The 21″ Wacom tablets are in short supply, and over on the company’s website they admit that “yes, we had unusually high demand for the new Cintiq 21UX.” It’s a sign of the times, no doubt. Animators and designers alike have “gone digital,” discovering the glory of these $2,000 pressure-sensitive monitors. Us long-time Flash veterans have seen this coming for over a decade now, but it’s more than obvious that the digital 2D revolution has actually become the status quo.
And Wacom aren’t the only game in town – a Taiwanese company is now making the XPC-1910A (inset), with a 19″ pressure sensitive monitor. Listed at $825, the product is currently not available on Amazon, but it’s getting solid reviews like this one over on YouTube, which calls it “an inexpensive alternative.”
But until the Wacom or this XPC-1910A are stocked again, artists and studios are out of luck. One frustrated artist I spotted online said he gave up and “bought an iPad and downloaded Sketch Pro and Brushes.”
I know that the team at Six Point Harness in Hollywood is completely reliant on Cintiqs, with studio founder Dave Vamos calling them the “backbone of our paperless pipeline for over 3 years.” The growing studio is snagging whatever they can off Craigslist and are currently offering $1,400 for used 21 UX models (last generation). If you are interested in selling, contact Vamos directly – dave *at* sixpointharness.com. They offer free pick-up in the LA area.
Newgrounds.com has been accepting user submissions since 1999, but here in 2010, reaching over 100 million users a month, they’ve been accepted into the mainstream. The site was listed in Time Magazine’s 50 Best Websites of 2010, along with Vimeo, Etsy and TheOnion.com. You’ll notice that the Time folks kinda botched their review, describing the site purely as a gaming depot. Doh! Flash-animated shorts are what put the site on the map, but it does seem like gaming is what elevated the site into the mainstream.
I uploaded my first short back in 2001, and ever since I’ve seen extremely insightful feedback poured into the comments section. Of course, I’ve also seen useless nonsense, but on the whole the site’s user-base is fairly respectful, especially compared to the mobs at sites like YouTube.com. What I’m most impressed about, however, is the collaboration, or collabs as they’re called at Newgrounds. Artists, voice actors and musicians team up virtually to create something new. The site even allows the teams to divvy up the ad revenue using a sophisticated profit-sharing system.
By the way, if you squint your eyes, you’ll see that my little show Larkmart squeezed into the bottom part of screenngrab on the Time.com site.
San Francisco Chronicle editorial cartoonist Mark Fiore has just become news himself. He hauled in a Pulitzer Prize yesterday for his Flash-animated shorts, which he releases at a furious clip. The prize committee celebrated his “biting wit, extensive research and ability to distill complex issues set a high standard for an emerging form of commentary.” Have a look at his online entry mini-site.
The second episode of Larkmart earned a “Daily 1st Place” last week over at Newgrounds, and a top 5 for the week. I’ve been a Newgrounds member since 2001, so that was a pretty cool milestone. Then today on the 1st episode of the NG Review Show (below), Sale Price was voted Best of the Week by hosts Levi and Darrin. Big thanks guys, for including me in your show!
Toon Boom has just announced the upcoming release of Animate 2, a powerful software package that rivals Flash. The second iteration of the software includes full SWF export, better velocity controls and a type tool. The pre-launch price is $549.99, and if you buy now, they’ll give you the first version to use until its’ successor arrives. Here’s some of my favorite Toon Boom animation from recent months:
Um Lugar Comum (A Common Place) from São Paulo-based studio Split Filmes
The 21″ Wacom tablets are in short supply, and over on the company’s website they admit that “yes, we had unusually high demand for the new Cintiq 21UX.” It’s a sign of the times, no doubt. Animators and designers alike have “gone digital,” discovering the glory of these $2,000 pressure-sensitive monitors. Us long-time Flash veterans have seen this coming for over a decade now, but it’s more than obvious that the digital 2D revolution has actually become the status quo.
Toon Boom has just announced the upcoming release of 
