Medusa

Finished up the background for this one and I am really pleased with the way it turned out.  There is still more to come on this but that will be a few weeks.

Click here to see the work in progress of this and how it all came together.

Life After PI Documentary

A documentary which tells the story of visual effects house Rhythm and Hues and their financial struggles while producing the special effects for two effects heavy academy award nominated movies.  Just before they won the award for their work for Life of PI they had to file for bankruptcy and lay off most of their staff.  This film shows how Hollywood has made it nearly impossible for visual effects companies to survive and the nomadic lifestyle and uncertainty that VFX employees face.  It is a sad affair that the studios need to correct especially since they lean on and rely on these companies since a large portion of the summer blockbusters are effects driven.  It isn't uncommon now for a feature to have 80% or greater of the film contain effects shots.

The Fantistic Movie Posters of Laurent Durieux

Laurent Durieux is a 42 year old illustrator from Brussels that creates some of the most beautiful retro-futuristic posters with bold style and classical crosshatching techniques.  His posters feel modern but recall to best of the art deco visual style.  The poster for Metropolis is my favorite movie posters of all time and it was the first work of his that I came across.

LAURENT DURIEUX WEBSITE

The Largest Glacier Calving Caught on Film

The piece of the Illulissat Glacier in Western Greenland the size of Manhattan broke off into the ocean on May 8th, 2008 and it was caught on film and I have to say it is truly sublime video to which you can see the enormity of this event and yet at the same time not be able to grasp the size of this event or what it must have been like to witness this in person.  Truly awe inspiring to see such a dramatic occurrence in nature.  This clip is from a full length documentary Chasing Ice, which I have not seen and have heard little of, up to this point.

The Insect King

This is a piece of concept design, or character design, that I did for a competition last week.  He is the Insect King and ruler of all insects.  I also included a detail so you can see just how much detail I put into this guy and the steps of the process along the way.

Video of Goat Balancing and Playing

This is an entertaining video of goats balancing and trying to one up each other.  Also below are a few images of the Tree Climbing Goats of Morocco.

Sochi 2014 Short Track Speed Skate Reimagined as Mario Kart

Fan of short track speed skating or the always awesome Mario Kart series?  This is the perfect hybrid.

Native Australian Animals

I did this collection of illustrations for a series of magnets that I produced for Christmas presents for family members.  It is a collection of native Australian animals and after a few months I am proud to be able to share these with everyone.

The Kookaburra.  This bird sits up in the trees and laughs his enormous head off at all that goes on below him with other Kookaburras.

 The Koala.  This lazy marsupial sits up in gum trees all day long, lounging and eating gum leaves, which make him all the lazier.

The Magpie.  This beautiful black and white bird has a call and whistle that is just as majestical but be sure to stay away if it has babies nearby because it will swoop animals it sees as a threat to its young, even something as large as a human.

The Ringtail Possum.  This marsupial hangs out and sleeps the day away in the treetops but will climb down to the ground during the night to rummage and find food.

The Wombats.  This large and cuddly marsupial hides in the day in its underground burrow to venture out at night for food.

The Bilby.  It is known that this little marsupial visits Australian children at Easter instead of a bunny.

The Cassowary.  This gigantic bird, which seems as much dinosaur as bird, roams the jungle eating a wide variety of plants and seeds and helps the jungle by distributing the seeds in their droppings.

The Emu.  This is another large bird but unlike the Cassowary you will not find this guy in the jungle but instead more likely to find him roaming cooler climates, usually grasslands.

The Kangaroo.  Australia's most famous animal of all, these guys bounce around on their powerfully hind legs and can be found in most climates and terrains across the diverse continent.

The Zero Theorem Trailer

Director Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, 12 Monkeys, and the Monty Python films) returns with another mindbender starring the always great Christopher Waltz.  The worlds this man is able to construct with a limited budget, for Hollywood standards, are always engrossing and captivating.  He is a truly unique voice and a visionary; his films alway have as much style as they do substance and story, which is also unique in the modern era of film.

Medusa

A bit of background.

The colour is finished, now to add the background and lighting.

Laid down the colour on this but still have more colour to do and hightlights, then I have to figure out what to do for the background.  That is for tomorrow once I wake up though.

More Shadow.  Colour tomorrow.

Started colouring this one today.  this is just the base of the shadow and there is a lot more work to come.

Plastic Infinite 7" Picture Disc Video

Cool track and an awesome looking animation when you play the record.


Plastic Infinite from Sculpture on Vimeo.

Documentary Trailer MIDWAY: Message From the Gyre

The trailer for the short film documentary Midway: Message From the Gyre shot by Seattle based photographer Chris Jordan shot this film over multiple visits to the Midway Atollo, an island isolated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  It shows the plight of the Albatross and how they are dying off due to the consumption of plastic.  Midway Atollo, although in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and fairly isolated from human development (the population is about 60 people and just over 300 visited last year) the negative environmental impact from humans is heavily felt with the Island being located in the North Pacific Garbage Patch or "Garbage Island."  Nearly half the size of Australia this collection of half submerged plastic is collected in the middle of the ocean by the swirling currents of the Pacific.  Click here for more information.  Chris Jordan is currently looking for money to complete this film and for distribution but says it will be released in 2014.


MIDWAY a Message from the Gyre : a short film by Chris Jordan from Midway on Vimeo.

Animated Short Paths of Hate

An animated short of a WWII style dogfight between two fighters in single engine prop planes.  The animation style is awesome and the action is kinetic and fast through the snowcapped mountains.  At the end it gets a little ridiculous and the song to close it out is just terrible but it is definitely worth sharing for the style and action alone.  I would love to see a full feature in this style.

Paths of Hate from Meow-san on Vimeo.

1959 Chevrolet Bel Air vs. 2009 Chevrolet Malibu IIHS Crash Test

A video contrasting the difference that 50 years has made in automobile design and safety.  It is crazy to imagine how horrific auto accidents used to be as you see the dash and steering column get smashed through the dummy drivers chest.  Incredible slow-motion footage.

David Bowie: The Second Coming of Major Tom

I made this artwork for the remaining sketches from my piece earlier this week David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust on Mars.

Broken Bells Cover 'And I Love Her' by the Beatles

James Mercer and Danger Mouse (Broken Bells) played the Beatles' And I Love Her featuring a video loop of vintage Ringo Starr last night on David Letterman as part of Beatles Week.  Every night this week a different band will play a Beatles cover to celebrate the 50th anniversary that they first played the Ed Sullivan show (David Letterman is filmed in the Ed Sullivan Theater).  This is a cool psychedelic version and Mercer's voice is perfectly suited for this song

Under the Skin Trailers

Jonathan Glazers Under the Skin stars Scarlett Johansson as an alien in Scotland who picks up hitchhikers.  The trailers are beautifully cut giving away nothing of the story but loaded with incredibly haunting visuals.





Jonathan Glazer is responsible for creating my favorite music video Rabbit in Your Headlights by Uncle featuring Radiohead.  He is also the man behind a few of Radioheads' other famous music videos which I have posted links to below.

David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust on Mars

Finished colouring this one up last night after spending a lot of time trying to perfect it.  I did a lot of experimenting with the colour and background and had some difficulty bringing it all together but persistance pays off in the end.  I like the way that this looks like a piece of 1960-70s pulp sci-fi and it suits the subject as well.  I spent a lot of time listening to David Bowie while doing this piece and also watched a few documentaries in the process (I recommend watching the BBC's Five Years).

Amazing HD Footage Compilation

Wyoming Wildscapes II Timelapse Video

Nicolaus Wegner spend 14 months traveling Wyoming filming the landscape in all weather conditions. There are many beautiful shots, especially at the end with the mesmerizing shots of the swirling clouds forming and lightning storms delevoping.


Wyoming Wildscapes II from Nicolaus Wegner on Vimeo.

Skydiving From the Edge of Space

October 14, 2012, Felix Baumgartner ascended more than 24 miles above Earth's surface to the edge of space in a stratospheric balloon before skydiving back to Earth, and in the process was the first man to break the sound barrier.

After over a year GoPro and Redbull have published video of this amazing feat.

Dolphins Using a Pufferfish as a Narcotic

It is said that dolphin, like humans, are only species to have sex for pleasure.  It looks like that is not the only thing as the BBC was able to record footage of a pod of dolphins using the toxin from a pufferfish as a narcotic and enjoying an altered state.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Trailer

The new nearly 4 minute trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  The last one, the reboot without Tobey Maguire was alright, as huge a plus it didn't have Maguire or Kirsten Dunst.  It was pretty boring just retelling the origin story and featuring a villain that was unimpressive and computer generated.  The casing was fantastic though and the actors all were perfectly cast and did admirable jobs capturing the characters of their comic counterparts.  With the origin story out of the way and a story that will not rehash what we have seen before The Amazing Spider-Man looks like it could actually be amazing from what is shown in this trailer.  Hopefully they don't go too dark and depressing, which is a trend with these sorts of movies at the moment, thanks to Christopher Nolan and his Batman trilogy (which was the right tone for Batman (but still possibly less so)) and keep it very humorous and fun.  They are setting up for a lot of villains (The Sinister Six) and a few different Spider-Man spin-off movies as well which will be coming in the next few years.  This trailer is amazing and I look forward to the movie even more so now.