Artist Inspiration Showcase - Animation background artists

After recently completing my fourth project whilst studying my foundation degree at Newcastle collage and before I finish this blog as my fifth project I wanted to produce one final post covering a topic I am extremely interested in and that topic is Animation backgrounds. Outlined at the beginning of this blog, the aim of my aspirations as an animator and illustrator is to create an animated short or series in the hopes of generated a mass emotional reaction to an audience. This goal is something that is constantly on my mind during production work, outside production work, at home, on the bus, even in bed. 

This desire to express myself through my art is uncontrollable and a niche that I find great pleasure in is animation backgrounds. I feel that the setting of a scene is so important for the tone and mood that a scene portrays that it is a wealth of potential that has been tapped into, can be tapped into, and should be utilised and played with. If creating a film doesn't come for a while or after the film I want to move onto something else been a background layout artist, background painter or environment visual development artist is a role that I would be head over heels to call my own.

Needless to say, that means I have a plethora of artists who take my interest, invigorate me with inspiration and inspire me consistently whose work I study, enjoy and spend time investigating. In today’s blog post I shall be sharing some of these artists with you to show where I draw my influences from regarding background design and hopefully where some of you can too! 

James Gilleard (Fav at the moment)

James is an art director, illustrator, graphic designer, and animator who has produced and contributed to an insane amount of artwork across the years he has worked. In recent years he has forged himself a style that I would argue is signature to himself and this style is something that resonates with me at a ridiculous magnitude. I perceive the style to be a combination of graphic and illustrative techniques which begin with sketches then graphic element constructs in Adobe Illustrator before been transferred over to Photoshop to have textures applied creating his master pieces. 

The reason I feel that I resonate with his illustrations is due to the effective manner that James adds detailing into his illustration adding depth, appeal, and charm into his work. For example, he combines several geometric elements into a scene where in reality there are none, with textured effects, brushes, and large expansive lighting effects to portray a uniquely gorgeous expression that you can't help but fall prey too. He contrasts detail with simplicity in form to dominate the perception that the viewer has to it with absolute victory captivating and inspiring his audience. I am very keen to experiment and study from James illustrations to grow and learn from techniques and design outcomes that I admire greatly.

Animation background for a project he had contributed too

Visual development for a tunnel construction advertisment

Editorial for Fast Magazine

Eyvind Earle (Also fav)
Eyvind was an artist, author and Illustrator who grew a massive following for his breath-taking illustrations that he created for Disney over the years of his life. I personally resonate with his work due to the unique impression that his style portrays to his audience. He captures all the essence and detailing that is present in reality and twists it, adds to it and mixes in new colours and shape forms to create works of pure fantasy that have an appeal that captures you gaze lost in immersion.

The process that he used when creating his backgrounds was to paint them with acrylics, oil, and watercolours to produce organic, textured and reminiscent artwork that does justice to reality in some regards and transcends it in others. I believe the greatest potential in his work is how he portrays atmosphere through visual alone. Each scene weather a closeup or wide pan expresses a level of intimacy with the viewer that is hard to achieve the way that he did. Like others I am interested in studying the magnificence that Eyvind manages to capture in his work in an attempt for personal growth.

Painted animation background for Disneys Sleeping Beauty

Painted animation background for Disneys Sleeping Beauty

 Painted animation background for Disneys Sleeping Beauty

 Jasmine Lai (Okay they all my fav i have alot of passion)

Jasmine identifies herself as a visual content creator for multimedia communication businesses such as advertising and entertainment. Primarily working as an illustrator for most of her projects Jasmine also has worked hard to be the art director on multiple projects from lead background designer on Cartoon Networks Steven Universe to her current position as art director at the animation studio Chromosphere.la. 

The reason that I resonate with Jasmines environment illustrations so deeply is due to the way in which she captures life in such a unique, intimate, and stylised format. There is a level of sincerity in here work that conveys such a gentle impression that is calming in nature. This nature takes the viewer into its experience and shows them reality’s beauty in all the right ways. The charm that Jasmine brings to her work through her technique and process is something I am very keen to experiment and apply to my own animation backgrounds.

Depiction of a route towards home

Illustration depiction of Downtown Los Angeles 

Personal environment Illustration

Brian Edward Miller (Cannot get enough of these guys!)
Brian is the spiritual product of a family filled with talent and passion, son to both a photographer and to a painter, grandson to 2 very talented wood carvers and father to an inspirational and loving family Brain is an illustrator who brings his family to the heart of his passions when creating engaging, appealing and phenomenal environment illustrations. I personally resonate with Brains work so highly due to the grainy/textured brushes that he informs his work with heightening the impact that his high standard compositional pieces portray. 

Previously within my studies I have spent time studying and experimenting with the textured effects that he utilises by making use of a custom brush set I created because of a study I did on him. Needless to say, that his illustrations have had a massive impact on the development of my own concepts and ideas in response to the appeal I find in his illustration work. I am keen to continue to study and develop artwork in response to Brains making sure to always analysis and deconstruct his processes to invoke personal growth.

Promotional Illustration comissioned by 'Every mountain'

 The Umbrella Factory animation background

Narrative based illustration commisioned by 'Opera'

Conclusion
I cannot say with confidence that creating environments and animation backgrounds is something thatt I will move away from any time soon. In response to this fact I highly doubt that these talented artists will ever cease to be the inspiration that they are too me, I will continue to use them as reference, material for study, and as inspiration as I continue my creative journey towards directing my own animated film. I hope that by expressing these artists I have been able to express my thinking’s and ambitions clearly so that this relationship ends on a high note. 


Thank you for reading! and I shall keep you all updated moving forward.

My favourite Animation company? (Unfinished post)

Having recently began my 'Principles of animation' project whilst studying my foundation degree at Newcastle college, I feel now is a great link onto the topic of discussing my main company of inspiration within the animation industry. Although I have discussed artist's that interest me creativly there is only so much one artist can do, unlike the magnitude of a project that a group of people unified can accomplish. 

As previously stated my main ambitious striving forward into the future is to create an animated series or short film in order to convey a narrative of my own development. This aspiration was born from the joy that I experience when viewing other artist's animations and creative works. One main inspiration was from an animated series called the 'Tales Of Alethrion' which was created by the my personal favourite animation company 'Sun Creature Studios'. 

Sun Creature Studios - https://suncreature.com/

'Sun Creature' is the unified pseudonym that titles an animation company based in Copenhagen Denmark. The group of people that form this innovative collective consists of four danes and three frenchmen who respectvily graduated from 'Gobelins', Paris and 'The Animation Workshop', Viborg. The company itself has been said to be born through a close freindship and a common drive to create high level 'Kick-ass' animation. The aspirations and passion that this team brings to their work clearly shows in their production results, which resonates with me deeply.

Above is Sun Creatures Studios animation portfolio showreel.

'para four'

Concept art for the 8 minute short film 'Cyfa' developed at the Open Workshop artist residency in Viborg

Visual development for the Tales of Alethrion title sequence.

Myosis, an animated short depicting the abstract story of fusion, destiny and more.

Character Board for two characters to be included to the currently developing feature film 'Spirit seekers'.

Oni, an animated short by Sun Creature to test out the effects of 2d visual effects on their animated sequences.

Storyboards for scenes within the animated short 'Myosis'.

The Reward, the source of the Tales of Alethrion ( The Pilot you could say ) Animated short.

Character designs for 'The First Hero' Origin story of The Reward. 

 Concept developent for the 'Tales of Alethrion' aniamted series'.

Kickstarter funded epic short, ''The First Hero'' the origin of 'The Reward'.

 Storyboard from the Tales of Alethrion animated series.

Want to know who my favourite Artist's are?

Innovative and captivating creative content would not be possible without there been a source of inspiration for each artist out there. Early artist’s in history were inspired by the real world around them and to this day reality is still one of the greatest sources of inspiration for all artists. What draws people into creating artwork isn’t just reality’s captivating form, but the content and creations of other artists popular or not shown throughout our planet in every shape and form.

This fact universally known by all artist’s is never the less true to my own creative works and is the driving focus of all my content when developing them. In today’s blog post I shall be sharing with you artist’s whose style and content have strung a cord in my creative heart and are the leading inspiration for my passion in both Illustration and animation. Specifically, I shall be breaking down why I find each artist so captivating so that it is clearer where I draw my Idea’s from when developing my own content.

1. Mcbess:  http://mcbess.com/

Matthieu Bessudo is a French illustrator based In London who self Identifies as ‘Mcbess’. Primarily working in illustration, Matthieu has worked and directed on various animations as well as been a core member within the band ‘The Dead Pirates’. Other feats include Co-owning the brand ‘The Dudes Factory’ which merchandise apparel and art prints designed by primarily Mcbess himself. I would consider Matthieu my favourite artist  due to the theme, style and passion he brings to all his creative works.

Above showcases a landscape illustration of wide abstract scene signature to the Mcbess identity.

Although I have the inspirational passion I take from Mcbess etched into my mind and heart

Permanently, I first discovered his signature style through a music video he had developed with artist and animator Simon Landrein for his band (The Dead Pirate's) song 'Wood'. What drew me in and instigated me to investigate Mcbess further from this video was the charm and effect his style has nostalgicly reminicent of early 1920's handdrawn 2d animation. Animation from that era was something that had and maintains great appeal to me due to the process, style and charm that is brought about from the qurky form and motion of the era's common drawn method.

Music video 'Wood' performed by 'The Dead Pirates'. Video designed and animated by Mcbess and Simon.

The process that Mcbess utilises when creating his illustrations is to handdraw his concepts in thick clean linework by either using Ink methods on paper, digitally drawing with a pen display or a combination effort. Regardless of the approach he takes to his work he consistantly follows the style of thick linework following effective line weight variation that can be described as the marrying of Sailor Jerry tattooing with Fliecher studios early animation work. I make the suggestion of these 2 styles due to the effective approach he uses from 'stippling' and other textured effectives with the visuals and charms commonly found in that era of creative content. 

illustration of a 'Spooky' and 'Mysterious' abstract scene signature to the Mcbess identity. Hidden within the illustration of little treats and spooky details to explore.

Aspects of Mcbess’s style that I am drawn to the most include his clever use of composition and texture. I am keen to experiment with the vast canvases that he creates and fills with abstract visuals and narratives. The way in which these illustrations consistently contain tiny details for the viewer to explore and excite over when discovered is something that appeals to my storyteller tendency’s as a content creator. Rewarding the viewer for taking the time to look closer rather than taking a first glance view of the scene.

Experimenting with texture, sets the tone and mood for any concept when conveying intentions as a content creator. Even leaving it clean and blank is a choice that sets its own tone. The way in which Mcbess uses texture to set a specific tone signature to his style is something that resonates with me completely. I am keen to use this rough style of texture within my own productions in to convey an experiment with how my creative works can convey an emotional response and what that response is. 

Overall Mcbess is a talented content creator and the achievements he has accomplished alongside the work he is passionate about speaks to me as an artist. I strive to take my own passion along Its own developing path holding Mcbess as an integral inspiration as a person and an artist’s when moving forward into new territory for my artwork. 

A self portrait style illustration of Mcbess Drunk/Intoxicated having murdered a person in his dazed state.

A Completly handdrawn Illustration titled ' A waste of time ' drawn at A2 on paper with Ink. 

 Two Faceless near naked ladys painted in Mcbess's siganture style. They are covered in 'Sick' Tattoos. 


2. Trudi Castle:  http://www.trudiart.com/

Trudi Castle is an Illustrator who creates concept art, comics and environment illustrations for company’s and herself. Born in London, she is currently a game artist living in Vancouver candada, working at Red Hook studios on their game 'Darkest Dungeon'. Although I have personal admiration of Red hook's game, art style and Trudi's collaborating contributions to the company, I also admire her personal project titled 'The coffee crew'. 

Promotional Illustration created by Trudi for Red Hook Studios to advertise a new update within the game Darkest Dungeon.

What the 'coffee crew' is, is a group of characters that Trudi has designed portraying personality’s and charm each fitting to their own merits. The characters visuals are designed around the idea narrative that they are all part of the 'Coffee crew club'. The CC club is a group of fantasy characters that are obsessed with coffee (Based on Trudi’s personal love of coffee) that band together to explore and achieve their personal goals in a fantasy style world. This world and their characters stories are portrayed through drawings, illustrations, and comics that she posts on her social media accounts for entertainment of herself and her audience. 

A WIP illustration of all the current characters in the Coffee Crew Club out on a stroll.

As previously mentioned in my discussion about Mcbess, style is something that sets a tone to any reaction that comes from artwork. The style that Trudi has developed for the world in which she conveys her characters and narratives within, expresses an impression that is unique and engaging in nature. I find Trudi’s depictions of the Coffee Crew to be inspirational to my own visions in narrative regarding style and creative expression. In the future when I begin to tackle my target of creating an animated short It is artists such as Trudi that experiment with their passion in visual communication that will fuel my drive to produce my own creative works as far as I can take it. 

A concept illustration depicting a journey of characters Marble and Cuppabot of the Coffee Crew exploring the Giant mugs of the north.


Trudi experiments with colour, shape and texture in a way that stands out against what is expected within todays artist community. Each piece she creates for her own amusement incorporates tiny detailing that transforms a simple idea into a powerful impact that engages with many people including myself to give an emotional reaction. The way in which she combines each element into her drawings gives each creative work not just a visual but an expression, unique identity, and personality. A quote that rings in my mind is 'A good story isn't planned but is the result of good characters Interacting in an interesting setting'. Trudi is example of the highest potential you can take this idea.

Another specific element that I personally admire and constantly attempt to learn from his how trudi conveys charater personality through pose and visual expression. Not just in the coffee crew but in all of Trudi's character design content it is clear exactly what kind of person each creature is by the way in which they are visually commuicated. It's one thing to convey a characters design, but to convey a characters essense is something that I am keen to develop in light of how effective Trudi is able to pull it off. This aspect of design is often what sets apart concept drawings from a memorable experience. 

Overall as an artist Trudi incorperates her professional skillset with her personal passions to create a resulting product that transcends the ingredients that were utilised. through time and practice anybody can create artwork to technical degree by followings steps and processes, but it is people like trudi that demonstrate that you can do more with art by applying innovation to every aspect of a project to push the potential and make something more from what you could by been clever and staying true to the passion you have for your own visions.

Panel 27 from a comic story Trudi developed expressing the narrative of the young bird prince training with the Coffee Crew to be a  powerful solider against the wishes of his parents the king and queen.

Illustration depicting the Coffee Crew moving into Trudi's new appartment when she had moved to her new flat.

Warm up sketch of The Young Prince captioned: 'The Prince is small and defenceless-looking, but under that cloak he carries a few secret weapons..'.

  3. Nathaniel Rueda (MUTE)- https://www.behance.net/nathanieleo   

Starting off as a graphic designer, Nathaniel slowly made the transition into been one of the most interesting bright illustrators of our modern century. Based in Lima - Peru, Nathaniel incorporates inspiration from both music and other artists to illustrate creative works with rich details and colour, more recently he has begun to incorporate Peruvian culture into his work, making his identity and background shine through his art.  

Typography experimental illustration that eneded up been utilised as a banor to advertise his creative works.


I first discovered Nathanial’s work whilst exploring the website of the popular character design festival 'Pictoplasma' where in 2015 he showcased some of his character illustrations to the public as part of the Pictoplasma academy exhibition to complete their projects. Since discovering Nathaniel, his Illustrations have been a source of Inspiration and visual reference in the way that he experiments with lighting, shading and colouring to produce interesting concepts that provoke boundless depth for his audience to explore. 

 Sixth illustration in a series of 7 inspired by classic japanese Ukiyo-e prints with a common theme of the supernatural. This one is inspired by 'Susanoo slaying the Yamata no Orochi' by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.

The process in which Nathaniel builds up his illustrations is something that is similar to my own methods and approach. By layering up each aspect of an image just like Nathaniel does there is a lot more flexibility given to the artist allowing a consistent use of depth and lighting to be applied when aiming for a specific target such as ambience and depth within a scene. This depth that he applies creates a visual variation in the spread-out of the value that draws in attention at key aspects of his illustration taking your eyes on a visual journey as you explore the tiny details of the picture. 

 First Illustration in a series of 7 based on a class Japanese Ukiyo-e prints. This one is based upon 'Takiyasha the witch and the skeleton spectre' by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.


A goal that has been repeatedly stated of mine is to create an animated short for the purposes of conveying narrative to invoke an emotional response to my audience. Like all artists style is the tone that we explore to convey our passion in a method that invokes a unique response, the gritty texture used alongside the block style shading that Nathaniel utilises is something that resonates with me greatly, it creates an impression that feels 'exciting' in nature and it is something that I am keen to bring to my work and my future projects by taking it in as inspiration. 
 
Every piece of artwork is case specific with Nathaniel, he always tries to reimagine his approach by incorporating his past process with something new and interesting. This kind of consistent development speaks to me and never fails to inspire me to explore new methods as well as use his response and visual reference for any new pieces I wish to develop. Weather animation or illustration visual communication is our language, there is always something someone can take from another’s creative works.  

Overall Nathaniel Rueda is a talented artist with a clear understanding of exactly what makes something look appealing. He is always keen to try something new and expand upon his previous visual legacy, a trait which I am interested in taking on for my own development. What drew me to his work is how he uses layered lighting, colours, and composition to portray an idea through a unique tone and expression. Since discovering him I continue to incorporate what I learn from studying him into my work as I explore my own approach to visual communication through my artwork.

 

 Character project developed for the Pictoplasma Academy All Stars Group Show. This Illustration is titled: UKU The hell spirit.

Compliation baner used to advertise a project that Nathaniel created for himself. This project was titled '30 days 30 characters' and had him desing a new character every day for 30 days.

Illustration depicting a girl collecting an abstract substance of 'Cosmic gunk' with a large undead looking bird on her shoulder.

--------------------------------------------------- 

Thank you all for taking the time to read this post and explore artist's that I find appealing, maybe you know some of these artists and maybe there was some that you don't know. But I hope that by discussing these 3 artist's I have shown you a side of them that is unique to my perspective and that you can understand, by studying them, what you can take from their preferred creative content aswell as what I have incorporated so far into my own content.