Artist - Oliver Dunn

Hello readers,

Today I would like to introduce to you some work by an up and coming local Artist / Illustrator / Graphic designer – Oliver Dunn. Specialising in hand-drawn “doodle” style pieces with a focus on bold graphic shapes and striking colours, his clients include the likes of Root Clothing, No Title Magazine, Urban Graphic and Urban Outfitters. 

Oliver’s work has recently taken him to the London scene, but I have had the pleasure of his acquaintance for a number of years while he was based out of Leeds. I have always admired Oliver’s work and dedication and of course it is always great to see local talent getting recognition. 

Because of the level of vibrancy in Oliver’s designs, industry magazines and web issues have likened his work to such artists as Keith Haring, coupled with the intricacy of M. C. Escher and even showing elements of pop art in-between. Oliver’s style allows his work to transfer into a wide range of different avenues from bespoke furniture, to window art, canvasses and beyond.

NOCTIS magazine had this to say about the artists work and to be honest, I think their words hit the nail on the head:

“There is something so simple, yet so captivating about Oliver Dunn's designs. The vibrant tones present a nostalgia and you find yourself forming patterns with your eyes; your own unique pattern.

With his intricate attention to detail, it is no wonder Oliver Dunn is making a name for himself. He offers a new way of thinking, a fresh palette which revolves around concept and adaptability.”

It is the combination of both bold and bright, with intricate and detailed patterns that pull my gaze onto Oliver’s pieces, the designs create a desire within me to explore every millimetre of his creations, often finding myself lost within the journey his motif’s take you.

It is the artist’s unique personalised style which impresses me most, one where though my own interest I feel I could easily identify a Dunn piece instantly, which is credit to the man himself as the same cannot be said for many young up and coming artists. 

The intricacy of the patterns magically seem to keep my attention for often much longer than I intend, the wiry patterns which crop up frequently in Oliver’s work are always faultless and personally I could sit and follow each individual path from one side of a piece to the other for hours. In fact, as I write this entry I find myself leaning in close to my monitor to try and take in every aspect of Oliver’s work (much to the amusement of my colleagues!).

With a style so adaptable I really cannot wait to see what comes next from Oliver and I am sure I find myself in an ever growing list of people keeping an eye on his progress. 

Thanks for reading.

Mark Kitching
Strategy Consultant

(all images courtesy of odunn.com) 

John Lewis - Bear and Hare - 2013

Hi everyone,

Having just left behind the Christmas festivities, I am sure most people would have seen the John Lewis Christmas advert on TV. Just as a reminder, it was the awesome one with the bear and the hare who were best friends. The video is embedded below as well as a link to it on Youtube.

Click here for the direct link to this video on Youtube

Some of you may not have been aware but the song in the advert was sung by none other than Lilly Allen. She has recently returned to music having previously retired. What I would like to discuss today is the music video that has been created for that song.

Image courtesy of Google Images

Image courtesy of Google Images

The video is visually stunning and not only impresses with its content but also its visual style. The creation of this piece of animation uses a combination of traditional stop-motion animation and cutting edge CGI techniques. All of the environments have been painstakingly created through traditional modelling techniques. From the snowy Christmas tree to the amazingly detailed forest floor, everything has been handmade from scratch. You can almost feel the passion and attention that has been put into the final environments.

Image courtesy of Google Images

When it comes to the characters and animals in the animation there has been a very clever mix of modern techniques and traditional animation. The studio has opted to digitally animate all of the animals as you would any other modern cartoon/animated movie such as The Simpsons or various Disney movies. They then chose to print out each frame of these animations and use them as the plates to create the stop-motion animals. This technique not only allows the animators the ability to fine-tune everything digitally and create a much more realistic, smoother feel, it also keeps the visual impact of a hand animated stop-motion experience.

Image courtesy of Google Images

On one hand you could consider this method as cheating as they are not really using stop-motion for the animals as they are already animated using a computer. On the other hand you could see it as we do here at SoVibrant and that it is purely progress. Animation is constantly evolving and this is just the latest in a long line of modern techniques to improve and streamline the process.

Image courtesy of Google Images

Image courtesy of Google Images

This choice of animation techniques as well as the story they tell in the advert make this my favourite of all of the 2013 Christmas shopping commercials.

Media Productions
www.sovibrant.co.uk

Creative dreaming....

Morning all,

Just a quick word from me this morning but I couldn’t not share this article with you.

Using only plain cloths, clothes, stuffed toys, and other common materials, Queenie Liao (a mother and artist) has explored a creative way of expressing what her baby boy Wengenn may dream of during his sleep.  Each photo shows a carefully thought out dream experience and is extremely well executed.  Queenie’s album is entitled “Wengenn in Wonderland” and has 100 different fairytale dreams.  Well done Queenie, you really have pushed the boundaries with this one!

Have a look for yourself and see which your favourite is and to find out more click here

 

 

 

 

www.sovibrant.co.uk

Images courtesy of Google Images

Art, Creativity