'Green Is Not A Creative Colour'

Stumbled across this clip on blog.drawn.ca called 'Don't Hug Me I'm Scared' by This Is It.
I absolutely LOVE the style of this clip with the plush feel of everything, and the overly cutesy vibe is such a great contrast for what comes at the end (you'll see... it gets a bit nutso, even by my standards).

The notepad's hair cracks me up!


Don't Hug Me I'm Scared from This Is It on Vimeo.

Inside My Brain

A few weeks ago we had to draw a representation of our brains, and I decided to portray mine as an apartment building made up of different rooms and their occupants. I have various rooms containing my main inspirations- children, art, and fashion. And up in the observatory I have someone constantly on the lookout for new ideas. All of these rooms have piping leading to a central furnace where all the creative juices are fired up and sent off to the mad scientist at the top of the building. Here he creates (hopefully) marvellous concoctions! These are then packaged and sent out into the world, through the top of my head.
The shifty looking shadowy guys near the bottom are my self-doubts and fears etc, which I aim to keep locked up and out of harm's way. But sometimes they manage to escape, like the one tunnelling out of his cell..
And the little guys tending the lawns and painting the building are there because I like things to look as good as possible! :-D

Norwegian Railway Ad

I just found this awesome ad for the Norwegian State Railway system (of all things...), using puppets to demonstrate all the favours you'll be doing the wildlife if you opt for public transport instead of cars. 

I think the character portrayals are great- especially the flower with the crutch, and the little touches like the fish in the seagull's beak.. 

And the colours are so bright and sunny! :-D

Now why can't our own transport ads be as swingin' as this?

3D Jim Henson Tribute

This has to be one of the most amazing animation shorts I've ever seen. 'Overtime' is a tribute to Jim Henson by Oury Atlan, Thibaut Berland, and Damien Ferri. I get choked up every time I watch it! I love the nostalgic cinematography, and the music is just gorgeous. So glad Jim Henson got the recognition he deserved.

Now I have a strange desire to go and download some Yiddish music.. 

:-]

Overtime from ouryatlan on Vimeo.

She's a lumberjack and she's okay!

Here's my final lumberjack exercise. I wish I could've made it smoother, but it's not too shabby. I think Oxanna would look great in a Russian vodka ad...

'Drink Smirnoff! It put hair on Oxanna's chest, make strong like mighty Ox!'

Darrel The Depressed Dinosaur's Debut Appearance!!



Must-See Paper Art and Animation

So I've always been a massive, massive fan of paper art. The level of craftsmanship that goes into it is just phenomenal. Take the following artists for example;

From the book 'Paper Illusions' by Isabelle de Borchgrave. All made from paper which was hand-painted...

Or these by Su Blackwell..

Or one of my personal favourites, Peter Callesen..

Eeheehee! It's a little apple core!

And then there are those that are just beyond belief, like these by Allan and Patty Eckman.

Now what if you took all of this skill and intricacy and turned it into an animation? BEHOLD! Amos Lee's 'Flower', a paper and clay animation. Holy mother of God, I LOVE THIS CLIP.
Ah Amos! A man of impeccable taste if ever I saw one... great song too.