Adding Red to Fluidtoons Painting

Painting at EMP Collective for Fundraiser

It's hard to tell from the photo, but the paper is four feet tall.

Greater Baltimore Chapter of the American Association of Zookeepers (GBAAZK) had an awesome event at EMP Collective, who asked me to do live painting. That's the result! And it sold, which I'm happy about.

This was my first time using ink on a larger scale and I'm hooked. It's so smooth and lovely to use. Now I understand why Haring used Sumi ink so often.

Short experiment animating with brush pen

I love my Pentel pocket brush pen. I experimented with drawing some animation frames with it while riding on the subway, which made it challenging to get a steady line. Then I scanned the drawings, got excited about it, and drew some more. Here's the result:

Next I'd like to try animating with pencil and using the brush pen over it.

Drawing from Sketchbook

Painting from Tonight

Painting 10-11-12

First Painting in New Studio

Possible Mural (I hope)

On Monday on the way to my animation lesson, I saw a few of artists painting on a wall right next to the subway. I asked them how they got to do it and they referred me to a man named Maverick who was standing nearby.

After chatting and emailing a little with Maverick, he asked for a possible mural sketch so I sent him the drawing above; he might let me paint it somewhere, but I haven't heard back yet. I hope he likes it (he compared my work to Kenny Scharf's), but even if not, I hope to have other wall opportunities.

Time Lapse for Painting at Deep Tanks

Fluidtoons Painting at Deep Tanks Festival in Staten Island

More photos and a video to come, hopefully.

Drawing from 24 years ago

My mom recently stumbled on this drawing tucked in an Aesop's Fables book, and she sent a photo of it with her iPhone (I'm very impressed with her iPhone abilities).

By her estimate, I was about six years old:
I'm not sure but I think the sunglasses-guy is sending electricity beams from his head, there are circular orb-ships flying by, and the guy on the right is spilling liquid from his head. I think. Might also be possible that the orb-ships are shooting electricity at the sunglasses-guy...

It would make a weird animated scene! I hope I can get more of these; I may have to visit Tallahassee..

Brush Pen

I got a brush pen (Pentel pocket brush pen, to be exact), and I absolutely love it.

Interview with me at EMP Collection

Thanks Carly Bales! And EMP Collective.

Live Fluidtoons Painting at Art Show Opening at EMP Collective

Frame from One Minute Fluidtoons Five

Work in progress:

Art Show at EMP

I'm having an art show at E.M.P. Collective. Beautiful flyer design by Carly Bales.

Details:

Opening on June 15th 8pm at E.M.P. Collective, 306 W Redwood Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 

We’re getting animated this June (not literally, what a disturbing cartoon that would be). Animator and painter, Brett W. Thompson is heading up our month of animation with a brand new exhibition, Fluidtoons: First Year in NYC at EMP.

In Brett’s work, shapes flow into one and another becoming characters and, just as quickly, are subsumed and transformed into something else. His stream-of-consciousness drawing style has been described as “Keith Haring combined with a love of cartoon expressions” (ASIFA, ANYmator blog, January 2012). Brett’s animation also follows this aesthetic and builds upon it: most of his films are hand-drawn, marker on paper, and unplanned. He also combines impromptu musical scoring to the short films he creates.

Thus, Brett W Thompson’s work has an air of spontaneity, freedom, and most importantly, enjoyment to it that is refreshing and smile-inducing.

Opening Party at EMP: Friday, June 15 at 8 pm

We’ll be having a free opening party featuring hand-picked animation including work from Oscar-nominated John R. Dilworth, creator of Courage the Cowardly Dog and Fluidtoons animation with abstract soundtrack performed live on viola by Brett W Thompson. Other entertainment includes music from cellist/singer Meaghan Burke, a live painting of a piece, a screening of Mark Billings’ short film The Gift (a time travel DNA human rights film), and a comic book reading featuring EMP’s very own Ken Jordan.

Fluidtoons: First Year in NYC Runs: June 15 – July 6

Gallery Hours: Thurs – Sat , 2PM – 7PM

ABOUT BRETT W THOMPSON

Fluidtoons creator Brett W Thompson is a southern native and recent NYC-transplant where he is honing his skills as an animator and fine art with a cartoon influence. He was president of the Atlanta chapter of ASIFA for three years (ASIFA is the worldwide animation society) and also a founder and curator for the Animation Attack! festival. Fluidtoons animation has been screened in the Atlanta Film Festival, the Atlanta Underground Film Festival, the Montezuma International Film Festival, and others. The Ren and Stimpy-inspired Chickenheads was also shown on PBA 30 (Atlanta PBS) on a show called Atlanta Shorts. We’re delighted to present him in his first northeast solo show.

Piece from Tonight

I finally made it back to the studio. Tonight instead of doing my usual spontaneous painting, I drew it out with pencil first (directly onto the canvas). I'll post footage of the process but for now here are the stills:

Blue and Black Painting

Fluditoons Painting 4/3/12

Spray Paint Piece I Finished Tonight

Fluidtoons Painting 03/27/12

Spray Painting 3/21/12

Art from Last Night

I got to the studio later than I wanted because I met an awesome busker- he was playing the most beautiful electric guitar. We ended up hanging out a little and I filmed him playing in Union Square. An intoxicated dude really got into it and left a bottle of beer (one of many he had hidden on his person) in lieu of a dollar, haha.

So it wasn't as productive a night as I wanted for art, but this is what I did accomplish, and that was fun:





I also saw the Keith Haring exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. I'd never been there, but now I love that place, and the exhibit for me was breath-taking. I want to paint like Haring... in the video footage he is fast. Also, he uses Sumi ink and I have no idea why (is there some advantage over regular paint?).

Fluidtoons Painting and Spray Paint 3/19/12

I got a new paintbrush and I love it!

Spray Painting 3/18/2012

I love spray painting! I do three pieces in this video.

Painting 3/5/12

I find painting with a brush to be a lot more work than spray paint. I'm learning. But as always I love Orange Dust's music so much.

Fluidtoons Spray Paint Experimentation 3/8/2012

Painting in Progress

Video for Early Experiments with Spray Paint 2/27/12

Early Experiments in Spray Paint

One great thing about having a studio space in Brooklyn is I can experiment with spray paint.

So here was my first piece; it's a mess! I totally didn't know what I was doing and I don't like it all that much:



It's a learning experience...

I had more fun with the next one:






I also took footage of these and might post that, too.

Painting Video

First Piece in Brooklyn Studio

I finally made time to go to my studio and paint for the first time. Unfortunately it's an hour away, but it felt absolutely amazing to paint- I want to do it for tons more hours. I almost feel euphoric when I paint big like this.





The blue spraypaint actually came from a gentleman in the subway- he stands around with a little stand and creates art on top of subway maps and sells them. Somehow he could tell I was an artist and gave me an almost-empty blue Krylon can; it made me so happy.

I would totally sell this piece for cheap!

Fluidtoons VJ gig this Friday, 2/17

Thanks to my buddy Frank, I have free reign of the projection during a hip-hop show this Friday night (2/17). I'm excited! I haven't done VJing for a few years.

Here's a sample of what I'll be doing (it's really fun):



The venue is:

Big Snow Buffalo Lodge
89 Varet St
Williamsburg, NY 11206

And the Facebook event:

https://www.facebook.com/events/179315832177292/

And the description of the acts:

GANGSTA LOVE- Hip hop from Frank Hurricane (http://hurricanesoflove.bandcamp.com/album/spiritual-thangz-ep)

AZIKIWE MOHAMMED- Holy brotha is gonna erupt da spot

WEED PARTY- Psychedelic hip hop SUPER GROUP featuring members of DUBKNOWDUB, The DREEBS, HURRICANES OF LOVE, and much more

Oh and if you want to get emails about stuff like this from me, sign up here:

http://groups.google.com/group/fluidtoons-fans/

Thanks :)

Face Loop

One Second of Animation from Today

Ideally I would like to do at least one second everyday- it's only eight drawings.

I did this one just now and it didn't take too long.

Fluidtoons in aNYmator!

So ASIFA-East has an online publication, the aNYmator, and today because of the kindness of Emmett Goodman and the ASIFA-East Viewseumhe's been running, there's an article about One Minute Fluidtoons on Paper Two and Three:

http://asifaeast.com/aNYmator/2012/01/05/one-minute-fluidtoons-on-paper-two-and-three-by-brett-w-thompson

Thanks so much, Emmett!