Animation station stops here

When you think "animation," you probably think of Tinseltown.

But what about Hollywood on the Hudson?

"We want people to know that this area has influenced the (animation) industry," says the Westchester Arts Council's Julia Dixon. "It doesn't just happen in Hollywood.

"Over the years, 500 animators and/or studios have been located in the Westchester-New York City region."

Many of them are among the cast of characters in "It All Started Here," a coming Arts Council exhibit (Jan. 20-Feb. 28) for which Dixon serves as coordinator.

The show - which will be previewed at a Jan. 17 reception at the council's Arts Exchange building in White Plains - surveys the animated stars and technology that have been created in the county and the Big Apple over the past 100 years, from Gertie the Dinosaur (1914), the first animated-cartoon character, to the rascally prehistoric critters of the "Ice Age" movies.

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Animation FUNdamentals Is Now Live

Digicel Inc. and Larry Lauria's Toon Institute have partnered to present Animation FUNdamentals -- affordable online animation lessons for aspiring artists and animators.

The lessons are geared to meet the level of the participants.

Animator/director and instructor Lauria, said,"When Kent Braun and I brainstormed on this project -- our goal was to make animation lessons available to folks in junior high and high school. Then, as we developed our curriculum, we found that any age or ability could take these lessons."

Lauria, with more than 33 years in the industry, including a stint as the head of animation at the Disney Institute, is no stranger to varied levels of students. "We never knew who was going to come through the door -- it could be folks with no animation or drawing experience, or they could be pros The teaching was a challenge -- and it kept us sharp."

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