User Profile of Bill Davis
Studio: ArtBear Pigmation

     I have used Linker's Animation Stand for a number of years and quite frankly, I can't imagine being without it. Starting professionally as an Illustrator before getting "hooked on animation," I was accustomed to having complete hands-on control over the entire process. It was a bit of a shock, when I started working in animation, to discover the number of people that were, or could, be involved in order to produce a piece of animation. Ideas that seemed easy and straight forward when they were floating around in my imagination, turned out to be expensive, multi-pass, bi-packed monsters when it was time to bring them to life. Using collage or photographic images meant thick cels and cel shadow. Camera, lab, film to tape transfer, corrections... all took time that could be better spent on creative pursuits.

     Animation Stand returns that hands-on creativity to the artist. The animation can be drawn and in-betweened in the program or drawn in the traditional manner, then scanned into the program. A wide variety of tools and techniques for applying color are available. Doing variations of styles for clients that can't quite decide what they want is a snap, though it's probably not wise to admit that.

     I've been working with Animation Stand for 5-6 years and I'm still discovering new, fantastic stuff in there. Working with the exposure sheet when combining the elements is just like working with exposure sheets, but with the added advantage of manipulating the actual elements that are going to be output to film or tape. Putting together an animated spot with a wide variety of techniques: drawn, 3D, collage or live action is fast, easy and enjoyable, opening the door to more creativity and production.

     I have used Animation Stand for broadcast quality television output like Sesame Street, Puzzle Place and Nickelodeon, in addition to various Industrial animation projects and personal projects. I have even used it for illustration projects because the ink & paint tools are easier to use than the ones in Photoshop.

     I really don't miss those "good old days" of having cels "Xeroxed," waiting for paint to dry in the humidity of Upstate New York, carrying a ton of cels to camera, or chewing my nails hoping that the chemical baths at the lab were OK and that the holiday partying hadn't started yet. With Animation Stand, we can do it all in one program, then output right to our Betacam SP machine. We then still have to call FedEx or UPS to have the final delivered to the customer, but hey! Nothing's perfect.

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Contact information:
Bill Davis
ArtBear Pigmation

Address:
415 Elm St #1
Ithaca, NY 14850
Phone: 607.277.1151
Fax: 607.277.1166
E-mail: ArtBear Pigmation

Animation Stand Gallery: ArtBear Pigmation stills