Beach life

I’ve been working on this short film on and off for AGES now and finally took the time to focus and get it finished. I realised that I was procrastinating, swerving off to follow other shiny ideas and generally doing the artist thing of being afraid to put myself out there, creatively. The fact is, I really enjoy telling stories and animating, it’s just I’ve kind of censored myself over the past decade. I think this is due to a number of reasons, but the commercial side of appearing perfect to fit into the next studio role is one of them. It’s hammered into you as a student and seems to be the dominating factor when producing something that is very personal.

I definitely chose a more commercially viable route when I left university and picked projects. This is not to say I didn’t enjoy the work I found from this kind of pursuit, I did! But if you’re not careful, you forget what it is YOU actually like to draw/make/do. This project was part learning curve and part ‘break the rust off the gears’ and start telling stories again. Although at points I felt like quitting as I didn’t like the story, felt the animation wasn’t up to scratch, designs were rubbish, etc (insert endless list of self depreciating thoughts here!) I reached the finish line and feel GREAT that I stuck with it. Having a film festival submission as a deadline and working with a composer for original music were good tricks that helped keep the momentum and drive the finished touches over the line and this side of the decade 😉 It’s only a short film, but it’s amazing how these things can get put on a back burner for years and yet you always feel ‘busy’.

A little GIF snippet from the film, when all seems to be going swimmingly for one character.

I have to say a massive THANK YOU to my new fiancée (we are engaged as of 3 days ago!) for her continued support and guidance. She often saw clarity when I was considering my life choices and made some BRILLIANT creative calls when I just couldn’t choose. Thank you Josie x

The film will be out very soon! Just a couple of days 🙂

Buzzing Bee Garden

Here’s a fun bit of watercolour sketchbook doodling that became the plan for a 2D animated multi-plane scene. I created an enhanced version for my new course one animating in Toon Boom Harmony, covering 3D space, 2D animation loops, cameras and special effects. I love English summertime and watching a bee hum through the rich garden scene is one of my favourite kind of moments 🙂 So I thought I’d have a go at re-creating something similar in the famed 2D animation software.

The watercolour was REALLY great fun to do…lots of just noodling about with shapes, composition and ideas from memories of my relatives’ gardens last summer. So here it is! I’ll post an update of the animated version when the course is underway at the end of February 😉

And a word on the Toon Boom Trainer courses. The first course for 2019: Animation in Toon Boom Harmony has completely sold out! I’m very happy to see every place filled and excited to train up all this potential bunch of Toon Boomers! There’s so much you can do in the software and it’s improving all the time. An awesome creative evolution is underway!

Black ink sketch with watercolour over the top. Some exaggerated colour choices 😀

Snow storm animation

Here’s a sample of a snow storm animation I’ve put together in Toon Boom Harmony. I’m using particle effects so it’s all composited in the software. It’s a simple scene and there is A LOT you can do with the node library and effects modules. There’s many I’d like to explore to their full potential…see what they can do! Toon Boom is crying out for a special effects and compositing book or guide (hint hint watch this space). For now, enjoy the snow gif. It’s funny creating these when it is ACTUALLY snowing outside 😛

Fabulous life drawing

Last week I attended my local life drawing class held by the good folks at Stretford Arts Collective. I hadn’t been for a while and was ready to skulk it out in the corner, hiding my drawings when Lisa (the lady who runs the class) announced something special. A new model with what can only be described as a fabulous array of outfits and some sassy poses to boot 😉

It definitely helped me get back into the flow of drawing again, although the real triumph was the array of work produced by the other attendees. So much colour and fun on the pages! Take a look below. I do love it when a life class wakes you up to just how interesting people can be when you study them for a bit. Can’t wait for the next class so I can crack out a bit more colour!

New year, new animation course

At January 24, 2019
By Adam
In animation, business, Training, videos
0

It’s finally out into the wild…my brand new online course Animation in Toon Boom Harmony 16 is open for sign ups!

Many, many hours of planning, research and preparation have gone into this, so I hope it’s useful to lots of people. It will be run through my online training business, Toon Boom Trainer and takes place over 5 weeks, part time.

It’s packed with all the great features of the previous courses: HD video lessons, easy-to-follow exercises, handy worksheets, 7 day a week support and our one-to-one, live tutorials. And the killer feature? A FREE copy of Toon Boom Harmony Premium for every participant!

Here’s a short video explaining all, filmed and edited by yours truly whilst trying to keep warm in this chilly English winter! If anyone is looking to improve their character animation skills whilst learning this fantastic software package, or even just want to read more (full curriculum on the website), head to toonboomtrainer.com

Birds of Mauritius

When we were over on Reunion Island there was time for a short trip to the Mauritius. It’s an AMAZING island with beautiful scenery, delicious food and very kind people. There was only one downside to our trip and it was that we were robbed on the way to the airport, losing all our possessions (including passports, camera, sketchbooks, phone, etc)…they just left our suitcase as they obviously couldn’t carry that! But even though it was a tricky few days following and not the cheapest trip after all the extra costs, we were so thankful for the people who helped us and made the experience more of an enlightenment than one massive downer.

I did this sketch when trying out the software Krita. It’s really decent and FREE! It was completed after the trip, so it’s probably a little flatter on the ‘life’ side of things (I always think an on location sketch has a bit more ‘oomph’ than something from a picture) but alas the sketchbook from that day was nicked! I hope the perps have had a good read of it and it’s inspired them to take up drawing themselves 😛 Maybe not hey.

A pair of Red-whiskered Bulbuls sitting on a fence

Wintery sunsets

Since I’ve arrived back in England the effect of winter is even more stark now. No more tropical steamy vegetation and blazing sun! But I do love the variation of the winter days. Sometimes it’s a grey cloud blanket, almost like the world doesn’t get out of bed for the day! Other times there’s a crispness to the air that makes you feel every minute of the precious sunshine.o

Here’s a sketch I made one winter morning looking towards some distant hills. I remember the colour of the sun being a kind of gold you only hear about in pirate stories! Last week we visited Anglesey in Wales and that was a different atmosphere all together.

I think the changing seasons is one of the things I enjoy most from an artist and observers point of view. The planet is so alive you guys! 😀 Even when it’s raining…

Happy holidays!

It’s that time of year again when many people are seeing family, taking in some downtime and generally reflecting on the year just gone. I’m back in my home county of Nottinghamshire for Christmas, catching up with my family. My brother is even over from Philadelphia in the US! So my mum is super happy of course 🙂

I’ve been away working on Réunion island (more on that later!) so it’s good to be back in the UK for a change. No snow here but see the seasonal snowman in the picture is my contribution to the festive vibe 🙂

I’ve got some plans for the new year regarding animation and training, so I’ll post updates as things progress. Enjoy the downtime everyone!

British Summer

It’s been a LOVELY British summer this year (and we’re not even finished yet!) Lots of sunshine, blue skies and the occasional downpour to ward off the hosepipe bans. One of my main aims with drawing a scene is to try and capture it so that I can look later and feel like I’m there again. Some artists do this so well and evoke a feeling of the weather and atmosphere like it was a snapshot in time. No such luck for me! But I paint quick watercolours like the ones below. The positive side of this is that I sketch more than I would if everything took much longer. Plus, I use it as a memory-jogging tool, and it seems to work! Here are a few pictures from my sketchbook during the summer months (and fingers crossed for another great British summer next year!)

Hot, sweaty Chester. It was spitting with rain at one point and felt like a warm shower, very strange! Here’s the vegetation across the river as my sketchbook page began to get a little damp.

I do love a bit of Mexican food! My mum and I went whilst down in London. Here’s a super speedy sketch I made whilst waiting for hers to arrive. Note the big old Mezcal bottle now used for drinking water in the background!

One of my favourite watercolour sketches I’ve done, just because it was super fast and really nailed the colours of the day. It’s got that early summer feel with a little burnt out grass in the foreground, showing how hot it was! And some bonus sketches from a clothes shop, made whilst waiting for Josie to try on clothes 🙂

Rainbow card

A watercolour illustration to M6 theatre

Hey hey! Here’s a mid-week watercolour illustration for you.

My girlfriend, Josie (@josiecerise) recently toured with M6 theatre for a cute children’s show ‘Whatever the weather’. It was a lovely play for the real little kids, with no real dialogue and lots of great imagery. At the end of the tour I made them a card in my fave medium, watercolours! So here it is for all to see. I do a lot of watercolour cards for birthdays, gifts, etc and they’re fun 🙂

P.S Josie wants me to mention she is small but not THIS small 😉