Starting today through October 16th, 2010, the Society of Illustrators will exhibit “Blow Up” featuring Yuko Shimizu, Sam Weber, and Tomer Hanuka. Each artist comes from a distinct cultural background – Japan, Canada, and Israel, respectively. The show explores how their identities get “remixed” through meeting at an American crossroad.
Shimizu creates 3 new works specifically for the show (Blow Up No.0 and No.1 pictured above). She says, “I wanted to show my creative process. I normally create loose sketches first, blow up the sketch to the size I want to draw, cut the watercolor paper, very loosely trace the sketch onto the paper using light box, then spend long hours (sometimes days) drawing with a Japanese brush that is specifically designed to write sutra as part of Buddhist practice. I try to figure out the details of the images as I create to make the long drawing process interesting and refreshing.”
Hotel.com’s Augmented Reality website “Virtual Vacay” allows viewers to take a virtual tour across ten cities in America without ever having to leave home. Lead by Smart, the star character of the TV spots, users hold up the AR marker to their webcam to start the unique experience. The AR marker can be printed out on a normal printer, or accessed on a mobile phone.
Zerofractal worked with Young & Rubicam and Tool of North America. While Tool handled art direction and the website layout, Zerofractal developed the Flash website, animated Smart, created 3D assets, and integrated the Augmented Reality capability. The Zerofractal team spent hours of research creating the look and feel of the clay character Smart, modeling the landmarks of each city, working with AR, and developing using Papervision – the 3D engine of choice for Flash.
Am I Collective animated and directed a 30 second viral video for the Nike Sportswear Six Collection. Of the six countries in the “Bleed Your Colors” campaign, artists Am I Collective and Kronk represent the spirit of South Africa, the host nation of the 2010 World Cup. The Kronk x Nike sportswear collection launched in early May in stores stateside.
The video was filmed in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Am I Collective artist Chris Hewitt created the mascot that runs through the cities like a virus infecting the urban environment. The mascot changes colors throughout this journey, each color reflecting the mascot’s personality. Says Mark van Nierkerk of Am I Collective, “Black represents the darker competitive side of sport, yellow – speed and endurance and green – growth and development.”
KTV Media International works with the Brooklyn Brothers to create the new iPhone app “IamaDalek” for BBC America. The app converts any recorded message into the voice of a Dalek, a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the cult British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The new era of Dr. Who premieres Saturday at 9pm on BBC America. Originally created by Terry Nation, the grating voice of a Dalek is ingrained in many a heart of science fictions fans. Thanks to the “IamaDalek” app, now anyone can become their very own Dalek. The iPhone app is available for download at the iTunes app store for free.
Puma has designed a new mobile phone that markets itself as a “connected lifestyle device” with special functions for sports and lifestyle such as Puma Icon Messaging, Solarmeter (Solar Cell), Photo Sharing, GPS tracker, Bike Tracker, Run Tracker, Video Chat, Pedometer, Stopwatch, and Music Turntable. The handset also connects to the Puma online community and gives access to the Puma WORLD of news, applications, and games.
12f00t6 worked with design agency GBH to produce, animate, and direct a video that demonstrate all of the new features of the Puma mobile phone. The video appears online, in-store, and at exhibitions to promote the new phone. One half of the 12foot6 management team makes a special cameo in the video as a weatherman. Watch the video to learn all about the Puma Phone, as demonstrated by 12foot6’s entertaining animations.
Tatiana Arocha works with Centric TV to create vibrant and fun opening animations for Centric’s “5to9″ prime time hours. Arocha and Centric collaborated together to create an identity for their prime time block, making a series of IDs for each of their shows during the “5to9″ programming. Says collaborator Gary Encarcion, “The idea behind the look of ‘5to9′ was to create a sense of winding down, a changeover from day to night. We also wanted a strong connection to the main channel brand and the symbolism of the logo mark, that Tatiana kept intact while adding her own flair. From the start of the curtain raiser to any one of the show IDs, this package has proven to be a huge success. Its lush color palette and playful animation help bring a distinct, yet organic, look to a relatively young channel.”
In honor of Black History Month, Target recently launched its “Dare, Dream, Do” campaign. The print, web, broadcast, and interactive campaign tells the inspiring stories of Malaak Compton-Rock, Marc Morial, Marcus Samuelsson, and Steve Stoute. The banner ads and video interviews are a blend of 2d and 3d, Digital Kitchen seamlessly mixes live video with Sarah J. Coleman’s intricate hand-drawn illustrations.
FriendsWithYou has been very busy bringing magic to life. They paired up with US Sydney to produce the latest animated spot for Match.com. It’s never too late to find your match! “Better Together” tells the animated tale of a pea and a carrot destined to find one another. From strawberries and cream, fork and knife, to rabbit and hat, watch beloved duos connect in Friends With You’s delightful universe.
2009 is coming to a close and we would like to thank all of our talent, clients, agents, and friends for a wonderful year. A blog was started (which became our homepage), new artists were signed on, and lots of cool projects were carried out. We leave you with this animated video and wish you happy holidays and a happy new year!
Launched in 2004, Tory Burch is a lifestyle brand with classic American sensibilities. In just five years the brand has grown in popularity to fast recognition, with many women sporting the Tory Burch medallion on their ballerina flats, totes, clothes, and more. Shoppers who visit the Tory Burch website will be greeted by a special homepage featuring the work of Andrew Bannecker as animated by KTV Media.
The cheery animation is a first by Andrew Bannecker, who hopes to do more animations in the future. Keep checking the Tory Burch website for new animations as the rest of the series unveils!
2009 has been a busy year for Tristan Eaton, founder of Thunderdog Studios. He’s traveled around the world for Dell Design Studio, launched the B-Bot iPhone application, been featured in Art for Obama, released Thundermutt 3.0, and created murals for the Ace Hotel. We caught up with Tristan again to discuss his latest project, the rebranding of the 2009 Soul Train Awards for Viacom’s new network, Centric. The comprehensive campaign includes logo design, a new train design, print and outdoor art, subway station takeovers, animation sequences, on-air graphics, and the Soul Train award itself. Interspectacular wrote, directed, and animated the pivotal opening sequence (shown above) and all transitional elements. Bernstein & Andriulli produced the entire show package.
With a television show as heavily embedded in America’s cultural history as Soul Train, all eyes were on Tristan and Thunderdog Studios to see where they would take the updated identity. Never one to shy away from high expectations, Tristan was honored to be chosen for the task. Working closely with other Viacom networks VH1 and BET, he sought to keep the funk and spirit of the original show while making it look sharp and modern for today.
KTV Media worked with Showtime Network for Dexter: Early Cuts, a series of webisodes that serve as a prequel to the wildly popular and multiple Emmy winning show Dexter. Dexter is a serial killer who works at as a blood splatter forensic officer at a police department with a very selective process of choosing his victims. The webisodes reach deep into Dexter lore and gives fans insight into three watershed killings that mark the beginnings of Dexter’s bloody career.
Mini Cooper celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Am I Collective worked with agency Blackriver FC on the “Through the Ages” campaign that features typographic elements creating the shape of the car. Each phrase represents a specific era in time.
After the print campaign Am I Collective suggested the idea of using its illustrations in an animation. Blackriver FC was quite keen and loved Am I Collective’s treatment, giving them the go-ahead and creative freedom to create a viral ad that matches the Mini Cooper’s playfulness and energy.
Storied Japanese anime studio and production house, Production IG, asked Rhythm and Hues to design the heroine for the new feature film Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror (original title: Hottarake no Shima – Haruka to Maho no Kagami). Production IG is best known for top anime films such as Blood, The Last Vampire and Ghost in the Shell. The feature film will air Fall 2009, shown exclusively on TV Tokyo in Japan.
Click here to view the trailer (Japanese language only).
A series of classic ‘game’ moments has been captured in 15 and 30 sec animated shorts. MasterCard PayPass was developed at McCann Erickson New York. Artwork designs and animation by Jeremyville. Watch the animated shorts here.
