Wanna Buy Some Stuff?

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cedrichohnstadt-zazzle-bee

Got some money burning a hole in your pocket but nothing to spend it on? I’m here to help.

First, I’ve just updated my Cedric Hohnstadt Recommends store on Amazon.com. Lots of books, DVDs, and other resources that I give a big thumbs up to. Full disclosure: You don’t pay any extra by buying through my store instead of through Amazon’s normal channels, but Amazon will give me a tiny sliver of whatever you wind up spending after clicking over to the store.

While I was hanging around Amazon I also created a store with a few of the books & DVDs I’ve worked on in the past. Same disclosure applies.

Finally, if you are really desperate to part with your cash I’ve just opened a store at Zazzle.com. At Zazzle you can order shirts, mugs, tote bags, neckties, or just about anything and have custom art printed on it – either yours or someone else’s. I don’t have much there yet but over time I’ll be uploading a few more purty pictures from my files for you to choose from (such as the bee art above). Also, if you order over Memorial Day weekend you can save 15% with the discount code “15OFFPRODUCT“.

There you go. Enjoy the holiday weekend!

 

2012 Highlights and Accomplishments

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2012 was another jam-packed year. In addition to surviving another presidential election and a Mayan apocalypse, my wife and I welcomed our third daughter into the world. I also stayed very busy in the studio working on lots of fun projects for clients in the toy industry (most of which I can’t show), as well as some advertising comp art (such as these samples for the Coca-Cola company through CPC Intersect) and even some courtroom sketching.

Other notable projects included designing a mascot for Goldfish Swim Schools and some character concept work for VeggieTales. I even flexed my animation muscles (scrawny as they are) for VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer and his latest ongoing project, What’s In The Bible? Finally, I capped off the year by illustrating a three-page comic strip story for Highlights Magazine.

In addition to cranking out all that client work, here’s a few other items of interest from the past year…

I was interviewed on the art website DesignMontage.com.

I was a courtroom sketch artist for the hit-and-run trial of Amy Senser, wife of former NFL player Joe Senser. I also launched a website to promote my courtroom sketch work, www.courtroomsketches.com.

I started creating original sketch cards for mailing out to current or potential clients.

I joined the cool kids over at Instagram (username: cedrichohnstadt), where I occasionally post snaps from my sketchbook and other odds and ends.

Though I didn’t do much traveling this year, I did have a table at our two local Twin Cities comic book conventions (SpringCon and FallCon), and for the second year in a row I gave a talk on freelancing at the CTN Animation Expo in Burbank, California.

I got some wonderful original art for my studio from cartoonist and all-around-great-guy John Hambrock (“The Brilliant Mind Of Edison Lee”).

Former Disney animator Tom Bancroft released his new book on character design, Character Mentor, which I highly recommend.

Finally, a few days ago I tied the bow on a newly illustrated Gospel tract for the ministry of Living Waters. I’m looking forward to posting more about that soon.

It’s amazing how quickly a year fills up, and I’m extremely blessed to continue making a living doing what I love. Here’s wishing each and every one of you a very prosperous and happy 2013!

CTN Expo 2012 Follow-Up

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I want to give a huge thank-you to everyone who attended my Freelancing workshop at the CTN Animation Expo. The room was full with a few people standing in the back, so apparently there’s some strong interest in this topic among artists in the animation industry. A handful of people followed me out into the hall afterwards for an impromptu Q&A and a couple of people told me it was the most informative presentation they’d seen at the Expo so far. It was a lot of fun and I’m glad people seemed to find it helpful.

Once again I offered a detailed outline of my talk as a free PDF to everyone who attended the workshop. Just like last year, I’ll also extend that offer to my blog readers. If you’d like a copy of my notes just send me an email using the email link over on the right-hand column of my blog. No strings attached. It’s just my way of giving a little back to the artistic community.

The Expo itself was terrific as always. At any given time there were at least 2-3 different workshops going on, plus live art demos and a jam-packed show floor. I attended several amazing and inspiring presentations, too many to list here and came back with an armload of inspirational art books. There was also a free life drawing session with costumed models going on all day, every day, out in the lobby. I can’t say enough good things about the Expo. If you are an artist who has any interest in the animation industry, you really need to check it out.

Just to give you a very small taste, here’s a video someone took of Glen Keane giving a short drawing demo out in the conference lobby area:

[youtube_sc url=xus02QEJon0 width=430]

Mark your calendars for next year’s expo, November 15-17, 2013.

Animation for “What’s In The Bible?” Volume 9

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DVD Cover

Earlier this year I animated another segment for the DVD series “What’s In The Bible?” (from VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer). Volume 9, “God Speaks”, covers the major and minor prophets in the Old Testament. I was asked to animate five brief clips to illustrate the various categories of biblical prophecy (i.e. instruction oracles, indictment oracles, etc.). I had no idea that scholars divided prophecy into categories, which just goes to show what a quality production this series is. It’s great for all ages. Although primarily aimed at kids, even a guy like me who’s been reading the Bible regularly for most of his adult life can still learn a few things from it.

All of the scenes I animated took place in a courtroom. Below are a few screen grabs, followed by a short DVD promo clip that contains a portion of my animation.

Animation still

[youtube_sc url=wqGDYo9F4mA width=430]

You can order DVDs of What’s In The Bible? from their website or on Amazon.

For Sale: Autographed Kuzko Maquette and Original Drawing

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Kuzko maquette and drawing

Since I’m doing a book sale to thin out my studio shelves and make room for new stuff, I thought it would also be a good time to part with my “Emperor’s New Groove” maquette-and-drawing combo.

I originally purchased this pair of Disney goodies at a fundraising auction. The first item is a limited edition animation maquette of Kuzko from “The Emperor’s New Groove”, signed by the lead animator (Nik Ranieri) and the sculptor (Raffaello Vecchione). The second is an original, signed sketch of Kuzko by Nik Ranieri on genuine old-fashioned animation paper.

I’m auctioning both items together as a set on ebay. Jump on over to read more info and/or place a bid.