Supernatural Creator 2 - Mareike

Is there a better way to spend Sunday here on we take control other than to celebrate the worlds creation via an 8-bit animation? Sit back and marvel at Mareikes interpretation of the power of a Gods creation..

SPZero76

Well travelled, well experienced, "well wicked".. Here is spzero76. A freelance illustrator from the UK. Combining street art stylings with digital art techniques, SPZero76 creates a striking visual with a fresh contemporary edge. Heavy comicbook influences can be seen in his work, which often portrays a fun moment in time captured for our amusement. Outside of the digital realm SPZero76 is creating some fly looking canvasses [which i want on my wall] hosting tight lines and bright colours. After getting in contact with SPZero76 I realised that he had lots to say ;)




Where are you from?
I originally moved to Bristol from the land of the North. Doncaster to be specific! I moved to Bristol to study Illustration at UWE, which I chose after seeing Normski ride a skateboard across the Suspension Bridge, on the 90s programme 'Board Stupid'. I left Bristol to live in Manchester for two and a half years, where I worked as a Games Designer for a company based in Leeds, then travelled To South Korea and around Australia where I spent most of my time in Melbourne and Fremantle! Two awesome cities! When I came back to England I had to go where my heart was and I headed back to Bristol!


How would you describe your style of art??
As a kid I discovered comics when a pack of three GI Joe comics literally fell from the sky infront of me in Toys R'Us. It was wierd. I searched the whole shop to find more and spent ages looking up to discover where the booty fell from but there wasnt another comic in the store. Comics were my number one influence but as time went on others came in, such as Jamie Hewlett (comics again... 'Swiftys Return'), Nickelodeon cartoons and eventually Street Art. Street Art became an influence through a lot of friends I knew and their links. Ive known China Mike since our first year at Uni and I got to know a lot of the Bristol scene through Tonic exhibitions, in the late 90s down at the Cube Cinema, and when I got back to Bristol and organised the art side of the first Glostunbury Festival at the Golden Lion in 2007! When you are surrounded by so many great artists and their work its hard not to be influenced.





Have you got anything exciting that you are working on currently?
There is loads in the pipeline that Im just waiting to see what happens with, but I work freelance for a Canadian Games company and have recently put up a new exhibition and been commissioned to create five massive canvases featuring Stokes Croft for a new bar in Bristol. I have also designed an image for the upcoming OutSmart project, which is organised by Gemma Randall, illustrated User Interfaces for an upcoming iphone game, created an EP cover for up and coming band 'We Start Partys' and designed posters for a Hollywood Movie Studio called Red House Films. So I've been mad busy but Im always looking to get involved in anything. Give me a shout!


What would be your one important tip for people?
Don't stop trying! So many people who used to be artists on my course have settled for shitty jobs!! Dont do it!


What other artist is doing it for you right now??
There are so many awesome artists out there. I recently bought art by Bristol artists China Mike, Duncan Jago, Will Barras, Cheba, Dicy, Andy Council and Third Eye Green Bastard but I also love the work of Kid Acne, Mudwig, Kozyndan and Mode2 amongst many more.


If you would like to commission SPZero76, then please contact him here and be sure to check out his work at flickr

Moonlily Design and Illustration

I met this artist while i was at art college and was instantly drawn towards her beautiful illustrations. I have always been very interested in anime/manga artwork and wished that I had the ability to create my own version of that asian style. Well, Moonlily can and does. Her style varies from super-cute characters to beautiful girls. From bright, energetic and vibrant to subtle, serene and natural. It is clear where Moonlily has pulled her inspiration from, but she creates hers with such finesse.


I caught up with Moonlily
to ask some questions..










Hello Moonlily, where are you from?
I come from Camborne, in Cornwall [UK]. I'm a Cornish girl, through and through; I can't think of a more interesting place to live.


How would you describe your style of art?
I'd say that my normal style is very obviously influenced by japanese art and manga, which is something I've been hooked on since I was around 8. Sometimes, I tend to tell myself off for the imperfections in my style, but I've come to realise that it's the imperfections that make my work my own. I do like to experiment with different styles now and then, but usually when I draw, it comes out manga-style, whether I intend it to or not. =3


Have you got anything exciting that your currently working on?
There are a number of different projects in the running that I'd love to be working on right now; I've been planning and sketching ideas for a manga series for a while now, and I'm looking forwards to getting some of my designs ready to sell. Unfortunately, life seems to be getting in the way at the moment. =P


What would be your one important tip for people?
I think, after the year I've had studying for my BA top up, the most important thing I've learnt is that the things you work hard for are the things that are the most gratifying. The best things in life, to me, are the things that I worked really hard for.


Which artist is really doing it for you right now?
Right now, i'm totally hooked on all CLAMP manga - CLAMP is a famous group of manga creators in Japan. My other favourites would be Yun Kouga, Yoshitaka Amano, Aya Kato and more traditional artists like Hokusai. I also draw a lot of influence from Music - I'm obsessed with Imogen Heap recently.


Moonlily is taking on commission work. For more information please contact: Rhi@moonlil.com or become a fan on facebook

Monstrous Wildlife - Tremors [Frank Robnik]

I found this infomercial the other day and I'm happy that I did! This could genuinely be a life saver to anybody planning on traveling to particular area's of our beautiful [but sometimes dangerous] planet. Please don't be put off by this films 50's/60's visual stylings, as the production is TIGHT! Monstrous Wildlife has a wonderfully muted colour palette and slight shake to the visuals, which gives the work a very appropriate aged feel. Its also packed to the brim with tasty, crisp vectors and subtle typography. The animation is silky smooth and the whole piece is supported by a fabulously stern and very British narrative.  The content is superb and VERY informative. Prepare to be edu'macated..

Tom Mac

Here we have digital artist Tom Mac who's work instantly caught my attention. He has adopted a very contemporary, colourful, vibrant illustrative style and seems to mainly focus on portrait imagery. There is a lot of vector style imagery floating around the internet these days, but Tom Mac injects a real sense of individuality and intricacy into his work. Also, while looking through his work I noticed that Tom Mac is also playing around with some motion graphics. Being a huge fan of the scene I'm interested to see what he'll come up with over the coming months. With plenty of commission work under his belt and having recently completed a cover for 'SQ magazine' Tom Mac took some time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions for me.




Hey Tom Mac, Where are you from?
South coast [UK] born and bred. A little seaside town called Bexhill is where I spend most of my time, and the rest is spent dotting between Eastbourne and Brighton.


How would you describe your style of art?
My work is heavily vector based. I spend a lot of time experimenting with different styles but I mainly find myself drawn into portraits in a non-literal style, as I have an obsession with faces.


Have you got anything exciting that your currently working on?
I find myself always working on something. Even as a student I am constantly looking for jobs such as magazine illustrations but it varies. An example of the variation includes a typographical piece im working on at the moment for a music blog called 'the smoothest gooch' this involves me creating the letters out of pube ridden wax strips!


What would be your one important tip for people?
My tip for people would be look at others work. Constantly. Your never going to keep up to date with design trends and styles if you dont do this, and although individuality is the key - you need to know your competition.


Which artist is really doing it for you right now?
Gabz. His work is so inspirational to me. After stumbling across his site I was quite jealous at first as the way in which i enjoy creating portraiture is similar to his...although his is to an entirely different level!


If your interested in commissioning Tom Mac, then you can contact him via his facebook page here

"The Ultimate Break" - Akama Studio

Sorry I have been a little slow lately. My laptop has been at the doctors and the past two and a half weeks have felt like two and a half months. In this time I have been hunting high and low for great work to show you all and have found some treats.


First up we have an offering from Akama Studio. This is a Paris based animation studio, which specializes in 3D. They have a super polished style and are right up there with the heavy weight studios. Their work includes the insane and cute raving rabbids animations that you may have seen for ubisoft. 'The Ultimate Break' was a viral for Nestle to launch their new Kit-Kat bar and was tied to a competition in which two VERY lucky winners would win a trip into outer space! I love the deformed and stereo-typical characters in this production. Every character is brilliantly designed and our lead guy is perfectly expressive showing bucket loads of emotion. The environment is picture perfect and looks fairly real, although with a talented studio like this you would expect nothing less. The animation also uses very heavy depth of field effects with great results. I was particularly impressed with the sicky feeling moment when the lead character gets up from his desk [46 seconds].  Overall, this is a film quality production with a great deal of content in a very brief animation. enjoy.. 

Danger

Today's post is going to be a little different as I'm going to showcase some audio and visual, but with the emphasis on the audio. I still very much consider today's offering digital arts. I'm mainly writing about this because its close to my heart.


Recently I have been listening to more and more French electro [electro house/breaks]. Most people will know of Daft Punk, Justice and perhaps Mr Oizo, so im not really going to mention them. But, a lesser-known artist that I'm really hot on right now is Danger. Ever since I was a kid I have had a real passion for electronic music, just not the usual chart stuff. I had a Commodore Amiga [computer] with a pile of copied games [I was young and didn't understand the concept of piracy, the Amiga came with all these disks].
In my opinion the Amiga had the best sounding computer sound-chip ever. Most games heavily used it, but my favorite thing about it was the game crack intros and demo's [I will be covering Demoscene soon, your gonna love it]. Basically they were a very short piece of computer generated audio and visual that preceded a game. They had the most amazing synth-heavy music. Sampled hits, sampled vox, HUGE synthesized basslines, intricate sequencing, dark chords and plenty of pitch-shifting. I used to record the tunes onto tapes and lay in bed listening to them at night. My favorites were the epic, sci-fi, breaky structures and compositions. That was MY type of music. Ever since then I have been a keen follower of electronic music. Styles and genres constantly come and go with the current trends already beginning to stagnate. All the time I have dreamed of one day re-visiting the early-mid 90's Amiga style audio. Well, it seems I'm now just a little late to the party and some French producers have been all over it!?


Danger has been on my player non-stop for a few weeks now. I dont know for fact, but this guy must be about my age and must have had the same passion for this style of music. He is creating this exact style of electro, using a lot of the same sounding synths, pitch-shifts, structures and epic, sci-fi builds. But, it has the power of modern production with heavy side-chain beats and massive dance-floor compression. His visual representation is 16bit for fucks sake!? With massive mixes of Sebastian Tellier - Devine, Black Eyed Peas - Imma Be & Estelle - American Boy to name just a few, it would seem that everything he touches turns in to electronic gold. I can't get enough of this music and had to share it in the hope that somebody other than me is interested :D


*yeah, this video has footage of 'Commando' but i thought it would be more interesting than a blank screen. Just enjoy the music!



Estelle ft Kanye West- American Boy [danger remix]

Juicy J aka Pixel Pimp

Here we have self titled 'world class illustrator' Juicy J. This guy has got style flowing through his veins. I first spotted his work via a comment on myspace years ago and have since seen his work making appearances  all over the net and on the pages of Computer Arts magazine. His work is bold, colourful, vibrant and so sexually in-your-face that it makes you wonder how much of a man you really are!? Wondering how a person can portray so much attitude via his artwork and being aware of his self-depiction of being a god-like figure I mentally prepared myself and went in for the interview.


*strong language has been used!


Hey Juicy J, where are you from?
I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. But, I'm not sure that has any real baring on my art or point-of-view. The world is infinite and getting smaller with books, internet and social media. I try to stay open to everything and become a product of my physical environment.


How would you describe your style of art?
I don't know. I work primarily in vector, but that's a broad spectrum. I guess it's cartoony and fun. But I guess I try to convey 'awesomeness!' in most things I do. So if I had to describe It I would say I specialize in awesome!


Have you got anything exciting that your currently working on?
Mostly everything I do is interesting... to most people. I'm a contributing illustrator and writer for a young, urban magazine. I'm getting into the world of tattooing and photography. I'm in beginning stages of doing concept and illustration work for a pilot animation on Cartoon Network. But the most interesting thing I'm doing for me right now is a series of pin ups of my girlfriend.


What would be your one important tip for people?
Stop being so cunty and mediocre, as I believe that's the source of most people's shitty lives. Most people suck at life and instead of figuring out ways to make their situation better they generally opt to bitch, complain and tear people down to their cunty level. My tip is surround your self around positive and cool people. Your life, art, and anything you do will drastically improve!


Finally, which artist is really doing it for you right now?
I don't really follow art or other artist, as I don't want to fall in to the trap of replicating my peers. I draw most my inspiration from movies, friends and life... And sometimes from smoking greenery.


Juicy J has loads more fly work on his web portfolio. Please check him out over at: 
pixel-pimp.com

[ladies man - Juicy J]

inFAMOUS & inFAMOUS 2

For those of you who don't know inFAMOUS and inFAMOUS 2 are both videogames for the Sony Playstation 3. The games are developed by Sucker Punch productions, who also made the Sly Cooper games a few years ago. The inFAMOUS games feature some very stylized motion graphics as cut-scenes between the game. Most of the animation is comprised of highly polished 2D stills and subtle 3D elements with the motion of the piece being very sharp camera movements through 3D space. It looks fantastic. The characters are very bold, vibrant illustrations with a very sketchy, hand-drawn edge, which leaves the production looking like it could be a graphic novel for the internet generation. To add to this, both of these scenes have a narrative voice-over, which really reinforces the whole graphic novel vibe. Adding more fluidity to the scenes are gentle movements of the 2D elements and on occasions more than one still frame of movement has been drawn. Over-all these are very slick motion graphics. I'm not sure if they have been made in the game engine or not, as they seem to use an After Effects kind of style and effects. Either way its a style that I really enjoy watching and I really hope we get more of it in the future.
enjoy


inFAMOUS - opening scene



inFAMOUS 2 -released soon!

Naked Compagnie

What can I say about this studio that hasn't already been said? Well, not a lot as it turns out. I have tried to find out some really interesting stuff for you and I have contacted them, but alas, they are mystical creatives, floating through the industry and producing very smooth work. What I can tell you is that they are from Paris and they create some beautiful visuals. A lot of Naked Compagnie's work seems to be pop concert visuals, which are played on huge screens across the back of a stage. They have created these visuals for artists such as The Pussy Cat Dolls, Jay Z & Mika.  Its an intriguing use for motion graphics and An angle that I hadn't really considered until I found this studio. Due to the nature/purpose of this work the videos below may seem repetitive, but do have a look because the quality and style of their work is superb. I have contacted Naked Compagnie and if they reply I will definitely update you :D


You can find more Naked Compagnie at Naked-co.com enjoy..

Benny Benassi - Spaceship : Director Ray Kay

I have some great artists lined up to showcase. But, today a video caught my attention, which I felt needed talking about. Here we have the new video for Benny Benassi. The director of this video is Ray Kay. Ray Kay produces some absolutely stunning fashion photography and music videos for all the big names [seriously too many to mention. Just check his site]. All of his work that I have seen really pushes the fashion style visuals and every still of music video is a fantastic, stylishly composed still and very sexy. So with all this credibility and experience it makes me wonder how a video like this has slipped through. I find it uninspired and clichéd. The theme of the track is 'Spaceship' and visually that message comes across, but the way it's done is just so.. cheesy. We have a space ship that looks like a cross between Star Trek and Tron [just not quite as good as either] floating through the clichéd meteor shower. Once inside the ship we are confronted with the stars of the video, green-screened onto a very nightclub looking dock and showered with jerky, unnatural camera movements. The shots are very rarely creative. Also, for years photographers strived to lose lens-flare from their shots, but digital film has over recent years brought it back. With today's software and used right it can look great! Unfortunately, this video abuses the flare and is a good example of why we should stop using it again. Eventually the video lands on an alien planet, but instead of creativity we are confronted with another uninspired and clichéd mars scene with Kelis [badly] floating through an explosion that seems to have finally arrived from 1980. The only perk's being the 3D particle effects ripping through the skies and the colour change from blues to orange. I don't like to rip on other peoples work, but this video pissed me off. With so many super-talented artists struggling to get noticed, it seems disgusting to me that superstar creatives like Ray Kay can get away with this.



To play fair here is a second video by Ray Kay. The video is for 'Adam Lambert - For your Entertainment' and is brilliant. Great compositions and very stylish. The shots showcase his fashion imagery and the lighting is amazing. The shots are tight. The edits are tight. Overall this is a VERY sexy production! What happened with spaceship?
*apologies for bad video. official video has embedding disabled. link above^

Three Legged Legs

Three Legged Legs are one of my favorite studios. The three creators have an awesome portfolio of work and really show their ability to adapt. What I love about this studio is how they can take a brand and really inject genuine creativity into the subject. Corporate is the last word I would use to describe this studio. Working for huge brands such as: Wrigleys, Zune, Starbucks, AT&T & Sony Viao to name just a few and having produced amazing personal shorts like Humans! & Ricochet, Three Legged Legs continue to push forward in the industry, constantly producing exciting new films. I really urge you to check out these guys website and make sure that you have a good look through as I cant link it all here [but, i want to]. The Chronicles section is worth mentioning also, as it's filled to the brim with pitch work for projects that unfortunately never saw the light of day. They are an inspiration to the industry and deserve huge respect for their work!
My two video choices to showcase [how I managed to get it down to two ill never know] are:


Los Angeles Lets Be Friends.
This video is over excited, bright and colourful. It uses some great animation and motion tracking. Its fun!



Zune | Piece of me Piece of you
Great concept, Great lighting, Great compositing, Great dancing,  Great music. Great, Great, Great! Also, not enough puppets used these days!

Soulatech

Here is an artist I have been watching for quite some time. Soulatech is a 26 year old freelance graphic designer with a very distinct style. By composing experimental, abstract shapes layered with tight graphic design elements and intelligent colour palettes, Soulatech has formed a very contemporary visual style. I love his work and get a very sci-fi/alien/digital graffiti feel from it. Soulatech is also the online designer for Rubik Records who he says have always been very supportive and are always willing to offer feedback.

[Soulatech - Demo]

So Soulatech, Where are you from?
Birmingham, UK.


How would you describe your style of art?
Digital, urban, abstract design.


What would be your one important tip for people?
Stay focused on your goals with your personal work, no matter how big or small they are.


What other artist is really doing it for you right now?
This is a hard one to answer as I like a lot of the designers I follow on deviant art. But Nicogamer, his style and flow are just dope. I have been following his work for a while...watchin' another design progress is just amazing and his style is fresh!


You can view Soulatech's gallery over at Deviant Art and he is available for commissions.

email: soulatech@googlemail.com[Soulatech - Rue The Whirl]

Justice - Stress

It's not all about the very latest videos and artwork here at We Take Control. If the content is right, then its going in. This is why todays offering is a video for a music track by Justice, which was released in 2007. The video is directed by Romain Gavras who is making frequent appearances in the media for shock tactics. Stress is not only my favorite video from Romain Gavras , but one of my favorite music videos of all-time. Before you watch the video I need to mention that some people may be offended by it and that it was banned from the tellybox [for all the wrong reasons]. The content [or lack of] has already been documented all over the internet, so i'm not going to dig too deep.


I find this video fascinating. Shot like a documentary and using the good ol' shakey-hand cam we follow a day in the life of a street gang member. The gang seem like they could have been lifted straight from cult film The Warriors and the film seems to reference this on more than one occasion.  The production is absolutely stunning to look at. The de-saturated colour-correction giving a very moody, urban feel throughout. There are also a lot of different shots and compositions used and we are constantly dragged from long chase shots to tight, sometimes unrecognizably close edits. A lot of the transitions use blurred zooms which constantly flicker in and out of focus and the depth of field is used superbly. Then there is the feel of the production. It's uncomfortably realistic to watch. Visceral and primeval acts of violence in a very contemporary setting. It's so close to home that it makes you wonder if your loved ones are really safe out on the streets. Were people actually terrorized for the sake of art? Lastly, I would just like to mention the sound. I'm not here to review music, but the punishing and relentless Justice soundtrack, the ambient sound of the city and the screams of the citizens within it all combine with the visuals to make [in my humble opinion] a truly remarkable piece of art!

enjoy..

Columbus - Love Machine

This video is really doing it for me right now. It has been produced by The Crystal Beach and is stunning! Watching this video I can't help but think its right on trend at the minute and we'll be seeing a lot more from this director in the future. Please have a look at his website as he has some really vibrant artwork on show.

Once again we have a lot of retro 80's visuals which are bursting with effects and I adore the choice of colours. The super-bright neon lighting is stunning to look at throughout the production. Its beautifully composited and seamlessly animated. I love the fast-cuts, the touches of depth-of-field and definitely can't get enough of those pretty lens flares flashing all over the screen! Lets get on to those effects. This video seems like a showcase of how to use after effects in 2010. Its pushing out every trendy effect in the book. You cant watch this production for more than a few seconds before another flashy, contemporary technique is thrust in to your over stimulated eyes. Andrew Kramer would be proud! I also need to mention the fashion. The Shaman is looking like a fly, future pimp and Miss Universe is rocking out with high-tops, space material leggings, super funky space marine armor and The Shamans sci-fi head piece. Very sexy! My last comment on this video is that I couldn't help but get a Mighty Boosh feel from it and in my books thats a good thing. Anyway, thats enough from me. Sit back and enjoy this electro masterpiece..

Mark Ronson - Bang Bang Bang

Here we have the new video to the single Bang Bang Bang by Mark Ronson. I wanted to try and post this before the tune gets too big and your all pig sick of hearing it. The video is great. Okay, so there's this current trend for mimicking the 80's style visuals and its been pushed hard. I love it! A lot of these videos are done with such a quality modern edge and showing so much appreciation for source material that its hard to ignore it. A new generation of visual artists are taking control and I think that you can see a true excitement for subject in their work. 


This video is by Warren Fu. Its Packed with 80's references, film inspiration and we should all know by now that if you have Asian influence in your work, that your coolness skyrockets!! The colour correction on this video is brilliant. Very muted with some great colour combinations and you gotta love those neon lights. You will find out if you continue to follow 'We Take Control' that I am a HUGE after effects fan and this video doesn't fail to deliver. Here the motion graphics are spot on. Full of great screen-wipes, transitions and armed to the teeth with effects. They never become intrusive and always look smooth. With Casio fonts, Gundam shapes, everybody dressed to impress and some lil' breakers dropped in for good measure.. Here we have 'Marc Ronson - Bang Bang Bang'


enjoy :D

Welcome to 'We Take Control'

Anybody who knows me will also know that I have an obsession for tasty visuals. During my degree I loved researching inspiring work by digital artists from around the world. Well, now that I have finished I have decided that this will be my outlet for my findings. My aim is to not only showcase these people/studios work, but on occasions I will also try to get interviews with the creators. [its a long shot, i know] So, fasten your seat belts, get ready for the screen burn and prepare to have your fragile little minds blown.

Lets hope this works! :D