Meta: Beyond The Blog- Need Your Input

Normally, this is the time of year when we take a week to do our bi-annual fundraising drive.We still might do that at a later date, but we're facing some new challenges and I want to get the input of our regular readers regarding the best way to address them. There are no pictures in this post, but if you value what we provide here, you'll read every word. This may be the most important post I've ever written.

From the very beginning, the Animation Archive project has been navigating uncharted territory. In the past, collections were organized in physical warehouses and history was published in books... But new technology demands new approaches. Today, we aim to organize large amounts of information in databases, and our commentary and analysis is presented in a blog, not a published physical book or magazine. We need to continue to think on our feet to be able to make this new process work.

Currently, there are two challenges to be addressed... The first one is purely practical. How do we insure that our progress continues to expand the way it has over the past two and a half years? Our rate of growth is governed by three things: the archival material contributed for digitization, the "sweat equity" provided by our volunteers, and cash flow. Thanks to great people like Mike Fontanelli, Marc Schimeister, Kent Butterworth and John Kricfalusi, we have more material in for digitization than we can keep up with. Dedicated volunteers like Gemma Ross, Kelsey Sorge-Toomey, JoJo Baptista and Alex Camarillo have made tremendous contributions in building out the structure of the collection. The chief problem we face is the same challenge many organizations face... How do we finance growth?

At this point, 95% of the sustaining budget for the Archive comes from contributors to our physical location... the Archive office in Burbank. The Walter Lantz Foundation, Sony Pictures Imageworks and Dreamworks Animation have provided grants and equipment to keep the doors open. We also receive funding from the thousands of general members of ASIFA-Hollywood, most of whom reside in Southern California. But although the contributions we have received through the PayPal link on the website are greatly appreciated, they don't come close to supporting the large amount of material we provide on the internet. We receive very little in the way of digitized contributions, volunteer help or funding from our internet readers- most of our support comes from people who have an interest the Archive facilities in Burbank. But I spend nearly half my time preparing material for the blog. That imbalanced division of resources just isn't fair.

The second challenge is conceptual... We're moving towards providing something entirely different on the internet than what we originally envisioned. When I first started this blog, my intent was simply to report on the progress of the project. But the postings here in the last year or so have gone far beyond that. The blog has become an important tool for distributing the information we are collecting. As the focus has shifted, my posts have become more in depth. The series of posts on Grim Natwick, Gustaf Tenggren and Milt Gross essentially constituted books, written "straight ahead" chapter by chapter as blog posts. I'm currently working on two more series that will prove to be just as comprehensive... Writing For Cartoons and a reappraisal of the art of Al Capp.

The other day, I went back and looked at the first post on Al Capp, and I realized that to fully absorb all the information there, it would take the better part of an hour. Most blogs, like Cartoon Brew and Boing-Boing are broken into bite sized chunks designed to take no longer than three minutes to read. What I'm creating here is evolving beyond being just another animation blog. I need your help to define what you want that to be.

Our primary purpose at the Archive is the creation of the Animation Database. Currently, our database contains over 3,000 animated cartoons and 40,000 high resolution scans. It would be ideal to be able to provide all of that material online, but the database currently measures in the terabytes. Serving all of that would require technical and financial resources that aren't even on the horizon yet. We need to come up with an achievable plan to work towards that goal.

The question to be answered is simple...

How do we increase the level of participation of the internet community through contributions of digitized material, volunteer labor and monetary donations?

I'm going to throw out a few ideas as suggestions. I would like to hear your opinions on these options. If you have any ideas, please feel free to offer them in the comments below.

1.) SUBSCRIPTION MODEL

Shane Glines' excellent Cartoon Retro site provides lots of material to subscribers behind a password gate. Users pay a monthly fee for access. This blog could shift to providing short teasers for larger scale content behind the subscriber wall. If the subscriber base and subscription cost was high enough, we could eventually serve up significant chunks of the Archive Database.

2.) SALES BASED SUPPORT

We recently offered an eBook of Zim's Cartoons and Caricatures. The proceeds funded the purchase of a 1.5 TB hard drive, which was pretty good for a start. Every month, we could have a different digital product for sale, or provide subscriptions to packages of products, delivered over the course of a year.

3.) ADVERTISING BASED FUNDING

We've been struggling with this option for some time without a great deal of success. Currently, we receive about $100 a month from our banner advertising- not nearly enough to be able to fund content creation. In fact, when the banners were installed, traffic fell 10% and continues to be sluggish. I believe the advertising is an annoyance to many viewers.

4.) SOLICITATION OF DIRECT DONATIONS

We have been struggling with this model for the past couple of years as well. Every six months we do a "pledge drive" where we outline our accomplishments and ask for support. Response has been below the level we need to continue to grow the project. I've avoided doing more than two pledge drives a year to keep the focus on the project, not fundraising. I doubt if we could increase that without alienating our readers.

5.) REPURPOSING CONTENT

We currently have over 500 articles in our archive of posts. Although we provide related links at the bottom of each post and maintain a jump page with links to every post organized by subject, I don't think many readers are using them. If I reduced the number of new posts I do each week and filled in with "reruns", I could continue the blog pretty much the same as it is now.

6.) DIGITAL VOLUNTEERS

I have been trying to encourage readers to help build out the biographies in our Cartoon Hall of Fame. However the lion's share of the biographies there have been written by local animation students from ASIFA-Hollywood Board member, Larry Loc's classes. I would welcome ideas for how to get more volunteer support from the internet readers.

7.) DIGITIZED CONTRIBUTIONS

Every day, I see posts around the "blogosphere" with wonderful scans of articles, illustrations and artwork that would be terrific additions to our collection. I have contacted many of these bloggers asking that they scan at archival resolutions and contribute their images to the Animation Database. Very few of them do this. I would welcome ideas for how to encourage more digital contributions.

Those are the ideas that have been bouncing around in my head lately. I would appreciate your suggestions. If you consider this blog to be a valuable resource, please take the time to add your own thoughts to the comments below.

Thank you
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

Stumble It!

We've Accomplished A Lot In Two Short Years!

WARNING! This post contains concentrated cartoon goodness! Link to it from your website or blog. Tell your friends!


THE ARCHIVE IS TWO YEARS OLD
The ASIFA-Hollywood Archive has been in operation now for two years. Every six months, we look back on everything we have accomplished to date and remind you that this is all possible because of your support. We hope that you'll appreciate the work being done here and find value in it. If that's the case, you'll want to contribute, so we can accomplish even more.

To date, we have digitized well over 15,000 images and 2,500 animated films. There are nearly 450 articles available here on the Archive blog covering a wide range of subjects. The blog is followed by readers all over the world. We recently had our 1 millionth unique visitor; and in the past two years, we have served 2.5 million articles. We've mounted several exhibits in the archive space, which has been visited by artists from all corners of the globe. The animation database has now completed its proof of concept phase, and volunteers are working nearly every day to build it out as quickly as possible. What kind of an impact is the Archive having on the art of animation? Read our Feedback and find out!

We're now ready to begin work on the second phase of our project- creating a stand-alone workstation version of the digital archive that can be syndicated to museums, libraries, universities and studios around the world. To accomplish this, we need your help.

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ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive / 2114 W Burbank Bl. Burbank, CA 91506 / 818.842.4691 / Office Hours: Tuesday through Friday 1pm to 9pm

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HOW YOU CAN HELP

There are a few things you can do for us that will help us reach our goal more quickly:

• Contribute
  
  If you have found the posts here useful in your work, please give back to help us continue to bring you more inspiration and information you can use. Please look over the Donor Catagories and help as much as you can.


• Link To Our Posts
  
  In order for this project to succeed, we need as many "eyeballs" as we can muster. Search engine ranking depends on incoming links. If you see a posting here that you think is great, please link to it from your own website or blog.


• Volunteer Your Time And Skills
  
  The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive depends on the generosity of its volunteers to move the project along. If you are willing to help, stop by the Archive offices in Burbank, or contribute to the Hall of Fame over the internet. Every little bit of effort is appreciated and helps us further the cause.


• Share Your Collection
  
  If you have material that would be an asset to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, consider loaning it to us for digitization or contact us for information on how you can digitize it yourself. Everything you see on this blog was contributed by artists and collectors who want to share their treasures with you. Return the favor.

NEED CONVINCING?

Well, the best way to prove the value of our efforts is to show you what those efforts have produced over the past two years. Keep in mind that what you see here on this blog is just a fraction of what we've entered into our rapidly growing database. Click through these links and be amazed at the rich resource we are all working together to build.

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Here are the top ten reasons the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive deserves your support...

10.) Special Exhibits At The Archive



The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive has mounted several major exhibits. At our facility in Burbank, you can see a collection of animation drawings from the Fleischer Studios, including Grim Natwick's first character designs for Betty Boop. Also on display is the desk that Les Clark used at Disney's Hyperion studio from 1927 to 1938... from Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to Steamboat Willie to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs... they were all animated on this desk. Come down any day between Tuesday and Friday and take the tour...

DISNEY DRAWINGS

THE ART OF THE STORYBOARD
(See also... John K's Stimpy's Invention Part One and Part Two, Ren & Stimpy in Big House Blues Part One, Part Two and Part Three; Alvin Show Pilot Board and Alvin Show: The Whistler)

THE GOLDEN AGE OF MEXICAN LOBBY CARDS
(See also... Ernesto Garcia Cabral Part One / Part Two / Sci-Fi and Horror Lobby Cards / Mexican Lobby Card Fiesta)

Another special event... An Evening With Andreas Deja and Follow-Up

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9.) Features On Playboy Cartoonists



In the 1950s and 60s, Playboy magazine employed many of the most talented cartoonists of the day. There's a lot to learn from these beautiful and deceptively simple cartoons. Many of them are models of color harmony, composition and staging. There's also a wide variety of styles, from the fast watercolor washes of Eldon Dedini to the carefully rendered airbrush work of Alberto Vargas. Style is something sadly lacking in theatrical animation today. These cartoons have style in abundance. We were lucky enough to be able to digitize a collection of vintage magazines courtesy of Archive supporters, Mike Fontanelli and Chad Coyle. Here are some of the artists we've profiled so far...

Eldon Dedini Part One / Eldon Dedini's Satyr's & Nymphs / Early Erich Sokol Cartoons / More Erich Sokol / Jack Cole And More Great 50s Playboy Cartoonists / Doug Sneyd - Phil Interlandi / More Phil Interlandi Playboy Cartoons / Alberto Vargas / Harvey Kurtzman & Will Elder's Little Annie Fanny Part One and Part Two (See also... George Petty's Ridgid Tools Calendars & his 1947 Calendar / John Held Jr's Flappers)

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8.) Art Instruction Materials



Founded by Norman Rockwell in the early 1950s, Famous Artists had three courses... Painting, Illustration/Design and Cartooning. Each course consisted of 24 lessons in three oversized binders covering a wide variety of subjects. To design the courses, Rockwell brought together the top artists of the day... Albert Dorne, Stevan Dohanos, Rube Goldberg, Milton Caniff, Al Capp, Willard Mullen, Virgil Partch, and Whitney Darrow Jr, among others. The result was a correspondence course that puts many current university programs to shame. ASIFA-Hollywood has been digitizing these powerful lessons and sharing some of them with you on this website. In addition, we have provided a wealth of educational material written by top cartoonist educators like Grim Natwick and Gene Byrnes; as well as invaluable articles on art theory.

Chad's Design For Television / Willard Mullin On How To Draw Animals / Clair Weeks' Disney Animal Studies 1940 / Fundamentals Of Composition: Part One and Part Two / Carlo Vinci: The Training of a Golden Age Animator / Willy Pogany's Drawing Lessons Part One and Part Two / W. L. Evans Cartooning & Caricaturing Course Part One / Bill Nolan: Cartooning Self Taught / Grim Natwick on Animation Design / A Drawing Lesson From Walter Lantz / Ralph Bakshi Speaks To CGI Animators Part One and Part Two / Owen Jones' The Grammar of Ornament Part One, Part Two and Part Three / Musical Timing Rediscovered / Originality vs. Imitation: Chaplin's Shadow / Incorporating Natural Forms: Haeckel's Art Forms In Nature / Nat Falk's How To Draw Animated Cartoons Part Three: How Cartoons Are Made, Part Four: How To Draw Animated Cartoons and Part Five: How To Animate / John K Advice and Eddie's Boney Finger and John K on Character Design / 1938 Disney Artitst Tryout Book / Gene Byrnes' Complete Guide To Cartooning Part One: Newspaper Strip Cartoonists, Part Two: Studying Comic Strips, Part Three: Single Panel and Sports Cartoons, Part Four: Editorial Cartoons and Comic Books, Part Five: Sketching, Part Six: Magazine Cartoons

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7.) Classic Cartoons To Study



Through our Film Preservation Program ASIFA-Hollywood has rescued dozens of cartoons in danger of being lost to nitrate deterioration. The volunteers at the Animation Archive are hard at work digitizing cartoons for inclusion in our database. This will allow students and cartoonists to instantly access animated films that are not available commercially. To date, we have digitized over 2,500 cartoons... Fleischer Popeyes, Bouncing Ball Cartoons, Terrytoons and many more that haven't been seen in decades. Here are just a few of the cartoons in our collection...

Fleischer Studios: Swing, You Sinners, Mariutch, Betty Boop in Snow White & You're Driving Me Crazy / Van Beuren: The Little King in On The Pan 1933 / Famous Studios: Chiquita Banana / Terrytoons: Barnyard Actor, Farmer Al Falfa's Prize Package, Pink Elephants, The Temperamental Lion (1940), Gandy & Sourpuss in Aladdin's Lamp & Catnip Capers, Bill Tytla's Mighty Mouse Meets Jekyll & Hyde Cat / H-B's The Bodyguard and Avery's Bad Luck Blackie / Uproar In Heaven (China/1961) Part One, Part Two / Ruff and Reddy and Pinky the Pint-Sized Pachyderm, Tex Avery's KoolAid Spots: UPA Done Right

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6.) Golden Age Illustration



One of the goals of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive is to gather together the material that provided inspiration to animators in the 30s and 40s. Artists like Kay Nielsen and Gustaf Tenggren made the trip to California and ended up working for Disney. These books contain a wealth of inspiration for color, design and technique. We are also archiving the work of great illustrators from the 40s and 50s, like Arthur Szyk and Boris Artzybasheff. Click on a few of these links and be amazed at what you see...

Bland Tomtar Och Troll: John Bauer 1915 / Einar Norelius 1929, Einar Norelius 1934, Bauer & Norelius 1944/1949 / Kay Nielsen: East of the Sun and West of the Moon, Twelve Dancing Princesses & Hansel & Gretel / Gustaf Tenggren: Small Fry And The Winged Horse, D'Aulnoy's Fairy Tales, Good Dog Book, Heidi - Wonderbook - Juan & Juanita & Grimms Fairy Tales / Edmund Dulac: Hans Christian Anderson, Poe's Poetical Works & Tanglewood Tales / Maxfield Parrish's Arabian Nights (1909) / N. C. Wyeth's Legends of Charlemagne / Frank Reynolds Paints Pickwick / Monks By Eduard von Grutzner / Artzybasheff: Neurotica, Machinalia & Diablerie / Arthur Szyk: The New Order / WWI Propaganda Posters Part One and Part Two / Mid-1930s Colliers Illustrations / Late 40s Colliers Illustrations / Coronet Magazine / Lawson Wood- The Monkey Painter Part One and Part Two

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5.) Historical Info & Interviews



We are in the process of publishing an important interview with three of animation's pioneers... Bill Hanna, Joe Barbera and Friz Freleng. Interviewed by cartoon director, John Kricfalusi, they speak with candor about their careers and the state of animation in the modern age. The interview is illustrated extensively with pictures and videos of cartoons so you can instantly see what they are talking about. This sort of interactive presentation takes full advantage of the power of the internet as a learning tool. There are two installments now online, with more to come in the near future. We also posted an interesting audio clip of Grim Natwick discussing his friend and former boss, Ub Iwerks, a fascinating article on Bill Tytla by animation historian John Canemaker, and a documentary on China's pioneer animators, the Wan Brothers...

Bill-Joe-Friz Interview Pt. 1 / Bill-Joe-Friz Interview Pt. 2 / Natwick on Iwerks / Three Interesting Documents / Berny Wolf (1911-2006) Terrytoons Studio Tour 1939 / Louise Zingarelli: Cool World / Biography: The Wan Brothers- Cinese Animation Pioneers / Nat Falk's "How To Make Animated Cartoons Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four and Part Five / Life Magazine: Disney Studios at War / John Canemaker on Bill Tytla / Lotte Reiniger's Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) Part One and Part Two / Clair Weeks' Goodbye Book (Disney/1952) and Pioneer of Indian Animation / Bob Clampett's Swimming Pool 1962 / Ward Kimball: Escapader Cum Laude and Will Finn's Letter From Ward Kimball / Building Of The Disney Studio In Burbank / Dispatch From Disney's 1943 Part One and Part Two / Milton Caniff: A Remembrance

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4.) The Cartoon Hall Of Fame



ASIFA-Hollywood has been recognizing the important figures in the history of animation for over three decades with the Annie Awards. We continue that tradition with our online biographical wiki, the Cartoon Hall Of Fame. Thanks to the hard work of the students in Charlie Lawing and Larry Loc's animation classes, the Hall Of Fame is beginning to take shape. We still need volunteers to help us edit and format the entries, as well as people to draft the biographical sketches of their favorite artists. If you would like to help, please email me at sworth@animationarchive.org. In the meantime, check out the wonderful biographies of these greats...

James Stuart Blackton (See also... Animation Centennial 1906-2006) / Carlo Vinci / Art Babbitt (See also... Pencil Test of Art's Best Scene) / Shamus Culhane / John Kricfalusi / Ralph Bakshi (See also... Mel Blanc on Advertising / Milton Caniff and Norman Rockwell in Coronet / Bakshi Phone Doodles) / Oskar Fischinger / Ollie Johnston / Osamu Tezuka

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3.) Classic Golden Books



We've collected and digitized an amazing library of images from the classic Golden Books of the 1940s through the 60s. Some of the finest artists in the business worked for Western Publishing on this series, including Gustaf Tenggren, Mel Crawford, Mary Blair and J.P. Miller. We are still working on digitizing the collection donated to us by John Kricfalusi, but so far, we have scanned the following books...

Tibor Gergely: A Day In The Jungle / Gustaf Tenggren: The Little Trapper / Mary Blair's Baby's House, Little Verses Part One and Part Two, The New Golden Song Book Part One, Part Two & Part Three / Al White: Rocky & His Friends & Huck Hound Builds A House / Mel Crawford: Rootie Kazootie Joins The Circus / 50s & 60s Album Covers Part One and Part Two / Early 50s Disney Christmas Cards / Disney's Uncle Remus Stories Part One and Part Two / Rojankovsky's Frog Went A-Courtin'

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2.) Vintage Newspaper Cartoons And Comics



Along with our Archive Alliance member, Digital Funnies, comic collector Kent Butterworth and the Milton Caniff Estate, we've brought you some wonderful newspaper strips, magazine cartoons, and comic books, many of which have never been reprinted. Here is just a small sampling of the material we've added to the archive database...

The Father of Cartooning: T. S. Sullivant / Virgil Partch: Here We Go Again, The Wild, Wild Women Part One Part Two and Part Three, & Man The Beast / Milt Gross: Cartoon Tour of New York, Dave's Delicatessen Dailies, Sunday Pages Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five and Part Six / Cliff Sterrett: Polly And Her Pals Part One, Part Two and Part Three / Otto Messmer's 1932 Felix Sundays and Felix in Mother Goose Land / Dudley Fisher's Right Around Home / Hanna-Barbera: Huckleberry Hound Weekly / Harrison Cady: Bird's Eye Views / Jim Tyer: Funny Animal Comics Part One and Part Two / Basil Wolverton: Powerhouse Pepper / Chic Young's Blondie and More of Chic Young's Blondie / Boody Rogers: Babe Comics Part One, Part Two & Part Three / George Lichty's Grin and Bear It and Even More Great Lichty Grin & Bear It Comics / Rube Goldberg's Side Show / Milt Stein's Supermouse Comics No. 4 / Harvey Kurtzman's Comic Books / Dan Gordon's Superkatt / Parody: Whack Comics (1953) / Basil Wolverton on Cartoon Sounds Part One and Part Two / Milton Knight's Great Brown-Pericord Motor / Harvey Eisenberg's Foxy Fagan 1946 / Milton Caniff's Steve Canyon and More Steve Canyon Dalies / Walt Kelly's Pogo / People on Paper (MGM/1945)

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1.) The $100,000 Animation Drawing Course



How much would it be worth to you to learn to draw for animation from two masters... one from the "golden age" of animation, and one of the top talents in the industry today? Well, you can do that right here on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog with our online drawing course. Overseen by Ren & Stimpy creator, John Kricfalusi and using the long out-of-print original edition of Preston Blair's handbook on animation techniques, you can't find a better resource for honing your drawing skills. The individual lessons are in the sidebar of this site, but start out with the...

Introduction to the $100K Drawing Course
Preston Blair's Animation 1st Edition Part One / Part Two

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And That's Not All Folks...



Not surprisingly, the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive has one of the most extensive collections of animation artwork in the world- material from every studio and era, from the earliest silent cartoons all the way through current television productions. Our focus is on artwork not archived elsewhere... drawings and cels from 1950s commercial animation houses, extinct New York studios and obscure cartoon producers from the golden age of cartoons. Here is just a small sampling of our collection...

Mike Lah and Quartet Films / Ray Patin Studios Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six / Carlo Vinci's Terry-Toons Notes / Vincent Waller Spumco Drawings and Jim Smith Spumco Layouts / Herb Klynn's Unmade Animated Feature / Ralph Bakshi Phone Doodles / Katie Rice's Designs / Chuck Jones Layouts / Grim Natwick's Post UPA Commercials / Early 50s UPA Model Sheets / Reluctant Dragon and Pinocchio Model Sheets / Jules Engel's Alvin Show Color Keys / Model Sheets by Hurter and Thorson, Mice and Duck Model Sheets, and More Disney Model Sheets / Artwork from Disney's Bambi / Terrytoons Model Sheets / Herb Klynn's Pitch For The Shrimp / MGM Animation Drawings / Alex Toth Model Sheets

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Please donate whatever you can to support this important project. Your generosity is what keeps the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive going. If you aren't financially able to contribute or if you already made a donation, please tell your friends about the Archive Project Blog. Link to this post from your website or blog, tell everyone you know about the ten good reasons to contribute to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.


It's impossible for me to thank everyone who has helped this project in such a small space. But I'm going to make an effort to try. (excuse me if I don't mention you!) Thanks to the Walter Lantz Foundation for its support of this project from its inception. I'd also like to thank our project sponsors, Sony Pictures, Dreamworks, and The Animation Guild. A big thank you to our celebrity supporters, June Foray, Leonard Maltin, Andreas Deja, John Kricfalusi, and Nancy Cartwright. We owe a debt of gratitude to the schools that have rallied behind us, Woodbury University, Brooks College and LA Valley College. So many people have come forward to share their treasures with us... Jerry Beck, Mark Kausler, Van Eaton Galleries, NoCloo.com, the Vincis, the Milton Caniff estate, Digital Funnies, Mike Fontinelli, Kent Butterworth, the family of Clair Weeks, John Canemaker, Rich Borowy, Marc Deckter, and Marc Crisafulli. This project would not be possible without the support of the Board of Directors and members of ASIFA-Hollywood. My biggest thanks go to the handful of volunteers who patiently work their way through the files day after day, turning bits and bytes into useful information that will make a difference for the better long after all of us are gone. You know who you are. You're all heros.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

Stumble It!

Event: An Evening With Andreas Deja Follow-Up

Last night at the Van Eaton Gallery in Sherman Oaks, CA, we had a rare opportunity to gain insight into the career and working method of one of animation's top talents... Andreas Deja. Andreas covered a huge range of subjects and shared his thoughts and passion for hand drawn animation with a packed house of enthusiastic fans, professionals and students of the artform.


On a big screen, Andreas peppered his talk with sketches, memoribilia and photos from his personal collection, and drew on the overhead projector to illustrate the concepts he was discussing.


After his talk, Andreas generously met with the audience and signed autographs on the great artwork assembled by the Van Eatons. He offered encouragement and advice to the students in the audience, like the contingent from Laguna College of Art and Design pictured above.


Many thanks to Andreas, the folks at the Van Eaton Gallery and the great group of people who came out to support the archive project.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

Stumble It!

Meta: What Is ASIFA-Hollywood

Don't Be Left Out! Join ASIFA-Hollywood!

Those of you who have been following the progress of the Animation Archive may not be familiar with the organization behind it... ASIFA-Hollywood. If you love animation and live in Los Angeles, you have no excuse to not be a member of ASIFA-Hollywood. The benefits far outweigh the cost of the annual dues. Even if you don't live in LA, there are plenty of reasons to join, or to seek out a chapter of ASIFA near you. (There are ASIFA chapters all over the world.)

Bookmark the ASIFA-Hollywood Homepage and read on to find out...

What Is ASIFA-Hollywood?

We are the Los Angeles chapter of the international organization, ASIFA: The International Animated Film Society. Founded by a group of animators in 1957, and chartered by UNESCO in 1960, ASIFA encourages the art of animation and futhers international understanding and goodwill through the medium. Today, there are about thirty chapters of ASIFA all over the globe. ASIFA is a French acronym... "Association Internationale du Film D'Animation".

ASIFA- Hollywood was established over thirty years ago as a 501(c)(3) California non-profit organization. It is the largest chapter of ASIFA in the world. We are self-sustaining through our membership dues and the proceeds from our various projects and events.

Can I Please Be A Member?

Certainly! ASIFA-Hollywood membership is open to animation professionals, students and fans of animation. Anyone who loves animation can be a member of ASIFA!

There are three types of membership categories... General Member, Patron and Student Member. To find out about these and read about our goals and ongoing projects, read on...

What's The Concept Behind ASIFA-Hollywood?

ASIFA-Hollywood is the place where professional animators and fans, employees from competing studios and artists of different disciplines can join together on neutral ground where the common denominator is a passion for animation.

ASIFA-Hollywood's Goals

• To support and encourage animation education
• To support the preservation and critical evaluation of animation history
• To recognize the achievement of excellence in the art and industry of animation
• To increase public awareness of animation
• To act as a liason to encourage the free exchange of ideas within the animation community
• To encourage journalism documenting current trends and activities in animation
• To encourage the social interaction of professional and non-professional animation enthusiasts
• To encourage the development and expression of all forms of animation

So What Does ASIFA Do?

If you love animation, you'll find lots to do as a member of ASIFA-Hollywood. Here are just a few of our ongoing projects and programs...

MEMBER EVENTS AND SCREENINGS

Throughout the year, we host a packed calendar of events, including screenings of rare cartoons, members-only sneak peeks at current animated features and shows, lectures and workshops by noted animation professionals and social networking meetings. For up to date info on our activities, bookmark our Calendar of Events for more info.

THE ANNIE AWARDS

First held in 1972, the Annie Awards have grown to become animation's highest honor. The Annies are dedicated to honoring the best animated films of the year, as well as recognizing individual achievement. All members of ASIFA-Hollywood may vote for the winners. See AnnieAwards.org for more info.

THE ANIMATION ARCHIVE

The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive has been collecting material related to the art of animation for over thirty years. Recently, the Board of Directors resolved to create a world-class archive, library and museum dedicated to the artform. Work is underway to build a digital archive- a database containing hundreds of thousands of image files, biographical sketches, filmographic data and animated films- all searchable by keyword. You can read about the day by day progress of this project on the Archive Blog located at AnimationArchive.org.

AND THAT'S NOT ALL FOLKS...

ASIFA-Hollywood is at the forefront of the LA animation scene. We preserve films in danger of being lost to nitrate deterioration through our Animated Film Preservation Project. We maintain a charitable fund, The Animation Aid Foundation, and we foster education through the Stephen Bosustow and Art Babbitt Educational Endowment Funds.

Okie Doke... Sign Me Up!

ASIFA membership is available in three levels...

Patron Membership includes International Membership and provides a donation for the Animation Archive and Film Preservation projects.

General Membership ($75/year within the US/$100 outside the US) includes International Membership

Student Membership ($30/year) does not include International Membership. Student ID required.

Volunteer opportunities are available in the following areas: Annie Awards, Comic Con, Publicity, Animation Archive, Events & Screenings and the Animation Rescue Team. Please let us know if you are interested in volunteering by sending an email to... volunteer@asifa-hollywood.org

Print Out The Membership Form

• PDF Membership Form

Mail It With Payment To...

ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD
2114 W Burbank Bl
Burbank, CA 91506

Inquiries about membership status should be directed to... membership@asifa-hollywood.org

ABOUT ASIFA INTERNATIONAL
Find out about what ASIFA does all over the world.

ASIFA INTERNATIONAL CONTACT DIRECTORY
Find a chapter of ASIFA near you.

JOIN ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD
Join us.

Drawings on this page by Grim Natwick and Tissa David.

Stumble It!

Event: An Evening With Andreas Deja

Tell Everyone You Know!

AN EVENING WITH ANDREAS DEJA



A BENEFIT FOR THE ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD ANIMATION ARCHIVE, Thursday June 21st, 7:00pm to 10:00pm

Andreas Deja, one of the most talented and well-known of contemporary Disney animators will be making a special appearance for an evening of animation and fun at Van Eaton Galleries! Andreas' animation has had a huge impact on American popular culture over the past couple of decades.... Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King are among the most popular and successful animated features of all time. Andreas will be sharing his behind-the-scenes stories, showing examples of his work, and answering your questions in this unique program.

Event Exclusive! By special permission from Walt Disney Studios, and with the help of Collectors Editions, Andreas has created a Limited Edition Giclee especially for this event! Be one of the first to own this beautiful piece of art featuring some of his most famous characters! Limited to only 200 pieces, this very special Limited Edition, (image above), can be signed by Andreas, and will be available by PRE-ORDER, as well as on sale at the event. Proceeds will be going to The ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive Project. Call 818-788-2357 to Pre-Order today!

The walls of the Van Eaton Gallery will be packed with original production artwork, including some of Deja's own production work and his original wire sculptures. It will be a rare opportunity to add a very special piece to your collection. A portion of all sales on the evening of the event will also go to The ASIFA Hollywood Animation Project.

Seating Is Extremely Limited!

Tickets $10:00 in Advance and $12:00 at the Door
All proceeds go to The ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive
To purchase tickets and for more information, call 818-788-2357.

Don't Miss Out!

ABOUT THE CAUSE

The International Animated Film Society: ASIFA-Hollywood, a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization, has embarked on an ambitious project to create an animation archive, museum, and library for the benefit of the animation community, students and general public. Located in Burbank CA, the archive is currently building a database of images, filmographic data and biographical sketches. More info at http://www.animationarchive.org

Sincerely,
Van Eaton Galleries Staff
13613 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
http://www.vegalleries.com/old_site/index.html

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Meta: Fundraiser Update

I would like to thank the people who helped spread the word about the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive last week... Craig D, Zep, Lee, NateBear, Jorge Garrido, Paul Etcheverry, P-E Fronning, Amir Avni, Loon, James Suhr, Dungeon Warden, Childewolf, In-Sect, Calmspirit and Max Ward. (excuse me if I missed anybody!)

As you know, every six months we take a week to promote the Archive project and encourage those who have benefitted from it to contribute. ASIFA-Hollywood is a non-profit arts organization, and the Archive project depends on donations to fund its operations. Unfortunately, last week's fundraiser didn't generate a single donation.

I'm working on other ways to generate funding, but it is going to take some of my time away from digitizing and drafting new posts. Instead of three posts a week as I have been doing, I am going to go to two posts a week. I am working on a series of charity auctions that will include occasional ebay lots as well as a live auction event this Summer. We have plans for fundraising events tied in with upcoming screenings and celebrity appearances in the Los Angeles area. And I am looking into ways to publish art prints and books based on the material in our collection. We continue to look for corporate sponsors and advertisers to cover the expenses of the website content creation and hosting.

If anyone out there has fundraising ideas, or if you are willing to help us generate funds to operate and expand the archive, please let me know at sworth@animationarchive.org.

Thanks for your support.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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