PIXEL8 PIXEL Inspiration 2.12.15
If you’ve been sitting there uninspired and creatively vacant for the last few weeks wondering when some inspiration might finally come your way, I assure it is not my fault. In fact if you’re looking for someone to blame for the lapse in inspiration I’d like to point you to Techland’s complaint department at: zombiesatemyinspiration@techland.com (may or may not be a thing). I was actually mid post when their latest zombie time-suck Dying Light was loaded and ready to go and here I am a couple of weeks later just now getting around to finishing it. If you’ve played the game, you’ve probably already forgiven me but If you haven’t then I’d like to offer by way of an apology a whole bunch of PIXEL inspiration to sate your digital appetite.
AEROFLOT
Movies are my radio. I have a hard time working without some sort of movie running in the background. And because my TV time is spent almost entirely watching movies (news comes in at a close second) I have an endless well of useless movie information bouncing around my head. Actors, actresses, directors, plots, and scenes are all on file just waiting for someone to ask something like, “What is the name of the airport where the UDF is stationed in The Edge of Tomorrow?” (don’t google it cheater; answer will be at the bottom). This is why when movies and design, or in this case illustration collide, like in Victor Melamed’s illustrations for Aeroflot (maybe it’s for, I can’t figure it out), my eyes perk up. There is something uniquely Russian about Melamed’s illustrations and while I can’t quite put my finger on a specific why, something tells me early 20th century Russian design has something to do with it. Out of the bunch I’d have to say that Dustin Hoffman is my favorite although there’s an awful lot to love about Pacino as well. Check out Melamed’s Behance page (above link) for some more of his beautiful illustration work.
AMP
AMP 2014 from Like Minded Studio on Vimeo.
If there’s one thing I love more than typography, it’s mograph. If there are two things I love more than typography, they’re mograph and 3D. Like Minded Studio’s AMP hits that sweet spot by combining interesting typography with some 3D mograph. Commissioned by Collider Film design in collaboration with Andrew van der Westhuyzen, Like Minded Studio’s typographic mograph sculptures are a whole lot of beautiful. I have some minor pacing issues, but let’s face it, I have a lot of issues. It’s difficult for me to pick any of the four typographic sculptures over the other because each one is uniquely beautiful. For some more incredible work from Like Minded Studio check out there Behance page (Like Minded Studio) or jump right over to their site.
CAFE MOUNTAIN
CAFE Mountain, Vera van Wolferen
Let’s face it, cardboard is awesome. Not only is it exceedingly useful for break dancing but in the hands of a talented artist like Vera van Wolferen it also makes for one helluva beautiful lamp. I don’t know about you but I would love to have Wolferen’s CAFE Mountain sitting in my office. Actually I’d love to have her build me a few different cardboard mountain lights and scatter them across the room so that it feels like I’m working in a cardboard mountain range. I am a little concerned that these beautiful cardboard masterpieces might, well, burn down the entire place, but man that would be cool to watch. How many times do you get to see cardboard mountains engulfed in flames? My pyromania aside, give Wolferen’s Behance page a look for some more of her beautiful work (above link).
CONTINUUM – OPENING TITLES
Continuum – Main Titles | Lorcan O’Shanahan from Lorcan O’Shanahan on Vimeo.
Now that you know that ‘movies are my radio’ it should come as no surprise that I don’t actually watch TV. I watch the different movie channels and some cable news but when it comes to television shows, I don’t have the slightest idea what’s going on. Last I heard people are watching some rich girl with a big butt do big butt rich girl things so I’m fairly confident that I’m not really missing much. The problem though is that I miss things like Lorcan O’ Shanahan’s show opener for Continuum. The first 10 seconds is an absolute wonderland of techie UI motion and while I personally don’t care for seeing the actors and actresses interspersed with such wonderful graphics, I understand O’Shanahan might have shattered their delicate little thespian egos if he left them out. Maybe next time they’ll let him just do his thing and stay out of the way. For more of O’Shanahan’s work check out his Behance page (Lorcan O’Shanahan).
FRICTION
Friction – Animated Typeface from Animography on Vimeo.
Frankly, I had no idea that animated typefaces were even a thing. Now that I’ve found Animography though, I am all over that. Don’t get me wrong, 90% of the time I want to do the typographic animation work myself but purchasing a typeface specifically created for animation is absolutely awesome. Friction, like all of Animography’s animated type, comes in a fully customizable After Effects file. Scale it, pull it apart, recolor it, speed it up, or slow it down; the choices are endless. Jump over to their website for a look at some of their other typefaces (Animography).
MI-29N PROMO
MI29N. Promo. from Andrey Lebrov on Vimeo.
For those of you that have read my earlier PIXEL Inspiration posts Andrey Lebrov’s MI-29N Promo may have you wondering whether or not I’m going to mention the letters G-L-A-D-O-S. Well, not this time (well, not again anyway). Lebrov’s beautiful and exceedingly dangerous spherical robot reminds me more of Oblivion’s drones than the diabolical nemesis of…? I’m never going to say it so you’ll just have to keep guessing. Anyway, I absolutely love this dangerous little guy and Lebrov did a fantastic job from start to finish. I could watch this video all day. For more of Lebrov’s wonderful work check out his Behance page (Andrey Lebrov).
PROGRESS BEFORE PERFECTION
Progress Before Perfection, Joey Camacho
At some point I am quite literally going to print a few of Joey Camacho’s beautiful digital art pieces from his Progress Before Perfection series and hang them around the room just to let their dopeness quietly berate my ineptitude. The fact that this particular series is Day 301-330 is enough to make me feel like a lazy piece of garbage, but on top of that they are so incredibly rich and fantastic that it’s started an all out brawl between me and my RAM. He’s offering limited edition prints so if you love them as much as I do you need to jump over to his Behance Page ASAP and get your hands on some prints (above link).
SPORT FM COMMERCIAL
Sport FM Commercial from Loop on Vimeo.
As you can probably tell by now I love me some robotic 3D mograph. You may have also noticed that I love me some Russian mograph as well. These guys are really raising the bar for 3D mograph and they make some of the commercials for our sports channels look like stick figures in a flip book (I offer that concept free of charge). I love the way Loop’s Sport FM Commercial looks, moves, and feels and everything about that ball makes me wish my lazy basketball would get a job already. There are multiple owners on this project so head to their Behance Page (Loop) and check out the talent behind this beauty.
TRE FLIP
Tre Flip from Nejc Polovsak on Vimeo.
Once upon a time in a land far, far away I used to be fairly decent on these guys. While I was by no means a pro I could pull off a respectable amount of tricks; this however was not one of them. I could get somewhere in the neighborhood of close but it wasn’t because I was trying to. Flipping a shovit seemed to naturally get me in the vicinity of a 360 kick flip but I only landed it once; by accident. Regardless, Nejc Plovsak’s Tre Flip 3D animation truly looks and moves like the real deal. He did such a fantastic job that I dusted off my board and nearly killed myself. Thanks Nejc… my doctor would like to speak with you. Check out more of his great work on his Behance Page (Nejc Polovsak).
I don’t want to make any promises here but I’m thinking of putting up a daily or maybe bi-daily (is that a thing?) inspiration image. It might eat into my pool of inspiration for my bi-weekly-ish PIXEL Inspiration posts, but I feel like I’m making you wait far too long to see some fantastic work. Let me know if this is something you’re interested in or not, and of course as always, let me know if there’s something out there that absolutely demands to be inspiring. Thanks for reading.
_footthumb
(answer to movie question: Heathrow)
EDIT: Sorry about the original size of the still images. I guess WordPress changed something and now I have to pick the size of the photo, which apparently defaults to ‘are you f****** me?’ Between this and the hit or miss spacing in my layouts I feel like maybe I need to do a little more homework on CSS and web design.
