Marked Animation: The Blahg.

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mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 02:01:00 +0000

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More Hand Drawn Animation

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:40:00 +0000

Still trying to get the cobwebs out, people...

I wanted to try something a little more loose and exaggerated... it's not the cleanest thing ever but I did have fun with stretching parts of him out in the in-betweens.

Monday Love

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:45:00 +0000

"You can find better stories in books and movies. Better illustrations in magazines and on book covers, richer characters in Dickens and in classic sitcoms. Where else can you get get magic moving eye candy but in animated cartoons when they are in top form? - and why do so few places and people want to give it to you?"

-- John Kricfalusi

I was watching Mickey and the Beanstalk last week for some visual reference for a project and loved this scene with Donald flipping his sh*t due to starvation. Check out this pose. Personally I think they could've taken it a bit more extreme but then it might've started looking a little too Warner Brothersy. I do love those fingers!

Also for a sidenote, sometime between now and this Saturday I have to migrate this blog to another URL due to Google severing support for blogger-based blogs hosted on other servers. If it goes down, just visit www.markedanimation.com and you will kindly find direction there.

Happy Friday!

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:59:00 +0000

Here's a chipmunk dressed up as a cop.
Maybe you'll see it on TV, maybe you won't.

Today I Made a Man's Skull Disappear... or something.

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:47:00 +0000

Here's more "facial" animation. Have a great weekend everybody!

Today I Made a Man Sneeze

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 23:00:00 +0000

It has been an embarrassingly long time since I've done any hand drawn facial animation, so I made the most of a slow day and had a chance to clear out some cobwebs.

More to come!

Kid Sister "Daydreaming" Music Video

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:42:00 +0000

This is a video I worked on through LFS. We only had a couple of weeks from start to finish and I think the concept was simple and well-executed; props to the director Kim Gehrig for an overall smooth production (something that seems to be rarer and rarer with each passing project)!
Unfortunately my life outside of blogging (a.k.a. "life") has been a bit hectic in the last month due to putting some long hours in at the office, freelancing and the release of God of War 3 but hopefully I should be able to get back to posting more on here soon. I've been doing a lot more drawing as of late so there should be plenty to show from that bag o' tricks in the coming weeks. Until then, check out this work-in-progress that I've been doodlin' up on Adobe Illustrator:

There's a lot more detail to it! I'll post a much higher-res when I'm finished with it.

Lost and Foundish: Self Portrait 2004

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:35:00 +0000

Here's what I looked like six years ago in pencil form when I had to do a self-nude for a figure drawing class. Look at those tits!

and yes, it was cold in my bedroom.

The Gift of .GIFing

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:50:00 +0000

Outside of the occasional venture into Flash, any animation I do designed for the web comes far and few between. That's why today is special... I made this:

If it fails to load properly that is most likely due to my lack of knowledge in compressing .gif files

To be honest I didn't do much more than add a bloody nose to a pre-existing .gif animation and then composite it onto a .gif dance floor, but isn't that 90% of animation nowadays?
My horizon is chock full of new projects, which reminds ME to remind YOU to check out one of my favorite music producers, oddisee. I could go on and on about his rich beats, devotion to providing plenty of free quality music to his fans and versatility in his music, but I'll let you check him out yourself (but only if you're really interested... I don't want to pressure you into something that you don't want to do like so many delicious-looking Domino's® ads these days). Check out his latest free seasonal EP, Odd Winter over on his blog. More on him later...
I must admit that after brainvomiting out that last paragraph I've developed a bit of writer's block & think I will call it a night, however brief it may have been. I haven't even left the office to go home yet.

I'm going to go become lost in John K's blog now.

New Feature: Lost and Foundish

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:12:00 +0000

Over the years I've started to accumulate more doodles and old work on various hard drives than I'd care to admit. Whether they be the product of an inside joke, boredom, or a personal project that never quite got off the ground, I'm finally granting them the proper neglect they deserve in an online forum. Each week I'll post a different image or video or audio clip and you can see for yourself just how much time I've had on my hands over the last few years.
This week I'm posting something that I drew way way waaay back in 2006 for a post-house I was working for at the time, the now-dead Outsider Inc. in Chicago, IL. They requested a new cover for their notebook of local restaurant menus so I started this drawing. Shortly after I ended up leaving the company and never got a chance to finish it, but here it is in its last known state:

These Are The Breaks & Such

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:25:00 +0000

Back in late 2009 I did a small bit of work for the VEVO program, "These Are The Breaks." I had a couple of days to come up with the intro graphics and I think for the time I had it turned out fairly well.

2010 looks to be another busy year -- I'm not really one for resolutions, and while I expect there to be a good amount of work out there to be done I hope to get more drawing and painting in. I've been doing a lot more on the commute to and from work lately so hopefully I'll have something to post in that regard when I have a bit of free time.
I also really REALLY want to start a new music video project. Hopefully I can lamaze this Locksley video project out of the uterus of my computer and get something new started in the spring time. Any hip-hop artists out there interested... hmmm??? Ghostface? CunninLynguists? Cudi? Raekwon? DOOM? Yeezy?

I'm all ears (big ones).

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:47:00 +0000

... here's something to think about if a Charlie Brown Christmas is in your holiday lineup.

See you all in '10!

Updates! Finally.

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:26:00 +0000

Hello four people who read this (... and hello to YOU who happened across the blog by some random act of Google),

First and foremost I must apologize for my online absence as of late, I can't necessarily say that things have been consistently neck-breaking busy these last few months but sometimes I neglect to check in. Just ask my stepmother -- she's still waiting for me to call her to wish her a Happy Thanksgiving. Sorry Candy!
So what do I have to show for not posting anything since September? The long answer is I need to compile & scan a few things and wait for a few other things to go online so I can repost them here.

The short answer is not a lot, BUT allow me to share with you what I do have.

I'll start with Locksley since that seems to be all I talk about in my blog, so why stop now? First off, I not only got to design my first-ever album art for them, but it's bigger than short in Japan right now. Check it!

Rocksrey™

... and yes, the video I shot for them will be done eventually -- look out for it in the Winter/Spring of 2010! Until then, here's a screenshot to keep you occupied...

... still a work in progress!

Speaking of forays into the magical world of music videos, I recently did a bit of work* on the latest Kid CuDi video for his single, "Pursuit of Happiness." Enjoy!

I've also posted a high-resolution version of the animated segment I did for The Features video earlier this year... it's a bit more in sync with the audio and you can make out a lot more with that quality! I bet you didn't even know there was a parrot in the video... check it out by clicking on the image below!

I've got more to post but it can wait til later this week... and yes, my stepmom did try calling me again while posting this online.

Darling It's True (Locksley Official Music Video)

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:32:00 +0000

... the first single off of Locksley's upcoming album, Be In Love.

directed by Chris Stocksmith

Further Adventures in Animation

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:38:00 +0000

Today's lesson: Advanced Motion Tracking

I Done Made Things Move: "Lions" Music Video by The Features

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:51:00 +0000

Directed by my friend Joshua Winkler, working on this video turned me onto this band -- they're quite excellent and I encourage everyone out there to buy their album, "Some Kind of Salvation." I was in charge of the portion involving the hand-drawn cut-0ut animation which starts at around 2:40.

Excellent work Josh!

One of My Favorite Animators: Georges Schwizgebel

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:07:00 +0000

Georges Schwizgebel is a french-speaking Swiss animation director who successfully marries both the paint-on-glass technique with music & rhythm. I first saw his piece "La Course à l'abîme" in the first year of the Animation Show and it still is one of my favorite animated shorts of all time. His use of camera work and animation cycling is masterful. Recently his 2006 short "Jeu" was posted on Motionographer... check it out below!

... and with the beauty of animation out of the way, here's an awful picture of Sam Bair, Locksley's* drummer, for all you fans out there.

* They're going on tour this fall! Catch 'em.

Locksley's "Love You Too" Video Shoot

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:52:00 +0000

... and now the real fun begins.

Purple Brain Music Video aka How I Ended Up on the Internet After Blacking Out

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:47:00 +0000

One night at Lifelong Friendship Society we had a few friends over and more than a few beers between the lot of us. After shooting a few things on green screen I woke up at home the next morning with my shoes still on. Go figure.

Brian Close shot and directed this video which you can read more about here.

Purple Brain from Georgia on Vimeo.

The State of Locksley Music Videos These Days

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:05:00 +0000

First off, let me say that I've watched the brand new music video for Locksley's upcoming single "Darling It's True" and it's highly, highly enjoyable. With permission of the band I was able to download a screenshot and be the first to show you all a little sneak peak!

EDIT: AT THE REQUEST OF THE BAND I WAS ASKED TO CENSOR OUT ANY PORTIONS OF THE FRAME THAT MAY GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY.

How amazing does Kai look in that shot?!

In other Locksley music video related news (or LMVRN for short) the diorama is in its final stages of completion & the band was fitted for their animal costumes last week. Exciting! Check out the screen shots of the diorama below.

Also it's worth noting that if you're looking for some good music to jam to this summer, go out and buy (by which I mean click over to the iTunes store) and pick up the album Some Kind of Salvation by The Features. I just finished up doing a bit of animation for one of their songs (see previous entry) and I'm a sold man on their music. Great job!

Coming Soon: New Animation Work

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:36:00 +0000

Here's a peak.

... stay tuned!

Holy Crap It's June Already

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:34:00 +0000

Hello hello!
I apologize to those of you that I haven't talked to nearly as much as I should have in the past couple of weeks but I haven't had too much time away from other engagements. I've been at the LFS office everyday for the past four weeks & my roommate tells me that the only way she knows that I'm alive is the jug of apple juice in our refrigerator progressively gets emptier and emptier as the week passes.
Since I'm more of a visual guy I'll post a few images rather than explaining anything.

More to come.

Photos by Mark Phillips, Rob Cohen, Sam Bair, Brian Close & Gina Vortman

The Vendor Client Relationship

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:01:00 +0000

I don't think it's ever been more eloquently represented.

More Works in the Works

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:26:00 +0000

What up folks! With Memorial Day officially behind us, it's time to post a few updates of the latest Brooklynz Goings Ons™. Outside of work I've been keeping pretty reasonably busy on the upcoming Locksley music video and assisting my new friend Josh Winkler on his video for The Features. I'm pretty excited to be working on both.
Below are some photos from the Locksley production, without giving too much away at the moment I can say that it does involve a lot of physical construction, something that I've always wanted to do a bit more of. Drills and powertools feel a lot more manlier than mice and Wacom® tablets.

Sam Bair and Charlie Sato

Mark Phillips

Sam Bair takes 5 minutes and 20 fl. oz.

As for The Features, I haven't begun the animation process as of yet but I do have a bit of concept art that I'll be relying on for the final product... here's a sneak peak!

More updates to come soon!

xoxox

New Feature: Animators on Set

mark@markedanimation.com (M. Phillips) — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:25:00 +0000

Yup. Awkward.

Photo by Joshua Winkler on the set of the music video "Lions" by The Features.