What hue looking at?

After watching the first season of the HBO series 'Game of Thrones' I was absolutely enthralled- everything about it; the storytelling, the shots, the vfx and the characters were simply awesome. Realising that we had to wait until april 2012 for the second series I ordered the first 3 books and am currently battling through book number one!

But this post is about the hues, not the story- or more specifically the very common pairing of orange and blue hues (a quick warning though, once you see it you'll notice it everywhere and never get it out of your head!)
I think that orange and blue is the most common pairing purely because they are great complimentary colours, in spite of the fact that everything they do for the mood or feel of a scene completely contrasts.

I think that game of thrones does this beautifully. Without going too much into the story, incase anyone hasn't had the chance to see it yet (or simply doesn't care) We have one set of characters, tough and serious from the cold north, where danger is more prevalent and it's always dark/cold/depressing (the blues) that contrast with the warmer, more image concious, better spoken and generally 'better looking' characters from the south (the oranges)

 Using this technique they provide visual clues for the audiences. Game of thrones has a huge amount of characters that often move throughout the world, so to keep the more casual viewer on the ball with who we are watching and where we are, the north/south divide (which the show is constantly cutting between) is easily distinguished subliminally. Is it orange or blue?

For further reading I found this to be very amusing, pleading with hollywood to stop with the Blorange combo!

http://theabyssgazes.blogspot.com/2010/03/teal-and-orange-hollywood-please-stop.html

Interviewing the dead!

I was interviewed as a zombie for Mark's video!
(This was all unscripted/on the spot)

Interviewing The Dead from Mark Woodcock on Vimeo.

Guess hue..

Good evening one and all, I am writing this as a very happy chappy having just received my copy of 'Dream worlds' by Hans Bacher! (As well as the first two 'song of ice and fire' books.. didn't realise quite how big they are but I can't wait for the rest of Game of thrones...) Flicking through I saw that there is a very useful section about colour;
'Color should be used to create specific moods. Of course our cultural background plays a significant role in that. Countries closer to the equator are more colorful in all ways than countries in the northern parts. Yet nearly everywhere around the world the same rules can be applied. Certain cool colours calm down the emotions, while hot colours create aggression in emotions.'
I can tell that this book is going to very useful in the pre-production of my film, as well as taking care of a couple colour theory blog posts (Thank you, Hans!) so let's get into it!

'The color in our films corresponds with specific events in the story, and just as there is an ''emotion/action curve'' there should be a ''color mood curve.'' '...For example, a love scene will need different colors than a suspense scene. At the end of the film, the color is especially important to build up the climax.'

So how can you use this? Well you could gradually transition the colours to follow the mood of the film or you could suddenly contrast the colour/mood to match the dramatic changes in the story.
I think that Bambi has a few very good examples of 'color mood curve' and also dramatic uses of colours/hues.

For example, above on the left- in the top panel when Bambi's mother dies the colours are very bleak- mostly blue hues and dark silhouettes. The mood is exactly what you would expect; depressing or sad. Whereas in the panel below, the forest fire scene, lots of red/purple hues are used which cause an alert or 'dangerous' mood.

I think that Bambi has excellent examples of dramatic colour change to emphasise the story arc. In the panels above the colours go from very regular and bright to sudden bright hues and lots of colour, which almost 'wake us up' and help to exaggerate the panic of the fight scene.

That's all for now, I hope you learned something!

Knock knock.. Hue's there?

Gather around boys and girls and let me enlighten you on hue's hue in the world of colour. Put simply hue is how similar (or different) a colour is from red, green, blue or yellow. The use of different hues can effect an images properties; what emotions it evokes or the general 'feel' of the image. This is what makes hues (and colour theory) very useful for animation!!
This post is going to be all about an artist who i've followed/been inspired by since I was 13 or so, Tim Frommeyer!
I have always enjoyed the use of colour in his crazy characters and scenes. Recently he was drawing a new face every day (see video below) and although they were just very quick sketches or thumbnails, I really liked the use of colour and how it effected what I thought of each character


Daily Face Drawn In Flash 2011/11/19 from Tim Frommeyer on Vimeo.

 Here are some of my favourites! (click to enlarge) I have tried to place them side by side in a contrasting fashion to show the difference that hues can make. For example- although both the characters on the top row look upset, the one on the right is much brighter and in my opinion less effective in making me empathise or feel the emotion of the character. In the second row, on the left, I think that the use of 'pea green' hues is a very effective backdrop to compliment the 'bored' expression that the character has, whereas in comparrison- the second row on the right using brighter greens and stripes makes us much more alert to the subject!

Books! Pre production!

Hello readers!

I have finished the term at university and just finished putting together a showreel for submission. It's a work in progress, there's alot i'd like to clean up/take out/put in but take a look if you'd like!

Click here!

I've also just ordered a couple of books to add to my ever growing collection-

Dream worlds by Hans Bacher, i've had a quick skim through this before and it seems like a very useful book- even more so because I am about to start pre production for my 2nd year film

 

And Timing for Animation which I have heard good things about

I can't wait to unwrap these presents for myself! Prepare for a fair few updates as I have plenty of work to be getting on with!

Work in progress!     EDIT : With the final thing :-)

Artrage!

Hello made up readers!
I know there has been a long gap between posts, I've had quite a hectic summer and to be honest with you barely even touched a computer in the last couple of months! I do have plenty of handdrawn sketches however most of them are scrawled on the back of receipts and go in the bin at work!
I have just downloaded a trial for 'Artrage' and I am really loving the software so far. It is very simple but in the same sense it is uncluttered and leaves you simply sketching, you know, like.. by hand
I am going to play with this for a few more hours, here's the first thing I threw down!

Vinyl preview

Just finished this tonight, here's a little teaser :-)
I'll upload some nice photographs soon!

Comicon, new vinyl, postcards

I've been very busy the last couple of days, yesterday I went to the MCM comicon expo in London which was... interesting to say the least! I'm not a big fan of cosplay but we did have alot of 'oh my god look it's _____!' moments bursting out from our nerdy younger selves. Again i've never been massively into comics though obviously I can appreciate the design and characters, but there was some really, really awesome stuff around!

Particularly Richard Starkings and co. who were really top guys. They gave us a free issue and a signed sketch! Apparantly the comic is about to be made into a major motion picture, so throw a google search their way!

 

In other news I bought myself a couple more blank toys, I can't wait to get started on these! Keep your eyes peeled for a giveaway of some sort!

I  also picked up a couple things at 60% off from the Kidrobot sale that many people missed out on,
My first Kozik Smorkin Labbit (10'') and a kid robot dealy also by Kozik!

 I think this is my favourite dunny to date, it's an Amanda Visell from the 2010 series!

That's all for today but there's alot to come- the summer has just begun and I am as motivated as ever!

Sketch!

Another quick sketch, I don't really intend to use any of these, just firing them out and trying some new things

Postcards

I am really pushing these free postcards, I have no idea how long i'll be doing this so if you haven't already, click the postcards tab above and check it out!
I've finally finished my first year at university! It went so unbelievably quick, so I'm not going to waste any time this summer.
You can expect;
More postcards,
Some possible T-shirt designs for Stay dead clothing
Pre-production for my 2nd year film
more custom munnys
and loads of things I haven't even conceived yet!

Sneak peak

Here's a little bit of unfinished animation from the project me and a friend are working on!
It is for a slovenian film (so all the voices are slovenian), and I can't wait to see it!
I'll upload a video file once it's done, but for now you can just click here to see the .swf!

Remember when swine flu was a big deal?

Look who just walked in...

I found this waiting for me at the door today..
It's a Jon Burgerman dunny!

I've been working on a bit of animation for the title credits of my friends slovenian film, which is due on the 24th- so that's my next few days planned :-)

My first DMND Custom

Finished on my first real attempt at a custom MUNNY tonight (I couldn't sleep)

and here's a big pic!

Dunnys Update!

Snapped a few shots of my new additions :-)

I love pie!

Steak and ale, specifically..

Floyd

Here's my comic, from a couple 'o projects ago.
I really didn't spend the time I should have on this, but I like the style regardless :-)
PAGE 1

PAGE 2

PAGE 3

PAGE 4

PAGE 5

PAGE 6

and here's some of the pre-production for the keen bunch :-)

Zoo Times, DUNNYS!

I went to London Zoo on saturday, and saw my good friend Jamie from the isle o' man, which was good (considering we both live so close together and have barely made an effort before)
We got some strange looks in the petting zoo, probably because the main demographic was 4 year old girls

And we also saw more than enough monkey masturbation.. it's not as funny as it sounds after 20 minutes!
(Though we did catch a bird going poopy on another ones head)

In other news I have far too many dunnys now (all for dirt cheap/next to nothing!)
and just today Kidrobot had a 60% off deal so I treated myself to a late birthday present (thanks to my sister for the cash! :-))

My college friend Jade is also working on a little custom owl plush for me in exchange for a couple spare dunnys :-) (Kinda like the one pictured here)

What am I up to now? Working towards my final deadline on the 24th, I also have a personal animation project for my friends brother, who is studying film in Slovenia :)
Looking forward to the summer, and hopefully big things to come!!

Burgered part 2

I am dying from lack of sleep (can that actually happen? or do you just eventually pass out) so I'm going to keep this short and sweet!!
In between deadlines I burgered Jon Burgerman, just to return the favour :)

All nighter, Gots me Burgered

So after an all nighter preparing for two deadlines it really cheered me up to see that Jon Burgerman had sketched a terrible photo of me haha

How awesome is that?
I can't sleep now though, not by choice, but because I finished a little earlier than I anticipated and now I can't hand my work in for 4 hours..
If I sleep I know I wont wake up, this really is some sick kind of purgatory!
It's my birthday on thursday, and summer is on the way! So I really hope to fill this blog with all kinds of personal projects..
Maybe..
Ok it's not likely, I'm a lazy bastard!

Procrastination

Sketching around in flash aimlessly is always alot more fun when I have real work that I should be getting on with..

Not much has been going on with me- I have a few more Dunnys on the way to add to my small collection :-)
Other than that, loads of deadlines- barely any progress!
I am also 20 next week! scary stuff.. time to be an adult haha

Get yo'self Burgered

A long time favourite doodler of mine Jon Burgerman has started a facebook page where you can submit pictures of yourselves and he *might* sketch you :-) (good odds considering he normally gets paid for this sort of thing) I've already put in, I suggest you guys head over and do the same!
Clicky Clicky

Dunny 2010

Say hello to my awesome new friends :-)

Designed by Sneakyracoon (in the black) and the supposedly rare chase by DamaraktheDestroyer, in the clear neon green :-)
I've always been a fan of the kidrobot vinyl toys particularly the dunnys, so I treated myself to a few.. It's dangerous because I already want more :-)
I'll have to subdue the urge at least until the summer, I don't have the money right now..
Other than finding a place to house these guys i've had buckets of work to do (to do being the phrase.. it's definitely not getting done)
6.05am, time to throw on some Red bar radio and get some sleep!
Smell you later

So it begins..

I've had a million blogs and websites and i've never updated them consistently.. don't stick around, it'll be a waste of your time..
maybe.