Lost in the Plot | Animation, Film, Art, Design

Apple blackberry ginger oat crumble

Neal — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:25:56 +0000

Caramelized granny smith apples and blackberries, baked with a dark buttery caramel layer, topped with a crunchy ginger and oatmeal crumb crust.

Tomato & green pepper short stack; Caramelized apple with almonds

Neal — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:38:58 +0000

Always evolving my methods of procrastination and avoiding real work, I’ve recently started playing in the kitchen. These were fairly unplanned creations - sautéed tomato and green peppers on a short stack of whole wheat miniature toast, with garlic and sesame. Was quite tasty, but needs developing to be lighter and more balanced. For dessert, warm caramelized apple with toasted almonds - extremely delicious, would be excellent with ice-cream and fresh vanilla.

Not Where He Left It

Neal — Sun, 17 May 2009 04:13:53 +0000

“Finding himself without his suitcase, Mr Samuel Pilcher remembered his old friend to whom he had once lent three dollars.

It was a bitter, windy night. With an hour to pass before his train would arrive, a walk through the city was far preferable to waiting on the exposed station platform.

As Samuel recalled, this friend had worked in a cafe just two or three blocks from the train station, a short walk that perhaps would give him the opportunity to remember where he had misplaced his suitcase.”

Site: Benjamin Harlow, All of the Above

Neal — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 04:05:57 +0000

Benjamin’s excellent site has been redesigned, with a beautiful portfolio, and a weblog you should subscribe to and be reading every day: all of the above.

AM Week 7, Spline Editing

Neal — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 02:40:44 +0000

120 frames of Tailor, jumping from step to step. It’s a lot better than it was, thanks to polishing and fixing the tail to ensure it does a better job of following the line of action.

To Infinity and Beyond!

Neal — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 04:29:33 +0000

So I’ve begun Animation Mentor, and just three weeks in I can tell that it’s going to make a huge impact on my understanding of animation, and be a really transformative experience. I’ve been pulling out all sorts of books for reference and inspiration, including the one above, signed for me by Ed Catmull at Siggraph last year!

I can also tell that my free time is rapidly going to diminish down to exactly zero, which is tough right now given the several unfinished little hobby projects I’m tinkering with. But in a way, I’m looking forward to just devoting every waking minute to animating, and I can tell the rewards from all the work will be awesome. First term is Basic Foundations, and my mentor is the amazing Anthony Wong.

A Personalized Start Page

Neal — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 02:56:37 +0000

At the moment, feed readers and fancy personalized pages are just aggravating me, so I quickly put together a start page with links to things I want quick access to. I’ve put it online, so when I’m at work with a spare moment, I can just pick a link to catch up on. Visited links are darker so I can see where I’ve been each day.

Reading content casually in the context of its original site is preferable to me right now over bulk feed aggregation, and I’m picky about how a start page looks and feels so this is the best solution for me.

Australia

Neal — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 02:01:15 +0000

Just saw Baz Luhrmann’s Australia, which I really enjoyed. Visually stunning, more intelligent than it appears from the outside, and of course very entertaining. It’s quite long, but not necessarily in a bad way, and despite a few little moments I would question, on the whole is a really great film. And although there’s been talk of studio disagreements over the ending, and of Luhrmann shooting multiple versions, I felt the last 20 minutes was some of the best stuff in the film.

It inspired me to post the above photograph from a hiking trip in the MacDonnell Ranges - an amazing place that I would love to return to.

Check out the Australia trailer, or the interesting Set to Screen podcast series from Baz Luhrmann.

Artwork: Structure

Neal — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:03:27 +0000

Something from way back, but still a favourite of mine. This and other works like it are on cheap canvas, and done with permanent marker, which don’t always fare well over time. I hope they’re doing okay, stored away in Australia somewhere…

Site: The Art of Pixar

Neal — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:30:08 +0000

It occurred to me that no one had made a site dedicated to the inspiring artwork produced by the artists at Pixar - so I’ve made one at www.theartofpixar.com.

It’s by no means going to be an exhaustive resource, since I don’t want to infringe on any copyrights and start scanning art books etc. It’ll be more of a collection of stills, publicity shots etc already available elsewhere online, but now collected into one easy place! Check it out, enjoy…