This is my Weekly Design Inspiration, this is a space where I share some design work that has either inspired me or caught my attention for its execution or concept. The things I feature on here can include (but not limited to) branding, web design, app design, illustration, typography, video games or anything that shows creativity in a unique way.
Recently I have been getting more interested in CGI and 3D design work and the implications it can have in the world of design. Having watch a few tutorials on Blender and following the activity of Blender Guru I learnt a lot about 3D and special effects, not just the practical skills but more of the art of it and the things that make these technical skills really stand out. I’m talking about principles in layout/composition, lighting effects, story telling/world building and a general focus on the thing you are trying to convey to the audience. This is a practice I am trying to bring to more of my work, especially illustration, and I’ve been finding a lot of inspiration from the word of CGI and 3D design.
A company that is an infinite well of inspiration is Lightfarm Studios. Lightfarm are a global network of studios that specialise in still image and animation production including complete CGI environments and CGI / photography composites. Their work ranges from professional commercial applications including CGI car advertising to down right crazy conceptual artworks. Something you will always get from Lightfarm’s work is creativity and an extremely high level of polish and quality. Lightfarm have studios dotted all around the globe including San Francisco, Melbourne, Singapore, China and my personal favourite studio Rio de Janeiro. Lightfarm Brazil is the studio I would like to tell you about this week and to showcase to you some of their finest artworks.
Right off the bat you can see the energy that Lightfarm bring to their work with this piece ingeniously entitled Sugar Hit. This is a piece combining a number of disciplines including photography, post production, 3D, makeup and costume design. That number of skills coming together makes for one hell of an outcome, and the best thing is, this wasn’t even a client brief, this was created just because the studio fancied showing off what they could do, brilliant! That’s something I dearly love about the creative industry, we can spend all day everyday producing outcomes for clients and corporations but the creativity doesn’t stop at 17:00 when you leave the studio, you’re mind is still creating when you’re at home, having a shower, brushing your teeth, watching TV or whatever. And that ongoing creativity is what sparks passion projects like this, projects that don’t have a client proposal or brief, instead a chance to really flex your creative muscles and do something totally unique.
As inspiring that image is and the feelings of creative freedom it bestows, there are still times when you need to produce work for a client or corporation that meets a proposal or brief. But that doesn’t mean you have to shelve your passion and imagination, if anything it’s a chance to use it in a clever manner in which it can be used professionally. This is another thing Lightfarm manage to achieve, even on their more reserved projects/clients they ooze originality and every time show of that amazing craft and level of polish. This can be seen in one of their latest projects working with GoPro and the release of one of their newest cameras. The brief was to show off the new features of the camera, which could have been done in a similar fashion to the rest of the tech industry by showing technical specs and close ups of the product, but instead Lightfarm turned it up to 11 and went all out in exaggerating each and every element of the product. Utilising all manner of special effects, 3D and post production they pulled off an energetic campaign that resonates with the thrill seekers of the world, and more importantly, the types of people who purchase GoPros. This is an example of where being brave and confident in your studios skills can bag you amazing client and opportunities to explore the creative skills at your disposal.
I’ll wrap up with showing you another composite image created by Lightfarm Brazil, but this time for a client, and that client being Adobe their-self. Adobe have a track record of working with some of the best talents in the creative industry globally (I mean, they create the platforms in which 99% of the industry use, so it isn’t surprising they get the best of the best). If that isn’t an indication of the quality of Lightfarm’s work then I don’t know what is. Anywho, this piece was part of a promotional presentation by Adobe showcasing Photoshop’s new features on the iPad and it's called Space Bedroom. This artwork, like Sugar Hit, is a multitude of skills smashed together to produce an outcome that would otherwise be impossible to do so without such talented people coming together. These talents include photography, 3D and post production and they blend together beautifully to create this stunning piece.
So I guess it goes to show that it pays to be bold and brave with your creativity and partake in passion projects that explore your imagination. Because you never know what that could lead to, more client work, your dream job, more passion projects or just about anything you could imagine. This is a mentality I am trying to pursue this year and try out new skills and apply the skill I already own to more passion projects. A lot can be learnt from Lightfarm's work, not just on a technical level but on an artistic level as well.
Honorable Mentions
As part of my Weekly Design Inspiration I also like to share some bits and pieces that I have seen which have inspired me in the last week. I have captioned each image with some info and relevant links so you can find out more.
As you may or may not be aware, I'm a big Hellboy fan and I love the work of Mike Mignola. This animation created by Eric Stafford is an interesting take on the Mignola style and brings a different approach to the Helloboy character and world. It's dark, creepy and fits in perfectly with the type of story it's trying to tell. I love it.
Recently I've been following the illustrative work of Rentaro Sensei and I love the styles she works with. The use of dynamic lighting is beautiful and brings life to all her pieces!
Gothamsiti is an Italian digital agency that do things a little differently. You really need to visit the site to get a grasp of the types of things they can achieve digitally, not always the most functional but always a spectacle to witness.
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