dooooodle

Our new video!

2012-01-19T17:30:00.000Z

MARGO HATES ME

2011-06-23T16:53:00.000+01:00

My friend Margo returned to town and wanted to know what was happening in music.

I said I'd make her a mix.

She said she hated my mixes - especially because they are just one long mp3 with no track list.

Here's my round up of the first half of 2011 just for Margo (no track list available).

♫ MARGO HATES MIXES MIX (click to download)

'im Dead

2011-04-21T00:57:00.000+01:00

Same shit, different day

2011-04-19T09:55:00.000+01:00

via Conscientious

20 OF 2010

2011-01-12T23:45:00.000Z

Does what it says on the tin.
Download here:
♫ 20 OF 2010

This already feels like a year ago. Incredible.

2010-10-26T00:24:00.000+01:00

Jog On

2010-09-28T18:00:00.031+01:00

If you're feeling inspired, here's the mix I made for myself to soundtrack my shorter training runs. I saved it for the last 10K of the Marathon, but actually found that by then neither music, nor adrenaline, nor gels, nor spiritual enlightenment, was ever going to help me go any faster.

~~♫ 10KMIX (DOWNLOAD)~~

Fatlip - What's Up Fatlip?/Today's Your Day
Devin the Dude - What A Job
Devo - Whip It
Bloc Party - The Prayer (Does It Offend You, Yeah? Mix)
Feist - My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Mix)
Caribou - Sundialing
Radiohead - Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Phoenix - North
Blur - Sing
Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
Vampire Weekend - Walcott
Hot Chip - Out At The Pictures
Graham Coxon - Freakin' Out
Arctic Monkeys - Brianstorm
QOTSA - You Think I Aint Worth A Dollar But I Feel Like A Millionaire
(Warmdown Bonus Track)

ENJOY!

Meine beine sind gefickt!

2010-09-28T17:04:00.001+01:00

A massive, heartfelt thank you to everyone who sponsored myself, Dom and Harriet, aka Team G.B. this weekend.

Despite an unabated rainfall, anxiety-fuelled insomnia, a ludicrously early wake-up time, blisters, chaffing, bowel-turmoil and not to mention the stupid matter of 26 miles between the start and the finish, I managed to get round in 4:09:58.

More importantly, we managed to raise over £4,000 for the Gideon Baws Memorial Fund, which is brilliant and makes it all worthwhile. Our legs might not be happy, but we are. I hope we did Gideon proud.

Very special thanks to the Berlin support team, who came out with a hand painted banner to cheer us on in the cold rain. Thanks also to our great friends at RunDemCrew who enthusiastically eased the task of 18 weeks of training. I doubt very much we could have done it without them.

(the smiles pictured are lies)

My shins

2010-09-15T08:58:00.002+01:00

Long time since I posted. Been way too distracted with work, offspring and mortgage applications to be 'socially interacting.' Screw that!

And any scraps of free time have been dedicated to a kamikaze mission: a week Sunday I'm off to Germany with my good friends Harriet and Dom to run the Berlin Marathon. I never thought I'd be able to run a marathon and with 10 days to go I'm still to be convinced.

So far we've been training for 17 weeks. One word: Fucking Relentless. I must say that the canal-ways of Hackney, while occasionally stunning and always fascinating, have become unimaginably tedious. When we hit the starting line we'll have covered 430 miles in preparation.

I've got shin-splints, scabs on my nipples, a missing toenail and ankles that creak like a crap pirate ship. But it's all for a great cause; while thousands of gym-dorks run around half-heartedly collecting money for arbitrary charities, we really mean it, man. We're raising money for the Gideon Baws Memorial Fund.

We've joyfully smashed our target already, but if you feel inclined to contribute anything to a cause that is, needless to say, very dear to our hearts, then please do. HERE

Thank you KX

For Ana

2010-07-10T17:09:00.000+01:00

Sorry we missed your birthday. Here's a belated gift.

♫ Nappytime 2 Mix (DOWNLOAD)

The XX - Hot Like Fire (Aaliyah cover)
Max Richter - Lullaby From The Westcoast Sleepers
Pedro - Assembled By 33
Memory Tapes - Swimming Field
High Places - From Stardust
Nosaj Thing - Quest
Aphex Twin - Alberto Balsam
Caribou - Sinuses
Worrytrain - Hospitalized
Dakota Suite - The End Of Trying Part Iii (Hannu.mp3
Cocteau Twins - Cherry-Coloured Funk (Seefeel Mix)
Brian Eno - An Ending (Ascent)
Johann Johannsson - The Flat
Zbigniew Preisner - Meditation
Ólafur Arnalds - 0952

kx

Shynola update #2

2010-07-02T00:38:00.001+01:00

Here's a sneaky teaser of what we've been slaving over. Finished this week. Fun fun project and very happy with the way it came out. In your cinema 13th Aug. I urge you to see it.

Shynola update #1

2010-07-02T00:31:00.001+01:00

This blog hasn't had a look in recently. Up to our armpits in work is the cause, plus hours and hours of training. More on which later. Very happy to announce that a few weeks ago the shackles were removed from our computers and we were allowed to go outside to collect our reward: a fine D&AD 'pencil' for our Coldplay video. The D&AD's are a hard bitch to please, so it actually felt like we had earned something. Jimmy Carr presented and died on his arse. Here's my review in a facial expression.

Melt Down Mix

2010-04-30T16:20:00.009+01:00

♫ Melt Down Mix

Parsley Sound - Stevie
The Flaming Lips - Borderline
Pictureplane - Goth Star
Gold Panda - Quitter's Raga
Miwon - Darting Ropes
July Skies - Corinivm
Gang Gang Dance - Dust
Four Tet - She Just Likes To Fight
Akiko Kiyama / Karel Fialka - Misida Monarchy / The Things I Saw
Matias Aguayo - Rollerskate
Caribou - Jamelia
F.S.K. - My Funny Valentine
A-ha vs Songsmith - Take On Me

For Saul

2010-04-16T11:56:00.007+01:00

First ever mix for my boy. He loves to dance for as long as mum or dad's back will take it.*

♫ Saul Loves Dancing

* - not long.

First attempt

2010-04-07T23:39:00.002+01:00

First attempt at using Painter. I have no idea what I'm doing, let alone what any of the F-keys do. Picking up a brush would be one hundred times easier, but would have a fatal lack of undo.

El Secreto

2010-03-08T22:14:00.005Z

Photo by Draken

Congratulations to Juan José Campanella and the brilliant El Secreto de sus Ojos, which won Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. I saw this film a few months back and it really stayed with me. I've been urging my friends to see it ever since. It has an unforgettable sequence in the middle. Not sure it is better than Das weisse Band or Un Prophète, but neither of those films need the publicity El Secreto will now get. The lead, Ricardo Darín, stars in Nueve Reinas, which is good fun and also worth checking out.

Been waylaid in scriptwriting to do any drawing, but now we're done (!!!), I'll make an effort. Any spare time I've had recently has been spent doing this:

10 miles in 01:37:28.

It felt A LOT longer.

Avatarded

2010-01-25T21:43:00.002Z

Feel cheated? Bitter that you were cajoled into contributing to Avatar's repugnant box-office takings? Well, put those glasses, which you numbly clutched as you staggered out of the theatre, to better use: chopping onions!
It's in proper old-school 3D, costs less, takes up far less of your time and has a better story. For the full experience add your own voice-over of unnecessary exposition as you chop:

"Chopping the onion's cells creates propanethiol-S-oxide-ium. This wafts upwards, mixing with the water in your eyes to form sulfuric acid, which burns and causes tears."

Yeah, OK - but what's for dinner?

After three hundred yards, exterminate.

2010-01-23T23:58:00.000Z

I've spent the week writhing in bed with an astonishingly painful ear infection. If you've been thinking about getting an ear infection - DON'T. They're all hype. It has however, given me time to write a grumpy rebuke to my favourite rag The Independent. I must admit, my ear felt a tiny bit better at the exact moment I hit 'send.'

"Friday's article, 'The age of the killer robot is no longer a sci-fi fantasy' (22/01/10) which forewarned of the emerging use of robots for war was so melodramatic, biased and inaccurate that I feel compelled to suggest that it may have been better written by an apathetic robot than by Mr. Johann Hari. Did he perhaps fall asleep at the keyboard while watching Transformers? (Can't blame him there.)

He supposes that a robot soldier would have to make difficult decisions, may make mistakes and in the wake of inevitable errors those responsible may dodge culpability. Sound familiar? While quick to brush off any advocacy as "techno-optism," his own assumptions show generous favour for human capability, a blind eye for history and a ludditian lack of imagination.

Mr. Hari suggests that a robot finds it "almost impossible to distinguish an apple from a tomato." In reality a robot could easily sift through a thousand fruit and sort them into type, weight and ripeness in a fraction of the time it would take a human. I suggest that Mr. Hari finds it almost impossible to distinguish his elbow from his tush.

It is wrong to presume that the role of a robot would be identical to anything familiar to us today - who can predict what a battle of the future might consist of? Please don't say James Cameron. I imagine that the reason behind developing robot technology is to perform tasks too dangerous or technically impossible for us mere mortals. And one would hope that their introduction would reduce unnecessary casualties rather than cause more. I wouldn't go so far to say that this is commendable, but these are highly sophisticated tools, that's all.

The creation of a robot will not provide new reasons for war, just a new tool to undertake them. The reasons for war - territory, religion, resources... - will remain the same. The fault lies in the willingness to deploy them, not in the machines themselves. A better headline may have been 'The age of the peaceful humans remains pure fantasy.'"

Richard Kenworthy, Hackney, London

Merry Xmix

2009-12-25T09:00:00.002Z

Here's a mix to soothe your port-addled brow. Press play, turn off the lights, and lie down on the bed. With best wishes.

♫ Horrid Horrid Xmas

Part i)
John Convertino - When Mass Was said in Latin
Low - Will the Night
Maria Kalaniemi & Timo Alakotila - Lappfjärd
The Innocence Mission - Follow Me
Tunde Adebimpe - Unknown Legend
Fikret Kizilok - Just As Long
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Keep Me In Mind Sweetheart
Sibylle Baier - Tonight
Erik Enocksson - The Joy of D.H. Lawrence
Dawn McCarthy & Bonnie Billy - Then the Letting Go
Bruce Langhorne - Arch Leaves

Part ii)
Brian Eno & Harold Budd - The Chill Air
Paul Cantelon - Theme for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Giant Sand - Spiral
The Real Tuesday Weld - I Loved London
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - God Is In The House
Phosphorescent - Endless Pt.2
Goldmund - Marching Through Georgia
Gavin Bryars - Tramp & T.W. w/ Full Strings

Update

2009-12-01T16:24:00.002Z

Haven't even dreamt of updating this blog of late. Chris has

been gravely ill, which wasn't nice for anyone, especially him.

Meanwhile, either bravely or foolishly, Jason and I have

soldiered on, determined to finish our script.

I'm tremendously happy to report that not only is Chris

discharged and well on the way to recovery, but today we

finished our first draft. It is printing out right now.

Very exciting, but also a little bit scary.

Now Chris isn't the only one with bowel issues.

Penalty for being vain

2009-11-09T09:42:00.004Z

Nice work if you can get it

2009-10-14T21:28:00.005+01:00

Me and Chris washed and combed our beards, then went along to the UK Music Video Awards last night. We won for Best Animation, then for best Rock Video. Which was amazing.

Then we won Video of the Year, a category we didn't even know existed. Incredible, especially since they were all for our only piece of work this year. The president of Parlophone even wrote to say thanks.

Really though, the nicest part of the evening was the warm reception we got from the crowd. You make this stuff in complete isolation - and we always make work solely for ourselves - but you can't help but be cheered by kind appreciation, and from your peers to boot. My inflated head was throbbing this morning.

All told, a crazy week.

Epic win

2009-10-12T21:04:00.003+01:00

Team GB - Before

My nipples bled, despite being slathered in vaseline. And Barney's knee looked like it was going to explode after only four miles. But, we made it. And in good time too.

Barney - 01:52:25
Nick - 01:52:35
Me - 01:53:48

Most importantly we raised a shed-load of money for CRY. So if you sponsored us - a massive, heartfelt, thank you. We raised a lot more than we ever imagined and the folks at CRY are ecstatic. If you didn't, you still can.

Also thanks to Dom, Baz and Mark who were great fun and vital for morale. Thanks too to Run Dem Crew, without whom I might have given up all hope long ago.

Gideon would have been proud.

I bloody hope so - I am knackered.

Team GB - Afterwards

Life drawing (05/10/09)

2009-10-06T15:32:00.003+01:00

A Venezia Mix

2009-09-22T16:13:00.007+01:00

Last of these for a while.

The songs and the art of this mix have a mystery connection.

I'll send a drawing to anyone who guesses what it is. If no one

gets it I'll keep the drawing and rip it up, (with mascara

running down my cheeks).

♫ A Venezia Mix

For my fellow insomniacs

2009-09-15T17:50:00.004+01:00

♫ Nappytime

Evan Lurie - Love Lost

Grinderman - Man On The Moon

Deaf Center - Eloy

Chin Chin - Last Piano

The Mamas And The Papas - Dream A Little Dream Of Me

Helios - First Dream Called Ocean/Vargtimme

A Small, Good Thing - Saloon Dreams

Matmos - For The Trees

A Hawk And A Hacksaw - Portlandtown

Gabor Szabo - Some Velvet Morning

Gastr Del Sol - Black Horse

Blur - Sing

Mogwai - Punk Rock

Library Tapes - Cold Leaves For the Violent Ground

The Smiths - Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me

Durutti Column - Royal Infirmary

Helios - Emancipation

Susanna And The Magical Orchestra - Crazy, Crazy Nights

Smog - To Be of Use

Jim O'Rourke - Halfway To A Threeway

William Basinski - Melancholia 3

This week's life drawing

2009-09-10T08:59:00.002+01:00

Ones that got away #5

2009-09-08T12:47:00.005+01:00

Old pitch I made for a Supergrass video that never happened.

For some reason I made the pitch as a comic. Looking back,

this was no great loss.

Miserable Summer Mix

2009-09-08T12:22:00.007+01:00

♫ Miserable Summer

Sebastien Tellier - Classic

Inara George - Everybody Knows
Kinski - Semaphore (KEXP Radio Version)
Pure Reason Revolution - The Bright Ambassadors Of Morning

Midlake - Young Bride
The Everly Brothers - I Wonder If I Care As Much
Matt Elliott - Trying To Explain

M. Craft - Sweets
Laura Veirs - Galaxies
Rogue Wave - You
El Perro Del Mar - Party
The Clientele - Ariadne Sleeping
Leila - To Tell A Lie
Shona People Of Rhodesia - Taireva
Katzenjammers - Cars

Ones that got away #4

2009-09-08T09:01:00.004+01:00

Old pitch I made for a U2 video that... ok you get the idea.

I keep meaning to make this idea into a comic. In other

words, it will NEVER happen.

Gideon Baws Memorial Fund

2009-09-07T23:14:00.007+01:00

On October 11th 2008 we were robbed of Shynola director, brilliant

friend, and damn-good-egg, Gideon Baws.

Gid's sudden death was due to a form of Cardiomyopathy, triggered by

a viral infection. Chances are you've never heard of it. However in the

UK alone it is estimated that 12 "apparently fit and healthy" young

people under 35 die from undiagnosed heart problems EVERY WEEK.

This needn't be so.

A Gideon Baws Memorial Fund has been established at CRY (Cardiac

Risk in the Young). CRY works to raise awareness of Sudden Death

Syndrome (SDS) and campaigns for proactive screening of young

people. It also offers help and support to those who have suffered a loss.

On October 11th 2009 "Team GB" will run The Royal Parks Half

Marathon in Hyde Park, London. We are raising money for the

Memorial Fund.

Please, if you can, sponsor us and help prevent these unnecessary and

unfair deaths.

Team GB are:

Nick Goldsmith (Hammer & Tongs)

Richard Kenworthy (Shynola) &

Barney Newman (Pixipixel)

SPONSOR US HERE

(don't just sit there and make out that you'll 'do it later')

Thank you,

Team GB

x,x,x

Ones that got away #3

2009-09-07T12:18:00.007+01:00

Old design I made for a vinyl toy that never

happened.

Ones that got away #2

2009-09-07T12:15:00.006+01:00

Old pitch I made for a Avalanches video that

never happened.

Ones that got away #1

2009-09-06T15:30:00.004+01:00

Old drawings I made for a reprint of Don Quixote

that never happened.

Shut happens

2009-09-02T09:38:00.003+01:00

Currently preoccupied with un-knotting a large

ball of plot string. Here's another old mix.

♫ Shut Happens

Izzy Royal - Coronation Dub
Poni Hoax - Budapest (feat. Olga Kouklaki)
Bat For Lashes - Sarah
Jenny Wilson - Summer Time - The Roughest Time
Black - Wonderful Life
Bo Kaspers Orkester - Ett & Noll
Hanne Hukkelberg - Do Not As I Do
The Shins - Sleeping Lessons
Le Volume Courbe - Ain't Got No... I Got Life
Peter Bjorn And John - Amsterdam
Grand National - Peanut Dreams
Phoenix - North
Fujiya & Miyagi - Collarbone
Feist - Inside And Out
Ann Peebles - I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down
Alfred C. Priestley Stage Band - Cisco Kid
Ry Cooder - Chinito Chinito
The Chris Barber Band - Cat Call

After Tai-Shan Schierenberg

2009-08-27T14:14:00.003+01:00

Love this guy.

For Harriet

2009-08-26T15:12:00.007+01:00

I have a load of old mixes I made for the ill-fated iMix Club.

Hopefully I'll find time to make a new one by the time I have

recycled these. This was my first, pedestrian attempt.

♫ Melancholy Mix

Gonzalez - Overnight
Neil Young - Man Needs A Maid
Dustin O'Halloran - Opus #12
Steve Buscemi & Bronson Dudley - Korea/Career
Olivia Tremor Control - Black Foliage
TV On The Radio - Modern Romance [Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover]
The Earlies - Wayward Song
Dennis Wilson & Rumbo - Lady
Jeff Alexander - Come Wander With Me
Max Richter - Written On The Sky
Neil Young - Do You Know How To Use This Weapon / Organ Solo
Radiohead - Motion Picture Soundtrack
Gorillaz - Hong Kong
The Boats - Jumble
Milosh - Something Good
Elizabeth Cotten - Shake Sugaree
Wilco - How To Fight Loneliness
Sigmatropic (feat. Akis Boyatzis) - Haiku 14(a)
Elliott Smith - Bye

Return to life drawing

2009-08-20T20:28:00.004+01:00

Results of yesterday's life drawing class I tried in Bethnal

Green. Nice class, great space, and tea on tap. They even

had real, non-savers biscuits. One of the organisers allowed

me to have the session for free in exchange for this drawing

of her dog. What a brilliant monetary system.

Drawings from Apulia

2009-08-18T15:36:00.004+01:00

Another find

2009-08-13T13:40:00.005+01:00

Last one - an old sketchbook I had totally forgotten about.

It is mainly full of napkin doodles that are of no use to man

nor beast, but must have seemed worth holding on to at the

time. There's a few nice things in there. Here are the things

I find least embarrassing.

Graham Greene

2009-08-13T09:38:00.012+01:00

A long time ago I did illustrations for an exhaustive reprint of

Graham Greene novels by Random House. You can still find them

but most have already been re-printed with tedious photographs.

What's strange is that they seem to have taken photos of the exact

things I had chosen to draw and replaced them all like for like.

Is this plagiarism? Probably not, just insulting.

I did hundreds of drawings and never saw them again. But I just

discovered these in a folder, which were never used. They're a bit

stiff but hey, I was young and didn't know better.

Unused drawing for Ways of Escape.

Unused image of the author.

Your posture is-

2009-08-13T09:29:00.005+01:00

We're cleaning the offices. Before social services

quarantine us. Finding all sorts of rubbish, including

this drawing.

I have absolutely no recollection what it is for, but I've

put it on the 'keep' pile.

Just in case.

It may come in handy.

Ink sketch

2009-08-12T11:01:00.001+01:00

New logo I gone done

2009-08-07T11:01:00.004+01:00

Onwards music

2009-07-30T21:45:00.004+01:00

The music in Onwards was by my very good friend Dan,

aka Caribou.

Buy his record immediately.

He allowed me to do his sleeve once, The Milk of Human

Kindness, which was a privilege:

Notes from the back of the sofa

2009-07-30T10:06:00.015+01:00

Just returned from Hockney's gallery in Salt Mills, nr.

Bradford, and feel thoroughly enthused about drawing again.

Having a rest post-Coldplay has been a good recharge. I've

been spring-cleaning too, which is a huge effort, but very

positive. I've even been backing up. Inconceivable.

Here's some Onwards debrief material I found.

Lots of speculation this "started as drawing, then goes 3D",

"was done in Flash" and so on. In fact it was all 3D, post-

treated to look so much like James' ink drawings that even

his mother couldn't tell them apart.

James is well versed in making technical drawings for his

toys, so he drew up this. I sketched in the joint locations so

this guy would later do exactly what I said.

James is an impressive, competitive runner. The original

plan was to run the marathon in a suit Nike custom made

in Portland. James then proceeded to thoroughly bust up his

leg and that idea evaporated. However some brave chap ran

on his behalf, and here's proof:

#47. Yellow Thing

"What is that thing again?"

From the very start I decided that if this was going to be a film

about running then the movement of the run in question ought

to be actually good - not some 'animation' run cycle. Despite

James' injury, it made perfect sense to base the character's

movements on his. I wanted the character to be James.

I shot footage of James at the gym, running on a treadmill,

then working through his stretches. This was the basis of

all the animation. I didn't use motion capture because Andy

Serkis bought up all the ping-pong balls in the world and

extorts a premium.

Instead I painstakingly scrutinised his movements and got

the character to resemble, as close as I could, James' cadence.

Compared to James' other characters this guy is generally of

human proportions so the movement translated quite

naturally. Most of the problems involved ensuring that his

enlarged hands didn't thump himself in the face.

Later, I filmed reference of myself as well, blowing snot.

Finally, my big break.

Mia appears a little too enthusiastic in her role.

While I built a library of movements I also began to build

the world around him. Cubes stood in for trees while I

blocked in the camera moves. I'd render low-quality

movies of the shots and drop them into the edit, replacing

the animatic.

These work in progress movies show it coming together.

See if you can spot the embarrassing mistake.

I was constantly updating and tweaking to ensure that the

movement flowed from one shot to the next alongside the

music. I also had to making sure his feet fell on the beat in

each shot to maintain the synchronised rhythm.

James would come over and eat all my biscuits in exchange

for pages and pages of drawings. I lost count of how many

trees he drew. Every drawing was then scanned and a matte

made. These dressed the scene.

I had to be careful that James drew everything at te right

scale, so there was consistency to the line thickness. Other-

wise the wizard would do us in.

These were rendered out and the running man was done

separately. That was a job all in itself.

Secret revealed!

2009-07-04T23:21:00.006+01:00

Well its all done.

For various reasons, the hardest job we've ever done.

Very happy it is all over but also very happy with the result.
The journey from brain to screen is littered with pitfalls and

rarely does the end resemble the start. But this one worked

out pretty well. There's always things you want to change and

letting go is hard, but it is done and it has flown the nest.

Time to relax.

Went to test-screening in the cinema this week surrounded by

record company people who have appeared from nowhere and

are all wanting to hold the baby. Totally flattered by their

enthusiasm and seduced by seeing our work on the big screen.

If you are going to the Odeon after Monday 20th July then keep

your eyes peeled.

Top Secret!

2009-06-08T10:59:00.005+01:00

Here's what I am working on at the moment.
Unfortunately, strict confidentiality prevents me from revealing
who it is for.

'Onwards' sketchbook 2

2009-06-08T10:10:00.006+01:00

Scan of of my working sketchbook for the storm sequence. I drew
this beside a pool in Palm Springs. Sounds glamourous, but
moreover it exhibits my complete inability to relax.

Notes in red are changes discussed with James in light of the
animatic I made, which I will post shortly. Pencil are time
references for certain moments to hit to keep in time with the
music. This shot lasts over a minute, but was far more difficult
to orchestrate than it appears.

In particular, the camera move broke my little dick in two. Far
easier to sketch beside a pool than actually make 'real'. It rises
behind tattie-head to reveal the vista, (on cue), overtakes, spins
backwards, accelerates downhill, pulls up square, drifts wide,
then does a giant barrel-roll while changing to a distorted lens
length to end up beside his striking feet, then rushes into the
portal behind him.

Normally this is the sort of shit that makes me demand a refund
from the cinema manager because Peter Jackson was drunk on it.
But here, your honour, I was trying to convey the feeling of a
flowing, uninterrupted stretch, where you suddenly sense your
feet moving beneath you, cycling unconsciously.

Who is controlling my legs?
Don't know.
Don't stop.

The tiny thumbnails were me working out how to animate
lightning, given James' style of drawing and the strict three-
colour palette. In the end I ripped some home movies from
YouTube, studying them frame by frame to work out a sequence.

Hopefully, as with all of this, you don't think about it.

'Onwards' sketchbook

2009-05-14T11:06:00.011+01:00

A lot of people are claiming 'Onwards' was rotoscoped. It is very
flattering, since that is not how it was done. I'll post some of the
work-in-progress stuff I have over the next week or so, explaining
the process.

This is my working out how James drew the cross-hatching on his
drawings so I could match it in 3D. I had a fixed light source
acting as the sun. The hatching texture had to rotate to the correct
angle, depending on the relative angle of camera>man>sun.
Quite tricky, especially since the distance between hatches also had
to change depending how close the camera was to him. There was
also a second pass of hatching to match the way James' drawing
style.

I had a similar problem with the thickness of the main outline: it
had to remain the same thickness now matter how big he was in
frame.

Hopefully you don't even notice any of this shit happening when
you watch it.

I got James to quickly sketch the character and colour him in. The
numbers and arrows are my annotations of the order and direction
of all the strokes he made. I used this to recreate James' drawing
for the start of the animation.

We wanted the animation to be as close to James' ink drawing as
possible, so this attention to detail was imperative. Anal? Moi?

When I draw, I always seem to draw the nose first. I am sure Freud
would have something to say about that.

My thumbnail storyboard of the crow sequence. One of the most
satisfying parts of animating for me is putting a cross through a
completed shot. But I can never resist crossing out the shot I am
working on before it is finished, negating all pleasure.

I have the same lack of control with advent calendars.

Man, I look tired

2009-05-13T11:24:00.009+01:00

Onwards interviews:

Ever Onwards

2009-05-13T09:18:00.017+01:00

Here's a long gestated project I did with my friend

James Jarvis.

Made with the kind support of Nike, who, under

James' canny guidance, embraced the project

without succumbing to any usual product-launch

or tie-in.

It was very refreshing to work on a project with a

realistic deadline and without clueless interference

from an over-cautious brand.

So, kudos to Nike.

But mainly thanks to James: twas a pleasure.

Here:

Free music

2009-05-13T09:13:00.008+01:00

Here's a mix I did for lovely Mia.

♫ All The Ladies

You can download it, but regretfully you can never marry me.
Sorry.

Josephine Foster - Wehmut
Soap&Skin - Brother Of Sleep
Santogold - Lights Out (Diplo's Panda Bear Mix)
Stina Nordenstam – People Are Strange
The Dø – On My Shoulders
Feist - It's Cool to Love Your Family
Joan As Policewoman - Christobel
Barbara Morgenstern - The Operator
Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone (Metronomy Remix)
Jenny Wilson - Summer Time - The Roughest Time
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Hysteric
Bat For Lashes - Daniel
Calico Horse - Idioteque
The Innocence Mission - Sweep Down Early
The Bird & The Bee (w/Sia) - How Deep Is Your Love
El Perro Del Mar - Inner Island

For Mosse

2009-02-18T13:56:00.009Z

I have no idea how I will get this blog back on track, what with
the rapturous arrival of Saul. However, I will persevere in good
time. For now, a card I made for my good friend Mosse, the
mastermind behind this blog in the first place.

Back

2009-01-17T13:29:00.009Z

Wacom.

Front

2009-01-17T13:29:00.008Z

Wacom.

Life Drawing 009

2009-01-13T21:31:00.004Z

Life Drawing 008

2009-01-13T21:30:00.027Z

Life Drawing 007

2009-01-13T21:30:00.026Z

Life Drawing 006

2009-01-13T21:30:00.025Z

Life Drawing 005

2009-01-13T21:30:00.024Z

Life Drawing 004

2009-01-13T21:30:00.023Z

Life Drawing 003

2009-01-13T21:30:00.022Z

Life Drawing 002

2009-01-13T21:30:00.021Z

Life Drawing 001

2009-01-13T21:29:00.004Z

(S)crappy

2009-01-05T09:52:00.005Z

Holla Back, Auerbach

2009-01-04T12:10:00.005Z

Pinky

2009-01-03T21:55:00.007Z

Scribble

2009-01-03T11:38:00.007Z

First Post, fngers crossed it's not also the last...

2009-01-01T19:45:00.003Z