Animation for Kilimandjaro

Just did a simple little animation for my wife's mother. 

She is climbing Kilimanjaro and raising money for Mira and organisation that "works to help disabled individuals lead their lives independently as functioning members of society. We do this by providing dogs bred and trained to respond to their adaptation and rehabilitation needs."

Good luck Marie Claire...

Here's the link to the animation ~ http://www.youthebiscuit.com/marieclaire.html

Thinking, freedom, creativity and true success.

Creative thinking for health.

Given the choice would you take the stairs or the escalator?

This is such a great idea. Confronting human beings innate lazy side with creativity and play. 66% MORE people chose the stairs.. this playful incentive really works.

3D sketching

I saw this application aired a couple of months ago that allowed for 3 dimensional sketching or drawing. I think the app was developed by some guys in Toronto and it was/is truly amazing. I saw, I wanted it and I thought of what I could do... When they previewed the app it is represented very rationally, meaning the creations they developed were very architectural, very clean, and mostly quite boring... sorry guys, but with a tool like that you got to let rip. At last some one has. I know it should have been me, but I havent got the money or the contacts... YET.

Free lancing...

I read this article... once... and it talked of how the US sees and battles with the notion of freelancers... Are they self employed or business owners or what, WHAT WHAT ARE THEY...

I realise (AGAIN) that us freelancers are on the outskirts of society. Even though we are 25 million strong we are still seen as a 'Condition'.
Fascinating, as for me and all I know it is a choice. A choice taken because we know that society isnt really under control. Society and sanity is the illusion we and every one else creates so we can go on from day to day. Being a freelancer, self employed, someone who goes it a lone, a free thinker, a whatever is a choice taken when one realises that what we are living is LIFE, there is no second chance and time to realise what is important to ones self. We are here now and we dont want someone telling us what is what when we feel and know something else to be true. Someone else telling us what decision to make for someone, or worse some entity else. To give your life, time, energy, commitment ... I watched my father give his entire life to a company that, at the end of his working career gave him... literally, just a watch!!!! How ironic. They didnt care so gave him something to remind him of time.. his time that he gave to them for...?
Am I going to deep... I feel not. This is the root of FREElancing... choices, no constraints. There are so many rules and most unwritten on how to live your life, reinforced by the media and societies pressures, but the Buddhists have known far longer than our so called advanced first world society that when one is in the present and not in ones head (Fantasising about what if and maybe) that the most important things are present. Freelancing allows one to give entirely oneself, creatively and physically precisely because we are not OWNED by a company. Thus creativity, individualism, and leaps in thought and creativity are nurtured and opened to all that is possible.

Ownership is a huge issue on the internet these days, but as we try to hold on tighter to the things that we think we have ownership over the faster they slip away. If you are creative you will always be creative... it is not just one idea you'll have. Give and you will receive... I'm not a Bible lover I have to admit, in fact I dont believe in God (But thats another post) but this really rings true in my experience. I have seen so many people be protective over what they feel is there creation, where it has consumed them and their time... meanwhile the whole world and everyone with it has moved on and lived there lives and forgotten about who came up with it. You will always be rewarded for creativity, you just have to watch your expectations!

I know from experience that EVERYONE is creative. There are so many pressures and judgements that not every one feels that they are and of course the confident creative ones can be become very eloquent at protecting there space, their 'creativity' presenting it as magical, gifted and not possible by mere mortals...

All I'm saying is hold on less, let go more and never stop playing, creating and supporting.

Articles like this are great but also show how freelancers a perceived by the majority. The most important thing is to sit well with yourself and your choices. If you dont, do something about it other wise you might end up at the end of your life with a watch and a lot of bitterness.

I love freelancing and being a freelancer it suits my personality and my view of what life should be.... mine to decide what to do with.

Cheers,
Martin

Graphic design print work...

I created a DVD cover for a superb performer whose web site i also designed a couple of years back... wow that went quick... We kept to the same feel as the site so all sends the same classy, quirky and professional feel.



Here's the original site if you haven't already checked it out. Click here.

Book her, she's fantastic!

New Artist Web Site

I've created a web portfolio for an Artist, Monique Laramee. She has some amazing work the is flamboyant, beautifully coloured, mixed media and visually poetic.

We needed to create a site that would be a platform for her paintings, simple interface with four periods of artistic life represented...

The site has a lot of images so I decided to use XML to load the images into Flash, easily up-datable and changeable.

Visit the site

Video creation

Just finished creating a new promotional video for wire walker, Madeleine Prevost - Lemire. We had to re edit 6 minutes of music to make a viable 2 minute piece with a noticeable start middle and end. Keeping the tension and build in the music. We then ciut down the act to give a feel of what she has to offer and to make interesting viewing.

This is the third video we've done for Madeleine and its always a pleasure.

Click here to view the video in small flash format.

Colour Lovers

I have been creating palettes and patterns on Line via a Fantastic creative resource www.colourlovers.com

You can check out my palettes here http://www.colourlovers.com/lover/YouTheColour.

Here's a talk from Tim Brown all about creativity and play. The importance of play to feel free and safe enough to make those leaps and bounds. Great talk. I found it amazing that this is all the games and talks I've done in improvisation and clowning...

I think this is so important. It reflects how a person is and feels. The play is taken out of us by schools and work places and we are left, supposedly adult... but barren and ultimately very unhappy.

Take a look and go play in the sand.

CSS eMailer

Just finished a CSS/HTML conversion of Dushan Milic design for his first eMailer.

Nice clean layout with drop shadows... Had a bit of fiddle to get them to layout correctly under each image but got there in the end.

The thing with eMailers is the other end. You never know which program the end user is using and a lot of e Mail programs strip tags or add them. You can end up with four 'body' tags easily. You also have to keep the CSS inLine and not an external sheet.

Always a pleasure to work on someone else design... especially when they know what there doing.

Pop up design creation.

I wanted to create a pop up card for my bother & sister in-law for the arrival of there new daughter. I played around with cheesy teddy bears and rabbits, until I thought a bit deeper of what had just happened and how the baby arrives... we all know dont we?

New Project

I've been playing with ActionScript and gravity. I have big interest in the way you can create certain effects using mathematical script. Its a lovely effect and feels very real.
Click here.

Karina Gauvin...

Hi all,

here's the link to the new Karina Gauvin site . . . www.karinagauvin.com




The site has really nice subtle colour fades all the way through which fits great with the sound track of her incredible vocal talents.

It was a great to work with Karina on her new site and we look forward to a continuing relationship.

Duo Volart Site up and running...

The new Duo Voltart site is up and running.

After initial ideas of using papyrus or old paper background we dropped it for a more classic pure black and images of their exceptional act. The site is clear, simple and powerful. Making full use of Flash and its ability to make it a seamless user experience and being able to format exactly as the client wants.

The is dual language in English and French and relies on easy importation of text files for the content.

See the full site here

A little thumbnail of the intro page...

New Work...

We have recently been working on a Flash based web site for multi Juno Award winner Karin Gauvin.

Karina is Canada's star Soprano singer and wanted a new site reflecting her and her art. Its been a real pleasure and a great creative journey to create a site that gives off the right feeling in a visual, interactive and audible way.

New site link coming soon.

Up coming.

Working on Duo Voltart's new web site.It should be live soon, hopefully before christmas. In the meantime here's a teaser of the opening page.

Logo Work

I was recently asked to create a new logo for a young and forward thinking company called Soul Acrobats. They are artists currently in a Cirque du Soleil production, but they also are creating motivational DVD's, books and giving seminars. I liked their philosophy and understand that sometimes to think we need to move. Discovering our selves through movement, our limitations and how to surpass them. Its not all in the head, to free the mind you need to free your body as well. Oh and biscuits...