Animated By Sharvonique

I finally made my way to the Kwik-E-Mart and I was so excited. Probably more excited than anybody else there! But I think it takes someone who loves animation to truly appreciate the experience, as it’s like being a guest character in the Simpsons’ cartoon. Well, enough of my babbling. Here are the photos!

Hmmm, donuts...

Hey, a real life Bart!

Krusty-licious!

Shouldn't you be at Moe's?

Popsicles taste like pooh.

help...

I should've checked the dates.

Notice the official Kwik-E-Mart uniform!

To see someone posing as Duff Man would’ve really put this over the top for me, but Duff beer wasn’t included as one of the promotional items. D’oh!

I also just realized that I’m drinking a Buzz cola while writing this post. Buuuuurrrrrrpppp!

7-Eleven is helping to promote The Simpsons Movie by converting 11 of its US stores into actual Kwik-E-Marts from the show. The store fronts were changed to recreate the animated look of a Kwik-E-Mart, and they’re going to sell Simpson-themed items like Squishees, KrustyO’s, and Buzz Cola.

The best news is that one of the 11 stores is located in Bladensburg, MD, which isn’t very far from where I live! I’m going to go as soon as I get the chance and will post pictures.

Here’s a list of all the US stores:

• New York City, NY                                              
• Chicago, IL
• Dallas, TX
• Denver, CO
• Burbank, CA
• Los Angeles, CA
• Henderson, NV
• Orlando, FL
• Mountain View, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Bladensburg, MD

Thank you! Come again!

I was lucky enough to appear in a documentary called Draw the Line: An Animator’s Showcase. The documentary was produced by Steven Fischer of Steve and Bluey fame.

I just learned that the film has won a CINE Golden Eagle Award in the Arts & Leisure category! The CINE Golden Eagle awards are recognized internationally as symbols of the highest production standards in filmmaking. The documentary has also won the Gold Remi at the 40th Annual WorldFest International Film Festival in Houston, Texas in the Cultural Programming category, and is also the recipient of a Telly Award.

WOW! I had no clue that the documentary would go on to be so successful. I was just happy to participate. The show also features interviews with fellow animators Kristin Harris, Sally Bensusan, Phil Cook, and Miguel De Angel.

In Steven’s own words:

“Draw the Line is a study of professional animation. It is meant to inspire young artists just starting out. The subjects were each posed two central questions. The first was, do you need to live in a large market like New York or Los Angeles to “make it” as a professional animator? The second had to do with the basic values of drawing fundamentals. Essentially, I wanted to examine how geography affects an artist’s work, and secondly, emphasize to my target audience that even if you animate using a computer you still need to know how to draw. You must study from life and have a firm understanding of motion, performance, and character. ”

Congrats Steven, it’s definitely a well deserved win!

Take a look at another one of Steven’s multi-award winning projects, Freedom Dance.  Freedom Dance was created with animator Craig Herron, and is an animated/live-action documentary about the journal sketchbook of cartoonist Edward Hilbert.