Timbuktoons Studio

Client, Project: Graebel, art direction, multiple character design, ink and paint

Description: Graebel is the leader in relocation and moving services worldwide. When a major client asked Graebel to storyboard the best possible moving service, Timbuktoons was chosen to develop a series of presentation panels to illustrate the Graebel high-touch customer service that’s matched with its cutting edge technology.

We approached the quick-turnaround (weekend) project the same way we handle storyboards for animation or production boards for film. The Graebel team wrote the script and Timbuktoons illustrated the character design and backgrounds for each panel. The panels were then printed in large format by Graebel and were met with ‘applause’ following the team’s successful presentation.

Marcelo Vignali, presenter at 2011 CTN Animation Expo. Vignali is Art Director at Sony Pictures Animation.

Recently I went to the 2011 CTN Animation Expo in Burbank, CA. Each workshop I signed up for had something inspiring, eye-opening, confirming, or challenging. Of all the workshops, one of the most impactful for me personally was Marcelo Vignali’s.

From CTN’s website:
For over 25 years Marcelo Vignali has carved out a name for himself in various industries, from commercial illustration, television animation, computer gaming, theme park design to feature animation — from Disney’s Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, to Surf’s up, to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs — enjoying the reputation of being one of the entertainment industry’s top talents.

Here are some of the key things I picked up from the discussion and a few questions I had the opportunity to personally ask him. This is a random list of key statements in no particular order. There was much more he talked about but these are the things that most resonated with me at this stage as an artist. Also, most of these are not word-for-word quotes, but a synopsis of what he was saying as I franticly tried to capture the key points he was making.

ON VISUAL DEVELOPMENT

• Avoid convention and work from the source. In America, we tend to mimic someone’s style instead of going to the source and finding our own artistic voice. You have to draw from your experience.
• When drawing from a POV you have to ask what the point of view is from the perspective of a background, prop, or character.
• In 2D, the background artist sets the visual language. In CG the set and prop designers do.
• On R&D, I sketch what I want to see first, then I get reference because you need a target. If you don’t know anything about the subject you can spend hours researching things you don’t need. Yes, they might help, but most clients won’t pay for endless research hours. Also, I draw a ton of thumbnails first. A friend of mine calls them ‘menu sketches’ because I’m creating a menu of details to choose from.
• Everything about your art goes back to story.
• Sony does a different look every film.
• Simplify your design by focusing on what’s needed. Lose the rest. Clean-ups often lose the energy of the rough. Pretty people eventually lose your attention, but interesting people don’t. It’s that odd thing that stands out. When something is too polished or too resolved it loses interest.

ON STORY

• Develop your ideas fully. You can’t over think your ideas. You can over design it, but you can’t over think it.
• It’s not so much how to make a good film but how to unmake a bad one. You will hit problems.
• The biggest difference between TV and features is that in TV you CAN’T develop a concept fully. The duration and schedule won’t allow it. Features have to be 90 minutes of engaging and well thought out story to be really successful.

ON STUDIO CULTURE

• I got to Disney Animation in 1994 after being at DIC and Disney Imagineering. The culture at Disney Animation at the time was not one of camaraderie. You build camaraderie in a sweatshop where you are shoulder to shoulder. Sony is closer. Smaller.

ON DEVELOPING AS AN ARTIST

• When you sketch you should be at your most comfortable place. The Cintiq isn’t it for me until I map out and know the core of what it is I’m working on. I need to be loose on paper with nothing taking me out of the zone. I don’t use the Cintiq for initial concept sketches. I sketch on paper. Xerox paper on clip board in a chair outside is my zone.
• I forgot who I was in art school. Look at who you were as a kid when you were in the zone. You have to draw from the place inside where the 13 yr old kid is. What did you draw when you were 13?
• You have to develop your own sense of taste, your own visual language. Do only what you are good at.
• Hide details. Tease the viewer. Draw the viewer in. That’s where I am personally in my career. Comics, CG, 2D, visual story, illustration.

I’ll be sharing my notes from other workshops as well as notes from my pitch meetings in LA in upcoming posts.

YouTube version also available here.

Timbuktoons is an award winning pre-production and 2D animation cloud based studio with customers all over the world. We have produced over 60 hours of original creative content and specialize in creating family-friendly media for the broadcast, education and gaming industries.

Thanks for a great year of fun projects!

Client, Project: bigstuf Camps/Lanny Donoho, premise, visual development, art direction, character design, animation

Description: bigstuf, led by Lanny Donoho, is an organization that produces some of the most creative and fresh camp environments each year for students. Timbuktoons was asked to create several animated shorts to match their 2011 theme: Konnekt. The project gave us the opportunity to brush up on our Rube Goldberg machine-making, faux whiteboard drawing and Facebook promoting skills.

Sketches of Former Colts Coach Tony Dungy

I recently listened to an interview with Andreas Deja (30 year Disney veteran) He talked about his early days at Disney and spoke of how some animators could go straight into tight, clean drawings…almost like they were tracing. He explained how inadequate he felt because he really had to work at his drawings, sketch loosely, and work the pose.

I’m more like that (but no where near as talented as Dejas). I need to work loose, roughing in basic shapes and structure before even thinking about styling and detail. I also do quite a bit of observation and experimentation before I’m really satisfied with a design. One thing I do (especially if I’m stuck) is to first draw a more realistic drawing of the subject (as seen here) to help me notice the unique details. Then i’ll do a second, third, or fourth pass where i push the design into a more stylized direction. Faces have so many interesting structural features that I’ll easily miss if I don’t slow down and take the time to observe. Using this technique really forces me to observe and experiment.

So, the next time you are working on a caricature or any other type of illustration, think about doing a few studies and passes to let your hand and brain really learn the subject. Get in the habit of observing and experimenting. You’ll become a better draftsman and further develop your own unique illustration style.

Apple's 32-foot glass cube flagship store, Fifth Avenue NY. Apple Stores have four times the foot traffic than all MLB stadiums combined. (Image courtesy of Apple)

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the brick and mortar Apple stores that, in typical Apple fashion, brought refreshing innovation to the retail industry. I was one of the more than 1500 that waited in line for hours to see what was behind the big glass doors at Tysons Corner in McLean, VA.

Looking back 10 years at my 15 minutes of fame
While there several reporters interviewed me about the experience. Just for fun I did a Google search for my name and Apple and surprisingly my quotes appeared on sites like PCWorld, BusinessWeek, MacWorld and more…

“Nobody can do it like Apple does.”

“It’s a Gap with Apple products!”

“There’s an aesthetic quality to using a Mac. It only goes without saying that their store would be the same way.”

“People here actually know what they’re talking about.”

Why did I wait in line at a mall, usually the bane of my existence? To see a bunch of Apple products? To be welcomed by dozens of cheering and clapping employees? No, although both experiences were, well, amazing.

It happened one night at a CompUSA
Yes, I’m a fan boy, but back in 2001 I’d only been using Macs for about 5 years. The real reason had to do with the miserable retail experience of being a Mac user pre iMac days…back when you couldn’t read an article about Apple without the word “beleaguered” in it or hear rumors of a buyout by this or that company (Sony, Sun, Disney, etc.).

It came to a head for me one late night at a CompUSA (remember them?) searching for a printer cartridge for my Stylewriter. It wasn’t enough to tell me they were out of stock. The clerk had to call his buddies over for a laugh and literally taunt me for owning a Mac. “Does that company still exist?!” “I heard they just got bought by Sun?”

I slinked back home and read my MacAddicts. It was crazy, but typical. When market share determined shelf space and availability (buying online was just taking off) it was a frustrating chore to find knowledgeable people and the right product.

The Apple experience: branding at it’s best
That kind of experience didn’t match Apple’s brand promises. Well, maybe their tagline “Think Different,” but I’m pretty sure that’s not what they meant.

Fast forward to 2001. Apple begins opening retail stores (while others are closing and analysts think they’re crazy) so they can control the whole experience of owning a Mac, from purchase to product.

Everything they do from advertising, product placement, even packaging all supports Apple’s promises that the experience will match their brand’s reputation.

Does a strong brand really matter?
At Timbuktoons, Apple has always been a brand hero. Their devoted attention to the customer’s journey is an inspiration for the way we approach our work. It drives us to understand the spirit of a client’s brand and translate that emotion and information through animation.

Branding matters more than ever in a cluttered market where everyone is vying for attention. Companies like Apple have shown us that, yes, product, price, promotion and placement still count…but so does the experience.

For me, the Apple Store was the last piece of the puzzle to creating one of history’s most valuable brand leaders.

Client, Project: Answers, visual development, art direction, character design, illustration

Description: Timbuktoons was asked by Answers to create a series of superhero characters that illustrated various bodily functions (spit, ear wax, mucus, etc.) for a special kid-focused magazine article entitled “Getting Close to Gross.” We approached the project the same way we handle pre-production for our show properties. First we explored the character development of each and then in visual development fleshed out how that impacted the character design. The result is a series of heroic characters that (ahem) oozes the gross personality of each bodily function.

Client, Project: [atc] AutoCenter, branding, illustration, print design

Description: [atc] AutoCenter is a local automotive service and repair shop with over 50 years of history. The owners wanted to reflect a new personality of the company, solve several naming challenges and retain historical recognition. Through a series of surveys and audits we helped them discover their company’s brand DNA and establish the key messaging and promises to support that.

The extensive rebranding process included renaming, brandmark design, brand guidelines, trade dress design and more. We also designed various touchpoints for the initial launch including a website, Spirit Book (Silver and Gold Addy Award winners), an identity design package and various take away items.

Client, Project: [atc] AutoCenter, illustration, motion graphics, broadcast design

Description: [atc] AutoCenter is a local automotive service and repair shop with over 50 years of history. As part of an extensive rebrand project, [atc] commissioned Timbuktoons to produce a series of seven 30 second internet commercials. The commercial campaign entitled “That’s [atc]” serves a dual purpose of establishing the new trade dress and brandmark of the company as well as reinforcing their new brand messaging. Each commercial focuses on one key brand message and attribute customers can experience “at the center.”

Awards:  2011 Davey Award (Gold), 2011 Addy (Silver), 2011 Telly Award (Bronze)