Psst! Sugar & Spice in HD

Now that I've stumped up some cash for a Plus account on the brilliant Vimeo, I can start posting some HD movies. Here's my segment from this years PSST! Pass it On animation/motion-graphics collaboration:



It's not actually HD in that embedded version, but you can see it in full WrapAroundPixelRama (tm) on my Vimeo page here.

It was a fun little film to make, I took the final frame of Bran Dougherty-Johnsons piece and continued the themes he started. But with more focus on Victoriana, sexual awakenings and, of course, snails.

As always I had a hundred ideas that I couldn't put into practice due to lack of time, but it turned out okay, and enjoyed animating something a little bit closer to my sketchbook style. Something I want to do more of.

And I was massively pleased with the musical score by David Kamp, who managed to make it feel like something far more professional!

Doodlebook Dump One

As I was saying in the last post, I've been scanning in my sketchbook for this months Computer Arts magazine feature. And I'll put them (and a few more) up here on The Internets for all to see. So here's the first batch of impenitable doodling, these examples are more about story development, I'll post some others soon thant show character development.




These all feature work for my Grip Wrench series for MTV. As you can probably see, most of my thought process happens on paper, and really consists mainly of doodling ideas until I get enough of a collection to edit down into something fit for human consumption...

Here's some close-ups:

Sketching in Computer Arts

There's a new issue of Computer Arts out, and once again, I've breached security and sneaked into the magazine, this time in a leading feature on designers and their sketchbooks. There's some great stuff in there, and it's always interesting to see how other artists think on paper, and formulate ideas before launching into the final piece. My bit has some character designs from the Disney pilot show I made a while back, and some development stuff for my Grip Wrench show.

I'll put some of the scans I took of my sketchbooks on here in the next week or two (including a load not seen in the article). In the meantime here's me, browsing the magazine just now:

Stand Up

I'm off to FMX in Stuttgart next week, with Kareem & Francis from MediaMolecule, to talk about how we made the wonky world of LittleBigPlanet. It looks like there's some interesting programmes on, I might have to sneak in and geek out on the various talks on the production design of Hellboy2 and Watchmen.

Talking of Watchmen, here's a portrait of The Commedian, it's not really finished but I'll have to leave it as it is for now..

WibbleDone

The cream has curdled, the rackets are splintered, the nets are packed away, and Cliff Richard has been returned to his sound-proof cage. And now we are left with the artwork that Cookie & I frantically generated in our Layer Tennis match last friday, and the fine prose commentary of Anne who managed to write it up at a zillions words per minute.

Each volley lasted 15 minutes, here they are all stacked up. Cookie won the toss and went first, creating the beautiful image of Albion which set a fantastically high standard. A standard that I fumbled with in my first volley, panicking about time-management rather than getting on with making something nice. At least my return had a sea monster in it, and an obscure reference to LittleBigPlanet with him saying YARG! (the name of cheese that was chosen as a codename for our latest game update, which is produced in Cornwall, where I'm from).

Anyway, here's the collected volleys. Scroll down for more waffle.



I think I managed to improve with subsequent volleys, finding my stride and just getting more comfortable with working in this way. I guess the x-ray of the cod-piece is probably my favourite round of my images, I'm not really sure that's what a gentleman would keep in his cod-peice, but if I could carry around some ninja stars, a pint and a cod with me at all times I probably would.

It was great fun to participate, and a real honour to play, exhausting too. A combination of exhaustion and a couple-too-many post-match Margaritas led to me falling asleep on the Tube on the way home and me getting picked up by the police. Beat that Mr McEnroe.

Photoshop Tennis

The Pims has been poured, the lawns have been trimmed, the strawberries are on ice. It's must be almost time for my Photoshop / Layer Tennis match with Cookie. You can follow the progress of the match here, commentary will be provided by Anne from I Like, and many thanks to Coudal and Adobe for running the whole thing.

For those that don't know the procedure, the 2 of us will be taking it in turns to create artwork in a series of volleys, building on what has just gone before. And with only 15 minutes for each turn its going to be a mad flurry of paper, crayons and Wacom pens. Here's an image I warmed-up with, it was done in 7 minutes so maybe there's still hope for me.

Self Portrait

Just doodled a portrait of myself (it was needed for an animation festival that I'm supposed to be talking at).

The old one I did in LittleBigPlanet that's used as a sticker, and crops up everywhere was a bit out of date on the haircut (or lack of) so I've done an updated version. HAIR POWER.

200 Edges

Edge has always been my favourite games magazine - I really like their unapologetic mission to examine and celebrate the best of videogame culture with writing that is leagues above most of the PR-driven "Churnalism" that's also out there. And its always been a beautiful thing to look at. I still remember buying Issue 1 and holding it with wonder as i starred at these amazing pages from the future (although, as it was all about how the 3DO was going to conquer the world, it doesn't always get everything right).

Anyway, so in order to make me feel old and grown-up they've gone and made a couple hundred issues since then. And to celebrate this milestone they've got 200 different covers this month, and if you're a subscriber you get one designed by me and my little Sackboy helper.



There's a bit of an ugly watermarked CVG logo slapped on there so hopefully I can provide one without that soon.

It's the third cover I've worked on for Edge, but probably the one I had the most fun making. And didn't hurt my eyes as much when making it as the one for issue 120 for Jeff Minters Unity project!

Sofa Surfers

Some very brave friends decided to supply alcohol and pens to all of us that came to their housewarming party to decorate their sofa. Here's some photos of its development/deterioration. I like the photo of me, Nicky and Cookie each beavering away on different cushions - wish I'd worn a single coloured t-shirt too, my plaid ruins the composition!







I really need a haircut, Nicky nearly used-up a whole Sharpie pen trying to draw my portrait...

Psst! London Screening

Psst! Pass It On has got a London screening, far handier than that one in LA the other day, so I'll be going along, hope some of you other cockney-sparrows come too. Here's the details:

(Psst! is a collection of 17 collaborative films made by some very clever people. I made a bit too, about a young womans sexual awakening with a snail. Saucy.)

Chirpy News

I forgot to mention, Grip Wrench, the star of my MTV Qoob animated series has got himself a twitter account, you can follow him here.



So now you can read all about the minutiae of a failed 80s action move star in all it's riveting detail.

Also, LittleBigPlanet just won 8 shiny objects at the DICE awards (from the Academy of Art & Sciences, i.e the Oscar dudes) which were:

Outstanding Character Performance
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction (yay!)
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
‬Outstanding Innovation in Gaming
Console Game of the Year
Overall Game of the Year.
Family Game of the Year
Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering



I'll have to put together a bit of list soon of all the other things LBP has won, although might wait till after the Baftas - just in case ;)

Loving Day

I doodled this, to say hello world, you're looking sexy today. Lots of updates to come soon.

Psst!

I've been asked to make a film for this years PSST! Pass It On - 17 collaborative films made by covens of motion-graphics warlocks and animation alchemists. It'll be launching around the world at various events in the next few weeks, and you can pre-order the DVD here.

My film is a collaboration with Bran Dougherty-Johnson of Grow Design Work and my particular section concerns a time-traveling aphrodisiac, a cup of tea, and a famous nursery rhyme. It looks like this:

Taken Hart

Tony Hart, one of my biggest influences as a child, and the person who got me into this whole drawing malarky has sadly died. I was lucky enough to met him a few months ago and was able to chat a little with him about art and inspiration. It was an emotional experience.

I've written a tribute to him on the Media Molecule blog, talking a little more about his influence on LittleBigPlanet and the little gang of us that made it.

Christmahs

Happy Christmas everyone, hope you all have a good holiday. I'm spending mine recharging my creative batteries with experimental cookery, stirring my lethal mulled-wine recipe with a protective gauntlet and also crafting something that will be revealed in the next update after xmas.

To celebrate the holidays here's a long-lost poster from Grip Wrench's ill-judged Christmas cash-in film from 1987, Daddy Christmas: Chimney Interceptor, which I found tucked down the back of my OS/X Finder.




And if you're looking for something to watch in the post-lunch vacuum I'd recommend the adventures of Cookie (Illustrator, Explorer, Fellow Margarita Connoisseur) He's edited together highlights of the 3000 mile trek he made earlier this year up the CDT (which I still thought was woodwork class).

Looks like perfect xmas viewing, especially as there's nothing on the telly anymore, and it doesn't feel right playing Dead Space on Christmas Day.

Little Big Metal Gear Solid Planet

SACK! SACK! SAAAAACK!
I love Metal Gear Solid - and its unusual mix of Japanese technology, high drama and moments of complete silliness. So when we set to work on making a new pack of MGS themed levels, stickers, costumes and materials for LittleBigPlanet I declared the world officially full of win.

It's been amazing to have access to all the original files used to make the MGS games, and Konami and Kojima Productions have been brilliant about letting us re-imagine their world in our little universe. A world in which assault tanks are made out of cardboard, weapons shoot paint and the major characters are recreated in doodles and stickers - which I've had a lot of fun designing and also directing this trailer which shows it all off..



I've also been wondering what I'd call myself if I was a Metal Gear Solid character (bearing in mind this is a universe filled with characters called things like Screaming Mantis and Revolver Ocelot).

So far I'm favouring Giggling Mandrake or Petulant Sea Cucumber.

MAN OF MEAT. MAN OF ACTION.

I've finally put my website for Grip Wrench live. It's the animated series I made for MTV QOOB, featuring Hollywood hardman, Vietnam veteran and fearless patriot Grip Wrench. And basically gave me plenty of sleepless nights for a year and a half while I was trying to animate all 10 episodes on my own (whilst doing LittleBigPlanet at the same time). What a nutter.



Anyway, its probably best if you just go and have a look yourself, there's some iphone wallpapers too (which I think all promo websites have to have now by law..) desktop backgrounds and of course all 10 episodes are on there, although here's an embedded episode which is one of my favourites:

My favourite LittleBigPlanet level so far

I haven't really been posting any LittleBigPlanet level videos so far, not sure why, in some ways I could be trying to get lots of traffic by shouting I HELPED DESIGN LBP all the time and posting every moment it gets a glowing review (and its had a fair few of those now..) but that just gets a bit annoying and there's plenty of other places you can browse videos of all the amazing things people are making with the game.

But this level really captured my imagination, its so far from the "look" we designed for the game - it reminds me of some of the old LCD Game-And-Watch handheld games I grew up with. And the use of the text (which they've made themselves) is really witty, the way it narrates the level structure, it's almost like a music video..



I'm just finishing off the Grip Wrench website and then I can get back to making my Grip LBP level...

Cullumdar

Nearly xmas and it's a busy time of year for a designer/animator person - there seems to be a neverending line of people needing lumps of snow added onto the top of their logos, or animated flakes drifting around their websites or title sequences. Here's my latest yuletide project - I got asked to make a flash advent calendar for top jazzer Jamie Cullum. Here's an image from it.



And you can see the actual calendar (or Cullumdar as I jokingly called it) by running off in this direction. Although nobody will notice I spent ages making the doors open exactly as I wanted to, and hand-making animation on all of them, so they all open very slightly differently. I'm a nutter for things like that.

There's no chocolate behind the doors, but at least you can win tickets to see ACDC or get all arm-wavy with a Nintendo Wii and other less jiggy prizes.

onedotzero london

This weekend onedotzero pounces on London once again, squirting cutting edge images into peoples astonished eyeballs and I'm premiering one episode of Grip Wrench during it.

The episode is called P.R.E.S.I.D.A.T.O.R and marks Grip Wrench's attempt to move out of action movies and into politics, with the aid of his monster truck, his pet leopard and enough explosives to knock the sun out of the sky.

I've stuffed in a few images below, but if you want to see it properly come along on friday (although I think that's sold out) or Sunday. Its in the wow+flutter programme of onedotzero at the BFI, London. More details here.

Hope to see you there!


Grip teaches some under-privileged children how to pilot an attack-helicopter.



Our hero likes to travel in style. Monster-Truck style.



Showing his artistic side, Grip paints this scene of him, his mother, and a terrorist.