The Lonliest Unicorn

Pixar storyboard artist Josh Cooley is at it again with his latest creation The Lonliest Unicorn. Click here to see the entire story.

studioAKA - LOVESPORT

Grant Orchard and studioAKA are putting out some amazing animated shorts in response to the Olympics. I love the simple style and the dark/weird humor that is unexpectedly added throughout. The other great thing is that they have 4 videos out with another 12 still to come. You can see them all when they come out at StudioAKA's site here.

Sony FS700

So these guys at Neumann Films tested out the FS700 and it's capabilities for slo-mo. I found out from a quick search on Philip Bloom's blog that this thing shoots 1080p and 240fps and at lower resolutions 480fps and 960fps. I am still hoping we can all rent something like this and make a video exactly like this one day. We gotta "test" new equipment too right? We should spoil ourselves and do something like this to celebrate the good year.

Oh and by the way, these guys made a behind the scenes blog post along with allowing download of their RAW footage. The blog post has a lot of great videos, talks about the camera setting, and just shows some of the fun they had. Little teaser - they got the helicopter for free, if you read you'll see why.

Mean Mug & Slim Episode 6: Mean Mug's Birthday

I have created yet another episode of Mean Mug & Slim aside from all of the nay-sayers telling me that I'd never make one again. It just so happens that my girlfriend and inspiration for Mean Mug is turning 24 tomorrow. She has been one of the biggest nay-sayers of them all and so to surprise her I made this episode especially with her in mind. So live it up Mean Mug.

Flex Alert TV Ad

I really love the design of this piece for Flex Alert. I especially love the way the arms multiply and intertwine.

Photo of the Moment - Untitled

Untitled, a photo by Jeremy Griffin on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Pentax 67. Portra 400.

Nathan Boey - I Like to Make Things

Seriously one of the most creative ways to promote yourself I have ever seen. I especially love how he animates real objects using stop motion. For more of Nathan's work check out his site here.

Belly

Julia Pott creates a storybook for adults while bringing us to the place where imagination runs wild in this emotive animated short.

Scott Benson Reel 2012

If you don't know who Scott Benson is, you should. I'm just gonna let his reel do the talking. See more at bombsfall.com.

SQU - Animation Sequence Project

I did it. I don't know how I did it, but I did it. With literally no time and what seemed like for the longest time no ideas, I created a piece for the Animation Sequence Project that I am happy with. I suggest going to the site yourself. A lot of the entries I've seen are pretty amazing.

SICAF 212 - "MOUNTAIN"

This film is AKA Director David Prosser’s response to a visit he made to Seoul earlier in the year - at the invitation of SICAF - and is drawn from his sketchbook observations of city life. The seemingly random elements tell the tale of a day in the life of three different characters who live in Seoul - all of whom are watched over by the ever present Mountains which ring the city.

There is so much to love about this piece. The character animation, the sound design, and the overall attention to detail that comes through in the set design is what makes this piece truly memorable.

Color Me Rad 5k

Last weekend I ran the Color Me Rad 5k in Cincinnati with Lisa. It wasn't technically a 5k since it was only about 2.2 miles, but it was still a lot of fun. Shot entirely on a Go Pro HD Hero2. Music is The Spectrum Song.

Photo of the Moment - Untitled

Untitled, a photo by katya mamadjanian on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
playing with my food

Velo

A very tight animation about bikes from MOTIONLAB. What I really love about this is that the bikes seem to be fully functional in the animation, and I appreciate the time taken to make it realistic.

Spectrum

What originally started out as a post for one video became a post about an entire organization. I love when that happens. Spectrum does amazing work on educating and helping people with autism, and the animations they have commissioned are off the charts. I am seriously envious of the work. There are a lot of things to like in this first piece that introduces Spectrum's business. This animation comes to us from Art & Graft. I especially love the introduction and the section about their staff, it definitely brought a light-hearted humor to the whole piece.



Spectrum then commissioned Art & Graft to do a series as a study of the individuals within their care to raise awareness of autism. I really love these informational animation pieces that seem to be coming out more and more. It's an engaging way to tell a story and this is just another example. This one was animated by Mikey Please.

Chaosmos

Yet another brilliant entry for the Animation Sequence Project. This one comes from Jules Guérin and it's so trippy and amazing that I almost can't stand it. I seriously need to get an entry in.

Anima Mundi Festival 2012 | Opening Titles

A warm hand drawn feel oozes from this piece by Guilherme Marcondes. Based off an illustration he created for Anima Mundi Festival 2012.

Photo of the Moment - LAUREN MARIE YOUNG

LAUREN MARIE YOUNG, a photo by Neil Krug on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
A new series featuring Lauren Marie Young

Join me on FACEBOOK.

The Aikiu - Pieces of Gold

Just when I thought there were no more new ideas in the world, my path crosses with this beautiful work of art in the form of a music video for The Aikiu and their song 'Pieces Of Gold.'

AD

Short animation experiment from Adam Dedman.

Photo of a Day - the boy and the sea

the boy and the sea, a photo by bez uma on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
facebook ~ website

Justice 'New Lands'

Loving this futuristic piece from Canada for the new song by Justice called 'New Lands.' It's the age old sports story told in a refreshing new way. Some of my personal favorite parts were the referee and the credits.

Yelena Bryksenkova

Some pretty interesting illustrations from Yelena Bryksenkova. I really enjoy the warped perspective.

Animation Sequence Project - Julien Martorell

I recently posted about the Animation Sequence Project and since then I have seen a few very promising entries. This one below comes to us from Julien Martorell. Very slick animations backed up with some solid audio. I am still hoping I can finish one before the end of the month.

What is Dead May Never Die

This piece from Kadavre Exquis tickles all of my nostalgic fancies in just the right way. I love the audio accompaniment.

Singles

A mindbending animation from Cartoon Brew. I really enjoy the quiet nature and exploration of the piece.



I also suggest checking out their site because you can find great student works like this piece from Evan Red Borja. Small world fact, Evan recently won the Loop de Loop contest I entered with his animation for Play.

Photoshop Frame by Frame Animation Tutorial

Awesome frame by frame Photoshop tutorial from Maxwell. Very similar to the techniques I used to create my Super Nintendo Blow video.

Hectometer

A powerful work from Matthew Brown about William Trubridge's world record freedive to 100 meters (one hectometer, basically one football field length and back) in order to bring light to the plight of the world's smallest cetacean, the Hector's Dolphin of New Zealand. I love the imagery when put together with poetry in this piece, it makes for a really powerful moment that I will not soon forget.

Flabongo Nation

Had the privilege, nay the pleasure of filming Flabongo Nation at their 3rd of July party this week.  Outdoors, burgers, music, fireworks, and a little rain made for a mighty fine event indeed.

Gerhard Human

Animboom along with Radiohead came up with an animation contest in 2008. The winning video would launch Radiohead's new album. This particular entry from Gerhard Human was a finalist but not the winner. However, I think his style is fucking awesome and I love the space and depth he creates with this piece.

Photo of the Day - What her hand makes.

What her hand makes., a photo by SENECA1981 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
PN400N

Cracker Barrel "By Hand"

I am personally not a huge fan of Cracker Barrel, but this commercial for them by Paranoid US strikes my fancy.

The Wedding of Nikki & Dan

Had a lot of fun photographing my first wedding the other week. Many congrats to Nikki & Dan. Here are some of my favorite photos from the event.

Abe

It just so happens that my sister is going to adopt a son from Bulgaria soon. His name is Abe and to celebrate the occasion my mom wanted to have a baby shower type event.  So to let everyone know, my brother and I created some special invitations.  Being the writer, my brother wrote the poem for the invitation and I supplied the art.  When creating this I wanted to make something that  could be entertained by.  I also wanted the art to reflect Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein because those were the books I grew up on.  Below is the result.