Brian Duffy’s animation work on local TV station

Comments ⁷

1. Nate Fakes

   That’s an awesome idea! It’s quite the crunch time though I’d imagine getting current politcal topics into animation during any given week. Regardless – sounds like a great feature if they can pull it off (which it sounds like they can).

2. Mike Rhode

   That’s great news – perhaps we’ll see some new positions open up for editorial “cartoonists” as newspapers are drying up.

3. Tom Wood

   Proof too that short form animation isn’t limited to Flash. I’m not certain, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s using TVPaint, formally known as Mirage in the US. In any case, it has that drawing technique built in. Nicely done!

4. Rich Diesslin

   It’s a nice way to exhibit a drawing, but it is really not “animated” in the normal use of the word. The scene is static, so the animation is just that you get to see the drawing build.

   That said, I like it better than trying to actually animate a single-panel cartoon by simply adding motion (which seldom works well). It’s a good presentation approach.

   In one sense, this would not take much time to “animate” with the right capture tool other than this rendering is probably the second drawing (or at least based on a detailed sketch). Then when draw for the capture process the flow can be pre-determined for effect (vs. just a capture from concept to final product). Just guessing though.

5. Kelly McNutt

   While this is a way to get a editorial cartoon onto TV, it is in absolutely no way animated. It’s watching someone draw. That in itself is cool to me, assuming Duffy himself drew it, but it is absolutely not animation.

   This is what needs to be explored, however, to invent new and unique ways to expand and reinvent the medium. Who knows what new and unseen directions this could end up taking?

   Good job, Mr. Duffy – keep it up.

6. Alan Jones

   That’s great that Duffy’s work is on the air. I don’t know how well his/the station/animator’s current approach works as an animated editorial cartoon (or is it and editorial animation?), however.

   A really nice model for editorial animations is what Mark Fiore’s been doing. It’s interesting to see how Mark’s animations have evolved from just learning the flash thing to now they are pretty much well-integrated pieces (visuals+narration+concept).

   I imagine Duffy’s foray into this realm will evolve just as well, with some innovative applications of the technologies to his style.

   There’s so many ways to make it work well.

   Good luck and congrats!

7. Bill Hinds

   I think Brian Duffy’s work would be fine for that website as a static cartoon.

   Remember the quote from Boss Tweed complaining about Thomas Nast’s cartoons, “I don’t care a straw for your newspaper articles, my constituents don’t know how to read, but they can’t help seeing them damned pictures.”
   I think one of the powers of an editorial cartoon is it’s immediate impact. If you have to wait for the point, I feel it’s diluted.
   Animated, an editorial cartoon works best if the punchline is a total surprise, or it’s interactive, like Mike Mikula’s work for CNN.com.