Art of Akira Exhibit

Disney Copy + Paste

2010-04-14T14:42:00.000-04:00

If you've ever wondered why Akira is considered the greatest animation of all time, take a quick look at this clever video highlighting Disney's use of model sheets depicting the same sequences across multiple movies.

I found this fascinating, and I love sharing it with people.

Art of Akira Opening Night VIP event - May 7

2010-04-14T13:42:00.000-04:00

From the ToonSeum newsletter today:

For serious fans and aficionados, the ToonSeum will be hosting a ticketed VIP opening of the Art of Akira. The event will feature an exclusive first look at the exhibit, presentation by curator/collector Joe Peacock, behind-the-scenes display of unframed pieces, prizes, food, refreshments, a silent auction of original art, and more.

Tickets are $25 and are available for purchase at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/108375

There is no other film like Katsuhiro Otomo's AKIRA, and there probably never will be again. An obsessively detailed dystopian vision of a post-apocalyptic Japan, AKIRA single-handedly saved the Japanese film industry and changed the way the world viewed animation art forever. Now visitors of the ToonSeum of Pittsburgh will have a one of a kind opportunity to view the largest collection of AKIRA production art ever displayed to the public. Culled from over 10,000 pieces or original production art from the private collection of guest curator Joe Peacock, The Art Of AKIRA promises to be an amazing experience for fanboys and first-timers alike.

The historic and artistic significance of AKIRA cannot be denied; it was the pinnacle of cel animation. Complete with a definitive orchestral score and professional voice actors, AKIRA was the most expensive animated film ever made when it was released in 1988. The film is a document of many animation firsts but is especially noteworthy for being one of the last completely hand-drawn cel-animated features produced before the rise of digital technology. A collaboration of thousands of artists and thirteen Japanese production companies, this staggering adaptation has become one of the most universally praised films of all time and has inspired a revolution in animation still apparent over 20 years after its release. The Art Of AKIRA celebrates these incredible achievements by giving viewers a fascinating tour of the making of this landmark film.

“Many animated films still incorporate hand-rendered art, but the cost of producing a feature using only cel animation and painted backgrounds has guaranteed that something as complex as AKIRA may never be made by a major studio again,” said ToonSeum executive director Joe Wos. “Digital technology is still trying to catch up to AKIRA. In the end nothing can replace the artistry of that human touch and the focus to detail of the human eye. This is a labor of almost fanatical love.”

Comprised of over 350,000 pieces of original artwork, the stunning details of Otomo's world can be seen throughout the exhibit in rare production sketches, notes, cels, and incomparably elaborate backgrounds, several rendered by Otomo himself. Visitors will see minute details of key scenes by exploring the building blocks and complex layering techniques, from storyboard to dramatic cels with details so fine you might want to bring a magnifying glass.

“Otomo and his staff obsessed over this artwork,” said Peacock. “Scenes that flash by in half a second are comprised of details so fine they could only have been produced with single-hair brushes. Even if you have no interest in anime, this artwork will still leave you speechless.”

The Art Of Akira IS GO!

2010-03-22T06:47:00.002-04:00

I'm sitting at my kitchen island, enjoying a nice early morning breakfast and watching the hilarity unfold on Fox News over the Healthcare Reform Bill that passed this weekend (an event so rare and momentous, it actually has me watching Fox News to giggle at the reaction). The only reason I'm even up this early is because of the work that must be done today - today's the day my selections from my collection of Akira animation cels and backgrounds ships up to Toonseum.

We are about three weeks away from an exhibit I've been dreaming about for 10 years and working toward for nearly three, and it's very, very exciting. I'd say I'm almost more excited about this exhibit than I was about the release of either of my books (but if we're talking "nervous", then yeah, the books absolutely beat this exhibit).

So, in honor of this, I thought I'd share a few more pics of the cels and backgrounds that will be on exhibit. This is the Flickr slideshow of some of the items headed to Pittsburgh today - enjoy!

If you're in the Pittsburgh area the weekend of April 9-11 May 7-9, please let me know - I'd love to have you out for a VIP view of the exhibit's opening weekend. (The opening weekend is now May 7th - 9th - please update your calendars).

Official Press Release - Help Spread The Word!

2010-02-11T12:29:00.000-05:00

ToonSeum has sent out the official press release for the Art of Akira exhibit - and it's already hit Anime News Network! If you'd like to help us spread the word about this huge undertaking, please feel free to push forward the press release on your blog, facebook or twitter accounts!

Here's the release:

ToonSeum Takes Fundraising to the Fans with the Art of Akira

Feb 10th 2010

Pittsburgh--In spring of 2010, the ToonSeum will present an exhibition of original art from the anime masterpiece Akira, a groundbreaking and widely influential work that revolutionized animation. Katsuhiro Otomo's epic film revitalized the Japanese film industry and inspired a new generation of international artists and fervent fandom.

In a unique approach to increasing the scope of the Akira exhibition, the ToonSeum is reaching out directly to this devout fan-base for assistance. In an attempt to raise the funds needed to ensure the exhibit's success, the ToonSeum is askingAkira enthusiasts to pledge sponsorship through Kickstarter.com, a new website that raises funding for unique projects.

“The comic and cartoon arts are a unique pop art form with extremely dedicated and knowledgable fans,” said ToonSeum Executive Director Joe Wos. “There are entire clubs and conventions built around Anime, comics, and more. Akira is revered within this community as a true masterpiece.”

“This is a rare opportunity for that fanbase to directly be a part of what will be one of the largest exhibitions of the art ofAkira. We're very excited about what an organization like Kickstarter can do for a small museum like the ToonSeum.”

Akira was an epic collaboration and full of animation firsts. Upon its release in 1988, Akira was the most expensive animated feature ever made, pooling resources from several of Japan's largest entertainment companies to complete the production. An elaborate symphonic score was written for the film and all voice actors where recorded before principle animation began for authentic lip syncing. The stunningly fluid and detailed animation required up to nine separate cel layers, demanding over 160,000 hand-produced cels and almost as many backgrounds.

“There is a lot about Akira that reinforces the egalitarian appeal of cartoons,” said John Mattie, ToonSeum gallery manager. “Over 15 Japanese companies contributed to the making of the film employing hundreds of artists, each insisting that Otomo's vision be realized. Our thinking in utilizing Kickstarter.com for this project is that all of these fans can show their love and support of the film and help spread the awareness of the cartoon arts. Cartoon fan or cineast, this film is essential.”

In 2010, the historical and artistic significance of Akira cannot be understated. As the popularity and influence of animation continues to expand, the Akira Exhibit gives audiences the unique opportunity to take a deeper look into this achievement in filmmaking. Each item in the exhibit has been hand selected by Akira expert Joe Peacock from his unrivaled collection of more than 10,000 authenticated pieces. Visitors will be given access to never-before-seen aspects of the film, from fully-displayed backgrounds, sketches and production development layouts, to the layers of cels that made up some of the most astounding scenes in the film.

The Akira Exhibit promises to captivate any fan of animation and graphic storytelling, from anime enthusiast to those witnessing Otomo's grand vision for the fist time.

For information on sponsorships and other opportunities
Please visit:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/toonseum/toonseum-presents-the-akira-exhibit

Contact: Joe Wos, executive director
Tel: 412-232-0199
Email: joe@toonseum.com
Website:
theartofakira.com
and
www.toonseum.org

The Art of Akira
When: April through June, 2010
Where: The ToonSeum,
945 Liberty Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Art of Akira Exhibit Gets Some Great Attention

2010-02-05T00:58:00.000-05:00

So, my announcement and video for the Art of Akira Exhibit at ToonSeum has been getting some great attention! It was posted to Fark, Neatorama, MetaFilter and Museyon, a Museum gazette. The focus of the write-ups seems to be split between the fact that it's an inside look at the art and technical genius of Akira, and the method of fundraising on the web.

Either way, I'll take it.

This project has gone from a simple idea to a dream over the past five or so years, and it's so close now I can taste it. I was overjoyed when Joe Wos from ToonSeum signed on last year, after nearly 2 years of working to find the appropriate venue - and now here we are, a few months from launch.

This is a very big thing. Not just for me, and not just for fans of Akira - this is an incredible opportunity for me to pay tribute to some astounding artists who worked at the peak of their artistic levels to create something we will never see again. Not just in our lifetime, but ever. No studio will put eight-figure budgets together to hand-paint animation ever again, especially not at 24 frames per second across two hours - and even if they did, I highly doubt we'd ever see the level of technical detail, research and talent that went into Akira.

When I consider the idea that a young art or animation student could walk into this exhibit and see how it used to be done, and marvel at the level of detail and focus that each and every frame of animation had, I'm overjoyed. Everything is so rushed these days... Corners are cut, and no one puts in the extra effort on anything - only what must be done to bring things to fruition.

Anyway, it's on its way - and thank you to all of you who have been spreading the word. Please help me spread it further by passing along the Art of Akira Exhibit site!

Announcing: The Art Of Akira Exhibit

2010-02-02T05:19:00.004-05:00

(For all images in this post, click on them for ultra mega high resolution versions. You're welcome.)

Quick links: Art of Akira Exhibit blog and site, Twitter, Facebook Fan Page, KickStarter donation page, ToonSeum

Regular readers of my blog and my books know that I'm obessive about the things I love. I tend to get bored easily, so I find unique and interesting challenges to keep me busy. I like showing people how great awesome things can be.

With this new project, I believe I've found the exact right challenge to combine all of these character traits into one singular goal: To teach the entire world just why the movie Akira is a cinematic, artistic and technical masterpiece.

To give you a brief look at why I feel Akira is one of the most astounding accomplishments in filmmaking, animation and artistic history, I've created a quick two minute video which sums it up quite neatly, I think:

(Can't see the video above? Here's the direct link to YouTube)

If it weren't for the fact that I actually owned this original art, I'd have never known just how amazing that cityscape was, or how detailed the individual pieces that went into making that scene were. But because I do, and I have, I feel that the world - especially appreciators of animation, film and art, needs to see this material.

This is why I've partnered with ToonSeum to create the Art of Akira Exhibit.

About The Art of Akira Exhibit:

The Purpose:

In 2010, the historical and artistic significance of Akira cannot be understated. As the popularity and influence of animation continues to expand, the Akira Exhibit gives audiences the unique opportunity to take a deeper look into this unparalleled achievement in filmmaking.

No other film has ever looked like Akira, before or since. It’s stunningly fluid and detailed animation often required as many as nine separate cel layers. The 125 minute feature was comprised of over 160,000 cels and almost as many backgrounds, each one completely hand–drawn and hand-painted. Purists recognize Akira as the last completely hand-created animated feature, as cel animation quickly gave way to cheaper digital production and CGI technology.

Filmmakers, animators, art students and anime fans have largely missed out on in-depth looks at how original, cel-based animation was created - and what better example than the magnum opus that is Akira? No other animation in history - from Japan, the United States or otherwise - focused so much attention to detail in every single aspect, on every single frame and background. Each piece is a study in color theory, layout, motion dynamics and technical artistry. And it is my mission, along with ToonSeum, to expose as many people as possible to the brilliance inherient in this collection.

The Collection:

I own one of, if not the largest collection of original Akira production art, cels, backgrounds and layouts. I've been collecting them since I was about 14 years old. My first piece was, by some peoples' estimates, a non concequential piece. I got it free for pre-ordering the laserdisc of Akira at my local comic shop. It was of a crowd of people walking toward the upcoming demonstration against the government's declaration of martial law, and looked somewhat like this:

Click for high res version.

It wasn't this exact cel, however. This was a replacement, the closest I could find to my original. During the dot com crash of 2001, I had to liquidate the vast majority of my collection in order to keep from losing my house. I only kept a few cels. But as times got better, I was able to buy back a good bit of my collection, plus a good many more - some coming in larger collections as the owners no longer wanted or could afford to stay in the Akira cel market.

Sometime after I began re-buying my original cels, I lucked into a key setup - a background, all of the "book" (supporting background) cels, and individual character cels that made up a scene. It was accompanied by the layouts and pencils for that setup.

This is an example of a key setup - all layers of book and backgrounds, with a cel from the sequence. Click for high res version.

The second I laid eyes on the entire arrangement, something clicked inside of me. I realized that there was far, far more to the production art of Akira than cool cels featuring neat bikes and characters I recognized. I saw the beauty in the actual technical setup and creation of the sequences. I became obsessed. I began researching sequence numbers, framecounts, layouts and the cels that went with them. I went on a hunt for backgrounds and full scenes worth of cels.

It became my mission to unify and reunite as much of this films' building blocks as I possibly could. And as I amassed my collection, the sheer volume of hand-painted work that was used to create it astounded me. It was then that I realized that there will never, ever be another movie like Akira... And everyone with any interest in it at all, be they fans, film students, animation professionals or appreciators of art, deserved to see this material in its full, complete state.

Much if not all of the original cels for early animation - Hannah Barberra, Speed Racer, Astroboy, even some Disney - were either a) buried in a landfill, b) incenerated, or if the studio was really low on funds, c) washed clean and reused on another production. Most of the stuido employess - artists included - viewed production art the same way a carpenter views sawdust - a necessary byproduct of creating a finished work. And the materials were treated thusly.

Akira's original production art made its way to America in several shipping containers, with the purpose of being distributed as freebies and incentives to entice people to buy the VHS and LaserDisc of the film. When the initiatives backfired and the market wasn't receptive to collecting the material, most if not all of it was earmarked for inceneration.

The waters become quite murky at this point, and I've never gotten the full story the same way from anyone I've asked that was even remotely close to the situation. But the bottom line is that boxes upon boxes of cels, layouts, backgrounds and drawings ended up making their way to conventions and collectible shops where they were parted out, split up, and treated rather miserably.

Until a few dedicated collectors began a mission to safeguard what is left of the collections. Myself, James "Krafty" Krefta, Howard Penner and Nichibei Anime (to name a few) all seperately and without coordinating with one another began collecting up and unifying the material we could find. Over the years, I sought out full caches of cels and artwork and bought or traded for them on the spot. When I inherited Howard Penner's collection, a good bit of the Nechiebe collection and what was left of Krafty's pieces, I became the largest private owner of Akira production artwork in the world.

The Exhibit:

The exhibit is currently broken into two phases of development. The first will be the ToonSeum launch and display, starting in April of 2010. This will consist of 80 - 100 pieces of original Akira production art, consisting of cels, backgrounds, douga (sketches) and pencil layouts.

The exhibit will feature video displays accompaning key sequences to show visitors the original clips that the cels are from, along with detailed summaries of the production of each cel and/or background. We hope to supply iPhone / smartphone users with a handheld tour app to accompany the exhibit, to expand and display even more artwork for visitors to appreciate.

In addition to the production art, there will also be a display of original film release materials and collectables, including toys, video games, theater posters and other items.

The second phase will be a travelling exhibit, displaying at the major conventions throughout 2010 and 2011. We are currently in contact with DragonCon, San Diego ComicCon, HeroesCon and WonderCon to set up and exhibit the Art of Akira Exhibit. With enough support both communial and financial, we hope to travel the exhibit to host museums and exhibit halls in New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago, Austin and Seattle, eventually taking the exhibit overseas.

The goal of the exhibit is to give the fans of Akira, students of art and film, and appreciators of quality an experience that will expand on and increase appreciation of Akira - however, this exhibit will be exciting and interesting for even the most casual visitor. Hardcore fans can bring their familes and count on their not being bored.

The Akira Exhibit promises to be an enthralling experience, sure to captivate any fan of animation and graphic storytelling, from anime enthusiast to those witnessing Otomo’s grand vision for the fist time.

How You Can Help:

Absolutely first and foremost: share this announcement and all associated pictures and videos with your friends and family. Anyone you know who is a fan of Akira, let them know this is happening. The biggest priority right now is awareness and interest - we want to know how much you're looking forward to this!

Next, anyone with any contacts directly or indirectly relating to film studios, comic publishers, artists or other interested parties who can help us get awareness for this project, please get us in contact. I've made contact with several illustrators in the comic book world who will be contributing original pieces based on Akira for auction for this exhibit. The live action movie will be coming out through Warner Brothers in 2011 - we'd love to partner with them and help promote the movie's launch with this exhibit.

Finally, we are accepting direct financial contributions at the Art of Akira Exhibit KickStarter page. Pledges are 100% secure, using Amazon Payments, and 100% of funds collected go directly to the creation of this exhibit. There are nearly 100 installations to build, pieces to frame, programs and promotional materials to build and print... And that stuff isn't free. If you have a spare fiver and want to help bring the Art of Akira to the world at large, consider pledging. I'll love you forever.

Finally, I'll leave you with high res scans of the art featured in the YouTube video I posted above. Thank you SO much for reading this and helping me make this happen.