Sushi

Quite amusing...

Sushi Etiquette

Original uploaded by always looking...

The Rambler Socket

Genius...

Original uploaded by GIZMODO

Jumping Elephant

Hey Jude

Original uploaded by LoveAllThis

Prologue

Excellent newspaper transition...

Onisuka Tiger

One of my favorite animations...

{ Onion Head }

I was first introduced to this character from talking to my family and friends through MSN messenger. I have to admit that I am an emoticon nerd, and I sure do love this guy Abo (AKA Onion-Tou)... he's just too adoreable...

{ Eggs and Sausage }

Gotta love it...

Eggs and Sausage from Jackie Lay on Vimeo.

{ Joan of Arc: a Constellation of Voices }

Last Tuesday I had a visit at the DMNS Gates Planetarium to see what this constellation of voices is all about. My last experience of making an animation for the dome last year was quite interesting, but this year Bryan Leister is taking the group into a different step. It is not just animation. A group of design students at the University of Colorado Denver is collaborating with the theater department to create a live theater in a full dome environment. No other words I could use to describe this, all I can say is that...I can't wait to see the show! (For more information and to make a reservation please visit http://www.bryanleister.com/saint-joan-project)

Here are some photos of the making of - Joan of Arc: a Constellation of Voices -

{ space age }

Last December, I had a visit at NASA and fell in love with these guys:

{ stuff } - that living thing

Here's a new animation I was working on during fall break for one of Bryan Leister's shows called 'That Indistinct Edge' , and himself as my art director. big thanks to Bryan for giving me this opportunity!

{ interactive }

A music video that you can interact from Neon Bible, must check it out (big thanks to Beth for showing it in Narrative class :)...).

{ Fine Art vs Graphic Design }

After I had a visit at the Cranium Studio yesterday and met many interesting people (and the food was excellent!). I encountered a very interesting question from one of the designer that had given me a lot to think about until now, even though it has been somewhat of the conclusion in the majority (yes, Renee, I still think about it). The question of "is fine art the same thing as a design?", I haven't really thought out much of the difference between the two, but I do believe that a good design can be considered as a fine art. This, again, raise the argument of the definition of art, and I am no expert on defining what art is, that's for sure. So, here are some other thoughts about this topic, the comments for each articles are very interesting as well, hope this gives you guys something to think about. Big thanks and hugs to Liz for taking us there :D!

Craig A Elimeliah

Laurie Rosenwald

{ Las Vegas }

last week i visited las vegas for the first time, and with not much time and a limited budget i wasn't able to grab much of the las vegas theme, but here's some of the font and its colour usage of las vegas...

{ web portfolio } - idea 01

here's a couple of design firms that i think they are great samples for web portfolio for those who are interesting in motion graphic design field...

xyzstudios.com

eyeball nyc

{ Boys & Girls Club } - BL:ND

Last but not least, a creative director for "Uncorked" project and many other awarded winning (well known in Justin Timberlake’s notable music video “LoveStoned” and Gnarls Barkley’s "Crazy"), Vanessa Marzaroli, shared some details about "Uncorked", an award winning pro bono project for Boys & Girls Club, hope this gives us some idea of what the pros do for pro bono projects :)...

-----------------------
{ Q } Has the company done a lot of pro bono projects in the past?

-----------------------
{ A } Depends what you mean by a lot. Typically, we get asked to do these kinds of projects a few times per year, either with no compensation or radically reduced compensation. Seldom do we turn down these projects unless it is absolutely impossible to fit the work into our schedule.
-----------------------
{ Q } How does your company assign staff to pro bono work and do employees receive compensation for it?

-----------------------
{ A } Prior to accepting any pro-bono project, we develop a schedule allowing us to utilize staff artists only. In addition to the creative challenge often offered with these types of projects, we can also give our staff artists opportunities to do work outside their normal skill sets…thus, they grow during the process too.
-----------------------
{ Q } Does the company commit the same level of resources to pro bono work as it does to work for profit, such the amount of time and cost?

-----------------------
{ A } We will always approach every project with the same goals; deliver the utmost in quality and creativity, push ourselves to discover new skills, show fidelity to the overall message inherent within the concept. Design and animation will take the same amount of time regardless of compensation…

------------------------
{ Q } How did you and your team approach the design/animation process for "Uncorked" ?
------------------------
{ A }This project was done a long time ago so I'll try my best to remember things. If I remember right, I believe we got a storyboard from the agency. Usually every commercial projects that we get, always start with storyboards or scripts from the agency. In this case, they had a rough hand drawn storyboard that they shared with us and we reinterpret it. They were the ones who came up with the concept of using type as part of the message. I believe they already designed print ads for the event, so we were following their lead using type as the bottle and liquid pouring the message and date of the event.

We basically brought the type to life by putting it in a 3D space and add atmospheric lighting to it. Having the type mapped to a shape of the bottle created more visual interest and gives it life and dimensionality. We had to make sure the type would look like type when it's being poured into frame without looking too clattered.
-------------------------
{ Q } What challenges did you face during the production phase of the project? Any technical issues, disagreements with the client, etc?
-------------------------
{ A } No not at all. The client was very agreeable and pleased with everything they saw. Because this was a pro bono job, the client was less demanding and controlling.
-------------------------
{ Q } What response did you receive from the Boys & Girls Club or your audience at large about the spot?
-------------------------
{ A }I believe it was very well perceived. We also got some accolades for the project. It won numerous competitions for that particular year.

Case Study - { pro bono }

So, I was fortunate enough to get a hold of this design firm called BLiND. The lady, Dana, whom I talked to was very friendly and helpful. Dana provided some information about the pro bono work that the firm has done in the past and the upcoming projects. She was kind enough to direct me to one of the pro bono works called "Uncorked", which was made for the Boys & Girls Club, and can be found on the firm's website (which also contains the software that they used for the project).

That Side Track 01

So, I went to visit this work of Misuk Cho, Air Forest, and I have to say I wasn't that impressed. Perhaps I went a bit too early, anyway, here are the images that I took when they first had the "Air Forest" up, in City Park, Denver.

Side Track 01

Side track of the week, Minsuk Cho, an artist/architect from South Korea, is putting up a public square called "Air Forest" at a City Park, along the lake, this month, August 26 - 29, from 10 AM - 6 PM. There will also be other renowned artists in this exhibit, Dialog:City - An Event Converging Art, Democracy, and Digital Media, I think it would be worth checking this event out!




Peace,