birthday.

Happy one years old, Ruin of the Beast. You've done well.

You landed the Zune job, you were accepted into the Society of Illustrators, and you were featured on various websites.

On this day, one year ago, you were the sixty-seventh most linked to video on all of YouTube.

Seventh most linked to in music.

In other words:

The enigmatic intro pulses beautifully with the music drawing the viewer into, not only the scene, but the sense of tangible wonderment that the song creates. The journey then proceeds with a well-balanced mix of demonstration of the lyrics, conceptual imagery, static-but-striking screen shots, and innovative motion. This is animation taken to a new sophisticated primitivism that miraculously manages to escape the common sentence of "pretentiously unpretentious."

- Julie K A


FINAL MUSIC VIDEO

update:

I am ridiculously pleased to tell you all that on Tuesday we got a letter from New York. What was in it? Inside the envelope was paper. Nice paper. Paper with words on it telling us we were accepted in the Society of Illustrators annual. That was very nice paper.

I got two pieces in, Grimble Crossing the Alps, and the animated music video, The Ruin of the Beast.

Grimble Crossing the Alps
from Jack & Inar, pub. date 2008

____________________________________

DVD cover

I haven't ever entered Sequential before, mostly because (as one might imagine) I haven't had anything to show. I also hadn't ever noticed that they accept animation entries. So, edited down to 2 minutes, The Ruin of the Beast has been submitted for cosideration.

included inside the jewel case with the DVD:


I'm very pleased and honored to be included in this incredible volume of work. And it's the 50th edition. I'm sure there's something profound about that. I'm sure, but I have no idea what that profundity might be.

Again, like the last few posts before this I must thank those who stick through the lean times with this blog. Work has been an all consumming deal recently and until I meet an upcoming deadline things are going to be tight.

But! I am working off a shiny new 24 inch iMac at work so that's nice. I also have a new 2o inch iMac at home and, just yesterday, ordered a 23 inch Mac cinema display so I that I may wield dual-screen at home. Actually tri-screens because I've got an old eMac. The big white dinosaur. I can run this program called Teleport off my iMac and controll the eMac then dual-screen the heck out of it all and work on the cinema display.

One last thing, anyone remember Matthew's Begats? I'll be doing three book signings at the Holiday Fair at the Palmetto Expo Center tonight, Friday, and Saturday.

I'll be around in the evening. Also Justin and the author of Beowulf will be there signing copies of their fantasic book.

Enjoy.

society of illustrators annual 50

Update : For the record, I was accepted in two categories, Book and Sequential. Yeah!

Sent off my entries to The Society of Illustrators Annual today. For anyone who may not know, it is the most prestigious and recognized publication of illustration in the world. As such I haven't been accepted before. This year however, I believe I've got some solid entries.

I've entered three pieces, one in Uncommissoned, one in Book, and one in Sequential.

***Uncommisoned***Dandelion Embers

____________________________________

***Book***Grimble Crossing the Alps
from Jack & Inar, pub. date early 2008

____________________________________

***Sequential***


DVD cover

I haven't ever entered Sequential before, mostly because (as one might imagine) I haven't had anything to show. I also hadn't ever noticed that they accept animation entries. So, edited down to 2 minutes, The Ruin of the Beast has been submitted for cosideration.

included inside the jewel case with the DVD:

I'll make information concering these entries available as I find out-- which won't be for a while anyway.

Thankfully, S.I. let's you know if you've been accepted or not accepted so you're not wondering until you see the book.

Cheers.

Illustration Friday: "Signs"

Sign of the times? Maybe. Maybe not though.

Here is the animated music video Chris and I lovingly crafted. All in all it took around 3 months from intial concept to completion. Enjoy.

84, 11 [update]

updated numbers for today:

---------------------

The music video has garnered a distinction-- one of the most viewed videos in a day on YouTube. 84, out of, I don't know, a lot of videos on YouTube. In "Music" at least.

And one of the "Most Linked."

I think this is a distinction.

I'm glad.

FINAL MUSIC VIDEO

Here is the fruit of many hours of labor.

A work spanning 3 weeks of animation and several more weeks of development and the making of the artwork used.

Behold, YouTube, here it is.

Click below for the full four minute, twenty-some seconds music video:

more work on the music video [edit]

update ^


Work is drawing to a close on the music video for Steven Delopoulos.
Gunning to finish the Beast this afternoon/evening.

4:10 running time; I'm at 4:03.

Previous posts:
A post with many links/ info.
And more
More music video work
Semi-animation test

Gypsy Queen

Photoshop drawing with watercolor texture.

Illustration Friday: "Red"

A piece from the music video Chris and I working on. The video is going to be After Effects animated (sort of like Flash animation I suppose) I

It's for the song "The Beast" by musician Steven Delopoulos.
I think he's kind of famous.

I've chronicled some of the development for the video as well as a little test animation piece here:

and more [edit] post
more music video art post
first concept art post
early animation test post

enjoy!

early animation test

click above for the cool.

concept art

Pieces I'm working on for an animation test for a music video for the new album by this man.
I'll keep you posted.