The Workman's Guide Update

Still trying to pump out pages to my book. Lately I have been working on a few other fun projects so I have had less time to develop it, but rest assured it is still under production.

Handmade

This was a piece created by Lernert & Sander for the Handmade issue of Wallpaper*. Their style is nothing short of elegant, and if you want proof of that I suggest visiting their site for more inspiration.


Handmade from Lernert & Sander on Vimeo.

Photo of the Day - Untitled

Untitled, a photo by William's Wish Wellingtons on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
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Punks Jump Up feat Dave 1/Chromeo - Mr Overtime

Awesome new music video mixing two of my favorite things: the animation styles of ChezEddy and the funky beats of Chromeo. A winning combination if I do say so myself.


Punks Jump Up feat Dave 1/Chromeo - Mr Overtime from ChezEddy on Vimeo.

The Politics of Competitive Board Gaming Amongst Friends

I found this piece by Jay Cheel intriguing for many reasons. For one thing, I love gaming in all forms. My family is big into boardgames so I know all about competitive natures, but what I loved about this piece from a technical standpoint is that it told a story in an interesting way. In my work we have to shoot a lot of interviews, and sometimes it can be challenging coming up with ways to enhance them. I think the re-enactments that Jay uses in this piece are not only well shot but they really help tell the story in a way that's engaging and humorous, so if you have 10 minutes I think it's worth the watch.


The Politics of Competitive Board Gaming Amongst Friends from Jay Cheel on Vimeo.

Fail Again, Fail Better

I couldn't have said it better myself. That said, I couldn't have animated it better than Sara Shin and the folks over at Blind. Fail again, fail better.  That simple phrase alone says so much in an artistic industry.  To even start out in this field you have to have tough skin and be prepared for the dreaded client to take your beautiful little bird of an idea and throw in into a garbage disposal. Sad as that may be, a tough challenge is often times a great catalyst for wondefully produced work. So next time you're in a similar situation as the person in the animation below just remember,

"Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat" -F. Scott Fitzgerald



Fail Again, Fail Better from Sara Shin on Vimeo.

The Magic Seeds

Seed Animation Studio recently commissioned Yuki Nishimura to illustrate a wall-wide mural for their studio wall. The mural is based on a poem called The Magic Seeds by James Reeves. Seed asked Yuki to inject her treatment of surreal, twisted characters and her fresh approach to design into the project. Soon after the mural was complete Seed wanted to tell the back story to these characters and the poem, as it is read, so they commissioned Yuki to animate and voice an in-house ident called The Magic Seeds. While Yuki was focused on the creation of her masterpiece, Seed filmed a time-lapse that records Yuki as we see the mural developing over 2 very labour-intensive months.

Below you can see Yuki's 2 months of labor video, her short ident animation. Also be sure to check out Seed's showreel so you can become more acquainted with their wonderful work.


The Magic Seeds Mural from Seed Animation Studio on Vimeo.
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The Magic Seeds Ident from Seed Animation Studio on Vimeo.

Love & Theft

This may be too intense for some on a Monday morning, but for me it was just the thing to get me going. Love & Theft is a trippy little animation created by Studio FILM BILDER. All I have to say about this piece is, wait for it.

Love & Theft from Studio FILM BILDER on Vimeo.

HILLMAN

A lovely little piece about the idea of reinvention. Sometimes we all get stuck in a rut. We create, we create, we create, but occasionally we lose site of the reason we started creating in the first place. I think taking a step back, taking a risk, and reinventing yourself is one great way to put a new perspective on the reasons we create.

HILLMAN from Hillman Curtis on Vimeo.

Yeah Just There

An erotically simplified video from Grant Orchard. The original concept was created for an app and was unfortunately rejected by Apple, but like all good animators they finished it anyways. I say it's a huge success. Now get out and close the door behind you so I can watch this again.

Yeah Just There from Grant Orchard on Vimeo.

Where Things Come From

A wonderful mixture of 2D and 3D animation from Hardy Seiler. The piece is about where things come from and if in this day and age we care enough to find out. A simple message yet powerful and intriguing all the same.

Where things come from from Hardy Seiler on Vimeo.

The Workman's Guide Update

As promised, I am trying to push out pages of my book, The Workman's Guide to Surviving the Corporate Landscape, weekly. Here is the latest, pages 3 and 4.

Photo of the Day - Chin桑！！！

Chin桑！！！, a photo by 林少淵 on Flickr.

Lisa Hanawalt

Lisa's work makes me laugh, and that's a very good thing. Her style, her ideas are all so funny and the quality of her work only makes it that much better. The detail she goes into on some of her pieces is simply amazing. It makes me want to pick up a pencil and start doodling too. You should definitely check out her site here.

Help Ink

You heard me, I said Help Ink!! Why are you just sitting around reading my blog when you could go to Help Ink right now and start learning more.  Help Ink is an amazing collaborative site filled with brilliant artists and designers all selling their work to help raise money for charity.  Each week, an exclusive piece of art, designed to inspire others to do good in the world, will be released and made available for purchase.  So not only does this site do a good job of keeping its fans updated with the newest and slickest work, it also gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside when you purchase something, because you know it's actually going to help a bigger cause.

Eraa a.k.a. New Eraa

Eraa is an 18 year old upcoming rap artist out of Orlando, FL. His new album Next Up 2 is out and I suggest you listen to it.  It's becoming harder and harder in this digital age to weed out the good from the bad. It's also a lot more difficult for someone decent to shine when there is so much media clogging out virtual arteries everyday.  So, with posts like this one we can hopefully get the word out on lesser known artists and hear some decent music. Below is one of his tracks called Blue Sky and he samples ELO's Mr. Blue Sky in it, so you know the boy has some good taste.

Find Eraa on Twitter | Facebook | Youtube | Reverbnation

Spectrum Cube

I am always trying to think of things like this to do. Great piece by Emilio Gomariz.


Spectrum Cube from Emilio Gomariz on Vimeo.

Mork

Phil Borst can animate. In case you forgot let me refresh your memory. A while ago I made this post. Well it seems Phil has done it again with his latest creation, Mork. Did I forget to mention that Phil is allowing you to download his project file so you can see how he did it? Well check it out here. It's truly amazing to see how an animation of this quality is made. No expressions were used, this sucker is all keyframes baby, just the way I like it. Still smooth as a baby's bottom.


Mork from Phil Borst on Vimeo.

Casey Veggies, "Euphoria II"

A pretty bad ass music video for Cassie Veggies' new song "Euphoria II" courtesy of Clement & Co. You'll have fun with this live action spot the difference game.

Alander Wong

I always find work like this intriguing and I have always been curious to try and do some typography on photos myself, I just haven't got around to it yet. Lucky for you Alander Wong has. Check out all of his work here.

Speaking of...

Really different piece from Samm Hodges, Mike LaHood, and Kris Boban for Speaking of...

'Speaking of...' from Phinehas Hodges on Vimeo.

Curtis L. Wiebe, Filmmaker

I see a lot of these interview style videos, but what made this one stand out to me was its ability to remain light-hearted and fun. I especially love the way the creations of Curtis interact throughout the piece. It just adds another layer of interest.



Check out Curtis's work below to see his puppets in action, I must say I am a fan.

STAFF MEETING VIDEO: THE MOVIE

Yet another brilliant reason for why Dave Green and Miles Fisher are a hilarious combo. Their latest video delves deep into the industry of staff meeting videos.

The Workman's Guide to Surviving the Corporate Landscape

This has been a project I have been working on here and there in my free time. It recently started to become a big undertaking and I was beginning to think my chances of ever completing it were hopeless. So now I am trying to take this big project in little chunks. Every week I will try and release a few more pages until hopefully there is a final piece. Wish me luck.

Photo of the Day - Leonard and Lisa's Foot

Leonard and Lisa's Foot, a photo by ChrisKoelsch on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
www.thisnthatandsomeshirts.com

Group Hug

Awesome identity video from Sehsucht for MTV. Please watch the behind the scenes below to see just how much work really goes into a piece as short as this.

Tiny Capital

One of the best examples of Tilt Shift Photography that I have seen in a video. This one comes from Eirik Evjen. Unfortunately I cannot post this on here so you'll have to watch it here.