Animators can be simple creatures with simple needs, but it’s just about that time of year where we start to feel like we deserve a little indulgence. So today we put our heads together and came up with our dream animator’s Xmas stocking! And if you’re feeling especially generous, why not pop one in the post for us, we won’t mind!
Tech
Wacom Tablet (£54.99 - £699.99) - Click Here
Getting things rolling at the top of the range we have the Wacom tablets. Their Intuos series are as good as it gets for pen and touch tablet technology. Any of us here at the office would be chuffed to find one of these under the tree, and it’s not just for pros! The Intuos Draw (http://goo.gl/AEa5o9) is great for beginners and at only 55 quid it’s a guaranteed way to spoil the animation fan in your life.
The Slate from iSkin ($159 - $199) - Click Here
Now at first glance, this might just look like another pen tablet but The Slate is different because it brings life to your doodles in a totally new way. It can be tricky to mimic the look of ink and graphite digitally - now your favourite pen (yes, we all have one) can be used alongside any old notepad or even a scrap of paper and The Slate underneath tracks your movements and digitises your drawings in real time. Gadgets like this are helping to inspire the animators of the future, so we’re all over it!
3Doodler 2.0 ($99) - Click Here
Speaking of bringing life to your doodles, the 3Doodler is another unique invention that gives even more diversity to your creativity. It’s basically a handheld 3D printer that uses rapidly cooling resin to leave a trace of your pen strokes in mid-air, leaving you with a 3-dimensional model of your drawing. This kind of thing has to be seen to be believed so check out the link to see some of the amazing creations that are capable with this pen.
Gunnars ($69 - $99) - Click Here
Now this one isn’t just for animators but anyone that has to look at a screen all day, especially for long periods of concentration - that’s most of us then. Gunnars are special tinted glasses that cut potentially harmful blue light from your screen reaching your eyes, reducing eye strain and sleep loss, plus they look pretty stylish too! You might not be ready to jump on the computer eyewear hype just yet, but we think these are a cracking idea, especially since we all use our screens so much!
Books
The Animator's Survival (£20) - Click Here
Every animator started from somewhere and this book which is stuffed with industry knowledge based on renowned animator Richard Williams’ masterclasses can help you gain the skills you need to make it. It is a true manual of the profession - holding hundreds of sketches underpinning fundamentals that every animator should be aware of, all whilst serving as a valuable reference point between the golden age of animation and the modern computer animation.
‘The Art of…’ Series (£15)
These books are everywhere and on everything from films to artists to video games. Stuffed with concept art, stills, sketches and backgrounds, if you know someone is a fan of a particular series then you can’t go wrong with these. They’re perfect for that jolt of inspiration that you sometimes need. Two of our hot picks would be The Art of Howl’s Moving Castle by Hayao Miyazaki (https://goo.gl/5dn9nX) and The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia (https://goo.gl/d7mpu2)
The VES Handbook of Visual Effects: Industry Standard VFX Practices and Procedures (£30) - Click Here
We think that there’s always room for improvement, and this book can be quite tricky for beginners but if you dream of becoming the next visual effects whiz then this is a vital partner. Practical experience from real visual effects experts in the industry presented in a lesson-based format makes this handbook more of a learning companion than a reference. It’s pretty dense so probably not one to whack out on the bus unless you’re really hardcore.
The Rest
Animation Toolkit Bumper Aramture Studio Kit (£29.99) - Click Here
Readers of our last blog (can we call you regulars yet!?) will remember our love of stop motion animation. Claymation is one of our absolute favourites and this little kit when paired with some modelling clay is everything you need to start making your own films. We’re dead keen to get into more stop motion at Fudge and getting one of these in the office would be the perfect excuse.
I Love Animation T (£14.93) - Click Here
Another wearable but this time they won’t break the bank. Proclaim your love of animation to the world with this cute tee, or go down the slightly snarkier route with this one: http://goo.gl/DNsqAU Until somebody invents shirts with designs that move, these are the best that we can do to show off what we do!
Aqua Notes (£4.99) - Click Here
How many times have you been in the shower when suddenly inspiration strikes? The only thing you can do is dash out of the bathroom looking for some way to record your genius before you trip over yourself and land in a heap, sudsy and dripping as it slips out of your mind… Just us? Well now you don’t have to let your shower thoughts be just that! This waterproof notepad lets you scribble mid-shower so that none of your good ideas ever get wasted, good for a quick sketch too!
The just about wraps it up (hehe) for our Xmas presents wish list! We hope you enjoyed reading and that we gave you some inspiration this year. We’d love to hear about your favourites from our list and why not share some ideas of your own? Get in touch with hello@fudgeanimation.com
