Category archives: Animation

Crowdsourcing Creativity for Inspirational Marketers, Tortured Artists & Researchers

Written by on Oct. 17, 2012 in Advertising , Animation, Brands, Concept Art, Digital Art, Graphic-design, Illustration, Marketing, Movies, Photography, Portfolio, Product Design, Technology, Tips and Tricks.

Image by Paul Roget

How often do you find yourself seeking inspiration from crowdsourcing?

If you haven't heard, crowdsourcing is happening all over the web. It's the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent and outsourcing it to a 'crowd,' usually an undefined, large group of people in the form of an open call. Using the Internet's vast reach has become the gateway for crowdsourcing.

It's easy enough on Twitter to crowdsource ideas. Get a group of followers to use a common hashtag and seek out ideas for anything you're working ...

Creating a Digital Photography Workflow That Protects Your Work

Written by on Sept. 25, 2012 in Ads, Advertising , Alternative, Animation, Architecture, Art History, Art Installation, Art Installments, Art school.

Whether you take photographs professionally or you simply take pictures as a hobby, editing digital photographs can become tedious and time consuming. In order to help you manage the task better and finish editing your photos quicker, consider developing a digital workflow plan. This article will provide you with a step-by-step guide to edit and store your photographs, allowing you to move through the process easier and quicker.

Steps To An Efficient Digital Workflow

Begin by copying, renaming and backing up your photographs. Creating a backup is a critical first step in your digital workflow. Consider getting a software program ...

Turning Your Graphic Design Hobby Into A Career

Written by JamesJones on July 19, 2012 in Advertising , Animation, Art Shows, Digital Art, Illustration, Interior Design, Photography, Portfolio, Product Design, School, Tips and Tricks, Typography.

Do you enjoy using your creativity to come up with unique designs? If so, you might want to consider turning your hobby into a successful career. This can be accomplished by enrolling in one of dozens of amazing graduate programs for graphic design. Under the instruction of talented and knowledgeable professors, you will learn how to create an impressive portfolio and land amazing clients.

If you are considering a career in graphic design, you may currently be at a loss for how to get started. It's a large field and choosing a direction can be tough. The following suggestions ...

Featured Artist: Pete Harrison

Written by on May 31, 2012 in Ads, Advertising , Animation, Brands, Concept Art, Digital Art, Fashion, Featured Artist , FF Members, Fine Art, Gaming, Graphic-design, Illustration, Motion Graphics, Photography, Portfolio, Typography.

Today we feature Pete Harrison and his work. Take a break, pour yourself an espresso, top off your coffee, crack open another Red Bull or break out the china and sip on high tea... & let's see what Pete has to say to all y'all (just saw the Hatfields and McCoys)

Enjoy!

FF: How would you describe your art and design style?

Pete: My design style I guess at the moment you could say it was photo manipulation with lighting effects, I use similar elements and the way I work that now people recognise a piece and can put ...

Featured Artist: Alessandro Baldasseroni

Written by on April 27, 2012 in Animation, Digital Art, Featured Artist .

FF: Would you introduce yourself to our readers and tell us how got involved with 3D/Illustration and character design?

Alessandro: My name is Alessandro Baldasseroni and I'm currently working as lead character artist at Blur Studios in Los Angeles. I started to do 3D more than 10 years ago, but my professional involvement with characters coincided with my work at Blur in 2007. Before that I was 3D modeling for a small game developer in Milan, mainly working on environments and occasionally some vehicles and props.

At that time I was spending a lot of my spare time ...

Featured Artist:Fede Ponce

Written by on Feb. 13, 2012 in Advertising , Animation, Art school, Concept Art, Digital Art, FF Members, Illustration, Motion Graphics, Technology, Vimeo.

Fede Ponce is a 2D-3D artist from California, hailing from Mexico via Canada with scholastic roots from Pasadena's Art Center. His work came to our attention and we had the opportunity of asking him some questions. Take a look at his latest montage of work and what he had to say when we spoke with him.

Click here to see the breakdown.

When someone asks you what do you do, what is your "canned" answer?

A: It's tough to pinpoint what I do, and even harder to describe it exactly because of the nature of the work. It ...

SPARK! Issue #10

Written by on Dec. 2, 2011 in Animation, Digital Art, Illustration, Movies.

Who's your favorite character of all time... which version.. by what artist? I know mine: Bob Kane's Batman by Alex Ross. I like to think of Alex's style as the best of both worlds, it's 2D that looks like it was rendered in 3D. This week I've pulled a few characters from both the pop-culture and the obscure pile. Share yours with us by posting it below.

1. The Batman (rough sketch phase) by Alex Ross

2. Gollum by WETA Digital

instantShift - Amazing Character Designs

3. Bettie Page by Bambinomonkey

4. Octo-Owl by 64Colors

5. Belly Dancer by Carlos ...

Industrial SPARK!

Written by on Nov. 11, 2011 in Ads, Advertising , Alternative, Animation, Architecture.

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Thanks to Staples, and a half dozen other mega-stores, that song will always remind me of holiday shopping. And when I think of shopping for gifts, be it for loved ones, office mates or myself (insert smile here) I think of all the wonderfully unique products I have seen my fellow designers create. Some of the more creative contrivances unfortunately are not for sale :( as was the case with Design Inc.'s dumbbell sports bottle and Andrew Kim's green designs.

So with credit card in hand (I'm getting those ...

Around the World in 10 Ads

Written by on Sept. 20, 2011 in Ads, Advertising , Animation, Brands, Illustration, Marketing, Motion Graphics, Poster Art, YouTube.

Here in the states we seldom get exposed to the cornucopia of persuasive creative that daily tries to convince people like you and me in other countries to buy, sell, consume, entertain, drink, lie to our girlfriends (this usually goes hand in hand with the drinking ads,) drive faster, loose weight, live healthier or trade stock. Yes, the elements are all the same, but the delivery is usually a little different. Let's see what these modern day "Mad Men" are dishing out these days to our global friends using photography, video, animation, & 3D.

1) China: Bailing Fast Onset Cough ...