Inspiration: Vanishing Point

Here is another good example (from motionspire.com) that links sound and visuals in a compelling, abstract way. I also really like the progression, in which an object appears to be whole but is then a part of some other whole... as the motions progress there is continually larger and larger wholes (if that makes sense). I think this is important, especially if there is no clear story line in a piece.

Vanishing point

Kimberly-Clark inspiration

In the AIGA collection (volume 365: 31) from 2010 I found this funny product that I thought was really appropriate since summer is coming. Because of our products this semester I guess I've been thinking a lot more about product design and this one really stood out to me. It's eye-catching but also a little confusing... are we supposed to want to eat the tissue box? By the design firm Kimberly-Clark.

Reel FX inspiration

Lately I've been interested in investigating motion design companies and I've found that their self-promotions tell a lot about them and are examples of extremely good work. Since it's their time to 'show off' and convince clients that they produce high quality materials, self-promotional pieces are also usually very creative. Here is an example from Reel FX below.

http://www.reelfx.com/entertainment/work/reel-fx-rebrand

I like how the logo of the company, the letter R, is transformed into several different things, showing off creativity and the variety of formats the company uses. I thought it was clever that the squiggle 'investigates' the R, and the audience discovers new and interesting things as the squiggle does. So, there is a little story and discovery in the piece, which is almost always effective in graphic and motion design.

Inspiration of Method

Method is a brand of household products that are environmentally and socially conscious. They also have great product design and won the AIGA 2010 Corporate Leadership Award. The design of their products is very clear clean, which is good for cleaning supplies. The design visually and to the products (which have plant-based formulas or feature biodegradable corn-plastic) are hopefully leading the way to a future in which businesses and companies are more conscientious of their products.

Jacqui Oakley inspiration

Jacqui Oakley did this illustration for an album cover, featured in AIGA. The colors and shapes within the lion's head gives the illustration vibrance and movement while the color palette is, although colorful, still regal. The layout and design of the cover was done by Poly.

Inspiration by Lobo

I liked this ad by Lobo, and I thought it was good motion design because there is always something changing or moving. Not only is the camera moving through the scene, but parts are moving or growing across the space or rotating. And the space also incorporates a 3D sense with depth (moving through Z space).

Andy Gilmore inspiration

AIGA's blog design envy featured artist Andy Gilmore, whose work looks very geometric close up but far away is more organic and emotive.

I think the piece shows a lot of unity through color and balance because it is almost symmetrical. I think what keeps it organic is the rhythm present in the patterns.

Eli Guerron inspiration

This week's motion design inspiration is by Eli Guerron, who created this 'visual esay' titled It Gets Better. The textures and motions created by the 'blobs' is very interesting, reminds me of a lava lamp or something.

James Gurney inspiration

James Gurney was featured in the Society of Illustrators "Spectrum" exhibit that features the best contemporary art in 2009. He is famous as an author/illustrator and particularly for his work Dinotopia. This story details the adventure of a father and son who are ship wrecked on an island on which dinosaurs have not gone extinct and more or less live peacefully with people. The "journal" records how people and dinosaurs have adapted to living with each other and the ways of the dinotopia culture.

This was one of my favorite books as a kid, and the illustrations are absolutely phenomenal. I remember looking at them for hours--the attention to detail visually and also with thought to the imaginative culture is impressive. If you haven't seen this book, I highly recommend picking it up sometime. Here are some sample images below.

Victor Enguix inspiration

I found this interesting motion graphic on MotionGraphics.nu, which has a lot of cool inspirational stuff. This is a short for something...scientific. The timing to the music is fantastic, and I like how there are visual elements and distortions that represent certain cues in the music. Also, I really like the 'dancing' paramecium at the end. :)

Adria Petty inspiration

I have always thought that this music video was really interesting. Especially how it combines stop animation with video, by using a series of video stills to create a sort of video-animation hybrid. I've never seen that technique used anywhere else! Directed by Adria Petty.

Kinuko Y. Craft inspiration

My inspiration comes from K.Y. Craft, who was inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 2008. The example of her work below beautifully illustrates her ability to capture the subtleties of light and dark. The subtleties add to the textures and delicacy of the image and the geisha really well. I also like how her lights and dark have slightly different hues, seen especially in the clouds and water in the background of this image.

Christian Borstlap inspiration

 

http://motionspire.com/assets/videos/christian_Borstlap_stripes_for_stamps-Motionspire.mov

This is an animation encouraging children to learn and make mistakes. I liked the color choices and the simple concept with the 'people' (worms?) fitting together and interacting with each other. The animation gets more and more visually complex as the video progresses, which makes it more and more interesting and involving.

Marcos Chin inspiration

This week my inspiration is from Marcos Chin. The image below I found in the Illustrators 54 magazine. I liked it because of the various textures and colors of the clothes, and how it reminded me of the people (in Africa?) who stretch their necks out by putting on metal bands. Maybe Marcos is making some kind of social commentary, like how we think that other cultures are strange but only because we are accustomed to our own culture's peculiarities.

ghOst productions inspiration

This is a demo reel for a medical illustration company that showcases several different types of animation that they can do as well as several examples of medical procedures.

Mark Summers inspiration

This week's inspiration is from Mark Summers (at Richard Solomon). He is very good at doing high detailed and refined scratchboard with color. The picture below of the cat shows the rule of thirds and depth with the amount of texture from the scratchboard.

Mathias Lachal inspiration

I like this animation because it was a simple concept that was executed very well--it is so bizarre and strange that one is hooked and wants to see what will happen next. The animator explores a range of ideas and motions, including interacting with sound and the objects in the room.

Range Ton Bazar from Mathias Lachal on Vimeo.

Evynd Earle inspiration

Evynd Earle is an artist from California who passed away in 2000. I was first introduced to his work in my home--my parents used to live (before I was born) in California near where Evynd worked. They were both struck by his paintings, and as a result while I was growing up I was familiar with a handful of serigraphs (think silkscreens with 50+ colors) of his work hanging throughout my parent's house.

Evynd's first big commercial job was as the background artist for the Disney film Sleeping Beauty, and he worked there for ten years. He is well known for his very unique style of landscapes--there is really none other like him, in my opinion.

His style shows incredible rhythm with the lively shapes and personalities of trees and often bright colors contrasted on a black background. His paintings also show depth with textures in stipling and again through color. Here are some examples of his serigraphs below (click for larger image). All of these images are from his website.

Andrea Cobb inspiration

The artist I like this week is Andrea Cobb. Her style uses primarily vector art with layers of embellishments and details. In this illustration below, she uses several different types of lines and shapes to create texture. The dark teal and brown-red color scheme is complementary, but variation in the shade adds dimension and variety as well. I also like how the woman is mostly created by the negative space of the objects, bringing emphasis to her features and hair.

Eva film title inspiration

This is the film title for a movie called Eva. I'm pretty sure it's 3D animation, but the lighting is superb! You can also see faces and people reflected in some of the 'glass.' I imagined that the artists were put to the task of making memory visual.