Computer Animation Arts

Take ten minutes to watch this award-winning short film written and directed by Victor Carrey .  It will make you want to write and direct films! It reminds me of Paul Thomas Anderson's wonderful Magnolia (1999) spliced with the whimsy of a Wes Anderson movie.  Enjoy.

Little bit late on this one... sorry. The Valley of the Moon The deadline for this subject is Monday the 1st

Another character based subject this time, The Mirror Man With this being a busy week for you guys I will gallery all three subjects on Friday. The deadline for this subject is Friday the 28th

I love the style of this animation. The environment is portrayed so beautifully. It is really clever! On Departure from Eoin Duffy on Vimeo .

Just saw this animation pop up on my Behance feed. Beautiful style with a sad story!   Premier Automne (2013) from Carlos De Carvalho on Vimeo .

 I recently started playing (and subsequently recently completed) The Last of Us. Which was a rather intense, emotional video game experience. I loved it. But I saw this news post that caught my attention: (This game is a one console exclusive too - Imagine it cross platform) The Last of Us (video game) beat Man of Steel money wise on the opening weekend. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a490590/the-last-of-us-grosses-more-than-man-of-steel-in-opening-weekend.html The beauty of this is that Naughty Dog (The Last of Us) whilst having publishers, gets a good amount of money from their game. The VFX industry however barely makes a profit for their films.  I hope this is a new trend. I hope the game industry looks at what Naughty Dog have achieved here and start realizing that THIS is what people want. Story, emotion, beautiful design and art. I rarely watch films any more personally. It's all about TV seasons, because they get so much time to tell a cool story...

So this is traditionally a busy week what with the run up to New Designers and all. However I will carry on posting up suggestions for you to chew on. The Dragon Queen Another character design subject. The deadline for this subject is Wednesday the 26th

Phil Joey # Urvashi Simon Anita

Today's subject should sort out the Richard O'Briens from the Ed Tudor-Poles. The Crystal Maze A bit of Wiki history in the link below for those who aren't so age challenged. Of course you can also use the subject as given without the additional context. The_Crystal_Maze The deadline for this subject is Monday the 23rd  Start the fans please.

Not sure what Jafar from Aladdin is doing brooding on the topmost turret of Countess Bathory's bloodstained castle... perhaps he's doing a job-swap with the real Castellan? 

As you'll be aware, Tom & Jordan are busy completing the animation to be projected at the Brubeck Concert at the Civic Hall on July 12th.  I've been asked to confirm how many of you would like to attend the concert, as I can get tickets organised + even a minibus!  If you could confirm if you want a ticket by way of leaving a comment on this post as soon as possible, that would be great.  Many thanks!

Looks like it is just me and Phil today :) Phil Simon

Today's subject is: Bathory's Castellan A bit of character design this time, multiple routes with this one, plenty of tropes to play with or a more considered, researched approach could be taken. The deadline for this subject is Friday the 21st Good luck everybody.

I was fully prepared to hate this movie on principle - I mean come on - but discovered to my growing disquiet that I was rather charmed by the faux-stopmotion CGI and the meta-gags.   The LEGO Movie - harmless fun, or another symptom of our cultural bankruptcy and enslavement by mega-corporations?   Discuss!

Okay - this wasn't a 'speed paint' exactly - this took me about an hour, and I can honestly say that I'm as surprised by the result of this challenge as anyone!   It's all gone a bit Chris Foss!  I need to share with you that my spaceship (my 'Hulk' of the Star Flotilla Salamis) began life by me nicking the image of a Greek statue in keeping with Simon's theme, multiplying it, deforming it and then pulling it into some semblance of perspective and then... well, all at once, it was this!  Everything you think you're seeing on that space-craft - the texture, the structure etc. - came about through 'not drawing' anything!  Photoshop is witchcraft after all! (This is my spaceship!)

Phil Sammy Ernesta Simon Joey

   Today's subject is: The Hulks of Star Flotilla Salamis. A bit of a Sci-Fi twist on some antiquity for you guys this time. Blame Phil for posting that 300 trailer :) The deadline for this subject is Wednesday the 19th. Good luck everybody.

You'll enjoy this!

Not sure what I was channelling here, Simon - a bit of Yellow Submarine meets Rene Laloux? Anyway  - Cities Of Mars

Phil Ernesta Sammy Simon Alex

Apologies Simon, but better late than never! 'The Sun Domes of the Venusian Rainforest' or 'Samurai Desert' or 'Where are the other domes?' or 'Where is the Venusian Rainforest?' 

Today's subject is: The cities of Mars. The deadline for this subject is Monday the 17th. Good luck everybody.

With a fair few of my class mates working with Butch Auntie this summer I thought I'd share where CG Light-shows are going now as an industry. I have been walking past this show every morning for 2 weeks and for the first time, remembered to look it up only to find they're using Butch Auntie style projection art, rather then an elaborate set that need hundreds of stage hands to move and masses of mechanism which (thinking of my experience of watching Kerry Ellis hang off her flying device... and she wasn't going to defy gravity) can go very wrong. The story is adapted from a novel of the same name written by Mark Haddon. The protagonist is Christopher Boone who has Aspergers Syndrome and is the narrator so the world is experienced from his perspective. The projected staging is meant to show Christopher's world and how his mathematically minded head interacts with the events that befall him. I think it's good to see the CG art making their way into all a...

"Tim Walker’s photographs have entranced the readers of Vogue, month by month, for over a decade. Extravagant staging and romantic motifs characterise his unmistakable style." Tim Walker is a fashion photographer and filmmaker whose richly constructed sets and fragmented fantasy narratives should have immediate appeal for the CG Arts & Animation student. Indeed, I couldn't help but think of Lydia's recent Twenty To Nine digital set project while enjoying Walker's imagery. Walker's photographs are dreamlike and prickle with uncanny effects.  I love their theatricality and visual splendour.  Walker's worlds are like The Cook, the Thief, his Wife & her Lover meets La Belle et La Bete via Edward Scissorhands .