The great Inkscape is getting better and better: it was just launched version 0.46!

From the site:

Inkscape 0.46 is a major update that introduces native PDF support. The implementation of PDF support in Inkscape provides an easy, open source solution to editing PDF documents.

Tons of new features and performance improvements are included in this release. Dialogs now have the ability to be docked to the editing window. Gradients can be edited completely on-canvas. The new Paint Bucket Tool fills bounded areas with color. A new 3D Box tool helps create perspective-correct drawings. A new Tweak tool provides an intuitive method for editing paths and painting objects. The new Live Path Effects feature can create "brushes" and various organic effects on paths. Improvements to color management include support for color spaces other than sRGB. Most SVG filters are now implemented, and a new powerful UI is provided for editing filter stacks.

I'm waiting for this release for some time. This new features are REALLY great and highly expected.

For those who are on Linux, we can now even import Corel Draw files (until version X4!).

The new features list is huge, and it has lots of interesting things like the ability of making soft proof and including a CMYK profile.

If I recall correctly, there were promises for improvements on text editing, but I couldn't find them on the list. When I get home I'll install and search for. =)

There isn't windows builds yet, but it's just a matter of time.

Seems that the guys at DreamWorks are pretty busy.

It is online the site for Monsters Vs Aliens. I liked the visuals, although there isn't much info on the site yet. DreamWorks artists are also working on Kungu Fu Panda, the Madagascar Sequel, How to Train Your Dragon and another Shrek movie! If you guys need some help, just write me an e-mail and I'll go. ;)

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There is an interview with Disney animator Andreas Deja, made in occasion of the new 101 Dalmatians Platinum Edition DVD.

 

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And today I will finally watch Horton Hears a Who. It's a shame I couldn't go earlier... =/

 

Rotten Tomatoes has an article about The Art of Horton Hears a Who. Mike Thurmeier, Senior Supervising Animator on the film gave an interview about the style on the movie.

As a personal note, the way this article was presented is terrible! It has 13 (yes, thirteen) pages for you to browse, and each of them has lots of extra information and just a very small area dedicated to a 1/13^th of the article. Very painful to get though it on its entirety.

 

I mean... the real one?

Maurice Tillet, a very intelligent french polyglot, poet and actor, developed a disease called acromegaly during his twenties.

After that, he went to United States and started working as a professional wrestler, being dubbed as the "freak ogre of the ring".

Before his death, from heart disease at age 51, a friend of him asked if he could make a plaster cast of his face. Maurice agreed, and some people around the net (just Google for his name) says that Shrek was modeled after him. Just a weird coincidence?

*Thanks to Suryara for the tip.

Saw at Olivier Ladeuix blog a post where he talked about two of his colleagues from Animation Mentor.

The work of one of them was noticed in an earlier post here on my blog, and it is really strong.

About the second fellow, Maciek Gliwa, I found it very interesting to see how detailed are his plannings before he gets in front of the computer.

Who visits CGTalk often will probably remember seeing his baseball clip on the Animation Mentor banners. It's not without a reason that he's got a pretty cool job! ;)

 

Saw today an interesting article noticing the Blu-Ray and DVD realease for Enchanted.

Specifically for the Blu-Ray disc (which I won't be able to watch until the player prices start to fall, heh), there is an extra feature that shows some homages made to classic Disney animations. While some are pretty obvious when you watch the film, there are some there aren't. Cool read. =)