Ah..... The Beautiful 80's.....

So....

On my iPhone I have a playlist where I have great 80's songs like Pink Floyd, Journey, Guns N' Roses, Queen and many others. It reminds me of my teenager years when I sang out loud not caring about anyone who will listen how bad I was at singing (and still am) drowning my sorrows about a girl or just having fun at the Disco....that's right kids... we called it Disco not "Nightclub" (Urgh... too grown up)

As I finished listening to "Total Eclipse of the Heart", a new dancing beat came up and Rick Astley started to sing (you know the song) and to my surprise, my 10 year old said "This is one of my favorite songs" and started to sing away, shying from doing the side to side moves in the car because of the restricted space. We sang together and laughed at how fun that was. I also found out that he liked Take on Me, Sweet Dreams, Footloose and Free Falling among others and then I realized that my older children too loved what I like to call "my music" and all of a sudden I felt sorry for them..... 

I'll explain...

I had a great childhood. In 1984 I was on my sweet 16 and going dancing and listening to endless music on those huge headphones was a thing that everyone of my generation loved. Little did we know that the songs we were listening to were going to be timeless. 

But not only that....

The 80's in my opinion also brought us classic movies that are part of the culture today like Ghostbusters, The Terminator, Gremlins, Batman, Predator, Aliens (way better than the first one in 1979), E.T., Robocop, Blade Runner, Back to the Future, Beetlejuice, Indiana Jones, Dirty Dancing (you know you liked it) and, of course, Roger Rabbit. 

I also collect statues and because I can't afford much, I try to stick with anything that reminds me of my childhood, mainly.... you've guessed it... 80's movies and I have 3 so far... Pumpkinhead, Predator and Legend Lord of Darkness. Hopefully Sigourney Weaver Ripley, Christopher Reeve Superman and Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman will be part of my collection sometime next year.

The reason I felt sorry for my kids is because I'm not sure if they will have something as awesome as I did as a kid. Will their kids be singing songs from the 2000's? Will the original movies today will be part of the culture 40 years from now? For some reason I don't see them singing Ariana Grande hits or dancing to Britney Spears Oops I did it again... or watching over and over movies like Avatar or Lord of the Rings. 

Now I'm not saying that there are not great songs and films in the past 15/20 years... I love Gorillaz and Usher and some movies like Harry Potter and Anchorman, but will they be as good 50 years from now? I do believe it is different with animated movies though. How to Train your Dragon, Shrek, The Simpsons Movie, Kung Fu Panda are among those who forever be part of everyone's lives for decades and decades to come. 

In the meantime, I will sing along with my son Never Gonna Give You Up and dance our troubles away, making sure that we always have a cotton viscose lining long trench coat in case we really get into it.

Cheers

Sandro Cleuzo...The Man...The Legend...The Myth... and my friend!

 Who is Sandro????

We in the Animation industry do not ask that question anymore because we all know who he is. He so well known that when I say I know him people's eyes open wide and they ask "no way!!!".  But he was actually the one who taught me how to animate.

(Sandro and I when we started at Don Bluth Studios in 1990)

Say WHAT??? But you have been in the animation industry for 34 years!! That's right. He has been doing this for over 35 years and I still remember the first day we met at a animation studio agency back in Brazil. They did a lot of commercials and Sandro use to sit in the back of the studio above a garage where they set up a small space for him and potentially a 2 or 3 more people. He was over there by himself, we were introduced and he gave me a scene he has worked on to train me as an inbetweener. It was a struggle at first but he taught me more and more and eventually I start to animate little things here and there.

A couple of years went by and we became really good friends. I use to go to his house, he use to go to mine and the next 3 years were great. We even started to work on our own little movie but something  else came up that changed our lives.

At the end of 1989, being a huge fan of  Don Bluth, he asked me if I wanted to go with him to Dublin, Ireland where the studio was set up. At first I said no because the thought of leaving my family behind was absurd but after a couple of months I said yes and on May 25th of 1990 and with couple of a thousand dollars in our pockets, we left to a strange and foreign country, barely (and I mean barely) speaking the language and trying to find our place in the world.

There is a lot to the story but so I don't make this too long (and boring), he became a household name in the animation industry, working for Disney for years and after that in many other big hit movies like Klaus, Missing Link, Angry Birds, Kung Fu Panda, Enchanted and many others, including Mary Poppins Returns where he won an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for character Animation in a live Action Production.... (well...DUH!) He also is a fantastic character designer and his work is all over the place including 5... no... 7...wait....maybe 10 books? I don't know...I lost count. But every single one is worth it. 

But most of all of this, despite all his accomplishments and awards, he is my friend that took a chance on me and help me become a good animator and a good designer and a good person. Last year we celebrated 30 years since we left Brazil to pursue our dreams and I can say it worked out well. We haven't seen each other in years but he has always been there for me, even on my hardest times, and no matter how successful one is, that friendship is an award on itself.

The stories are so amazing, he even ended up marrying my best friend from childhood... but that is a story for another time. Maybe I should write a book about it one day. It would be called " Animating a Friendship" ;)

Cheers 

 

Poster Boy....

Hi!

If you are wondering I have never been on a poster or represented a major social or religious group, but I always wanted to create a poster, something that represents many years of work and creation in my career.  

Being a professional animator, I never had a lot of time to create characters as much as giving them life but character design was always something I strived for and besides an opportunity here and there to create something unique, only after I went solo is when I had the chance to have my creative mind flow like never before and come up with hundreds, if not thousands of characters for Children's Books, Games and TV Shows as well as my own original designs.

I enjoy every moment of it and although I am very critical of my work, there are characters that I actually like and want to share with everyone. At first I though of a book, then t-shirts, but then I thought "What if I put some of my characters on a Poster and title it "The Art and Animation of an Animation Artist"?

Honestly, I had no idea how long it will take me to put it all together. Just the composition took me forever but choosing over 150 characters to put in it was a very long process, considering a lot of the ones I liked were older drawings and I just wanted to do them again.

After months I finally came up with something I was happy with and I got them printed in high quality paper and they looked great. I sold out of them pretty quickly, although a couple of people asked me why they should buy my poster if I wasn't famous or anything. I can't say it didn't hurt to hear that, not because I wanted to be famous but because I just want people to get it if they enjoy the designs and would love to have that up on their wall.

I'm now printing a second run with 2 different sizes, 24x36 and 18x24 which will be available in a couple of months...

...BUT WAIT!!!! There's more...

Due to the (mild)success of the first one, I'm also working on my second poster with better and funnier characters. I think I'm a better character designer now and I have a feeling this one will be more fun. 

The thing is, regardless if I'm famous or not, I just wanted to share some of my 30+ years of work in Animation, books, games and TV shows that I had the pleasure to be part of. I'm lucky to do what I love and I still love doing this as much as I did when I started. 

Having said that, I'm pretty sure a 3rd poster will be on its way in the near future..... eventually :)

Cheers

An Animated Year....

 Hi Folks!

Welcome back to my blog.

This year has been a very good one professionally speaking. I was able to work on 3 different movies coming up in the next few months. I had the honor to work with WB on their upcoming new hit Space Jam 2 New Legacy and it was a blast to be able to animate such legendary characters. It also gave me the opportunity to share the credits with some people I have not worked with in many years. 

I also worked as a character designer for the end credits on Hotel Transylvania 4 Transformania. I love those little animations they do at the end of the movie and to be able to be part of this great franchise was a nice addition to my resume :)

I also animated intensely on the second season of Netflix's Green Eggs and Ham. That was an experience I will never forget. The characters were great and I worked my butt off to get the best animation to them as I could. The first season was great but this one will be better specially because of the quality of animation that is absolutely fantastic.

So if you have kids (or just want to enjoy a good movie) make sure to check  Space Jam New Legacy, Hotel Transylvania Transformania and Green Eggs and Ham. I'm also working on a new Tom & Jerry Christmas Special that will be out sometime....well...before Christmas.... so I will keep you updated.

I have been working on the T&J show for a few years now and you

can find it on Boomerang TV as well as a lot of great classic cartoons there too. I'm not sponsored by them but I could.....can you hear me Boomerang? ;)

That's all Folks!

Cheers

I'm Back, Baby!

Hi guys!

I always new I'd be back but I just didn't know when. Yeah, I'm older now and somewhat wiser, but I have a lot to share with you all that will help you embrace your artistic side as well as give a bit of insight of my life as a family man, as an animator, a character designer and a coffee drinker (not necessarily in that order)

I started this blog in 2013 and I wanted it to be informative, fun and at the same time let people see some of my work and what I'm up to in the world of animation and family life.

In the past 6 years I moved across country, reached the big 50, my middle son became a teenager, I grew a very distinctive beard and I upgraded my status from a son, an uncle and a father to being a Grandpa. That's right, ladies, I'm officially a Silver Fox (step aside George Clooney)

The truth is that I have a lot to tell you guys and I want to do it at least once a week in an entertaining way so you will want to come back over and over :) In the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest below. 

(Not bad for an old Brazilian man)

https://www.instagram.com/edisontoonsart/ 

https://www.pinterest.com/edisontoons/edisontoons-art/

International Men of Mystery....

Hi guys!

A professional freelancer like myself can struggle at times to make ends meet. It is a tough profession but it has its perks. For one, I get to do what I love, and as long it pays the bills, I'm happy. Two, I get to spend more time with my family which is great and sometimes stressful especially if you have a 4 year old coming in my office every 10 minutes to ask me what I am doing.

And with the advance of the internet, I get to feel like an international man because I was able to make friends and get work from all over the world. This year alone I have worked with clients from South Africa, Australia, England, Brazil, Scotland and India, besides the ones here in the US. It's seems to be expanding more as I'm talking to people for future work from Istanbul and Canada. I'm not saying that I am known globally but it certainly opens up new horizons and eventually more work which is ultimately what I am looking for.

Social media, Skype and Freelance sites made almost impossible not be able to find work if you really dedicate yourself  and use all means possible to become successful and look for work in different states and countries. 

I'm no James Bond (or Austin Powers for that matter), but I know that being good at what you do, spending hours researching and improving your skills and portfolios and having fun are essential for a successful career and a happy life.

"YEAH, BABY!!...YEAH"

If you are Interested, you can put a Pin on it....

Hi Guys!

Just to let you know that my online portfolio in now on Pinterest where you can see a lot of my designs and illustrations. I update that every week so go to https://www.pinterest.com/edisontoons/ and look me up and my other boards for character design reference, model painting and tutorials.

Cheers

Edison

https://www.pinterest.com/edisotoons/

Sketching for reel.....

Howdy!

Every so often I update my Sketch Reel with new drawings and here is the latest version. I draw so much that if I had to update my reel every time I do a few drawings, I will be doing this every other day.... But for now, enjoy the video.....

Cheers

Edison

Sketch Reel project 2015 from Edison Goncalves on Vimeo.

Going with the flow.....

Hi!

It's amazing what one can achieve by just letting your hand slide on the paper instead of overthinking. After a very frustrating afternoon, I sat in front of the computer and starting to doodle characters and this is what I came up with. Simpler lines and shapes that ended up making very appealing characters. 

I have to give credit to Stephen Silver for I read some of his tutorials before I started to draw... As you can see, it helped quite a lot :)

Cheers

Who Let The Dogs Out?...

I did!!!

After nearly 30 years I decided to put together a little video of the new designs for my Comic Strip "Dog's Life". They might change slightly but I kept the personalities and tried to remain true to the original designs. However, this being about dogs, I thought it would be better to have 5 dogs instead of mixed animals. I decided to get rid of the Panda and the Snake and make them secondary characters instead of main ones.  But I added 2 more characters, A scared, paranoid sheep dog and a Chihuahua with a lot of attitude that I think will bring a lot of laughs to the stories. The names were also changed to make it more interesting keeping "Stik" for it was the name of the original strip. 

I still have a few secondary characters to redesign and I will put it up as we go. Keep tuned and soon I will post my "first" comic strip of Dog's Life.

Cheers

from 1986 to 2014