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MAGAZINE FOR DIGITAL DESIGN INSPIRATION, ARTS/CRAFTS, CULTURE AND INDUSTRY NEWS
Digital arts Becomes Digital UP Collected Works from 1997-2005 Digital Arts Magazine
DigitalUP [ 1 ]
Digital Arts
Today, DIGITAL ARTS magazine become DIGITAL UP!
Not to be confused with the British Digital Arts magaz website, and despite the fact that we were the first o registered & published, we’ve decided to change ou all digital and interactive. No more messy paper!
To celebrate this joyous event, we for you this ZERO ISSUE, filled wi content spanning the last 15 yea and design activity — and made
If you had been able to ask the first American Pioneer would have told you how great, all-inspiring and tellin present in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s when we st And, then came the Internet, the »steam ship of the gr with new, never before seen, creative work. It was exc FUTURE HOLDS even greater PROMISE, and we hope [ 2 ] DigitalUP
DigitalUPMagazine.com
es
zine and one to be ur name and go
e’ve prepared ith original ars of our lives e it FREE.
Digital UP
rs how it felt to be descovering the new land, most ng it was to be one of the first.... The same feeling was tarted this great journey of inspiration and discovery. reat digital migration,ÂŤ and the entire world exploded citing to be there in the very beginning, but the e to be discovering them TOGETHER! DigitalUP [ 3 ]
WEL CO ME [ 4 ] DigitalUP
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EDITOR’S LETTER I see Digital UP magazine and its online activities as the future meeting place, an online source of great inspiration, education and exchange of ideas among people who create (or would like to create) in the digital realm all over the world. After 18 years of publishing the original Digital Arts magazine, locally on paper, all the dots have connected now and the time has come to finally start publishing digitally, online and communicate globally. Earlier, our focus was on examining how digital arts and graphic design relate to the developing technologies. Yet, our future requires broadening of the magazine’s focus to social changes that digital advances and the Internet have brought upon us, changes in our lifestyles, how we work, entertain, how we bring up and educate our children.... For all these great plans and high aspirations we need your support! If you like this magazine and what it stands for, you can help by getting in touch with us, becoming a contributor, writer, following us on social media, or just becoming a friend. And, most importantly, support us by spreading the word among friends and colleges, buying the magazine issues you like or subscribing to future issues, so we can keep publishing every month. So, join us now on this incredible journey. Slavko Simin eDitor DigitalUpMagazine@gmail.com
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C EN O TS N T
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Jim Ludtke
ÂťMy characters are more bizare than realistic.ÂŤ ................
MeCompany All elements are integrated and work together on multiple levels ...............
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JUXT Interactive
Dushan Kastelic
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Who knows what will happen next? Maybe we will not imitate life, but create it ..................
Steve Spaz Williams The wizard of special effects ................
Igor Posavec
He always tries to hide emotional detail into his images ....................
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SIGGRAPH 2005
Shane Acker “9” Tomasz Bagiński “Fallen Art” Paul Taylor - Blur “In The Rough” .................
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Me Com pany BY BLEHL HIBSH
Originally published: July 2005, Digital Arts Magazine
ME COMPANY IS AMONG THE FIRST IN THE WORLD TO HAVE USED DIGITAL 3D IN PRINT MEDIUM AND PROVED THE FUNCTIONAL SYNTHESIS OF THESE TWO DIFFERENT MEDIA. [ 8 ] DigitalUP
ď€
Me Company is a London based design studio. Paul White founded the Company 17 years ago, and ever since then Company has been working on graphic design
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Me Comď€ pany
[ 10 ] DigitalUP
e Company is a London based design studio. Paul White founded the Company 17 years ago, and ever since then the Company has been working on graphic design, video, 2D & 3D animation production as well as researching the digital technologies. The core team is based on 6 people working full time and several talented associates. Me Company evolved from traditional design to computer design, which included 3D into 2D print media. Today, this is a large design studio covering a wide range of commercial and noncommercial activities, consulting, and research among others. The Company’s final product may not be fine art, since they work is comissioned by clients, but they always make sure the solution they produce is a high quality graphic design. Me Company’s trademark is team work. There is no particular person responsible, since the team acts as an organism. Every final image is a result of a creative work in progress.
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After Plastic Fantastic, many other album cover designs came along. Their design ID is out there, somewhere, among the millions of CD covers...
Every character, every image is developed from the story line, be it a cover for a music album, or an animation – each final product has its own background story.
THE PHYLOSOPHY OF ME COMPANY HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT ALL ELEMENTS ARE INTEGRATED AND WORK TOGETHER ON MULTIPLE LEVELS.
There is no ordinary production process. Every art project is different, and demands a different approach. There are two basic aspects of the working process: concept and communication. All tasks are focused on expressing the conceptual ideas in an original way. Me Company develops a special bond with their client in order to deepen the understanding of the client’s needs, and also to get inspiration. If the project is visually based, then the scenario or animation is created as a temporary guide mark. Technology is an important segment of the work. Me Company’s multidisciplinary approach means working in different media: CG animation, web and graphic design, different software... There are several ideas that bring together
their core concept: modernization, technology, character, fashion, architecture, biology, transformation, metamorphosis, illusion, furniture, landscapes, religion, philosophy, literature. Me Company is a group of intelligent artists with different backgrounds, and different education, working as a well-coordinated team. They are ambitious and they are unique. The Company’s portfolio is rich in recognizable album covers, such as Bjork’s CD covers, and her ex-bands: The Sugarcubes and The Shamen. They collaborated with leading UK record labels, as well as with many independents. Record cover design is obviously so much more than simply illustrating a CD cover and designing a logo. Me Company’s philosophy is creating an integral and multileveled concept. For example, Plastic Fantastic cover is indeed Plastic and also Fantastic!
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BJORK PLAY VIDEO
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Bjork Me Company has a great reputation, but collaboration with Bjork may be the strongest reference in their portfolio. Their relationship with Bjork has been developing for a long time and it is based on mutual trust and ‘artistic telepathy’. Me Company did almost all the covers for her albums (except for one Sugarcubes single), and the style development reflects both her and Me Company’s work. Post cover album is a photoshoped image of Bjork, and the same style continues with other Post singles: Isobel – beautiful creation, done in natural tones. Me Company described it as ‘techno muesli’. Army of me and Hyperballad both feature attractive 3D animation techniques. Bjork’s head photo was used for the cover with computer animated underwater rock reflections surrounding and transforming her face.
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Noriuki Makihara He is a leading Japanese pop star. Noriuki Makihara hired Me Company for his first English language album release. »This is an exceptional example of our approach: absorption, development, and an answer for what are we looking for. No, this is not Manga. This is Me Company.« This project started with a story about a cyber-couple who makes Data Babies at a virtual ranch. Digital cowboy and his wife are protecting their Data Babies from the attacks of a mad Dog from the Dog World. Characters were modelled with 3D Studio, Form Z, Strata Studio Pro, and Infiny-D.
Carl Cox Me Company did a series of designs for underground DJ Carl Cox. The most important one is for his album FACT, in future gothic style. The whole design package is based on a single shot of Cox’s head and shoulders. Parts of the image are sampled, repeated, and manipulated in order to form parts of his eyes, teeth, and even clothes – as textures for different segments. »For this kind of an image manipulation the basic knowledge of Photoshop in not enough, one must have an advanced knowledge, or even extreme one.«
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Nike NIKE IS A COMPANY WHICH OFTEN HAS CAPTIVATING AND RADICAL DESIGN IN THE CORE OF THEIR MARKETING CAMPAIGNS.
Me Company also designed a series of commercials for this brand. Four football players: Davids, Kluivert, Waterreus and Ronaldo are the leading roles in the commercials. Their characters are depicted as super stars, but as caricatures. »Their faces were caricatured to the extreme. He asked them to make a certain facial expressions; we took photos of them, and then made the caricatures based on the photos. It is how we got the final product.« The original ideas came from the footballers’ characters, for example – Edgar Davids’ love for the motorbikes and high speed cars (he owns a red Ducatti), so we transformed him into a crazy monocycle. With the motto – nothing can pass by me – the goalkeeper Waterreus has multiple arms coming from everywhere. The creative process is an organic process as well. One idea leads to another on a never-ending journey. 20 years of Me Company’s, constant progress in designing, is the symbol of value, success and style.
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Toki Doki
Italian artist, Simone Legno started Toki Doki several years ago, as a personal website, a diary, portfolio – simply, a place where he could exhibit his stuff. Today, Toki Doki is Simone’s dream come true. Toki Doki means sometimes in Japanese, and like Simone says: »Everyone is hoping to have moments that can change one’s destiny.« Maybe this website can change your life for better, so keep on dreaming.
Derek Bacon
[w] www.tokidoki.it
Photoshop guru, illustrator and designer Derek Bacon combines his digital imagery with classic photography and finalizes his work in Photoshop. Derek’s digital work has been published in New York Times, Computer Arts, the Independent... [w] www.derekbacon.com
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RUSSIAN LOVE
Condlave Obscvrvm
Oleg Paschenko is a Russian artist and he has been online for quite some time. He is the author of the CondlaveObscvrvm website. This website has a unique atmosphere, filled with futuristic gothic influence, and seasoned with cynicism, making this project a senseless place that everyone who visits it should experience it in their own way.
americanos Globalization, fashion, jeans, virtual world... These are all the things the Americanos fashion brand is promoting. Their scandalous, provocative, and controversial campaigns and design are bringing the atmosphere to a boiling point.
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Steve Spaz Williams Originally Published: May 2002, Digital Arts Magazine
The wizard of special effects [ 18 ] DigitalUP
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hildhood experiences are often crucial. If one is lucky enough to have a father who is a talented animator, chances that one will become an animator himself are great. Steve Williams’ father was an animator, working at IBM. Steve always knew what his future call will be: »I drew all my life. Back in high school, I drew cathedrals with complicated ornaments. Like Leonardo Da Vinci, I love to discover how to accomplish things.« He observed things and then tried to work them out. He didn’t call it art, he called it — research. »I also think of my work in that way.« Today, Spaz is one of the best animators in Hollywood, a pioneer in the computer animation field. He was creating special effects for the movies in the moment when they became a turning point in computer animation. Steve Spaz Williams created special effects for: Abyss, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Terminator 2, and Mask — and, all movies won the Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects. His first job was at Industrial Light & Magic, in 1988. Williams studied animation at Sheridan College, graduating in 1984. He
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Animation in Terminator was an important step forward, something not seen before..
recalls his college years: »The first year at the College was intense. They did everything to make it even harder, so many of my fellow students quit.« Back in the college, Spaz did free hand animations. After graduation, he went on to work at Alias Research in Toronto. »At the time I was into industrial design and visual animation. General Motors was one of the clients. They would tell me to make a model, and I usually had a solution pretty fast. Indeed, I was the first Alias animation guy.« »I remember the first time I saw a 3D interactive motion. I thought it was a revolution, I was amazed! This is a 3D clay, I thought, and I began to 3D model everything I could.« In 1988, the Industrial Light & Magic Company called me to work on Body Wars — cells flowing through veins animation. They were surprised by my speed and the possibility to animate with the machine they had. It was an old SGI machine, one of the first from the SGI series. The job was supposed to last for 2 weeks, and I stayed there for 10 years.” Today, the ILM company has more than 1000 animators employed, including hundreds of animators who are working on more than 500 Silicon Graphics machines. Many of the special effects for: the Flintstones, the Jumanji,
PLAY VIDEO » SOME DAY, WE WILL BE ABLE TO CREATE SYNTHETIC HUMAN BEINGS, BRAIN. WE WILL BE ABLE TO EXIST MUCH LONGER. OPEN THE WARDROBE DOOR AND SELECT THE BODY YOU WANT TO WEAR. IT WON’T BE THE NATURE’S DECISION, BUT A MATTER OF CAPITAL. «
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break-through, they are so important because nothing like that was ever done before. The next stop was Jurassic Park. Steve remembers the studio was uncertain how everything will end; they had a lot of mistrust in computer animation. »Jurassic Park animation meant a few small dinosaurs running around on their feet, and the background was supposed to be done in stop motion technique. Mark and I wanted to create an animated T-Rex. We were laughed
PLAY VIDEO Spawn represents an art experiement. The 35 special effects in this film took one month to create. Spawn is the film with the highest profit, higher than that of the Mask – with the 16 million invested, it earned the full 150 million.
the Casper were done here. In the same year, 1988, Spaz did the Abyss — the huge water snake animation, directed by Jim Cameron. In the 1990, collaboration with Mark Dippéstarted stared, and it is lasting even today. Williams was in charge of The Hunt for Red October film animations. »Underwater scenes of the submarine were shot in the vapor pressure of mineral oil technique, the effect was supposed to depict the turbulences around the propeller.«
» JIM CAMERON COMPARED THE TWISTER TO A PORN MOVIE, WHICH THESE FILMS ARE BECOMING. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THAT THE BIG BUDGETS SOMEHOW GUARANTEE THE BIG CASH. THEY ARE NOT MOVIES ANYMORE; THEY ARE MORE OF A CHALLENGE NOW. IT USED TO BE AN ART, AND NOW IT IS A BUSINESS. «
Also in the same year, Williams started working on Terminator 2 animations. He was the head animator and worked on the cyborg animations around a month. »I worked in four different stages; they all had to be connected by the type, that is by the interpolation model. Terminator 2 animations were a
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PLAY VIDEO at. Even the people who later received the Academy Award for the T-Rex animation did not believe in our vision. When the Company people saw my animation, they were thrilled and it finally became serious.« Spaz remembers. The work lasted for the next 18 months and had over 100 people involved in it, and the result reached the new hights in computer graphics. The most important thing was to achieve the impression of natural movements of the dinosaurs as living beings rather than When Mark and I proposed to create the T-Rex in 3D animation for Jurrasic Park, we were laughed at, even by the people who later received the Academy Award for that same T-Rex.
As the Star Wars Trilogy fan, Spaz had a frightening task - he felt like he had to perform a surgery on a very famous person. Eventully, it took him a full year to complete five scenes and to replace the original with the newly animated version of Jaba the Hut.
PLAY VIDEO
animated characters. »The biggest challenge was the secondary animation« Spaz says. »The muscle mass on its back and lower legs was constantly moving and it looked huge. Also there was the Softimage software; it allowed us to animate it.« The next big project was The Mask. It was 1994, and Spaz got the creative freedom to work on the animation. He combined animation and live recording, and it was the greatest challenge in his career. Chuck Russels, the director of the movie, wanted Jim Carrey’s character to look like a cartoon animated character, somewhat like Tex Avery. The movie is filled with special effects; we remember lots of them even today (Carrey eating dynamite, doing the Tasmanian Devil whirl, his 5 meters long tongue unwinding). DigitalUP [ 21 ]
PLAY VIDEO »One particular scene was difficult to create, the scene where Carrey’s legs are detached from his body and were moving on their own. I still remember how difficult it was to convince the audience it was Carrey’s legs« Spaz said. 20 years after the original Star Wars premiered, the new version was released. Spaz was working on the remake of the first Star Wars Trilogy. »Back then the technology wasn’t developed like today, of course, and Lucas wanted to do the remake of the vision he had back then.« Together, they worked on the Jabba the Hut scenes that didn’t appear in the original movie and were now recreated in the new animated version. Since Williams is a huge Star Wars fan, it was a difficult task before him. It took him an entire year to finish five scenes and replace the original with
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In Mask, Spaz had a total creative freedom. The movie director gave him an unlimited freedom to create animations and combine them with live actions. It was a great challenge in both technological and artistic sense.
the new versions of computer generated Jabba the Hut. Spawn is an art experiment, with 35 special effects completed in a month. It is a co-directing debut for Spaz and Dippe. Spaz is now more into directing. Having the skills of creating visual effects is a plus side. »The process of creating a movie is more fun and it is better to work on a movie that you are really into, than spending a whole day in front of a computer, working on a dinosaur’s skin« Spaz admits. That’s true, but don’t forget years and decades Steve Williams spent working on a computer animation. Commercial videos which Spaz directed for Nintendo, Lexus, Electronic Arts, Accolade, and Intel were screened in Cannes in 1998.
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COMPUTER CAN BE A DESCTRUCTIVE MEDIUM, A WINDOW TO A REALITY THAT DOES NOT EXIST. TO CREATE A 3D VIRTUAL WORLD IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO BE WELL ROOTED IN THE REAL WORLD, AND ONLY THEN TO DELVE INTO THE VIRTUAL ONE, BUT UNDER THE CONDITION THAT THERE IS A BALANCE IN YOU BETWEEN THOSE TWO.
In Blockbuster TV ad, Spaz superbly uses the power of new digital technology.
PLAY VIDEO
Brains video for Lexus was directed in collaboration with Western Images creative team. Williams created a driver the way CAT scanner ’sees’ him, in order to depict internal reactions of a driver while he drives GS400 at high speed. Spaz is undoubtedly a talented visual artist, and also very critical towards computer animations and artwork today. »It is a question of quality. You find a new tool, and then you experiment with it. This is now happening with the special effects in today’s movies. The biggest problem is that the big budgets somehow guarantee a huge commercial success. They are not movies anymore; they are more of a challenge now. It used to be an art — now it is a business.” Steve Spaz Williams enjoys his freedom riding his Harley Davidson, smoking cigars and directing weird music videos we appreciate. DigitalUP [ 23 ]
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Andy Warhol ON LINE PROJECTS On Andy Warhol’s Museum website there are various art projects inspired by his life, artwork, and statements. His famous saying: »Everybody will be famous for 15 minutes« is the core of the 15 Minute Poll Project. It is designed to be an online poll which allows you to contribute to one’s ephemeral fame and vote for one person, event or idea. Some of the previous winners were Eminem and Britney Spears. Web Cam is another project, which allows us to watch the Museum entrance online, also to observe what is happening in the Silver Clouds Gallery. On the same website, there is a section dedicated to various art projects, designed to resemble Warhol’s Factory. L.A.-based artist Richard Hawkins presented his art research Squirreled-Away: Meanderings Amongst the Time Capsules. He was inspired by Andy Warhol’s archives that were opened in 1994 and contained tons of photographs, newspapers and photocopied articles about Warhol’s life and Zeitgeist. Richard Hawkins conducted a research of Warhol’s collection,
looking for a specific footage, photos of naked gay men (in porn magazines from the 1960’s). Men, although anonymous, eventually gain their 15 minutes of fame. Probably the most interesting project that brings us closer to Warhol’s artwork and personality is One Stop Warhol Shop. It is a collaboration between Andy Warhol’s Museum and ArtMuseum.net. Web design was done by Modem Media, Inc. This fantastic Flash website offers its visitors a unique online experience of meeting Warhol’s complex and inventive character. The website is created as an open space museum and it allows visitors to discover Andy Warhol from any aspect they wish.
www.warhol.org
THraVe
Thrave is a perfect place on the web for high quality Flash animation. Check out their latest production: Volcano revolver, Cupids, Seat of life, Postcards from the other side of Apocalypse, and many others. Reid Gershbein gathered artists, animators, writers, and directors around the Thrave Company, and together they work on various art projects. The story is a core aspect of their concept, similar to Reid’s previous experience in Pixar Animation Studios. After the story creating process comes the visual design part, where the animation gives life to the concept. The work is shared between small teams, so the creative process is more efficient. Thrave collaborates with various marketing and PR agencies in
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Bjorkcocoon The 3rd single “Cocoon” from the album Vespertine is followed by an interesting video. It was directed by Japanese artist EikoIshioka, famous for the costumes she created for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
PLAY VIDEO
The Cocoon video is a mix of EikoIshioke’s Eastern aesthetic and Bjork’s eccentricity. Bjork is wearing
a rubber suit, created by Gaelyn Designs, and the design simulates a naked female body. The silk-like fluid is flowing from her nipples and is creating a cocoon that is wrapping her body. Glasswork Company was in charge of special effects. The video premiered on Raindance Film Festival in October 2001.
www.bjork.com
order to improve their work’s quality through new techological and sociological experiences. Due to their expertize and creativity, these agencies are eager to work with Thrave. Advertising work allows them to create an immediate bond between audince and brand. These various sources of income provide them the opportunity to concentrate more on their creativity. The services of this studio are in high demand in TV and website production. The future is surely on their side.
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Michael Young Michael Young
Originally published: December 2001, Digital Arts Magazine
Does not consider himself only a web designer, always pointing out that majority of his work ends up in print, video, or on T-shirts. Most of what he does has a strong visual impact.
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his 23 years old designer has only five years of experience, but is already very successful and thinks he still has many creative things to discover. Intimately, Michale Young sees himself as ‘wise’ and ‘old’, a real designer. When looking at his own work, he sees it as a combination of many other styles, while trying to express himself through the work. Michael Young lives in Washington and he works for the WeWorkForThem design studio.
He always has a piece of paper and pencil with him and gets the ideas from observing his surroundings. Majority of his graphic designs are embodied in the print, video, or T-shirts. He appreciates the image manipulation, since this is the way he can freely express his creativity.
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Working with software, he discovered the technology is liberating for him. Web design is a whole new field that now excites him the most. His concepts are constantly moving forward and he is very much into experimenting. Many of his clients contacted him via Internet. He makes sure his clients follow the designing process from the beginning. Michael Young is strongly clientoriented and considers this method to be the right one. His projects like Planet of Drums and SubMethod are the results of good planning and the act of careful listening to clients’ needs. We will see more of this talented designer, for sure. www.michaelpaulyoung.com
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SIGGRAPH is the biggest annual International Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques Convention/Exhibition. In 2005, it was held in the Los Angeles Convention Center between 31st of July and 4th of August. The Siggraph 2005 keynote speaker was George Lucas. Before the keynote address, Siggraph presented three awards: The Computer Graphics Achievement Award - Ronald Fedkiw (Stanford University and ILM associate) The Steven Anson Coons Award for Outstanding Creative Contributions to Computer Graphics - Tomoyuki Nishita (Tokio University) The Significant New Researcher Award Jos Stams (Alias Systems) The Electronic Theatre showcased an eclectic mix of the finest work in computer graphics from the past 12 months. There were 31 movies presented, and short 3D movie Shane Acker’s 9 received the Best of Show award. Other notable movies were: Fallen Art (director Tomasz Bagiński), Gopher Broke (director Jeff Fawles), Learn Self Defense (director Chris Harding), and Cubic Tragedy (Ming-Yuan Chuan, Taiwan). Shane Acker’s 9 is a dark post-apocalyptic short animated film, which follows a story of a rag doll fighting a mechanical dinosaur. The film was inspired by puppetry and the idea was successfully transferred into the world of digital animation. This 10-minutes-movie was a product of the author’s four-years-long research and hard work. The author received Student Academy Award – Gold Award for Animation and the movie was a huge success at many other short film festivals. Polish animator Tomasz Bagiński’s Fallen Art received the Jury Honors. It is a disturbing 3D movie about soldiers in an old and longforgotten military base camp somewhere in the Pacific, gathered for their final mission. The characters in the movie are realistically depicted and they personify their own twisted natures. The movie is a combination of animation and handmade paintings. It took the author almost a year and a half to move
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from the initial idea to the final production. Tomasz Bagiński is the only author in the history of SIGGRAPH who had received two awards: Best in show in 2002 for the Cathedral and Jury Honors in 2005. Paul Taylor’s In The Rough is a short animated 3D movie that takes us back to the Stone Age. The length of the movie is 4.5 minutes, and it tells a funny story about relationships. Brog is a caveman who has marital problems. After being kicked out from the cave, the solution comes to him in an unusual way. In The Rough comes from the Blur production. The movie is fastpaced, dynamic, with excellent lighting and rendering – all the key features of the Blur production. Learn Self Defence was done in Photoshop and animated in Flash, with flat backgrounds and minimalistic characters. George, a victim of a brutal assault, decides to learn the art of self-defense. The movie is actually a satire, accurately depicting a superpower country’s behavior against a threat, real or imaginary. The author, Chris Harding, made this 2D animated movie in the 1950’s cartoon style. It has been screened at over 50 film festivals, in more than 16 countries. For the first time, the audience got the chance to vote for their own favorite films. The Audience Award 2005 winner was Cubic Tragedy, directed by Ming-Yuan Chuan (Taiwan University). It features a female polygonal character who is trying out a new cosmetic software for face remodeling, with undo function misbehaving. Sounds familiar? [W]: www.siggraph.org
Shane Acker “9” [w] www.shaneacker.com
Tomasz Bagiński “Fallen Art” [w] www.fallen-art.com
Paul Taylor - Blur “In The Rough” [w] www.blur.com
Chris Harding “Learn Self Defense” [w] http://chrisharding.net
Ming-Yuan Chuan “Cubic Tragedy” [w] www.ntust.edu.tw
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Oskar 2005
Best Animated Short Film Nominees
Sejong Park “Birthday Boy” [w] www.birthdayboymovie.com
Jeff Fawler-Blur “Gopher broke”[w] www.blur.com
Bill Plympton “Guard dog” [w] www.plymptoons.com
Mike Gabriel “Lorenzo” [w] http://disneyshorts.toonzone.net/years/2004/lorenzo.html
Birthday Boy - a heartbreaking story about a day in a boy’s life who grew up during the Korean War. It is seemingly an ordinary day, but as the day unfolds, we find out it holds a terrifying secret. The movie was written, directed and animated by Sejong Park, a Korean immigrant who lives in Sidney, Australia. It took him 6 months to complete the story and another 18 months to create the movie. After roaming around through his demolished village, a boy – Manuk, comes home only to find a parcel on his doorstep, left by a postman. Not being able to read yet, he doesn’t know what the package holds, but we know its content: a leather wallet and a military license plate belonging to his late father. Birthday boy was screened at over 50 festivals all over the world and received excellent reviews. Gopher Broke – a mole digs a tunnel underneath wheat fields and comes on the surface just in time when a truck is passing by. The mole tries to harvest vegetables, but they are all already collected by rabbits, hens, and crows. The last truck passing by carries something less edible, a cow. In slow motion, cow’s bell rings as it falls down over the mole. The movie features impressive technical achievements, from Gopher’s mime and body language, to the detailed pickup trucks. Wheat fields and fruits were also detailed and depicted very accurately. With its exceptional quality, Gopher Broke deserved its nomination. Guard Dog – This movie was a turning point in Bill Plympton’s career. It is about a loyal guard dog as who imagines farcically depicted dangers, from birds and flowers to squirrels and other harmless beings around. The guard dog is under a constant stress because it is imagining his owner being attacked and his head decapitated. Plymton’s humor and style brought him an Academy Award. This movie is the first to come out of the Plympton Production Studio. Background and drawings were scanned separately and then assembled into a whole. Lorenzo – Mike Gabriel is the only nominee whose animated short was screened as an overture for the feature film. Lorenzo is so funny, it makes you cry. The idea originated from Joe Grant and the movie was developed with Dan Teece’s CG-spline animation technique. Lorenzo was screened before the Raising Helen featured movie, and whatever we may think about it, it is a significant short movie still today. Ryan – The audience responded to Chris Landreth’s Ryan differently due to its delicate nature. The story is based on the life of Ryan Larkin, a Canadian animator who produced some of the most influential animated films of his time. The production process lasted for 3 years. Dave Baas and Chris Landreth helped the animators in perfecting the motion of the characters and also designing characters. Visually, the movie was influenced by English painter Francis Bacon, Chicago magic realist painter Ivan Albright, and Polish surrealist painter Zdzisław Beksiński. Landreth was also driven by the desire to depict the human movement and behavior as accurately as possible.
Chris Landreth “Ryan” [w] http://theoscarsite.com/pictures2004/ryan.htm
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Cartoon d’Or The Cartoon d’Or is the European award for animation short films. It rewards each year the best of the best, since only prize-winning films from the partner festivals can compete for it. This year’s nominees were the movies screened at Holland animated films Festival (Utrecht, Holland), Cinanima (Espinao, Portugal), I Castelli Animati (Genzano di Roma, Italy), Animated Encounters (Bristol, Great Britain), Anima 2005 (Brussels, Belgium), and International animated film Festival (Annecy, France). This year’s jury members were: Karsten Kiilerich (Denmark), Philippe Leclerc (France), Peter Lord (Great Britain), and Corinne Jenart – Cartoon (Belgium). From 26 potential winners, the awarded movies were: City Paradise, Flatlife, Falling, Jo Jo in the Stars, and Little Things. French female author, Gaëlle Denis, wrote and directed City Paradise, a story about an Asian girl, Tomoko, coming to London. Big city can be quite scary and Tomoko discovers a mysterious side of a city underground that is inhabited by small creatures. The movie is 6 minutes long and is a combination of 2D/3D animation and live action.
CITY PARADISE Gaëlle Denis
FALLING Peter Kaboth
Falling is a 3D animation movie coming from the German author Peter Kaboth. While two people are falling from the roof, people gather around the spot they will hit below, and discuss the meaning of life.
FLATLIFE Jonas Geirnaert [w] www.flatlife.be
Jonas Geirnaert is a Belgian author and his short movie Flatlife brings a story of four neighbors, living door to door and their banal daily activities which, coincidently, become a threat to life. The movie is 11 minutes long, done in cell animation technique. JO JO IN THE STARS Marc Craste [w] www.studioaka.co.uk
The author of the JoJo In The Stars is Marc Craste from Great Britain. Film is a story of two lovers struggling with jealousy and with horrors of the world. This 12-minutes movie is a debut for the Aka Studio Productions. Script writing and directing for the Little Things was done by Daniel Greaves; sketches of a world in which nothing quite works and everybody has their own little quirks. The animated movie was done in 2D animation technique, and is 11 minutes long.
LITTLE THINGS Daniel Greaves [w] www.tandemfilms.com
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Jim Ludtke Originally published: December 1998, Digital Arts Magazine
»Many artists working in 3D want to achieve photoreality. My work was never photorealistic. My characters are more bizarre than realistic.«
The Seven Deadly Sins – Gluttony Client: Outside Magazine
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Jim Ludtke
W Sonic man of the year, Sega’s plan for world domination Illustrations for Wired magazine
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hile still a student of Chicago Academy of Fine Art in the 1980’s, Jim Ludtke began his freelance career as an illustrator for Playboy, Newsweek, Discover, and The New York Times. In 1985, he bought his first 512K Mac. When full color graphic Mac II entered the market, Ludtke, like many other artists saw an opportunity to use computers for illustration. He immediately understood computers were tools for achieving the creativeness he possesses. In 1991-92 he won the prestigious MacMasters Award, which was a turning point in his career, bringing him new clients, such as Nintendo, Nickelodeon, and MTV. His artwork was exhibited in New York MoMa, and Tokyo gallery Dentsu. Soon after having his work published in famous magazines, he entered the animation field, beginning the multimedia research. Art rock band The Residents hired Ludtke to create a video for the Harry the Head
Virus Killer Client: PC World
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Playboy Jazz reader pool Client: Playboy magazine
FreakShow Client: The Residents
Illustration for a newspaper ad Client: Absolut Vodka
Spider “Personal weblishing” Client: Macworld magazine single. Their album Freak Show became an interactive CD with Ludtke’s help. They worked on the album for a whole year. This was a dream job for Ludtke. Their collaboration continued on their second album - Bad Day On The Midway. Jim Ludtke’s artwork consists of introduction sketches that he later develops into 3D animation. His approach is technical and well structured, but Jim Ludtke points out that the process of creating the 3D world needs to be guided intuitively and spontaneously, and not to be restricted by computer interface demands. His characters fight the big, bad world and undergo a series of surreal and comic situations. »Unlike many 3D artists that tend to create hyperreal images, my characters are always bizarre and unrealistic. My animations are rich in details, I apply stage lighting to my characters« Jim Ludtke says. »Anyone can create an animation. It’s pretty weird that one can do it almost singlehandedly; from crafting an idea to its final realization, all of it can be done done at home, which is the ultimate goal of digital video.« »The tools I use must be able to create organic and vegetal forms, which are the core of my visual style. In my opinion, good software can give you the possibility to experiment, to surprise yourself, and to find yourself in a situation to try out something you didn’t plan.« A beautiful mind of this talented animator is a perfect example of what can be achieved in the cyber world. Fascinated by technology, he creates a fantastic, dream world combined with surreal multimedia world.
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Documenta X is an exhibition of modern and contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. It is the most important exhibition since it sets new standards and presents future influences of the art scene in the next 5 years. In June 1998, it was the 10th Documenta Exhibition, and it traditionally exhibited variety of latest art forms and contents. Documenta X was the last exhibiton in the 20th century, so its concept was mainly dedicated to the recapping the 20th century art, especially the second half of the century, after the 1945. Every Documenta exhibition lasts for 100 days and that’s why it is often referred to as the “Museum of 100 days”. It is designed to be a meeting place for experts to reflect, analyze, and critique. Various artists, theoreticians, directors, and architects present their views on art in globalized world, and the audience has an opportunity to discuss the subjects with them. All the talks are transmitted live via Internet and the exhibition gets a global character. This year’s Documenta has its movie section, because this year’s Exhibition Director Catherine Davis considers film the most complex art form of our time.
Documenta X Kassel
The Hybrid Workspace is one of the most innovative multimedia projects exhibited at Documenta X. The project was conducted through collaboration between Documenta X and Berlin Biennale (opened in 1998). It was designed by a German architect Eike Becker and Dutch and German media theoreticians Geert Lovink and Pit Schultz. The Kassel Orangerie was turned into an open studio for collection, selection, filming and distribution of various content and information. The project deals with the current social, political and cultural issues and provides opportunities for comments, interviews, discussions and presentations of the conclusions, as well as data and content obtained from the outside. On the Workspace website there are many discussion groups on the variety of topics: Internet technologies, freedom of communications, openness of borders, European connectivity etc. and everybody is free to discuss the subject matters. After launching of the project experiment in Kassel, Hybrid Workspace will be transferred to Berlin, where it will continue its life at the first Art Biennale (1998). www.documenta.de
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Hybrid Work Space is a temporary media laboratory project that produces unique content. It allows its remote participants to take part via Internet. While the Kassel Orangerie is transformed into an open media lab for the collection, selec-
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tion and distribution of the contents and information, Hybrid Work Space is open for live commenting, discussions, presentation of documents, and research results that are the final product of the project itself. The venue’s architecture is a reflexion of anti-hierarchal understandings of different functions, zones, images and situations. Different elements of scenography can be dismantled and rearranged. Columns, as the result of an image projection, are creating a barrier between real and virtual. The visitors can expect the unexpected. Hybrid Work Space is a warehouse-like ambient space filled with documents and content. At the same time, it is a message board, global newspapers and a global radio
station. This is how the project becomes both public and private, both open and closed dynamic system, combining old and new media and technologies. It is a critical thinking and creative thinking conflict zone, also a social space for different ways of thinking. The project continues its life in Berlin, at the first Berlin Biennial, scheduled for Fall 1998.
Automated Alice Automated Alice is a urban postmodern fantasy novel. Jeff Noon, (1960) is a writer and also a former guitar player of the Manicured Noise pop band. He has published four novels: Vurt (1994), for which he had received the Arthur Clark Award, then Pollen (1995), Automated Alice (1996), and
Generation X
The New Lost Generation
Generation X tells disturbing and strange stories about a generation uncertain of its future. A generation that is afraid of the 80’s yappies, afraid of new economy, recession, new drugs... Highly educated generation with lousy and
Nymphormation (1997), his last novel. Jeff Noon is thought to be one of the leading figures of cyberpunk movement and a big influence on young SF writers. Nintendo has already bought a copyright to Automated Alice, and we can expect a fantastic game from Nintendo.
underpaid jobs, they are clueless, with no future; they are the new lost generation. This novel is a successful debut for Douglas Coupland (1961), a Canadian author who was instantly celebrated as a cult writer for the younger generation. He is the author of three novels: Generation X (1991), Shampoo Planet (1992), Microserfs (1995), and his latest book Polaroids From The Dead (1996) is a collection of short stories and essays.
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Ars Electronica 97 m »The Future has changed its course; it is coming towards us, falling on us, we stop in front of it only for a moment to contemplate our individual status quo«
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Ars Electronica is an Austrian cultural, educational and scientific institute active in the field of new media art, founded in 1979. Since its founding, Ars Electronica hosts a key festival that deals with art, technology, and society. Today, it grew into a platform where all the information on latest art trends and ideas are being exchanged. Since 1979, Art Electronica is annual event and it is one of the most important festivals that follow the thin line between art, technology, science and society. FlashFactor - Information Maschine Mensch, Ars Electronica 97 focuses on the strategy that questions the relations between a man and a machine through a process of adaptation and assimilation.
THE FUTURE IS HAPPENING NOW
»Almost all the visions of the future, and many of them were themes and focal points of the Festival in previous 20 years, are now being realized in reality« says Gerfried Stocker, Ars Electronica Art Director. »Some of those visions are great – their use has already began: nanotechnology, bionic implants, or genetic engineering for example. Others are bad, which basically means they were wrong« Stocker concluded. »The Future has changed its course; it is coming towards us, falling on us, we stop in front of it only for a moment to contemplate our individual status quo.« These lines are the concept of FlashFactor Festival. Following the last year’s discussion on the subject of Memetics, Flash Factor 97 encouraged further thinking on the matter. According to Dawkin’s hypothesis, units of information are similar to genes and the discussion on models and transformation process theories drew the greatest attention. DigitalUPMagazine.com
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Prix Ars Electronica 877 artworks from all over the world were registered for the awards. With over 1.25 million AUT Schilling budget, this year’s competition offers high prizes for the computer art. The competition was organized by ORF Landes studio Oberoesterreich, for the 11th time. Four jury members are international experts, and the categories were: computer animation, interactive art, computer music, and net art.
Interactive Art Golder Nica - Music Plays Images X Images Play Music, a concert by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Toshio Iwai Special Prix - Border patrol - Paul Garrin and David Rokeby; The Invisible Shape of Things Past - Joachim Sauter and Dirk Luesbrick
.net Sensorium - Taos Project (Interdisciplinary Japanese group of media designers and scientists created a website Sensorium, which allows its users to experience the world like a living organism). Special Prix - Rolf Schmidt for MMF - The Hall of Humiliation; Richard Hawkes, Gordon Selley, Jane Prophet – Technosphere
Computer music Matt Heckert - Munich Samba Special Prix - Maryanne Amacher for the Levi-Montalcini Variations; Jonty Harrison for Unsound Objects
Computer animation Golden Nica – Dragonheart by Scott Squires, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)
www.aec.at
Special Prix - Joe’s Apartment by Chris Wedge
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Imagina is the annual festival dedicated to the most significant previous year’s film and video productions. Imagina is actually an indicator of the current technology development, where computer animation takes center stage. Radical communication between artist and sophisticated technology innovations is the focal point of this festival. The festival is widely oriented and it is open for everyone who is into computer graphics and special effects. The central categories of the Festival are 3D animation and visualization, music video and movie special effects. The festival’s award is the Grand Prix Imagina. This year’s stiff competition brought some of the greatest movies of the year, and the IMAGINA Grand Prix was awarded to Gerry’s Game by Jan Pinkava, Pixar Animation Studios. The Pixel-INA Prize, the special effects prize, went to Titanic by James Cameron, Lightstorm Entertainment and John Landau, Digital Domain. Best Game Prize: Blade Runner by Mark Brierley, Virgin Interactive, USA. The Festival was held from March 4-6, 1998. Imagina 98 continues to bring top-notch artistic achievements in video and film production.
GRAND PRIX IMAGINA GERRY’S GAME [USA] Gerry playches with himself. Production : PIXAR ANIMATION STUDIOS Realization : Jan PINKAVA
PRIX PIXEL-INA TEMA PARK RACE FOR ATLANTIS [USA] Film about the lost city of Atlantis. Production : IMAX ATTRACTION Realization : Arish FYZEE Hardware/Software : SGI, Indigo2
PRIX PIXEL-INA NTT DATA97 [France/Japan] Production : MISTRAL FILM Realization : Alain ESCALLE, Taiei LEE Hardware/Software : Discreet Logic / Inferno
PRIX PIXEL-INA ART U-MAN [France] Changed depiction of the Homosapiens. Production : VENUS PRODUCTION Realization : Julien DAYEZ Hardware/Software : Edit Box, Henry, Max, Flame / Illustrator, Photoshop
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PRIX PIXEL-INA ART RUNNERS [Japan] Kazuma MORINO (TAIYO KIKAKU CO. LTD) Racers run... Production : TAIYO KIKAKU CO. LTD Realisation : Kazuma MORINO Hardware/Software : Indy / Original
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PRIX PIXEL-INA SCHOOLS & UNIVERSITIES MIGRATIONS [France] A sculpture of an angel decides to join the birds migrating south. Production : SUP INFO COM Realization : Constantin CHAMSKI Hardware/Software : 3DS 4, Amapi, Photoshop, Avid
PRIX PIXEL-INA MUSIC VIDEO PINK [France] Production : PARTIZAN MIDI-MINUIT Realization : Doug NICHOL Hardware/Software : Flame / Edit Box
PRIX PIXEL-INA SCHOOLS & UNIVERSITIES RICE VEVES [France] Accordion imagines to be a train. Production : AII-ENSAD Realization : Stéphane KELLER
PRIX PIXEL-INA MUSIC VIDEO LEGION OF GREEN MEN [Canada] Production : BLACKWALK Realization : James COOPER Hardware/Software : SGI / Flame
PRIX PIXEL-INA FANTASY TEA SPOON [France] DEUXIEME : TEASPOON Disappointment of a skeleton. Production : ECOUTEZ VOIR Realization : Marc THONON/Patrick CHEREAU Hardware/Software : SGI / Explore
PRIX PIXEL-INA VISUELISATION TOUS SUR ORBITE! [France] Educational TV Program Production : FANTÔME ANIMATION Realization : Nicolas GESSNER Hardware/Software : SGI, Wavefront
PRIX PIXEL-INA MUSIC VIDEO DAVID BOWIE - LITTLE WONDER [Canada] Production : PARTNERS FILM CO. Realization : Floria SIGISMONDI Hardware/Software : SGI / Flame
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Originally published: December 2005, Digital Arts Magazine
Web Design Beginnings
Being a designer is the focal point of Todd Purgason’s career, whether it is architecture (the field he was educated and trained for), or graphic and multimedia design, also the fields where he expressed himself. Todd Purgason is surely one of the most prominent web designers. He recalls his web design beginning times: »While I was all into studying technical aspects of architecture, I needed a way out from the non-creative side of the work, so I started creating furniture and found myself in the graphic design. Printing and graphic design were both fun and simple, but they lacked challenge. When I found ’Director’, I just knew it was my thing. The application was mainly visually based but in the same time it was complex and sophisticated – and that is why I was drawn to it. At the same time WWW was developing rapidly, and I had a sense it was an unexplored territory, so I jumped into in, not wanting to miss the adventure. It was year 1995.« In that same year - 1995, Todd and his colleague Steve Wages left architecture to help a friend develop a web shop. Having a business plan all set up, they created their own company – Juxt Interactive. The company’s first job was www.lundstrom.com. It was the year 1997. They worked in Flash version 2. The website was a huge success and it contained all the elements of Todd Purgason’s recognizable design and style. Todd Purgason recalls: »It was more than a good website. I worked really hard in order to create a total web experience, which was almost a tactile sensation. I tried to combine design and technology to their limits.«
Juxt Interactive
Todd Purgason was a cofounder and creative executive of Juxt Interactive until 2012. The Company is namely recognized for its Flash
[ www.juxtinteractive.com ]
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[ www.shimano.com ]
[ www.toyo.com ]
[ www.kimballhallphoto.com ]
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cials. »Many of our clients come to us because they have heard of our company or have seen our work. Usually, the clients wish the solution to be innovative. We also have a marketing team, and they develop the relationship with current and future clients, and agencies.« Some of Juxt Interactive clients were: Skechers, Macromedia, Billabong-USA, J.F. Shea Companies, Omnisky, Prudential Lighting and e-zine Shorn from New York. They also worked for Toshiba, Fujitsu, Tektronix (Xerox), Lundstrom and many others. Todd Purgason designed Hillman Curtis’s book Flash Web Design, published by New Riders publishing. He also wrote a chapter for that book. and other cutting Todd on competition and clients’ relationship: edge technologies of that »We work with clients that chose us for our good time. Juxt is short for juxtaposireputation, but mainly we compete with other tion – the act of positioning or comcompanies that also have good reputation. bining two or more elements and placing We cope with problems like any other comthem side by side. It is the core of Company’s pany. Clients who trust us completely are design principle. very rare and we usually have to meet Todd described the working process: »Our goal is simple. We tend to create a long-term relationship our clients halfway. But they also push with our clients by combining design and technolous to be more creative and that is gies. By creating a well-balanced solution, all our proa great thing. We take our clients jects are a combination of design, graphics, interactive very seriously. They deserve contents and technologies that are integrated into a well high-end quality product thought and strategically planned Internet products that and we try to meet their meet our clients’ needs and goals.« Todd was always more expectations.« keen to designing and not to managing the Company. »I am a designer and a creative executive, and I enjoy creative part of work more. I also enjoy doing the HTML production. Last year, my partners came to me with an idea to focus more on crafting the design concepts and conduct more meeting with future clients. I reminded them that I was in this business because I love the designing part of the work. It’s just how my mind works.«
Clients
The Juxt Interactive’s business strategies are always focused on clients’ needs, and innovative and interactive designs have built them a rock solid reputation. Their projects span from micro websites to big web apps and TV commer[ 46 ] DigitalUP
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or content, yet is not the content itself.« Todd’s style consists of visible struDesign cture mixed with unconventional typoWhen it comes to design, there are several aspects that graphy and animated graphics. »When must be thought of. Web design is very complex and it you come from the architecture world, needs to be solved in a creative manner on multiple lewhich is filled with clear rules for the most vels. In Todd’s opinion, it is relatively easy to develop a common solutions, for example where to put creative and innovative solution for the web technoa door, you must think analytically and it is hard logy, but when a designer needs to incorporate other to be whimsical. I prefer the design to be filled aspects of the project, such as marketing solutions for with irony, metaphors, and innuendos. I also love the product, for example, that’s when the designer when people notice new things in our work that is most challenged. A good designer must possess they didn’t notice before.« analytical thinking skills, but also a well-developed intuition and creative thinking skills. An advanced Flash tools and technologies knowledge is a must. »A vast Flash is considered as a revolutionary program number of designers battle between functionality and that brought freedom to web designers. They design. I think of them as a whole, they are tools neecould express themselves more freely than they ded for creating a total experience: motion, interacticould with HTML. The development of Flash vity, sound, and technology. I always hope that my work was rapid; many things were improved from tells more about my approach. I care about the totality of the Flash 2, which was Todd’s beginning my work, not only about typography or images.« tool. »It is a powerful tool, which needs to Reflecting about the actual design moment, Todd be improved even more, and MacromePurgason says: »The visual communications dedia is working on it« Todd continued. sign and special effects design ought to be tho»There is a vast space of creative ught about separately and I see many desienergy on the web, and we gners thinking about these two in the same should thank Flash manner, but they are not the same. Special effects design is just one part of immense visual communications design. It sometimes transmits the message
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for it. When I try to imagine how the web would look like without it, I realize how boring it would be.«
Flash deCONSTRUCTION
Todd Purgason is the author of the book Flash deCONSTRUCTION, published by New Riders. Todd Purgason incorporated his vast knowledge and professional experience into the book and published it as a collection of dos and don’ts in web design. It was Todd’s intention to share his experience with young professionals, in order to ’free them from bad habits and inefficient practice’. »I held many lectures at different conferences throughout USA and met many different Flash users. Some of them had no idea about working on big projects, they were afraid of them and as a result they usually got less than they were capable of doing. I received many emails from readers, saying this chapter of my book helped them change their businesses.« While working on the book, Todd Purgason talked to many leading web designers: Hillman Curtis, Joshua Davis, Brendan Daves, and Glen Daves. »Over the years, we developed and deepened our contacts with these guys; sometimes we collaborated on some projects. We learned a lot from these guys and this is also a way to say Thank You to them, because the experience we gained helped us develop more as a Company.«
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Inspiration
»I find inspiration in life and projects themselves. Every job is unique and has its own dynamics that boosts ideas. I also find inspiration in God, architecture, nature, people, and movies. Other colleagues’ work can be inspiring also: Hillman Curtis, Josh Ulm, Jimmy Chin, Brad Johnson, Amy Franceschini, Matt Owens, Joshua Davis and other great designers« Todd says.
Software & Hardware
Todd and his Juxt Interactive colleagues use all Macromedia products: Freehand, Flash, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, Director, Generator, Sound Edit 16. They also use Adobe Photoshop and Premiere, as well as Cold Fusion Studio, ASP, SQL.
Awards
Todd Purgason is one of the most influential web designers in the world. The awards he received with his company are numerous: Clio Award, How Magazine Award, Print Magazine Interactive Award, Communication Arts Award, IPPA StudioONE, DesignONE Award, CommArts Magazine Web site of the week, and High Five Award, to name only a few. Todd says he is just an ordinary guy and all the attention he received didn’t change him a bit: »I am just a guy who is good at selecting fonts and playing on a computer.«
On The Margins
Todd speaks of himself more: »I enjoy working while listening to electronic and ambiental music. My favorite at the moment is Crystal Method. I also like alternative music, Travis and Radiohead. Gus Gus is my favorite band. I come from surf/skateboard subculture. My office suit is: Billabong shirt, Quicksilver shorts and sandals. Oh, yes, and my Von Zipper sunglasses. This is California — sunglasses are as important as shoes.« DA: And for the end, what does your usual workweek look like, there, at Juxt Interactive? Todd: »We usually go snowboarding.«
[w] www.toddp.me
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Sapporo Japan –
4th International PrintBiennale Computer graphic that won the Grand Prix Biennale Sapporo 98 was a great surprise
Among 3,000 artworks from 76 countries, this year’s laureate is Australian artist Bill Hart. He is awarded Grand Prix for his work Sticky Fingers. It is a computer graphic, a digital mezzotint, to be precise, rather untraditional art form; still a proof of the Biennale’s contemporaneity. Yusuka Nakahare, art critic, in his addressing to the audience said that we can expect more of the computer graphic art in the next (5th) Biennale. The upcoming century will probably be reserved for digital art. Some are even afraid digital art will dominate the art scene, but let’s be patient and see. The question of the originality, that rose in the times of Modernity, seems more present than ever. It seems that digital printing may be lacking the sense of an Original, but that is not quite true. The answer lies in its multioriginality. It also raises the questions on commodification of art. Digital art will surely influence the art market and its pricing.
Top Award, Grand Prix Biennale Hart William, Australia Computer graphic, Stickey Fingers digital mezzotint 106.0 x 83.0 cm
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One thing is for sure, graphic art at the end of the 20th century is on its crossroad. There is, on one side, more traditional art stream, and on the other – an unmapped path of digital technologies, which will surely change and redefine graphic and print art scenes. We are eager to see how things will unfold.
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Kobayashi Isao, Japan Digital art print, 74.0 x 102.0 cm
Miyake Akiyoshi, Japan Mixed media, 80.0 x 65.0 cm
Sakamoto Koen, Japan Snow Work Inkjet print, 78.0 x 105.0 cm
Yamazaki Naohide, Japan Drawing-Photography 9709 Mixed media, 64.0 x 92.0 cm
Brown Paul, Australia Gymnast Digital print, 60.0 x 80.0 cm
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WHO KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT? MAYBE WE WILL NOT IMITATE LIFE, BUT CREATE IT. ARTIST WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME GOD...
D
Originally published: December 2005, Digital Arts Magazine
DUSHAN KASTELIC PLAY VIDEO
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is a Slovenian graphic designer, illustrator and cartoonist. He began his commercial work in 1988, in Mladina Magazine, designing covers and drawing comics. When Ivo Štandeker, the editor, called him, DušanKastelic joined the team of authors and began creating harsh and politically active comics. One of the first series he did was a political grotesque Partizans in which the author ridiculed good and bad sides of the WWII opponents: Partizans were depicted as superheroes, and Germans were depicted as villains. At the time, some of the Mladina journalists were imprisoned, and the magazine itself was often confiscated. That is the reason DušanKastelic worked under the alias. The next series he worked on was JBTZ Affair. It was based on a true story, that later led to ’Slovenian spring’ and eventually to Slovenia declaring independence from Yugoslavia.
Contrary to expectations to create a comic about his hero colleagues (who were making jokes about Secret police and the Army), Dušan decided to stir things up. He created a comic about a ’good guy’ Miran Frumen, a secret service agent, a man that was once a hero, but when the political landscape changed, he became the most hated person in Slovenia. The comic gained a good reception with the audience, but was cancelled before its ending. Dušan eventually finished it and published it. The comic was done with old school technology – Atari ST. In the beginning of the 90’s, Dušan said, the computers only messed things up, yet he declares himself as a techno-freak. During that period of time he began his adventure with 3D animation.
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Friends from the polka-punk band Orlek invited him to create a video about an ugly goblin Perk, who lost his job as a coal miner when the mine was closed down. With no prior experience in 3D animation, DušanKastelic decided to make a 3D animated video, and began his search for suitable software. He found Hash Animation: Master 2000. He developed a love-hate relationship with that software. After working on this video for a whole year, the final product was a combination of fantastic surroundings, modeling, texture, and characterization.
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COMPUTER AND GAMES
His obsession with creative possibilities was achieved through working on computers and PC games, DušanKastelic explains: »I am completely fascinated with the possibilities which PC games provide us. Not so much with playing the games, but with programming one. Just imagine it – you program the entire world, then you implement the living beings into that world, and then by giving them enough consciousness/intelligence, they can live their own lives. This adventure ends with a player who is in control, and that is what makes this medium different from others (books, movies). I believe the creation of games is the nearest thing to the feeling God must have had when he created the World.«
ARTS OF THE 21ST CENTURY
The achievements of the modern technology are the tools for the 21st century art to create a fusion of science, philosophy, and culture. »It will happen when the modern technologies become more available, and simplified. Until then, Cyber Art will be reserved for Cyber Freaks and not the real artists who have something to say. Who knows what will happen next? Maybe we will not imitate life, but create it. Artist will eventually become God.«
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Etnica
Behind the Etnicanet Records stands a team of professionals with more than 10 years of experience in concert production, club events and festival organization, as well as promoting new art projects & artists.
Originally published: December 2001, Digital Arts Magazine They specialize in dance and electronic music, and collaborate with DJ’s from all over the world. New Etnica studio is up-to-date, and is equipped with the most recent technology wonders. The crew is following the latest fashion in electronic sound and music technologies. One of the main goals of the Etnicanet Records is to keep the highest standards in electronic records releases, which they started with the triple CD release: South Africa 2000 Millenium Festival. Graphic design is an important part of the Etnicanet projects. The synthesis is achieved through audio-visual design, making it a unique multimedia experience. The graphic design is the work of Belgrade based designers, who skillfully transferred the electronic music atmosphere into visual expressions. We hope that Etnicanet will keep up their great work, and we will surely follow their success.
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Etnica
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PROFIL
Igor Posavec
Interview Originally published: December 2002, Digital Arts Magazine
My first computer was the Amiga500, and after that the 2000 and 1200 models. I was in love with this machine, a real fanatic. I worked with it up until 1998, far longer than was necessary.
T
hroughout times, the new generations would turn the machines from things they play with, to things they work with. Among them are those who broke boundaries and reshaped the standards of visual art. Igor Posavec talks to us about his experience as a designer and digital creator, while also disclosing some new plans. Question: Tell us something
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about yourself. Igor: I was born in Belgrade, in 1972, and I had an amazing childhood there. After the high school, my plan was to apply to the Design studies, but since the admission system was rigged and almost impossible to conquer, my plans had to change. I moved to Germany, where my parents lived, and studied design and art there. After that, my plan was to go to Japan or Korea and learn more there. Some
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of my dreams I realized, and some I’m still dreaming. Maybe Japan will become my reality someday. In 1997, I founded a digital design studio called 3D-IO. IO was supposed to mean output/input, but heck, somebody had already bought the domain name, so I added 3D in front of it. Not a really interesting origin story for the name, but somebody once told me that the name is not the thing that matters – what matters is that you’re good at what you do. So, the name stayed, and I’m still very much trying to be good at what I do... ha ha ha! Question: What was your first contact with the computer and when did you start doing 3D design?
Igor: My first computer was the Amiga500, and after that the 2000 and 1200 models. I was in love with this machine, a real fanatic. I worked with it up until 1998, far longer than was necessary. My first big client was Thysen Telecom, a big company with a big assignment. I was determined to finish it on the Amiga. That’s the thing with us South-Easterners, our blood is boiling, we fight tooth and nail for what we think is right, we hold our ideals close for a long time, and sometimes we hit a brick wall... I had a chance to see just how thick that wall was with the Amiga, and soon I replaced it with a better machine that made rendering 20 times faster, and my project was done in no time. The next few years were
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in some ways similar to that first project – a bit of luck, work done for half the price, and a lot of hair lost. Funny to think that I started drawing in 3D because I was tired of having to draw my spaceships from every angle! Now the machine renders the model and I can see it from any perspective. The last few years though, I’ve been missing the paper, maybe it’s time to take the pen back.
company; you aren’t just the artist any more, now you’re an accountant and a manager as well. The bureaucracy can get to you. But it’s a lot better than working for someone else, or being a freelancer. You take on a lot of responsibility, but the person at the other end has a clear responsibility towards you, too. I’ve been doing a lot of commercial things lately, so I miss the creative side of the
Igor’s work is characterized with a unique mix of possible and impossible, all accompanied with a great emotional charge. He always tries to hide some emotional detail into his images, be that just the way the character stares at you. Modeling: Lightwave Rendering: 3D MAX
Question: There is reality to your work, the worlds you make look like one could easily spend 24 hours in them playing with your 3D heroes. Igor: Well, maybe not the whole 24 hours, but a large portion of the day, yeah! That’s the thing with running your own
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business a bit. I hope to start working for myself again soon. Question: What do you think, what makes your work stand out? Igor: I love hearing what other people have to say about it, because I’m so immersed in
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it, I can’t see the wood from the trees sometimes. And, this comes with the job. Most of my work from the beginning was motivated by certain nostalgia for Serbia. There were a lot of orange tones, a lot of sadness and gritty looks. Many machines
minutes to draw, and a model takes at least 10 hours to make. Within those 10 hours, I get a million new ideas and take it in a million new directions. I have never followed 100% through with the initial sketch. The path from the idea to the model
from the past century are mixed in with futuristic elements. My idol, Zeljko Pahek, influenced a lot of it, too. His comics are still a Bible of sorts for our branch of art. I love infusing my work with hidden meanings, even if it’s just in the look of the characters. But, a hidden meaning is the exact opposite of what commercial clients are looking for these days.
is where the magic happens. As far as software goes, I use LightWave, and it all starts with a Box modeling system. It’s like working with clay, and it has some great intuitive textures. I have never understood people who spend hours and hours modeling organic objects in other programs. And the software is compatible and exportable into another great rendering program, Max for example. I’m not part of their lobby, I swear, they’re just that great! Rendering speed plays a large part in my line of work. I like to use a ton of plugins; I think they are to digital artists what brushes are to traditional painters.
Most of his works, specially in the period 1996-2000, was marked by nostalgia which Igor brought over from his motherland. Those scenes are full of orange and earth tones with gritty textures, dust & haze.
Question: Please tell us more about the creative process behind your work. Igor: I used to start with sketches, but as I got better with the computer than pencil and paper, I rely on them less. Besides, a sketch takes 10
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Question: Tell us what is your relationship with technology? Is the computer just a tool for you, or something more? Igor: You could ask a driver how he feels about his Mercedes - it’s the same thing. Or, better yet, ask an artist how he feels about his brushes and canvases? You have people who don’t care about the mechanics of it you can see it in the way they make overly complicated and unrenderable scenes. But on the other side, you have hardware geeks who like to waste 99% of their productivity getting their processors to work 1% faster. I think that the best place to be is somewhere in between. I like to assemble my own hardware because I like to know the machine I’m working on from the inside out, and be able to fix it if I need to. But I’m not one of those people who obsess about specs and learn all the new products by heart and then go on to talk about them in the forums. I’m not the one to boast about my frame rate. Question: Igor, what have you worked on and can technology today satisfy all you needs?
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Igor: I currently work on the Atlon 2000+ because I think it’s the best at allowing multiple graphic designers to access a complicated 3D scene at the same time. I never make scenes with more than 250,000 polygons, because I don’t want to wreak havoc on my graphics card. Anything more than that is a Russian roulette. I learned this from a great team leader I had at Disney Studios. When I see some of my colleagues making the absurdly giant scenes, I feel like I’m looking at a space shuttle that can’t take off because it doesn’t have enough fuel. Question: Digital technology is taking over all creative spaces, but the most amazing one yet seems to be video games. As part of the generation that evolved at the same rate as computers, how do you see all these new generations born into the already formed digital space? Igor: Video games are these days becoming increasingly more intricate, complex and cinematographic. They have
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cut scenes that amount to little movies all on their own. But, the game industry is heading the way of cinema had been in the 20’s. There were a lot of studios, all with their own technologies, at that time. Ten years later, there was a monopoly held by Technicolor. The same thing will happen here – in a couple of years there will be only few studios left, only the best ones. And, you can kind of guess which those will be, based of the quality of their games today.
won’t stay here forever. People are saying that the big changes are coming from the East, so I hope to see Korea or Japan on my path someday. I’m planning something to challenge the best studios in the game. I’m going to show them that everything can be done faster, and better. There are still some records to be broken. The future is bright as long as there are opportunities up ahead. Better things are coming!
Question: What are your plans for the future at this point? Igor: For the time being, I’m staying in Germany. I have spent a lot of time building this fort. My nostalgia for Belgrade has almost faded. But, I hope I
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