Digital Arts Magazine - March 2008 - SHL Team

8/13/2019 Digital Arts Magazine - March 2008 - SHL Team

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welcome

EDITORIALEditor Lynn Wright [email protected]

Deputy editor Neil Bennett [email protected] editor Alice Ross [email protected] editor Johann Chan [email protected]

ADVERTISINGAdvertising manager Matthew Bennett [email protected]

Sales executive Ben Hakki [email protected] Digital Arts advertising on 020 7071 3682

MARKETINGCD editor Richard Clooke [email protected]

Group marketing manager Nikki Causer [email protected] manager Tom Drummond [email protected]

PRODUCTIONHead of production Richard Bailey [email protected]

Ad production assistant Matthew Lane [email protected]

PUBLISHINGPublishing director Mustafa Mustafa [email protected]

Managing director Kit Gould

CONTRIBUTORSSean Ashcroft, Michael Burns, Joanne Carter, Ed Ewing,

Simon Eccles, Alan Stafford, Craig Grannell, Martyn Williams

TYPEFACESNeutraliser, Neo Tech, Palatino , Titling Gothic

PRODUCTION SERVICES /DIGITAL STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY

Printed by St Ives (Roche) / Stock photography from Getty Images,plus additional images from Digital Vision

TECHNOLOGYApple G5 and Dell 670 workstations, Adobe Photoshop CS,

Adobe InDesign CS, QuarkXPress 7, Adobe Acrobat CS, iPod bed

SUBSCRIPTIONSCall the Subscription Hotline on 01858 438 867

13 issues for 49.99 (UK) 90 Europe, 120 Rest of World

BACK ISSUES

For back issues call 01858 438 867Back issues cost 5.99 each including p&p in the UK

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ADDRESS99 Grays Inn Road, London, WC1X 8TY

www.digitalartsonline.co.ukTel: 020 7071 3615, fax (ads): 020 7405 0262

WORLD LEADERS IN IT PUBLISHING

Lynn Wrighteditor

Digital ArtsThe worlds biggest creative design & technology magazine

Digital ArtsDigital Arts delivers authoritative creative advice that directly impacts on you as a designer. Digital Arts covers design,visual effects, video, interactive, 3D, and animation, and our tutorials are sourced from leading creative practitioners.Digital Arts is the leading reviews magazine, and reviews more creative products than any other UK monthly magazine.

WWW.DIGITALARTSONLINE.C

While not in the same leagueas nursing or teaching, designis considered by many to be a

vocational career. Designers choose to workin the creative industry for the love of simplybeing, well, creative, so the argument goes.

Things such as money, acclaim and careergrowth are often seen as incidental whendesigners start out the dessert to designsmain course.

Cold reality, though, is often disappointing.Boring, bread-&-butter work of corporatebrochures, identikit Web site creation, andendless Photoshop cutouts can quicklybecome the norm. Sure, they pay the billsand keep the wolf from your door, but is thatactually what you signed up for when youheard your creative calling? Our Live theCreative Dream feature on page 22 revealshow you can cast off the crushing elementsof design and work on projects that reignitethe creative spark and passion we all feelwhen working on something we love.

Of course, money is a necessary evil for

even the most carefree of designer, so thisissue weve also found out how you can getcreative funding for your work or newlyestablished creative studio. Find out howon page 32.

If youre still stuck for inspiration, thencheck out the latest creative offerings fromour readers on page 18. You can also followalong with our great tutorials starting onpage 44, covering some cracking Photoshop,Illustrator and After Effects techniques.

So, rediscover your passion for design,get your career back on track and you toocan live the creative dream.

This months cover illustration isby Vault49, www.vault49.com

WELCOME
http://www.vault49.com/http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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ON THIS MONTHS DIGITAL ARTS CD

FLIP ANIMATION FESTIVALOver an hour of the best animated shortfilms and installation artworks from the

recent West Midlands-based festival

Animation showcase

F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n s e e p a g e 8 0

Photoshop video tutorialsThree sessions from Talented Pixies new

advanced art-&-design training DVD set

18 high-resolution photosDigital Arts and Shutterstock have

teamed up to bring you 18 royalty-free

images that can be used up to A4Behind the Tales Of The Riverbank

A video on how the VFX were created

RealVue3D trialTry the new tool that enables you to see

how your print designs will really appear

in this issue

P44 PRODUCE PSYCHEDELIC ARTWITH DISTORTION IN PHOTOSHOPHow to layer and blend images to give a 60s feel

P22 LIVING THE DREAMBetween you and your perfect job are choices that youmust get right. We put you on the path to success

P34 TALES OF THE RIVERBANK Prime Focus London blended puppets with CG animationto bring the classic kids TV show into the 21st century

MASTERCLASS

contentsVISIT WWW.DIGITALARTSONLINE.CO.UK FOR ALL THE LATEST REVIEWS

P32 SHOW ME THE MONEYFunding is available from many sources to help expandyour business check out our guide to whats available

P40 SWEENEY TODD S BEGINNINGSAcclaimed title designer Richard Morrison details his workon the gory opening sequence to Tim Burtons musical

S U B S C R I B E !

Be in s p i red b y de s ign

s s u c h

a s t h i s e ve r y mon t h

and

lea rn ho w to c rea te t

hem b y

s u b s c r i b ing to D ig i ta l

A r t s . V i s i t

w w w.d ig i ta la r t son l in

e . co. u k/

s u b s c r i be to ta ke ad v

an tage

o f o u r s pe c ia l s u b s c r i p

t ion

o f fe r, in c l ud ing a f ree

de s ign boo k !

04 CONTENTS

T ut or ia l le s

on C D !
http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/


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P56 F FEI REALVUE3DP59 EPSON STYLUS PHOTO R1900P60 HP XW4600P61 CAD2 VISION D2X-SE

P61 ROCK PEGASUS 670P63 DXO LABS DXO OPTICS PRO 5P64 DATA ROBOTICS DROBO

REVIEWS

P48 CREATING CONVINCINGCHARACTERS IN ILLUSTRATORDesign better digital characters with mass appeal

P52 ADVANCED MOTION TRACKINGAND CLONING IN AFTER EFFECTSFilm-level techniques for matching CG to footage

P66 TESTED: 30-INCH LCD MONITORSWe put desktop-dominatingdisplays through their pacesto find the best 30-inchmonitor for designers, motiongraphics artists, illustratorsphotographers and editors.Find your next monitor here.

P06 NEWS & PRODUCTSThe very latest creative news and products

P15 STOCK This months new stock media collections

P18 SHOWCASEReaders show off their stunning work

P32 SHOW ME THE MONEYGet cash to help build your business

P34 TALES OF THE RIVERBANK The difficulties of creating CG marmalade

P38 BACK TO BASICSAxis goes old school for French pop promo

P41 SWEENEY TODD TITLES

Th1ng bring the gore to hit movies titles

P44 PSYCHEDELIC ART EFFECTSDistort and blend images for a trippy look

P48 CONVINCING CHARACTERSTips on bringing digital characters to life

P52 TRACK AND CLONEMatch CG to footage faster and better

P56 PRODUCT REVIEWSOur in-depth creative product testing

P68 GROUP TESTFive 30-inch monitors put head to-head

P75 BUYERS GUIDEThe last six months of reviews at a glance

P80 CD PAGESWhats on your free creative cover CD

P82 BLOGReaders letters and design musings

at a glance

COVER FEATUREP22 LIVING THE DREAMHow to plot the path to your perfect job

Digital ArtsBest Buy

CONTENTS


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Film production and cinema-going chalked up a good performance for 2007, but was no match for the bumperyear of 2006. But, warns UK Film Council CEO John Woodward, things may not be so rosy for the year ahead

The amount of moneyspent on making films inthe UK in 2007, including

Harry Potter and the Half BloodPrince , and Sweeney Todd totalled723 million, according to figuresreleased by the UK Film Council.

British cinema enjoyed a strongyear too, with 904 million takenat the box office, up eight per centon 2006. British films performedwell at the box office, accountingfor 28 per cent of takings, up from19 per cent in 2006.

Production spending in 2007totalled 722.9 million. That figurewas down on 2006s total of855 million, however, with thefall attributed to the weak dollar,the US writers strike, and newtax credits on co-productions.

Based on films with production budgets of more than 500,000,the figures cover the UK spend ofindigenous UK film production,inward investment productions,inward co-productions, and UKco-productions filmed in the UKand abroad using UK crew andexpertise.

The statistics show that the UK

was involved in the production of58 UK feature films (up from 54 in2006), 26 inward investment films

(28 in 2006) and 28 UK co-produc-tions (53 in 2006).

Inward investment frominternational filmmakers, suchas Hollywood studios locatingproductions in the UK, was down by 13.9 per cent but still brought

508 million into the economy.Inward investment films includedHarry Potter and the Half BloodPrince; Sweeney Todd; The DarkKnight ; and The Young Victoria starring Emily Blunt and RupertFriend. The highest grossing filmof 2007 was Harry Potter and theOrder of the Phoenix , taking 49million, followed by Pirates of theCaribbean: At Worlds End, with 40million.

A wider range of films provedpopular with film fans this year,

including The Lives of Others (2.68m), La Vie En Rose (1.58m),Tell No One (1.19m) and The Curseof the Golden Flower (1.16m).

John Woodward, CEO of theUK Film Council, said: 2007 wasa strong year for film productionin the UK and better than every-one was predicting this time lastyear. While the figures are slightly

down on 2006s spectacularperformance, we have to takeinto account that 2006 was anexceptional year.

The UK has yet again shownits strength by making both the bigger-budget commercial filmsalongside smaller, equally power-ful films that challenge and inspireaudiences and win awards all overthe world, he added. Weve been affected by the weak dollarand the bedding-down of thestructure of the new tax credit for

the different types of film beingproduced in the UK.

As a result, last year saw a

significant drop in co-productionactivity. Some of this was expectedgiven that the tax break is gearedtowards encouraging onlyshooting and post-productionin the UK. However, we will belooking at this in more detail aspart of a study the Governmenthas asked us to undertake withregard to the state of the industryfollowing the introduction of thenew tax credits.

2008 should prove to beanother strong year for UK filmsat the box office with the newBond, Harry Potter , BridesheadRevisited , The Other Boleyn Girl ,and How to Lose Friends andAlienate People all due for releaseover the next twelve months.

On the production front 2008is set to be a tougher year with theUS writers strike continuing tohave an impact and a possibleUS actors strike but, thanks to theskills and creativity of our film-making talent we are in a goodplace to ride it out, he added.

UK film production enjoys another strong year

newsVISIT WWW.DIGITALARTSONLINE.CO.UK FOR THE LATEST NEWS

0606 NEWS

On the production front 2008 is set to be atougher year but UK filmmakers have the

skills and creativity to ride it out
http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/


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The V&As spring exhibition, ChinaDesign Now , takes a look at the recentexplosion of new design in China,from the 2008 Olympic stadium tothe cutting-edge work by fashionand graphic designers. It will displaythe work of Chinese and internationaldesigners, focusing on architecture,fashion, youth culture and graphicsas well as film, photography, productand furniture design and digital media.The exhibition opens March 15 andruns until July 13, 2008.www.vam.ac.uk

Indian-backed VTR boosts its VFX capabilities with new acquisition in London market

VTR buys Machine Effects for 2mVTR (Prime Focus UK)has acquired visual-effects house Machine

Effects Limited for more than 2million. The acquisition furtherstrengthens VTRs position in the

UK visual-effects market andcontinues the internationalexpansion of VTRs parentcompany, Prime Focus Limited Indias largest post-productionand visual-effects services facility.

Founded by John Lockwoodand Steve Street, Machine EffectsLimited provides a full range ofservices to film and broadcast.Recent feature film credits includeFred Claus , Elizabeth: The GoldenAge and Harry Potter and thePrisoner of Azkaban. Both

Lockwood and Street will remainwith the business.

Namit Malhotra, chairmanof VTR and Prime Focus Group(pictured above), said: Thisacquisition adds to the groups

global breadth, strengtheningour visual-effects capabilitiesand helping to grow our offer.Machine Effects is a strong brandwith an impressive track record inthe industry and I am pleased that

it will be joining VTR and in turnpart of the growing group of com-panies in the Prime Focus Group.

With six facilities in India andnow five in London, the Indianpost-production giant made amove into the US and Canadalast November with the purchaseof Post Logic Studios and FranticFilms VFX. The move saw PrimeFocus acquire 200 new workersand offices at the heart of theUS filmmaking industry inHollywood.

Version2s Micah Scarpelli has createda cool spot for Smirnoff North, a newblend of vodka, that melds live actionwith CG and VFX. The spot shows asnowy paradise with glaciers, ice, andblue water thats suddenly transformedinto a cocktail glass full of the vodka.

To create the iceberg we used 3Dand live action; match-modelling it to ahigh-res image and then rendering asmany different layers, says Version2sKieran Walsh. For the ice that fallsaway from the berg, we projected liveaction onto the 3D geometry, he adds.The spray was generated with particlesin After Effects and l ive-action birdswere shot on bluescreen.www.version2.net

Canon has expanded its high-definition camcorder rangewith two flash memory-based models. The HF10 features anew dual flash-memory system, while the HF100 can shootdirectly to memory card.

Canon says that the HF models feature hard-diskdrives, extended recording times, and are more compactthan DVD camcorders. Canon says the camcorders providesuperb image quality, comparable with the standard setby HDV. The HF10 and HF100 models are the firstHD camcorders from Canon to record at1,920-x-1,080 resolution.

Canon says that flash-based memory is more power-efficient androbust than otherrecording media,resulting in

smaller, lighter HD camcorder designs. The HF10 and HF100weigh in at approximately 380g, says Canon.

Both camcorders record to standard SD or SDHC memorycards, and the HF10 has 16GB of internal memory. Usingthe internal flash memory and an optional 16GB SDHCcard it can store over 12 hours of HD footage. The models

feature a 12x optical zoom Canon HDVideo Lens with Super Range Optical

Image Stabilizer (OIS), and a3.3-megapixel sensor with aDIGIC DV II image processor.Prices are to be announced.

NEWS

Red Bee Medias new brand identity forBBC Three positions the channel as amultiplatform entertainment hub forthe young. The new look introduces avibrant world and characters alongsidea new logo, colour palette and graphicsystem. The brand has been created togive a seamless experience across TV,Internet and mobile platforms. NexusProductions produced and animatedsix idents, six stings, and three promoopeners, as well as supplyingadditional Web design.www.nexusproductions.com

Apple has released the MacBook Air, a laptop that the company isbilling the worlds thinnest small enough to fit inside an A4

envelope. Priced starting at 1,020 plus VAT, it sports asilvery finish, a 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen

display and an optional 64GB solid state diskdrive. MacBook Air comes with an 80GB drive,

as well as 2GB of RAM and a Core 2 Duo processor.www.apple.com/uk
http://www.apple.com/ukhttp://www.nexusproductions.com/http://www.version2.net/http://www.vam.ac.uk/


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OnOnes Liquid assetsOnOne is to create a Photoshop plug-inbased on a groundbreaking image-resizing technique. A free public beta ofLiquid Resize for both Windows and MacOS X is available now as a standaloneapplication from the onOne SoftwareWeb site. A Photoshop plug-in versionis slated for a summer release.www.ononesoftware.com

Sony adds to HD rangeSony has launched new high-definitionAVCHD HDD camcorder models. The

AVCHD HDD range supports up to 120GBof hard disk in the HDR-SR12E. Themodels also feature a 16Mbps full-HDpicture-quality mode, up to 10-megapixelresolution still-imagecapture, facedetectionand D-RangeOptimiserfor shooting,plus XtraFine LCDfor viewing.

The AVCHDDVD can archiveHD recordingsonto compact 8cm DVDdiscs and removable Memory Stick.

Recording time is extended to almostseven hours with dual layer disc and thenew 16GB Memory Stick. In addition, theUX19E (pictured) features Hybrid Plustechnology, which records another threehours to its 8GB internal memory.www.sony.com

Live text formatting and font-detecting tools lead features charge for graphics tool

CorelDraw X4 packs in featuresCorel has unveiled a newversion of its CorelDrawGraphics Suite. The X4

release includes over 50 new or

enhanced features, according tothe company. Heading the newfeature list is live text-formatting,which previews text options, suchas font, font size and alignment, before applying them to adocument.

The software now integrateswith WhatTheFont, a font findingservice from MyFonts.com. Itidentifies the font used in existing bitmap designs, artwork or otherimages received from clients.

Layers can now be controlledand edited independently foreach page of a document, andguidelines can be added forindividual pages and master

guidelines for an entire document.A new, interactive table tool

can create and import tables toprovide a structured layout for

text and graphics. Tables can be aligned, resized, and edited.

Corel says that the applicationis the only professional graphicspackage officially certified forWindows Vista. The softwareintegrates with the desktop searchcapabilities in Windows Vista,allowing files to be searched byauthor, subject, file type, date,keywords, or other file properties.Keywords, ratings or other notescan be added when saving files.

Corel has added a groupworkflow tool, dubbedConceptShare, that integratesan online collaboration tooldirectly into the design workflow.

ConceptShare shares designsand ideas with other users inreal time, says Corel.

The included Corel Photo-

Paint photo-editing softwaregains support for RAW camerafile formats, enabling users toimport RAW camera files directlyfrom their digital camera. Withsupport for around 300 differentcamera types and interactivecontrols that provide real-timepreviews, users can view fileproperties and camera settings,adjust image colour and tone,and improve image quality fromwithin Corel Photo-Paint X4and CorelDraw X4. CorelDrawGraphics Suite X4 costs 329plus VAT, 149 plus VAT for anupgrade from an earlier version.www.corel.co.uk

0808 NEWS

news

Asylum has created over 700 seamless VFX shotsfor Walt Disneys National Treasure: Book of Secrets using a multitude of techniques including photo-realCG, matte painting, compositing, and roto.

Framestore takes second bite of PrimevalHit ITV showPrimeval returns to UK TVthis month with a host of new prehistoriccreatures courtesy of Framestore CFC.

The VFX and animation studiosupplied seven new CG creatures seenin some 350 shots, as well as a further350 VFX and CG enhancements. Around100 people worked over a period of ninemonths to bring the bestiary to life.

For this series I wanted moreanimated faces, says VFX supervisorChristian Manz. For something like thesabre-tooth tiger viewers expect to seesomething with more mobile featuresand a greater range of expression.

Creature work was done in Maya,rendered in Mental Ray and compositedin Shake. www.framestore-cfc.com

GridIron goes with FlowGridIron Software has announced GridIronFlow, new digital content managementsoftware for graphic design, Web, andvideo projects. Flow tracks the designprocess from start to finish, and managesassets and applications. It automaticallytracks workflows by recording all Import/Export, Save/Save As, and Copy/Pasteactions in a project, says GridIron. Itunderstands file formats for the majorityof creative applications and maintains allrelationships between assets, says thecompany. Pricing has yet to be announced.www.gridironsoftware.com
http://www.gridironsoftware.com/http://www.framestore-cfc.com/http://www.corel.co.uk/http://myfonts.com/http://www.sony.com/http://www.ononesoftware.com/


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Canons new EOS 450Ddigital SLR features a 12.2-megapixel CMOS sensor,

EOS Integrated Cleaning System, a3.0-inch LCD with Live View modeand a new 9-point AF system.

Like Canons EOS-1 series ofcameras, the EOS 450D featuresa DIGIC III image processor anda redesigned menu system withfeatures such as direct control ofSpeedlite flash units from thecamera LCD. The EOS 450Dcaptures up to 3.5 frames per

second for a continuous burstof up to 53 large JPEG images.

Compact in size, the new SLRweighs less than 475g and features

an improved, more comfortablegrip, says Canon. A large, brightviewfinder makes imagecomposition clearer and the menusystem uses a simplified tabstructure that avoids scrolling.

The viewfinder displays keyexposure information includingISO speed and spot metering forgreater control over exposure intricky lighting conditions.

A new high-capacity batteryextends shooting time on a singlecharge to a maximum of 500 shots,

says Canon. The EOS 450D iscompatible with over 60 EF/EF-Slenses and all EX Series Speedliteflash units.

New SLR melds lightweight body with 12.2mp CMOS sensor

Canon debuts EOS 450D

Top British designer and art director, Neville Brodywill design this years D&AD Annual . Publishedin September, it showcases the work of leadingadvertising and design creatives selected bythe 300 judges of the D&AD Awards.www.dand.org

Post production house Concreteworked with Axis Films to create avideo for G4 front man, JonathanAnsells debut new single entitledNow we are free.

Directed by Stuart Gosling, thevideo was edited by Guy Morley,senior editor at Concrete withvisual effects added by David Cox.

The video was shot using theRed One digital cinema cameraand production took place atLondons historic Coronet Cinema.

The 4K and 2K files from the

camera were digitally developed by Concrete, who then providedstandard definition clips for theoffline process and full quality filesfor the final online and colourgrade, which took place within oneof Concretes Mistika HD suites.www.concretepost.co.uk

Concrete posts first Red One filmed video
mailto:[email protected]://www.sohnar.co.uk/http://www.concretepost.co.uk/http://www.dand.org/


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http://www.1and1.co.uk/


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15/84STOCK

stock VISIT WWW.DIGITALARTSONLINE.CO.UK FOR ALL THE LATEST STOCK COLLECTIONS

Through the lens of a fastfood nation Unhealthy snacking is the subject of thenew collection Junk Food from Image Source.The 100-image offering from photographerLeonard Pine is composed of artery-cloggingfavourites such as burgers, Chinese takeawayand English breakfasts all in such tight focusthat you can see the grease glisten. Thecomplete collection is 599.www.imagesource.com

Rising in the EastTheres no doubt about it: 2008 is Chinas

year. Corbis is celebrating this fact with itsnew collection, Chinese Up-and-Comers . Thecollection features 18 portraits of leadingactors, designers, directors and artists,including some of the countrys best-knowninternational stars. Subjects include actressesZhang Ziyi ( House of the Flying Daggers ;Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ) and MaggieCheung ( Hero ; Memoirs of a Geisha ), as wellas fashion designer Lu Kun, film directorRingo Lam and singer Louis Koo. If the names

arent familiar yet, they soon will be.www.corbis.com
http://www.imagesource.com/http://www.corbis.com/http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/


16/84016016 STOCK

Mammoth in motionHigh-density specialist Mammoth has

launched a dedicated library of 3D motiongraphic clips, including galleries ofwater patterns, the planet, andabstract forms. The clips arelooped for continuous play.www.mammothhd.com

stock

Up, up and awayArtbeats has released four new collections

of royalty-free, high-density footage, offeringan extensive choice of skyscapes shot atalmost every hour of the day. The collectionsinclude sunrises, sunsets, unusual cameraangles and birds-eye footage of America.Prices for HD collections start at $799(approximately 405).www.artbeats.com
http://www.artbeats.com/http://www.mammothhd.com/


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iStockphoto.com | Jazzy royalty-free stock images as low as $1
http://istockphoto.com/


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VISIT WWW.DIGITALARTSONLINE.CO.UK FOR THE LATEST CREATIVE CONTENT

The Digital Arts showcase offers you the chance to gain

valuable industry exposure so send in your work andget it seen by thousands of creative professionals andcompanies on the look out for creative talent.Send work to:

Showcase, Digital Arts magazine,99 Grays Inn Road, London, WC1X 8TY.e: [email protected]

I m p o r t a n t P l e as e s e n d w o r k o n C D , o r v i a e m ai l , t o t h e ad d r e s s o n t h e l e f t . I f y o u e n c l o s e an S AE , w e l l d o o u r

b e s t t o r e t u r n w o r k t o y o u . Al l s u b m i s s i o n s at t h e o w n e r s r i s k ,

an d ar e m ad e o n a n o n - e x c l u s i v e w o r l d w i d e l i c e n c e t o p u b l i s h

i n p r i n t an d i n e l e c t r o n i c m e d i a. C o p y r i g h t r e m ai n s y o u r s .

DAN MUMFORD

Dan Mumford is a freelance designer andillustrator represented by London agency Jelly.

His work includes screen-printed T-shirtdesigns for Drop Dead Clothing, and work forbands such as The Gallows, The Plight and"many, many bands and small labels".

He combines hand-drawn images withPhotoshop colouring, and has recently startedusing a graphics tablet. "I enjoy trying to makework as detailed as I can, to the point wherepeople are slightly confused how you did it,"he says. "I also like pens." e: [email protected]: www.dan-mumford.com

018 SHOWCASE
http://www.dan-mumford.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/


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Artist and designer RobertoMarras is from Sardinia, butstudied in London, and stilllives there. His vivid, intensecompositions are influencedby abstract expressionism and

surrealism; he creates them inPhotoshop.Although I am inspired by

what I see around me," he says,

"I question whether reality iswhat we see around ourselves orour interpretation of it.

Roberto works as an artdirector for marketing agencyMRM Worldwide, whose clients

include Sky, L'real and Intel. e: [email protected]: www.flickr.com/photos

ROBERTO MARRAS

SHOWCASE 019

BEN JAVENS

For Ben Javens, studying fine art at UCEBirmingham was an odd experience: hedeveloped a "love-hate relationship" withart that he says continues to inspire himand infect his work to this day.

It wasn't until he graduated, bought acomputer and joined Outcrowd Collectivethat he felt grounded in his work. He says:"It re-ignited my passion and forced me outof the creative void of graduation. Thecomputer gave me a totally new perspective." His work mixes analogue and digitaltechniques: "Most things are born out ofmaking marks on paper first and thenmanipulating them using Photoshop andIllustrator." Ben has exhibited both solo and as partof Outcrowd Collective, and has worked onseveral projects for record label Static Caravan. e: [email protected]: www.outcrowdcollective.com
http://www.outcrowdcollective.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.flickr.com/photosmailto:[email protected]


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showcase

VERONIQUE STOHRER

Veronique Stohrer is a freelance illustratorfrom Stuttgart, Germany, with a degree ingraphic design. This background in graphicdesign continues to have an impact on herillustrations. Her whimsical style blendsdrawing, sewing, collage and many othertechniques, as well as Photoshop, Freehandand InDesign.

"I am always led by my emotions," shesays. "The main idea is to connect traditionalmaterials with new forms of graphic andillustration. To combine what you wouldn'tcombine, to juxtapose materials, but withoutforcing them, and to communicate with colourand line."

Veronique finds inspiration almosteverywhere: "Old magazines, photography,nature, antiques, supermarkets, Asia, mygrandmother's attic, old porcelain..." One ofher biggest influences, she says, is herparents. "I got all my creativity from them." She is represented by the Jutta Fricheillustration agency, and her work has appearedin a variety of magazines and publications.

e: [email protected]: www.veronique-stohrer.com

020 SHOWCASE
http://www.veronique-stohrer.com/mailto:[email protected]


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Where, if not here?

Do you want to tread new paths and parade your

innovative concepts? To produce more quickly,

efficiently and economically? Or acquaint

yourself today with tomorrows trends and

technologies? Then you mustnt miss drupa

2008 under any circumstances! This is the

largest event in the world for the print media

industry, where you will find great solutions and

new special effects for effective print media.

Come and be inspired!

one world one drupa

Register. Benefit. Win.www.drupa.com/2190
http://www.drupa.com/2190


22/84022022 FEATUREFEATURE04022022 FEATURE


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words Sean Ashcroft illustration Vault49 Photography Michael Creagh at Vau

What are your goals? Are they within reach or light years away,and how can you make them happen? Digital Arts talks to leadingcreatives about how they got set for success.

We analyze, manage andplan almost every area of ourlives. Relationships, finances,

family and leisure time all receiveconsidered attention, yet one area iscuriously sometimes disastrously neglected. Work hogs two-thirds ofour time on Earth, so why do so manyof us drift from post to post, followinga crazy paving career path thats rarelyfulfilling, and frequently frustrating?

Since design is, in part, vocational,the student designer should have afar clearer notion of what he or shewould like the future to hold than, say,a history or philosophy undergraduate.The reality, however, is that designerscan drift aimlessly from first job tocarriage clock presentation as readilyas anyone else. Some may even drift tothe top, earning a pretty wedge as theygo, yet still remain creatively unfulfilled.Far more will hopscotch through theindustry, on a never-ending quest forcreative nirvana.

According to one theory, the secretto a happy career whether in designor anything else is to find your redthread: the thing that motivates you

above all else. The notion of designersfinding this motivating factor wasrecently examined in a Digital Arts blog(tinyurl.com/35oes3 ) by Huey Nhan, aproduction director at London-basedcreative agency Digital Outlook.

Nhan believes that the red threadcan be as broad as making things thatpeople love, or helping others achievetheir potential... A good creative wouldsurely have a bit of the former, and agood manager will always have a bit ofthe latter.

Whatever the exact characteristicsof a designers personal red thread,Nhan believes that the principle itselfis essential. The most passionate,successful and, ultimately, fulfilledpeople will stick steadfastly to theirpurpose, whatever they do.

This approach has helped PeterTennent achieve his creative goal.He runs Factory Design (www.factorydesign.co.uk ), a product designagency. My red thread is to run asuccessful design agency, and sustain itfor the next generation, while remainingrecognizable to my wife and childrenwhen I walk through the front door.

But of course, life is rarely simple,and what motivates us can shift overtime. US-based Mike Tunney, an artdirector with OgilvyOne (www.ogilvy.com ), a top interactive agency, says hisred thread has changed over the years.After college, I wanted to do the mostcreative work for the coolest clients, butover time Ive realized this isnt alwaysgoing to be the case. Since then, Ivetried to create work thats rewardingfor myself, but also equally rewardingfor my clients.

Helen Rice and Josh Nissenboimstarted their design studio Fuzzco(www.fuzzco.com ) in Charleston, US, in2005. The pair says their creative drivecomes from being playful and youngwhenever we are allowed, adding thatwe have a lot of interests outside ofdesign that influence our work and keepus engaged. Having confidence in thisprocess, they say, is what brings clarityof purpose.

Nailing precisely what is creativelysatisfying can be complex and, attimes, almost impossible. Im not sureIve found my red thread, but I knowIm getting there, reveals John McFaul

FEATURE
http://www.factorydesign.co.uk/http://www.factorydesign.co.uk/http://www.factorydesign.co.uk/http://www.factorydesign.co.uk/http://www.ogilvy.com/http://www.ogilvy.com/http://www.ogilvy.com/http://www.ogilvy.com/http://www.fuzzco.com/http://www.fuzzco.com/http://www.fuzzco.com/http://www.fuzzco.com/http://www.ogilvy.com/http://www.ogilvy.com/http://www.factorydesign.co.uk/http://www.factorydesign.co.uk/


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(www.mcfaul.net ), one of the UKs mostsought-after illustrators and designers.The reason f or believing this is thatIm not after a particular thing, but anunderstanding of my ability and myteams ability to constantly evolveas designers, down avenues notnecessarily open to us previously.We want to be challenged every day.We dont want an easy life.

However, seeking a life filled withchallenges is no easy task, he says.Its tough... the design industry is soblinkered.

For others, design cannot beseparated from other aspects of life,meaning that the creative red threadbecomes interwoven with other goalsand aspirations.

I no longer want to be a topbusinessperson by the age of 30,explains multi-disciplinary designerand artist Adriana de Barros ( www.breathewords.com ). I want to be

successful, to be the best designerand illustrator that I can be, but beinghappy is my number one priority, andthis means having a balance of otherelements in life, such as family, friends,love, hobbies, and travelling. I also wantto enjoy the small things in life.

While understanding what ispersonally fulfilling provides direction,is it necessary to have a clear plan onhow to put this into practice?

Not necessarily, believes McFaul.But it pays to be aspirational and toknow the industry, because only thencan you determine where you want togo. This was the biggest thing for me.Recognizing that the industry I wantedto be part of didnt hold everything Iwished for was eye-opening, to say theleast. Thats when my business startedto call the shots. Everyone needs someappreciation of what they have to offer.

De Barros believes that havinga clear sense of who you are is a

STUCK IN A DEAD-END JOB?

Few designers are fortunate enough to loveevery job they land, and some will end upin roles they actively dislike. How you copewhen faced with professional frustration andeven anger will affect your career.

When Peter Tennent ended up in a job that offered no room for progression,working with people I didnt like, on projectsthat gave nothing and took everything,he leapt at the first opportunity that camehis way. With hindsight, he admits it wasnot the best course of action. Rather thanhaving the patience to wait for somethingmore considered, I just wanted to get out.

As the manager of a copy centre foryears, Adriana de Barros also found herselftrapped and unhappy but she wasdetermined to take positives from thesituation. I used my frustration in a positiveway, creating new projects, Web sites, andpaintings.

For John McFaul, the first six years as anillustrator after graduating were hellish.You can be so typecast as an illustrator. Iwas doing the same job day in, day out. Iwas quick to utilize the computer back then.I suppose I got off my arse and learnt a thingor two not in order to get on, but becauseI wanted to get myself out of the tedium ofmy bland situation.

Some, though, do avoid downturns intheir career. Mike Tunney says advice fromhis first creative director to not keep a joblonger then two years has stood him in greatstead. He said jokingly hed fire me aftertwo years for my own benefit if I was stillthere. I quit after one-and-half-years for asmall, award-winning shop in Los Angeles.

Now Im getting older my priorities havechanged, and I dont jump around so much.But working in various places everythingfrom large agencies to small design shopsand even in-house positions has given meinvaluable experience.

right: Helen Rice and Josh Nissenboim founded Charleston-based studio Fuzzco, and have developed a hand-crafted, playful style for their illustrations, Web site designs andgraphic designs.
http://www.mcfaul.net/http://www.breathewords.com/http://www.breathewords.com/http://www.mcfaul.net/


25/84FEATURE

prerequisite to knowing what you

want. From there it will be easier toreach your goals. It is important to havedreams, but sometimes we dont knowhow to reach the end goal, until we takethe first steps.

Tunney emphasizes the need forplanning. If you dont have a plan, youllend up spending far too much time ina place that isnt benefiting you, yourcareer or your happiness.

Tennent is less sure. Theconsensus is to plan, but I know a lot

of people who plan madly and dontget anywhere, and a lot of successfulpeople who were just in the right placeat the right time. But I guess if I wasstarting out again I would have a betterplan it might have helped me getwhere I wanted to go faster.

However, he does believe that anyplan should be flexible. Make it a livingthing that changes with you, and dontstick to it too rigidly.

Fuzzcos Rice and Nissenboim agree

with this, adding that its importantto aim high. You have to constantlyredesign your plan as you go along, andpart of your goal should be somethingfar-reaching, and you must recognizethat this goal is possible.

Of course, putting a plan into practiceis a different matter. If you fail tomaintain career momentum its just amatter of time before you slip into acreative rut.

In retrospect, Tennent feels heshould have beenmore demandingwhen younger,with a greatersense of his ownworth. Havingbeen an employerfor the past decadeI now realize the

importance of keeping good people.Looking back, I should have beenmore bullish in my requests to pastemployers.

Tunney believes that self-assessmentis important, too. If you feel like yourenot getting what you need from aposition in terms of compensation, work,responsibilities or happiness, then thoseare all real reasons to start lookingelsewhere.

CASH VS. CREATIVITY: THE BALANCING ACT

Living the creative dream may not always be compatible with payingbills and mortgages and supporting a family. So is it possible to putones creative goals to one side for a time for, say, a higher salary, andstill go on to achieve what you want in your career?

Sure, says Mike Tunney. But you have to really understand whyyoud want to compromise yourself in the first place.

When Tunney found himself in a well-paid position with aninteractive firm, but unhappy with the work and clients, he took aposition that paid less but that involved much more responsibility.

It allowed me to be the person in charge, he says. It was a greatopportunity for me to grow creatively and get a better understandingof how a business is run. I knew Id never get another opportunity tobuild a global brand from the ground up, especially aged 27. The pay-cut was only temporary, but the experience has been life-changing.

Peter Tennent contends that it is always dangerous to take justany job. There must be a reason a few, hopefully why the job isright, he says. This may well be that it provides you with a steppingstone of experience, but anything fewer than a couple of years in a jobwill just look on your CV like something went wrong.

John McFaul insists that the choice of which jobs to take and whichto turn down depends entirely on who you are. There will alwaysbe a line not to cross. For me, there have been difficult decisions fromtime to time, and earnings lost at times when money was actuallyeverything. Were a lot more selective these days.

For de Barros, the wisdom of taking on a role for reasons otherthan job satisfaction depends on the job and the person. But, she says,you can end up working in another field to make ends meet until youcan pursue your dream job. She adds that this can be considered asacrifice to reach the next step in your life.

If you fail to maintain

career momentum youllslip into a creative rut

left: Over the past nine years, Mike Tunneys career has led him to clients as diverse as tattoostudios and pharmaceutical companies, taking in heavy hitters such as Levis, Sony andUniversal Studios on the way. He has provided graphic designs for skateboards, T-shirts,movie logos and Web sites. He is now an art director for Ogilvy One, and says that itsessential to both plan ahead and keep an open mind.


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27/84FEATURE

He advises designers to look in therear-view mirror at least twice a year, tosee if you are still on track for the goalsyou set when taking the position.

Pushing the creative envelope isMcFauls anti-rut protection policy.Constantly evolve. Push yourself. Keepfresh. Do what you believe is right.Dont follow the crowd they probablydont know where they are going. Makethem follow you. If you know yoursubject you should be able to directyourself. Your opinions and beliefs willguide you.

Few dreams creative or otherwise come true without hard work. Tennentconfirms that design is no career for thelazy. Its a time-based industry, so themore time you put in the more you getout. Effort versus reward in the creativeindustries does not match a career infinance, say, so there needs to be otherrewards than just money.

Ive worked as hard as I could to

make it to the next level at whatever job I was in, says Tunney. Im stillapplying the same principle. Ive missedout on some fun things because ofwork, but its been worth it. But therehas to be a balance between life andwork, else youll just burn out.

Not McFaul, whose creative dreamhas been built upon a 24/7 philosophy.

I try to learn something

new every year inorder to stay current

above, right and below: Adriana de Barrosruns Breathewords, adesign agency providingillustration, Web design, paintings and graphics.She believes that itsall too easy to lose perspective when chasingthe dream career, andtries to maintain afully-rounded life.

Above and below: PeterTennents product designagency, Factory Design, produces multi-awardwinning designs for clientsincluding Remington hair products and aircraftdesigners. He says thatits crucial to him thathis companys successis balanced by a happyhome life.

Thats how it has to be. But its whatwere happiest doing. Its not a job, this.Its life! We love it when we have internswho want to do what we doand crumble spectacularly on yet

another all-nighter.But he concedes that Tunney has apoint about striking a work-life balance.The past 15 years have put a hugestrain on my family, my friends and myhealth. Its hard.

All are agreed that part of that hardwork must involve education technical,professional, personal or otherwise.

Education has played an enormousrole for me, reveals McFaul. I was asenior lecturer in graphic design for eight

years, and it enabled me to finally findmyself and understand my capabilitiesand what was actually out there for me.

Education is very important,agrees Tunney. Self-education or moretraditional education whatever worksbest for you. I try to learn somethingnew every year in order to stay current.Its important to challenge yourself.

Its essential to learn and keeplearning, stresses Tennent. Education


28/84028028 FEATURE

Vault49

This New York-based design, illustration andphotography practice was founded in 2002 by

Jonathan Kenyon and John Glasgow, who met onthe London College of Printings graphic designcourse. In little more than five years the practicehas built up a stellar client list spanning globalbrands from Greenpeace to Honda, taking in Pepsi,Coca-Cola, MTV and the BBC on the way. Theirfashion collaboration with label Artful Dodger haspropelled their designs onto the shoulders ofKanye West and Ludacris, among other stars.

Their route to success has been enviablydirect; a fact that Jonathan Kenyon attributes totheir determination to please themselves first

and foremost. We achieved success by alwaysdesigning for ourselves first and not caring toomuch about what we thought would sell, hesaid. Whenever we find ourselves losing ourspark, we always seek to regain that same focuson designing for our own enjoyment first, and itcontinues to work for us.

They have applied this principle even tothe most fundamental aspects of running theirbusiness, such as where to base themselves.The move to New York was based on our personaldesire for a change in l ifestyle, and once again thedecisions we made for our own self-interest alwaysseem to be the best business decisions too. Whatmakes us happy makes our business successful.www.vault49.com

can be as simple as reading the paperand discovering a new fact or figure. It

is all about the gathering or gaining ofinformation and when this stops, othersgo past you.

Staying up-to-date is critical,explain Rice and Nissenboim. There arealways new trends, practices and piecesof software that change the game. Also,be aware of what is going on outside of

your industry as if to cross-train yourbrain.

And what about Lady Luck? Does sheplay any part in the realization of onescreative goals?

You need to make things happen tofind luck, says de Barros. However, noteverybody agrees.

The idea you have to make yourown luck is, frankly, bollocks, contendsTennent. How on earth can you dothat? Luck is unpredictable.

A good education, hard work andnetworking play more of a role in careerdevelopment, but a little luck never hurtanyone, concludes Tunney.

Be aware of whats goingon outside your industry

right: Despite claiming hes stillin the process of discoveringhis red thread, John McFaul runs thesuccessful illustration agency McFaul.Its clients include Virgin Atlantic, IBM,Orange, Nike, British Airways, Casio,Vodafone, Carhartt and Penguin. Hesays that his background in lecturingwas crucial to his development as adesigner.
http://www.vault49.com/


29/84

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32/84

words Sean Ashcroft illustration www.kapitza.com

If your design agency needs a cash injecti on to rea chthe next level, look for specialists in creative funding.

Growing a small or medium-sized business is tricky and

expensive, and design agenciesare no exception. Whether its a moveto bigger premises, hiring more staff oreven a second office in another city,design businesses are just as likelyas any enterprise to find themselvesneeding external funding.

Knowing where to start whenseeking funding is difficult, becausethere are so many options, only aminority of which will be suitable fordesign agencies.

Two of the most common sources offunding for businesses of any kind arebusiness angels and venture capitalists.Business angels are wealthy individualswho invest on their own, or as part ofa syndicate, in high-growth businesses.Venture capital, meanwhile, is a formof private equity typically provided byprofessional outside investors to growthbusinesses. This is usually a cash-for-shares deal.

For design agencies, business angelsare likely to be more appropriate atfirst, as the bulk of such financing is forpackages of between 50-250,000.

If further funding is required tofacilitate the next stage of growth(typically 2 million plus), this is morecommonly venture capital. With businessangels, your greatest chance of success

is to seek one who has experience inthe design sector, because as well as

money, they may well make their ownskills, experience and contacts availableto you. You can pay an intermediary tohelp investigate this option. For moreinformation about business angels, visitthe British Business Angels Association(www.bbaa.org.uk ).

Venture capital is highly selective;venture capital ists invest in fewer thanfive per cent of the opportunities theysee, and they see many. Your designagency must have potential for highgrowth, and have a management teamthat can achieve such growth.

Again, you can increase your chancesby using a reputable intermediary they will help to focus your efforts,and should know the preferences andcriteria of likely investors.

But most of all, remember venturecapitalists like facts and figures, notprojections, guesses and speculations.Include a SWOT (strength, weaknesses,

Show methe money

Business angels maymake their skills andcontacts available to you

opportunities and threats) analysis ofyour design agency in your proposal,

and dont pull any punches on theweaknesses and threats all businesseshave them, and venture capitalists willexpect you to know what they are sothat you can deal with them.

National and local governmentfunding is another option for designagencies. Many of the London-basedschemes require that you set up yourventure in, or relocate to, a so-calledObjective 2 area. These are areassuffering industrial decline, urbandeprivation, low economic activity andsocial exclusion. Borough councils arekeen to see start-ups and small- tomedium-sized businesses such as designagencies move to such areas.

Grants can be another source offunding, but before applying for one,first identify planned projects that mightqualify and, crucially, never take onunsuitable design projects just becausea grant is available.

You will also need to ensure thatyour design business has funds to investin the project itself, because typicallygrants cover only between 15-60 percent of the costs of any project.

Its worth remembering that anumber of the organizations featuredhere offer business training, some ofwhich is free.

032032 FEATURE
http://www.kapitza.com/http://www.bbaa.org.uk/http://www.bbaa.org.uk/http://www.kapitza.com/


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ArtsMatrixwww.artsmatrix.org.uk 0117 915 0190 ArtsMatrix is the s kills and enterprise developmentagency for creative practitioners in the South Westof England. It enables arts and creative industriesprofessionals to develop skills to make the most of theircareers. Its services include one-to-one professionaldevelopment planning, skills audits, sector-specificseminars, and training programmes.

The service is available to anyone workingprofessionally in the arts and creative industries inthe South West of England at any stage of their career.ArtsMatrix has also been selected to deliver the800,000 Skills Development Programme, underwhich hundreds of creative industries businesspeoplein south-west England will be given greater access tonew skills that will help them grow their businesses.

Business Eyewww.businesseye.org.uk 08457 969 798 Business Eye is a fr ee, impartial information service forbusinesses in Wales. It caters to established companie s,start-ups, and sole traders, putting them in contact withsupport from the public, private or voluntary sectors.

Creative Business Acceleratorwww.gle.co.uk 020 7403 0300 Creative B usiness Accelerator (CBA) is a free serviceaimed at owners of both early stage and establishedbusinesses in Londons creative industry sector whowant to attract equity investment.

The programme addresses the difficulties manybusinesses face in securing funding from investors whoprefer established businesses and the economies ofscale of larger investments.

CBA will assess your business, and if it decides itssuitable, you will take an intensive course providingguidance and advice on developing a business plan,sources of finance, legal and intellectual propertyissues as well as valuing your business.

Creative Capital Fundwww.ccfund.co.uk 0870 909 6333 This was est ablished through Creative London, theagency for the creative industries thats part of theLondon Development Agency. The CCF works closelywith small- to medium-sized businesses throughoutLondon, offering investment, mentoring and support.

The fund is available for businesses based inGreater London, with a portion of funding allocated forinvestment in so-called Objective 2 deprived areas.

The CCF makes equity investments of up to500,000 in promising early stage companies. Every 1invested by the CCF must be matched by 1 in equityfrom private investors on the same terms. Typically, theCCF will invest up to 75,000 in the first instance.

EU Media Programmetinyurl.com/22gzhc Media is the EU support programme for the Europeanaudiovisual industry. It co-finances training initiativesfor audiovisual industry professionals, the developmentof production projects (including newmedia and animation), as well as thepromotion of European audiovisualworks.

The programme comprises aseries of support measures for thisarea, including training, developingproduction projects, and distributingand promoting projects.

The European Parliament alsovoted a budget of 2 million

in December, with the aim of strengthening co-operation between audiovisual industries of third worldcountries and European countries.

Greater London Enterprisewww.gle.co.uk 020 7403 0300 Greater L ondon Enterprise (GLE) is Londons economicdevelopment company, wholly owned by all 33 Londonboroughs to deliver economic regeneration in thecapital. GLE manages 40 million, a portion of which isto support businesses.

It provides a broad range of finance packages forsmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Financialpackages include: loans to start your business; loans ofup to 7,500 to help get your business off the ground;and loans of up to 40,000 to help you develop yourbusiness further. It also offers free marketing andbusiness planning training courses.

Innovation Central www.innovationcentral.co.uk020 7514 2138 Innovation Central awar ds bursaries to help small,innovative businesses in Camden and Islington growand prosper. You can apply for an award of up to3,500 towards the cost of developing your businessplan and putting it into action.

A total of 15 bursaries are made each year, with t heemphasis being on high-growth businesses that willcreate jobs and business opportunities in the area.

The deadline for applications for the next round ofbursaries is March 29, 2008.

LDA Loan Fundwww.lda.gov.uk 020 7593 9000The Londo n Development Agency (LDA) has developeda 10 million loan programme jointly funded by theEU with a 40 per cent private sector contribution fromBarclays Bank. The fund addresses gaps in fundingavailable for businesses within so-called Objective 2deprived areas of London.

Loans are available to businesses looking to startor grow a business, are available at interest ratescomparable a banks, and are repayable monthly overa period that suits the individual business owner.

The LDA Loan Fund can provide loans of 5,000-50,000 for small and start-up SMEs and larger loansof 50,000-250,000 for SMEs.

Selective Finance for Investment in Englandwww.lda.gov.uk 020 7593 8688 This schem e, managed by the London DevelopmentAgency, provides grants to businesses towards thecapital investment costs of a project that will contributeto the local areas skills, employment and economy.Under the scheme, SMEs anywhere inLondon can receive a grant from 7.5

per cent up to a maximum of 15 per cent of a projectstotal capital expenditure.

The minimum grant is 10,000; projects involvinginvestment of less than 70,000 will not normallyqualify.

South West Design Forumwww.swdf.co.uk The South West has a high concentration of professionaldesigners a nd design businesses; the SWDF connectsthese designers and businesses, and works to shareideas between sub-regional and cultural agencies,national design bodies, higher education institutions,and other key public and private sector organizations.

South West Screen www.swscreen.co.uk 0117 952 9977 South West Scre en is the film, television and digitalmedia agency for the South West of England. Its mainareas of work are business support, locations, creativedevelopment, exhibition, training, education andfunding. Its work attracts funding from the South WestRegional Development Agency.

Think Bigwww.thinkbig-itg.org 020 8320 9440 Think Big is a pr ogramme to accelerate and diversifythe growth of businesses in the Thames Gatewayregion. A dedicated innovation team helps small andmedium-sized enterprises (SMEs) exploit technologyand business support services.

Think Big works with companies to gain finance andgrants, find technologies to improve products or process,research new markets, and innovate.

In order to be eligible for support, your companymust be an SME located in, or wanting to relocate to,the Objective 2 Region of the Thames Gateway.

Venture Wales 01443 742888 This is a business support organization providing advice

and specialist knowledge on strategy, marketing andfinance. It provides business support and advice toSMEs and entrepreneurs in the area.

Venture Wales can review your finance needsto help you develop your investment plan. Afterevaluating your plan, its finance team willhelp you secure additional funding via itsdatabase of grants, loans and awards.

It also works with a numberof investment networks, andthey can introduce businessowners to investors. Theinitial meeting with aconsultant is free.

FEATURE

ORGANIZATIONS
http://www.artsmatrix.org.uk/http://www.businesseye.org.uk/http://www.innovationcentral.co.uk/http://www.gle.co.uk/http://www.ccfund.co.uk/http://www.gle.co.uk/http://www.innovationcentral.co.uk/http://www.thinkbig-itg.org/http://www.lda.gov.uk/http://www.lda.gov.uk/http://www.swdf.co.uk/http://www.swscreen.co.uk/http://www.thinkbig-itg.org/http://www.thinkbig-itg.org/http://www.swscreen.co.uk/http://www.swdf.co.uk/http://www.lda.gov.uk/http://www.lda.gov.uk/http://www.innovationcentral.co.uk/http://www.gle.co.uk/http://www.ccfund.co.uk/http://www.gle.co.uk/http://www.businesseye.org.uk/http://www.artsmatrix.org.uk/


34/840034 PROJECTS

between modellers and animators. Thepipeline was developed around the tightdelivery of shots, explains John Harvey, headof 3D/VFX at Prime Focus London (PLF).

For modelling, texturing and animation, thePFL team used Softimage|XSI. Without theexibility of XSIs modelling and texture toolswe would have struggled to deliver within

the tight timeframe, explains Harvey. Theanimation editor with its ability to mix IK withFK enabled the main CG character of the Owlto have quite a detailed library of moves. AlsoXSIs customizable sliders and synoptic viewallowed for quick editing and layouts. It hasbecome our base package for animation dueto its exibility.

Some supplementary atmosphericswere created in Autodesk Maya, while theuid simulations were achieved with XSIand RealFlow. These required an extremelycapable and technical operator to achieve the

The partnership between UK andIndian post-production facilitiesformed when the Prime Focus group

bought VTR in 2006 has come into play on itsrst major visual-effects project, Tales of theRiverbank.

Directed by Spitting Image s JohnHenderson, Tales of the Riverbank is a

feature lm remake of the popular childrensTV series of the early 1960s. The lm tellsthe story of three friends Hammy Hamster ,Roderick Rat and GP the Guinea Pig who,having been swept downriver in a violentstorm, embark on an epic journey in searchof their lost homes. The animals adventuresinclude encountering the evil Fat Cats andtheir WMD (Wafe, Marmalade and Doughnut)factory.

While the original programme used realanimals as the characters, the remake usespuppetry and 3D animation with the furry cast

members voiced by stars of British comedy,including Stephen Fry and Steve Coogan.

As the lm was shot almost totallyagainst bluescreen, the vast majority ofthe visual-effects shots that Prime Focuscreated involved multiple rig and puppeteerremoval, with keyed-out elements thentracked and composited into real riverbank

backgrounds. Nearly 1,200 shots of thisnature were nished at Indian facilities inMumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Parel, whilethe remaining, more complex, shots werecompleted in London. This allowed the Britishclient direct access to the work in progress.

The shots handled in London ranged fromextensive CG set builds and uid simulations,including the entire WMD factory and itsbubbling marmalade, to the lms fully CGcharacters Owl, Falcon and Flea.

The projects immense scale called for astreamlined pipeline and close coordination

Prime Focus discovers animal magicBlending puppetry with 3D animation provides plenty of challenges for Prime Focus,as they give kids classic Tales of the Riverbank a 21st-century remake.

words Lynn Wright

CREDITS

PROJECTTales of the Riverbank

CLIENTRiverbank the Movie

STUDIO:Prime Focus Londonprimefocuslondon.com

SOFTWARE:Softimage|XSIAdobe Photoshop CS3NextLimit RealFlowPixologic ZbrushEyeon FusionAutodesk Maya

projectsVISIT WWW.DIGITALARTSONLINE.CO.UK FOR ALL THE LATEST PROJECT NEWS

034 PROJECTS
http://primefocuslondon.com/http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/http://primefocuslondon.com/


35/8400PROJECTS

We then decided to derive our skeletalstructure for the Owl from the same systememployed with the puppets in the lm, saysHarvey. This presented a challenging task

for the animators and modellers, as theOwls movements needed to look somewhatmechanical but realistic as if they hadinserted a pole into the character and sticksinto the wings.

Derived from a real owl, the featherswere dynamically animated using SoftimagesHair system allowing for realistic bodilyinter action.

The Owls head movements and facialexpressions were controlled using anelaborate ray of sliders. The wings hadseveral expression operators linked to thebones, which in turn controlled how thefeathers behaved, allowing the wings to be

folded without feathers cutting through eachother. Secondary expressions were used tocontrol the wind rufe.

The biggest CG set challenge facing thePFL team was the interior of the WMD factory.The entire interior set was built in CG to allowfor the complex lighting, uid simulations andparticle generations.

The marmalade that features in theseshots was created using two differenttechniques. The original brief was tocreate a liquid that shared properties withmarmalade and boiling lava, to increase the

Its the rst time weveever been asked topull back on realism

look and feel we needed, notes Harvey.Completing the pipeline were ZBrush for

the ne detailing of the elements, PhotoshopCS 3 for the digital matte paintings and

Boujou for tracking.We began by conceptualizing all the CG

elements and creatures in the lm, creatingconcept art for approval before any 3D workwas started. The factory exterior and interiorwere also painted up, and their look and feelapproved before build, he says. We alsocompleted several inline tests in order toestablish techniques and limitations. Normallythis would be done pre-production but dueto time constraints we had to do most of thison the y.

The teams main challenge in creating theCG characterswas matching

them tothe look

The Owl is a great piece of CG character animation, says DerekMoore, head of 2D at Prime Focus London. Initially a very detailed

skeleton structure was built, but initial animation test proved toolifelike, which sat awkwardly with the puppets used for the othercharacters, says John Harvey, head of 3D. So we decided to derive askeletal structure from the same system employed with the puppets. When it came to producing the final render for the Owl shots, the 3D

team started with ten layer passes before narrowing these down tofive for a typical build. Several render passes were predefined and

combined, to reduce the workload for the compositors whileletting the dual quad-core renderfarm take the strain.

and feel of the puppets used in the lm. Thedesign for the Owl character, for example,went through several stages. Based on thegure of an eagle owl, and drawing on thecharacter of the actor (Stephen Fry) whovoiced him, several designs were presentedbefore the green light was given for thecharacters appearance.

The rst build of the Owl character inSoftimage|XSI was anatomically perfect,built up from a skeleton with rst musclegroups added then feathers. Initial animation,

however, proved too realistic and didnt

gel with the more stylized puppetsused in the lm.

PROJECTS


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sense of danger facing the hero characters,says Harvey.

The boiling marmalade was a at,semi-transparent surface with an in-housedeveloped animated bubble shader drivingthe displacement of the surface, he explains.This was broken down into multiple layers(growing bubbles, popped bubble residue, andresidual ripple noise), which gave the surfacelots of interest in the diffuse reections andrefractions. We also added marmalade shred

below the surface and animated this to givethe marmalade more depth and life.

To create the owing marmalade, theteam turned to NextLimits RealFlow uidsimulation software. The team began byconducting several animation tests in orderto get the correct level of viscosity and thescale for the liquid marmalade.

Lots of the settings can be bracketed in the same way exposure can be bracketedon a camera to make slight changes in thevariables available to us such as viscosity,density, surface tension, and internal andexternal pressures. We can then see theresult and alter the settings appropriately,

explains Harvey.The locations that featured the CG

marmalade were also modelled to match thefootage, allowing the gooey liquid to t andinteract with the lmed sets and characters.

According to Harvey, the hardest shot tocreate was the smashing cauldron of liquidmarmalade because it involved a rigid-bodysimulation to mimic the impact of the cauldronon the oor.

Using RealFlow, the rigid-body simulationwas completed as a rst pass before theuids, with the animators using RealFlowsstacking RB solver to correctly calculate thechain of forces needed to hold the fragments

of cauldron together as it falls under gravitytowards the ground.

A similar simulation in other packages

projects

036 PROJECTS

The interior of WMD factory was the biggest set challenge,says John Harvey, as it included cauldrons casting their ownlights on the interior walls. While models were built for theexternal shots of the factory, the interior set was recreated inCG to allow for the complex lighting and particle generations.

The hardest shot to createwas the smashing cauldronof liquid marmaladeoften causes the pieces to explode apartat the rst frame, requiring workarounds,

explains Harvey. With a successful andapproved cauldron simulation, I was able toll the cauldron with the thick marmalade-likeuid. The oor was given a high friction valueto get the marmalade to slow down or stickwhen it collides.

Prime Focus London created additional mainly supplementary CG elements forthe lm. These ranged from balloons, yingrocks, slime drops that fall from the sky likerain, to a waterwheel on the side of the WMDfactory. CG set extensions were also calledfor, including a decimated landscape and tarpits, and the main river itself.

These were particularly interesting shots

as they were combined and supplemented inEyeon Fusion, which uses normal maps in anOpen EXR format. This enabled fast updatesand tweaking, with the nal look beingachieved through a seamless pipeline fromCG to Fusion, says Harvey.

Following on from the CG and compositing,a digital intermediate (DI) process wascompleted entirely in London which, becauseof the heavy VFX nature of the lm, tookthree months to nish.

The lm has yet to be given a release datebut expect it at cinemas soon.


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38/84038 PROJECTS

how to incorporate them into a light, fresh andfunny promo.

They tackled this through a careful use ofabsurd elements, to stress the animationstongue-in-cheek qualities. We just made surewe kept a good blend of the weird in there,so we have characters wearing apples asshoes and headwear, or paintings of the kingwrestling lions. These all said that the wholething was meant to feel a bit strange and nottake itself too seriously.

The conict between topic and tone was

far from the only challenge the team faced.Technically, we had a big challenge gettingthrough the whole project with the small teamwe had. Everything had to be done simply:there was no time for extreme technicalchallenges.

Axis turned this to its advantage, adoptingsimplicity as a trademark of the assignment.Simplicity was everywhere in this project, andthat applied to animation as well. We knewwe wanted a real pose-to-pose style in theanimation: it gave a different feel, and alsomeant we could get through the three minutesof animation quickly .

This principle extended to the

character design: We devised these littleinterchangeable bullet-men who could standin for the common man, says Stephen. Wedesigned the characters so that they all hadthe same body shape and face; this allowedus to then re-version them with differenttextures and props a moustache or hat, forexample to create a r ange of characters forour scenarios within hours.

The distinctive retro styling that Axisadopted posed its own problems. Hands-on creatively, it was hard to transport theextreme pose-to-pose 2D sensibility that wehad onto the 3D models in a convincing way.We solved it by adding little bits of follow-

through squash and stretch after the extremeposes to make it less jarring, says Stephen.

For the promos visual aesthetic, Stephenand Dave turned to the colours and stylingof classic childrens TV. Stephen says: I thinkwere both very fond of 1950s animation, interms of both design and animation style.Roger Ramjet was something we looked at aseverything is extremely angular and snappy.Pocoyo , the kids TV show, in terms of giving 3Da 2D animated feel, is a big inspiration too.

They aimed to create a slightly rough,off-kilter feel to the animation, as though it,

There are certain concepts that areso well-worn that coming up withan original, attention-grabbing way

to illustrate them is a serious challenge. Themusic promo for the song Sing , by Frenchdance act Jealousy, could easily have beenone of those concepts: the song is aboutmusics feelgood power and ability to bring

people together. However, the end result isfar from predictable. Instead, its a quirky,funny little tale in which an Elvis-coiffedcaricature of lead singer Mani Hoffman roamsthe world ending tyranny, oppression andstultifying corporate cultures of all kindsthrough the power of song. Packed withoffbeat characters and primary colours,it has an eye-catching, retro feel thatshelped by the slightly jerky animation and 2Dappearance of the characters.

When Jealousys record label, ZeroDegrees Entertainment, commissioned Axis

Animation to produce the animated promo,the brief was vague. They wanted somethingfunny, something that had a light, fresh feelthat matched the track, says Richard Scott,executive producer at Axis. They also had adesire to give the promo worldwide appeal,and this meant the brief called for ManiHoffman travelling across the globe.

The label also wanted his voice tochange the world by making people happy,add Stephen and Dave, two of Axiss youngdirectors who were handed the project astheir rst music promo. They started byeshing out the brief, deciding that Mani wastravelling the world to tackle injustice purelyby singing.

From there, we developed the idea tofeature some of the issues that are concernsfor people all over the world, concerns aboutglobal warming, war and dictatorships cameto mind. All we had to do next was work out

Rocking all over the worldTwo rookie directors at Axis Animation went back to basics tocreate the promo for a pop song about musics feelgood potential.

words Alice Ross

CREDITS

PROJECTSing by Jealousy

CLIENTZero DegreesEntertainment

STUDIO:Axis Animationaxisanimation.com

SOFTWARE:NewTek LightWaveAutodesk Maya

038 PROJECTS

projects
http://www.axisanimation.com/


39/84PROJECTS

to really experiment. After that rst cut, wereworked some animation before moving

on to the lighting stage. The nal step wasto complete some simple compositing andgrading, and we were done, says Stephen.

Because of the projects simplicity,the teams software requirements weremodest. Modelling was handled by a mixtureof LightWave and Maya, explains Dave.Because the characters and style were sosimple we were able to use the vanilla Mayarenderer without the need for all the bellsand whistles. Some of the animation was alsohandled in 2D and composited back in withthe 3D in After Effects.

Stephen and Dave say that throughoutthe process, Zero Degrees Entertainment

was a laid-back, supportive client: We hada great deal of creative freedom on Sing ,say the directors. It was the rst time wevebeen basically paid to experiment with a lookand animation style with minimal input fromthe client, who seemed to trust us to come upwith something strange and unique.

Richard Scott is also satised with theend result. I think the whole thing just feelssolid. I love the sense of humour, mixed withsome strong messages. Its what I expectfrom Stephen and Dave, and they deliveredthe goods.

Artistic licence

The whole thingwas meant to feela bit strange andnot take itself tooseriously

For speed and simplicity, all the characters but Mani weredesigned around the same bullet-shaped frame; they were

then put into situations littered with absurd little details.

The caricature of Maniturned out to be quitedifferent from thebands real-life singer:Manis character

came from a picturewe saw online ofhim in a peacock-like cool-dude pose.Which, having seenother pictures, is notrepresentative ofhim, but nobody toldus off, so we pushedon with this super-condent, slick-haireddancing man-child ofa character.

PROJECTS

too, was decades old. We wanted it to looklike there was something wrong with theanimation, that it had been unearthed on 8mmlm and had faded or been water damaged.So we applied lots of grainy lters and even

shifted one of the colour channels over afew pixels to give the impression it had beenrecorded badly off TV , says Dave.

After we had pitched our ideas for Manirighting the worlds wrongs to the client,we quickly did sketched layouts for eachscenario. This allowed us to see what weneeded to design and build and also how wecould frame the animation, explains Dave.

For the next stage they looked in detailat the song. From the layouts Dave createda 2D animatic, timing out how long eachscene needed to be, and then we began to

rough out how the animation would work toa click track that gave us the right tempothroughout, says Stephen.

At the same time, they were developingthe characters. During this stage, Stephen

was nalizing all the designs for thecharacters and any props that were required.They were then modelled in 3D and given asimple rig on Maya, says Dave.

Next, they moved onto making theanimation itself. After a rst pass on theanimation we assembled our rst edit withthe 3D footage, and played around withthe timings and positioning of the differentscenarios and shots. As we were using somerepeating elements in the promo it was easyfor us to be very exible with the way wecould edit, which was great and allowed us


40/84

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projects

Itchy yet grand is how RichardMorrison, creative director ofanimation studio Th1ng, describes

his opening title sequence for Tim Burtonsbig screen adaptation of the StephenSondheim musical thriller Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Designed to draw the reader into the

movies story before it even starts, the2.5-minute animated sequence establishesthe lms visual mood and takes the vieweron an eerie, suspenseful journey thatforeshadows the action to come.

The sequence opens on a foggy, rainyview of a Victorian city skyline at night.The camera tracks slowly along the smokyrooftops leading to Sweeney Todds FleetStreet garret room. Through the window weglimpse Sweeneys iconic barbers chair and,as the camera moves into close-up, we seeblood tricking down its arms. The image of

travelling blood becomes the central themeto the sequence, dripping and owing acrosselements that foretell the lms storyline.

The sequence marks Morrisons secondcollaboration with Burton, having worked withthe director on the seminal sequence forBatman nearly 20 years ago.

There was no brief as such for the job.

Thats the beauty of working wth Tim,explains Morrison. We met for a few drinks,discussed the movie, looked at some partsof the script and then he just let me come u pwith anything really.

Morrison worked closely with Th1ngsart director, Shay Hamias, to conceive thesequence, and the pair then brainstormedideas with the other directors at Th1ng.

We all thought of different elementsfeatured in the lm... visual elements likethe barbers chair, the barbers blades... butalso looked into the Victorian period and

words Lynn W

Th1ngs titles make the cutTh1ngs bloody animated title sequence for Tim Burtons Oscar-nominated Sweeney Toddmakes sure the films audience is fully prepared for all manner of macabre goings-on.

tried to think of a couple of the periodstypical elements... We also imagined what theVictorian skyline would have looked like atthe time, says Hamias.

Morrison decided on a narrative approachto the sequence, and the use of live actionand animation.

Alongside that direction, I came up with

another idea, a bit more abstract, explainsHamias. This was the idea of a blood owin the close-ups. I lmed red paint on myhome video camera, splitting and drilling withdifferent textures and tried to create a dryrough feel.

Although the duo received somephotographs of the production at the start ofthe project, giving an idea of how certain setelements looked in the lm, they didnt stinton their own research for the period.

I looked through

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Digital Arts Magazine - March 2008 - SHL Team

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