Monday, September 27, 2010

More Caricatures





I'm a bit obsessed with Julia Gillard's head shape (even before she became our beloved leader). I've tried to avoid looking at other people's caricatures of her. That tends to corrupt how you draw someone, and you just end up doing caricatures of caricatures. So far I'm picking pretty easy targets for these pictures.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Proto Ninja - second comes right after first

I entered the sixty40 Proto Ninja animation competition a while back, and the other day found out that I came in second place (woot!). Apparently, there were over 21 entries (ie: 22 entries), so it may not be the most well known animation comp - but it was broadcasted at the Sydney International Animation Festival, so I guess that's something.

The idea was to do a 40-60 sec animation using the theme "underdog" (using the freaking annoying quirky music they gave you). This was good for my short attention span.

Anyways - here's my one minute long, fantastic, premium slice of animation brilliance (I used my rabbit). You can watch at the other top 10 here.

Top Shelf from sixty40 on Vimeo.


I was actually quite pleased with how fast I managed to animate this (it took just one weekend), and was a good trial for testing my rabbit's animation rig. Not so pleased with the sound, seeing as I have hardly any idea about sound editing. - Probably needed a Wilhelm scream.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Fonts! - Palatino


The History of Palatino:

Palatino is a serif font designed in 1948 by Hermann Zapf for the Linotype foundry. It is designed to be as an easily readable font, which mimics a broad nib pen stroke. The name Palatino comes from the Italian calligrapher Giambattista Palatino The font was intended to be similar to the hand writing styles used in Greece and Italy during the renaissance period. However, in order to make it easier to read the ascenders and descenders are shorter than they would have typically appeared during this time period. There is therefore more focus on the standard text height with large counters.

Hermann Zapf is one of the leading typeface designers and typographers. He was born in Nuremburg, Germany in 1918, and was brought up in the tough period of the German revolution following the end of World War I. He self taught himself calligraphy from books written by Edward Johnson and Rudolf Koch. He began an apprenticeship in lithography in 1934 on recommendation from his teachers due to his drawing ability. He served for a time in the German artillery during World War II, however this was short lived (his career that is) and he later returned to Juterbog to train as a calligrapher.

Zapf is famous for a number of fonts including Palatino, Ultima, Zapfino as well as others. These have subsequently resulted in many “knock-offs” and similarly designed fonts. The most common knock-off of Palatino is probably Book Antiqua, which is often in common use in with books and written material. There are also several variations on Palatino itself including Palatino Linotype and Palatino Nova. There is also a san-serif version called Palatino Sans.

The spread of the letters and wider spacing definitely makes Palatino an easier font for reading large blocks of text. By default, it does tend to spread across the page compared to other commonly used serif fonts such as Times. It therefore may be less substantial for solitary headings or quick headlines which are supposed to “grab” your attention.


NB: if this post isn't in Palatino it means you haven't got it on your computer. Go install it now, it will change your life.


Friday, September 3, 2010

Casual Caricaturing

Thought I'd practice some caricaturing. I really need to improve in this area.




Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Book Synopsis (from someone who hasn't read them)

For the Term of His Natural Life - Marcus Clarke

Published in 1874, For the Term of His Natural life chronicles one man's experiences as a British convict transported to Australia to serve a life sentence. Wrongfully accused of murder, a man under the pseudonym Rufus Dawes is transported to an Australian penal colony on Norfolk Island. While suffering under a sadistic commandant, Dawes endures intense punishment along with his fellow convicts. The other convicts tell of attempts at escape, where the harshness of the Australian wilderness results in both murder and cannibalism to survive.

This edition contains the original ending as first published.


True History of the Kelly Gang - Peter Carey

Peter Carey's tale of the Kelly gang as told through Ned Kelly's autobiography shows a unique depiction of the Australian legend. The story shows the life behind the man and his iconic showdown at Glenrowan Station. Kelly talks of his family and early life being raised in rural Melbourne. Through various hard lessons and acts of petty crime Kelly is slowly driven away from living an honest life. This growing disdain for the law, as well as his relationships with those close to him, help to show the person behind the Australian legend.



And now some covers: