RGJ Branding

A recent example of some commercial branding, created for a friend. This project proved to be a challenging brief as the design had to be multi purpose, communicating a solid theme that reflected the general building nature of the company, yet also encompass the fact they specialised in the installation of green energy solutions in domestic homes. Unfortunately the business was put on hold and the designs never progressed past this stage however I thought I would share it on here.

Animated Hector Test

Character test put together in After Effects.

Bristol

I really enjoyed the Inverness line drawing process so thought I would have another crack at one, using one of my favourite places the city of Bristol for inspiration. Having lived there for many years it was actually harder to think of what to omit rather than include as it's so full of character and landmarks. I have tried to narrow it down to the most distinctive buildings and features that sum up Bristol to me personally. From left to right included is; Clifton suspension bridge, S.S. Great Britain, Cabot Tower, Wills Memorial Building, Park Street, Millennium Square, College Green, Bristol Cathedral, M-Shed Dock Cranes, Bristol Balloon Fiesta, The Avon Ferry, Pero’s Bridge,  Arnolfini, St Augustine's Parade, Temple Meads Train Station. Best viewed in full size. (Just give it a click).

Hector The Victorian Gentlebot

Currently I'm putting together a pitch for an original animated children's short called 'Hector the Victorian Gentlebot'. The premise revolves around the main character Hector (pictured above) a robot created in Victorian times but awoken in the modern day. At this point in time it's currently written episodically but that may change. The show would feature a well spoken and fool hardy Hector, trying to get to grips with modern life and technology, often to his detriment and at odds with his Victorian sensibilities. I hope to get a few animated tests finished soon, to accompany.

Flint the Dog Illustration

Just a quick one today. Here's a painting knocked up for my brothers birthday to go on the front of his card. It's of his favourite canine pal Flint the dog.

Isometric Lighthouse

Have been really captured by the process of Isometric drawing recently and thought I would experiment by producing a landscape cube vector. In time I hope to produce a series of different cubes each with it's own distinct landscape.

Lumberjack Character Design

Decided to create this Lumberjack fellow as it's been a little while since I have done any character design, particularly with a view to be animated (at some point) in a traditional style. It was first hand drawn in pencil before being scanned and digitally coloured. It's based on the art style from one of my favourite animation series 'Regular Show' by JG Quintel.

Macbeth Theater Poster

A minimalist approach to a Macbeth theater poster in an attempt to convey as much about the play in as little detail as possible. The focus of the piece was to characterise Macbeth's pursuit of the crown. The three points depict daggers, representing the three sets of murder Macbeth commits to become king. The watery blood effect alludes to Lady Macbeth going mad, not being able to wash imagined blood from her hands and the symbolised guilt this represents. It was produced using different density's of ink and water and digitally cut out.

Circus Grimm Character Showreel

Here's a re-edited version of my Circus Grimm film. It's a much pacier showreel of all the character animation.

Circus Grimm

(Just give it a click)

No new post today, I did however want to archive a large body of work from a past project on this new blog and share it with you. Although a few years old, my final university stop-motion project is still something I worked incredibly hard at putting together, and ultimately informed my decision in wanting to follow a career in the world of stop-motion animation. The project focused on the
pre-production side of an animation treatment. If you would like to look at the project in further detail, there is an updated version of the production bible (omitting some of the secondary research for accessibility) available to view. Just click on the poster above to open it up and scroll through.

Here are a few of the Puppets created for the project.

                          

Inverness Graphic

To commemorate my recent trip to Inverness, I've rustled up a little graphic depicting the cities defining buildings and features in a minimalist style.

From left to right it includes; Cromwell's Tower, Greig Bridge, The free church of Scotland, Inverness Castle, Loch Ness and the surrounding highlands.

A Trip To The Highlands

Recently took a trip to the beautiful city of Inverness in the highlands of Scotland. I very much enjoyed all the delights it had to offer, taking in the sights of Loch Ness, whisky tasting and caleigh dancing. I don't pretend to be a professional photographer in any way but I love the medium and taking snaps (particularly panoramics as you can see). Here are a few of the favorites that I wanted to share.

 

 

 

Contrasting Clouds

A couple of hand sewn cloud critters (still no sewing machine).

King Muertos

I'm a big fan of designer vinyl and custom jobs so thought I would cast my hand at creating a mock up of my own idea for a vinyl toy series.'King Muertos' (if it comes to fruition) would be a run of crown adorning skull heads each in a cultural style such as above styled on designs from Mexico, Japan and Tibet. The next stage would be to make a resin mold and do some test runs to get the shape right.

Plague Doctor GIF

A quick rehash of my last post into a GIF.

Lino Effect Plague Doctor

Ice Cream Munny

Well I thought the end of summer should warrant a custom piece, so I've tried to create my very own melting ice cream Munny. Used a two part epoxy putty to build up the drips and cone, The finish was created using a pressurised paint sprayer and acrylic.

To the Moon!

This mixed media piece is an example page for a children's book. It has been created in plasticine and composed digitally.

Mine Head Munny

 

Customisation of a "Munny" vinyl toy. The basic shape allows for much versatility and can be customised in many creative ways. To create this piece I used air drying clay, wall filler and dowel to build up the basic mine shape. Epoxy was utilised for the finer detailing and painted material for the seaweed.

Digital Russian Doll Concept

Vector Illustration. Click for full size. A play on the original idea of layered Russian Dolls.

Study In Diamonds

Pen and felt tip.

Quick Logo Experiment

Self Portrait In Plasticine

Audi Stop-motion Commercial

I've been meaning to archive this project for some time. These are stills from an online stop motion advertisement created for the car company Audi, in conjunction with 'Claynation' animator Max Martin. My job was to design and create the sets and fully articulated puppets involved. The time scale for completion was fairly quick meaning there where a lot of evenings spent over mount board, but overall incredibly fun due to the free reign over the art style. Max did a great job animating as you can see in the finished video, available to watch here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AKOA3NRQ1c

Game Of Thrones Inspired Comic

Pistol Shrimp Cover

This was an EP cover design for the digital music artist 'Pistol Shrimp' which was released on i-tunes. The design incorporates circuitry within a heart shape playing on the theme of the track Cyborg. The artist logo is a custom made font created especially for use on this cover.

First Ever GIF!

As a little experiment to get back into animation I thought I would attempt making my first ever GIF. The images where created individually in a vector program and then sequenced to form a simple loop.

Goat Puppets

Earlier in the year I was tasked by St Mary's theater group to design and make a pair of life size goat puppets, to be used for the lonely goat herd scene in a production of The Sound Of Music (pictured above in rehearsals). The budget was incredibly tight which was a bit of a challenge, so apart from the exterior material everything was created out of re-cycled material. The scene involved a lot of choreography so the rods where attached to the frame rather than limbs so as to be simply operated. The limbs where pleated at the joints to still retain the illusion of movement. 

Kasa-obake

Recently came across an interesting Japanese folk lore. Kasa-obake is the name given to old and used umbrellas that after time become haunted by spirits! I thought I would have a go at creating my own version for today's post.

Vector Art

Midday Doodle "Out on a limb"

Boxtrolls

 Finally managed to get around to watching the latest Laika stop-motion film Boxtrolls. Not only is it a brilliantly crafted film but it got me thinking about the medium and the sheer amount of effort involved. The amount of planningt is enormous, from props to lighting to direction. There is a seemingly endless list. It's for this reason I have the utmost respect for people working in this medium (a medium I hope to one-day further work in).

When you look at the incredibly detailed backgrounds and props, that aren't even the focus of the shot you realise that it is a labour of love and that people choose to keep the stop-motion process alive not because it's easy but because it's challenging, yet all the more rewarding.

There is a great scene at the end of the credits shown below which throws into focus the brilliant and often absurd nature of choosing to animate in stop-motion.

Scotness Monster

A friend of mine has recently moved to Inverness in the highlands of Scotland, and as a leaving present I've been diligently sewing for what seems to be (quite literally) an age and made her a "Scotness Monster".

Full credit for the template go's to the people at
http://www.welivedhappilyeverafter.com/2013/11/lochnessmonsterstuffedanimal.html
There are many other great ideas on there which I would highly recommend.

The scale is reduced to 50% of the original.

Hopefully it will go down well and for future reference, I shall be promptly investing in a sewing machine!