Cool Rainbow Polka Dot Ice Cream and Yogurt Cup Photo

Here’s a fun product photo I just shot of some cool polka dot ice cream cups. Even with the color custom balanced with a gray card, the rainbow bright colors were a little tricky. With a little photoshop work they matched the originals and were ready to be posted to an online store. If anyone is interested in these cups they can be found at this link.Large_Yogurt_Cups_Lowres

Happy 25th Birthday Adobe Photoshop

25 years since Photoshop hit the market. As a traditional airbrush retoucher, I was a little hesitant to use this new program when it came out. There were no layers, computers were slower than heck. As there were no digital cameras, all images had to be scanned by an outside company. Usually a prepress house. Unless you had a new item called a flatbed scanner – I used to set up a scan of a grayscale image and it took so I long I could walk up to the gas station by my office and get a soda before it was done. You really couldn’t retouch anything that was large. The basic agency macs just couldn’t handle the file sizes or the processing needed. Adobe photoshop has come a long way since the early days. The videos I create always have a super or an animated 3d skin that originated in photoshop. My professional retouching and illustration work almost always includes some form of photoshop work. Adobe Photoshop has also allowed me put that finishing touch on all my professional photography projects. Whether it’s architectural, interior real estate or just basic product photography, Photoshop is always in the mix. Happy 25th Birthday Adobe Photoshop.

Optician ad banner for Facebook

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Optician ad banner for Facebook

Just finished this banner ad for an optician’s eyecare business. The photo is stock but the rest is original illustration. I can usually create these within a day or 2 of receiving the assignment. Costs vary but they usually run around $150-$200 for original artwork.

Freelance TV Animation Project for the Milwaukee Auto Market

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Freelance TV Animation Project for the Milwaukee Auto Market

A still shot from my new animated car commercial promoting auto service from Milwaukee’s ADAMM new and used car dealers. I have video links for the spot at YouTube – http://youtu.be/shPajAfv8Sc and in the previous WordPress post on this blog. I created all the visuals from scratch within a 3d environment. The script and audio was provided by the ad agency. I handle freelance animation projects for the Milwaukee, Chicago Minneapolis, Eau Claire and Madison markets. Anyone interested in working with me on a future project can email me at sranderson@wi.rr.com or call 262-751-6026. Most animation spots run between $750 to $2500. Obviously, it depends on the style and content of the spot but this is a typical price range. There’s also additional samples at my YouTube channel  – http://www.youtube.com/user/StudioN51 or my website at http://www.studion51.com .

Milwaukee New Car Sales Service Animated TV Commercial

This is an animated TV spot I just finished for ADAMM. It’s 1 of a series of 4 spots promoting New and Used Car Dealers that belong to ADAMM. The spots run on Time Warner’s Autos on Demand servers. I designed the car character and the visuals for a 3d environment so the character could be posed in a variety of positions. The car’s design needed to be modern and not be too specific to any one model or make. The laptop and tech guy were secondary to the car so I wanted them to look basic but still look like they belonged in the spot. I added the client’s logo in a few places to provide some personalization. The laptop, license plates, tech guy’s hat and uniform and the model id on the sides of the animated car all have a reference to the company’s logo.  As a freelance animator, it’s fun to mess around with these types of projects. The script and audio was supplied by the agency.

Photo Assignment with Gordy, a Dual Purpose Patrol K9

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Photo Assignment with Gordy, a Dual Purpose Patrol K9

Photo Assignment: Gordy – Dual Purpose K9 Patrol

This was a cover photo assignment for the Village of Sussex. It’s a bi-annual publication called The Courier. I photographed K9 Gordy under the watchful eye of his handler from the Waukesha County Sheriff Department. I was laying on the ground to get below Gordy’s eye level and to bring in the squad car’s logo. Didn’t think much of the position I was in until after the shoot. Probably not the ideal pose in front of a well-trained K9 with his handler standing behind me. Gordy’s handler was in complete control of his alert model. I made a small noise with my mouth to get Gordy’s attention but after Gordy gave me a quick hard stare with alert eyes and pointed ears, I realized really fast that the handler should do all the attention getting. I had a large rocket dust blower in my pocket along with a long Canon strap on my camera. The handler pointed out that the items could draw some attention from Gordy. Luckily, Gordy just wanted to do some nice poses. It was pretty sunny out so I opted to shoot in the shade to bring down the contrast of the police vehicle’s color scheme. The lighting also worked well to hold the color in Gordy’s fur. This was definitely a really neat experience.

Motion Graphics Animator in Milwaukee and Chicago

I just wrapped up this animated TV commercial for a financial client. All items except the audio and the 3 stock photos in the middle of the spot were created at my studio. Most of the ballons are the same ballon with the colors altered in After Effects. I then mirrored or flipped them with some extra key frame movements to give each one it’s own personality. The noise makers had the same treatment. While this spot went to the northern Wisconsin and Minnesota markets, I also do freelance animation work for the Milwaukee and Chicago television markets. You can read more about the spot under the Digital Animation section of this blog. I also have a few more samples posted at http://www.youtube.com/user/StudioN51?feature=mhee .

Rotator image for the new Omnisax Reusable bag line from Bright and Bold

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Rotator image for the new Omnisax Reusable bag line from Bright and Bold

One of 4 banner ad style rotator images for the retail website brightandbold.com. The ad promotes the new Omnisax reusable bag product line from Envirosax.

These rotators are updated on a regular basis to keep the content fresh for the retail customers visiting the site. While each rotator promotes a different product, the web banner layout elements are kept the same to maintain consistency. Fonts, color and image proportions are all checked against a graphic design template I created for the site’s rotator format. The bottom right is left open to allow the buttons to show through the image window. I’d rave about how cool these bags are but then I’d have to put a disclaimer in here about being a part owner of brightandbold.com. Ok, I own part of the company, but these really are great bags. My original Envirosax set from at least 5 years ago doesn’t show any signs of wear. Hardware store, groceries, etc., they hold up well. I only carry a couple with me but the set of 5 comes with a neat little pouch for easy storage. The new Omnisax reusable bag in the rotators is the same product with new graphics.