Dragstarr animation January 26, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in after effects, animation, dragstarr games, logo, prototype, robot.3 comments
Here’s a prototype animation for the new Dragstarr games logo.
It was made out of bits of tape and cardboard, which were then composited in After Effects. I find it useful to make something physical rather than heading straight for the computer. Whether or not its the most productive way of doing things is another question, but at least it’s a lot of fun.
Blu and adaptive space May 24, 2008
Posted by townsend51 in Blu, William Kentridge, adaptive environments, animation, banksy, graffiti, tensegrity.add a comment
This is one of the craziest bits of animation I’ve ever seen. I love how the images morph in such a fluid way. It’s reminiscent of William Kentridge’s work, in terms of technique and creative ambition – there is no escaping the fact that such work takes a lot of dedication. But working on the physical fabric of buildings, and tying it in with existing elements, is surely Blu’s master stroke. As a result it looks more tangible and life-like than other forms of animation.
MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.
Wouldn’t it be great if graffiti really did this when you walked past? Architects talk a lot about interactive digital spaces (1), and its certainly possible with current technology. Check out this video by an Austrian collective, that do do ‘laser graffiti’ on the sides of buildings:
An extension of this theme is tensegrity structures. Its a way of creating a load bearing structure with the barest of means possible in terms of material and weight. These structures can be actuated so that they move in response to active or passive stimuli. For instance, a person could walk past a sensor, and the fabric of the surrounding buildings could alter shape, to provide more shade for instance. Heat transfer from a building is a strong function of shape, so a building which could change its envelope even slightly would be at a great advantage in terms of natural heating and cooling efficiency.
If all of this adaptive environment stuff sounds pie in the sky, there are clear indicators that we’re heading in that direction, particularly as advertising is increasingly becoming more targeted, and buildings are becoming more intelligent. I welcome it in some respects – as long as it doesn’t become too invasive.
As for Blu, I think there is an increasing level of tolerance concerning graffiti, and its artistic merits, especially in the UK after the success of Banksy. One thing’s for sure: Blu has upped the ante in a creative sphere which in my opinion is under exploited, and hopefully an increasing appetite for animation at the cinema will translate into an interest in art work which works with the moving image, in which ever form that may be.
(1) http://www.cityofsound.com/blog/2008/01/faades-expressi.html
All of the best art/design videos seem to be on Vimeo. Its interesting how certain video sharing websites have a particular user base. You can see more of Blu’s work there.
UK video game industry May 3, 2008
Posted by townsend51 in Liverpool, UK, animation, creative economy, economy, gaming, programming, video game.add a comment
I’ve been looking into the game development scene in the UK, and found some welcome results. I’d always believed that game developers were largely based in London, with the exception of Rockstar and a few others. In reality, there is a much more even spread. Sure, the companies tend to nucleate around hubs, but as far as the distribution of these goes, its all very positive. For instance, I’ve always had aspirations of working in Liverpool when I graduate, because I’ve always liked the place, and its very close to home. I’m sure other people will have found themselves in a similar position, and even though I’ve lived in London for the last couple of years, I have little intention of staying here indefinitely.
This isn’t just confined to the games sector either; there are also opportunities for other digital creatives. These companies didn’t spring up overnight, so why do they keep such a low profile? I would have been interested to know about the employment prospects when I was a young whipper snapper, who through the tyrannies of the world, came to believe that computer games were bad.
During my brief foray into this area, I’ve encountered some useful on line resources (see the bottom of the post).
- Advice for budding animators (Independent Newspaper)
- Info for animators (Prospects)
- Bizarre Creations Fantastic Liverpool based developer (Project Gotham Racing, Geometry Wars)
- List of game developers (only large ones – doesn’t include subsidiaries):
- Skillset (perhaps the greatest asset for a budding game programmer or artist)
Character Design April 27, 2008
Posted by townsend51 in animation, character design, drawing, graphic, inkscape, maya, vector art.1 comment so far
I’ve found Inkscape and Paint.net to be great tools for image creation, partially owing to the good balance of features and usability that these programs offer. They are also completely free, and run well on older hardware.
If you plan on getting into 3D modelling, then these tools are especially useful to have, because you can develop ideas on your own computer, and then, as is the case for many learners, go and use a college computer with Maya installed. The Maya Personal Learning Edition is only of limited use, because it outputs scenes in a file format that isn’t readable by the full version of Maya. And likewise the Maya PLE cannot read files outputted by Maya.
Even if you’re not into modelling, character design is still a great thing to do. They don’t have to be masterpieces, though admittedly some people do make them so. There are a lot of community sites out there, which offer advice. But don’t be afraid to try out your own ideas, or to do something which doesn’t conform to an existing look, like those characterised by Pixar and Disney.
A final word on Inkscape. One of the reasons its so useful for this kind of work, is because by using the bezier curve and straight line tool, you can get a lot of control over the quality of the line work in your piece. The image can then be exported as a bit map, which can be edited using Paint.net, which has a feature set similar to Photoshop.
So go and design some characters – you never know they might end up in an episode of Dr Who one day. But remember to draw with a coloured pencil or pen because this will result in a clearer scan, with more defined lines than if a graphite pencil is used.
There are some great examples on this website:
http://www.fengzhudesign.com/
Piecing together the… March 3, 2008
Posted by townsend51 in animation, creative economy, graphic.add a comment
You here the phrase ‘Knowledge Economy’ bandied around a lot nowadays, but what exactly does it mean? The government has published a report, answering just that question.
It mainly concerns the creative sector, and seeming as we make very little nowadays, we are increasingly dependent on intangible assets which result from the labours of artists, designers, film makers and the like. In fact, the creative sector has grown twice as much as the rest of the economy in recent years, so it is firmly on the government policy radar.
But where exactly is this growth happening? Well, undoubtedly the lions share is in London. No surprises there. But the reasons merit further discussion. London is a truly cosmopolitan place, and the creative industry thrives off the multiculturalism. In fact, the creative base is so strong, that it acts like a giant magnet. And even within London there are red hot areas for the creative sector: Soho for post production and visual effects, and Kings Cross for pretty much anything.
All this seems to suggest that young creatives should likewise set up shop in the big smog, but there are alternatives. Manchester has a strong creative industry, which will only be bolstered by the development of the MediaCity:UK in the Salford docks, which promises a centralised area for creative start ups to rub shoulders with the big players, such as the BBC.
Likewise, Edinburgh and Glasgow are strong in this sector, partially owing to the proximity of high quality art and design colleges.
And hopefully Liverpool will be stimulated by its year as Capital of Culture to forge ahead with the creative headway that its undoubtedly made in the past.
All of which points to a fairly positive future. It was one of my personal gripes that the late 20th Century city redevelopments centred on superficial improvements, which purported to be design and arts led, but did little for the wider creative economy. Hopefully, this new legislation will change that, with design and the arts being acknowledged as central to both our personal and economic well being.
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If you are interested in this, either from an arts or business perspective, then the following may be of interest.
New Talents for the New Economy
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And just to stress the point, here are some creative companies and individuals which are truly top notch, and as such deserve recognition.
Young animation company:
http://www.breakthrufilms.co.uk/
TV production company:
http://www.propellertv.co.uk/Default.aspx
Building infrastructure for the creative economy:
http://www.sohonet.co.uk/
Ethical product design:
http://www.diykyoto.com/
Post production:
http://www.dneg.com/
Visual effects:
http://www.the-mill.com/
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Animation Masters: William Kentridge January 21, 2008
Posted by townsend51 in animation, graphic, tate modern.add a comment
Animation December 4, 2007
Posted by townsend51 in animation, film, graphic.add a comment
What is animation? I think it’s about making stuff move in cool, compelling ways. A lot of artists want their work to live and breath, move and be observed, and animation is surely the best way of achieving this.
Animation broadly falls into two categories – story led, where by animation is a facet of cinema, and then there’s the purely visual type, an example of which is music videos or graphic work, where narrative concerns are secondary to pure visual bombast.
I’m not saying that its a clear distinction – both types share many elements. However identifying which animation you are creating is the key to creating good animation. A common pitfall with narrative animation is that the creator fails to tell a compelling story. The results often focus purely on visual, or even technical, achievements. I generally consider this sort of film overindulgant and unwatchable. There are so many student films online which fit this criteria. Animation students should try telling a story with basic means, perhaps a Punch and Judy show, to learn about storytelling in an environment where short comings can’t be deflected by technical frivolities.
Now, there’s also the purely visual form which utilises the strength of animation to switch between subject matter to create a shifting collage. Its this balance between juxtaposition and flux which makes animation so cool. Its the sort of imagery which aligns closest to the sub conscious with its organic developments and free associations. The addition of music makes it nothing short of hypnotic.
The following are links to animation which I think has merit, or else fails admirably and so is equally useful.
Jonathan Barnbrook
Jonathan Barnbrook is better known for his graphic work than animation. All of his work has an anti-establishment flavour – particularly anti corporation, where he uses animation as a tool to twist advertising and send it back as a forthright objection about the negative effects of mass media.
Audio Bullies music video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEx2dHONdok
This is an Audio Bullies video which has a look which can be considered very modern, commercial and exceptionally MTV. But it’s not a bad example of the sort of ‘mish-mashing’ which can happen in an animation video – mixing 2D, 3D and live action elements (often not shot specifically for the purpose in the case of the Nancy Sinatra clips) to create something with verve and its own visual rhythm.
Str8nime
People often recut existing footage to play alongside their favourite songs. This amateur slicing and splicing has become increasingly common with the widespread availability of video editing software and video sharing websites like Youtube, and can often give impressive results. The natural next step is to create original content, when the recutting of material attains a style of its own. An example of such a guy is shown below.
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/15-10/pl_screen
Its also a great example where the lack of narrative focus can prove detrimental to a films success. But on the plus side, just how much can be achieved by one guy with enough passion (he created a full length animated feature by himself – a task which’d usually require the toil of hundreds).
BBC Film Network
Some of the best animated shorts can be found here.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/
Ok, that’s it for now as this post is getting quite long. Keep your eyes peeled for more animation posts in the near future.
Welcome! November 19, 2007
Posted by townsend51 in animation, film.add a comment
This is one of the things I made when teaching myself to use Adobe After Effects, and its been repurposed as a welcome message for this blog. However, the original work was done on a Mac, and finding freely available video editing software for pcs is a pain. Even when Avid Free DV was available it had huge hardware requirements. I need something inbetween the atrocious Windows Media Player and a professional package – something like iMovie for the Mac. Or even better a video editor for Ubuntu – that seems long overdue.
