Rudolf Rough Animation

I put together a bunch of rough animation scenes I did while working on the Rudolf TV series here in Cologne at local studio called JEP Animation. Its not specifically TV showreel stuff but more some samples of scenes that were fun to work on. These samples I took from five different episodes, sometimes a couple of actual scenes connected and sometimes not, so there isnt a great deal of logic in the way they are arranged its more to get an idea of what we had to work on. The final product has been cleaned and composited in Flash but the animators could choose to either animate it more traditionally with paper and then shoot it, or to draw straight into flash. I think in the end most animators decided the paper method which would then be taken into flash by using the movie file and then cleaned and Composited in Flash respectively. The quality of the video isnt great but hopefully I can find a better compression.
All animation is copyright © JEP Animation.

Mercedes Illustrations

These are some samples of some illustrations I did for OSK (a PR agency) last year and the client was Mercedes Benz .They basically wanted some loose sketchy styled (but still accurate) drawings of different parts of the s-class Merc to put in an events brochure. It was a nice change from the other stuff I have done and quite fun to do.

Rudolf Online

The TV series Rudolf that I worked on last year is now online at Canal J. There are about 13 episodes and I worked on 'Dino Parano' and 'Ca Chauffe chez les Penguins'. I did most of the animation on both these two episodes but all the animators are credited for all episodes, I guess for practical reasons. Anyway, check it out and click on the link below, they're good for a giggle.
http://www.canalj.fr/La-tele/Dessins-animes/Rudolf/Videos/Les-episodes/

Swing

Happy New Year everyone!! Yet another flies by.
I was back in Australia over Christmas and was rummaging through some of my old stuff and found this photo which I took back when I was finishing high school. I thought it might be interesting to put up as i remember having to climb on top of the swing, have the shutter speed on a slow setting and pan with the girl as she was moving. It took about 20 shots I think until I finally got one where she was in focus and the background was blurred. Having said that, I shot it with film so I had no idea whether it had worked or not until I developed it. I think I got lucky in the end and it turned out quite ok.

Rudolf

Well its been a while between drinks and since my last blog I have been working on a new TV series called Rudolf. Its a real contrast to the stuff I worked on in Scotland, going from realistic to a completley cartoony style. The character Rudolf basically goes from door to door selling something different each time ( episode that is) to an unsuspecting customer or should I say its more unsuspecting for Rudolf. Either way it ends up being a chain reaction of funny gags that have a cause and effect that liken it to Ren and Stimpy somewhat, just not as subversive and caters more for kids and adults alike.
Its produced by JEP animation and they have set it up in a way that each animator animates a whole episode which are approximatley 3 minutes long.This includes most effects as well as all characters. Which is great as you basically or almost have the episode to your name from a raw animation point of view and of course you dont need to worry about how scenes hook up as you are more or less dealing with yourself with regards to this. So far I have 3 episodes under my belt with a couple more to come and it has been really quite a fun experience and a refreshing change from the more traditional stuff I have worked on.
The director is a Belgian chap named Rudi Mertens who also does all the storyboards . For him its all about good laughs, so as long as you produce a chuckle he's a happy man. A good philosophy you'd have to say. I think it will be a really good to watch , its the kind of humour we all need when you have had a crap day at work and need a good laugh to calm the nerves. You can check out the trailer that was animated by Rudi at the link above at JEP animation and just go to" productions" and there it is "Rudolf".
I 'm not sure exactly when it comes out but it will be at least another six months I guess, but I will announce it as soon as it does and put some rough animation from the episodes I worked on online.