August 28, 2011 at 11:23 pm | Artwork | Comment
Obviously, when one thinks about love, immediately one thinks of zombies. All the great romance novels include zombies: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Twilight (maybe not technically but almost), Wuthering Heights – I didn’t finish reading Wuthering Heights but I could tell it was heading in that direction. So naturally when it came to choosing an approach for my entry in the ‘Love is Here’ project my thoughts turned towards the flesh-eating fiends.
The ‘Love is Here’ Project is open to all Australians wanting to spread some love. Of the over one hundred entries, 20 will be chosen to be exhibited in Sydney and Melbourne galleries and printed in a free booklet – with tear-out pages to give to the ones you love.
The number of ‘likes’ each submission gets on the official ‘Love is Here’ Facebook page will help decide which 20 entries will be chosen. Anyone can follow the ‘Love is Here’ page to be able to ‘like’ submissions. To like my entry go here.
Update: My submission was chosen to be printed in the ‘Love is Here’ booklet. Prints of successful entries will be exhibited at Rancho Notorious Gallery in Melbourne from 19 July – 1 August and at aMBUSH Gallery in Sydney 8 – 14 August.
May 15, 2011 at 5:03 pm | Artwork | Comment
One nuclear bomb can ruin your entire day – a cute saying that reminds us not to take life so seriously. It’s also the inspiration behind my first ever Threadless design submission. The first time I heard the saying, I immediately recalled the ol’ civil defense film Duck and Cover from the early 1950s. So, naturally, when it came to choosing a style I decided to parody the Duck and Cover film posters.
And here’s the final submission:
March 10, 2011 at 10:25 pm | Artwork | Comment
Kinetic Typography can simply be described as ‘animated text’ or ‘typography in motion’. Practical examples of kinetic typography can be found in the opening credits of movies, in television advertising, and music video clips. Animated text can add extra meaning to words, make those words more easily understood, or, at the very least, make what was previously static text more entertaining. Kinetic typography is often coupled with the spoken word or lyrics.
A few months ago I tried my hand at a quick kinetic typography exercise. I say “quick” because it’s not the most impressive example, but I’m still rather proud of this first attempt.
I turned to Youtube for some examples of kinetic typography and there are quite a few that are easy to find. I noticed some common features among the best clips:
My favourite example of kinetic typography is ‘Shop Vac’ by Jarrett Heather to music and lyrics by Jonathan Coulton. A range of fonts are used, but used cleverly in a way that parodies the subject of the text. The animation is very creative. My favourite parts were the animation of the ear on the letter ‘g’ for the word dog, and the imitation of the Facebook interface paired with the line “but we haven’t got real friends”.
The following clip is a good example of how kinetic typography can be used for advertising. It also shows that the words don’t need to be spoken for the message to be clear.
The trend on websites like Youtube is to create kinetic typography based on small pieces of dialogue from television or feature films. Here are the best examples I’ve come across:
You Are the Weakest Link
Ocean’s Eleven
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Stepbrothers
Anchorman
February 23, 2011 at 12:12 pm | Motion Graphics | Comment
I recently discovered a great online resource for creative collaboration called hitRECord. The site was created almost 5 years ago by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which describes itself as a “professional open collaborative production company”. Anyone can sign up and upload a variety of material (music, graphics, animation, writing, photography, etc.) that will be ranked by the hitRECord community. Contributors are encouraged to download others’ material and remix/alter it then upload it again.
I came across the site while researching for Creative Commons material I could use in one of my projects. If nothing else, hitRECord is excellent place for ideas and inspiration. Morgan and Destiny’s Eleventeenth Date is an example of what hitRECord is about. 306 collaborators were involved and you can see the quantity (and also quality) of the material used.
Morgan and Destiny’s Eleventeenth Date could easily have been created in a program like After Effects and is a great example of monologue-driven motion graphics. This makes it an excellent reference and inspiration for future motion graphic projects.
April 19, 2010 at 11:14 pm | Motion Graphics | Comment
I like taking my time with art. Especially with oil painting, a couple of hours over a weekend here and there is great for getting a lot of painting done while also giving it time for it to dry properly so you don’t smudge anything when you work on it later.
I finally finished my latest oil painting which I have been working on for the last few months on and off. There are a lot of things you learn and a lot of things you have to remember when you begin a project like this. When I start painting I constantly remind myself that it always looks bad in the beginning. Even though you think it looks hideous in that moment, you can’t give up. Just keep plugging away at it and it will eventually get there. Luckily with oils you can paint layer over layer until you are happy.
Sporadic work has other advantages too. My best tip is to frequently photograph your work. At each stage when something noticeable changes in the work, take a photo of it. This way, you can look back at your work to see your process, spot where you went wrong and where you where right, or, alternatively if you completely muck up you’ll at least have a snapshot of it when it looked nice.
Once the painting is finished you can have fun stringing the sequence of photos together to create an animated process of your work. Here’s an example of mine:
You can guess which stages I thought were hideous at the time.
So, in short: constantly take photos of your work, and don’t give up when it looks terrible.
March 5, 2010 at 10:07 pm | Uncategorized | Comment
Target has released an animated video for Halloween promoting Skelanimals. The best word to describe it is “cute”. I actually really like this video – the animation is excellent and it also has a similar style to animated movies like Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride. Another reason may be that the music track is a song by Family Force 5. Take a look for yourself and ponder the disappointment of children everywhere, when they discover that burying candy doesn’t achieve the same effect.
September 9, 2009 at 4:53 am | Movie design | Comment
Every now and then you’ll stumble upon a blog that is driven by a great idea. I’m talking about blogs like PostSecret, or my personal favourite, Awkward Family Photos. Tiny Art Director is sweet blog where visual artist Bill Zeman is told what to draw by his four-year-old daughter (say, a dinosaur in an X-Ray), he creates it and then she critiques it. And you won’t get a more honest response than from a four-year-old.
And, like most good blogs, it seems, this one also got a book deal.
September 8, 2009 at 7:44 am | Other blogs | Comment
Ever since I watched Penelope it has been my dream to one day own a home so I could decorate it just like the set design of this movie. Directed by Mark Palansky, Penelope is a modern fairytale of a young woman that was burdened with a pig snout for a nose due to a family curse (makes swine flu seem less unnerving). Locked away in her room for protection from society, Penelope (Christina Ricci) allows her creativity and imagination to flourish indoors. Her room is decorated by butterflies, flowers, overflowing bookcases, paintings, plants, antique toys and a rope swing. Rich colours and beautiful lighting enhances the set design. Although this is an enchanting and engaging film, I would recommend it for the visuals alone.
September 8, 2009 at 7:09 am | Movie design | Comment
Another inspiration for my website’s design is this poster for the animated movie “Coraline”. I haven’t seen it yet, but the visuals look stunning.
