Steff Lee

A BB and his World Update

2011-11-21T19:05:00.001Z

I've been an extremely busy bee working on the BB animation and the production phase is well under way :) Pretty much all my waking hours outside my normal job have been spent producing this project and I realised I hadn't even shared any of the content on my personal blog. So here it is! You can see the full process from the start on the production blog: www.bbandhisworld.blogspot.com.

Character Design by Rachinta Platts

Butterfly Animation Test by Ryan Kyle
Style Test by Simon Hill

Storyboard for use in the production

Quick Update

2011-07-12T20:14:00.000+01:00

It's been a very long time since I was regularly updating my blog (I've only managed 6 posts all year!) and I felt like I owed an explanation to my regular followers.

I have had quite a heavy workload this year. My full time job and freelance work have been keeping me a very busy bee. Over half the year has whizzed by and I feel like I've missed it.

A couple of months ago I decided to take a step back from my work and reassess all the projects I am working on. I have managed to bring things together and my work schedule for the next year is pretty much laid out in front of me. Because of the large workload it is looking unlikely that I will be able to resume regular updates to this blog. My main priority for this year is running the BB film project which includes maintaining the BB and His World production blog. I will still aim to post monthly/bi-monthly updates on here and am going to start using my Twitter account for short regular updates. You can follow these on the feed in the right hand column or hit the button below.

A year will be over in no time! See you all then! :)

BB and his world update

2011-06-01T20:25:00.000+01:00

A lot of things have been happening with the BB and his world project over the last few months. Ros Stoddart who originally commissioned the film has now been joined by Ros Patching and together they have created Bright Stream Arts. They are holding several events at the start of July that are inspired by BB. (I will post updates with more details soon). The animated film we're producing is just one of several pieces of work being created for the project. They have also commissioned work from Contemporary Storyteller, Jo Blake, Poet, Jo Bell and Visual Artist, Jo Dacombe, for events in October.

So I have been trying on some fancy new producer shoes this month and after some early stresses I finally seem to be getting on top of things. I have brought in my cousin Ryan, who is trained in film, to help with all the production type things I am not familiar with. We have also welcomed a collection of lovely artists onto the project to help move things along. :) These are Simon Hill, Andy Ralston, Rachinta Platts and Martin Falconer. We've all been very busy and are fully stuck into the pre-production process working on concept work and storyboards. To see some of their artwork and follow the production of the film you can visit the blog here. I am very excited about this project and even though this management thing is quite new and overwhelming I am still feeling good about it all! Just watch this space! :)

Book Binding Saturday

2011-05-22T14:02:00.000+01:00

I went to a book binding workshop yesterday with my Mum and cousin and made these little notebooks. It was really nice to take the day off from work and do something creative whilst relaxing at the same time.

The workshop was run by Andrea Taylor at the Bee Inspried Studio in Kettering. It was a basic workshop creating simple little A6 notebooks. We made cute button catches for them and spent some time making paper beads to use on ribbon bookmarks. Between four of us we made 10 notebooks all made from recycled materials. My cousin was the book making machine and created 4 in just a few hours. :)

Handmade paper beads

Books made between the four of us

Corby Cube Clicks - Animation workshops

2011-04-02T11:02:00.001+01:00

I will be working with Andy Eathorne and Andy Ralston at the Core's Urban Arts workshop, Clicks, at the Corby Cube. Ralston will be involved with the stop motion and myself with After Effects.

Clicks – Tuesdays – 13 May to 2 July

Edit, mix, flip, project, make movies.

This season, master the art of animation with After Effects and Stop Motion. Create characters and make them move. Bring flat images to life. Produce an original soundtrack and edit together in your own short animation.

5pm – 6.45pm (ages 11-14) / 7.15pm – 9pm (ages 14+)

Click here to book

Lake District

2011-04-01T23:50:00.000+01:00

Had a weekend break to the Lake District a couple of weeks ago and took a lovely walk down to Lake Windermere. :) Found it very inspiring for the BB project. :)

BB and his world

2011-02-13T18:15:00.001Z

I am excited to finally announce that I am working on a new project! :)

BB and his world is a project being run by Rosalind Stoddart to promote the work of the local Northamptonshire author BB. BB (real name Denys Watikins-Pitchford) was a British naturalist, children's writer and illustrator. Ros has commisioned Hannah Suppiah, Andy Eathorne and myself to create an animated film that takes on the 'spirit' of BB's love for the natural environment in Northamptonshire. (You can read more about the film brief here)

I know I have been quiet for a long time but this project has been in the works for a few months and now finally has a home online. Last month the group of us went on a little field trip and visited lots of places which featured in BB's life. We have already started putting together mood boards and coming up with ideas for the film. You can visit the BB and his world blog to follow the progress.

2011

2011-01-01T00:00:00.004Z

Happy New Year Everyone!

Mass Posting Alert!

2010-12-29T21:00:00.000Z

I have been very quiet on this blog this year. Even though I have had lots of things I've wanted to post about I've been finding it difficult to get around to actually posting them. Now 2010 is coming to an end I have found myself with a lot of time on my hands thanks to some fluey type illness. So to end this year I'm going to try push out as many of the posts I've had sitting in my drafts all year. :) Let the posting begin!

Yanim Studio - Yannick Puig

2010-12-29T18:00:00.001Z

Yanim Studio Animation

I really love this little character created by Yannick Puig for his animation Krapooyo. It's quite an old now but I thought I would post links to the films and the studio website. If you haven't seen his work before then it is definitely worth a look.

You can visit the Krapooyo Site to see a higher quality version of the film which is worth the wait.

Hong Kong Disneyland

2010-12-29T12:47:00.001Z

After my whole life of wanting to visit Disneyland I finally made it! (to the slightly smaller Hong Kong Disneyland that it.) I took lots of pictures especially in the animation museum and wanted to share some of them on here.

Some pictures from the park...

The Castle! <3

"I know you I walked with you once upon a dream...."

I wanted to ride these flying elephants since I was about 4 years old!

Cute Mickey and Minnie design on a box of mooncakes.

A Disney artist in the parade. :)

Multicolr Search Lab

2010-12-29T10:54:00.000Z

Multicolr Search Lab

A fun way to search through Flikr.

Reel Roulette

2010-12-29T10:40:00.000Z

Chris introduced me to this site a while back...

This is pretty cool, you can keep clicking through lots of different types of reels. :) It's quite good if you're looking for a bit of inspiration or for some new artists whose work you can get into. My reel is a year old now and in need of an update but here is a link anyway... http://reelroulette.net/stefflee.

The Art of the Disney Princess

2010-12-29T10:10:00.000Z

Here is a little sneak peak into the book Art of the Disney Princess

This really is a lovely book although not quite what I expected. I hoped it might have some character concept work for each princess, instead it is a collection of illustrations of each princess in various styles by lots of different artists.

Below are some photos of what is inside :) My favourites were the Art Nouveau versions of each of the princesses by Enrique Pita & Ed Irizarry. (The Jasmine illustration below. You can see more of these illustrations at this link.)

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T21:46:00.000Z

A little something a few of us made at work. ^-^
Halloween EdCity style!

I know I've been absent with posts for a while but I'm aiming to make a comeback before the end of the year. :)
.watch this space.

Adrenaline Alley Online!

2010-09-04T23:33:00.005+01:00

Since last year CtrlG were involved in creating online video content for the website of our local skate park, Adrenaline Alley. Big thanks to Andy Eathorne, Ryan Kyle and Andy Ralston for bringing all the video content together and to all the musicains who were involved in creating soundtracks for the films.

The content has now gone live!
You can see a video on the front page and all the rest can be found under the virtual tours section.enjoy!

Xiao Xi at Hiroshima International Animation Festival

2010-08-06T22:31:00.000+01:00

The Hiroshima International Animation Festival will be held from the 7th - 11th August and my graduation film 'Xiao Xi' will be screened as part of the 'Stars of Students' program. I am very excited that my film was accepted as it was the last festival I planned to enter. It doesn't seem like it but it has been two years since I finished my grad film and its festival life has now come to an end. :( Its really about time I started working on a new film. :)

I am not sure which screening my film will be shown at but it will be available to watch at the Educational Market where I have sent over some of my postcards and business cards for display. :)

Toy Story 3: Google Search

2010-07-16T07:58:00.000+01:00

I love Google and I love Pixar so quite naturally I loved this clip. :)
Can't wait for the movie to come out!

Project Onomatopee

2010-07-02T21:11:00.000+01:00

Since I graduated and joined the working ranks I have found it extremely hard to find some time for myself where I can just have a doodle, draw or paint. It had been getting me down recently as I have been feeling very uninspired and my head is just full of mundane tasks that need to get done. After talking to a few of my fellow post grads I soon found that we were all suffering a bit on the creative side. :(

So when my old Dutch collab partner Nicole invited me to join her online project to get everyone drawing again I couldn't wait to join in! Click the link below to check it out.

Project ONOMATOPEE

Every month Nicole will set a theme and then we can create any kind of art work we like. The great thing is that everyone has a different approach and its quite inspiring to see how others might interpret the theme. It is also nice to see all the different styles of work which is something I haven't been exposed to much recently. The project isn't strict on involvement and we can dip in and out of it when we have time. (This will work well for my busier months) I was a little late this month but wanted to enter something so I quickly drew this.

My entry for June's theme 'Nightmare'

(Yes, I hate being on the tube)

I can't wait for the next theme and am thinking I will use July to try something a little different. I might get back into painting or pastels again and might even get out my little paper cutting scissors. :)

NUCA on iTunes U

2010-06-19T14:00:00.001+01:00

My old uni has set up an iTunes U account where for free you can download my graduation film as well as several others that were created on the Animation course in Norwich. Click the image below to check it out. :) There are also links to examples of work from all the courses at the uni so it's worth a look.

Norwich University College of the Arts
previously Norwich School of Art and Design

NUCA on iTunes U

Disney's Tangled (Rapunzel) Trailer

2010-06-19T00:11:00.000+01:00

I was really looking forward to this movie. The concept work looked gorgeous and the whole idea of creating a CGI movie that resembled a painting had me really excited. However now that the trailer has come out I can't help but feel a little disappointed. :(

I don't know exactly what it is but this trailer feels so different from the original tests I saw on You Tube last year. On the positive side the colouring of the film looks great and the backgrounds are very close to the concept artwork but for me the characters and the way this whole trailer has been put together has let me down. I was hoping this film would have that feel of an old style Disney classic. Instead I am getting the feeling it will just be another big animated release full of annoying characters with a rubbish story.

I thought I would share the trailer on here anyway... what do you think?

Animus by Seonna Hong

2010-06-15T21:18:00.001+01:00

I love Seonna Hong's artwork (see one of my previous posts) and had been eyeing her book online for a long time. So it was the best surprise when my dear friend Rachinta bought me this signed copy of Animus for my birthday last year! The book was actually published in 2004 so as you can see I am quite behind in finally getting hands on it and posting about it here. :)

Front and inside cover
Buy it here at amazon.com (I can't seem to find a UK outlet)
"Animus is the story of a little girl's encounters with a vicious dog.
The book utilizes a unique mix of traditional paintings and cleverly
animated pop-up elements to bring its characters and their emotions to life."
It's a thick but still quite small hardback book, approx A5 sized. The pages are made out of thick glossy card and the print quality of the illustrations is great.

It is great to see Seonna's beautiful illustrations in a lovely pop up form! It even includes one of my favourite illustrations featuring the little girl in the forest surrounded by friendly woodland creatures. This was one of the first pieces of Seonna's work I discovered which once upon a time I used to cover my diary. Below are a couple of snap shots from the inside of the book. I have to apologise now for the picture quality, the lighting in our office isn't too good. Enjoy! ♥

Below is another one of my favourite illustrations featured in the book. It is titled 'Self Help' on Seonna's website. It's quite difficult to see on my photograph but the text on the book reads 'How to Make Friends' very cute indeed. :)

2010-06-14T19:35:00.001+01:00

I love xkcd ♥

CtrlG Updates and Lyveden New Bield Video

2010-06-05T10:38:00.001+01:00

Time for a quick update on CtrlG!
We have been busy working on the Adrenaline Alley project over the last few months. There have been a few set backs but we're coming close to finishing everything off. All the awesome video content Ryan and Andy R have been working so hard on will soon be online for everyone to see. Below is a sneak peak of the video player I built to be intergrated into the main site. It will hopefully be going live by the end of June. :) With the park continuing to grow there may be a lot more media content for CtrlG to put together in the future.

Warren Shaw a member of our group headed down to Kettering Arts Market last weekend to sell some of his work and created a flyer advertising our group. He also set up the Ctrl_G Blog !!! We finally have some web space that is our own! All core members of the group will be able to update this blog with their own work as well as talking about the current group projects.

I thought I would finish this post with a short video edited by our own Andy Eathorne. Taken from Watch This Space here are some extracts from the full Lyveden New Bield event. Keep an eye out for CtrlG's projections! :)

Rob Ryan - Papercut time lapse

2010-05-09T22:17:00.000+01:00

Amazing!

I wish I had a steady enough hand to create something like this.

A Peak: Animation (Walt Disney Animation Archives)

2010-05-09T18:15:00.005+01:00

Animation (Walt Disney Animation Archives)

I have been writing this post on and off for months but it is FINALLY complete! Now I can finally share with you one of the most beautiful books I own and am proud to have on my bookshelf. It is a lovely large hardback book, slightly too wide which causes it to stick out of my book display but I can forgive it because of all the gorgeous content.

Sketches from one of my Disney favourites, Sleeping Beauty

The book is introduced by John Lassester and contains over 250 pages of original sketches from a selection of Disney films, showcasing the work of many artists. The book starts with some very early Disney films and shorts before progressing onto more recent releases like the The Princess and the Frog. It contains various styles of drawings, in various states e.g. rough animation sketch, inked drawings, some with colour, some without.

It was great to see some of the classic Disney characters from the old shorts like Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy. My knowledge on the history of Disney animation is pretty bad for an animator so there were several titles in the book that I hadn't even heard of before. I was very much a 90's Disney kid with The Lion King, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid being some of my favourites :) So it was great for me to see some of the earlier artwork and be introduced to some new titles so late in the day. :)

What I found to be a nice surprise was that the book has several fold out pages which show sketches from an animated sequence. See the example of Pinocchio below.

Fold out Pages

I did hope for some more images from The Little Mermaid, but that's just my own personal preference. I think there are plenty of images to satisfy any Disney fan. :) I loved the sketches from Dumbo mostly because he is just so cute. One of my other favourites are the sketches of Cinderella' s dress transformation from rags to ball gown. This is printed as an image sequence over a fold out page. The drawings are beautiful and the amount of detail in the sparkles is amazing.

A preview of some of the different types of images inside

There is a nice little section at the back of the book which has photographs of the artists working in the Disney studios giving readers a chance to put a face to an artist. :) A full list of the artists featured in the book are Ub Iwerks, Norm Ferguson, Ben Sharpsteen, Hamilton Luske, Dick Huemer, Grim Natwick, Art Babbitt, Fred Moore, Bill Tytla, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Milt Kahl, Marc Davis, Ward Kimball, John Lounsbery, Eric Larson, Les Clark, Wolfgang Reitherman, John Sibley, Bill Justice, Ted Berman, Clyde Geronimi, Glen Keane, Andreas Deja, Eric Goldberg and Mark Henn.

For those of you who are interested here is a list of the Disney titles featured in this book.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs	Playful Pluto	Sleeping Beauty	Saludos Amigos
Lady and the Tramp	Sagebrush Sadie	Steamboat Willie	Plane Crazy
Three Little Pigs	The Big Bad Wolf	Grasshopper and the Ants	Flowers and Trees
Building a Building	The Goddess of Spring	Pinocchio	Orphan's Benefit
Goofy and Wilbur	Fantasia	The Little Whirlwind	The Nifty Nineties
Bambi	Make Mine Music	The Three Caballeros	How to Play Golf
Duck Pimples	Song of the South	The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad	Melody Time
Cinderella	Alice in Wonderland	Peter Pan	Mickey Mouse Club
101 Dalmatians	The Jungle Book	The Aristocats	The Rescuers
The Great Mouse Detective	The Little Mermaid	The Rescuers Down Under	Beauty and the Beast
Aladdin	The Lion King	Pocahontas	Hercules
Mulan	Fantasia/2000	Lilo and Stitch	Treasure Planet
Lorenzo	The Princess and the Frog

You definitely don't have to be an artist to appreciate this book. I think it will be loved by ALL fans of Disney and anyone who enjoys and appreciates traditional animation. :) Personally I could spend hours just looking through it again and again. My plan now is to buy the other two books in the series!! :)

STORY: which is the first book in the 'The Archives Series' and DESIGN: which is due to be released in October 2010. When I finally get my hands on them and have some free time I'm sure I will share them on this blog as well.

Little Leap Forward - 2010 Tour Dates

2010-04-26T20:13:00.006+01:00

Horse + Bamboo Theatre

Little Leap Forward

Spring 2010 Tour Dates

See extracts from the show on You Tube at this link.
You can book tickets by visiting the venue websites listed below.

13-14 May
The Dukes, Lancaster
www.dukes-lancaster.org

19 May
The Borough Theatre, Abergavenny
www.theboroughtheatreabergavenny.co.uk
01873 850805

20 May
Aberystwyth Arts Centre
www.aberystwythartscentre.co.uk

27-28 May
Jersey Arts Centre
www.artscentre.je

2 June
Darlington Arts Centre
www.darlingtonarts.co.uk

4 June
The Maltings Theatre, Berwick-upon-Tweed
www.maltingsberwick.co.uk

7 June
Tom Stoppard Theatre, Pocklington

10-12 June
Spark Children's Festival, Peepul Centre, Leicester
www.peepulcentre.com

16-17 June
The Civic, Barnsley
www.barnsleycivic.co.uk

18 June
The Met, Bury
www.themet.biz

25 June
Barnfield Theatre, Exeter
www.barnfieldtheatre.org.uk

For more info on Little Leap Forward see the Horse + Bamboo website.

A monthly update

2010-04-25T21:05:00.002+01:00

Hello, I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post. :( I have been an extremely busy bee this last month and as usual I have taken on far more projects than I can handle. As well as my full time job I have been back organising the Adrenaline Alley project, designing a wedding invite for a friend and editing together a film of the most recent Horse + Bamboo production 'Storm in a Teacup'.

There has also been some technology breaking creature in our house this month as we saw the death of two computers and our TV within two weeks (and my laptop doesn't seem too healthy either). Luckily with all this extra work I've been taking on I have been able to upgrade my old desktop and buy my first wacom, the Intuos4 Medium Pen Tablet. Hopefully next month when I get some free time I will be able to have a little play with it and see if I can still draw in Photoshop. :)

So I have been working on 'Storm in a Teacup' today which is a lovely little show about a lighthouse keeper who is just looking for a friend. :) It was really nice to edit the film and hear how much the children in the audience were enjoying the show.

Whilst I am on the subject of Horse + Bamboo the second tour of 'Little Leap Forward' will be starting soon, I will update with tour dates on my blog sometime next week but if you want to see them now then click here.

Ooo another little update is that I finally jumped onto the twitter train and got myself an account a few weeks back. I haven't actually tweeted about anything interesting yet as I don't have many followers and the whole interface is kind of confusing, I'm sure I will get used to it soon though...

So if you're on there then follow me and I shall follow you!

www.twitter.com/steff_lee

I must be off now as I have lots of boring washing to sort out before I can chill for the night. I will leave you with this film that I have wanted to share for a while, it's awesome by the way so you should most definitely watch it! Night :)

PIXELS by PATRICK JEAN.
Uploaded by onemoreprod. - Watch original web videos.

London BFI, V&A Decode

2010-03-23T21:23:00.006Z

A couple of weekends ago I headed down to London for the day for a trip out with some friends. :) We were on a quite a tight schedule but managed to fit in lots of things we wanted to do. :) It was a very nerdy day out with lots of interactive experiences, so I thought I would share some of them on here. Our first stop was the V&A where we checked out the exhibition Decode: Digital Design Sensations.

Mehmet Akten, Body Paint, 2009

This exhibition was a lot of fun! ^-^ The exhibition shows the latest digital and interactive art works in development and looks at three themes, Code, Interactivity and Network.

" Code presents pieces that use computer code to create new works and looks at how code can be programmed to create constantly fluid and ever-changing works. Interactivity looks at works that are directly influenced by the viewer. Visitors will be invited to interact with and contribute to the development of the exhibits. Network focuses on works that comment on and utilise the digital traces left behind by everyday communications and looks at how advanced technologies and the internet have enabled new types of social interaction and mediums of self-expression."

We had loads of fun messing around with all the installations. I generally love any kind of interactive thing, so I was in heaven. Most of the pieces reacted to your movement, sounds or touch creating some really cool unique images. There were also pieces that took advantage of the recent app culture using iphone applications and the internet to allow people all over the world to contribute to the exhibition. Below are some of my favourite pieces from the exhibition.

YOKE, Dandelion, 2009

Large projected Dandelion which you can "blow" using a hairdryer.

Ross Phillips, Videogrid, 2008

A video camera on a tripod captures a few seconds of footage at the press of the button. It is then added on a loop to the screen on the other side.

I really loved this tree because it reminded me of some designs I had for my old website. :) Its was so pretty and animated to sensors catching the wind outside the V&A. :) Very clever.

The exhibition is on until 11th April 2010 so if you are around London or can find the time to visit then I really recommended you check it out.

BFI Southbank
So the next stop was the BFI Southbank where I finally got to see 'The Secret of Kells' on the big screen. We had a mad run across London to the cinema though (stupid closed tube), and we missed the first ten minutes of the film. However it didn't spoil the awesomeness, its one of the prettiest looking films I've seen in a long time. I loved it! <3 I'm thinking of buying the DVD now which is avaliable from the Cartoon Saloon online shop.

After the film we had just over an hour before we had a reservation at the restaurant Inamo. So we decided to have a quick stop at the Tate and explored this giant box of nothingness. It didn't really feel like nothing to me though as there were lots of people in there and it was just darkness and noise... not very interesting. The Tate shop though was a different story... had lots of fun in there looking at all the nice books I want to buy but can't afford. :)

Inamo
So finally we got to eat! :) Inamo is quite a new restaurant in Soho that provides and interactive dining experience. Instead of ordering your food with a human everything is done through the interactive projected screen on your table.

This was a lot of fun and I was really excited as I had been itching to go to this restaurant since I saw it advertised over a year ago! You can preview all your food and drinks and as soon as you place your order it goes straight through to the kitchen. Whilst you are waiting for your food you can play games on the tables, change the 'table cloth' decoration and watch the chefs preparing the food via 'chef cam'.

The food was delicious although quite expensive for what it was. I didn't mind paying a bit more though as it was great to have such a fun dining experience. I won't be going there to eat on every trip to London but would definitely like to visit again.

I had such a good day out even if it was some what rushed. It was so nice to see uni people again and spend the day being a little nerdy. We finished with some bubble tea from China town before heading back home which was yummy as well as satisfying. It was all in all a great trip, I can't wait for the next one now! :)

p.s. I am sorry if the layout for this post is displaying weird. Blogger has recently updated the features for writing posts so I decided to give this new version of 'Compose' a try. Instead of being easier than before I am finding myself getting very frustrated with the lack of control I have over the layout. From my next post I will be back to writing using good old 'Edit HTML'. ^-^

The Princess and the Frog Review

2010-03-06T13:37:00.007Z

So this week I finally got around to seeing The Princess and the Frog. I really enjoyed the film but I don't think it's going to become one of my new favourites. As this was the first film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios since John Lassater took over I was quite anxious it see what affect he would have on the production. Lassater made a great decision by deciding to take Disney back to traditional animation. He brought back Ron Clements and John Musker (writers for Aladdin and The Little Mermaid) to do the screenplay for this film and as expected the end result was a brilliant. The animation was amazing and the story worked really well. This is a new Disney film that finally had some of the old Disney feel I remember as a kid. The soundtrack by Randy Newman gave the film a Pixar-ish feel, which I personally found quite comforting... it was like hearing the voice of an old friend. :)

The film had some brilliant character designs, beautiful painted backgrounds and as I mentioned previously some amazing animation. Some of my favourite scenes were those with the Shadow Man, Doctor Facilier. They were slightly freaky with ghostly shadows and scary masks and most definitely had the best songs. The night time fireflies sequence also stood out to me as a piece of beautiful animation, I think it was all the lights and pretty colours that made it feel really magical. My favourite piece though would have to be Tiana's dream sequence, "Almost There". I love the 1920's poster style which made this short sequence a very refreshing part of the film.

Tiana's dream sequence - 'Almost There
Image courtesy of Jim Hill Media
I really loved our new Disney princess! Tiana's character is so different from the princesses I remember growing up with. Aurora and Arial have always been my favourites, I thought they were great when I was a little girl and wanted to be just like them. Looking back on them now they don't really seem to be great role models for children. Thankfully I didn't grow up to be like those two :) I do still love them but their soppy dreamy and lovestruck behaviour doesn't really appeal to me anymore, I guess they are just characters of their time. Tiana on the other hand is the total opposite and similar to many hard working women today. She is independent, motivated and determined to achieve her dreams through nothing but her own hard work. The fact she pushes aside all social time reminded me a bit of myself when I'm in work mode... no time for anything or anyone else but my work. Luckily Tiana learnt that it is important to have a balance between work and relationships, something I need to remind myself of every so often. This just goes to show that Disney doesn't just create movies that teach children important lessons. :)

Prince Naveen and Tiana as frogs
As a Disney prince I found that Prince Naveen didn't really do it for me, not as much as some of the previous princes. This is probably because he was a frog for most of the movie but his personality didn't help. :) He was obnoxious, lazy and a womaniser, he actually reminded me a lot of Emperor Kuzco from the Emperors New Groove. Even though he did annoy me with his extreme laziness it was nice change to see the latest Disney prince have a bit of personality. As much as I loved Prince Phillip and Eric they were pretty boring characters.

The sidekicks in the form of Louis the alligator and Ray the firefly didn't really stand out to me that much. I did like the fact the alligator played the trumpet but other than that I found them a bit annoying. Mama Odie was a great character, I loved her wrinkly face! It was a shame she didn't have a bigger role in the film. Lottie, Tiana's childhood friend was my favourite side character in the film. She was as annoying and spoilt as Prince Naveen but she just had some of the best lines and character animation.

Environment artwork

After seeing the film I had a little browse online for images for this post. I found some beautiful concept art on the Princess and the Frog Official Website (see the Art Of section). This might take a while to load up but it's definitely worth it.

So overall I thoroughly enjoyed this film and would definitely recommend it. I think there are just enough funny parts to make it suitable for adults and lots of songs and talking animals for children. Also as an animator and a HUGE Disney fan it is great to see the studio return to traditional animation. :) This film really is a great comeback for Disney and I'm now once again getting excited for the studios next production, Rapunzel! :)

Xiao Xi shortlisted for BAA 2010

2010-02-21T20:24:00.006Z

I am extremely excited to announce that my graduation film Xiao Xi has been shortlisted at the British Animation Awards 2010 under the 'Best Student Film' category. The three finalists will be announced soon, wish me luck! ^-^

The Secret of Kells

2010-02-18T17:27:00.009Z

One of the nominees for the best animated film at the Oscars this year is an Irish film called The Secret of Kells.

"Brendan, a 12-year-old Irish boy, has spent his young life living among monks in an abbey. When a new monk, Brother Aidan, and his unusual cat help Brendan discover his hidden talents as an illustrator, the boy soon finds himself on a dangerous quest to complete the legendary Book of Kells."
I only just heard about this film this week. I think I must have been living in a box as there are tons of things online about it. It looks absolutely amazing. Above is the US trailer but I recommend you visit the official website to see another trailer and have a look at the gallery, it contains some stunning images.

It was never released at UK cinemas but I found it available to buy through amazon.co.uk. This is definitely a must see for me!

For more info you can check out this Empire Online article thanks to Chris for posting this on good old facebook.

Heart shaped cakes and Tiger eyes

2010-02-16T12:41:00.005Z

First for some bad news... Since my last post I am sad to announce that Plec has died! :( I am quite tramatised by this as I was really starting to love the little fella. >.< Another one of my fish also died and we had to get rid of one little aggressive tiger barb as he was attacking all the others in the tank. So we are now 3 fish down. :(

Now for something on a more positive side! :) This weekend I decided to try my hand at baking. After 23 years of never having baked a cake myself I had good old Mumsy over to show me how to make some of her delicious cupcakes. As it was Valentines Day on Sunday I decided to make some cute heart shaped ones. They are so delicious! I am going to try and make some chocolate brownies next! ^-^

So it was the Lunar New Year over this weekend and I went out for a yummy family meal to celebrate! :) We had some really delicious food, my favourite being the sea bass. I find you just can't go wrong with some good steamed fish! :) It is now the Year of the Tiger! RAWR! This is my year! Hopefully this means good things. ^-^

After watching a video on You Tube by Michelle Phan I decided to try out her tiger inspired make up for my new year celebration.

I never used to bother that much with make up but I have always LOVED fancy dress! Michelle Phan first caught my eye with her dressing up videos, the Sailor Moon Transformation being one of the coolest. It also turned out that she did some great DIY skincare on a budget and fancy make up tutorials which I have now ended up watching religiously.

Over the weekend I also discovered the new 'pages' feature on blogger. I have now added a nav bar to the top of my blog. I finally have a home button! hooray! I am planning on adding some more pages to help organise the content on my blog in the near future so keep a look out.

Anyway today is Tuesday which means Two for Tuesday at Dominos Pizza! So I'm heading off now to order an extremely unhealthy but very delicious dinner. :)

February for Fishes

2010-02-12T19:39:00.008Z

Hello Everyone!! Sorry for my recent absence. Since the 1st of Feb I have been settling into the real world of full time work. ^-^ After over a year of working from home in my pyjamas and munching on food all day my body seems to be slowly slowly adjusting. :)

So what have I been up to since my last post!?
Well as I just mentioned I have started a full time Artist position working using Flash at a local company that creates online educational content for children. I really have enjoyed my first couple of weeks! So far so good! :)

The Adrenaline Alley project is temporarily on hold as the deadline has been moved to May. *phew* This gives us a lot more time so we are all quite relieved. Andy E and a few others from the group visited the park last week and managed to get some great footage and photos of the park in full use during a special event. Looking forward to seeing those! We'll be having another meeting soon I'm sure.

I thought I would also use this post to show you all my new inhabited fish tank! ta-da! We now have 16 little fishes swimming around.

The Tank
A closer look
Plec
Above is Plec, he's our little Algae eater. He's so funny, I love his little sucking mouth! At first we were worried he wasn't getting enough to eat so we bought some special plec food. However since he's been getting these yummy treats the tank is now filling up with algae :( what a fail... looks like we will have to give the tank a good clean next week. I never realised keeping tropical fish took so much work. It's totally worth it though! ^-^ I love watching them swim around, its sooo relaxing.

Anyway I will be off for now but will hopefully update again soon. I have a couple more book posts in the works although I can't say when they will be up. I did finally buy myself that gorgeous Disney Animation Archive book though ♥. That will be getting a post all to itself! :)

If I don't post again before the weekend is out 新年快乐! 2010 will be a good year as its my year, year of the Tiger! RAWR!

My Pixar Book Collection

2010-01-28T12:30:00.015Z

I am a BIG book nerd and have been building my collection for many years now. I recently bought the book below To Infinity and Beyond!: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios and am enjoying it so much that I wanted to share it with everyone. Since I planned to do this post I figured why not share all of my favourite books!

I have a big collection of illustration and animation books and eventually I would like to share them all with you. As these types of books tend to be a bit on the expensive side I always like to have a peak inside or read a book review before I buy. So I hope if you are reading this with the intention of buying one of these books that I can help you make up your mind. So here is my first book related post... this is my Pixar book Collection! :)

I am a massive Pixar fan! After all it was after watching a 'making of' special on 'A Bugs Life' on the Disney channel which made me decide I wanted to work in animation. ^-^

To Infinity and Beyond!: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios

This a large hardback book with a fabric cover and it looks lovely on my bookshelf! This book is different from some of my other animation related books as there is a lot of reading. I am not complaining though as there are some great images from the Pixar films scattered throughout the book.

You can read about the founders of Pixar and how the company grew from a small computer graphics department to the huge animation studio it is today. There are details behind each of the Pixar films (including the shorts) and directors explaining what inspired them and any problems they might have come across. As this book was published in 2007 it only explores up to the film 'Cars', if they ever republish it would be great to read about the backgrounds of their more recent films.

Close up of fabric cover

'Monsters Inc.' Double page spread

Toy Story

I am still slowly working my way through this book and it is great to read about the history of one of my favourite companies! I am finding it really inspiring to read the stories of the early founders of Pixar and how they overcame many of problems thrown at them when starting up.
It features some great images from the movies and of the production artwork. The double page spreads look brilliant as the paper and print quality is really high.

Even though I haven't finished reading this book I highly recommend it to anyone who loves Pixar and just wants to know more about the company. I just can't get enough of it! I also think it is a really inspiring read for anyone who aspires to one day run their own studio.

------------

Pixarpedia

This book is a bit more for suited for general fans of the Pixar films. I bought this book expecting more concept art and stories behind the making of each film and was slightly disappointed by the lack of it. That's not to say it is a bad book though, as an animator I am always wanting that little bit more! :)

It opens with a few pages looking at Pixars history with lots of pictures and profiles of the people who started it all. The book then moves on to looking at each feature film and even some of the short films. Even though it wasn't what I was expecting it is still a nice book full of great images from all the Pixar films released so far.

Character Profile on Russel from 'Up'

Each movie is explored in detail with character profiles (including minor characters in the films), fun facts about the movie production, characters quotes and details on all the settings within each film. For example one section explore how the ant hill works in 'A Bugs Life'.

There is also a very short section looking at the themes of the films such as friendship and love and the relationships between the characters.

Behind the Scenes section on 'Toy Story'

Towards the end of the book there is a 'Behind the Scenes' section on each film including credits, short Q&A with people who worked on the film and facts about the film production e.g. "Monsters Inc: It took 11-12 hours to render a single frame of Sulley because of his 2.3 million individually animated hair strands". As an animation geek I would have liked more of this but I think 'To Infinity and Beyond' filled my need for that. The thing I really loved about this book was that it is very colourful and full of great images from the films. It also gave me a chance to learn about all the characters in each of the Pixar films, the back story on even the minor characters shows just how much work went into creating these stories.

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Pixar 20 Years of Animation

I went to the Pixar Exhibition at the Science Musuem in London back in 2007. It was amazing and at the time I saw this gorgeous book in the shop area but for some reason I didn't buy it, instead I bought some high quality artwork postcards. Fast forward a year and after gazing at the postcards on my wall I realised I did actually really want the book. So began a mad hunt online to find it. I eventually managed to find and order it online and had it shippped over from the exhibition in Melbourne, Australia, it was definitly worth the extra costs.

The book is split up into sections for characters, sculpture, story, colorscripts, worlds and media installations. I loved everything about this book! The images below will speak for themselves.

Concept art from 'Monsters Inc.'

Leaf seasonal colour palette for 'A Bugs Life'

Colour scripts for 'Finding Nemo'

Everything in the book was featured in the exhibition which shows off the concept work behind the films. A lot of people are unaware of the number of traditional artists that work on the Pixar films and it is great to see the different styles of work from pencil sketches, ink drawings, pastals, clay and more!

I hope this post has helped anyone who is looking into buying these books.^-^ I have recently added quite a few books to my collection so I will posting again soon!

Adrenaline Alley Progress...

2010-01-28T11:22:00.004Z

Progress is being made with the Adrenaline Alley project. There have been a few changes... we will now be creating content to be integrated into the main site being produced by Webforma Studios. There will be separate flash files for each section of the park containing video and photographs.

Andy R operating the camera
We started collecting all the content for the site this week with sessions at the park this Tuesday and Wednesday. We've already captured some great shots of the empty park as well video/photos of professional skaters / bmxers and audio tracks for the films. ^-^ A couple more sessions are still needed but after that we should have everything we need to work with.

Ben capturing the vert

Paper Animation - New Zealand Book Council

2010-01-14T22:37:00.002Z

Amazing! ♥

mailarky.com

2010-01-10T16:54:00.004Z

Mailarky provides a searchable forum-like interface to millions of conversations that are carried out on thousands of Discussion/Mailing lists.

Mailing lists are a way to provide managable, transparent, E-Mail based communications to communities of people. Some of these communities are made up of tens of thousands of people, meaning that millions of conversations take place on these lists. Mailarky exists to archive these conversations and provide a useful, searchable, forum-like interface to this mass of information.

Mailarky.com is a project set up by my boyfriend and his friend. I am posting about this here to help the little google bot find it. If you are interested then you should check it out as well. :)

ctrl g and Adrenaline Alley

2010-01-09T22:29:00.005Z

For ctrl g's next project we'll be working with our local skate park Adrenaline Alley

"Adrenaline Alley which opened in 2006 has hosted over 93000 visitors and has become known as the biggest, safest and best parks in the UK with a great atmosphere and welcoming attitude. They have become an award wining social enterprise. The founder, Mandy Young has picked up awards for BBC Enterprise in Sport sponsored by EMDA, Finalist - Business Women of the year 2009, Pride of Northamptonshire, Anne Frank Award, High Sherrif's Award and many more including the PAG -Volunteer group of the year 2008."
The park has a range of features including the UK's only Resi jump box, a foam pit, a bowl to Europe's first and only 14ft x 76ft resi/vert ramp. The park also houses music practice rooms as well as a recording studio and an education room that is used by schools and groups in the local area. (Click on the image above to see more)

A selection of ctrl g are going to be working together over the next couple of months to create a flash micro site which will be included in the parks brand new website. It will be a kind of tour of the park allowing users to explore all the different areas through video and photographs.

Although we have been meeting and planning together for the last couple of months today was the day when everything has come together. We have assigned roles, looked at the park and now have a strong plan in place to create the site. This is a very exciting project for us as our final product will be accessed by users all over the world.

As always I will update with the progress on here. ^-^

Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Archive Series - Animation

2010-01-08T19:19:00.007Z

I recently came across this book on Amazon and this week I finally got to have a peak inside via Jim Hill Media.

I really want this book to add to my bookshelf. ♥ I mean just look at the drawing below! Dumbo has a special place in my heart, I think it was the first movie I ever fell in love with around the age of 4. I will definitely be purchasing this book when some more money comes in. ^-^

Hello Twenty Ten!

2010-01-04T11:26:00.004Z

A new year and some new content on my showreel and website. :)

Showreel 2010 from Steff Lee on Vimeo.

I am now on Vimeo!

2009-12-31T15:22:00.006Z

www.vimeo.com/stefflee
Ok so I have been on Vimeo for a while now but am only just getting around to uploading all my work. ^-^ There is now finally a good quality version of my graduation film online. Hooray! If you are also a member then please do add me as a contact. I am always looking for new friends! ^-^

I am currently working on updating the content on my site and will hopefully have it online next week. I have added lots of stuff from my latest projects as well as a much needed up to date showreel. :)

Happy New Year to everyone!

See you all in 2010!

Alma

2009-12-28T16:53:00.002Z

This was recommended to me by a friend. A great short film directed by Rodrigo Blaas. See more info at www.almashortfilm.com

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2009-12-23T13:31:00.002Z

Toy Story 3 Clip

2009-12-22T17:37:00.004Z

Check out the latest Toy Story 3 Clip.
I am loving Pixar so much right now! I have recently bought some great books on the company and am planning to post some book reviews in the new year.

New Ghibli Movie!

2009-12-19T22:36:00.004Z

Karigurashi no Arrietty

Summer of 2010 Ghibli are releasing a new feature film called Karigurashi no Arrietty (The Borrower Arrietty) which is going to be an adaptation of Mary Norton's 'The Borrowers'.

"Unlike the original novel, which tells a story about tiny people who "borrow" things from normal humans during the 1950's in Enland, Studio Ghibli have transferred their version to Tokyo Koganei in 2010 (Koganei is where Studio Ghibli is settled) and tell the story of 14-year-old little Arrietty"

I have just found this out now and I absolutely love everything Ghibli so naturally I am extremely excited about this! ^-^

Snow Day!

2009-12-18T17:46:00.002Z

It has been so snowy today! ^-^ We built a very strange looking snowman this afternoon and now I am working on a new showreel. Will update with more soon! ^-^

Ataque de Pánico!

2009-12-17T11:58:00.003Z

I read this BBC news story this morning which I thought was pretty cool. The producer of the short film above posted his work on You Tube and then got offered a contract to make a Hollywood film.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. Work is quite slow at the minute and I am very busy in the run up to Christmas. I promise more updates soon!

Back to work...

2009-12-06T21:04:00.006Z

I am finally in the new house and have sorted out the most important things that needed to be done. This of course included the office which is now full of all my computers and books. ♥ We had a bit of a mad shopping spree at Ikea and bought quite a few bookshelves....

It looks pretty awesome though and we still have room for plenty more books and dvds. :) We did discover that we have quite a lot of Chinese language books... at least 20. Which is quite sad as our Chinese is still so poor :( We desperatly need more hours in the day so we can do all the things we want >.<

Anyway it is back to work this week! :) I am going to be putting together the full length DVD of Deep Time Cabaret. I'm quite looking forward to seeing the show again on tape. ^-^ So it should be an interesting week.

We also have a new project coming up involving the group CtrlG. Members of the group will be working together to create online content for the Adrenaline Alley skate park. I will update about this in more detail soon.

I will leave you now with something I saw today that made me very excited! A sneak peak at the new Harry Potter film! ♥

From theremembrall.org

Busy. Busy. Busy

2009-11-23T12:28:00.000Z

Sorry for the lack of updating this week, I have been off visiting friends in Norwich and my sister in Birmingham. Very very busy! It was nice to take a break from work though and fit in some social time. However during my visits I was a bit sick :( This makes me very sad as it meant that I couldn't really eat anything! :( Very frustrating when we are visiting lots of restaurants with yummy food! My tum still feels a bit sickly but I am hoping it'll be gone this week so I can back to pigging out! ^-^

Delicious food I didn't get to finish
Yesterday I went to Birmingham to the BIG Chinese supermarket and stocked up on the essential rice bag and many many packs of noodles for the big move this week. We also went to eat at this little place in Chinatown and got a really good lunch deal! It was £5.50 for drink, meal and dessert. Of course I could barely eat mine as my stomach seems to be rejecting everything right now but the small piece I did eat was delicious! I will definitely be going back there when I can eat properly!

We also visited the Christmas market which was great! Everywhere looked so pretty all lit up and the stands were full of lots of cool things and delicious food. I bought myself a glass nail file to "last a lifetime" (I hope) and some flower shaped fairy lights to go in my new studio area. ^-^ Here are a few photos I took whilst walking around. I love the little chocolate hedgehogs, they are so cute!

Anyway I am finally moving house today! I am so excited about it! ^-^
I have bought many things in preparation for the move and I need to do a bit more shopping today to buy some essentials like pans.... so we can actually cook.
So just a warning that this blog may be once again absent from posts until I am settled and back into my usual routine. :)

Lyveden New Bield - Photos by Warren Shaw

2009-11-17T12:30:00.001Z

Video projections created as part of the workshops
Warren Shaw, a member of our art group ctrlG has posted up some brilliant photos he took during the Lyveden Bonfire Night Extravaganza!

Click here to check them out.

You can see some of Warren's other work on his site here.

Real Human Interface

2009-11-16T22:00:00.000Z

This is pretty cool.

Deep Time Cabaret - Resource Pack download now

2009-11-12T11:00:00.001Z

Download as a PDF here
For all things Deep Time Cabaret!

This is another piece I worked on for DTC. Check it out and learn all about the production, what went into making it, what inspired and what it all means. This also includes Paul Hawken's speech, 'You Are Brilliant'.

Un Tour De Manège

2009-11-11T13:00:00.000Z

My friend Martin sent me this film and I really loved it! :) It has a dreamlike quality to it and the colours are so pretty. I love how it has been created as a 3D animation but with all the textures of something traditionally animated. ♥ This is just the kind of thing I am hoping to see with the new Disney film, Rapunzel.

HAFFTube 2009

2009-11-09T11:25:00.001Z

My Graduation Film was shortlisted on the web competition being run as part of the Holland Animation Film Festival. You can see the details of the competition on HAFFTube's Channel. I didn't win but I hear I was listed in the festival guide which is pretty cool! ^-^
See the rest of the shortlist here.

Lyveden New Bield - Gunpowder Treason and Plot

2009-11-07T11:30:00.003Z

The event was amazing! Everything went according to plan, the performers looked great, and the music, audio, lighting, projections and fireworks all fused together perfectly! Well done to everyone who was involved!

I managed to get a few nice shots last night but I know that other memebers of our group took some much better images so I will post links to those soon. Andy E is also going to be editing together a short film of the event which will hopefully be posted online. I will leave you with some of my photos from the night...

Ryan - Camera man #2 Well protected from the rain

Opening Scene on the Spiral Mound

The Architecture Scene

The video sequences created as part of the video workshops

Lyveden as it is today

Fireworks
The performers take their bows

Lyveden New Bield Project: Coming to an end...

2009-11-03T13:40:00.001Z

So we are only two days away from the Lyveden Bonfire Night Extravaganza! The people from Watch this Space are working very hard over at Lyveden setting up and making the final preparations for Thursdays event.

I was unable to attend the final workshop last Saturday as the deadline for the blueprint animation was just too close but I heard it went down pretty well and that everyone finished off their films on time. So they are all rendered and ready to be projected!

The FINAL Workshop
A GIF has been put together by members of the group of the HUGE stop motion piece we created during the first workshop. Using red ribbon and wool we attempted to create an image of Lyveden New Bield and filmed from inside the building itself. Pretty good for half an hours work I reckon. ^-^

Large stop motion GIF
On the other side of things Andy E and myself visited Lyveden last week for projection tests which was very cool (see previous post for images). We also all visited yesterday to hand over the final versions of our films and to see the set up for the event. It is all looking pretty impressive, I can't wait until Thurs night! Now we just have to wait until the full building projection test happens to be sure that the film can be ticked off completely! Fingers crossed!!

Lyveden New Bield Project: Images

2009-11-03T13:35:00.001Z

Just a few images from the Lyveden project I thought I would share...

Blueprint Still
Projection Tests
Setting up

Happy Halloween Everyone!

2009-10-31T20:00:00.001Z

2010 Releases

2009-10-28T10:30:00.000Z

Following my previous post on all the things I am looking forward to this year I decided to do a post on a few things I am getting excited about due for release next year!

Toy Story 3

The trailer says it all really... :) I am so excited for this! Especially after seeing 'Toy Story' back on the big screen again.

Alice in Wonderland
I think pretty much everyone I know is getting excited for this movie. I didn't even know it was in production until the promo stills were released. I have been so busy recently that I am just finding myself completely out of the loop with certain things. The visuals for this film look stunning. Tim Burton is never a let down. I loved his version Charlie and the Chocolate and his last film Sweeny Todd was great! It might be because I love Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter so I am expecting big things with this one.

Rapunzel
I made a blog post about this back in 2008 and I am still really excited for this movie. Although there hasn't been much news about it recently hopefully by the end of the year we will be seeing more stills and perhaps a trailer :)

And now for a couple of television releases.....

Futurama
new season!

Even though the Futurama movies filled my Futurama hole over the last couple of years I never found them as satisfying as the original series. They were just too long!! This is why I am extremely excited that they are making another 26 episodes! I don't know how many times I have watched the old 5 seasons over and over and am really looking forward to this new season!

Caprica
Caprica is being made by the creators of Battlestar Galactica and is a prequel to the series (one of my favourite series of all time btw). The pilot for this was brilliant and even though there was a lack of sci-fi-ness about it I still really enjoyed it. I found it very visually pleasing and the small links to the Galactica universe make it so satisfying! I can't wait to see how this series pans out and find out more about the beginnings of the cylon.

Lyveden New Bield Project: Workshop Two

2009-10-25T11:45:00.001Z

This Saturday we held the second workshop for the Lyveden project at The Pemberton Centre, Rushden. Everyone picked up the video editing software really well and were soon off editing images and footage to the soundtrack.

Photographs from Saturday's Workshop
The video they are working on is currently known as the 'Timeline' sequence. This is a 5 minute video piece that will be projected onto the 4 window panes at Lyveden New Bield. It is a bit of a history piece explaining how the Church of England and the persecution of the Catholics began and how it links with the Tresham family. We have a collection of old portraits which will be edited together with the footage the group filmed in the first workshop.

Andy E took charge of the workshop this week whilst Andy R and myself worked on the animated 'Blueprint' sequence. This section explores all the different secret codes that Tresham included in the design of Lyveden New Bield. We have been working on this for the last week and it was good to get some feedback from the rest of the group on what we were doing.

Back to some traditional animation

Animated blueprint sequence
The deadline is now approaching fast with a week and half to go until the event itself. Hopefully we will be doing some projection tests next week to check that everything is working properly. Then we have the final workshop next Saturday where we need to finish everything off. Wish us luck! ^-^
---
On a side note I thought I would mention that our group previously known as 'Art Group (name unknown)' are now called:
ctrlg!
It took us a while to get there but everyone agreed we needed to come up with a name and fast. So we went back to some very old ideas and just picked one. :) We now need members of the group to now come up with some logo designs. We are thinking of running a mini design competition for this. Could be a lot of fun! ^-^

Be Happy :)

2009-10-24T23:36:00.004+01:00

I felt grumpy the other day so I drew a picture myself smiling. Now when I look at it I feel really happy. ^-^ I am such a simple creature... but being happy = positive = productive and this is something I like very much.

Deep Time Cabaret - Gravity

2009-10-23T12:00:00.002+01:00

I put together this film sequence titled Gravity for Deep Time Cabaret.

This is the longest projection sequence in the production and explores the ideas of deep time and our place in the universe. Images of the Book of Hours and tarot cards represent the ways in which humans have tried to understand the purpose of their existance. The egg, symbolic of life, is being measured in an effort to understand it and microscopic elements hint at our origins. The eye looking in on everything represents ourselves examining the vastness of the universe. Everything is then pulled into the galaxy, reminding us how small and insignificant we all are on the larger scale of deep time.

Deep Time Cabaret is opening tonight at the Clearwell Caves, Gloucestershire www.clearwellcaves.com. It will be showing there until the 25th before it moves on. See my previous post for a full list of the tour dates.

My DS & Me - Professor Layton and the Curious Villiage

2009-10-22T10:47:00.000+01:00

Professor Layton on DS
I might be a little late with this game as it was released AGES ago but I really liked it and wanted to share. It is such a simple puzzle game but I loved it!

You follow Professor Layton and his assistant Luke on their quest to solve the mystery of the Golden Apple. The game is set in the village of St. Mystere which is full of quirkly characters who all want you to solve their puzzles. The style of the game has a Ghibli feel to it with beautiful painted backgrounds and great character design. The story is told with traditional animated cut sequences throughout which adds a nice a touch to the game.

I am not normally a big puzzle fan but I found the look and the plot of the game so appealing that I ended up really enjoying the puzzles. Most of the puzzles are quite simple although there were the odd few that gave me quite a headache. I personally found the ones that involved numbers particularly difficult, but then I have never been very good at Maths. >.<

I have completed the story part of the game and am now trying to complete the more difficult puzzles. There is also a bonus mode which have some much more difficult versions of the puzzles I have already completed. I have had a lot of fun playing this game and it is the first game I have actually completed in ages. I think the fact I can just dip in and out of it has been quite good as I don't have much time for games these days. :(

I really recommend this game! Especially if you're a puzzle fan but also if you want to play a game that feels a little different. The traditionally animated cut sequences really made it something special for me. When I have finished on my current project I am going to buy the recently released sequel 'Professor Layton and Pandora's Box' as a present for myself. ^-^

Deep Time Cabaret Preview and a Rossendale Weekend

2009-10-21T19:10:00.002+01:00

I went to the friends and family preview night of Deep Time Cabaret last Friday and spent the rest of the weekend in Rossendale, Lancashire.

The show was great! After worrying so much about how my films would look and how everything was going to come together I can honestly say I am 100% pleased with the final result. There was added narration making it much easier to understand and some added comedy which was brilliant. Educational piece that will encourage students to ask lots of questions. Sonya's singing was beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed the puppet shows and the egg dance. The paper cinema came together nicely as well, I am hoping to get a video of this online in the next couple of months. I will be making a DVD of the full production in about a months time when the shows have been filmed. They start the tour Friday evening at Clearwell Caves!

I had a lovely weekend, we stayed at the Number 678 Guesthouse which was lovely. No one else was staying there so we had the whole place ourselves. They had the comfiest beds ever and the most yummy breakfast in the morning!

We spent the Saturday at Hebden Bridge where we did some shopping and sat by the river with all the ducks. :) We found a great shop there called the Yorkshire Soap Company. It was lovely smelling shop with lots of gorgeous looking soaps. I bought a couple of the bath truffles and they are great! My favourite thing in there were the HUGE soap cakes decorated with candles. (see below) They don't do online orders yet but the man in the shop said they were trying to sort it out. :) I hope they do it soon!

On the Sunday before we left we went to visit Rossendale Museum and I managed to draw these little fellas from the stuffed animal room. ^-^ Hooray for some kind of life drawing!

Could have done with some more sleep but all in all I had a nice weekend. I have a busy couple of weeks now with the Lyveden project in full swing! The second workshop is this Saturday and I have already started animating for the blueprint sequence. Will update with more soon!

Deep Time Cabaret Promotional Film

2009-10-14T12:00:00.002+01:00

My latest edit, a promotional film for Horse + Bamboo Theatre's new show 'Deep Time Cabaret'.

Going to the Movies!

2009-10-12T12:00:00.012+01:00

I feel like I have been a bit of a movie go-er the last couple of weeks. I am enjoying seeing lots of films but it really is burning a hole in my pocket. I can't believe how expensive the cinema is these days! Especially for the 3D movies! Nearly £10 a ticket is ridiculous! You can buy the movie on DVD for that!

ANYWAY....
Yesterday I went to the cinema to see 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'. It was pretty funny :) Lots of action and silly things for the kids but also a lot of funny dialogue between the characters. I loved all the crazy inventions Flint had invented. My favourite being the spray on shoe! Lovely and glittery! I also really liked the animation on the end credits. Having some nice textured 2D animation at the end is always good!

Last week I went to see Toy Story 3D. My friends little boy had never seen it before which I thought was a disgrace! So I HAD to take him! It also gave me and my friend a chance to see it again. What a classic pixar film it is! I hadn't seen it for years so I had forgotten how funny it was! Especially Rex and Mr Potato Head, those guys are hilarious! I am really looking forward to Toy Story 3 now and I will still get to see Toy Story 2 3D at cinemas in the new year. :)

Toy Story 3D Feature
Next week I am finally going to see 'Up'. I have no idea why it has taken all these months to get to the UK but I am really looking forward to it! I have spoken to a couple of people who have seen it and they have loved it so I am hoping I will too! :)

Oh and one last film... I recently saw the original Japanese version of 'Ponyo' which was great! Like every other Ghibli movie I absolutely loved it! I might even go to see it when it is released in UK cinemas even though the English dialogue always sounds kinda weird. It looked amazing though! The colours of the undersea world were brilliant and the character animation was perfect! ♥ I loved every single bit of it!

Seeing all these animated movies really makes me want to get animating again. Especially after seeing Toy Story as it was the early Pixar films that first inspired me to get into animation. The next chance I am free I need to start planning my own little animation masterpiece!

Watch This Space: Workshop One - Lyveden New Bield

2009-10-11T11:30:00.001+01:00

Introduction to the project with Dave from Watch This Space
The first of the workshops for the Lyveden New Bield project kicked off this weekend. Luckily the sun was shining all afternoon so we could really enjoy being outside. Overall it was a pretty fun day! In the morning we introduced everyone to the project and did some photography on site.

We then attempted to make a HUGE stop motion piece using ribbon and wool to create an image of the Lyveden New Bield. For half an hours effort I think we did pretty well. (see image below) If this film ever makes it online I will be sure to post it here. :)

Huge stop-motion piece
After lunch we had a look at everyone's photos and created a mock up of the final scene. We recorded an audio track of everyone in the group giving their first impressions of the space and created a slide show using their images to go with it. It turned out pretty good and was a great way to see the photographs everyone had taken.

Checking out the slideshows
After giving everyone the script and listening to the soundtracks for the event we all had a chance to get creative and record some footage for use in the next workshops. Part of this involved dressing up in funny hats with stick on beards... we didn't quite look like Guy Fawkes but never mind. :) We also lit some fuse wire which Andy had bought and recorded some fireworky footage.

And that was the end of Workshop One! I think it went really well! Everyone has been introduced to the project and we captured some really good footage and photographs which can be used in the films. I am really looking forward to next session where everyone can get stuck into making the projections!

Deep Time Cabaret - Rehearsals

2009-10-03T11:13:00.000+01:00

The miner and the white woman hand puppets
The Deep Time Cabaret rehearsals have been in full swing for the last couple of weeks and I made my way up to Horse + Bamboo late last week to see how my film sections would be fitting in. With the final versions complete and rendered I was able to see them at the best quality. I also watched how the performers will interact with the film sequences.

Working out a set up for the paper cinema
I worked with Jonny and Mark on the paper cinema section (see above) looking for ways to animate the paper puppets. Bob put together a table top camera stand on Thursday morning whilst the rest of us cut out photocopies of the paper cinema elements. This enabled us to play around with them under the camera without causing any damage to the originals. This was a very useful session as I discovered that I would need to make a few more cut outs. I will be working on these this weekend as well as re working one of the film elements which needs to be extended. :) After that I feel confident that all my work for the show will be complete.

Next week I am going to start working on a Making of Deep Time Cabaret film to go online on the Horse + Bamboo You Tube account. I will post that up here in a couple of weeks time.

Lyveden New Bield

2009-10-02T11:12:00.005+01:00

Lyveden New Bield

As I mentioned in a previous post I am currently involved in putting together some video/animation workshops creating projections to be used at an event by Watch This Space. This is a bonfire night event at the National Trust property Lyveden New Bield.

Our group will be directly involved in creating projected sequences during three workshop sessions with young people over the next month. Myself and a couple of others are also creating an animated blueprint to be projected as part of the event.

Members of the group at Lyveden New Bield
A History Lesson
Lyveden New Bield was designed by Sir Thomas Tresham. It was created to be lodge, a place to entertain guests with beautiful gardens including spiral mounds, moats and a labyrinth of roses. However due to Sir Treshams death and debts within the Tresham family the building was never completed. It was left untouched and was donated to the National Trust in 1922. It wasn't until the early 90's that they began to uncover the hidden garden which is acknowledged as one of the last Elizabethan gardens today.

Thomas Tresham spent most of his life in prison due to his Catholic beliefs. Under the new laws of Henry VIII anyone who did not follow the Church of England were to be punished. It was from his prison cell that Tresham began designing the Lyveden New Bield. He wrote letters to the architects detailing everything he wanted for his garden lodge.

He designed this building full of hidden codes representing his religious beliefs. The unusual cross shape of the building, text from the bible, symbols representing the crucifixion of Christ, windows designed with a cross shaped frame. All of these were his way to show his faith.

Symbols representing the crucifixion of Christ and the cross shaped window designs at Lyveden New Bield

It was his son, Francis Tresham who links the Tresham family to the gunpowder plot. Francis was one of 13 men plotting to blow up the Houses of Parliament. However the plan failed and Francis Tresham was arrested and executed at the Tower of London.

The full story of Lyveden and the link with the gunpowder plot will be told through performance art, projection, music, lighting and fireworks on the 5th and 6th of November.

Tickets are now on sale and going fast!
To buy tickets and for more information see here.

Surf Twilight Sensations Ad

2009-09-28T13:31:00.002+01:00

This was all created with shadow puppets and film... I love it and had to share! ♥

Lego Wall-E

2009-09-25T09:54:00.000+01:00

Awesomes!
Some of the coolest lego building I have ever seen.

Deep Time Cabaret - Tech Week

2009-09-17T08:59:00.001+01:00

I have just returned from a very successful couple of days working at Horse + Bamboo. We managed to get through a lot during my visit and I am feeling good about everything that will be coming together over the final two weeks on this project.

We worked on many sections of the production including filming for the projections, testing the projections, playing with the paper cinema and the education pack. The education pack will hopefully be put online next week. I am going to spend the next couple of days putting it together before getting back to the projections at the start of next week. :)

I will leave you with some images of us experimenting with the paper cinema.

Lego, Animation, Classic Games <3

2009-09-17T08:38:00.001+01:00

Awesomes!

I love cutiepie .com

2009-09-11T22:42:00.001+01:00

I ordered this cute miniature pocket watch a couple of weeks ago and Mr. Postman delivered it to me last week all wrapped up in a nice little black box.

It is such a beautiful piece of jewellery! I love it! It has instantly become my new favourite. I have been looking for a pocket watch for the last year now but most of the vintage ones I found were far too expensive. So I took my hunt online and got myself this little bargain.

The watch is very very tiny (only 2.5cm across) but works just as well as any other watch I own. ^-^ It has a beautiful pattern engraved on it and little beads hanging from the top.
I really recommend you check out the website where I discovered it, ilovecutiepie.com.

It is full of lovely unique hand made jewellery, limited edition pieces and also provides a bespoke service if you want something made in particular. This is one shop I have added to my bookmarks! ^-^

Check it out girlies!.

Sketchbook #3

2009-09-07T12:58:00.004+01:00

I have been unlucky enough to have been struck down with food poisoning this weekend and have spent all my time in bed. I am feeling slightly better today although I am not sure if I am up for working my usual 8 hour day.

I found being in bed extremely boring. Anyone who knows me will know I hate doing nothing... and if I'm not doing something productive I feel quite agitated. This on top of me not being able to eat anything put me in a very bad mood, but I have managed to survive with the help of South Park, Harry Potter and my sketchbook. :)

I decided to do some (ill looking) self portraits after I had an urge to do some life drawing but I had access to no models. Who better to sit still long enough for me than myself! I am thinking I might attempt to do one in colour now... with some kind of paint. Could be fun! ^-^ I have thoroughly missed drawing!

Last week I also did some life drawings of my boyfriend and sister. They are a bit sketchy, but practice makes perfect! I am drawing all of these in an A2 sketchbook and am loving working on such a big scale! It really makes me miss being at art school and having access to life drawing every week. >.<

Deep Time Cabaret Tour Dates

2009-09-03T17:42:00.005+01:00

I forgot to mention the tour dates for Deep Time Cabaret have been released. The show will open at the Clearwell Caves in Gloucestershire on the 23rd October. These caves have been specially adapted and are now a working mining museum. Considering the context of the production I feel that this is perfect place for Deep Time Cabaret to open.

23-25 October
Clearwell Caves, Gloucestershire
www.clearwellcaves.com

26 October
Ustinov Theatre, Bath
www.theatreroyal.org.uk

30 October
Manchester Science Festival
www.manchestersciencefestival.com

6-7 November
SUSPENSE, Rosemary Branch
www.littleangeltheatre.com

18 November
ACE Centre, Nelson
www.acecentre.co.uk

19 November
The Met, Bury
www.themet.biz

20 November
The Continental, Preston
www.newcontinental.net

27 November
Square Chapel, Halifax
www.squarechapel.co.uk

28 November
the Boo, Rossendale
www.horseandbamboo.org

Deep Time Cabaret Update

2009-09-03T17:40:00.001+01:00

My work on Deep Time Cabaret is coming along well. The deadline is approaching fast and it is less than a month until the rehearsals begin.

I have successfully filmed some footage for the mouth (see image below) and 'stop frame' sequence. The rest of the footage will be filmed during the DTC tech week and Horse + Bamboo.

"What we do if the stars only came out once every thousand years?"
I have been busy busy working on the education pack and it will be available to download from the Horse + Bamboo website by the end of September. This pack will contain information about all the different elements included in the show and give details on what inspired it. I will post a direct link on here once it is completed.

I have also been finishing off the paper cinema elements (see below) and just need to mount a couple more onto card so they are ready for rehearsals. I have sketched out the storyboard for the piece, but I think most of it will be completed when we actually get the cut outs in front of the camera and start experimenting with what we can do. ^-^

This just leaves another week for me to put together the 'stop-frame' sequence. It seems like things are finally starting to come together! hoorah! I love that feeling! :)

New Art Group and Watch This Space

2009-09-03T10:35:00.001+01:00

Over the past few months myself and a couple of people I know have been trying to set up a local art group that provides workshops for young people in the area and also acts as a network for local artists to meet and share skills.

We are still in the progress of setting up our group and still need a name ^-^ something that has been of great discussion amongst the group members. I will update on it more when we have discovered "who we are", we can't be called 'Unknown Name' forever after all.

One of the members of the group, Andy, who I have known since my foundation course has managed to get us our first gig with a group known as Watch This Space.

"Watch This Space is a unique programme of innovative and exciting heritage arts projects, combining multimedia installations, exhibitions, audio tours and site specific performances. Specially created for unusual spaces, each project unlocks doors to areas not usually open to the public, taking audiences on an intimate journey around these forgotten spaces and their stories."

We are going to be running video and animation workshops for kids aged 14+ as part of a larger event being organised by Watch This Space.

This is a bonfire night event at a local National Trust property, Lyveden New Bield. It will be a mixture of performance art, projection, lighting, music and (of course) fireworks. They held a similar event at Ashby Castle a few years ago. You can see photos and videos of the event here.

I will update soon with some more details about the workshops and the role our group will be playing. I am also going to include a little bit of a history lesson on the building which will be the centre of it all. It is all very interesting, I promise! ^-^

I am 23!

2009-08-31T22:24:00.003+01:00

I have spent the bank holiday weekend celebrating my birthday by seeing my family and friends and enjoyed taking a few days off work. ^-^ I thought I would post some photographs of my birthday cakes made by my Mum and sister, they were delicious! We also had lots of fun decorating the cupcakes together.
yum! yum! yum!

South Park - The Making of.

2009-08-30T14:30:00.000+01:00

I absolutely love South Park so I was pretty excited when they released these videos showing the technical process behind the show. This two part episode, The Pandemic was a Randy heavy episode so naturally one of my favourites ^-^
Just thought I would share, check it out -> here <-

Greaseproof Paper Clouds

2009-08-28T10:13:00.000+01:00

Origin of the Milky Way - Projected Image

2009-08-27T09:30:00.003+01:00

This photograph is of the paper cinema test carried out a few weeks ago. It was posted on the Horse + Bamboo website so I thought I would share it here as well. I am planning on creating the rest of the elements for the paper cinema today which will be mostly clouds as well as Zeus and the mortal Alcmene.
I've got a busy day ahead of me! ^-^

A Late August Update

2009-08-26T09:30:00.002+01:00

Hello! I have been a very bad blog keeper these last few weeks. I have being doing lots of work on Deep Time Cabaret but most of it is preparation work so I don't actually have anything to post about.

The deadline for this project is fast approaching! Only about a month left until everything needs to be completed. I am working on 5 separate things for the production plus the online education pack and a making of film. These things will be keeping me very busy for the next month but I do have a couple of personal projects I have started which I will update about soon.

I also have had a weekend away in Bath to give myself a little bit of time off. It was a great trip just not long enough! The city of Bath is lovely! I fell in love with all the oldness instantly, I guess I just have a thing for old buildings :) We did the touristy thing and paid to go look around the Roman Baths which was pretty cool. I now want to plan another trip there so I can actually use the spa facilities in the city centre. ^-^

On another note I am looking at entering this competition... to win a trip to Pixar Studios. I have realised how little animating I have been doing recently so I really want a project to get me back into it all. This seemed like the perfect opportunity, plus I would be in with a chance to win a trip to the U.S. ^-^ All I need to do is create an original animated short with the theme of "an animated adventure"... time to get out the thinking cap!! ^-^

Deep Time Cabaret - Workshop Week

2009-08-10T19:17:00.004+01:00

Sorry for the delayed post on the Deep Time Cabaret workshop. My blog post on what went down during that week is featured on the Deep Time Cabaret Production Blog this week. Click the link to check it out! ^-^

Rapunzel Concept Art

2009-08-01T10:57:00.003+01:00

Disney has recently released concept images from their new film, Rapunzel which is due to be released in 2010. They are absolutly gorgeous! I am so excited for this film. See more here.

The Origin of the Milky Way

2009-07-22T11:42:00.000+01:00

Jupiter, wishing to immortalise the infant Hercules (whose mother was the mortal Alcmene), held him to the breasts of the sleeping Juno. The milk which spurted upwards formed the Milky Way, while some fell downwards giving rise to lilies.
I am working on re-creating this painting as a paper cinema piece for the Horse + Bamboo production Deep Time Cabaret. Below are a few drawings I have been working on. The bottom image is the closest to what I'll be creating for the final piece.

I will be going up to Horse + Bamboo next week for the production workshop. This is where everyone on the production will be working together to develop Deep Time Cabaret further. I will be involved in lots of projection tests etc... so will update with the results of that soon.

Disney's The Little Match Girl

2009-07-17T12:00:00.000+01:00

The Disney version of The Little Match Girl came on the special edition of The Little Mermaid. The You Tube version is pretty bad quality so if you can get hold of the DVD I really recommend you watch it.

This short film is really sweet and to me really feels like an old Disney film. I am hoping the Princess and the Frog has a some of that old Disney magic.
I love this story and always have since I was a kid, which is probably why I based my graduation film on it. I always felt so sad for the little match girl at end but still wanted to read it over and over, I was a strange child I guess...

Festivals update

2009-07-16T13:02:00.002+01:00

I have recently discovered that my graduation film was shown in Italy as part of Cortoons - International Short Animated Film Festival of Rome.

I have also heard that my film is supposed to be shown at Latitude Festival which starts today. Which is pretty cool although I am not actually sure whereabouts or when it is going to be shown.

[EDIT] Relating to Latitude my film can actually be seen here atDitto.tv.

I haven't actually entered any festivals for a while now as I just haven't had the time. I will hopefully get back on it the next time I have a break as I think I only have one year left until my film becomes "too old" to be screened anywhere. :)

2009 Releases

2009-07-10T22:17:00.001+01:00

I just thought I would share some of the latest animated features due for release this year that I really wanna see! I am a HUGE Pixar fan so am really looking forward to seeing UP which will be released here in the UK in October. It has already been released in the US which I am a bit gutted about :( But the trailers and clips look great and I can't wait to see the usual Pixar short at the start of the film. :)

I also can't wait to see the new traditionally animated Disney film The Princess and the Frog. I think the last hand drawn piece they did which I actually liked was the Emperor's New Groove which was years ago now. There are a couple of featurettes over at AWNtv.com that are worth a look.

And finally I am super excited for the latest Ghibli film Ponyo. It has already been released in Japan for over a year now I think... and I still haven't managed to see it. I am looking forward to seeing it on the big screen though and will just have to hope the english dubbing isn't terrible. Infact I don't think I have ever seen a Ghibli movie at the cinema before... so this will be a first. :)
Hopefully I'll have some time to blog about these movies when I get around to seeing them so watch this space!

I am also excited for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince which is coming out next week. Anyone who knows me will know I am a MASSIVE Harry Potter fan and although I have never really been a big fan of the films I am really looking forward to this one! The trailer looks pretty good and the last one wasn't too bad.

And a non-movie release... I can't wait to get my hands on the new Assassians Creed game. It looks amazing and there is so many more things that you can do in this one that weren't possible in the first. This is released late November... so could be a possible early Christmas gift for myself. :)
I'll leave you with the E3 demo (in game footage!) so you can see what I am talking about.

Horse + Bamboo - Deep Time Cabaret

2009-07-08T11:49:00.000+01:00

Over the next few months I will be working with those at Horse + Bamboo Theatre on their latest performance piece 'Deep Time Cabaret'.

This production follows on from an exhibition of artist’s work held at the Horse + Bamboo Theatre last year. 'The Valley of Stone' project asked artists to create work inspired by the landscape and geological heritage of the Rossendale landscape. 'Deep Time Cabaret' will be based around a short film created in the first year of this project, 'Hineingrabe' by Tracey Holland which looks at the Rossendale hills and quarries and their association with myth and folk-lore. You can see a short extract from this film below.

Hineingrabe - Tracey Holland

The cabaret will be made up of several components including Tracey Holland's Film, two ‘lectures’ in the form of strange performance pieces; a puppet show in three sections; a paper cinema; a dance; and 4 songs.

My work is specifically related to the film elements of the production creating a couple of short animated and film pieces for projection as well as making the elements to be used in the paper cinema.

You can read more about the project at horseandbamboo.org and visit the Deep Time Cabaret Blog for the latest developments in the production of this piece.

For Sock's Sake

2009-07-04T19:36:00.002+01:00

I just found this whilst browsing those you tubes and thoroughly enjoyed it so I thought I would share. :)

Little Leap Forward - Short Film

2009-07-02T18:54:00.003+01:00

Extracts from the latest Horse + Bamboo production 'Little Leap Forward'.
This is the short film I have been working on over the last week or two. Now that it is complete I am looking at starting work on the next Horse + Bamboo production 'Deep Time Cabaret'. I will blog more about that soon but for now you can check out the progress of the whole project on the Deep Time Cabaret Blog

Edinburgh and Lilly

2009-06-25T20:09:00.009+01:00

I have just returned from a two day trip up to Edinburgh to see my friend Nicole and record some voices for her graduation film. It was my first visit to Edinburgh and I had such a lovely time! The city was so beautiful and it was great to see some friends after such a long time of being hidden away working in my room. We only had one full day together but we made the most of it!! We started with voice recording and then heading into town to walk up Arthur's Seat. A walk that I didn't think I could make considering my current fitness level...

...but Yay! After much huffing and puffing we made it to the top! Pretty embarrassing as there were lots of older people up there who didn't look out of breath at all.

Then after a yummy dinner we decided to go on one of the ghost tours and it was one of the funniest things ever. It was pretty interesting to learn a bit about Edinburgh's history and our guide was extremely good and succeedeed in completely freaking Nicole and me out! o_O

Now I will tell you a little more about Nicole's project. Nicole is studying her MA in Animation at the Edinburgh College of Art and Rachinta and I agreed to do the voices for her graduation film. Below is an image of the lovely little girl I have recorded a voice for. :) She is called Lilly. You can read all about her on Nicole's work in progress blog called Improve Lilly.
Check out the rest of Nicole's work on her website here -->>> nicolevolbeda.com go go go!!

It's back to reality now though and I'm just working on a short film for YouTube of the Little Leap Forward production. I am also going to be involved in the next Horse + Bamboo project but I will tell you all about that another day.

New Website

2009-06-09T22:48:00.006+01:00

For those of you who visit my blog at the web address you may have noticed that the layout around here has changed a little today. This is because today I have began phase one of my new website. ^-^

Today I uploaded a brand new version so stefflee.com is looking all sparkly and new! A lot of the content is the same but there a few new bits here and there. I will be updating this site a lot over the next few months and will hopefully have some new content up by the start of July. I am also planning to add lots of little animated extras to this site! :) These are still a work in progress but they should be popping up on the site as I finish them.

I am going to be very busy the next few weeks as I am about to start work on editing together 'Little Leap Forward' for a short online film of the production. I am also trying to organise a trip to Edinburgh to visit my dear old collab partner Nicole and help her with some audio for her film. All very exciting! :)

Little Leap Forward - Reviews

2009-06-04T12:03:00.005+01:00

Photo by Ian Tilton

Just thought I would post up links to a few of the reviews that have come out so far.

Guardian Review
What's On Stage Review

Papercutting #2 - Kate Slater

2009-06-01T12:16:00.000+01:00

As promised here is a link to another one of my favourite papercut artists I have discovered whilst trawling the world wide web. ^-^

Kate Slater
She creates these great 3D paper collages and cut outs for her illustration work which I find just amazing to look at. I have only posted a couple of her images here but you should check out her website and blog which both contain a selection of her work.

Little Leap Forward Opening Night

2009-05-31T22:18:00.003+01:00

You can read a review here on the citylife website.

Last Thursday Little Leap Forward opened at The Studio at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. My family and I managed to make it up there for the show and I must say it was brilliant!! I absolutely loved it. After being involved with the production for the last 6 months it was great to finally see it all come together. The story is told so well that I felt myself become immediately involved with the main character Little Leap and felt very emotional at particular parts of the story.

This was the first Horse + Bamboo production I have seen performed live. The mixture of a masks, puppets, shadow, music and film all worked so well together. It is amazing to know that there were only 4 actors playing all the characters. I have never seen anything like it in my life and I am really looking forward to seeing it again when the tour stops by nearer to home.

After the show I was lucky enough to meet Guo Yue. The co-author of the book Little Leap Forward and the man whose childhood this story is based on. It was the truths of this story that really touched me and helped me understand some of the things that went on during the cultural revolution in China. The show highlights some really important events which happened in history as well as telling the story of friendships and the importance of freedom. I think it is an excellent show for children to see as it is very engaging and would encourage them to ask questions about history and what has been going on in other places in the world. I think this is very important as it seems the vast majority of children today seem to only know about what is going on in the present. I recommend this show not just for children but for adults too... it is an excellent piece of storytelling, visually brilliant and definitely worth seeing.

If you want to catch the production it will be in Manchester until the 13th June. You can see other tour dates on my previous blog post.

I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to work on this production and can't wait to see what will come next from Horse + Bamboo Theatre.

Papercutting adventures...

2009-05-23T22:12:00.002+01:00

I have had a very busy week but thought I should update my blog as I haven't been keeping as up to date as I would like. :)

I have been working lots of overtime at my part-time job and have also been ill at the same time so have spent many many hours in bed. I did however spend some time making these little paper cuts over the last two weeks. I have been having so much fun doing it and can't wait to make some more!

These first two cuts were me just experimenting and messing around trying to see what I could get the paper to do.

On one of my ill days in bed I watched the movie 'Marie Antoinette' and totally fell in love with everything about it. So I tried to make a cut with that famous up hair style which I absolutely love! I wish I could get my hair to do that!

And finally this was something I made for my sisters birthday. It was meant to be her birthday card but kind of turned into a wall hanging thing... It turned out a lot neater than my other cuts as it was the last one I made and had finally got used to curling and controlling paper.

I will update with website things soon. My overtime is continuing in to next week and I have another animation job coming up but I am trying my best to get my website complete. I am hoping to add a lot more of my more recent work to it.

Curly Paper Hair

2009-05-16T21:56:00.004+01:00

Just something I have been experimenting with... it was a lot of fun to make the hair. I will post up some more of these when I have time to make them.

Will update soon with the latest on my website re-design. It is taking a while as I am trying to learn some more Flash as well as doing lots of overtime at work.

^-^ watch this space ^-^

Steff Lee

A BB and his World Update

Quick Update

BB and his world update

Book Binding Saturday

Corby Cube Clicks - Animation workshops

Lake District

BB and his world

** 2011 **

Mass Posting Alert!

Yanim Studio - Yannick Puig

Hong Kong Disneyland

Multicolr Search Lab

Reel Roulette

The Art of the Disney Princess

Happy Halloween!

Adrenaline Alley Online!

Xiao Xi at Hiroshima International Animation Festival

Toy Story 3: Google Search

Project Onomatopee

NUCA on iTunes U

Disney's Tangled (Rapunzel) Trailer

Animus by Seonna Hong

CtrlG Updates and Lyveden New Bield Video

Rob Ryan - Papercut time lapse

A Peak: Animation (Walt Disney Animation Archives)

Little Leap Forward - 2010 Tour Dates

A monthly update

London BFI, V&A Decode

The Princess and the Frog Review

Xiao Xi shortlisted for BAA 2010

The Secret of Kells

Heart shaped cakes and Tiger eyes

February for Fishes

My Pixar Book Collection

Adrenaline Alley Progress...

Paper Animation - New Zealand Book Council

mailarky.com

ctrl g and Adrenaline Alley

Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Archive Series - Animation

Hello Twenty Ten!

I am now on Vimeo!

Alma

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Toy Story 3 Clip

New Ghibli Movie!

Snow Day!

Ataque de Pánico!

Back to work...

Busy. Busy. Busy

Lyveden New Bield - Photos by Warren Shaw

Real Human Interface

Deep Time Cabaret - Resource Pack *download now*

Un Tour De Manège

HAFFTube 2009

Lyveden New Bield - Gunpowder Treason and Plot

Lyveden New Bield Project: Coming to an end...

Lyveden New Bield Project: Images

Happy Halloween Everyone!

2010 Releases

Lyveden New Bield Project: Workshop Two

Be Happy :)

Deep Time Cabaret - Gravity

My DS & Me - Professor Layton and the Curious Villiage

Deep Time Cabaret Preview and a Rossendale Weekend

Deep Time Cabaret Promotional Film

Going to the Movies!

Watch This Space: Workshop One - Lyveden New Bield

Deep Time Cabaret - Rehearsals

Lyveden New Bield

Surf Twilight Sensations Ad

Lego Wall-E

Deep Time Cabaret - Tech Week

Lego, Animation, Classic Games <3

I love cutiepie .com

Sketchbook #3

Deep Time Cabaret Tour Dates

Deep Time Cabaret Update

New Art Group and Watch This Space

I am 23!

2011

Deep Time Cabaret - Resource Pack download now