Richard Feynman - Ode To A Flower

Really enjoying this animation from Fraser Davidson. For those of you that don't know, Fraser has animated a few other favorites of mine, such as Irritable Bowl Syndrome.  Much like that piece, Ode To A Flower is animated to a speaker.  In this case it comes from  the BBC Interview for Horizon 'The Pleasure of Finding Things Out'.  Not only do I agree with the statements being made, but I feel the animation actually helps to support them. You really do begin to see how science can be beautiful in it's own unique way.

Csilla Klenyanszki

This first photo from Csilla Klenyanszki sums up my mornings pretty well. Her photography reminds me of a dark sarcastic comedy. The bluntness of her photos really convey that routine rut we can all get into sometimes in life.

Story

A short holiday video for Story: We Produce made by No-Domain. No Santas or Christmas trees in this one folks. I really want to make a piece similar to this using a bunch of found footage and art. It's such a nostalgia inducing style and there is something exciting about going to the library, picking up a book, and discovering all sorts of material to be re purposed.

Naughty List

A lovely little animated short from Chris O'Hara. An amazing example of squash and stretch and multiples in character animation. Check out the still frame below to see what I mean.

The Glitch

A hilarious real life take on the horrors of game glitching courtesy of Corridor Digital.


See the making of below.

Charles Huettner

Charles Huettner is one of the members of the Late Night Work Club. If you want something weird, different, new, fresh, creepy, odd, or funny then Charles' work is what the doctor ordered. His stuff is like nothing else out there right now, and I appreciate someone who can make something that stands out in today's digital world.

Blue-Zoo Xmas 2012

Wonderful composition and character animation make this simple animation from Blue-Zoo a true holiday classic.

Controller Evolution v. 2 and the Evolution of an Animator

Nintendo always has been and always will be a constant element in my life. This piece is a tribute to their life thus far.

Music by Heath McNease

I said this over a year ago when I made the first Controller Evolution, and now with the introduction of the Wii U, it only seemed fitting to continue this tradition. I can't think of a better controller's history to track than Nintendo's. The changes made have been so dramatic yet so subtle all at the same time. You really don't notice that until your animating every little piece.

People probably don't know this but the original Controller Evolution was one of the most played videos on my Vimeo page. Mostly due to the content and the fact it was posted on a few gamer blogs. When I had first completed it I was still working in Apple Motion; I was really proud of that piece at the time too. I recall seeing it posted on a blog not too long ago and the poster saying, "I wonder if Chris will update the animation with the Wii U?" At the time it hadn't even occurred to me, but as I started looking at my year old animation I knew it was time for a change. I not only owed it to Nintendo for the many years of joy they've given me, but I owed it to myself to show how much I've evolved as an animator in a little over a year. I am no longer animating in Apple Motion (not that I don't like it, I just think Adobe After Effects is a little more robust). I've taught myself everything I know about Adobe After Effects through experimentation and tutorials. I still have a lot to learn, but when I can look at my work side by side and visually see the progress it helps me know I haven't been wasting my time. Check it out for yourself.

Nicolas Leger

Nicolas Leger has some amazing effects that he's frame by frame animated for us in Flash. These are great references for any animator.

Dockville Trailer 2011

If I ever had the time to make a MeanMug & Slim movie I would DEFINITELY do it in this style.  I love that it's not only mixing live action and animation, but that it's on a miniature scale.  I think this helps to blend the two styles together because the tiny props they had to create are a little "cartoony" in nature so it all looks as if it's from the same world.  Make sure to check out all the work from Robert Loebel, his stuff is amazing.

Open Text / The Power of Information

A highly polished animation from TENDRIL for the experts in content management, Open Text. This is another example of details really bringing life to an animation. What puts this animation a cut above the average is all the lines, dots, and shapes that keep the energy up and the animation moving along. You don't really have to pay attention to them, but just knowing they are there is enough to make you happy. If you actually look, you'll notice most of the time these secondary animations don't even have to directly deal with the content. A nice trick for any animators toolkit.

Rollin' Wild

Funny how such a simple idea can make for so many hilarious scenarios. Can't wait to see more Rollin' Wild work!

Photo of the Moment - Untitled #94

Untitled #94, a photo by Damien Vignol on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Leica M2 + 50mm Summicron IV
Kodak 400 TMAX + Ultrafin
damienvignol.blogspot.com

Google Now

Really love the dimension of the scenes in this animation from Buck for Google Now. I think this effect is made even better by the slick changes in perspective. For me a successful animation is all about the details. When you stop and look at all the details of this piece you will know what I mean. For example, the reflection of the car in the lake, or the little people on the beach and in the ocean. Fantastic stuff.

MeanMug Loves Guns - The Super Soaker

The 3rd installment of MeanMug Loves Guns. This time things are getting a little wet.

Mama Said (Sorry Mama)

Being the mama's boy that I am, this animation from 2veinte had me curious from the get go. Needless to say I was not disappointed. This animation seems to have everything, including about 50 kitchen sinks. Watch and rewatch because you are bound to miss something. Oh, and before I forget, they also made some pretty sweet .gifs for us here.

Jacopo Rosati

Jacopo Rosati has some amazing work on his website, but recently he has been playing around with felt and I must say that I am in love with the results.  The final works have such a vibrant, playful look to them and the felt adds just enough depth and texture to make the art look as if it's popping off the page.  I didn't come across any stop motion videos on his site, so if you are reading this Jacopo, DO SOME STOP MOTION ANIMATION WITH THIS STUFF!  It would literally be perfect for it. That's all I have to say about that. Enjoy.

Aisha Franz

The work of Aisha Franz is crude, raw, and a little naughty.  I definitely suggest checking out her site if you want to take a break from all the highly polished work you're used to seeing and hang with some originality.

Pale Blue Dot

ORDER puts together this visual response to Carl Sagan's famed 'Pale Blue Dot' piece where he muses on our planet and its appearance in the photograph taken by the Voyager 1 space probe. The most distant photograph ever taken of Earth. I really enjoy the subtle pace of this piece and the depth of some of the environments that are created. Really puts life into perspective when you watch something like this.

Rubber House

Every so often I come across an animation house that has a body of work so fun and different that it makes me envious. Rubber House is one such place. Their work is edgy, weird, sexual, and sometimes even a bit creepy, but the way they pair it with their classic cartoon style makes for dark humor I truly enjoy. Their music video for Gotye's song Seven Hours with a Backseat Driver is the best example of this. A story about a sexually naive elephant and his co-dependant crow that left me feeling a little dirty on the inside. The arc of the story is slow, much like the song, as we see the world shift from butterflies and rainbows and toads and grime.

Tick Tack Ewww!

Scott Benson has been given a job that I would really like to have someday. Lately he's been developing design and animation for a game exhibited at The Pacific Science Center. The game is a tic-tac-toe kind of thing where kids watch 90 second animations of different environments full of animated characters exhibiting various behaviors. When they spot a bit of bad hygiene (such as nose-picking or spitting), they cover that behavior with a tile on a gameboard below the screen.

Photo of the Moment - Untitled

Untitled, a photo by cloudsfollower on Flickr.

Biomasse

I don't understand the language, but the visuals in this animation from Julien Nantiec are enough to keep me engaged and entertained. I love how all the elements work together in this piece - the simple icon design, the narrator and his floating gloves, and the transitional elements all make for a really sharp animation. I also think Julien's style in this piece really lends itself to learning; it reminds me of an old 70's science textbook. Righteous.

Photo of the Moment - At The Lake

Today's Photo of the Moment comes to us from Alex Roulette, and isn't actually a photo. Alex paints very photo-esque pictures. I even love that some of his paintings have elements that would only be found in a poorly exposed photo. To check out more of his work go here.

MeanMug Loves Guns

I'm not sure where it began, but I'm pretty sure it was a combination of Adam Simpson's series-like illustrations and the Dumb Ways To Die music video...I'm talking about what drove me to make two new MeanMug and Slim shorts this weekend. I've had the idea to do a series of MM&S series for a long time, but just hadn't gotten around to animating it. But after seeing those two examples I named at the top of the post I was inspired to actually put down the videogame controller and get back in the game. My goal is to at some point create 10 of these gun animations and put them all together. I'm thinking about doing 1 every 2 weeks, and maybe quicker if I'm feeling exceptionally frisky one week. While creating the first two shorts, The Bazooka and The Revolver, I really started to feel as though I am finally making the MM&S I've always wanted to. The style is where I want it and the animation is becoming more fluid. Now it's just a matter of coming up with funny shorts. Ok, now you can enjoy the shorts, and wear headphones for a better audio experience.


The Bazooka from Chris Koelsch on Vimeo.



The Revolver from Chris Koelsch on Vimeo.

Dumb Ways To Die

At first I didn't know what to think about this, but the catchy song from Tangerine Kitty and the sheer amount of deaths eventually won me over. What I find even more interesting is that this piece was created for Metro and their campaign to educate people about safety around trains. To create a catchy tune and a funny animation to promote what could have been just another boring PSA is a brilliant idea. Makes me glad knowing that there are options out there like this that clients took a risk with.

Adam Simpson

It was Adam Simpson's Ray Gun series that first caught my eye, but after visiting his site I found much more to enjoy. I love the way he seems to make one piece out of many little pieces; his work gives you a lot to explore.

Portland/CreativeMornings - Aaron James Draplin

An extremely inspiring and engaging talk from Aaron James Draplin, respected designer and founder of Field Notes, that had me thinking and laughing all at the same time. In this talk Aaron goes over his 50 point plan on how to wreck/save your career.

Cartegraph

Scott Benson is at it again. This time he's created an educational animation for Cartegraph and their management system. It's nice to see some work that isn't particularly in his normal character style. I really love the way he animates smoke in this piece as well as the long shot down the street. These learner animations can have a tendancy to be pretty flat, but Scott has done a great job taking this learning and wrapping it in an environment so we can see how it all fits together.

Eco Justice // A Tale of Two Valleys

A very beautiful animation from Giant Ant about a very serious problem in Canada. This piece is promoting Eco Justice, which is a legal organization that fights for change on issues such as the right to a healthy environment. I love the liquid transitions and design of the the towns, specifically the wide shots.

Controller Evolution 2

Seeing as how my Controller Evolution animation is the top played video on my Vimeo, I found it fitting to update it with the recent addition of the Wii U controller. I've updated the art style, incorporating the true colors, seeing as how the old ones were pretty terrible. I love recreating the controllers because I get to see the subtle differences in the D-Pad and button placement. It also gives me a hands on feel for how the controller has changed over the years. I plan on updating the animation in the very near future. Click the image to enlarge.

Boiled

A very original style lives within the work of Jack Cunningham. This little loop is particularly mesmerizing.

João Gilberto - Águas de Março

I'm always looking for good music to work to. I'm going to start posting more songs I like so that you too can enjoy the tunes. I will tag all the posts muzak. Check out this latin vibe from João Gilberto called Águas de Março.

Photo of the Moment - Streefighters

Wonderful photo from Luca Sage.

A Pocket Companion to Books from The Simpsons

I love things like this. French graphic designer Olivier Lebrun has collected stills of the many books in the 600+ Simpsons episodes and with the help of Rollo-Press they have published 174 of the best images in this pocket companion book. Perfect for any dining room table and you can purchase it at Rollo-Press here.

Moustache Projection

I've projected my moustache growth 200 days and created this .gif. Science tells me it's 99.9% accurate.

Photo of the Moment - Untitled

Untitled, a photo by Jaⅿes on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Pentax LX
Fuji Superia 200

2012 Reel Preparations

The end of the year is rapidly approaching and with that comes my new animation reel. I just started putting together a list of all the projects I worked on this year and I am pretty proud of the hefty amount of work I produced. After last year I sort of subconsciously told myself I wouldn't create anything that didn't at least have some element in it worthy of my reel, and I think it's paid off.

Malcolm Sutherland - Star Wars Uncut Scene 126

Malcolm pushing his style in this scene for Star Wars Uncut. He's added a little bit of live action for the environments which I really enjoy. The POV from the cockpit with all the little guys running around on the ground is pure excellence.

Leif Parsons

Check out the wonderful, almost dream-like work of Leif Parsons.

Photo of the Moment - Cottage, Cape Cod, MA

Cottage, Cape Cod, MA, a photo by val_ny on Flickr.

Animated Walks and Runs

These walk cycles are pleasing to the eye for more than one reason. Thanks are in order for animator, Felix Sputnik.

Class Evolution

This piece was created by The Workroom in response to the digital era blossoming in Italy.  This piece deals specifically with how the digital boom is effecting the classroom, and how teachers and students are starting to experiment with more innovative tools like tablets and interactive blackboards. I love the design and simple icon animations that comprise this piece.

Scotty Reifsnyder

Scotty Reifsnyder is a wonderful illustrator whose works have been in such publications as GQ, Time Magazine, The Boston Globe, The New Yorker, The New York Times and Wired.  I love his printmaking style.  I especially love when artists pair this vintage art style with iconography of the present, such as iPhones.  The two are so different that it's almost humorous seeing them together, like some weird sci-fi 70's film.