IndieGoGo Checks Contributors' Perk - Original Art

Hello Generous Check Contributors...
Similar to my previous post for the Stripes contributors I am posting 40 pieces of original art for you to chose from. Have a gander and email me the image number and I will send you your framed choice. Art ranges from very early sketches to final storyboard images. Because of wide variety I have provided some info about size and medium. These are all one offs so art will go on a first come first serve basis. I will be updating this blog regularly to show which pieces are still available. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks again!


IMAGE ONE
Master Pattern - Charcoal
27cm(H) X 10cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN



IMAGE TWO
Orange Pattern - Oil Paint on Canvas Paper
16cm(H) X 18.5cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN



IMAGE THREE
Early Teapot Design - Pencil
12cm(H) X 16cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN




IMAGE FOUR
Early Creamer Design - Pencil
10cm(H) X 10.5cm(W)




IMAGE FIVE
Sketch Creamer One - Marker/Pastel
9cm(H) X 8cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN



IMAGE SIX
Sketch Creamer Two - Marker/Pastel
9cm(H) X 8cm(W)



IMAGE SEVEN
Sketch Creamer Three - Marker/Pastel
9cm(H) X 8cm(W)




IMAGE EIGHT
Sketch Creamer Four - Marker/Pastel
9cm(H) X 8cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN




IMAGE NINE
Single Oil Creamer - Oil
11cm(H) X 10.5cm(W)



IMAGE TEN
Single Mix Creamer Green - Mixed Media
10.5cm(H) X 11cm(W)



IMAGE ELEVEN
Single Mix Creamer Blue - Mixed Media
10.5cm(H) X 8.5cm(W)
THIS PIECE HAS BEEN TAKEN




IMAGE TWELVE
Single Pastel Creamer - Pastel
10.5cm(H) X 10cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN




IMAGE THIRTEEN
Single Heavy Oil Creamer - Oil
10.5cm(H) X 10cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN



IMAGE FOURTEEN
Ester looks at Mug - Coloured Pencil
10cm(H) X 5cm(W)




IMAGE FIFTEEN
Ester Snaps Fingers - Coloured Pencil
15cm(H) X 8cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN



IMAGE SIXTEEN
Ester Dances - Coloured Pencil
14cm(H) X 11cm(W)
THIS IMAGE IS TAKEN



IMAGE SEVENTEEN
Ester Pulls Hair - Coloured Pencil
10cm(H) X 7.5cm(W)



IMAGE EIGHTEEN
Ester's Aching Back - Coloured Pencil
11.5cm(H) X 7cm(W)



IMAGE NINETEEN
Ester Looks at Bum - Coloured Pencil
9cm(H) X 9.5cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN



IMAGE TWENTY
Ester Yawns - Coloured Pencil
10cm(H) X 12cm(W)



IMAGE TWENTY-ONE
Ester Sleeps - Coloured Pencil
6cm(H) X 7cm(W)
THIS IMAGE IS TAKEN



IMAGE TWENTY-TWO
Ester Grabs - Coloured Pencil
5.5cm(H) X 15.5cm(W)



IMAGE TWENTY-THREE
Ceiling Bulb Crashes - Pencil
10cm(H) X 27.5cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN



IMAGE TWENTY-FOUR
Ester Surrounded - Pencil
16cm(H) X 19cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN



IMAGE TWENTY-FIVE
Angry Cloud Ester - Pencil
10cm(H) X 13cm(W)



IMAGE TWENTY-SIX
Early Shelf Design - Pencil
16cm(H) X 13.5cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN



IMAGE TWENTY-SEVEN
Shelves Closing In - Pencil
11cm(H) X 28cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN




IMAGE TWENTY-EIGHT
Greenland Ester - Pencil
11.5cm(H) X 14cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN



IMAGE TWENTY-NINE
Happy Ester Alone - Pencil
9.5cm(H) X 13.5cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN



IMAGE THIRTY
Quiet Ester Painting - Pencil
10cm(H) X 9cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN



IMAGE THIRTY-ONE
Slowing Down Ester - Pencil
9.5cm(H) X 26.5cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN



IMAGE THIRTY-TWO
Frazzled Ester Painting - Pencil
9cm(H) X 11cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN




IMAGE THIRTY-THREE
Happy Ester in the Wind - Pencil
11.5cm(H) X 27cm(W)
THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN



IMAGE THIRTY-FOUR
Skeptical Joy - Pencil
10cm(H) X 7cm(W)



IMAGE THIRTY-FIVE
Ester Drinking Coffee - Pencil
10cm(H) X 7cm(W)





IMAGE THIRTY-SIX
Joy in Tub - Pencil
10cm(H) X 7cm(W)




IMAGE THIRTY-SEVEN
Ester with Sketchbook - Pencil
10cm(H) X 7cm(W)



IMAGE THIRTY-EIGHT
Bismarck Relaxing - Pencil
10cm(H) X 7cm(W)



IMAGE THIRTY-NINE
Bismarck in Chair - Pencil
10cm(H) X 7cm(W)



IMAGE FORTY
Ester Freaked
10cm(H) X 7cm(W)

IndieGoGo Stripes Contributors' Perk - Digital Stills

So I am sure most people know by now that the Creamers IndieGoGo crowdsourcing campaign was a complete success - in fact I made $665 over my desired goal of $8000! This was totally unexpected and I am still flabberghasted by everyone's generosity. So now comes the give back portion of the campaign. Below are digital art samples for the Stripes category contributors to chose from. You will know who you are - please send me an email and tell me which image number you would like. Each image will come to you as a framed hi- resolution print. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks again lovely peeps...


IMAGE ONE - Joy Interrupts Ester's Fantasy
Early colouring still - combo of a vector line and scanned pastel drawing
Framed Image Size : 17cm(H) X 22cm(W)



IMAGE TWO - Joy Interrupts Ester's Fantasy
Early digital colouring still - combo of a vector line and digital blob brush
Framed Image Size : 17cm(H) X 22cm(W)



IMAGE THREE - Ester Fixes a Painting Mistake
Final 'look' digital colour - TV Paint oil paint brush
Framed Image Size : 17cm(H) X 22cm(W)



IMAGE FOUR - Ester's Greenland Fantasy is Broken
Final 'look' digital colour - TV Paint oil paint brush and Particle Illusion snow
Framed Image Size : 17cm(H) X 22cm(W)

The GoGo Factor

I am going to digress from my ‘making of - work in progress’ game plan I had for my blog posts and talk about the Creamers campaign I launched 20 days ago on IndieGoGo. When I asked a producer friend of mine for funding ideas for my ridiculously labour intensive film that would never reap any financial return she suggested asking rich people or try crowd sourcing. I did have Matt Damon on my rich people list for some unknown reason but I had never heard of crowd sourcing. Then another friend sent me a link to KickStarter and a whole new world opened up. Whether it’s the product of the extreme ill health of arts funding or born of the ingenuity of those who think online, both IndieGoGo and KickStarter are great resources for the likes of independent artists. It did force me to go in front of the camera which was kind of excruciating but at least it meant a day up in the mountains running around like a yeti. Expanding my online presence also lead me to submit an artist profile on The Proof part of the Vancouver is Awesome website.


I would never have predicted the many generous donations and supportive comments I have received since launching my campaign. The motivational factor alone has been huge. Which brings me to the purpose of this post and why I am spending yet more time talking about animation instead of doing it. I am trying to increase my GoGoFactor – the elusive barometer set by the GoGo people to help me scrounge my way to the top of the 20,000 project pile and maybe into their featured page or blog. I was up in the first 4 pages of 'New This Month' but seem to have lost ground. I need to (apparently) spam widgets around here is one now



So if you are reading this blog and would like to help my GoGo Factor please click on the widget or spread the word like this



If I can make it higher up the IndieGoGo food chain I may bump into one of those elusive ‘rich people’ who might just might fund a stranger's labour of love...

Character Design and The Why of Turnarounds

Animators love to watch things turnaround. When I was working in video games I loved getting ‘animation reels’ that were no more than a semi-naked disproportionately muscled he-person endlessly twirling. Even though I thought it was cheeky that any one should consider these 360s to be animation, turnarounds do serve an important purpose. They are the ultimate test drive for your character. When I started to create turnarounds for my own characters an animator friend of mine asked me why I was bothering. You designed them you know them don’t you? Well the answer to that question was no - the quick character sketches I did for my storyboards weren’t necessarily going to translate into an animatible character. I had no idea if my character could move in perspective and because she had no construction I couldn’t start animating until I had the blueprint to draw her accurately and consistently from different angles.






What those he-beast animation reels usually revealed was how badly the character had been designed. Details that look cool from one angle and ridiculous from others. And speaking of details there are usually waaaay too many of them. Who wants to draw them over and over again? Even in 3D if you take the time to model them but they don’t have their own movement then they stand out like dead appendages so that all we see is the flappy dangly bits that don’t flap or dangle. So, suffice to say I did want to keep things simple and I am partial to characters that have dots for eyes.



Joe the Egg from Mister Toast

Can’t get any better than the evil Penguin in The Wrong Trousers. Who needs a gazillion pupils to give a character expression?


The range within character design is like all things in animation is infinite. From the very simple to the not so simple. I worked on a straight to video Beauty and the Beast Christmas something or other years ago and one thing I do remember apart from the phone book sized NDA was the model sheet for Belle. Her face had been broken down with amazing geometric detail.


Having just worked on a NFB film where I was asked to animate a realistic version of Molly Parker


I realized how quickly she could go from innocent PYT to hardened hooker with just the micro slip of the pencil. So I had a new deep admiration for people who design and animate semi realistic female characters. This is why the Belle facial road map makes sense even though it looks completely over the top. Anyway like my previous postings there is always a disconnect between my beliefs and my abilities. My first turnaround for Bismarck was pretty bad and he looked like a beach ball Blofeld.


Ester really had no bum at all –as she had spent most of her time seated behind her desk in the storyboard it had been easy to ignore her lower half.


Joy is just a big bell which is fine when she is up right but I still haven’t decided how much the bell will move or more importantly whether she will have anything underneath the bell when she is hanging out in downward dog in Sequence 4.


Knowing Joy, I imagine her to be wearing the regulation ’bloomers’ underneath her bell.


Yes bloomers – and no I am not in my sixties but I did go to an Anglican private school for delinquent girls and we had to wear these puppies as part of our lovely gym strip. I am not sure why but I imagine Joy to be the kind of girl/women who might still harbor the leftovers of her school uniform. Anyway that was a bit of a tangent – but I just couldn’t resist writing (and googling)the word bloomers. So I will leave you with some endless twirling. Like the creamers before them the characters have gone through a lot of trials before arriving at their final destination.

CREAMERS - Early Character Tests from Hilary Moses on Vimeo.

CREAMERS - Ester Final Colour from Hilary Moses on Vimeo.

CREAMERS - Joy Final Colour from Hilary Moses on Vimeo.