Just a few things I've spotted that I want to remember but am too bunged up with the cold to write too much about now.

During the drawing of my critical study piece on Ray Harryhausen, I learned a lesson in making sure that brush hardness should be 100% otherwise you get some ugly white edges to black lines when colouring in.

Little nasty white lines

Cleaner edges

Thankfully, because of the size of the piece, the areas where this has happened contrasting the areas where I've remembered to do it correctly shouldn't be visible enough to impact it (hopefully)

For the info-graphic piece I am composing I have chosen to study one particular area of older animation and special effects, mainly the work of:
...and his relationship to the animation industry and special effects business.

Research wise I have been watching as many of his films as I can, and documentaries that DVDs so often have on them now, with many interviews with Harryhausen himself. It's been very insightful and interesting, while at the same time a bit daunting to show everything I've learned in one double-page-spread info-graphic.

More progress updates as it happens...
Every now and then you stumble upon a little animation like this and it re-affirms your faith in why you're studying animation.