Review of Cards Against Humanity

Thank you to my blogger pal Mike of The Blog of Thog for this guest post on Cards Against Humanity. I'll be off the blogosphere for a while, catch you all in a few weeks!

Cards Against Humanity is a horrible game. Anyone in their right mind should not play this game, not for a moment.

If you're not in your right mind, however, read on. It's awesome.

Cards Against Humanity is a card game for three or more players, with a really simple premise. You have two types of cards - black question cards, and white answer cards. Each person takes a turn to be the "Card Czar" and draws a black card. They ask the question on the card, for example "What's the new fad diet?" and the other players have to put forward one of their white cards as an answer to the question. And when everyone has put forward a white card, the Card Czar reads them out, and gives the funniest one the black card. Everyone who put forward a white card draws a new white card (people always have ten white cards) and the next person becomes the Card Czar.

But the game really depends on you and your friends having a, shall we say, questionable sense of humour. If we take the example question, "What's the new fad diet?", some of the questions that come back could include:

"Authentic mexican cuisine"
"Oompa-Loompas"
"Italians"

And I've kept extremely polite in the possible answers above, some of them really do go into being potentially offensive - but that all depends on the people playing it.

Cards Against Humanity is a beautifully simple game. I love came games and board games, but the complexity of them often frustrates me, even supposedly simple games can have so many stages or rules, or exceptions to rules, that it can take some work understanding how to play, and you really can just jump into Cards Against Humanity and within a couple of minutes you're suggesting that your best friend drinks to forget Sean Connery.

If you are of a legal drinking age, then it is fair to say that a drop or two of alcohol won't hurt the game, in fact it'll probably improve it somewhat, but I have played it sober and it is still brilliant fun.

Find out more about the game at www.cardsagainsthumanity.com - you can buy a set (there are different sets available for US, Canadian, and UK players) or even print it out for free. There are stacks of fan translations into other languages too, even Pirate!

So try Cards Against Humanity.

If you and your friends aren't easily offended, that is!

Mike, when not drinking to forget Sean Connery, blogs over at thoggy.blogspot.com and produces mediocre quality videos at youtube.com/ravenswingthog.

The Emotional Journey of Shovel Knight

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the story of Shovel Knight.

Shovel Knight by Yacht Club Games is one of the best games I've played in ages. A loving homage to the 8-bit NES games of my childhood, it is both nostalgic and fresh, with challenging platforming and boss fights, lots of secrets, an intelligent loot system, and an original epic chiptune score by Jake Kaufman. All of these factors make for an amazing game, and tying it together is a well-told and surprisingly emotional narrative with memorable characters and bosses that really define the world you're playing in. This focus on emotional storytelling raises Shovel Knight above the status of the traditional platformer, in which story is generally less important than action, into the realm of art. The storytelling is achieved primarily through Shovel Knight's conversations with other characters, which are brief so as to not detract from the action, but manage to develop each of the characters' personalities and motivations, making Shovel Knight's quest feel much more personal than the stories from the games in which it draws inspiration. At the crux of the story is Shovel Knight's relationship with Shield Knight and the resulting rivalry with Black Knight. This is developed through Shovel Knight's repeated encounters with his dark counterpart, and Shovel Knight's dreams in which you really sense his deep feelings for Shield Knight, all of which works to make the conclusion of the game all the more satisfying. It's amazing how well the story is defined through such limited interaction, and the story resonated with me so much that it is these memories of the game, more than the action, that will continue to linger with me in the years to come.

Shovel Knight is not the mute, two-dimensional character that so many platformers have adopted in the past. He speaks fairly often, giving his actions within the game context, and is given a tragic backstory to augment his shovel-hacking ability. The titular character of the game starts out as a broken man, having lost his partner, Shield Knight, through a dark and powerful magic. He goes into retirement, but when evil confronts the land again, and the Tower of Fate where Shield Knight fell is unsealed, he comes out of retirement to kick some enemy tail. The introduction to the game gives you context for the action, not unlike the old games platformers it was based off of, such as Castlevania and Mega Man. Generally speaking, however, those older games dropped character development beyond the initial story, whereas Shovel Knight continues to develop as a character as the game progresses.

Rather than just beating people up for the shallow reason that they are bad and he is good, we see through Shovel Knight's interactions that he lives by a code where he tries to avoid conflict when he feels it is unnecessary, often trying to talk his way out of a fight, but never backing down against those who prey on the defenceless. He is a paragon of justice, and his personality is defined to act as a perfect foil for The Order of No Quarter, knights with huge egos who have pledged allegiance for various reasons to the game's primary antagonist, The Enchantress.

In true Mega Man style, each member of The Order of No Quarter has their own stage, with traps and enemies that are reflective of the boss' theme or powers. In Mega Man, these stages work to define the character of the stage's bosses whose motivations were rather shallow, but Shovel Knight takes this a step farther by defining these boss knights' character against Shovel Knight's through conversations between them prior to each fight. The Order of No Quarter are seen to be fighting for various personal reasons related to their own ambition rather than blindly following The Enchantress for the sake of 'evil.' For instance, King Knight gets raised from a lowly servant to become the King, and Treasure Knight is able to take advantage of the chaos sewn by the sorceress to secure all his ill-gotten gains.

The boss conversations are short, and yet manage to turn what would otherwise be straightforward 'good versus evil' boss battles into a battle between righteousness and dishonour. The satisfaction of beating each boss amounts to more than simply being able to learn enemy attack patterns and time attacks; Shovel Knight's conviction is at stake. Rather than each boss feeling merely like just another roadblock towards the game's final encounter, every victory feels significant, as if you are removing a scourge upon the land independent of their service to the larger enemy.

A notable exception to the Order of No Quarter is Shovel Knight's rival, Black Knight. You fight with him several times, over which you learn that their feud goes back a ways. His motivations are initially unclear. You see him engaging with The Enchantress, and though he refuses to fight for her, he also continues to impede your path to The Tower of Fate. Eventually it becomes apparent that Black Knight is aware that The Enchantress is actually Shield Knight, who has been transformed by the dark magic. All of a sudden their feud makes sense, they're fighting over a woman. Black Knight has been trying to prevent Shield Knight from hurting, and possibly killing, Shield Knight. This is not mentioned explicitly, but by pacing out the encounters with Black Knight and dropping hints here and there, a portrait of their feud, much larger than what is actually presented in the game, is made apparent. Black Knight admits that he's not strong enough to take The Enchantress down, and this admission plus the knowledge we gain of his love for Shield Knight transform him immediately into a sympathetic character. What's amazing is how all of this character development is accomplished through very limited exposition.

Shovel Knight does not escape his battle against The Order of No Quarter unscathed. While he is strong, we see he is not infallible as he requires rest, and slumbers by the fire between stages. This gives the character a distinctly human quality, sets the game's quest within a more realistic timeline, and provides the backdrop for one of Yacht Club Games' most clever methods of character development: Shovel Knight's dreams. In these sequences, Shield Knight is falling from the sky, and after a few moments of fighting off a swarm of enemies, the prompt "catch her" appears on the screen, and in slow motion you must rush over as she falls. The outcome is the same whether or not miss you miss catching her (Shovel Knight wakes up), but does it ever feel horrible if you miss. These sequences are brilliant, as they manage to convey without words Shovel Knight's pain and regret over losing Shield Knight, and in waking up upon catching her you can genuinely feel the loss that one feels when waking up from a pleasant dream.

These sequences also turn out to be a form of foreshadowing, as after you defeat The Enchantress and Shield Knight is freed from the power of the dark magic, you must catch her one last time, but this time for real. The game's creators do such a great job of building up emotional expectation through the interrupted dream sequences that the realization of those dreams is made all the more potent. Having Shield Knight then fight alongside Shovel Knight in the final battle is a sweet touch that shows how well they work as a team, and why they were considered a force to be reckoned with. When Shovel Knight is knocked out and Shield Knight stays behind to offer protection while Black Knight carries Shovel Knight away, the worry that she is gone for good after having finally found her again is palpable, and had me clinging to my 3DS during the credits to wait for the final payoff.

Yacht Club games has truly created something special in Shovel Knight. The story elements of the game are quick and never detract from the action, but for all their brevity manage to define a much larger world which is easy to get lost in. The protagonist's personality and motivation become well-established, and his enemies no less so, leading to rewarding, weighty encounters. Most importantly, the player is allowed to take a glimpse into the heart of the character he controls, something which is all too rare in games. 'Rescuing the Princess' is such a common trope in video games, but so rarely do we really get a sense that the hero actually cares for her, or even feels remorse for having lost her in the first place. Shovel Knight takes what we loved about the NES era and combines it with a unique storytelling aesthetic that allows the player to truly resonate with its hero, proving that you can have a fast-paced and action-packed platforming spree without sacrificing story to do so. I dig it.

Treasure Hunting Folly in Studio Crazy Horse's 'Eye of Mubala'

With a story inspired by the likes of Indiana Jones and Tintin, Eye of Mubala is a short animated film that is currently in production. The film is written and directed by Nas Pasha and Matt Bakerdjian, and is being animated by them along with a collection of friends comprising Studio Crazy Horse. It is about a reckless anthropology professor who snatches a forbidden relic, awakening a terrifying guardian named Mubala, and his plucky research assistant Pema, who has to keep her senior's ass out of the fire. The trailer Studio Crazy Horse released for the Toronto Animation Arts Festival showcases the film's three primary characters and its use of traditional hand-drawn animation:

The characters, although silent, demonstrate abundant personality in their animated expression. You really get a sense of The Professor's roguish nature in his treasure hoarding, and the cowardice on his face when he's chased by Mubala. Pema, on the other hand, gives off an air of heroism and determination, and perhaps also her frustration with always having to save The Professor. The use of traditional animation really lends itself well to this story, giving it a somewhat gritty aspect that really appeals to the relic-hunting genre. The environments this team have created are gorgeous, with lush backgrounds and realistic lighting. I caught up with one of the co-directors Nas to ask him about his process on the film and its influences:

Tell us a little bit more about your film and Studio Crazy Horse. How did they come about?

We're a group of likeminded animators, and the film is really just a codified way for us "Crazy Horses" to have some fun. We all love animation, and are pretty unhappy with the state of the industry today. Eye of Mubala is our attempt at taking an idea that we're in love with and sharing it for the only reason that should matter, so that people can enjoy quality hand-drawn animation uninfluenced by money.

In this short trailer I really get a good feel for the character of both The Professor and Pema. How did you first come up with these characters?

It's a funny story! In short, both Matt and I individually came up with two similar stories of a foolish character who steals a gem of sorts from a temple and is chased by a beast. We were dumbfounded that our stories were so similar. As we talked with the team members, we came to agree that there should be two characters in order to express both the desperation and determination of stealing a jewel so precious. So in essence, we have a Jack Sparrow-esque fellow who isn't stupid, but does seem to get himself into terrible situations, and his research assistant Pema, who is the actual brains behind the madness and bails him out of these sticky scenarios.

You have stated that Indiana Jones is a major influence for Eye of Mubala. Are you a big fan of the action-adventure genre? What other stories helped inspire the plot?

Definitely a lifelong fan of Indiana Jones, though I haven't seen the new one with the aliens in it. I love the idea of mysterious tombs and ancient curses, so along with Indiana Jones other influences include Tarzan, Uncharted (the PS3 game), Tomb Raider (though I haven't ever played it), and Mission Impossible. In terms of our film's plot, though there are probably similarities to other stories (since the treasure hunting genre can only be so varied), Matt and I weren't really influenced by any particular source. We just thought it'd be neat to create a treasure chase movie.

I see in your work a combination of both Eastern and Western influences. On your website you have lots of anime-inspired art, but the animation style of Mubala reminds me a lot of the work of Belgian and French comic artists, such as Hergé or Fabien Mense. Which artists and animators would you say most inspire your style and that of the film?

May I first answer this question with a big "Thank you" for regarding my name and that of Fabien Mense in the same sentence. Collectively our team is classically trained and therefore we almost all love the classic Disney animated films, and even though Disney hasn't done anything 2D in a long time, they're definitely in our DNA. That being said, Studio 4C, Ghibli, Bones, and Les Goblins are all major influences. Personally, the works of Fabien Mense, Joel27, BAHI JD, LeSean Thomas, Ki Hyun Ryu, Inseung Choi, and Yutaka Nakamura inspire me in my style of animation. Very snappy, so to speak.

Why did you choose to use traditional hand-drawn animation for Eye of Mubala over computer-aided animation?

Because I like it more, and though unfortunate, many animators these days don't even carry a sketch book - and I'm obsessed with drawing! We have a joke, among us: 3D animation makes all the hard things easy, and all the easy things hard. The skill involved in 2D hand-drawn animation is unmatched and timeless. Classic animation made decades ago still holds up today, The Jungle book is a perfect example.

Who makes up the rest of Studio Crazy Horse, and what are their roles in the film?

We're a team of 11! Here they are:

Animation:
Mark Conmigo, Matt Bakerdjian, Naseer Pasha

Layout:
Giuseppe Arabia, Dale Watson, Tenzin Chime, Mark Conmigo

Character Design:
Chris Morin, Dale Watson

BG Paint:
Mike Chung, Julien Nema

Cel Colour: Joseph Ng, John Chan, Matt Bakerdjian, Dale Watson, Naseer Pasha, John Chan, Giuseppe Arabia, Tenzin Chime, Chris Morin

Any idea when we might be able to see the completed product?

This is our first time making something so big from scratch together, so I don't want to speak too ambitiously, but we're hoping to finish it by the end of the year, or early in January.

Anything else you'd like to promote?

I'd like this time to thank my personal mentor, Bruce Lee, for all his - hah! Not really. I guess maybe to let anyone who's interested to check out the studio website, as we will constantly be putting up art, pencil tests, and all sorts of other goodies. Also, you can find me and my buddy Chris at FanExpo 2014, where I'll be selling my graphic novel series, Two Mistakes Two Many. You can find it in print at the show, or online for free on my website.

Thank you for your time!

The pleasure is definitely on this end. I speak on behalf of all the enthusiastic members of Studio Crazy Horse when I say thank you for taking an interest in our independently-produced 2D animation. Expect weird, wild things in the future!

Video Game Danger in 'When You Broke My Heart'

Currently up for this week's Awardeo Video of the Week, When You Broke My Heart is a colourful short film by a group of French Animators about a King who loses his Queen when he ignores her for his video games, and then, after being confronted by a physical manifestation of his sadness, embarks upon a quest to win her back. It's a love letter to Japanese kawaii and to video games, with an unexpected ending that reminds us that it is possible to have too much of a good thing:

I was immediately struck by how the characters in the film are quite fluid, and I don't just mean the liquid movements of the amorphous avatar of sadness conjured by the King. Characters' limbs and faces contort and stretch in such amusing ways, imbuing the film with loads of energy, with each grimace and double-take pulled straight out of Japanese anime. The video game references are numerous, from Space Invaders wallpaper and amusing arcade machines in the throne room (PacNyan anyone?), to the authentic-looking late 80s Gameboy, or 'Geekboy' as it is called, that helps the King on his quest. The authentic gaming sounds are nostalgia inducing, and are a fitting backdrop for the King's obsession; Even though the King decides to give up his Geekboy to win back his Queen, he still lives as if he were in a video game, jumping from platform to platform before confronting the final boss.

As someone who plays a lot of video games and also has a special lady in his life, I definitely take the message of this film to heart. I'm not sure whether it was intended or not, but to me this film clearly demonstrates the danger not only of ignoring someone special in your life, but also (in its twisted ending) how easily you can take something which is meant to be a fun, occasional distraction and have it completely dominate your life. A big kudos to the film's directors: Charles Lemor, Lisa Fenoll, Anaïs Gresser, Anna Masquelier and Laura Fleischmann.

You can find lots of behind the scenes concepts and designs on the film's website.

My Tomodachi Love-Hate Relationship

Every morning when I wake up, one of the first things I absolutely have to do is ask my good friend if he has worked up the courage to ask his sweetheart to marry him, check with all the tenants of my apartment building to see if they need me to fetch them something from the supermarket, and whether or not Scarlett Johansson and Jerry Seinfeld have finally had their baby. If this sounds exhausting, pedantic, and bizarre, it is, but it's also strangely rewarding. I'm glad it's not reality though, rather these are my duties in the wonderfully silly world of Tomodachi Life on Nintendo 3DS. Tomodachi Life is Nintendo's answer to The Sims. It's a game where you design or import Miis to live on an island and watch them live and interact with one another. Your Miis form friendships, get into fights, work in the local shops, fall in love, and eventually even get married and have children. The scenarios they play out are really funny, and it's fun watching which Mii is hanging out with which, and who is falling in love with whom, and what sort of bizarre dreams they've been having. The problem is, the game gets incredibly repetitive. Miis constantly have mundane problems, whether they're sick, or want a new wardrobe, or simply want to show you a silly face, and I can only feed Miis so many times before I feel like hurling my 3DS out the window. Yet, I keep coming back. My friend still hasn't asked his sweetheart to marry him, and there are still babies on the way. I've been trying to maneuver Samus Aran's affections towards a friend of mine, and maybe today is the day. Tomodachi Life is basically a slightly more complex version of a Tamagotchi pet, and is just as addictive.

Part of the game's charm is watching your friends and various celebrities and characters interact with one another. The 3DS makes it very easy to import user created Miis through the use of QR codes, and there's no shortage of Mii databases on the web. As a result, Reggie from Nintendo and Hank Hill are residents of my island, and I'm happy to say that Reggie is very happily married to a good real-life friend of mine, though Hank Hill remains an obstinate bachelor. Daria (from the show of the same name) tried to set Hank up with Samus, but they didn't hit it off. She's married to Tyrion from Game of Thrones. Walter White married another good friend of mine, and I'm thankful that so far he hasn't given her the Skylar treatment. Just another day on Neo Jeo island.

The Miis can all talk by using text-to-speech, and it's pretty fun hearing your friends say the silly catchphrases you come up with for them. You can dress your Miis and change their room style, which has limited appeal, although I do enjoy seeing Reggie in his leatherdaddy outfit with a horse mask over his head. While the problems of the Miis are obnoxious, solving them increases their happiness which allows them to level up, and with every level you can offer your Mii a gift, such as a baseball bat or a 3DS, which you can see them using in their apartments or the various locales of your island, often alongside a friend who has the same item. This gives you the illusion that the Miis are independent, but at the end of the day if they want something, including becoming friends or sweethearts with another Mii, they're going to approach you first. It seems a bit much to me that I can't simply load a Mii's fridge full of food to keep them fed, or give them license to make their own decisions. Helping a Mii get a sneeze out is simply a little too much micromanagement for my tastes.

Another potential gift choice you can also offer your Miis when they level up are one of eight types of songs, which allow them to perform in the island's concert hall solo or with other Miis who know the same type of song. Lyrics of the song are editable, meaning you can create your own song which you can then potentially record with your phone and post to Youtube, if you were so inclined. All these things are fun at first, but get boring pretty fast. The Miis offer to play games with you to keep your attention, but they're pretty lame ones such as "guess whose silhouette this is" and matching tiles. You get various items you can give your Miis, such as music boxes and swings, and while these raise their happiness and give you a variety of ways to interact with the Miis, the resulting scenes too become very repetitive. If this were all Tomodachi Life had to offer, I'd have stopped checking my island long ago. However, there are events that happen on your island to look forward to, even if they're somewhat few and far between.

Events happen at different points of the day. Once in the morning and in the evening the game produces news reports broadcasted by one of your Miis, showcasing still images of your islanders engaging in funny situations, such as enjoying candy that looks like one of your Miis, or helping a beached whale out to sea that turns out to be a whale toy. Miis of the same gender often get together in the local cafe to have a gossip session, chatting about their hopes, ambitions, and the other islanders. The Miis' dreams, which you can check in on while they're sleeping, are definitely highlights, turning them into marionettes, or placing them awkwardly at a table with duchesses speaking around them, or transforming into superheroes shoujo-anime style. Miis have bbqs, hold magic shows, and have rap battles.

Once a day you can play a retro-style RPG game where your Miis, suitably transformed into pixelated sprites, wander through a simple dungeon and do battle with food items and objects from the game. As an RPG nut I had to make sure I gave this a mention, but while nostalgia inducing it is over-simplistic, as each character only has two types of attacks and the enemies similarly only have two. The various events in Tomodachi Life will keep you entertained for a while, but even they eventually run out and start repeating themselves with different Miis. However, as my images suggest, it is definitely fun seeing these events play out with different combinations of Miis, as the context completely changes based on which characters happen to be playing golf or having a pillow fight.

One of the smartest features of Tomodachi Life is the ability to take a screensnap of the top screen at any time by pressing X, and then using 3DS Image Share to post them to Facebook or Twitter. This means that you can capture that bizarre dream where your friend became a snail and send it to them along with Freudian commentary! There is no shortage of fun of taking pictures of your Miis in the Photo Studio, placing them in pairs or as a group using a variety of poses and backgrounds. This is where Tomodachi Life really shines, making it easy to share your island's silliness with friends and other enthusiastic proponents of the game, creating a community around who can provide the wackiest character combinations and scenarios.

What really keeps me coming back, and this surprises even me, is the potential for romantic involvement between my Miis. A heart symbol appears in a Mii's apartment when they want your advice about love, and I always get overly excited to see it. The scenes in the game involving love are the most interesting ones, and frankly, make me feel like I'm actually accomplishing something.

A Mii will develop romantic feelings for another Mii seemingly arbitrarily. A Mii interested in asking another Mii out will ask you where you think they should go on a date, and how they should act. Depending on what you choose and how they feel about one another, they'll either become sweethearts or walk away as friends. Sometimes a Mii will also offer to set up two other Miis, observing them incognito as the two go out on their date, and this too can be hit or miss, but it's pretty funny. As sweethearts you'll see the pairs constantly hanging out with each other, and if their love becomes strong enough, one of them will decide (with your blessing) to propose to the other one. You'll get to observe the proposal, helping out through a silly mini-game, and then see the wedding, in which many of your Miis appear as guests. Once they've settled down long enough, they'll ask if you think it's a good idea to have a baby. The babies are generally ugly as sin, but you can edit them. You then watch the baby grow up over a few days before becoming independent and either moving into an apartment on your island, or being set as a streetpass character who will show up on other people's islands. The baby book you see when a baby Mii grows up is surprisingly touching.

The one issue I had with having the Miis fall in love is that, as a control freak, I was trying to dictate who fell in love with whom, and though you can try to stifle a Mii's feelings for another Mii, there is no way for you to actively suggest which Mii who you think they ought to go for. This adds an element of surprise to the game, but left me feeling a bit defeated when I told a Mii over and over that her crush was a bad match, only to have her continually pine for him anyway.

I have a love-hate relationship with this game. I love it because I care about my Miis and all the shenanigans they (occasionally) get into, and I hate it because despite the fact that these Miis need you to hold their hand every second of the day, I still can't stop checking in to see if something eventful is happening in their lives. Though I often open my 3DS with a groan seeing that my Miis are asking to have their same basic needs met, every so often I'm rewarded with something new and exciting. Tomodachi Life is a game to be savoured, taking your time between check-ups to ensure that there's fresh material waiting for you and that you don't get bored too quickly by the regular requests of your Miis. If you're going to get this game, be aware that it's a bit of a slow burn, but if you enjoy the idea of bringing together people both real and imagined from all walks of life, watching them go about their lives and getting into cheerfully absurd situations, then this is a game for you.

The Sultry Pin Up Girls of Nic Ter Horst

You can also view this article on The Toronto Animation Arts Festival's blog.

Luscious Legs, anyone? Look no further than the bountiful blushing bombshells of Nic Ter Horst, one of the exhibitors at this year's Toronto Animation Arts Festival Market. Nic works as a clean-up animator at Guru Studio, and is an aficionado of pin up girls in her spare time. She revels in the female form, accentuating hips, lips, and thighs, creating richly sensual portraits of women who revel in the art of seduction. Her subjects from popular culture, including Black Widow, Jessica Rabbit, and Sailor Moon, are strong female characters who are heroes to be reckoned with, and also happen to be amply proportioned (watch out for Jessica Rabbit's booby trap). Other subjects, including burlesque performers and Suicide Girls, perform their seductive art as an act of empowerment, revelling in their own beauty and the teasing of their fans which they actively promote. Nic's ladies demonstrate pride and confidence in the way they consciously present their beauty to the world, and that confidence is a large part of the attraction. I asked Nic about where her fascination with pin up art comes from:

What is your history with pinup art? How long have you been illustrating pinups?

Classic pin ups have always been a huge inspiration for me. Bill Presing's work really got me into the art form I think, and classic beauties like Marilyn Monroe were always intriguing, even before I got into pin up art. I’ve been illustrating pin ups more seriously since I graduated school in the past two years or so, though I’ve always loved to draw the female form.

How do you choose the subjects for your pinups?

I like choosing characters and models who have a classic, confident look. 1920s-50s pin up, burlesque, and advertising have always been a great source of inspiration. Modern pin up and burlesque performers also have a lot of the same attraction, since they’re drawing inspiration from a lot of the same sources, though they often take it in a different direction.

Please describe your artistic process.

I’ll usually find a specific reference, a source of inspiration, or just land on an idea and go from there. I like to start an illustration on paper and work on anything from a thumbnail to a full sketch. After I do the initial sketch I take a photo and move onto digital inks and colour in photoshop.

Why is pin up art important to you?

I find pin up art, photography, and performances to be very empowering, and that’s what I try to show in my art. Women of all shapes and sizes do it, engaging in a series of very flattering angles and poses. The women in pin up are sexy, but not sexualized, desirable, but unobtainable. I also find pin up and burlesque to have a sense of humour around it, and everyone is always smiling.

Are there any models, characters, or burlesque performers that you particularly admire?

I’ve always loved Jessica Rabbit. Recently I’ve realized that she’s probably the character that stuck with me all through my childhood and artistic career pushing me in this direction. As far as real models go, Marilyn Monroe has always been a favourite. As for burlesque, I can’t think of a performer I’ve seen that I don’t admire. Amber Ray was amazing to see, Bianca Boom Boom, Roxi D’Lite… I can’t wait to see some Toronto shows and get some local girls on my radar. St. Stella (pictured above) was fantastic to draw, and I bet she’ll be even more fun in motion.

Anything you'd like to promote?

I have an Etsy store where you can buy my original work, prints, or order a commission.

Thanks Nic! You can follow Nic Ter Horst on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Twitter.

Stop-Motion Surprise of Rosemary Travale's 'The Champ'

A mom gets her son a very special present for his birthday, though it's not exactly the present she'd planned! 'The Champ,' by Rosemary Travale, is a fun stop-motion film created as her thesis for her last year in the Sheridan Animation Program. The felt puppets she created for the film are cheeky and vibrant, and though the film is brief, her clever use of set design and characterization define a world in which you can imagine the characters living beyond the scope of the film itself:

I could easily watch an entire series of shorts with these characters. Their proportions and expressions are suggestive of a Saturday morning cartoon show, while the stop-motion techniques lend the animation an air of reality. The way Rosemary constructed the boy's room with all the posters and fan art of Brent show an obsession that goes far beyond the scope of the project, suggesting this small piece is part of a larger world. The characters she created are so expressive that they feel larger than the film itself; The excitement of the boy (both before and after being beaten up) is palpable, and the way a frothing Brent shows up uninvited in the boy's room demonstrates a fun internal logic that would make for a very entertaining series. I caught up with Rosemary to ask her a little bit about her work:

Where did the inspiration for 'The Champ' come from?

I’m a big professional wrestling fan, actually! I love the ridiculous high action drama that comes out of it and just wanted to make a film that was fun and would keep me excited since I had to spend a year developing it for my final thesis at Sheridan.

The characters and setting of your film are very vibrant. Can you speak a little bit about the process that went in to the design of the film?

Thank you! Since a big part of this film is a little kid getting the snot beat out of him, I wanted to keep the aesthetic really cartoony and friendly to sort of combat that. I wanted it to come across as silly and funny, a larger than life story with larger than life characters to match. When I first started working out the characters I went with a basic shape to work off of. Large triangle for Brent, rectangle for mom, a little oval for Damien, and a big circle for the Ref. Then just through research and more drawing they developed into what they are. Brent is really inspired by a few specific WWE wrestlers; Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H. The bedroom is based off of the one I had as a kid! Same blue walls, and one covered in posters, though it wasn’t limited to wrestlers.

How long did the project take from beginning to end?

The project was my 4th year thesis film in the B.A. Animation program at Sheridan College. I started working out the idea in August so I could apply for a stop motion studio space at Sheridan, which I thankfully received. Then September to mid December focused on story and character development, as well as the majority of puppet prop and set fabrication and then the rest of fabrication continued in January and moved into animation and post production. The final cut of the film was finished around the start of April.

Who are your artistic influences?

There’s so many! It’s hard to narrow it down really! But I will mention a book that had a huge impact on me as a kid and still to this day: ‘Walt Disney Imagineering: A behind the dreams look at making the magic real’. It’s all about how the Disney Parks are designed, the staging and story telling that goes into every little detail down to things like wall paper patterns. I just poured over those pages as a kid. It’s probably the first thing that really made me realize that I could spend my life making things that other people could enjoy.

What are you working on now?

Right now I’m working on some stop motion projects for JibJab Media and I’ve got a couple personal projects I’m developing as well.

Do you have any advice for aspiring stop-motion animators?

Don’t be afraid to do it! I learned so much from the actual DOING on this project and it’s an awesome thing to be able to see your work improve and come together. It’s easy to just sit on a project forever and keep changing and ‘perfecting’ it, but that doesn’t help you in the long run. Just get going and make the thing you want to make! Once it’s done you can make the next project even better.

I really enjoy your work and look forward to seeing more of it in the future!

Thank you so much! I really appreciate you taking some time to check out my film!

For a deeper look at how the film was made, check out the making of video below. You can view more or Rosemary's work on her website or follow her on Twitter.