Please check it out and tell us what you think… Liz Laine Reps Inc. specializes in the representation of animation companies and their directors. For nearly 20 years, LLR has carved a name for itself in the niche world of animation, repping more than 20 animation studios. Some of those studios include: Global Mechanic specializingSHOW
We are so close to launching our new website… Ok, It is taking a while but, I promise it will be worth it. In the meantime, if you forgot who we represent, here is a little refresher. But really, all you need to remember is: LLR = ANIMATION. 🙂 L Email Us! ROOF STUDIO We areSHOW
We are so close to launching our new website… Ok, It is taking a while but, I promise it will be worth it. In the meantime, if you forgot who we represent, here is a little refresher. But really, all you need to remember is: LLR = ANIMATION. 🙂 L Email Us!
We are a design-centric studio providing richly detailed projects for commercials and broadcast media utilizing Animation, Live-Action, 2D, 3D, Motion Graphics, Stop Motion, and VFX. Our name is a reflection of our belief that the collaborative process between artists, agencies, and clients is just as important as the final result. With all of these creative minds under one ROOF, this collaboration can facilitate the conception and production of distinct works of art. Visit their website!
ILLUSTRATIVE ANIMATION. Founded in 2000 by Bruce Alcock, Global Mechanic has produced hundreds of hours of award-winning content for films, commercials, television series, digital media, and art projects. Oscar and Emmy nominated, we’re well-decorated in festival and ad circuits worldwide. With a core staff of seasoned creatives and producers, we hub and spoke to handle projects small and large. That makes us nimble, and adaptive, and it saves us from getting set in our ways. It’s a studio culture of invention and collaboration, where change is expected. Welcome, even.
Liz Laine Reps, Inc on Vimeo
Liz Laine Reps Inc. specializes in the representation of animation companies and their directors. For nearly 20 years, LLR has carved a name for itself in the niche world of animation. Their roster includes Global Mechanic specializing in aesthetics and artistry; Tippett Studio, a leading animation and VFX company known for their character work; along with J.J. Sedelmaier, Blur Studios, Not To Scale, Starburns Industries, and ModOp
In December 2016 international marketing agency Innocean contacted Global Mechanic to provide our design and animation expertise to develop an exciting new campaign for KIA. Innocean had decided to move away from the more traditional live action approach and use animation as a more impactful explainer device. These animations needed to communicate the features of a new KIA smart appSHOW
In December 2016 international marketing agency Innocean contacted Global Mechanic to provide our design and animation expertise to develop an exciting new campaign for KIA.
Innocean had decided to move away from the more traditional live action approach and use animation as a more impactful explainer device. These animations needed to communicate the features of a new KIA smart app in a fun digestible format suitable for a trade show audience. The timeline was tight due to the Christmas break so our workflow needed to be agile enough to get ninety seconds of animation completed in an aggressive 6-week timescale.
The first task was to take the three different client scripts and create style frames for each of them with the ultimate goal of selling the idea of animation to KIA. Taking cues from a client provided mood board we designed a range of contrasting styles with visual appeal. The client mentioned they loved the style of Pixar’s 3D characters but due to timescales and budget realised that this wasn’t a realistic option. Knowing this we tried to come up with a 2d equivalent in our style frames, essentially distilling what made Pixar’s characters resonate so well into a more affordable 2d package.
After presenting these style frames the client gravitated towards our Pixar inspired solution for the “Mom Knows Best” concept, so we quickly switched gears into full production.
As the chosen art style was inspired by classic Disney and Pixar concept art our first step was to design our main characters using their iconic design language. Choosing what features to exaggerate and how to convey a personality in each design is something our illustrators relished so this was a really fun part of the process. Luckily the client already loved our interpretation of the Mom character from the earlier style frames so her design was locked down early. We then provided two alternative designs for her family.
The script required a full supporting cast of extras so we quickly concepted designs for each of them that conveyed the humour in the scripts.
Of huge importance to KIA was how we proposed to show their cars in this animated world. Initially, the client felt that photography might be the best option but we quickly convinced them that using stylized illustration would allow their cars to become fully integrated within the world allowing viewers to concentrate on the narrative. Our chosen art style easily allowed our illustrators to create a faithfully illustrated representation of the KIA car.
Equally important was our approach to app screens and how we could stylize them but still keep them feeling like real world counterparts. So we redrew UI elements using sketchier lines instead of clean vector shapes. Having a fully illustrated phone also helped the app design blend seamlessly into our animated world.
Due to the tight turnaround, we had to simultaneously storyboard the provided scripts whilst still finalizing character and background design. Our nimble pipeline enabled us to push ahead with boarding always ensuring the client felt in control and could still make important calls on design.
Traditionally at this stage, we would have created a rough animatic from the storyboards but due to time constraints, we had to go straight into full animation using finalized assets. Our client helped this process by signing off boards early and having the foresight to imagine the flow without explicitly requiring a timed edit.
This whole project was quite an organic process. While the animation side was developing so was the recipe for compositing and creating interesting light and shadow throughout the spots. The use of focus pulls, stylized glows, light wraps and reflections recreated a lot of the techniques found in high-end 3D and live action without any of their technical and time-consuming issues. This level of compositing elevated the look from a somewhat flat 2d world to something approaching feature quality all while still maintaining the painterly aesthetic.
Sound design was handled by the excellent sound house TA2 and all voiceover was recorded in both English and French. This meant that lip sync needed to be redone for the French versions of each spot. Our character rigs were designed with this in mind so whilst still a time-consuming endeavour it didn’t interrupt our pipeline or most importantly the final delivery date!
Below you can see one of the six final spots we took from pitch to the final product in just over a month. We are very proud of these spots and excited to develop this style further in future projects.
Although primarily known for its innovative animation, J. J. Sedelmaier Productions, Inc. also has an established world-wide reputation for original design and print work. The studio has a long history of producing spot illustrations, logo and package design, advertising posters and billboards, set design for live action spots, T-Shirt design, and Flip Books. Some (butSHOW
Although primarily known for its innovative animation, J. J. Sedelmaier Productions, Inc. also has an established world-wide reputation for original design and print work.
The studio has a long history of producing spot illustrations, logo and package design, advertising posters and billboards, set design for live action spots, T-Shirt design, and Flip Books. Some (but not all) of JJSP’s print/design clients include: Wired, Oxygen, Volkswagen, NBC, Converse, Slim-Jims, Footjoy, Home Savings Bank, Screaming Yellow Zonkers, Chicago Tribune, Rolling Stone, Silicon Graphics, Texas Monthly, Johnson & Johnson, and How Magazine. Cartoon Strips were specially commissioned by both Playboy Magazine and Esquire Magazine. Communication Arts recently chose Sedelmaier to design and illustrate their “creativity” column – the first time the editors have ever asked an artist to do so. JJSP has created a self-promotional comic book, containing select print and editorial pieces as well as contributions from both veteran Marvel artist Dick Ayers, and a cover design by the famed DC/Marvel artist Alex Ross.
For more information on how you can work with JJ Sedelmaier, please email us at info@lizlainereps.com.
HIDEBruce Alcock, founder and Creative Director of Vancouver design studio Global Mechanic, is an experimental artist whose animated shorts – Impromptu, Vive la Rose, At the Quinte Hotel and Wrong Number Phone Message and 54 Hours – have won accolades at festivals worldwide. Bruce’s wide-ranging background in music and art expresses itself in a variedSHOW
Bruce Alcock, founder and Creative Director of Vancouver design studio Global Mechanic, is an experimental artist whose animated shorts – Impromptu, Vive la Rose, At the Quinte Hotel and Wrong Number Phone Message and 54 Hours – have won accolades at festivals worldwide. Bruce’s wide-ranging background in music and art expresses itself in a varied and inventive approach to every project. His design-based TV commercials have led to award-winning campaigns for clients like Coca-Cola, Molson, Chrysler, Bell and Proctor & Gamble; his art projects include an interactive film for Canada’s pavilion in the Venice Biennale of Architecture, multi-screen typographical animation for the dance/ theatre/poetry/music piece The Four Horsemen with Toronto’s Volcano Theatre, set design and projection work for Art in Times’s I Send You This Cadmium Red and ongoing gallery shows of his paintings and installations.
Bruce studied tuba performance and comparative literature at the University of Toronto, then moved to Barcelona, where he apprenticed with animator Dirk Van de Vondel. He also designed the font Soupbone, distributed by FontShop International. Global Mechanic is his third production company; he co-founded Cuppa Coffee Animation in Toronto (1991) and Tricky Pictures in Chicago (1995). The studio is an environment where multiple modes of production inform one another, mixing the organisational rigour and budget of commercial work with the creative spirit and critical aesthetic of art projects.
Twitter and Instagram: @brucewgalcock
ILLUSTRATIONS: WAITING PROJECT
Drawings made on an iPhone 6 while waiting for coffee, airplanes, waiters and the like. Digital fingerpaint using the ZenBrush app.
PAINTINGS: ICE MEN
Paintings after Bruce’s NFB film 54 Hours, based on the great sealing disaster of 1914. Procion fabric dye on raw linen burlap with untreated bar-steel hanger.
ILLUSTRATIONS: SOLO PIANO CD Original artwork for solo album by Bill Brennan. Digital paint.
PAINTINGS: PAINTING MOTION
Reactions to Global Mechanic and NFB coproduction Vive la Rose, after the French Newfoundland folksong. Oil on linen.
ILLUSTRATIONS: TALES OF LA JUANA CD Original artwork for jazz album by Bernardo Padron. Mixed photography and paint.
ILLUSTRATIONS: SOUND ADVENTURES CD Original artwork for children’s World Music album by Sophia Grigoriadis. Vector drawings and painted texture.
CONFERENCE CALL DOODLES
Yup, done while on actual conference calls.
