The Gift of .GIFing

Outside of the occasional venture into Flash, any animation I do designed for the web comes far and few between. That's why today is special... I made this:

If it fails to load properly that is most likely due to my lack of knowledge in compressing .gif files

To be honest I didn't do much more than add a bloody nose to a pre-existing .gif animation and then composite it onto a .gif dance floor, but isn't that 90% of animation nowadays?
My horizon is chock full of new projects, which reminds ME to remind YOU to check out one of my favorite music producers, oddisee. I could go on and on about his rich beats, devotion to providing plenty of free quality music to his fans and versatility in his music, but I'll let you check him out yourself (but only if you're really interested... I don't want to pressure you into something that you don't want to do like so many delicious-looking Domino's® ads these days). Check out his latest free seasonal EP, Odd Winter over on his blog. More on him later...
I must admit that after brainvomiting out that last paragraph I've developed a bit of writer's block & think I will call it a night, however brief it may have been. I haven't even left the office to go home yet.

I'm going to go become lost in John K's blog now.

New Feature: Lost and Foundish

Over the years I've started to accumulate more doodles and old work on various hard drives than I'd care to admit. Whether they be the product of an inside joke, boredom, or a personal project that never quite got off the ground, I'm finally granting them the proper neglect they deserve in an online forum. Each week I'll post a different image or video or audio clip and you can see for yourself just how much time I've had on my hands over the last few years.
This week I'm posting something that I drew way way waaay back in 2006 for a post-house I was working for at the time, the now-dead Outsider Inc. in Chicago, IL. They requested a new cover for their notebook of local restaurant menus so I started this drawing. Shortly after I ended up leaving the company and never got a chance to finish it, but here it is in its last known state:

© 2010 Marked Animation

These Are The Breaks & Such

Back in late 2009 I did a small bit of work for the VEVO program, "These Are The Breaks." I had a couple of days to come up with the intro graphics and I think for the time I had it turned out fairly well.



2010 looks to be another busy year -- I'm not really one for resolutions, and while I expect there to be a good amount of work out there to be done I hope to get more drawing and painting in. I've been doing a lot more on the commute to and from work lately so hopefully I'll have something to post in that regard when I have a bit of free time.
I also really REALLY want to start a new music video project. Hopefully I can lamaze this Locksley video project out of the uterus of my computer and get something new started in the spring time. Any hip-hop artists out there interested... hmmm??? Ghostface? CunninLynguists? Cudi? Raekwon? DOOM? Yeezy?

I'm all ears (big ones).

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

... here's something to think about if a Charlie Brown Christmas is in your holiday lineup.

See you all in '10!

Updates! Finally.

Hello four people who read this (... and hello to YOU who happened across the blog by some random act of Google),

First and foremost I must apologize for my online absence as of late, I can't necessarily say that things have been consistently neck-breaking busy these last few months but sometimes I neglect to check in. Just ask my stepmother -- she's still waiting for me to call her to wish her a Happy Thanksgiving. Sorry Candy!
So what do I have to show for not posting anything since September? The long answer is I need to compile & scan a few things and wait for a few other things to go online so I can repost them here.

The short answer is not a lot, BUT allow me to share with you what I do have.

I'll start with Locksley since that seems to be all I talk about in my blog, so why stop now? First off, I not only got to design my first-ever album art for them, but it's bigger than short in Japan right now. Check it!

Rocksrey™

... and yes, the video I shot for them will be done eventually -- look out for it in the Winter/Spring of 2010! Until then, here's a screenshot to keep you occupied...

... still a work in progress!

Speaking of forays into the magical world of music videos, I recently did a bit of work* on the latest Kid CuDi video for his single, "Pursuit of Happiness." Enjoy!



I've also posted a high-resolution version of the animated segment I did for The Features video earlier this year... it's a bit more in sync with the audio and you can make out a lot more with that quality! I bet you didn't even know there was a parrot in the video... check it out by clicking on the image below!


I've got more to post but it can wait til later this week... and yes, my stepmom did try calling me again while posting this online.

Darling It's True (Locksley Official Music Video)

... the first single off of Locksley's upcoming album, Be In Love.

directed by Chris Stocksmith

Further Adventures in Animation

Today's lesson: Advanced Motion Tracking

I Done Made Things Move: "Lions" Music Video by The Features

Directed by my friend Joshua Winkler, working on this video turned me onto this band -- they're quite excellent and I encourage everyone out there to buy their album, "Some Kind of Salvation." I was in charge of the portion involving the hand-drawn cut-0ut animation which starts at around 2:40.

Excellent work Josh!

One of My Favorite Animators: Georges Schwizgebel

Georges Schwizgebel is a french-speaking Swiss animation director who successfully marries both the paint-on-glass technique with music & rhythm. I first saw his piece "La Course à l'abîme" in the first year of the Animation Show and it still is one of my favorite animated shorts of all time. His use of camera work and animation cycling is masterful. Recently his 2006 short "Jeu" was posted on Motionographer... check it out below!






... and with the beauty of animation out of the way, here's an awful picture of Sam Bair, Locksley's* drummer, for all you fans out there.


* They're going on tour this fall! Catch 'em.

Locksley's "Love You Too" Video Shoot

... and now the real fun begins.