Summer life drawing

I’ve been heading to a few life classes recently, warming up that sketching muscle! Here’s a selection from a duo workshop in Manchester, U.K and two other classes with a male and female model.

Annecy Animation Festival 2019

It’s been a few weeks now but I’ve finally got a bit of time to sort my post-Annecy notes and sketches. I haven’t been for a while, this being my fourth trip. It never fails to inspire you and re-ignite your love for animation! You come away wanting to DRAW haha!

The ticketing system is a bit more high tech than when I last went…all QR code scanning and app booking. It took me a few days to get the hang of this as I seemed to have missed booking ANYTHING. Luckily I bagged an additional screening of ‘I lost my body’ (j’ai purdu mon corps) which was being produced at the last studio I worked at (Pipangai) on Réunion Island.

This film was EPIC. Exactly the kind of animation and storytelling I love to see in a feature at the moment, as it felt very fresh and engaging. It was a bit of a downer of a film. I mean, it’s French so of course it’s moody 😉 But it is beautiful in the way it was executed and blows the socks off anything else in the independent circuit right now. The first 5 minutes are sooo cool. It’s not the sort of shot choices you see in a 2D animated film (probably because of the directors background and the combining of 3D and 2D tools). Here’s a trailer:

I got my head around the ticketing eventually and saw a load of great short films (for me, these are the best bit of festivals). The range of styles and forms the storytelling takes is the big THING that inspires me. I wrote a bunch of notes along side sketches, hence why the long decode time as I’m often writing in the dark..! I met many lovely people there including old friends, which is always a big highlight. I got to chat away to many folks at Toon Boom whom I’ve never met in person, but I’ve recently completed some promo work for as part of their 25th anniversary. You can watch that below:

There’s a whole section of the Annecy festival called Mifa, which is sort of the business area. You can have meetings here, go check out companies who make software, studios who are recruiting, and so on. You’ll often get some freebies too! I did a fair amount of chatting here, so the week was quite busy all in all. I DID manage to squeeze some sketching in though. I’ve also got a collection of sketches from my half day in Geneva before I headed home, which I’ll aim to post soon. I’d like to add some colour to more of these, as the scenery was so bright and often I didn’t get time to paint on location. The storms rolled in for a few days, which meant there was a real contrast! Could’ve just spent a week there sketching and painting, never mind all the films! Here’s a gallery of sketches and many more photos (iPhone is just a bit too easy). I took a disposable black and white camera that I bought in the airport on a whim. When I get those developed, I’ll post a few! I met one of my heroes, Ronnie Del Carmen there. He as a lovely chap and I’ve been a fan of his work and comics for years. We have a lo-fi selfie, so I’ll be sure to post him one when the roll is finished 🙂

Trips in America

We arrived back from a 16 day U.S.A experience yesterday, going from Chicago, into Wisconsin, marriage things and then to New York for a final bit of fun. It was a GREAT holiday and we crammed in so much. The weather was everything from warm, sweaty and sunny to windy, stormy and tornado inducing (no really, we had an alert whilst in Chicago..!) I played golf at some amazing courses, met a lot of ace people (and dogs) and watched my brother get married. The U.S.A is always great fun for me, as for all its faults, it still holds this feeling of freedom for a little boy from old England. Maybe it’s all the Americana I grew up on, but you can’t help but share in a little excitement at the novelty of it all.

Sketches & photos

I made a few sketches amongst the madness, many of which were in New York when there was more time to reflect on things. I did snap a fair amount of pictures, practising with the new camera (low light settings ALMOST mastered!). For now, here’s a snippet of those things.

Unexpected moments from the trip

– Finding out that Sheboygan, WI is a beautiful town with a strong creative vibe (who knew).

– Williamsburg is cool. It was expected, but it was even cooler than I imagined and we had a great time there. The independent shops are awesome.

– Friendly New Yorkers. We met many helpful, kind people there just in passing on the street, at night, etc. Not the stereotype! Mainly off Manhattan island, it has to be said.

– Playing some of the best golf of my life at Whistling Straits G.C. That day will forever live in my memory and I shall not let anyone forget my long game prowess.

– Discovering that Dexter has a rival for the cutest dog in the world. Meet Katrink, of Old Town, Chicago.

Sketching flowers

sketching flowers

I’ve been doing a bit of The Artist’s Way as part of some creative discovery. Admittedly there have been some breaks in completing the 12 week course, but when I do get around to it, I love the little tasks!

It makes you look at the world with fresh eyes and be a bit more playful with your art. It’s easy to end up just doing ‘work’ when creativity becomes your job.

Flower watercolour sketches

Some watercolour sketches of the flowers in the living room. Thistles were a nice touch!

If you’re looking for a great book that’ll have you exploring your creative side, I can’t recommend The Artist’s Way highly enough! It’s really top class and as a bonus, the 12 week course structure is easy to follow and very inspiring. Even if you don’t draw, it’s a lovely 3 month side project 🙂

Nexus film fest and Nottingham’s scene

I’ve been entering the (free) festivals with my little film ‘Who Moved My Penguin?’ since it was finished in February this year. I’ve been lucky enough to get in a few too, which is very nice! I love watching things on the big screen, and one of those was in my hometown of Nottingham. The festival was called Nexus and took place at the swanky new arts venue, Metronome (new to me anyway…think it’s been there a few years now).

My film was in a session of animation, music videos, documentaries and comedy. It was a brilliant display of variety and talent, and I came home very inspired! Some of the highlights for me included a short film about ghosts from their perspective and some great music videos for local bands.

The film is also showing in the USA, Russia and of course lovely old England. It was the first time I’d seen it on the big screen though, so a brilliant milestone. Now I’m looking forward to making the next short, and of course working on this comic / graphic novel that is taking form. More to post in a few weeks, if I get chance before my brother’s wedding..! Best man speech to write and all… 😉

Nexus film festival

A true to life capture of myself trying to find the front door to Metronome in Notts.

Copyright © Adam Oliver 2024.