things what i have consumed

Craig Harris

2009-09-17T02:40:00.000-07:00

Following a link from Drawn.Ca I came across the Nomad Gallery who host work of several fine artists (check the links page out), Craig Harris being one of such.

I love his work.

Now to do some of my own.

Animation Tests

2009-09-17T02:36:00.001-07:00

Been watching these with glee as I munch on my fruit + fibre; all posted by Victor Ens from his vimeo page.

Milt Kahl (Mowgli) from Victor Ens on Vimeo.

Frank Thomas (Lady and the Tramp) from Victor Ens on Vimeo.

Joker Work in Progress (WIP) Pencil-Test from Victor Ens on Vimeo.

contact me! (... ? )

2009-05-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

Here are a selection of finalists for my 'contact me' page.

Grim.

Hmm.. Colour

2009-05-17T09:55:00.001-07:00

Colouring styles are not my friends it seems.

Can't make a decision about how to colour the characters in these boards..

The background is in a line-less texture fill style with bits of shading blocked in; simple and looks atmospheric.

My problem is in trying to get the characters to look decent in this style; from the back I like him but from the front, he looks very dull and messy.

Sneaky Sneaky

2009-05-17T08:43:00.001-07:00

An ink that will unfortunatly be going unused in my latest boarding project :(

Can't win em all!

Doodlin

2009-05-16T16:14:00.001-07:00

Worrying

2009-05-07T05:55:00.000-07:00

It finally dawned on me that I might need to learn how to 3D model if I want to work in the games industry when I came across this page a few monthes ago and applied.

Companies actively seeking storyboard artists seems to be something of a rarity. Am I heading in the right direction? For animations, sure but I don't think so for video gaming. Where do I want to work? To be honest, I'm more interested in the gaming industry. Hmm...

Virb

2009-05-07T02:23:00.001-07:00

I've seen a few artists portfolios with links to their own profiles on a site called Virb.

From what I can gather, it's a blend of social networking, a blog and a portfolio which, sounds pretty darn interesting. I'm a bit confused as to why I've not heard about such a site from elsewhere like from the artists I follow on twitter; maybe its not that popular.

Breath of Fire, Street Fighter and MTG

2009-05-06T15:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pieces of work I've been staring at inbetween storyboarding frenziedly and building my site.

CAPCOM's 'Breath of Fire' Concepts

CAPCOM'S 'StreetFighter' Concept art

These pieces in particular have instilled the idea of just throwing yourself into drawing a character. They inspired me to shape hooks with my pencil and to try and really squeeze the most dynamic angles out of each shot.

These storyboard panels are so beautiful! Notice how they're not necessairly so clean but the lines are emphasised in the right places so that it's barely noticeable.

And finally, I've been playing a fair bit of Magic: The gathering in sanctioned tournaments around the country in the past month or so. Not been doing any good to be honest but you end up spending alot of your time soaking in the jaw-dropping art work that goes into some of these cards.

Normally the art on these things doesn't bleed out of the upper centre but these have been 'carried on' by a dilligent artist who is in turn selling them on ebay at a suprising mark up. (£20 is not an unusual price for even otherwise very common cards to be sold at). I would really like to own some of these cards and can sort of understand the price jump because it would make each card as if you were actually playing with a piece of art; 'pimping' the object and possessing a much more unusual version than any other player.

This kind of thing though... I'm a bit more dubious of..

Laing Visit

2009-05-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

Over the easter break, I took a trip into Newcastle to see what the crack was like.

After being not so impressed by the screeching noises of the exhibits in the Baltic, save for a few of the paintings in the Darwin exhibition, I made my way to the Laing.

Two exhibits there really did a number on me. The first was the small permenant residence of pre-raph art upstairs and the current water colour exhibit.

I think I really discovered what pre-raphelite art could be this easter. Not some stuffy nonsense I had previously imagined but instead a vivid and enthralling code of craftsmanship with a real sense of suspended drama that I've come to admire in Baroque art, for example in William Hunt's 'Isabella and the Pot of Basil'.

Even more interesting though was the Henry Perlee Parker watercolour exhibit in his sketchbooks are currently on display. Parker drew alot of marina town folk which gets me because I'm from a similar area but, importantly, he focuses on drawing the character from these people he has as subjects.

Scott McCloud talks the future of comics

2009-05-06T14:23:00.000-07:00

I had meant to show this earlier when I saw it monthes ago but here we go.

This is a lecture on the future of comics by know-it-all comic buff, Scott McCloud.

To summise the video, McCloud more or less describes exactly how computers and the internet have provided the potential for interactive, infinite and otherwise non-linear narrative with the right mindset. This idea of 'infinite space' to tell a story is something I utilised in the construction of my website with my pop-ups that you can drag on for far longer than their size would suggest, ala the tardis.

Cleverly building more on a sense of interactivity and pacing, Balak here really tries to run with what McCloud is talking about.

Speaking of Balak, his confident figures are a source of inspiration. I mean, his work isn't for everyone; its definatly drawn by a red-blooded male but there is so much skill in what he does.
This 'storyboard frame' is a great example:

My Site

2009-05-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

After pensively applying for so many jobs, it became apparant that I need a website. Without one, the process of delivering an ONLINE client or prospective employer an insight into your work is a straining and repetitive task. After talking about the subject to several peers and helpful professionals (like karen j lloyd) it is also clear that the first impression an absence of a website has upon said employers is doubting and instantly negative.

There is undoubtedly an expectation that as a young practictioner I should have a web presence of some kind. For that reason, I recently designed and have come very close to successfully launching my own portfolio website. The site is not YET up properly because I'm having some issues with the ftp server but all the files have been uploaded so check willc.info soon to see if I've been able to make the push.

In the mean time, here are some jpegs that give a fairly accurate representation of the site in it's current state.

Opening page.

Work/Home page. This becomes the home page after the front one is navigated away from. The site has 'elastic borders' so that it can become quite small without any of the work being lost. This means it doesn't compete as much for space and become an annoyance.

Storyboard pop-up. When the 9 images are clicked on, they each activate their own pop-up window so that large quantities of boards can be browsed through. The pop-ups are designed to fit snuggly around the work they are showing to save on the viewers desktop space.

The dog pop-up brings up an Issuu java/flash which allows the user to comfortably thumb through the book.

Contact page with many methods of contacting me. Though, based on the photograph, would you really want to? I think I might need to change this to something a bit more subtle.. At least there is a downloadable .pdf of my cv so that all I have to do is send my site link and voila! instant job!

And finally, good old twitter to bring me kicking and screaming into the 21st century of web 2.0. .. Sort of.

Admitedlly the site isn't exactly an eye-opener but it serves its purpose. At the very least, it is a tidy and very quick loading way of presenting my work to alot of people. I think that the important next step is to now ask professionals and peers what they think about the design and how it could be improved upon. That is, once I get the thing live.

Dog Book!

2009-05-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

In an effort to stop my dog book from fading into nothing (after publisher's e-mails stopped. Recession or lack of interest? Hard to tell.) I've re-edited the book for a high quality download/hardcopy purchase and it can be found here.

The book will feature on my website, twitter, facebook.. anywhere I can push it.

It occurs to me that if I'm so interested in selling the book, it should be pushed towards the inboxs of other prospective publishers. Though I might take a smaller share of profit, 500 through a publisher is more than 10 or less sold by myself.

Artists I've been looking over

2009-05-06T06:27:00.000-07:00

So that I don't just stagnate, it's a good idea to examine the work of other practictioners; even those from different practices to your own.

Following that mantra, here are some artists I've been watching recently and what I'd like to think I've learned by looking at their work.

Stuart Kolakovic

Freelance illustrator from an eastern europe descent with tight and vibrant 'cut-out' style work.

What I like most about Kolavic is the energy he draws from his work by cramming as much as he can into his compositions; everything is so busy yet simply designed and it reads very easily. There is a 'flat' feel to his pieces but thanks to their expressive poses and playful look, this never becomes a problem. Whats also interesting is how he makes simple shapes into characters just by tweaking corners and adding a few marks to them; giving a laborious feel without actually being anywhere near overworked.

Finally, the artist's eye for colours which work well together is near flawless; every piece a russian graphic design throwback dream.

Tiny Kittenteeth

A pair of new zealand comic book artists, Tiny Kittenteeth have brought Mary Blair-style aesthetics to the web comic. Again, these two are very colour-focused but unlike Kolakovic, use alot of contrasting and dark colours to slice against their lights, making for an almost neon eye-ball fest. I don't appreciate their character design as much as Stuarts because they seem somewhat disjointed at times; their individual limbs and features appearing to slide away from the rest of their forms but their poses and expressions more than make up for it.

What I could learn most from these two again is to consider designs of shots as simply as they need be; don't over complicate a message and to be experimental about what kinds of colours and shades actually tell certain moods.

Michael Dashow

And Finally, a concept artist who uses photoshop, canvas 4 and 3d studio max to make his art. He might be older than me but already his expertise and somewhat broad skill base is worrying to me. Dashow produces top quality work with a speedy response time that I can't yet picture myself matching.

His work has a 'cartoon baroque' feel to it. Very dramatic but conversely, doesn't take itself too seriously.

It would be wise of me to join cgsociety so that I could watch, talk to and learn from artists like him; if I want to forge a career in the games industry, it might be necessary to pick up skills like modelling and giving a high finish to my work in order to get anywhere.

Art tutorials

Tutorials like this could also be helpful. Several of them appear to be duds such as 'how to draw conventional and boring looking manga characters' but there are some decent modelling and colouring articles that I will report on soon.

EDIT: One of the comic-style tutorials is actually pretty decent at describing how to achieve a strong finish with your drawings. See it here.

Dynamic Awareness

2009-03-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

A motion sensor program which can detect how far away or close to your system you are. And it twitters the results to your chums. This sounds like a strong step towards auto-activating GUI's like we see in the movies which I really like the sound of :)

arduino sonar buzzer php twitter from Joshua McGinnis on Vimeo.

See the creator's blog here.

Cave Story

2009-02-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

Geeez! I havn't played Doukutsu (Cave Story) in a while but it seems like the little bugger got a tasty graphical update and found its way onto the WiiWare store!

Brilliant news for Nicalis, the makers! Well done to them for this compelling gem of a platformer; many hours were spent skidding about in the caves..

time

2009-02-22T11:06:00.001-08:00

It's strange how sharp deadlines emerge from no where. I have a brief that is clinging to me slowing all other work processes down which needs doing sharpish and another has just scratched the end of the month as a target. Busy tomorrow, busy tuesday, busy on the weekend. So, 4 days for two sets of boards. Nice.

New York

2009-02-02T16:55:00.000-08:00

So I found some old photographs I took in New York two years ago and here are some of my favourites.

Frazer Irving

2009-01-29T13:12:00.000-08:00

So, this fellow popped in to my college today..

He's a bloody nice person; talked at length about his career, about the joys of being dolescum and showed us a nice shedload of images he's created. Here are some of my nice pieces from him. Not my favourites but, google is a cruel mistress.

Bow down to your new god

2009-01-28T05:48:00.000-08:00

Big bucket of win courtesy of Merlin and myself! Colour management job plz.

Poop Joke

2009-01-26T17:42:00.000-08:00

Gonna colour this up good when I'm not totally strapped for time.

This comic is a stylistic tribute to the american elf; James Kolchalka. It wasn't actually meant to be when I was initially drawing the thing and developing the different stages of myself but it sort of became the icing of the whole strip.

i am a baby

2009-01-22T13:19:00.000-08:00

Hey thar kids; here are some designs of myself as a baby. Some crap, some slightly better than crap.

comics

2008-12-05T10:09:00.000-08:00

a surplus of backwash.

crackle

2008-12-05T08:38:00.000-08:00

This is it kids; TV is moving onto the internet. All of crackle's stuff is hi quality and for the net only. Might as well put that tv license in the bin.

Game Overthinker

2008-12-03T06:09:00.000-08:00

Just discovered this guy; his videos are incredible breakdowns of his concerns with different issues in the gaming industry.

Here are two of the most compelling:

Final Scene Tester

2008-12-02T14:36:00.000-08:00

Here is a 10 second sample from the music video I'm busily constructing as you read. Enjoy x

comic

2008-12-01T09:10:00.001-08:00

Todays comic

2008-11-30T06:38:00.000-08:00

Thats right ass hats! Daily comic! -prepares for this commitment to falter within mere hours-

I thought I'd start with a really boring one :P

Moar sketchbook

2008-11-26T15:06:00.000-08:00

As you (didn't) request:

From the eternal sketchbook

2008-11-26T13:12:00.000-08:00

Here's a mish mash of story board work, life drawing and doodles from the past few weeks. More next post!

Crumple Tester

2008-11-26T11:15:00.000-08:00

This is a tester that I spent a few hours making five or six different versions of and then altering. It really doesn't show how much time I spent on it but basically what I was trying to achieve was a moving 'crumply' effect using scrunched cels.

Unfortunately you don;t really get the benefit of it when it's scanned in rather than photographed in like a cel should be so I probably won;t be able to make use of the effect in this animation :(.

lol lol lol and PHwwooooarrr!!

2008-11-26T10:04:00.000-08:00

From Jess Watson's brain meats:

And Miyazaki's..

Plus, Mellisa Dow is quite good..

And Martin Tseng.

Openness regarding censorship

2008-11-25T11:19:00.000-08:00

I didn't think marketers would ever be this.. honest about what they do to aid new releases but there you go.

Observer/Johnathon Cape Winners

2008-11-25T10:50:00.000-08:00

Check out the beatiful work from this recent competition here.

The Waitress is my favourite.

ThoughtBubble

2008-11-25T10:27:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was the ThoughtBubble Festival in Leeds. The convention itself wasn't as large on scale as BICS but it was alot more 'small press' focused. Well, apart from the HUGE gathering around Mark Millar and the rest of the superhero artists.

I chatted with Marc Ellerby, John Allison, Liz Lunney and a few others but I wasn't feeling so hot. My talking skills were lacking somewhat and I didn't manage to get more than 5 minutes out of anyone before I felt I was boring them to death. I was pretty pushed for time, trying to get to

before time ran out.

Still, really wish I could have spoken to Adam Cadwell, Oliver East, Liz Greenfields, Kelly Hernandez, and Chamonkee (Jesus! Nice work!!).

The after party was suprisingly sparse considering how fast the tickets are meant to have gone but it was fun. Matt kept informing me of how he called Mark Millar a paedophile and the toilets were covered in leather! Casino partys are the best.

-On reflection, I need to take some advice from myeyeisonfire's post here in which he talks about treating people like humans (BECAUSE THEY ARE) and not exclusively as selling points.

I considered it seriously but was put off by the artist's indiffernce and almost obnoxious atitude towards buyers - Although I would like to sell my own work, that's not the resson for striking up a conversation, and I often just chatted to people to find out about who they were.

Also, LiveJournal looks like the place to be when it comes to small press distribution..

a relevant ellerbism

2008-11-25T08:47:00.001-08:00

I was browsing Marc Ellerby's site after meeting him at ThoughtBubble last week and found this image which pretty much sums me up at the moment what with the INTENSIVE ANIMATION PROCESS taking its toll on my mind! The tones are just right here too..

Picnic Pictures - Chestnut Tree

2008-11-25T08:03:00.000-08:00

Lovely smooth animation here and simple use of occasional colour. Something I aspire to in terms of control.

BICS

2008-11-25T04:43:00.001-08:00

Over a month ago (oct 4-5) I attended the Birmingham International Comics show (BICS) and have only just found my notes again that I made from that weekend.

So, overall, I really enjoyed myself and it was my first convention! I was a bit daunted by the sheer number of people but warmed up once I detected how warm everyone was; artists and fans alike.

High lights include:

- meeting Jolly Jack and him giving me a signed drawing as well as a kick up the arse on self promotion. He made it clear that you need a way of easily advertising yourself if you want sucess in this industry. I'm not really interested in professional comics but am so for storyboarding and animation design so the rules still very much apply. Its my next project JJ!

- Chatting with the guys from Cute but Sad on how life is making hand drawings of badgers for a living and learning from them about how flickr is one of the very powerful tools at your disposal for communicating.

- Talking to a representative from DinkyBox about publishing my book about dogs. Scary because their site is so professional looking! That reminds me, I need to get back in touch with them over size specs concerning the book and the printer.

- Watching live portfolio reviews with Garry Leach and Michael Wright; they assessed maybe a dozen potential comic artist's works and kept coming up with common problems: Study life drawing more, use line weight to vary dimensionality and think about the box you are placing a scene in and how it affects pacing.

- The 'weird and wonderful comics' lecture by Paul Gravett who took us through a plethora of short run fascinating comics. The lecture served to plug his new book which I've put on my christmas list hur hur :D I think what was most interesting was learning why certain comics failed; through a total lack of research or an unhealthy urge to jump on the bandwagon, like alot of the hippie comics in the 70's.

-Garry Leach's painting demo and 'Tank girl at 20' with Rufus Dayglo (who is mentored by Leach) were both fantastic. To be fair, Leach's was common sense colouring, blocking and toning with paints but it was great to see I had some sort of grasp on professional technique.
Rufus' lecture was fascinating for both his humour and his portfolio of beautifully inked comic work. I'm learning by seeing lectures like this that a good portfolio has consistency of quality but is varied in style and/or contexts, showing you can fill various areas to a professional degree.

However, my favourite event was 'Hello Chiarello' with Mark Chiarello, Editor, artist and writer of DC comics. I found his drawing style and colouring absolutely incredible and he himself is a charismatic being. From his lecture I learned to just be persistent with the career I choose, to be friendly with everyone I meet and that my own original ideas can distinct myself from others, much like Mark's 'Negro League' work in which he painted portraits of black baseball players from 'the golden years' who would have otherwise been forgotten by a racist industry.

All in all, an enjoyable and insightful experience.

Club Silenco

2008-11-25T04:33:00.000-08:00

Whilst searching for images of Twin Peaks, I came across a very well laid out and sharp witted blog called Club Silencio. This seems like a good place to both learn how even a basic blog can look presentable (white borders on a black background) and about obscure films of interest. There is also a regular update of retro horror posters, old school examples on how to (or not) present an image.

Narrative is important

2008-11-21T11:34:00.000-08:00

Julian of 'Gamers with Jobs' writes here an article on narrative devices in video games. He has a point; creators should be looking to expand rather than dwell on systems developed for games from 20 years ago. Narrative and character development are absolutely key issues in most immersive style video games and depriving the player of involvment in their inception is an alientating move; one that is more of an act of dumbening down than an invitation to explore.

Job: Museum Residency: Comic Illustration, V&A Museum

2008-11-21T10:44:00.000-08:00

Bursary offered and studio space provided The V&A has a programme of six month residencies in the Sackler Centre for arts education at the V&A and presents a new opportunity for early career practitioners to have a studio at the V&A for six months commencing 1st July 2009. Proposals are invited from UK based graphic novelists and comic artists working with, or wishing to work in the medium, who wish to develop their practice through working with the V&A collections and by engaging in the public participatory programmes that the Museum runs. To apply go to www.vam.ac.uk/jobs Closing date for applications: 4th January 2009

This job would be very fun and useful for myself. Could I pull my work toward it for the date?

Sakura Koshimizu and Sugar Lips

2008-11-21T10:11:00.000-08:00

First some sound-adapation jewellery from Sakura Koshimizu. These clever pieces are cut with soundwaves taken from giggles, sneezes and snores so they have the potential for an eerie personality..

And then we have a tasty collection of sugary lips from ViaComIT. These images are vibrant and leave me feeling a little confused about the definition of a 'sugary treat'... Great colours and textures.

Ink Soup Update

2008-11-21T07:14:00.000-08:00

Pwhoar! The first issue of Ink Soup has just gone to press! Check out these previews before you buy yourself a copy or 4!

UNSUITABLE

2008-11-20T13:27:00.001-08:00

Before I sit my arse back down for another few hours of drawing, I've found some competitions that I'm unsuited for and thought describing why might help me think.

First is the LLOYDS TSB Art competition; create a piece based on a keyword (insert various management-based keywords)

The work they're looking for isn't rooted in character design and is quite dullcet. I suppose at a push I could bend to remove all humour from what I draw..

Here are previous winners

I'm not saying this work isn't good in it's own way I just don't produce images that would suit this criteria.

Next is the Penguin Design Award. I wish I had the skills to do this as type always looks so good, so effortlessly when in the hands of a master.

For example, here are the winners of the previous two years:

On the other hand, Fumetto's graphic Novel competition is something I can participate in if I make an effort. It would make more sense to submit to character design and animation competitions to be honest but this is just what I found whilst eating some pie so.. I'll get on that later.

PocketOwl

2008-11-20T12:32:00.000-08:00

I've been looking and drooling over PocketOwl's deviant art for a few days; namely because its gorgeous. To think we are the same age makes me weep salty internal tears.

Nice old cartoon-inspired work, surely influenced by todays artists of the Kricfalusi persuasion. When will his reign of terror end?! Hopefully, never.

More deviant's who's work pokes up similar aesthetics are Sibsy and Gabe of Penny-Arcade.

I really REALLY like Gabe's use of colours, gradients and composition; obviously developed from years of constant practice but I have a fondness moreso for Sibsy's work as her style reminds me of her own; albeit much more controlled and.. good.

Ink Soup

2008-11-20T12:11:00.000-08:00

'Ink Soup' is an anthology of graphic novels which prints every quarter with the cream of the crop of Birmingham's artists. The book is filled with various styles but all top quality work from artists like Jess Watson and Chiu Kwong Man! You know you need to read it!

For details on how to earn yourself a copy at a superlow price, leave a comment on their blog with contact details.

Splinter and The fall

2008-11-11T08:31:00.000-08:00

These are two movies I've watched in the past day whilst animating, both very different but very good in their own ways.

Splinter is a body horror with several 'The Thing' homages and a generally creepy vibe. It takes a while to get going with many trappings and cliches of your typical horror movie but once it does... hehehehe, has some thoughtful twists.

The Fall, I wasn't into at first because again its a slow starter but once it kicks off, the piece is remniscent of pans labyrinth mixed with the league of extraordinary gentlemen. Lots of colour saturated visuals, landscapes and set pieces and general clever story telling.

Charlie Kratzer

2008-11-10T07:51:00.001-08:00

Everyone by now has probably seen this but just incase you havn't, check out what the talented mr Kratzer has done in his basement.

I would love this.

Grunge is good for feminism

2008-11-10T07:42:00.000-08:00

So, next post will be full of tests, meanwhile here is more of what I've been listening to and looking at.

If there was one thing that Grunge did, it was establishing that if you're a girl, then you must play bass.

MOAR RUSH!!

Leeds Film Fest

2008-11-09T17:49:00.000-08:00

Uh, not paid it the correct attention this year cause I've been focusing on DRAWING UNTIL I WISH I WAS STUDYING A REAL DEGREE but here are the two films I don't want to miss this festival.

Mind Game by Masaaki Yuasa/Studio 4 Degree

Tokyo Gore Police by Yoshihiro Nishimura. Looks like body horror to the nth degree. My favourite :)

Also there are a series of short animations showing on the... 12th? Which I really want to see but can't find a trailer for x

Animating

2008-11-09T17:20:00.000-08:00

argghhh I've been drawing cels for about 4 days straight and I'm knackered! I need to set some timing tests up for the upcoming crit on wednesday so I'll post those up in the next post.

Here are a list of films I've been watchind as I work:

The Thing Still my all time favourite film. Why oh why are they remaking it?!!?!?! ARGH! It's TIMELESS you bastards!
The proposition Wasn't paying much attention whilst watching but it was very pretty in a gritty way when I glanced towards it. Need to give it another going over I think.
Fuck Something that made me think (A bit) when I was playing super mario on the DS during a lunch break. Should I say FUCK when I'm near kids? Is it a word I should ever use? I think, in moderation and when a comedic situation calls for it but otherwise, it dilutes.
Super High Me Heh this er, this is one of the reasons I've got a hankering for some of the green. I think it was just the constant references to the stuff with the addition of a political edge in it's favour against corrupt cops.
Aladdin I had assumed this would be flawlessy timeless but actually the animation isn't exactly as good as I remembered it being. The colours seem a bit saturated and flat for all the shading the film goes through and there are a fair few dodgy mid CU's that just ruin some scenes but overall, still very very good disney film.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Hahahahahahahahahaha I just.. .. what can I say about it? To think this film makes me want to try drugs probably subverts alot of it's message but.. there you go.

Also I've been listening to the Fairport covention and Rush and I'm telling you, all of these sources combined has really made me hungry for drugs. I'm not a drug user at all, don't even like taking asprins but right now, I just want to smoke some pot. And eat an ether brownie. Or whatever the street kids are doing.

PROG ROCK AM GOOD!!

By the way, how super hot is Jasmine? Jeeeesus, I need me some of that! Arf Arf!

If you liked that (And may god help you if you did) then get an eye load of this!

DISNEY! PUT A SOCK ON IT YOU FILTHY BUGGER!

animation tests

2008-11-05T15:49:00.000-08:00

What I watched today

2008-11-03T18:31:00.000-08:00

+ This

Teemu Matinlauri

2008-11-03T18:16:00.001-08:00

Super awesome illlustrations from Teemu Matinlauri

..burntmatches?

2008-11-03T18:01:00.000-08:00

This girl raises some good points on girl gaming. YOU SEXIST PIGS!

Check out her other videos, I dig how passionate she is about gaming; really isn't just riding it for the geek image.

NFB!!!

2008-11-03T17:57:00.000-08:00

Two very pretty animations celebrating world animation day

a history of evil

2008-11-03T17:56:00.001-08:00

books what i've read

2008-11-03T15:35:00.000-08:00

Apart from watching Wonderboys, hitler raps and drawing dwarves,

I've read a few more books from the college library. I was going to go through 'Safe Area Gozorade' by Joe Sacco but it looked a bit heavy for me right now so I might check it out later. If 'The Fixer' is anything to go by, it should be dense but worth the effort.

I was also trying to convince myself to check out 'World War Hulk' but after 10 minutes browsing through it, I became very bored and put it back so.. no go for you Hulky :( EDIT: It would seem the volume I picked up only has the 2nd half of the event in it, AFTER the interesting stuff has happened and the Hulk is expelled from Earth so.. I got to wrestle with the crappy end of the stick.

So here is what I have actually read in the past couple of weeks.

'Carnet De Voyage' by Craig Thompson was the first, a 2 and a half month travel diary kept by the artist as he goes on a promo campaign for his book 'Blankets' around west Europe. The book is naturally more.. sporadic in terms of plotlines and layouts compared to Thompsons earlier work as everything is based on what the artist is seeing and experiencing or reminiscing on in the hotel room that night. However this doesn't detract at all from the brilliant art work or method of delivery; it may cause his hand to cramp in agony from arthritis but Craig Thompson is a master of the bezier stroke pen swish. Well worth your time.

Next is 'David Boring' by Daniel Clowes. Being a Clowes fanboy I ripped this off the shelf and devoured it quite quickly and for most, I was on a super-grungey euphoria rocket of comic pleasure. The story is told from the perspective of David Boring, a young man who is controlled to some extent by his unusual sexual taste (no surprises there) , anal prerequisites and bizarre talent for being able to identify what a woman's ass will look like by examining any other part of her body or personality. The protagonist is also a comic head (duh) and this is used by Clowes as a veihicle for metaphors as he uses a 50's retro comic-style cutaway to explain in euphamism otherwise disturbing emotional scenes, which actually tends to enforce their strength. Very effective! My only twitch with the book was that I kinda drifted off towards the end of the 3rd chapter but I have a tendancy to want to read through a graphic novel ASAP and resent being bogged down with excessive dialogue. Again, definatly recommend checking this out.

Then I read 'Preacher:Gone to Texas' by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon with fantastic cover artwork by Glen Fabry. As I kid I was given a cover art book which contained all of the preacher covers and so I was well aware of the imagery and style that the comics entail, but for some reason I never actually got round to reading the bloody comics. Loosely, the comic is about a trio of intrepid comrades who are marching across America to find God. And mess his shit up for being such a baby. There's Jesse the possessed preacher, Cassidy the Irish drug addict vampire and Tulip, the ... er.. girl. Its gritty, its gorey and I love it.

Big underground comic guy John Porcellino with 'King-Cat Classix' was next. Well, I THINK I read all of it; kept skipping and thumbing through so my order of reading became a bit confused but I tried to absorb it all eventually. My impression was a very good one of this work; Self explanatory diary style, Jeffrey Brown-ish but alot looser and more fun. I don't know, it was kinda like reading a Brown without that horrible sadness from those awkward adolescent years coming back to wash over you in acidic waves for hours after you put it down. Except for the tear-renching story about the dog he loved who died which made me cry for about 10 minutes. So, very intimate but amusing little comics, big bundle, big book. Another recommendation.

And finally, 'Embroideries' by Marjane Satrapi. Now, I'd enjoyed what I'd read of Persepolis until I put it down at my friends house (about 20 pages) and I really enjoyed watching the Persepolis aniamtion but Embroideries really dragged on me. My assumption is that this is caused by the piss-poor translation job thats been applied to the work so every emotion seems out of context and every character swears at innappropriate times (every sentance) and its a real shame. I feel through the images what Satrapi was trying to tell me about her fellow female's sexual experiences but I couldn't dig beyond that realm of understanding based on my previous qualm. So, if you can get a French copy of the book, give it a read and you might enjoy it.

dead space animatic

2008-10-28T11:15:00.001-07:00

Two moar to watch.

2008-10-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

meat bun and matt pittman's blog both look like good ways to waste your time. I aspire to be this well laid out..

Ghostbusters : The game?? (Again!?)

2008-10-28T11:11:00.001-07:00

Uh, didn't know anything about this. Amazing films + amazing concepts = amazing game? Hope so.

Dev Diaries

2008-10-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

I've been reading and watching the development diaries for Dead Space and Fable II in an effort to get some juicy juicy inside looks at how big projects like major games are brought together.

I did want to embed some videos but blogger tends to be a bit of a gay when used through macs so just follow the links I've provided above. Also check out the super sweet fable and dead space concept art. With the fable's especially, its curious to see how style and mise-en-scene seem to over-rule other image factors like perspective or good use of type. Its more about getting the idea across.

animatic what i made

2008-10-21T15:36:00.001-07:00

Menage a 3

2008-10-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

Another webcomic I've been reading for a while is Menage a 3. If you can take the french blonde stereotypes and the highly sexualised plotlines (if you can't then.. Do you even have a libido anymore?) then this might be something for you.

Some of the most accurately representated body language expressions I've have ever seen have come from this comic, glance through and maybe you'll agree.

Diesel Sweeties

2008-10-20T16:33:00.001-07:00

Found this pixel webcomic the other day when browsing for Dnd stuff and I have to say I don't think I've ever read a comic with this many double entendrés before. Or women bedding robots without bleeding profusely.

Also the background colours shiiiiiift to accomodate mood. Clever stuff.

Model Sheets, Hot off the Archive!

2008-10-20T16:27:00.001-07:00

Practice Practice Practice! Thats all it takes! Kricfalusi approves and you obey!

Anyway with help from the Hollywood Animation Archive, get cracking!

pietari posti

2008-10-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

Brilliant chunky block-out-print-style work from Pietari Posti. Wow.

Big Buck Bunny

2008-10-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

Phew! Before I spend a huge post regaling my time at the Birmingham International Comic Festival this weekend, here is a look at a 3-d Short which I havn't had the time to check over yet but looks quite stimulating!

lets get bus(iness card)y

2008-10-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

Andy Sykes

2008-09-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

Special Glue and Other Stories from Andy Sykes on Vimeo.

This is a sample of the work of one Andy Sykes who I've been trying to contact over the past month and a half with examples of my work (cof cof) so that I can be part of the Ayup animation group. But.. no such luck. I think by this point I should admit defeat and set about improving myself with a renewed vigor. Or get a job as a brickie.

EDIT: He just got in touch with me and he's interested in me being on the project so thats nice. Cheers Andy!

Work for tutorial

2008-09-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Get your own - Open publication

Ben X

2008-09-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

So tonight to get out of the house from not doing much work, I went with some friends to see 'Ben X', a film by Nic Balthazar. It's Belgian which I felt helped the slight corny-ness of it's delivery a little easier to swallow; couldn't imagine a film in english that dealt so visually with game graphics mid-film to be so convincing. I don't know really, that point is a little hard to explain but I think I was more.. forgiving because I had to read subtitles.

The film overall is pretty emotional, gripping and .. almost more of an experience than a narrative-based piece of cinema.

SPOILER ALERT

The films protagonist is autistic and the film tries to visually portray what it is like to be under the control of this mental state by comparing it to the singular 'I am the only important person' mindset that a video game ladles upon its player.

Honestly I thought that would bother me but somehow it actually comes together and if you can tolerate the slow pace, it's a pretty moving way to spend 93 minutes of your time.

Good links! Easy research! Nuff said!

2008-09-29T03:19:00.000-07:00

EAT-MY-DRAWING

Four good links, check them out. ALL THE TIME.

Buster Keaton must've had balls the size of oranges.

2008-09-29T02:48:00.000-07:00

who ever said black and white films were boring?

london visit

2008-09-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

Ok if this seems a bit hashy that's because I've basically torn it from Jess' blog who was smart enough to document our visit pretty much as soon as we returned from it and not almost 3 monthes later like me.

So I was in Birmingham visiting Jess in her shitty student house (I mean it was shitty for a student house. Yeah.) She says she's going to london on a trip with her course and I took this as an opportunity to see what the crack was in the big city and get to know some more cool doods.

Train gets cancelled, twice and we're jammed into tiny space on a train for about an hour and a half (?) but then it picks up when we arrive.

First stop, V&A,

Lots of handmade books, high quality shit, Paula Rego etc. Very inspiring.

Next, the Illustration cupboard,

I'm feeling lazy so here's what Jess thought:

Really nice little place with a huge amount of original work there. John Lawrence was up at the time...he does etching and its the most friggin intricate thing you've ever seen...amazing....beautiful...and really inspiring. There was alot of big names like Oliver Jeffers, Babette Cole, Shirley Hughes (Alfie!) and Raymond Briggs. But by far the highlight was seeing the work of Brian Wildsmith in the flesh...not even prints...actual original artwork. So unbelievable in flesh and you realise how little justice his books do to his work....Not that they are bad in print but they were so vibrant and fullof life in reality. I guess its inevitable that you lose some of the quality in print. It made me realise how important a consideration it is in books.

Ouch, bad grammar alert.

Then Jess' tutor (found here at EATMYDRAWING) took us around London sharpish and stumbled us into what is possibly the most awesome-est comic book shop evar around the leicester square area. I don't know the name so I suck balls but I'll do my best (well...) to find that out. It was basically a 2 floored cavern filled to the rafters with graphic delights which I hunger for again. I know it's rubbish, can't explain it much more than from an emotional standpoint; if someone could make an attempt to identify it from this palid excuse for a description I'd be very happy.

And... that was it I think.

Kids; next time you go somewhere, write down what happened ASAP FFS!

B'ham international comic show

2008-09-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

I just got a ticket for this weekend to the Birmingham international comic show and I'm pretty excited about it. Honestly I'm very naive to most names and titles in the comic industry but I'm very into reading comics and graphic novels so I'm sure I will enojy the experience. I guess I'll have more to report when I get back but here's the link to the site for now.

Oh, JollyJack will be there, of collectedcurios.com and b3ta.com noteriety so I'll try to get his autograph or something and give him a good old chin wag. He says he'll be kicking about with these fellows.

This piece of JJ's art sums up what I'm expecting from the experience as a whole. I will take on both roles seen here when the time is right I think.

drawn.ca

2008-09-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

I've just been introduced to a blog which seems like intensive daily and relevant research for me so have a look!

lots of animation and drawings and such.

Gentlemen, get your geek on!

2008-09-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday me and Owen went to the pre-release tournament event for the latest set, Shards of Alara.

It has to be said that I'm not a HUUUUGE MTG fan; I enjoy playing the game casually from time to time but generally it's only these events that I attend because I find the weekly gigs to be inhabited largely by.. well.. obsessive recluse stereotypes. Plus, I tend to burn myself out pretty quickly on games or activites by playing them intensly for a few weeks.

So I wasn't really too fussed about going but did so to appease Owen. Walking there, getting a bit nervous at the thought of having to spend an intensive 6 hour session with sweaty stinky bastards. However, I ended up really really enjoying myself.

Sure, I got my ass handed to me in just about every game and the image above is a testament to that (1 point of damage in rounds..) but it was the experience of playing with the brilliant characters I opposed that really made the entry fee worth it. I ended up giving away some of the rare cards I'd pulled to some kids but that was more because I knew I wouldn't use them and thought it would brighten up their days a little more. Plus I made a couple of actual friends who exchanged numbers and everything! Yeah for social life!

Here are some of the cards that made my tournament an even more enjoyable experience.

Realm Razer. The two games that I won were due to his mana-droughting capabilities. Just get out what you need ASAP and then slap him down! Very fun.

Branching bolt also saw alot of use because it's so destructive for how cheap it is. And I drew two of them.

Finally, the pre-release card itself Ajani Vengeant. I couldn't use it but it's very pretty and kept me going through those tough slaughter-fests that were my games. Well, that and the chick with the huge boobs/low cut top combo.

Anyway thats enough of that nonsense, back to illustrating and such.

Work Experience

2008-09-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

So this summer, I've passed alot of my time by pouring my efforts into helping local production company Masspro Productions with the filming and editing of various events. It's pretty small time stuff at the moment, weddings, birthdays, dance schools and so forth but the company is steadily improving its clientele base.

For instance, next month we'll be shooting a documentary about ghosts (for festival entry, with my guidance!) and there are talks to bring about a new tv show with our help. As in, actual tv filming experience. And production of afformentioned tv filming experience. Wow. I can't go into.. well... ANY detail currently but I'll keep uptodate on what I'm allowed to release. As a teaser, it's related to something I've shown interest in in the past.

Anyway, I know that this work experience isn't completely related to the paths of production and drawing like I'm trying to taper myself towards as a career but.. it's good experience all the same and I'm tired of missing opportunities.

Here is a video of me in action! Watch me go! WooO!

EDIT: Apparantly blogger is up to its old tricks of being what we refer to in the business as a 'right gay bastard' so if you would be so kind as to follow this link, you'll get the serving of hummus I slaved over for you.

Also I've been taking on various live briefs around illustration so that I can see what it would be like cutting it as a freelancer. My experiences so far.. I will go into during the next post.

This summer...:In Books

2008-08-15T09:04:00.001-07:00

Weirdly enough, the books I've been reading this summer (Apart from dissertation studies or 'How to use Final Cut' books which I'll talk about later) have been comics and graphic novels.

The first is Mike Mignola's 'HELLBOY: The chained coffin and others' which is a set of short spin off stories following Hellboy as he investigates various mythical nasties in 60's - 90's UK and Russia (I seem to recall, please correct me if not). I'd never actually read one of Mignola's books before and was only provoked into doing so by the upcoming 'Hellboy' film in an attempt to give myself abit of background on the character.

I wasn't disappointed at all. Mignola manages to have this Halfman halfdemon character work very well. I was very much expecting a tired and stupid romp of destruction with a fantasy twist but there is a lot of thought having gone into making the character beliveable and likeable; in his protective and surly mannerisms to his brand of ethics and relationships with other characters.

The artwork is brilliant as well; the slashes and bellcurves of ink really helping to add weight to character's appearances as well as making sure every smash or grab is vivid and believeable.

Next is Daniel Clowes' 'Ice Haven'.

From Wiki:
Ice Haven takes the form of 29 short, stylistically diverse comic strips about different residents of the small town of Ice Haven. Although each strip is separately titled and presented as if it is self-contained, together they tell a story about the characters' interrelated lives.

So yeah, the book is a mish mash of Clowes experiences with different american styles of comic making in order to establish a mise-en-scene for each of the character's personalties and motives which I found to be very effective. The story brings everyone together with the event of the kidnapping of the local strange kid, based on Clowes' own experiences with a similar event in his childhood.

There is an indepth review which seems to say everything that I could ever want to about this book and more, (forgoing my intense fascination with the eerily beautiful method he uses to depict women's faces) so you should really give that a read here.

Currently I'm enjoying Will Eisner's 'New York: Life in the Big City' which is one of the most emotionally accurate depictions of the human condition I've encountered.

I'm enamoured by Eisner's characterisation and compositioning skills. His ink work only serves to add an even greater depth to the smokey New York he draws from who's quintessential populace he captures expertly.

Plus, it's introduced by Neil Ga(y)man! LOLZ!

Now, Tomine's 'Shortcomings' is a book which I've been meaning to read for months, duely recommended by the art snobs and elitists I call my good friends. I'd never read anything else that the author's written so I wasn't sure at all what to expect. The sharp look and pallid pallette of the cover gave a very 'human' and 'feeling-y' vibe so I guess I was waiting for a kind of Craig Thompson 'Blankets' experience and in a way I wasn't that far off.

The book is about relationships with friends and lovers and how someone who is unsure of their Asian/American identity might go about those situations.

I found myself attracted towards the protagonist, despite his douchebag mannerisms like the way in which he belittles everyone who tries to contact him somehow and his general pessimistic/self destructive/elitist ways. This is probably because the relationship he shares with his best (only) friend who is a lesbian hits very close to my heart (you know who you are) and the way they both incessently tear into each other made me smile.

The art work is very crisp and gets the point of each frame across without distracting too much but all in all it's maybe a bit sterile for my tastes. I guess the art work suits the mood that the protagonist constantly mopes about informing the reader of though.

So, well written story about being who you are and letting others be the same, crisp lines and good reading.

And the last leisurely book I read (not just thumbed through and gawped at like the monkey hanger I am; lots of that done this summer) is the gob smackingly kinetic masterpiece that is Cyril Pedrosa's 'Three Shadows'. Again, Pedrosa isn't an artist who's work I'd encountered before but thanks to my local library, will definatly strive to do so again.

Pedrosa's experience with Disney shines through in his work as those familiar curves and swirls of the mid ninties - noughties Disney animations appear on every page and maybe this factor enhanced my enjoyment so much. The way in which Pedrosa depicts a character is in a very cartoonish manner with their body types doing well to portray their characters personalities (big proud father resembles a huge bear, untrustworthy old hag is shrivled and mean looking etc) but these 'otherwise-would-be' cliches do nothing to stifle the story. Which.. I won't go into because it would ruin the book, suffice to say it's about an arduous journey.

Anyway, brilliant reading experience, must read more of the artist's stuff!

Btw, this image of 'Three Shadows' is actually a little better quality that the copy on the book I have in front of me because it's not quite as dark and you can pick out much more detail. Or at least it seems that way with my eyes.

Next post.. Work experience I think.

This summer..: In games

2008-08-15T07:21:00.000-07:00

Summertime summertime, never was a funner time.

Or something.

To give an impression of what I've been up to this summer, I'll present my activities in several posts, each concerning a new catagory. This one, obviously being most important to my existence is gaming. Video-gaming that is.

So, here's a run down:

System Shock 2.

Brilliantly scary and argueably the inspiration behind any sort of rpg/survival horror elements in todays fps games, inspiring even Half Life and Deus Ex in its methods. Still holds up well 9 years on.

Street Fighter 3

To me this is THE best streetfighter; weighty animations, easy to learn but difficult to master gameplay and jaw-dropping character design. The parry system makes this a fiendishly addictive game.

Contact

An imaginative RPG, essentially a spinoff of the 'Mother/Earthbound' series as you play the role of .. yourself AND a small boy who make contact with the professor from the previous games. You then scour the world looking for cells to power his systems so he can get home. Or something. I honestly wasn't listening as he explained his problem as I was too focused on the stat-building system which involves changing into different outfits and digesting food, but to be fair, a game that gives a young boy an army combat knife and then only provides him with benefits if he uses it to slaughter screen after screen of woodland animals can only be a good game in my eyes.

Pokemon Diamond

(Its essentially the same grind-fest it's always been; went off it in a couple of days)

Castlevania SOTN

The most popular of the Castlevania series, I find myself drawn back to it whenever I have some time on my hands and a playstation in my grasp. The music is atmospheric as is are the lush landscapes and monster designs and its all wrapped in the neat little bow of being a kick-ass son-of-a-vampire.

GTA IV

Played this for about an hour one lunch time and got really tired of it quickly. To be fair I cant' have given it much of a chance but I felt almost .. queasy from the transition of 'usually cartoony and therefore hilarious' car-on-pavement rampages of the previous titles to this installments 'you're basically a real life murderer now' interpretation. I'd been looking forward to this game but.. bit too realistic for my liking.

Fable

I'd actually missed out on this game when it came out so when I saw it for a quid in a preowned bin, I jumped on it. Honestly, wasn't that impressed with the result.. not the level of depth I was expecting maybe or.. perhaps I've played games that have borrowed from and subsequently built on this supposed classic.

Morrowind

Messed around in the massive Morrowind for a day or so, trying to get a feel for what an immersive RPG is; hence Fable as well. There is something about Morrowind that ends up feeling very cold and... isolated. Sure it's huge and there are alot of places to go and kill the same 7 monsters but everyone is just a quest giver and never really seem to have alot of depth to their own characters, where as in Fable, people could be seen milling about in their own lives and involving each other in their own story.

(I was conducting this research for a game that I'm designing but dont' want to put up on here just yet.)

and Capcom VS SNK Millenium Fight 2000

Another very good 2d fighter, combines elements of street fighter, darkstalkers and king of fighters into one huge mishmash of smashy smashy intensity. I really love Capcoms character designs but SNK's all felt very similar and 'serious'.

Hmm, that is quite alot of games! Next time, Books!

2008-06-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Job: Graphic design internship with literary arts magazine, Inside Out

http://www.artsjobs.org.uk//index.php?id=25&ne_source=dailyjobs&ne_post_id=5072

Job: Designer for Zion Arts Centre, Zion Arts Centre

http://www.artsjobs.org.uk//index.php?id=25&ne_source=dailyjobs&ne_post_id=5167

Job: Submit to Talenteers (networking zine) issue 3 EAST IS BEST?, Talenteers

http://www.artsjobs.org.uk//index.php?id=25&ne_source=dailyjobs&ne_post_id=5153

CV!

2008-05-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

And this is what I came out with and have been using.

The CV is over 2 pages, with the less necessary information like qualifications on the 2nd page.

I think it is a bit of a shock to absorb at first when looking at it, quite messy but it seems to have been working on a few potential employers so far as I mentioned.

I cannabalised a couple of my other drawings to bring a bit more visual stimulation to the already frothing madness that is this representation of myself. Barking mad maybe?

CV - Ideas and sketches

2008-05-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

I know what should be in the CV, and I wanted a handwritten style of text, one page only and something to describe myself.
So I thought that the image that describes me most is a drawing of a dog and that I should just feature a dog eating the text somewhere or saying a little speech bubble.

Whilst doodling I came up with this idea of an angry dog spitting out the text, which I really like as an idea but couldn't get to look right in the sketches so I left it for the simpler model of just writing it out.

There is also an idea I may use as a business card. The back of the dog goes on the back of the envelope, then you open it up to reveal a card with the dog looking at you and it's tail wagging. I think it's a nice example of sequence of image in an unusual form.

CV - Research

2008-05-29T04:15:00.000-07:00

Making a cv is something that can be messed up pretty easily judging by any previous attempt I've made at designing one.

So, here are some places I looked for help until I found my inspirational source:

The cv of Animator John Hedley

A cv of another animator from animark:

CURRICULUM VITAE

Mark Flynn	Essentials:	Age: 30 Location: Leeds, UK Email: markflynn@animark.net
Skills	Autodesk	Maya 3d Studio Max Character Studio MotionBuilder
	Adobe	Photoshop
	Pixologic	ZBRUSH
	Corel	Painter 7
Titles Released	PS2	Buzz Quiz sports edition (Nov 06) Outrun 2006 : Coast to Coast X-Men 2 Wolverine's Revenge
	PC	Broken Sword 4
	PSX	Treasure Planet Stuart Little 2 Muppet's Monster Adventure Eliminator
Employment	May '06 - Present	Shin'en Multimedia. Muenchen, Germany Title: Freelance Animator/Modeller Role: Modelling and animating main characters and boss's Contract: Not Released yet
	Feb '06 - May '06	Kuju Entertainment Ltd. Sheffield, UK Title: Character Animator Role: Animation on player characters and prize cutscenes Contract: Buzz quiz "Sports Edition"
	Feb '05 - Oct '06	Sumo Digital. Sheffield, UK Title: Character Animator, Concept Artist & Modeller Role: Character Animation for Broken Sword 4, Character Animation & Modelling for Outrun 2, Concept art for demo's Contracts: Broken Sword 4 & Outrun 2006
	Jul '04 - Nov '04	Argonaut. Sheffield, UK Title: Senior Character Animator Role: Character Animation for character and Boss characters Contract: Zorro - not published
	Jan '04 - Jun '04	New Media Collective. Leeds, UK Title: Character Animator, Concept Artist & Modeller Contract: Various web projects
	Nov '03 - Nov '03	R8 Games. Leeds, UK Title: Lead Character Animator Role: Rigging and Animation for all main characters Contract: Criminalympics - not published
	Oct '02 - Jan '03	Genepool. Manchester, UK Title: Character Animator Role: Animation for in game characters Contract: X-Men 2 Wolverine's revenge
	Dec '01 - Oct '03	R8 Games. Leeds, UK Title: Lead Character Animator Role: Rigging and Animation for all main characters & responsible for scheduling and maintaining Animators workload Contract: Criminalympics - not published
	Mar '99 - Jun '01	Magenta Software. Liverpool, UK Title: Lead Character Animator Role: Responsible for all aspects of character creation, including 2d content design, low polygon modelling, texturing and animation, & responsible for scheduling and maintainging animators workload Contracts: Muppet Moster Adeventure, Snoopy Mania, Treasure Planet, Stuart Little 2 & Eliminator
Education	1996 - 1998	Ballyfermot Senior College, Dublin, Ireland Course Title: Multimedia Design Qualification: Diploma in Multimedia Design
	1994 - 1996	Ballyfermot Senior College, Dublin, Ireland Course Title: Classical Animation Qualification: Diploma in Classical Animation

This pdf from the University of Arts in London is very to the point and helpful in exactly what needs to be there in a creative CV.

I like the complete simplicity and white space in this cv from Commercial Venture but the layout of the images is all over the place.

Then there is this cv from copywriter Daniel Headey. The simplicity and layout seem to work well, and although it stretches over far too many pages, the hand written style of it works well for me.

What I've gathered from this research is that CV's should be short and to the point, but also stand out and express the person who is sending them, whilst also being tapered somewhat to their recipient. I would think that a cover letter would be a better place to exactly pin point your audience so I'll take that into account.

It's alot of information to present but what I may need to show are:

name
contact details and address
skills
achievements
qualifications
where i've worked and references
and a description of who I am.

Statement of Intent??

2008-05-29T03:49:00.000-07:00

Again, before the CV, there is something else I've noticed I havn't put up here yet.

My statement of intent.

I'll put it up and then analyse where I've gone with what I claimed I was trying to achieve at the time:

I like the '100% dipped in chocolate' thing.

I think all in all, I had a good idea at the beginning of the year by saying I needed to bring up my evidence of development work, which I have. However, I didn't have a strong grasp on what companies I was aiming at were actually wanting from me, and that is a good hands-on knowledge of 3D animation experience, so I didn't know to acquire this. Thankfully, I've learned that now from my experiences with talking to companies and scouring the net for contemporary leading examples of animation studios.
Something I wish I'd taken more of a heedance with is my nostradamus-like omen about not being afraid to contact people who can help me, something that I'm only really in the past month and a half starting to put into practise. Doing this really makes what you're doing something physical. You begin to see and derieve purpose and intention from everything that you do; they become vehicles for your advancement and you gain a keener grip on how to steer it. Mm.. I love me some metaphors.

Reading List

2008-05-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

Before I go through the CV, I thought I would try to get my reading list for the year put up.

Artists + Collectives

deviant-art.com in general but in particular, kept watching puncturedscrotom and fealasy, two big influences on me.
eegra.com
seibei
robert carter's site, Crackedhat
Nathan Bedows' blog
The transport tycoon's nds rom homebrew forum
NDSthemes (can post art for nintendo ds backdrops)
conceptart.org
john kricfalusi's blog
newgrounds
andrews-corner
lazy gamer blog
aniboom
Starcraft II concept art
World of Warcraft: Lich King page (The animation on that page is beautiful. Though, it's Blizzard so I wouldn't expect anything less really)
ffconpendium
Bert Simons paper sculptures
pown.alluc.org (This is a good source of gif meme animations, the linked one being one of the best just because it's an incredible bit of hand drawn animation, but others such as this one and this one are eye-poppingly awesome too. This one is also worth a watch even if it is pretty anti-woman so don't listen if you're sensitive. You sissy.)
cereal killers
Fable Concepts from Lionhead
fredgperry videos
dreweurpeo
awn forums
gameartisans
fatheads
shawn barber
control freak's blog
john hedley
animark
Declan Mccullagh
fazoom
mike wieringo
sketchhole
spreadshop
jabberywocky animation
celaction
vgcats
eat22
d-toast
MUGEN
Tado
Jon Burgerman's Blog
lostfish

And the Artists from my Sidebar.

Journals and References

Grafitism
Juxtapose
Computer Arts
The Comics Journal
DRAW!
Association of Illustrators
alluc.org
4colorrebellion
grafiknoise
ektopia
youthoughtwewouldntnotice
a soviet poster a day
grumpy gamer
Axis
viscom breakfast blog! Woo! Represent!
eegra
gimp
character designs
character design blog
fecalface
kotaku
web reference
ultimate-guitar.com (if any tutors can play the song linked then some serious kudos for you)
BBC motion gallery
Channel 4 careers
Mandy.com
Gumtree.com
ign.com
dvdinmypants
artsjobs
1337g33k
baxaart.com
comicworldnews
lulu
manga revolution
illustrator techniques
Cat and dog Midi's
Wavelength
gamingsteve.com
Eye Magazine
Ubu
Wonderland
Design Collector
Elsevier Medical Journals
Creative Review
animate!

And the journals from my sidebar.

Books

Marvel: The zombie Event
Colussus comics
Droop by Bob Selby
Beasts! by Jacob Covey
Dr Simpo's Wacky Rider
Red Colored Elegy by Seiichi Hayashi
Good-Bye by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
Palestine and many other smaller comics by Joe Sacco
Black Hole by Charles Burns
Goodbye Chunky Rice and Blankets by Craig Thompson
Cats by Jeffrey Brown
Ghost stories by M R James
We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Schriver
Cartoon animation by Preston Blair
The system of objects by Jean Baudrillard
Death 24x a second: Stillness and the moving image by Laura Mulvey
Jacques Lacan by Sean Homer
The animator's survival kit by Richard Williams

Films/Programming

Solstice
Alot of Tex Avery cartoons
*blacksataguni's avatar key-animation
Chuck Jone's Now Hear This
Ralph Bakshi's 'Hey Good Lookin', 'Coonskin', 'Fritz the cat'
Bakshi and Kricfalusi's 'Mighty Mouse'
Ren and Stimpy: Adult Show!
Penn & Teller Bullshit!
Smile
First Person Shooter
History of Videogames
Robot Chicken by Seth Green and Matt Seinriech
Adult Swim
The Day of the Triffids
Flight of the Conchords
House
Family Guy
American Dad
The Simpsons
Alot of documentaries on psychological disorders found in aluc.org's documentary section
Thundercats!
The Indiana Jones trilogy. And that film that came after them.
Them
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Music and Music Videos (I'll just put in stuff I've been influenced by this year)

Primus
Nick Cave (Weeping Song)
Leonard Cohen (Closing Time) Cohen doesn't move enough in videos for the passion of his music
katakana22's Sexytime compilation
The incessant Drum and Bass from next door.
Dethklok
Procul Harem
The Knives
Crowded House (Don't Dream it's over)
TV on the Radio
I am Kloot
Elvis Presley
Elvis Costello
Granddaddy
Liquid Tension Experiment
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Cyndi Lauper
Night Ranger (Sister Christian) you're motorin'....

Thats enough for the more significant pieces. If I think of anything else, I'll jot it up.

Gettin me some of that thar work experience!: An update (Part 3)

2008-05-27T04:11:00.000-07:00

Now I moved onto studios which I'd had no prior contact with so I was glad I warmed up on the earlier ones.
Because most of these studios worked in 3D heavily and with my lack of experience in that field, I wasn't expecting a massively positive feedback, if any. This is quite testing because I have After effects skill and flash skill but I was having a hard time finding anywhere at the moment that uses those programs primarily. Then I decided that that if I have any experience in animation, then it can be put to use by the studios that I've found so far so I shouldn't let these concerns stop me from applying and that I should just apply to the studios that I can find, applying to others as and when I discover them.
That these companies might be more down south is a factor; companies like Seed Animations, Tandem Films, Little Loud and The Brothers McLeod whom I would really like to work with but have no means of spare living expense currently. At this point it occurs to me that I could ask these companies if there is any photoshoping or afftereffects work they need doing from home to free up their time or if they could feed me any of the sort and I promplty send out e-mails asking so:

Work experience from home? Hopeful student

10th May, 2008

From:

"Will Campbell"

Add sender to Contacts

To:

film@sparkandzoom.com

To the Brothers Mcleod

My name is Will Campbell, a 2nd Year student at the Leeds college of Art & Design and I'm contacting you in hopes that you could help me out with some work experience.
Unfortunatly, being a poor student I have little means of travelling to Warwickshire everyday or renting accomodation there so I'm offering my services to you as a home-based assistant.
As it says on my enclosed cv, I have experience with Photoshop, Illustrator, Aftereffects, Flash and a beginners understanding of Maya so perhaps I would be capable of helping you by cleaning up frames you don't have time for or any other projects you can think of.
My number is 07515168340 so please don't hesitate to contact me.

If you click here, this is a link to an animation I worked on for the D&AD competition this may.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for anything you may be able to offer me,

Regards,

Will Campbell.

I sent similar e-mails out to the other 3 companies, along with my cv (which I'll show later as I want to unveil it in the manner of how it developed). The brothers did actually phone me up to thank me for my e-mail and that they would be in contact soon if anything came up but after 2 waves of chase-up mails, I've not heard anything from the other companies so far.

In an attempt to not end up looking as suave as this in my future, I pressed on.

I then got in contact with two studios who work primarily in 2d drawn animation , the big Dangermouse-producing company Cosgrove Hall who I had been reminded about by one of my clients and their former employee, Tony Garth and Leeds-based social animation studio, Leeds Animation workshop.
These were the mails that I sent after phoning the studios to find out who I was meant to be contacting.

Hopefull Work-experience Student

May 13th, 2008

From:

"Will Campbell"

Add sender to Contacts

To:

info@leedsanimation.org.uk

Hello Ms Hargotes,

My name's Will Campbell and I'm a Visual Communication student from Hartlepool who is in their second year of study at the Leeds College of Art and design.

I'm e-mailing you concerning any possible chances of work placement in your studio on Bayswater row.
I really like your studios animation and drawing style because it has a human edge to it that is difficult to find in the 3D animation studios of today.

In an ideal situation, I would be looking to be able to strengthen my storyboarding and flash/hand drawn animation skills whilst developing an understanding of a professional studio environment. In return I would be very motivated to assist your company in whatever way you felt I could for the time I spent in it.

If you click here, this is a link to a selected page from my blog which features a handdrawn animation I worked on recently but I've had to perspone finishing to finish my other briefs.
If you click here, this is a link to an animation I worked on for the D&AD competition this may.

I would love to discuss the possibility of organising some actual work placement with you, perhaps for a few days or over a week this summer but anything you can offer me is greatly appreciated. My phone number is 07515168340.

Thank you for your time Ms Hargotes,

Will Campbell.

As you can see, I use bits from other e-mails to get myself used to a format in which these mails should be structured.

After a wave of checking up e-mails, I've not heard anything from Leeds Animation studio so I need to phone them up, but I called up cosgroves hall in the past week to ask them if they had recieved my e-mail and that they would be in contact with me soon.
Maybe Cosgrove get off the phone a bit too easily in my calling anxiety but it's all building my confidence and such. Maybe Tony Garth can help me with that situation..

My next set of e-mails went out to companies who I could access easily from Hartlepool or my Leeds home. The companies deal primarily with 3D animation so I've spun the mail to indicate that I would be very keen on learning this skill from them. Those companies are, Back2Front Animation in Stockton, VexFilm in Sheffield, teabag studios in Leeds, moshine in middlesborough and Studio Liddel in Manchester.
Again, I called up each company asking to whom I should be addressing each e-mail when e-mailing through my CV so that I could make each occassion more personal. I was especially keen to get in contact with moshine and Back2Front because they're based very closely to my home up North and I was very impressed by the standard of production, especially considering the studio's location. This is a variation on the e-mail I sent to those particular studios:

Prospective work experience-seeking student

May 17th, 2008

From:

"Will Campbell"

Add sender to Contacts

To:

jobs@b2fanimation.com

Hello Mr Stevens,

My name's Will Campbell and I'm a Visual Communication student from Hartlepool who is in their second year of study at the Leeds College of Art and design.

I'm e-mailing you concerning any possible chances of work placement in your studio in Stockton.Coming from the North East, I've been prepared to look down South for employment possibilities but the sheer caliber of the work that your studio produces suggests this might not be necessary. I was particularly impressed with the 'I like Brains' animation as I'm a fledgling character animator myself.

In an ideal situation, I would be looking to be able to strengthen my storyboarding and flash/hand drawn animation and aftereffects skills whilst developing an understanding of 3D animation as well as an understanding of working in a professional studio environment. In return I would be very motivated to assist your company in whatever way you felt I could for the time I spent in it.

If you click here, this is a link to a selected page from my blog which features a handdrawn animation I worked on recently but I've had to perspone finishing to finish my other briefs.
If you click here, this is a link to an animation I worked on for the D&AD competition this may.

I would love to discuss the possibility of organising some actual work placement with you, perhaps for a few days or over a week this summer but anything you can offer me is greatly appreciated. My phone number is 07515168340.

Thank you for your time Mr Stevens,

Will Campbell.

After a nudging e-mail to back2front, I actually called the studio and asked to be put through to Mr Stevens so that I could talk to him voice to voice but was told he wasn't in. I will persist with asking for his attention.

Phonecalls to Liddel confirmed what I assumed would be a problem in attaining some experience with these companies; they didn't feel like I had the experience necessary to be of any assistance to them and that I should create a full show reel of character animation before contacting them again.
This was a bit disheartening because I do have animation experience but its worrying to know that some studios don't think I'm good enough despite the motivation to learn from them. So, I have something to try and build up over the summer at least.

Finally I am about to make contact with Tim Illingworth of Pure Photography in Pudsey because his company deals with production and video creation as does Masspro, a company that I have two years experience working with so, this could be an opportunity for me to develop my editing and photography skills.

That is as far as I've gotten at this point and probably this semester in terms of attaining work experience. At the least, I have added some contacts to my address book and have some definate visits to studios lined up which I'm very excited about as they could turn into work experience quickly.

Now to show you the cv I've been making and how I came about making it. Then my portfolio and how that is looking.

Gettin me some of that thar work experience!: An update (Part 2)

2008-05-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

Before I began to search through every animation studio in the UK, I made a rule that I would only try to get work experience in a place where I would be able to travel to easily over summer either from my rented house in Leeds, or from my home in Hartlepool. Unless I was able to get work which I could do at home and have my travel expenses compensated for, I just don't have the money to spend on more accomodation than I am already.

So I began to Contact potential employers...

I started out with a couple of companies which I believed would be establish a good line of contact with.

The first was Eutechnyx in Gateshead, a games design company. I'm good friends with a programmer who works here and after making a trip up to newcastle to visit him three weeks ago, we discussed plans for me to go back to Newcastle during the summer in June to visit the games studio as he works there. This will be a great opportunity for me to explore the studio and dispel my delusions of how the infrastructure there operates whilst doing my best to get to know the art department. It might not work out to be that great but, it's a start.

The next is Fat City Films in Manchester, a cartoon company owned by Vincent James, a close friend of one of my clients, Tony Garth. I chose to make contact with Vincent because cartoon studio experience is something I'd like a taste of, along with professional experience in storyboarding and character animation AND with Tony as a contact, this seemed like a natural choice. Also, I was able to send him work I'd done on a brief him and Tony created so, good oppotunity to use it.
This is what I sent:

Work experience student hopeful from Tony Garth

4th May, 2008

From:

"Will Campbell"

Add sender to Contacts

To:

info@fatcityfilms.co.uk

Message contains attachments

ron.jpg (350KB), pok.jpg (344KB), storyboard intro.jpg (448KB)

Hi there Mr James,

My name is Will Campbell, a 2nd Year student at the Leeds college of Art & Design and I'm contacting you in hopes that you could help me out with some work experience.
I would be very interested in earning some professional storyboarding experience and basically tasting what a cartoon studio really is. If I could work on or assist with actually animating that would be fantastic too but I will be very enthusiastic to help you in whatever way you feel I can.
I'm a big fan of the playful and bouncy style in which you draw your characters, a source of inspiration certainly for a recent project I've been working on, assigned to me by none other than Mr Tony Garth! -fan fare-

As you may be able to tell from the attachments, the project revolved around developing the character 'random ronnie/roger' whom you and Tony came up with for an older internet-viewing audience and thats a little of what I've come up with so far.
There's also a storyboard involving his roommate, an evil sock puppet called Neil and his eyeless dog, Pok, so plenty to look at.

If you click here, this is a link to a selected page from my blog which features a handdrawn animation I worked on recently but I've had to perspone finishing to finish my other briefs.
If you click here, this is a link to an animation I worked on for the D&AD competition this may.

Anyway, thank you very much for the time you've taken to read this e-mail and any advice or support you may be able to offer me. Even if I could just visit the studio for a day or even a few hours, I would be very grateful to you.

Thank you in advance Mr James,

Will Campbell

This is quite an informal e-mail despite me addressing Vincent as Mr James (as I've never met him) because I'm friendly with Tony and as such bring up his name a couple of times to show Vincent that I can be his friend as well. I also include work that shows storyboards and characters that I made specifically using a brief which he wrote so I'm really trying to solidify a link with him. I also gave him some of my animation work to ponder over to strengthen my chances of him taking me on.

Initially I was quite hopeful that this would be a fruitful correspondence but as of today, I've not heard anything back yet. I've sent 3 other e-mails politely asking if he has recieved my first e-mail but still nothing so far. The website lacks a phone number to call Vincent so I've asked Tony for it via e-mail and.. he's also notoriously slow to respond so it could take a while. If I can find Tony's phone number anywhere, I'll get that sorted.

Moving on we have Masspro and Qurios Entertainment, both based in my hometown of Hartlepool. I had already been in contact with both of the companies earlier in the year to attempt to get placements so this was a catch up.

This was the e-mail to Masspro:

Working over the summer

4th May, 2008

From:

"Will Campbell"

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To:

ma09@hotmail.co.uk

Hi Mark,

Will here, hope you're doing well up North with everything. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get through to you in time for easter earlier this year but I'm wondering if at any time between june and early september that I'd be able to get some work experience with you or your colleagues in your animation department.
What I would be most interested in would be advancing my skills in 3D modelling/animating in Maya, 3d Studio max or soft image because these are deeply important to someone like myself who fancies a future career in this industry. I would be more than willing to work on any projects you havn't the time to fulfill for free in this area if you could give me a little assistance with the programs in return.

Cheers for any help you can give me Mark,

Will

As I've kind of expected, based on their treatment of me the last time I dealt with them, I've not heard anything back from the company as of now after 3 extra reminder e-mails.

This mail I sent to Mr Bushnell of Qurious entertainment. It's similar to the one I sent Vincent James but its a bit more formal and I had the initiative to include my phone number in it:

Hartlepool Student follow-up

May 4th, 2008

From:

"Will Campbell"

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To:

nielb@qurios.com

Hi Mr Bushnell,

My name's Will Campbell and I'm a Visual Communication student from Hartlepool who is in their second year of study at the Leeds College of Art and design.

I'm e-mailing you concerning any possible chances of work placement in your studio in church street. In an ideal situation, I would be looking to be able to strengthen my storyboarding and flash/hand drawn animation skills whilst also picking up a developing understanding of 3D animation, all in a professional studio environment. In return I would be very motivated to assist your company in whatever way you felt I could for the time I spent in it.

If you click here, this is a link to a selected page from my blog which features a handdrawn animation I worked on recently but I've had to perspone finishing to finish my other briefs.
If you click here, this is a link to an animation I worked on for the D&AD competition this may.

I would love to discuss the possibility of organising some actual work placement with you, perhaps for a few days or over a week this summer but anything you can offer me is greatly appreciated. My phone number is 07515168340.

Thank you for your time Mr Bushnell,

Will Campbell.

And after a couple of reminder e-mails, on the 20th of May, I got a phone call asking when I would be free to come and look around the studios. I told them from the 8th of June onwards and the 9th was set as the date I will be looking about, discussing opportunities for placement. Success!

Gettin me some of that thar work experience!: An update on how that business is going. (Part I)

2008-05-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

After my work experience fell through over easter, I became a bit disheartened with the prospect of looking for help with my career forwarding elsewhere.
It needed doing though.

My first reaction was to look on work finding sites or online classifieds like Mandy.com and Gumtree.com, searching for animation companies who were looking for interns or people to fill work placements.
Sadly this turned up very few results for companies that I'd be interested in working with who were offering part time work in a situation where I'd be able to work without having to lose money on living expenses in the south. Results like this for an unnamed animation company in Birmingham who would want the prospective employee to work from home, making trips to Birmingham from time to time to meet up with the client.

My assumption in this situation would be that the company would pay for travel expenses but I don't know because I didn't follow up the ad. I didn't follow up the ad because I knew with my skill I would be unable to fulfill the employer's requests. I didn't reply to this posting either for reasons below.

I have adequete knowledge in flash, but my understanding of character animation is just starting and would be unable to support a need for walk cycles, perspective and other elements. This was my reasoning at the time for applying but, if I had sent them something I think I could've stood a chance at least.

Anyway, I came to the conclusion that the anxiety I was feeling from not being able to find a suitable, easy enough place to fit myself was because what I was currently searching for was actual work and not work placements. I needed to aim softer and to do this, I needed to start mailing the companies who were offering this work and asking them for placements instead.
I would've been ok with skipping this step and just trying to get the jobs they were offering but then I figured I would continue to hit this wall of not being skilled enough to satisfy any jobs going.

What I want

I took some time to review exactly what it was that I was trying to get out of a placement after the awkward and unsure e-mails that I'd sent to Masspro. I finally came to the conclusion that yes, I can offer these companies my services and what skill I've begun to develop, but ultimately the purpose of me getting one of these placement dealies is for the body I work with to give something to me as well. Some kind of development of skill in a professional context.

This professional context I decided recently is in the field of animation, more specifically character animation and its development and conceptualisation. I don't have the skills for it yet but I would also be interested in working in the art department of the video game industry.

These are the current skills that I have and can demonstrate to some degree when asked instantaneously by a potential work placement:

Drawing (conceptual, anatomical), Photoshop use, Hand-drawn animation, paper marionnette-crafting, book making, word processing, Aftereffects use, Flash use, basic character animation skills, storyboarding, good team working and ideas generation.

Any of these skills would be factors I would be looking to put to use and develop.

Additional skills that I would like to develop would be:

3D animation and modelling, (Maya, Softimage) advanced character animation, a deeper sense of professionalism and experience in a studio enviroment.

Using this information, I was able to start emailing studios about the prospect of me working for them during the summer or soon after.

go go apathy

2008-05-25T17:50:00.001-07:00

I accidently found this artist's work whilst google-ing 'kontroll', the Hungarian film about budapest subways and was so glad that I did so. Their work is some beautiful manga-inspired stuff and I will be watching them as they put more pieces out.

Whoever they are, they excell in their colouring and inking for sure. Such well balenced inking.. I will try to contact them to tell them how I feel about their work.

I loves me some Tex Avery

2008-05-25T17:28:00.001-07:00

Mmm.... banned cartoons. It is truely a crime against the arts world that these old tex avery cartoons should be restricted from the public eye just because they were made during world war II. Please, do your animation taste buds a favour and watch the cartoon below; they'll thank you for it after they wrap themselves around the bounty of perfectly bouncing and weighted animation inside. I mean, just look at that sexy BLITZ WOLF type! Mmmm... thats good eatin! Plus it's pun-tastic! you don't get writers like that anymore.

Ian Brauner and Clayton Stillwell

2008-05-25T17:11:00.001-07:00

Another animator/character designer I've been watching recently is Ian Brauner. His work is very lively like my stuff but he seems to have much more discipline and general 'get up and go'. Probably not addicted to anything. (note to self, switch addiction to drawing).

And a concept artist through and through, Clayton Stillwell. Just.. look at his stuff; it's jaw droppingly eerie.

The cult of Kricfalusi

2008-05-25T16:55:00.000-07:00

I would say that 'Ren & Stimpy' was a pretty big influence on me as a person growing up. Alot of other people would say this too and this is never more evident than in John Kricfalusi's blog in which every post he makes is inundulated by literally hundreds of reply posts, each one either praising him or asking for his attention on their own work. So, using this attention Kricfalusi has made it a perogative of his to reschool this generation of artists and animators in the ways in which animation should really be.

So with so many responses to his soap box screechings, it's not suprising that at least a couple of the people who reply sometimes are pretty decent artists. One such artist is Fuzzhound, a true Joe Sacco in the making if there ever was one. His work is awe inspiring in how he's proving that a cartoon style of graphic design can still be put to use brilliantly, completely expanding the horizons of what a cartoonist can do to make some hard cash. I should take a note from his book seriously..

Another such blogger is Nate Sands who fires out work like this in response to Kricfalusi's call to arms when he needs assisstence with operations. Its incredible stuff.

Seriously, why am I not keeping on top of Kricfalusi's blog and responding to it? He could help me so much!

olofsdotter

2008-05-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

An illustrator who's work I noticed on the cover of Computer Arts recently is Linn Olofsdotter. What I like about her stuff is how it stretches from goofy doodles to phenominally intricate pattern work all in one image. Really talented artist, though not strictly my cup of tea I go for the use of colour and the dark mood tones she uses.

Hanaharu Naruko is a filth monger.

2008-05-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

As much as I enjoy a good picture of a lady with no clothes on, what I enjoy more is the work of an artist who can make such smut into something that is aesthetically pleasing on more than such a base level. And one of those artists is Hanaharu Naruko.
This is a tame example by some of her other pieces standards but alot of her work is just in this beautifully detailed and handpainted style of manga. I think this appreciation for her work is very much on a draftsmans level; i.e, I want to drain out her blood and drink it all in an attempt to steal her skill.

Anyway, check out her site. It's actually pretty porn-free, but some are.. 'getting there' so its very much a case of enter at your own risk.

I can't stop blogger making the text small here and it's for no apparant reason so.. I might be moving to a more .. bug-free blogging system soon.

cubecraft.com

2008-05-25T16:09:00.000-07:00

This is a lazy sunday afternoon project if there ever was one. cubecraft features dozens of popular nerdy culture icons but in cut-out cube form so you can litter your abode with the characters you've come to love and hate! Could've done with something like this in my first year when I designed a line of pop out cardboard robots.

Think I'll make a set of video game ones and post some pictures of them..

Quincy's book o' dogs

2008-05-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

I found this book in smiths the other day whilst doing my thang (pretty much just bumming about) and the illustrations on the front struck me as being 'me'. The characters are drawn in a bobble headed, curvy manner like I doodle and it's about dogs! My favourite! So yeah, definatly making this purchase (7p on amazon!) as proof that people who draw like me can get paid to do so!

Tubbypaws' Blog

2008-05-25T15:29:00.000-07:00

I read about this illustrator's blog from my good friend Siragher and I sure am glad she told me about it cause its the nuts!

Its all about the simple design guys! just keep it simple! -hammers it into his brain-meats-
and some serious illustrator skillz. This highlights a problem of mine; making a final image look presentable and as I'm forming my portfolio at this point, I'm looking over the stuff and realizing just how big a problem this can be. So.. this summer = redo my website + practice illustrator + general image making looking good! gah!

Fireshot

2008-05-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

"FireShot is a Firefox extension that creates screenshots of web pages.
Unlike other extensions, this plugin provides a set of editing and annotation tools, which let users quickly modify captures and insert text and graphical annotations. Such functionality will be especially useful for web designers, testers and content reviewers.
It's possible to choose whether entire web page or only visible part of this page should be captured.
Screenshots can be uploaded to server, saved to disk (PNG, GIF, JPEG, BMP), copied to clipboard, e-mailed and sent to external editor for further processing."

So yeah, I downloaded this Fireshot dealie a couple of days ago and it's great for capturing exactly what you want on a website; even catches flash images and stuff that printscreen can miss. I'm not trying to design a website at the moment but I will be this summer so this baby'll do wonders when I'm breaking down sites and such.