Digital Dream Machine

Yay! My blog made it onto Boing Boing! Web users consider this a big honor! No doubt it means an increase in hits as well.

Pixar artisan Ronnie del Carmen also made the site due to an unfortunate incident involving his car.

Thanks for the post Mark!

Pixar Animation Studio’s Joe Ranft passed away in a tragic car accident last night. Truly sad news. Please see my post at Luxo.

Some of you readers might be noticing my lack of Pixar content lately. This is due to the fact that I collaborate with Ken Bautista on Luxo, a Pixar blog. I try to make sure that I’m not mirroring content here and duplicating information. We usually try and do a post a day, if not one or more every few days, so there’s always something new to read and fun links to check out.

Speaking of which, I just finished a rather lengthy report at Luxo dealing with the Pixar-based Attractions and Rides at the Disney theme parks. It’s certainaly not ‘the go-to guide’ but still manages to provide a good overview on what’s available and what Disney has in store for park visitors.

With lots of great links to photos and videos of construction progress and in-ride movies, it’s sure to whet your appetite and have you planning your next Disney vacation. I can’t wait to see some of the new attractions for myself!

All this blog stuff has me keeping my writing skills sharp and I know they’re improving daily. It’s also proven to be a fantastic way to discover new things on the Internet and meet some great people. Who knows, it may eventually turn in to a writing career of some sort.

Thanks to the readers here and at Luxo for allowing me to share my admiration for animation, film, Pixar, illustration, music, technology, the sciences, and other fun, informative stuff. It’s been a great ride so far and only looks to get better!

I’ve been busy editing a half-hour documentary for a client so my updates haven’t been as frequent as I like, but hopefully I’ve got some neat things for readers in the next few days. In the meantime, because I’m a sucker for great illustrations, I thought I’d share this fun painting (an homage to one of my favorite filmmakers) from Monsters, Inc. M Is for MONSTER, a wonderful A to Z children’s book featuring the Monsters, Inc. characters illustrated by Pixar artisan Ricky Nierva.

The book is dedicated to Maurice Noble, who trained the “Classic Style” to a whole new generation of Disney artists. It’s certainly not a book that will hurt your wallet, and it’s easily one of simplest, yet most beautiful children’s books to be created.

A fun bit of related trivia for you: Like the creature Ray Harryhausen animated in It Came From Beneath The Sea, you’ll notice that Pixar’s octopus in both the Monsters, Inc. film and Ricky’s illustration has only 6 arms. As any Harryhausen fan knows, the creature in It Came From Beneath The Sea featured only 6 appendages, not only to save on production costs, but also because there would be fewer of them for Ray to keep track of when animating. The viewer makes the assumption that the other two are underwater or behind structures. A clever film trick from a true master. It’s great to see that Pixar not only honored Harryhausen, but the film character and technique as well.

The Banff Centre - Professional Development Centre.

This past Easter long weekend, I participated in the Boarding: Stories & Snow Summit at the remarkable, artist-friendly Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta. An environment, that in agreement with the website statement, “acts as a catalyst for creative thought, lifelong learning, and the development of new work.”

Not only did I have the good fortune to be among friends and associates, amazing industry talent, receptive workshop attendees, and supportive facilitation staff, but it was all held in the beauty of the majestic Canadian Rockies, an environment that breathes energy into the soul, creatively and spiritually. Even living in Alberta, it has been a few years since I’ve been to Banff so it was a welcome journey and one that I was very eager to begin.

View of Cascade Mountain from downtown Banff.

Though a lot of the snow had melted in Alberta weeks ago, we had another couple of heavy snowfalls since then which could have made for some nasty driving weather. Thankfully, the weather was quite good for highway driving and walking around the town of Banff. Light snow fell on one or two days mixed with a bit of wind, but you could stroll around without having to wear a ton of layers, which is nice when going into shops.

Nearly 4.5 hours of driving from Edmonton to Banff (426 kilometers / 265 miles). But well worth the journey.

I woke up early Thursday morning, and accompanied by music from my iPod, a can of Red Bull, some Power Bars, and a warm cup of Hazelnut-flavored coffee, left for Calgary around 3:00 a.m. I arrived in Calgary about 6:15 and we departed for Banff at 7:00. I decided to leave the TJ (or Wrangler as it’s known in the U.S.) in Calgary and car pool with my cousin in his Volkswagen Golf, which gets a little better milage than the Jeep. Unfortunately on the way out of Calgary, Jay caught the eye of law enforcement officer keeping the city streets safe on the long weekend. After pulling over, the officer graciously gave Jay an autographed piece of paper with some kind of dollar figure on it. Despite this incident, the rest of the drive was uneventful. Arriving in Banff, we noticed the hoards of Skiers and Snowboarders waiting at the hotel shuttle stops, no doubt anxious to get out on the slopes. A few minutes later, we arrived at the Banff Centre campus, checked in, received our Artist IDs and parking pass, and headed over to the first workshop at the Max Bell Building.

The Max Bell Building where we found the meeting rooms for the Summit.

First up on that Friday morning was Peter Hansen from NAIT’s (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology) Digital and Interactive Media Design department and facilitator of the Summit, who gave a rundown of the Summit timeline and then proceeded to discuss storyboard uses, the formats, and their creation. Using an outtake story sequence from Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner as an example, he challenged the attendees to guess which film it came from. We were then asked to participate in a group exercise and question whether or not we preferred the outtake sequence or the filmed version. We were also asked to identify what was similar in the two versions and also which version we preferred. The overall diverse group, which consisted of storyboard artists, animators, web designers, film and video directors, illustrators, and video game designers, all seemed to participate with great enthusiasm. Even, if like myself, they already had knowledge of storyboarding.

After a break where we discovered that there’s always food around the Banff Centre, Character Artist Chris Tougas took over the workshop. Chris started off by talking about conceptualizing characters for books, animated films, and television shows. He described his methods, the difficulty in working with studios, the percentage of concepts actually taken past development stages, and how to put together a pitch. Tougas had us partake in an exercise where we were chose a few words from his list and illustrated some stick figures with that emotion or feeling. He stressed how important it was to keep the figures asymmetrical and to add motion, while keeping them loose and gestural. After much scribbling, Peter picked up the sketches and Chris placed some of them on the overhead projector for us to guess which emotion the characters were conveying. After much laughter, Chris went back to his presentation. He talked about how studios want properties that are ‘toyetic’ and have characters that can be made into toy lines, helping the studios with their profits. He referred to conceptualizing and storyboarding as ‘acting with a pencil,’ a very accurate description in my opinion.

The Banff Centre Dining Room Interior.

We were then treated to a scrumptious lunch in the spacious Banff Centre Dining Room, which has a breathtaking view of some of the Rockies. Imagine a large wood-finished dining room (not overly ornate) with many large round tables (which furthers the creative group feeling,) expansive windows looking out onto snow covered mountain peaks, with elk or caribou that come grazing by, and you’ve got a pretty idea of how a simple lunch break can turn into a truly memorable experience.

Sunset view from The Banff Centre Dining Room.

After lunch we were introduced to Woody Woodman, a Director / Animator who recently completed Tugger: The Jeep Who Wanted To Fly. Being a Jeep owner and enthusiast, I was riveted by Woody’s presentation and though it’s produced by a smaller studio, it has all the heart of a much larger-budgeted film. And this we picked up without seeing any actual 3D footage! We did get to witness Woody’s 2D storyboard reel pitch, timed to music with Woody himself providing all the great narration. Woody had such a clear, evocative voice that he easily conveyed every major story point.

Tugger: The Jeep Who Wanted To Fly.

Woody continued his presentation by elaborating on Chris Tougas’ comments on character development, driving home the importance of story, concept, theme, iconic characters, and being able to read them quickly. He cited Walt Disney’s Pinocchio and Dumbo as examples of stories that make it clear what the character’s motivation is. For Woody’s group exercise, we received a set of story panels (one picture on a page) and were told to mix them up on the floor and then create a story from the jumble of images. As there were 5 or 6 groups, the resulting stories, when told in front of the rest of us, were similar yet different enough to evoke energetic laughter. By doing this exercise, we discovered how changing one or two story points can affect the outcome of the story. One of the many ‘wow’ moments of the Summit. Woody’s presentation led us up to another break where more food and drink were waiting for us and we had a chance to meet other participants.

Back in Max Bell Room 252 once again, Kris Pearn of Sony Pictures Imageworks enlightened us on his career in the animation industry and followed up on the creation of characters and the art of the pitch. An important point Kris mentioned was that it is necessary to ‘pick your battles,’ knowing when to give in to Directors, Producers, or Supervisors, and when to fight for what you believe to be the right way or idea. Kris was again an energetic speaker who had us all listening intently to his knowledge. Kris’ group exercise was to have us do rapid storyboarding, where we were given a few story points revolving around an ice cream vendor, make up and draw the story on storyboard sheets and present them to the crowd. As was evidenced before, the results met with applause and laughter. Tougas, Woodman, and Pearn then allowed the group to come up and view some of their portfolios and ask further questions. Much of the group indulged in the opportunity.

The Jeanne and Peter Lougheed Building which houses the Creative Electronic Environment.

The group then received a tour of the Creative Electronic Environment located in the Lougheed Building. A technology hub of the Banff Centre, which offers film and video editing suites, television studios, audio production booths, a 3D visualization room, and video conference facility.

At 5:30, after an enlightening introductory day (I missed Thursday’s orientation meeting) it was time for dinner. Another delicious meal and dessert was followed by Kris Pearn’s presentation in the Max Bell Auditorium, where he also fielded questions from the crowd. Winding down the day, a large portion of the group headed over to the ‘on campus’ Props Pub and discussed the finer points of creativity over a few ’special beverages.’

View of Rundle Mountain from The Banff Centre.

Saturday was an optional skiing and snowboarding day for anybody that signed up to participate. The weather at the Centre was quite windy, so I can only imagine what it was like on the ski hill. Though my cousin and I declined to go, I understand that those who went experienced the wonderful world of learning to do something for the first or second time. My understanding was that it involved lots of falling on the posterior of the human anatomy.

Downtown Banff. Though there was a lot less snow when we were there.

Jason and I decided to walk around the shops in Banff and try to locate hiking stick emblems for my father and uncle. This activity proved difficult and seemed to confirm that most people come to Banff to camp, ski, snowboard, or attend conferences. Hiking seems to be more prevalent in Jasper National Park where many shops carry the emblems. Walking down the main street, I recognized Ronnie del Carmen, (who would be the guest speaker at the evening banquet and conducting a workshop on Sunday,) Peter’s wife Ruby (giving them the guided tour,) and the Woodmans. We made sure to tell them to hit the Fudge shop, which offers a plethora of hand-made chocolate sweets and is a ‘must-stop’ when visiting Banff. But looking at all of their bags, they had already visited the tantalizing store. Of course we made our stop there to pick up sweets for our families at home and headed back to the Banff Centre to enjoy another mouth-watering lunch with part of the Storyboarding group and special guests.

Jason Blower and me, Chad Kerychuk.

After lunch, Jay and I headed back into town and decided to go watch Robots at the Lux Cinema Centre. It held a few laughs, looked nice, but cannot compare to Pixar’s films. Wandering around the shops again, we finally managed to locate some hiking stick emblems - at the last store we stopped in (where I was able to practice my Japanese greetings and thanks) - and then back to the Centre to get ready for the Banquet Dinner with Ronnie as the Keynote speaker.

Chris Tougas, Jorden Oliwa, and Ronnie Del Carmen.

While we enjoyed a delicious dinner provided by The Banff Centre, Ronnie del Carmen took to the podium in the Dining Room and began his presentation. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to Ronnie speak before, he is not only engaging, but passionate, informative, and overall, immensely entertaining, letting his humorous side show and with it, capturing the audience’s attention. A few days before the Summit, Rick Cortes, a friend from The Drawing Board who lives in the Los Angeles area, commented to me that when Ronnie came down to practice his presentation on them, it was nothing less than ‘inspiring.’ Truer words were never spoken. The Banff Centre Banquet Dinner audience were captivated by Ronnie’s Keynote speech in which he talked about creating stories, collaborating with artists and studio executives, and along with his work at other animation companies, his role as Story Supervisor at Pixar Animation Studios.

Ronnie also treated us to a small short story reel he developed in which a young boy goes out in the rain to play, and rescues his little friend, an ant, from drowning in a puddle. In a technological feat of amazement, Ronnie actually used the keyboard on the PowerBook to step through the drawings in the QuickTime Story Reel, timing the transitions with music, which was playing independently in iTunes. The potential for loss of synchronization was high, but Ronnie made it look easy. The story itself was simple, and as was the case with me, I’m sure many in the audience could relate to it. Ronnie completed his Keynote speech and we were treated to a Question and Answer Panel with all of the guest speakers. It was informative and entertaining, allowing the audience to ask questions they may not have a chance to ask otherwise, and easily one of the many highlights of the Summit. The group all received individual scenic photos from The Banff Centre in appreciation for their participation.

Woody Woodman (Ravenwood Entertainment), Kris Pearn (Sony Pictures Imageworks), Ronnie del Carmen (Pixar Animation Studios), Chris Tougas (Character Designer / Story Artist), and Jorden Oliwa (Storyboard Artist / Animator).

The creative talk didn’t stop there though, another gathering at Props Pub commenced, where we all engaged in further conversation, followed by a visit to a dance club called ‘Aurora’ in downtown Banff. Dancing ensued, mixed with further inebriation for some, and the night carried on into the early morning hours. Arriving back at Lloyd Hall, where my accommodations were, I watched a bit of James Bond in For Your Eyes Only and hit the sack.

The Banff Centre Dining Room Exterior.

Sunday began with a hearty breakfast in the Dining Room followed by the group gathering in Max Bell Room 252 again for Ronnie’s workshop. Using his great sense of humor, he gave further insight into story development and we almost immediately got into our first group exercise for the day. We were asked to get together with some of the group around us and discuss how we were given our name. After the group huddles, we were then asked to nominate people to tell their stories.

It was immediately clear after only a few stories, that something so simple, as a story as to how each of us were named, could prove compelling and far more complex than most of us thought possible. It also became evident that certain ‘themes’ were developing in the telling of stories. For instance, several people were named after their father, or their father’s father, carrying down a name through lineage, almost making it a generational requirement. We learned that stories need to resonate with the audience and the characters need to develop relationships that we can identify with.

Group Exercise Number Two from Ronnie had us huddled again, discussing a time when we were lost. Nearly every incredibly entertaining and amusing story was followed by uproarious laughter and applause. One participant by the name of Dan had such an astounding story, acted out with great enhthusiasm, it was as if he had participated in a real-life version of the Pitfall videogame. Again Ronnie had demonstrated to us how easy it can be to develop a story and how interesting the storyteller can be. He commented how most of us probably saw the shots and cuts (as if we were watching a film) in our head as the stories were being told and I’m pretty sure, most of us nodded in agreement. Ronnie remarked that along with the stories, the personality of the storytellers shone through, enhancing and broadening the tale’s effect on the audience. He also recommended that attending a workshop on how to direct actors would be beneficial since it would give insight into how they approach and understand a character and their role in the story. Ronnie ended off his presentation by stating that Banff is indeed a ‘vortex of creativity’ and I certainly couldn’t agree more.

Myself, Ronnie Del Carmen, and Ken Bautista.

Another tasty lunch and we began the afternoon workshops with Jorden Oliwa, a Storyboard Artist, Animator, and Illustrator. While Jorden’s specialty is using Macromedia Flash to create animation for television series, he has worked on animatics, product pitches, music videos, and fittingly, snowboard design. Because of his experience, Jorden was able to provide a broad spectrum of knowledge in conceptual design and animation and how to use the technology to implement the ideas. We were treated to examples of his work including a compilation of his work on the series Mucha Lucha and an animated music video that reminded many of us of the previous night out at the Aurora club. Having spoke with Jorden at the Pub the previous night, I can attest that he not only diverse in his skills and interests, but also very approachable about them.

The afternoon winded down with two surveys and a summary exercise from Peter and Chris Tougas. We were divided into groups and played a Pictionary -style game. Taking turns rolling dice, we picked cards that featured a story element to draw, and had our own team guess what it was. The first team to get 12 right guesses then gave the correctly-guessed story elements to the next team to construct a story from, presenting them in front of the groups. Overall, a good exercise to encompass some of the stuff we learned over the weekend.

There was a fair number of people still around, so we had some individual discussions and continued to exchange contact information, generally stating as to what a great time we had. Monday was an optional skiing and snowboarding day but since a few of the group had left the previous day due to commitments, and much of the group would be leaving that Sunday, my cousin and I decided to venture back to Calgary as well after dinner. We had a nice dinner with Peter (being his usual animated self) and his family, as well as Terry Willox, Ken Bautista, and Amy Inkster. Peter’s daughter received a gift from Ronnie consisting of two Paper Biscuit books, a story that Ronnie created featuring a young woman named Nina. She beamed like kid and in a candy store and had the rest of us quite envious. We had fun chatting about her favorite comics which included the great Calvin and Hobbes and even discussed one of her own character creations.

Counter-Clockwise from left: Peter Hansen (NAIT), daughter Donna Leny, and Peter’s wife Ruby, Jason Blower, Amy Inkster, Ken Bautista, and Terry Willox in the Banff Centre Dining Room.

Jay and I had a scenic drive out of Banff, seeing the Rockies fade into foothills and then into cityscape. Arriving in Calgary at 9:30 p.m., I took off for Edmonton and approached home around midnight. Settling in that late night / early morning, I was filled with a sense of creative fulfillment that wouldn’t have been possible if not for all the fantastic organizers and participants that put this thing together.

Special thanks go out to: The Banff Centre and the Banff New Media Institute Accelerator Program including Lindsey Aufricht, Sherry Moir, and the rest of their helpful collaborators, Peter Hansen (who is a truly funny and down-to-Earth guy) and NAIT, Ken Bautista (who I’m privileged to call a like-minded friend and who also helped get me to the Summit in the first place) and his company, Hotrocket, the many sponsors, and especially, Ronnie del Carmen, Kris Pearn, Woody Woodman, Chris Tougas, and Jorden Oliwa for giving up their Easter weekend with some of their family to come to Banff and inspire the attendees. They’ve left a profound impact on their audience.

If you haven’t been there already, head over to Ronnie’s blog, Tirade, for more photos and rundown of the Summit.

And if I forgot to mention anyone, please accept my apologies. I met so many great people, it’s hard to remember everybody’s name or how to spell it!

Congratulations to Brad Bird, Pixar, and Disney! Keeping the momentum going, The Incredibles collected two more awards last night. The Disney/Pixar film which had four Academy Award nominations, won two of the four categories it was entered in. The action-packed superhero film won the Oscars for Animated Feature Film and Sound Editing. Add these to the numerous other awards the film has already received, and the statue shelves at Pixar are going to need reinforcement!

If you haven’t pre-ordered your DVD already, head over to Luxo and support the site by purchasing the film through the Amazon links or by clicking below.

Note: The above image was inspired by the photo of Brad Bird in the 12.06 issue of Wired. You can find the article and photo online by clicking here.

You may have heard about the passing of Dan Lee, a character designer and animator at Pixar Animation Studios. Sadly, he was taken by cancer, something which shouldn’t claim anyone. Dan was instrumental in designing not only ‘Nemo’ and his father in Finding Nemo, but other characters in Monsters, Inc. and A Bug’s Life. He had such an impact on those around him, that he’s being remembered by many worldwide news organizations.

Along with Glenn McQueen, another Pixar artisan who also passed away a few years ago, it appears that Dan was a soft-spoken person, remembered by all as somebody who contributed and translated their enthusiam for animation and character design to the memorable, heart-warming, iconic characters we see on the silver screen. From what I understand, this is typical of all Pixar employees.

Ronnie del Carmen, another creative genius, posts the Ottawa Citizen article on Dan for all to read. It really gives you a sense of who he was and how he viewed the world. You can read the article here.

I had the chance to see The Incredibles twice today and it was…well, ‘Incredible!’ Action abounds when a domesticized family of ‘Supers’ comes out of hiding to fight the ever-present Super Villains that inhabit their Comic Book Metropolis. This film combines the 50’s era coolness of Brad Bird’s animated classic The Iron Giant along with Pixar’s engrossing style of Toy Story.

There’s a great backstory and transitionary period that pokes fun at the bureaucracy, tedium, and thanklessness of today’s society and as with any Pixar film, no matter what the character is made of, we can’t help but sympathize with them. Mr. Incredible’s evolution is fun to watch, and I can imagine every young boy wanting a Mr. Incredible figure as much as they wanted a Buzz Lightyear in 1995. There’s more cartoon violence than in Pixar’s other films, but the few kids in the showing I attended this afternoon, didn’t seem frightened - and the positive messages are definitely not pushed aside.

The voice acting is excellent and Samuel L. Jackson’s Frozone nearly steals the show. As ‘hip’ as this movie is, I only wish we were able to see more of him because he really is that cool. Pixar has always had great female voice actresses as well, but Holly Hunter did an outstanding job as Elastigirl / Mrs. Incredible. Possibly the best match for a lead female animated character yet. She has all the right emotions a wife, mother, and Super-powered woman would have and with her genuinely caring attitude and fluid-like movements, she really is a hero that females can look up to.

As usual, one of the elements that really stands out in a Pixar film, is the Design. From the characters to the environments to the opening and closing credits, the style and quality are breathtaking. In my opinion, the closing credits for The Incredibles is only matched by the opening titles for Monsters, Inc. Even elements like the living quarters of the main characters undergo as much design considerations as they characters themselves. Where other computer animated films show homes and enemy lairs that look as if they are made from digital cookie cutters, the ones in The Incredibles are both unique and familiar, blending in perfectly with the overall style. The design work for this film is so well done, you immediately get the homages to other movies and genres. From The Fantastic Four to James Bond and Spider-Man, to The Super Friends and The X-Men, with bits of Star Wars and Indiana Jones blended in, I was grinning from ear to ear at how Pixar put together another really great ‘tribute’ film. This is another set of characters that Pixar has potential to make more stories with, and I know like today, I’d be there opening day if they do!
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Purchase The Art of The Incredibles
Purchase Books About The Incredibles
Purchase The Incredibles Video Game
Purchase Pixar-related Books
Purchase Pixar Movies
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Amazon.ca purchase links:

Purchase The Art of The Incredibles
Purchase The Incredibles Video Game and Books
Purchase Pixar-related Products

I hope you had a great All Hallow’s Eve and filled your pails, pillow sacks, and treat bags with assorted goodies! I had a nice dinner with a grandmother and handed out treats at her place (occassionally sneaking a few for myself) as I have done in previous years. After the kids had stopped coming to the door, I helped her clean up and headed home to finally carve my 2004 Jack O’ Lantern. I couldn’t accomplish this earlier in the day, because when I went looking for a pumpkin, every major grocery store on the south side of Edmonton was apparently sold out. As I would discover later, the reason had something to do with pumpkins rotting in the growing fields and not being fit for sale. So what little they did have sold earlier in the week.

Not one to easily give up, I thought back to High School Art Class and how we created clay pumpkins for an assignment. As I recall, I was pleased with the way mine turned out (carved flames coming out of the tops of the eyes, nose, and mouth) but so was the art teacher. He asked to keep many of them and since he was such a nice guy, we couldn’t refuse. However, today I knew I didn’t have time to make a clay Jack O’ Lantern, and I remembered reading about artificial ‘Craft Pumpkins’ in a flyer a week ago. These allow you to carve your design into a foam-based pumpkin and keep your art rather than throwing it out before it rots. So I drove over to a Michaels Arts and Crafts store to take a look.

Outside in front of the shop, they had a bin marked 50% off - even then, it seemed a bit overpriced for the quality - but I didn’t want to miss out on one of my favorite Halloween activities. They also don’t look as good as the ones available on the Funkins website, but those have to be ordered and would arrive 7-10 days after Halloween. Michaels had their pumpkins available here in the city. Another drawback is that there are seams visible on the outside and inside of the Michaels ones. If you’re picky visually about such things, this can throw off the look of your Jack O’ Lantern if not carved carefully.

Just as important to remember is that these artificial ones are flammable. That’s right; don’t put a candle or too-hot light source underneath, or you’ll not only lose your Jack O’ Lantern, but there’s a good chance you could seriously burn yourself or your house down along with it. To light them up, you can buy ready-made craft lights that have lower-wattage, or use a glow stick such as the kind kids wear on Halloween.

There’s almost no more thrilling sight on Halloween than Jack O’ Lanterns. As if each one possesses a unique ’spirit’, they glow magically, and manage to both invite and scare you off at the same time. Many people don’t realize how long it takes to do a more intricate carving job and how much patience you must have. Thankfully I’ve done this a few times already so I knew I’d be at this one a while. Because the Craft Pumpkins aren’t as easy to cut as one might think, I had to use not only my trusty Pumpkin Masters Carving Tools, but an X-Acto knife as well. Even with that, it was still not easy going through the foam. I think real pumpkins are actually easier to carve than this particular craft brand, but they still only last a week at best. I spent a total of about 6 hours on carving the Jack O’ Lantern but I know it will last longer than a week.

As for the carving pattern, I’m a Pixar fan, so I thought I’d like to do one of their characters. With the upcoming release of The Incredibles, there was an opportunity to create a new Jack O’ Lantern design - one that hadn’t been seen before. I found an image of Mr. Incredible thanks to the wonderful Pixar blog, Luxo, and then proceeded to make it carveable by changing the image to black and white and refining details to make it a semi-rigid design. When I had achieved approximately the look I wanted, I printed out an inverted black and white image (making the pattern’s black areas the ones to carve), attached it to the pumpkin with tape, and began the carving process.

Despite the quality of the Craft Pumpkin, and the time to complete the project, I think the final product turned out pretty cool. Now I just have to look for a low-wattage light socket base and I’ll have a handcarved, reusable, electric pumpkin - unless I give it away of course. And I hope the folks at Pixar enjoy what I’ve done because like the kids collecting candy last night, I’m awaiting my treat in the form of their film, The Incredibles.

If you’re as amped about The Incredibles as I am, then you’re probably a loyal Pixar fanatic. The upcoming film from Director Brad Bird (The Iron Giant) will hopefully continue Pixar’s reign as the undisputed champion of animated storytelling. And if you’re also craving your fix of Pixar information, then you’ll most definitely want to make Luxo a daily visit on your website rounds. Updated frequently, there is no other one-stop source for all things Pixar-related.

luxo - A blog dedicated to Pixar Animation Studios

Update: I’d like to let readers know that I’ve been asked to collaborate on the blog with my good friend Ken Bautista. Even though I thought about doing a Pixar tribute website a few years ago, my time has been spent on other projects. I’m glad Ken picked up the ball, ran with it, and scored a touchdown with a truly great blog! I’m honored to have been asked to be a part of it and look forward to bringing excited Pixar stories to all of you.