality.

"The Noble Approach" kindle version is now available for download HERE.

The hard bound copy of the book will be available after Oct. 1st 2013 HERE.

A Noble Effort- Article by Eric Molinsky

A nice article about one of my mentors; Maurice Noble... Put together by Eric Molinsky -Click on the arrow above to hear the article... Or read it... and see some of Maurice's art click HERE.

If you liked this article... check out Maurice's Biography

Stepping into the Picture: Cartoon Designer Maurice Noble by Robert J. McKinnon.

.. and Scott Morse's illustrated book, Noble Boy. 

My upcoming book based on Maurice's design notes... The Noble Approach: Maurice Noble and the Zen of Animation Design will be out in Oct. 2013

Dallas International Film Festival Interview

"Escape of the Gingerbread Man!!!" is still running the festival circuit, and was recently invited to screen at the 2013 Dallas International Film Festival. 

I had a chance to chit-chat about the film, and about story in general with Chad Jones. You can read the interview HERE. 

For those that haven't seen the film, an online version can be seen HERE .

To "The Monk Studio," "The Animation Workshop" and everyone who helped bring Ginger to life... thank you!

Bumpers 1

Long ago, in my 21st year I went on a summer internship creating bumpers for a major network. Bumpers are of course the short pieces of film that often come before and after a commercial break. The agreement with the studio was to create five approved bumpers for my internship. I had already produced several bumpers for the TV show "Home Improvement" during my school days... So I figured these bumpers wouldn't be too difficult. 

The key phrase was "approved" bumpers. My fellow interns and I kept pumping out ideas and sketches... which of course were never approved... because the studio was going to get as many ideas out of us as possible. Days turned into weeks... and weeks into months. Soon the summer was over with dozens of good bumper ideas... but still no approvals... for any of us. We left.

Above: Quick concept sketches for a proposed action/horror theater. The character would turn to camera and under his breath.... whisper "FOX!" 

The above sketches were inspired by the great Italian comic artist Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri.  A style I was still trying to grasp at the time. This series was one of many, many looks I tried out that summer. More examples of those to come...  tod

Animation Workshop Films

This years crop of films from my students at the Animation Workshop were recently featured on Cartoon Brew. 

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/student/the-reward-and-other-films-from-denmarks-animation-workshop-77016.html

As always... it has been a pleasure working with such passionate, creative, young artists. They are a constant reminder of why I got into the business into the first place!  A big thanks to Morten Thorning, Michelle Nardone and the rest of the gang at the Animation Workshop for asking me back. -tod

The Noble Approach FLIP interview

A great interview for Alex Williams of FLIP! regarding the making of Maurice Noble's design book " The Noble Approach." To check it out ... please click HERE.

Above: A few Maurice Noble images from the article.

"The Noble Approach; Maurice Noble and the Zen of Animation Design" is available for pre-order at Amazon.com