SPA Studios Art and Process Video

Lately I've really been digging the art coming out of The SPA Studios (SPA stands for Sergio Pablos Animation). They're an animation and visual development company based in Madrid that has contributed to Despicable Me, Rio, and the independent feature Klaus that's been getting a lot of hype in animation circles.

Szymon Biernacki

Dany Fernández

Sergio Pablos

I pulled all of this art from their excellent blog (which I highly recommend following), where they also post process videos once in a while. I had to share today's step-by-step of a painting by Marcin Jakubowski! Enjoy.

The SPA Studios. Some tips and tricks from Marcin Jakubowski. from The SPA Studios on Vimeo.

I'm currently enrolled in CGMA's Color and Light class (more on that later hopefully), and as I start down the road of moving beyond sketches to attempt more full-scale illustrations, videos like these are invaluable. I'm learning there are many ways to tackle a painting and everyone must find their own way of doing things, but seeing a roadmap laid out so clearly like this does much to demystify the process... I stop hyperventilating and start thinking maybe, just maybe, I can do it too.

© Gina Florio Sous 2016

Animated Music Videos "Ma'agalim" and "White Horses"

Long time no see! I'd love to say you can keep your eye out for more posts coming soon, but the truth is that lately I'm trying to spend more time making art than writing about it. I have been going through some great artistic growth and hope to be almost completely revamping my portfolio in the coming months.

In the meantime, I wanted to share these two animated music videos that spoke to me, and reminded me of each other while still being distinct.

Ma'agalim - Jane Bordeaux from Uri Lotan on Vimeo.

A couple of other things that have been inspiring me lately - illustrator Andy J. Miller's podcast Creative Pep Talk has been a godsend when I'm feeling lost or uninspired or just in need of a little... well, creative pep talk. And I love staring at the logo on my phone screen, because colors.

Also, Elizabeth Gilbert's book Big Magic is full of inspirational, yet down-to-earth, practical advice on the nature of creativity and one's devotion to their chosen craft. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone trying to uncover the 'strange jewels' within themselves. And I also love staring at the book's cover, because colors.

Back to the (literal) drawing board...

© Gina Florio 2016