Intel Corporation Animated Video - a sequel.

A few months back, I created a characters and illustrations for an animated video for Intel Corporation. The purpose of the video was to introduce a new range of touch screen technology to their vendors and other retail stores, such as shoe stores, sporting goods stores and restaurants.

Well, in late April I was asked to work on a second animated feature, which required creating a new main character.

We just wrapped up this past week, after 4-5 weeks of work between myself, a storyboardwriter and animator team in New York. The interim illustrations were shown to a group of Intel executives in a series of meetings, with a number of additions and revisions made. I will post the video soon, but in the meantime, here is a small sampling of scenes and illustrations:

Pat, the new character, owns a large chain of sporting goods stores.
 Bob, the main character of the first video is explaining to Pat
how she can use new Intel technology to increase sales
and help customers more efficiently.

This is a retail touch screen station that will be used in sporting goods stores.
 The thing is, it does not exist yet. Therefore, I was asked to play
 industrial designer to some extent, designing an aluminum checkout station that will
 house the various Intel-powered touch screen technologies being introduced.

Characters placed into the scene and animated to
 demonstrate the touch screen technology.

 I just received word from Intel and the ad agency involved that a third animated video will be produced sometime this summer...

Recent work: Drawing Board wrap-up

It was a very hectic month, as evidenced by my lack of posting here. Here's a quick sampling of some of the recent work gracing my board: (Click images to enlarge).

Two of a series of cartoons commissioned by a
Seattle ad agency, for Vertafore Corporation.

Three of a series of seven cartoons created for the British Columbia
Excluded Employees Association. (An agency who represents
 all employees in B.C. for benefits, retirement, and training.) I also
 worked with them on a character to help people navigate their website,
 (a helpful hero of sorts, called "Public Service Girl") Fun stuff.

A step-by-step process for a cartoon created for regular client, CGNet, a pioneer in cloud computing. 
I worked with the CEO on this, which was his vision; a busy Rube-Goldberg-like cartoon, 
showing how  services offered by his firm might otherwise be handled -- in an-old school manner.                 

1) A first draft with a rocket depicting cloud computing. 2) We decided a hot air balloon better fit the antiquated objects around it, (steam engine, carrier pidgeons, toy train). 3) The character who "built" the set-up was proud of himself and standing in a spotlight...also, the coloring was meant to look old. 4) We removed the spotlight, gave him some tools and then brightened the color scheme.

A cartoon on the Fed's spending policies, for Merk Funds (link)

Another of several cartoons for Merk Finds this past month. (Link)

A political cartoon I was enlisted to create, to accompany a column by
Paul Frieberger, published in the San Francisco Examiner.

A caricature commissioned for an awards cermony honoring Maurice Fiorio,
head of the Fiorio Hair Salons and School. (Being a guy with simple tastes
 in hair care, I wasn't sure who he was until I Googled him for reference photos).

A sample illustration from a large book illustration job.

One of twenty illustrations created for a dog-training book.

It's shaping up to be a busy summer...Several large projects are in line, including two children's book illustration jobs, along with a humor book about dating which will entail around 35 cartoons, and a third animated video for Intel Corporation.

We'll try to have some fun here in between, with a caption contest or two, as well as some new features...

April Showers

With soft but steady rain drops pitter-pattering on my studio windows, I'm reminded of Annie Lennox crooning the opening of her 80's song for the Eurythmics, "Here Comes the Rain Again".

It's also a fitting metaphor for the activity within the studio right now... a new animated commercial for Intel Corporation, as well as  three books to illustrate, and over a dozen other corporate client projects.

I feel very fortunate to be this busy, and after taking a multi-day ski trip a little over a week ago, (first break since Christmas), I'm refreshed and ready to have some fun with it all.

--Meanwhile, here's a sampling of what has been on the Wacom digital tablet over the past two weeks:

A political cartoon created for a column in the San Francisco Examiner, link

Another, for a column in the S.F. Examiner last week, (link).

A patchwork of currencies -- a cartoon for Merk Funds (link)

                                                           (Click images to enlarge)

         

 A cartoon on Ben Bernanke's dalliances with the Gold Standard, (link)

   One of several advertising cartoons for  Zoom Info

One of 42 cartoons (yes 42!) created for a book to help doctors effectively maintain and market

their websites. The book is by medical industry executive Ann Kaplan -- and just went to the publishers.

 (I previously illustrated a humor book for her covering the pitfalls of cosmetic surgery...link).

A cartoon for Energi USA, a California HR and insurance firm. 

A scene from an animated corporate presentation for a  client in New York.
As usual with animation, I designed the scenes and characters and drew the artwork, but left the
 technical aspects of animating it to others. (Honestly, lining up repeating frames in order
seems tedious -- and I chose this profession to have fun.)

Here's wishing a Happy Easter and Passover to everyone!

On the Digital Drawing Board

It's March already? Even with the extra 'leap day' lengthening February a bit, it seems hard to believe.

I thought I'd surface for a breath of air after a busy month to share a few of the projects recently wrapped up...

A book cover illustration for California author, Michael Brown.

Click to enlarge

One of a series of three marketing cartoons created for an insurance company. 

A poster for Florida-based Career Directors International, for their annual conference. (Link)

One of six cartoons created for the Boston social media company, Hubspot (Link to cartoon)

The monthly cartoon for The Michigan Association of School Principals

Political cartoon on the Greek bailout, for Merk Funds. (Link to cartoon in column)

Another political cartoon for Merk Funds...here Ben Bernanke is taking the Federal Reserve to new heights. (Link)

An advertising cartoon for a long-time client, California technology firm, CGNet.

A public service cartoon, (while not all of my work is funny, this one is intentionally not funny),
commissioned by the magazine, "Cancer Monthly".

It looks March is arriving like a lion in terms of work, with 14 client projects on the board right now, including some corporate ads and three new book illustration jobs. It could go out much the same way, as I was notified yesterday that Intel Corporation would like to do a sequel commercial/video featuring the character I created last fall.

It may be a little while before I'm here again, but in the meantime, I hope you have a terrific month!

Helicopters, helicopters, everywhere a helicopter

...Or maybe that's just the way it seemed in my studio during January.

This past month brought many new clients, and among them was Erickson Air Crane, a company based in Portland that manufactures large scale helicopters. The gargantuan machines, characterized by an opening just underneath their doors are used for many tasks -- some that I had never would guessed involved a helicopter.

I was commissioned to create roughly 40 helicopter illustrations and a map showing their company's presence around the world. As you might imagine, it involved a lot less humor-writing than usual...and more straight illustration, but it was a great deal of fun.

A few examples of illustrated events or locations:

Sears Tower, Chicago: construction and periodic HVAC unti replacement.       

                                     (Click to enlarge images)

Logging and transmission line construction, Italy

     

U.S. Capital Building, Washington DC -
 Statue of Freedom placement on dome.

Firefighting in Hollywood, CA

Firefighting in Sydney, AU

Rhino in Malaysia: This past Christmas day,
 (covered on CNN) They saved a rhino trapped in a deep hole.

Vancouver Olympics: remember the lack of snow
 for those winter games? Their helicopters brought snow
 in from outside, allowing the ski events to happen.

A helicopter with its various devices for service

The Dancing Moose: In the Flesh

I received a phone call recently that was a bit of a surprise. In fact it was so surprising that if it had come roughly two months from now, I would have guessed it was an April Fools Day prank.

The caller was a gentleman from Boston who is an executive with a prominent business magazine. He told me that his wife is a ballet dancer by profession and she stumbled upon my blog. He further explained that he and his (at-that-time) fiance liked my 'Dancing Moose' illustration very much, and wondered if I'd mind if she had a tattoo created based upon my illustration. It would be placed in an area where only she and he would see it.) (The mind runs quickly to images of where that might be...but I didn't ask.) 


I told him I was flattered to know that he and his wife enjoyed my moose enough to have it reproduced in such a unique manner.

Well, flash forward a few weeks to after their recent honeymoon: She went ahead with it. I later received a photo of the 6 inch tattoo...and here it is, 'in the flesh'. 

To the caller, (who, at his request, will remain anonymous here): Thanks for taking the time to contact me and let me share in the fun.

On the Digital Drawing Board - Intel Corporation

After a long hiatus from the blog, (lots of work as well as a couple of fairly major holidays),  it's time to catch up a bit.

One of the more significant and time-consuming projects that graced my door recently was an animated commercial and video for Intel Corporation. (It wrapped up last month, though I wasn't able to share any art until the commercial and video were released.)

The purpose of the animation is to highlight the new technologies that Intel is introducing; primarily touch screen-based systems in retail stores, restaurants, schools, hospitals and public transportation centers.

I was hired to be part of a creative team, which included a writer and an animator. I was first asked design the characters and background scenes. (This was a competition of sorts with a cartoonist in New York, and don't ask me how, but in the end the folks at Intel chose my characters and artwork.)

The next step was to draw all of the character and scenery illustrations to be used in the animation. Also needed were individual mouth and eye movements for the main characters, to allow them to speak and appear 'alive'. The video ended up running over 6 minutes, which for anyone who is familiar with animation well knows, that was a lot of illustration.

I've seen the finished animation as a video, and although I cannot post it here yet, I think the voice actors did a great job.

Here are a few scenes and characters...

(click to zoom illustrations)

The action takes place as Bob travels through the city in his car...his guide is Michael Caine!

I'll be back shortly to share some other things on the board recently, including illustrations for a new children's book and a world map for Erickson Air Crane, a helicopter manufacturer... Meanwhile, be well and best wishes for the New Year.