Photoshop Lighting Effects

Pete Harrison

I recently came across a tutorial from an artist who I had already heard of and admired called Pete Harrison. The tutorial apparently appeared in Digital Art Magazine but I found it HERE on there webpage.

The end result of the tutorial was this.



















So I searched out some stock photography from Deviant art and began following the general idea of the process evolved, still interoperating in my own ideas and techniques I already learnt.

Before


















After



















To See larger Click HERE


I am going to continue with other such tutorials as I believe I am gaining valuable skills that I might one day use in my own work. I the case of this one it ended up on a poster.


















To see larger Click HERE

British Gas TV Advert 'planet earth'

British Gas TV Advert 'planet earth'











See the video HERE

I saw the new British Gas advert the other day and it stood out to me immeadetly as I have been on the look out for adverts and campaigns that are answered in the medium of animation to support research work in my final major project.

The advert is promoting the involvement of British Gas in trying to use renewable energy sources as a means or generating power.(baring in mind you can now get your electricity from them as well as gas)

I think the advert has been created as a animation to try and make a pretty dull company and concept more appealing to a younger audience, perhaps first time home owners who have a more fresh opinion on saving the planet than a couple in their 70s. British Gas has used animation before with their 'Blue Flame' characters. (Below)for a similar I suspect.


















My favourite part about the whole advert is the process in which it has been produced. I have a keen interest in 'model making' or 'scale set design/construction' this came from my love of Aardman Animation's work and Tim Burton's 'The Corpse Bride'.

Director Guilherme Marcondes had all of the set made from hand and suspended in front of a green screen.













The Wind Mill planet made by animating clay.



















Filming the models with the special Stop-Motion 35mm cameras.

Karni & Saul

Karni & Saul a creative team, and couple. Saul is originally an animator/director, and Karni a photographer/director. They are based in London and have been working together since 2004.

All their work has a very distinct style. It's very grimy and dirty aesthetically and has some real raw qualities. Looking through their portfolio there are two pieces of work that stand out to be more unique than the other ones.

The first one is called 'Float' and it is a music video for a Irish/American Celtic Punk band called Flogging Molly.



What I like about this is the motion and rhythm carried and portrayed through the movement of the character. The way in which it depicts the lyrics of the songs is also very unique as it doesn't do it directly, it just hints at it.

The second is called 'The Red Suitcase' which for me is all about the brilliant narration of the story by the voice over. The stylised world the characters are in really appeals to me as well. Like the first one it has a grimy dirty look to it even though it is 3D, which is generally associated with slick looking animation.

999 Design

See the website

999 Design are based in three location across the country, London, Manchester and Glasgow. I have known about the company since before starting college as my Father used to freelance for them. As a result of this I always have had the opportunity to see what there working on before the public sees it, and taking into account there client list (Below) this is always very interesting.



In my second year I contacted two of there employees in the Manchester branch in Deans gate locks as part of my log book reports. Dave Sedgwick, designer and James Buckley senior designer. They were extremely helpful in filling out a short questionnaire I sent them and it was an interesting insight into the minds of two successful designers.

Since then I have have kept an eye on there work and these are a couple of pieces I really think have some really nice ideas behind them.

Gleneagles Natural Mineral Water





This is a piece or product packaging done for Gleneagles Natural Mineral Water. Not only is the bottle a beautiful slick ergonomic design but the whole thing is completed by the minimalistic logo. I love they way the the bottom of the 'G' ripples like water giving the logo a real visual taste of the product. The shapes and colours all conertate ideas of freshness and purity.

What About Me? Website

This project was to create a website for a TV show called 'What about me?'. It consists of two musicians going round the world and recording a song by taking a piece of music or a beat to a person and saying now add your bit, the continuing this process all around the globe. It takes them on journey in which they discover the worlds issues and problems all represented and dealt with by musical talent from every background.




See the site here

What I like about this website is the unity of the world that is represented by the interface, of giant world made up from a series of TV screens. The way in which the screens interact with the curser is also very inviting as is the ever changing content of the 'unclickable' screens.

It is a very easy website to use and has a lot of content if you want it or less if you just want to get an idea of what 'what about me?' is all about.

Portfolio crit in January

I have a crit lined up at 'Fresh' in the new year, unfortunately they couldn’t fit me in before Christmas, but have promised to give me some work experience as well as a crit in January.

DDB - Paris

THE COMPANY WEBSITE

I found this company via a short film a discovered on YouTube.

The company website is some what difficult to navigate as I don't speak a word of French. However, with some trial and Error clicking I did finally get into there Portfolio.

They are prieraly a motion graphics company, who deals with lots of major brand names, creating adverts for the French TV networks.

There clients include Audi/Volkswagen/MTV/Nike and Channel to name but a few. I watched a few of the adverts and shorts they have done and I'm really impressed by the slickness of ALL there creations.

The Volkswagen advert impressed me a lot, as they are very funny, and very well thought out for the target audience. As I said I can't speak any French but I can guess that the strap line at the end is explain the practicality of the VW van.

Back to the reason I found this company. The Short animation entitled ' La Ballon'.

Le ballon
Uploaded by ddbparis

This is one of the most pleasant things to watch I've seen in a long time. The simple aesthetic of the animation makes it really easy on the eyes.

The character which in the sense of it, isn't even alive at (The Balloon) you find yourself feeling sorry for it and caring about what happens to it, and therefore can't stop watching it.

However the best thing about this piece is the ending, where the ballon floats up into space and ends up with all the other balloons that have been 'let go of' at the ceiling of space.

Another excellent thing about this animation is the sound track. I think the depth of the song, the build ups, the dynamics of loud and quiet in the orchestra really support the emotion of the film. Without the sounds track I think the short wouldn't be as effective as it is. One of these key moments is when the Balloon goes floats through a storm and the sounds track makes you feel the storm not just see it.

The Simpsons Made in S. Korea?

I was researching for my Critical Journal and came across I Chinese news site. The article that caught my eye was 'The Simpsons Made in S. Korea'.

Read the Article Here

This I had to read. I already new that big animation studios export bulky work to other countries to save on laubour cost. However this article opened my eyes even further.

The article discuss a visit the author had to a studio in South Korea called AKOM Production Co. This is where from the first time 'The Simpsons' premièred as a TV 'series' 1989 it has been produced.

This at first didn't shock me as I presumed a lot of the work for the Simpsons must be done outside the US, However as I read on it wasn't just some of the work, it was ALL of it.

The Article details the manor in which the creation of a Simpsons episode happens from the point of view of AKOM Production.

They receive a Storyboard (a detailed one of coarse), camera directions, colour pallets and the early sounds tracks and in three months have to deliver the animation.

Of coarse all the finishing touches and post production are still done in the US but the artistry of the animations is all carries out by AKOM.

Akom themselves seem very proud of the work they do, and as we have all seen it isn't shoddy work by any standard. However I can't help but think that maybe AKOM and it's team of 122 Korean animators are blissfully unaware of the capital success of Matt Groaning's dysfunctional Yellow family.