FilmWise

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Image courtesy of FilmWise

I don’t know what I like more about these FilmWise quizzes. Is it the quizzes or the idea? I saw these quizzes years ago and I remember them being maddeningly difficult even though it looks super simple. It is wild how the faces in a scene make that much difference. On the other hand, if you have not seen the film, you probably have no chance to get it. I’m also struck by how the images are perfectly edited. It’s not like they just blacked out the faces…the background is there too. So, if you haven’s seen this…check it out.

Layer Tennis

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Image courtesy of Layer Tennis

Here’s a little competition that a friend passed along to me called Layer Tennis. I’ll let them explain it:

We’ll be playing matches using lots of different applications, from Adobe® Photoshop® to Adobe® Flash®, but the basic idea is the same no matter what tools are in use. Two artists (or two small teams of artists) will swap a file back and forth in real-time, adding to and embellishing the work. Each artist gets fifteen minutes to complete a “volley” and then we post that to the site. A third participant, a writer, provides play-by-play commentary on the action, as it happens. The matches last for ten volleys and when it’s complete, everyone with an opinion sounds off in the Forums and we declare a winner.

They have a bunch of matches already up where you can see the “volleys”. It is interesting to see how one artist takes one design and changes it up. Plus, they even have someone adding “color commentary”. Who knew artists and designers liked sports?

Cartoon Physics

I came across this Wikipedia page for cartoon physics the other day. The fact there is a Wikipedia page for this is the first amazing thing. The second amazing thing is that somebody actually compiled this. The final amazing thing is that it is actually compelling and funny. Here are just a couple entries:

  • Characters are allowed to swim or blow themselves upwards a short distance in the air before falling normally. Sometimes when a character runs off the edge of a cliff, they will not actually start falling until they look down and realize they should.
  • When a toon (normally a villain) saws off a platform, it causes the main platform, with the toon standing on it, to fall down, with the sawed-off platform floating on air.

A lot of thought has been put into it and it feels like you could make a faux physics paper or a video tutorial…regardless, this has some possibilities.