Resources for Students Attending Online Computer Animation Schools

Computer animation is one of the fastest growing subsets of the art world. Staying up to date on what other animators are doing, and what is going on in your industry, is a great way to keep up with the latest trends and industry demands. However, it is also beneficial to explore other artistic mediums and artist's work in order to gather new inspiration and help you think out of your own niche's box. Look for artistic inspiration in unlikely places in order to keep your own art fresh and marketable.

Animation

1. Thinking Animation is written by animators for animators. Stop motion, VFX, computer generated animation, and even puppets are discussed.

2. Animation Blogspot is a free blogging community dedicated to all aspects of the field of animation. You can start your own blog or browse the community blogs.

3. The Animation Blog discusses anything and everything that has to do with animation. News, interviews, and reviews are frequent features.

4. Animated Writing is written by a cartoon author, Nora Lumiere.

5. Animation Insider provides frequent updates in animation news as well as reviews of various animation features. The site also has an active forum community.

6. Mayerson on Animation is written by animator Mark Mayerson. On this blog he discusses the business of animation and art in general.

7. Asterisk Animation is a frequently updated blog by an animation group about an assortment of topics.

   
   

Cartoons and Comics

8. Chronicles of an Animator is written by animator David Martinez.

9. Misce-Looney-ous discusses classic animation and items that celebrate those cartoons.

10. Pencil Test Depot focuses on hand drawn art. Showcases how the simplest methods can still create amazing animation.

11. Charlene Chua Illustration Blog is maintained by a Canadian illustrator who works primarily with Photoshop. Topics include illustration, comics, paintings, and Photoshop.

12. Ingvard the Terrible is an illustrator and self described Viking dude. He is a scratch board illustrations and in addition to discussing art in general has several videos of his methodology.

    
    

Art

13. Cooked Art is written by a recent animation graduate. Topics that are frequently explored include caricatures, character design, layout, and life drawing.

14. Michael Barrier is a compilation of commentary and essays on animation as well as interviews with artists. There are also brief reviews on animated features and past articles from the magazine Funnyworld.

15. Wendy Ding is a Toronto illustrator. Her specialty is digital illustration using Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. She frequently discusses children's illustration, graphic design, comics, and editorial illustration.

16. Artist a Day is devoted to raising global awareness of art and to bring art to as many people as possible. Believing that artists are undervalued this blog focuses on a different artist every day.

17. The Art of Landscape is maintained by Katherine Tyrrell who is an artist and art enthusiast. This blog is devoted to exploring landscape art of the past and present.

18. Art in Connu is a collection of work from underrepresented artists. Primarily the artists are from the 19th and 20th centuries; however, artists from other time periods are occasionally featured as well.

19. Joanne Mattera Art Blog discusses art and the art world.

20. Neoteric Art is run by William Dolan and Norbert Marszalek to create communication between painters. This site is an excellent resource for those interested in art outside of the digital field.

    
    

Inspirations

21. Today's Inspiration is written by Leif Peng, a Canadian artist. He focuses on illustrations from the 1940's - 1960's. A solid resource for those studying these time periods

22. Zero 2 Illo is for aspiring illustrators, professional illustrators, and those simply interested in the field of illustration. The author of the site is a graphic designer and entrepreneur.

23. Tom Bagshaw is a commercial illustrator based out of England. On his blog he discusses design, illustration, and art.

24. Escape from Illustration Island is an excellent source of resources and has a rapidly developing community of illustrators. The site routinely features podcasts, workshops, tutorials, and articles about illustrating.

25. Illustration Mundo highlights some of the most important names in the world of illustration as well as those who are moving up the ladder. Keep up to date on your favorite illustrators.

 

Illustration

26. Ape on the Moon focuses on contemporary illustrations. The author and illustrator is Alex Mathers who focuses on the latest styles and techniques.

27. Illustration Friday offers a weekly illustration challenge. Participants have an entire week to create their illustration and link back.

28. Illustrophile is for anyone with an interest in commercial art or illustration in general.

29. Pika Land provides a plethora of offbeat illustrations. There are also artistic giveaways periodically.

30. Illustration Pages highlights different artists displaying unique artwork.

31. Chris Kim Illustration is a Toronto illustrator.

32. Christina Ung is a commercial artist and illustrator. She received a degree in Illustration in 2007 and has been drawing for profit ever sense.

33. Joel Kimmel is an illustrator and teacher.

34. Juan Solon Illustration is written by a Canadian illustrator. He frequently blogs about illustration, sketches, digital art, and caricatures.

35. Michele Melcher Illustration is written by an illustrator that describes her job as super fun. Her blog is an upbeat snapshot of her life.

    
    

Graphic Design

36. Graphic Design Blog is written by Tara, a freelance designer. The blog explores all aspects of graphic design including employment, design, freelancing, books, programs, and training.

37. Laughing Lion Design is written by Jennifer Farley, an illustrator and design instructor from Ireland. The blog focuses on graphic design, Photoshop, and illustration.

38. The Graphic Mac is written for designers who use a Mac.

39. Img is Everything is written by a professional web designer who specializes in turning Photoshop art into website templates.

40. Thunder Chunky has an eclectic mix of interview and articles about graphic design, animation, art, and other illustration topics.

 

Individual Artists

41. Andy's Animation highlights the original artwork of Andrew J. Latham. In this blog he discusses many aspects of animation including drawing gestures and figures and flash animation.

42. Avneriginal is written by Avner. He uses this blog to display his computer animation and discuss the concepts and inspiration behind different pieces.

43. I Draw Girls offers tutorials and tips on how to accurately draw the female form. Written by Xia Taptara, a concept artist who specialized in 3D character art.

44. Sadie J. Valeri is a fine artist in San Francisco, California. On her blog she discusses her adventures in art and her own artistic development.

45. Diane Feissel is a painter who lives in the Philadelphia area. She discusses painting, art, and other artists as well as her own work.

    
    

Techniques, Tutorials, and Socialization

46. Cold Hard Flash focuses on effects created with Adobe Flash. Industry professionals discussing this exciting trend in the illustration industry.

47. Lines and Colors discusses drawing, painting, illustration, digital art, and many other art mediums. They claim that if it has lines and color it is fair game.

48. MW Capacity is for artists who are not on one of the coasts of the United States. Discussion is encouraged.

49. Paint Blog is devoted to discovering great art online. Maintained by a painter, it is a blog for artists by an artist.

50. Vintage Disney Collectibles is the result of an author who is writing about the Disney Hyperion Studio. This is an excellent source of information about past animators and Disney animation.

Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vancouverfilmschool/4313548945/