Corporate Christmas animation

I just finished a little project recently. If you have perused my work before, you may recognize this illustration. It was done years ago as the cover of a corporate Christmas card. Or should that be 'Holiday' card? Anyway, I was quite pleased with how it turned out and the client like it as well. A few days ago, I was asked if I could turn it into an animation. First it was supposed to be an animated GIF, but they finally decided on HD video. That's great. No need to rely on technology that's 25 years old anyway. I'm talking to you, everyone who loves animated GIFs these days. I don't know why those are coming back in vogue. Oh yes, I do. It's because Apple mobile devices like iPads and iPhones are doing a good job of killing true Internet video. 

The animation was done in Photoshop using my original layered PSD. Photoshop's animation tools and timeline are very much like After Effects, so it was easy to do. I then exported it as video directly from Photoshop. Another artist created the final video with the music and text at the end. I think it looks pretty good. What do you guys think?

Click here to watch the final animation on YouTube.

A little update

It's back to work as usual, which means looking for more work as well. Recently, I finished up some matte painting and plate fix work for a small film called Arthur and Merlin, currently being filmed in England and scheduled to be completed next year. I enjoyed doing VFX work again and it was a fun little project to do. When the film is done, I may have something to add to my demo reel.

My first webinar for Netcom Learning is done and it went well. Close to 100 people joined in to learn a bit more about Photoshop. When I had finished, I answered a few questions that people had. It was recorded and can be viewed simply by visiting Netcom's website. 

Click here to get more info on Arthur and Merlin.

Click here to register for free and view my first webinar.

First webinar tomorrow: Working Non-Destructively in Photoshop!

My first webinar with NetCom Learning is tomorrow. It will start at noon, Pacific time (GMT-8) and last for about an hour. After the topics covered, there will be time for Q&A. Here is what I will be demonstrating:

• History and overview of smart objects
• Transforming smart objects
• Creating smart objects in Photoshop vs importing them from Illustrator
• Comparing image adjustments
• Benefits of adjustment layers
• Layer masks and clipping masks to limit the effects of adjustment layers
• Smart filters and masks
• Editing Smart Objects and practical applications

It's free to register. If any of these topics sound interesting, join up. It should be fun.

Click here to register.