Another week, another animation news blog... Come read what's going down in the industry!

A closer look at Scanimate - one of the last surviving analogue motion graphics machines

Back in the 70s and 80s, when digital animation was unheard of, a huge proportion of motion graphics on TV and movie screens came from one kind of machine - the Scanimate

A rare working example is now being preserved and maintained by Dave Sieg, who recently spoke to Vice about Scanimate’s technical and cultural impact.

The interview also reveals how the Scanimate gave birth to modern-day motion graphics and where terms like ‘plug-in’ came from.

Aardman launches ‘Aardboiled’ - a YouTube channel for animated comedy shorts

Academy Award winning studio Aardman has launched a new YouTube channel for short, original, and off-beat animated comedy.

Aardboiled will feature a mix of ‘content from well-known creators and exciting new talent along with lesser-known gems from the Aardman back catalogue.’

Sarah Cox, Executive Creative Director at Aardman said: “It is rare and inspiring to see such high-quality work direct from the creators without any interference from ‘development executives.’ All the good stuff without the edges rounded off.”

First trailer for Wes Anderson’s new animation Isle of Dogs revealed

A trailer for Isle of Dogs, the first Wes Anderson film since 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, has been released.

It’s set in a dystopian future Japan where dogs have been sent to ‘Trash Island’ because of an outbreak of canine flu. Voice artists include Scarlett Johansson, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, and Jeff Goldblum.

Isle of Dogs closely resembles the aesthetic of Anderson’s 2009 Roald Dahl adaptation of Fantastic Mr. Fox, which featured several forms of animation but primarily stop motion.

Cloud-based font library Letrs launches as ‘Spotify for typographers’

A new cloud-based service is giving typographers access to a huge library of fonts for a monthly fee.

Letrs is being described as a ‘Spotify for typographers,’ as you simply use what you need instead of buying fonts for each individual project. It is similar to Adobe’s Typekit, another online subscription library of high-quality fonts.

"We plan to change the way agencies, design studios, and independent professionals consume digital fonts," Letrs says on its Twitter profile.

Jumbla Academy alumni strut their stuff with awesome showreel

Unlike other showreels, Jumbla’s latest effort doesn’t feature scenes and sequences from recent projects…

Instead, it hands over the limelight to Jumbla Academy’s alumni, many of whom had no animation experience prior to attending class.

“There is so much creativity and potential on display, I’d hire everyone in this crew!” said Lahiru Karunaratne, Jumbla Academy Professor.

Check it out here.