When Hackers Run a Blitz, the NFL Relies on Cisco

This was a job that came in right out of the blue thanks to my friend Alan Barillaro. He recommended me to his friend and colleague Producer Marc Sondheimer, who was looking for someone to supervise the 2d animation and art direct this spot. So after the introductions and me learning about what the job expectations were, I agreed to gather up a small crew to get er done. Robert Milne helped me animate, in fact he did the majority of the shots.  Ron Chevarie and Eleonora Quario to do the animation assisting. There work would create the initial final chalk line look based on my rough art direction. Then the team at Logan.tv took all the completed animation artwork added their backgrounds and pieced it together in the final composite.

This was an enjoyable job for a lot of reasons. The creative team from Cisco were a super nice bunch of folks to work for. I enjoyed the opportunity to try a different artistic look in animation than what I'm used to. Working with talented  animation colleagues is always a win for me. But, one of the best things though, was getting to know and work with Marc.  He's a real professional top notch guy and great to chat with.

Marc actually was a lifesaver, his knowledge of American Football was such an asset to help me out on this job. Hopefully we can work together again in the future.

Here is a link to the 15sec spot:

https://video.cisco.com/detail/videos/latest-videos/video/6361448780112?autoStart=true

Peter and the Wolf

I had worked with Exec-Producer Adriana Piasek-Wanski on a previous job and she kindly invited me to animate on this short based on the character drawings done by Bono of U2. Visually speaking, I thought the hybrid mix of hand drawn animation and the building of background model set pieces is a very cool look. Yes, it has been done before in the past, But this is the sort of creativity I'd like to see more of in animated short films. 

The Day I Became a Bird

Andrew Ruhemann of Passion-Pictures directed this short based on the book of the same name. I contributed some boarding and hand drawn bird animation here and there. This was a fun project to be part of by having the opportunity to work with some old and new acquaintances. I also enjoy working in  various looks and styles that are different from the usual animation norms.

Cryptid animation and story channels I listen to while working.

I listen to all sorts of material when I'm working. Music, news, audio books, youtube channels, snow storms etc. There are a few youtube channels that discuss various topics from historical or even paranormal events which I find interesting. And it's such a nice break from the news. 

I had some extended unpaid down time and wanted to sharpen up on my prefered animation software TVpaint. It was also a great opportunity for me to mess about with other aspects of the program I usually don't utilize as an animator. Color processes and the FX stack for example. So I had a run designing these guys and thought I would do some simple animation of them as well. And why not do it for a purpose? Hopefully something fun for a channel I enjoy listening to. (not sponsored by the way)

These characters were inspired by the old Warner Brothers cartoons I loved as a kid. 

Click on the screen below to check out these guys moving.

If the news gets to much and you are looking for something a bit different to listen to, (off the top of my head) check out, Cryptids Canada, Buckeye Bigfoot, Dixie Cryptid, ThinkerThunker, CanAm Missing Project, HowtoHunt.com, Dogman Encounters, and there are many others to search out, but all have great material I listen to on a regular basis.

Oh and Edward French has an excellent youtube story channel called Fiction Fantastique. (fantasy, horror, sci fi) Edward does some amazing narration of classic stories from the past in my opinion.

The History Squad with Kevin Hicks. Is another youtube channel I thoroughly enjoy. It's a favourite actually. Kevin is a fantastic storyteller and excellent history teacher. And an impressive shot with a longbow as well!

Last but not least is Mr.Ballen stories.

And for any young animators out there. I mentioned TVpaint. I absolutely love it. Even a luddite bone head like myself managed to pick up the basics in a couple of days on the job- it was a Gorillaz job in fact. The program is a bit chunky cost wise though. So before spending a lot of money, I recommend DigiCel FlipBook while learning animation.

FlipBook is a fantastic program and extremely cost friendly for those starting out. With really great customer support. I used the program years ago for shooting my hand drawn line tests and later for draw over notes while supervising animation. It was a life saver. 

The Boy Who Woke the Sun

My colleague A.T. Woodley asked me to storyboard out this sequence from a chapter of his new book "The Boy Who Woke the Sun". It was a challenging but fun little chapter to illustrate. Speaking of which, all the images are inspired by Mike Deas beautiful illustrations from the book. And Composer Robert Duncan does a wonderful job with the accompanying subtle magical score. 

The book is in stores now.

Check out the video of the chapter here if you are curious:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rucv7_SkqCc 

Robert Duncan's Music:

https://www.duncanmusic.com/

Mike Deas Illustrations:

http://deasillustration.com/blog/

Here are a few shared images that are not included in the animatic. These pictures were all removed in the edit to make sure the story pacing kept moving forward.  Its unfortunate to lose the work, but cutting shots out to benefit of the narrative is all part of the process.

Chicken advert

I have worked for Director Paloma Baeza a few times now. Paloma is one of very few directors I really enjoy working for and respect. These are some rough designs she asked me to do for a commercial pitch involving Chickens.

The House

 Director Paloma Baeza asked me to do some early concept design work for her segment in the animated short "The House" for Netflix and Nexus Studios. Paloma is one of those rare directors that knows what she wants, she communicates very well and is really respectful to artists. Not only is she a great director but a really top notch person in my opinion.