Love In The Time Of Advertising

David Bokser directed this great CG short called Love In The Time Of Advertising, which chronicles a son's attempt to escape that path his father put him on. Complete with a charming narrative and visual style, which cleverly uses the advertising billboards littering the landscape to progress the story along. Love, or ham always finds a way.

An animated musical love story about a young man who lives inside a billboard and is charged with updating the advertisements. When he falls in love with a beautiful lady living across the highway, he has to use the only method he knows to get his message across. Advertising.

Guilty Gear Xrd Arcade Trailer Is Looking Slick

I've never understood the convoluted story of Guilty Gear (Not that it matters anyway), but I've always been a sucker for the eye candy and wonderful ass-metal (Both courtesy of the multitalented Daisuke Ishiwatari) that Arcsystems has consistently delivered over the years. This new trailer for the upcoming Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign-, the first installment of the franchise now that it's back in the studios hands following years of litigation with Sega over the rights is no exception. Showcasing some of the best 3D cel shading I think I've ever seen, this title looks like a fluid anime in motion, faithfully preserving the fluid look that made the franchise popular. Coming out sometime in 2014.

The Art of Brandon Liao

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Brandon Liao's characters have unquestionable style, first and foremost. Their feudal-futuristic ensembles and weaponry are like a mix between Final Fantasy Online and the Dot-Hack series. And I wouldn't be surprised if Liao counted Jamie Jones of Bungie Studios as one of his major influences. The similarity between their subject matter, technique and execution is almost uncanny. Robotic motorcycles, stylish threads, futuristic cities and holographic armaments. All the makings of a fun night out.

Liao is currently a student at the Art Center College of Design in California, majoring in Entertainment Design. He also works as an Associate Concept Artist at Riot Games. Check out more of his awesome work after the break!

The Art Of Lionel Yamasaki

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Lionel Yamasaki (ライオネル山崎) is a relatively new artist that I stumbled into during our hunt for fresh talent to feature, and I liked his work so much that despite seemingly only having 3 images online, I tracked down his Twitter to dig up some more work he hadn't shared elsewhere.

What I appreciate about Yamasaki's work is that he reminds me of an early Masashi Kishimoto (Creator of Naruto), who had a similar penchant for mixing diverse thematic elements into something altogether new when he was still in the early stages of working on the manga. Those similar vibes are differentiated by throwing a layer of pieced together scifi on top of his pieces, resulting in some truly fun pieces like the 'feudal-punk' bunny rider above. Keep an eye out for this artist and check out more of his unique illustration work after the break!

Build - A Chrome Experiment with LEGO®

In between doing their best to turn themselves into Cyberdyne and recreate the events of the Terminator movies over the past year as well as the various Youtube and Google+ fiascos, I've been starting to think that Google has lost their playful side. However, every once in a while they seem to offer us a collaboration or experiment that beckons back to their golden age of experimenting and offering users ways to make their lives easier.

Get building.

This Lego collaboration is a pretty fun one: Claim stake to a location on Google maps and build whatever you want on it, then publish it to a 1:1 world map which will be populated by any other like-minded brick lover out there. So you could technically immortalize where you live with a living monument to your greatness or whatever else comes to mind with the limited brick set offered. It's free and situated inside your browser, and will probably result in some amazing free worlwide data collection for Lego and Google: Ingenious or diabolical?

The Art Of Sergey Kolesov - An Arkane Studios Veteran

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Sergey Kolesov, aka Peleng currently resides as a visual artist over at Arkane Studios Lyon (There are two divisions, including on in Austin), where he is probably hard at work on the studios next gen endeavor. Dishonored 2? Or perhaps a new IP? Not a peep from the studio just yet, but we'll probably find out what they're up to come E3 this year.

Kolesov's work is incredibly painterly, opting for more loose, expressive brush strokes over meticulous detailing in his pieces. His digital style reflects a strong classical foundation with traditional painting, as the way he layers his strokes seems very intentional and well thought out. Check out more of his awesome illustrations after the break!

The EVE Online Asakai Conflict - A Cataclysmic Battle That Cost Players $300,000

EVE Online is a true anomaly in this current game industry. A hardcore space sim with nearly infinite leveling capabilites, with skills that take up to months in real time to master. The game is noteworthy for it's deep political climate, steep learning curve, player driven economies and numerous scandals over the years, ranging from high level sabotage to player bank economic fraud that would rival Bernie Madoff's pyramid scheme.

Each dot represents an active ship or drone during the Asakai conflict.

When I retired from playing the game a few years ago following the events of Band of Brothers, which was once one of the biggest player coalitions in t he game, I thought that I'd witnessed the biggest battles that EVE had to offer. I was quite wrong. Just recently a battle broke out between two factions that resulted in some of the most catastrophic losses of player assets I've ever seen. The ultimate ship to attain in EVE is a 'Titan' class, which take months to build, hundreds of hours of skill training and costs thousands of dollars each. Over the course of 14 hours, 3,000 players from 2 factions fought nonstop in the Asakai system, and when the dust cleared over 100 of Titans were lost in battle - An unprecedented level of carnage. Check out the official CCP article for more details regarding this incredible event.

Sly Cooper Getting A Feature Length Adaptation

It seems like Sony is finally tapping into some of their more iconic videogame franchises for film adaptations, with Sly Cooper being the first announced IP to get the feature length treatment. Penned by Kevin Munroe, best known for his work on 2007's TMNT, I doubt this franchise will have a hard time jumping onto the big screen with it's wide cast of characters. While the 'teaser' above is most probably fluff subject to some major changes, the final feature is set to premiere sometime in 2016 and will probably arrive after a next gen installment/reboot of the franchise.

Sly Cooper is a kinetic and comedic heist film that tells the story of Sly Cooper, an orphaned raccoon thief, along with his childhood friends and partners in crime, Bentley Turtle and Murray Hippo. In the film, Sly learns of his birth family’s secret legacy; that he comes from a long line of talented and international thieves. 

Endowed with this knowledge, Sly and his friends are catapulted into a global adventure as they race to reassemble pieces of an ancient book holding The Cooper Clan’s family secrets before it can fall into the hands of Clockwerk — an evil Russian metallic owl bent on ending the Cooper family line. From romantic Parisian backdrops to the lush mountains of China, gritty film noir meets bright, colorful graphic novels in this origin story of the world’s greatest thief-turned-hero.”

Eclectic Method - A Brief History Of Sampling

Eclectic Method offers us a chronicle of noteworthy samples that have inexplicably been used by multiple artists over the years. Riffs that ended up layered into the background of dozens of different hit tracks used as a solid, oddly familiar foundation that you wouldn't notice unless it was explicitly pointed out via videos like this.

A video remix journey through the history of sampling taking in some of the most noted breaks and riffs of the decades. A chronological journey from the Beatles’ use of the Mellotron in the 60s to the sample dense hiphop and dance music of the 80s and 90s. Each break is represented by a vibrating vinyl soundwave exploding into various tracks that sampled it, each re-use another chapter in the modern narrative.

The Art Of Jee-Hyung Lee

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Korean concept artist and illustrator Jee-Hyung Lee delivers a healthy dose of fantasy art: Buxom armored babes, sullen knights and everything in between. Unlike many other South Korean artists I've run into over the years of featuring aritsts, Jee-Hyung's work actually has a lot of stylistic characteristics that place him more into a western realm.

Typically most South Korean concept artists have a really cool blend of western and eastern influence, but everything about Jee Hyung Lee's work, down to his rendering style shows a heavy western lean (Especially in the realm of TCG illustrators - Magic, etc). Check out more of his awesome work after the break!

Maleficent Trailer #2

Add a little bit of Lana Del Rey to anything and you'll get yourself an instant dose of brooding, depressing goodness. As is the case with the new trailer for Maleficent, Del Rey's vocals add a fine coating of darkness to the origin story of Sleeping Beauty's self proclaimed 'Mistress of all Evil.' While the first trailer failed to impress many, this one definitely shows off an impressive fall from grace for the dark queen, complete with some truly epic moments. Can't help but feel like Disney might be tiptoeing into PG-13 territory with this one.

Road, Poison, Angel - High Fashion Films By Ruslan Pelykh

Ruslan Pelykh is a Russian filmmaker and director based out of Moscow, and man does he have a knack for doing some truly amazing high fashion videos. Fantastically art directed, his most recent videos for Road and Poison are sultry in their own way yet immersed in a shroud of total darkness.

Forms mesh, flow and meld into all new amalgams and possiblities with an incredible fluidity enhanced by fantastically paired Massive Attack tracks. Check out the similarly themed Poison and the more light hearted Angel after the break.

"The Warriors" - Battlefield LA

Directed by Ram Bhat, this fan trailer for a reboot of the 1979 cult classic The Warriors looks pretty damn awesome. Relocating the setting to an early nineties, neon tinged Los Angeles, specifically Long Beach- This is a re-imagining of the franchise that I really wouldn't mind seeing. Considering that there is a website up for this reboot and a Facebook page, I'm wondering if this is a viral attempt to gauge interest in a reboot or draw attention to director Ram Bhat to helm it. Remember the gritty Punisher: Dirty Laundry proof of concept video? The vibes are quite similar.

Los Angeles 1992 - The Warriors and every other gang in the city are called to meet in the Valley. Cyrus, the leader of the biggest gang (The Riffs), wants to take over LA and proposes a truce amongst them all. But as events take a turn for the worse, the Warriors have to fight their way back home to Long Beach. WILL THEY SURVIVE THE NIGHT?

I Love Food Illustrations By Jonathan Ball

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UK based illustrator Jonathan Ball wants us to know he loves food! And to do so he's created a series of adorable culinary illustrations featuring some of our favorite dishes. Ranging from breakfast fare to classics like pizza, all donning the same hollow eyed, creepy smile. Would you take a bite out of something looking right back at you?

Ball has had a chance to work with clients including MTV, BBC, Sony's Playstation Division, Microsoft, Stuff Magazine and a slew of other high profile clients so far, which is why you might find his work to be a little familiar. Check out more of his tasty food illustrations after the break!

Unimagined Friends

Created as a bachelor film project by students at the Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark, Unimagined Friends offers a very unique premise as to how imaginary friends work. A series of imaginary friends are presented as a series of creatures hoping to get adopted into a kids imagination by being drawn. Until that happens they're all stuck in a sort of limbo, awaiting their chance to get imagined. For a certain cat, the wait proves to be more than he can handle.

Loved the mixture of hand drawn creatures and CG elements. This type of premise feels like it could be the basis of an upcoming Pixar feature with it's pseudo Toy Story/Monsters University elements.

Jurassic Ploof, Kickflip, Sweatness - Les Gobelins FX Animation Exercises (Part 2)

Following our earlier feature of the Gobelins FX exercises, 30 second animations with an emphasis on animated effects in both 2D and 3D, it seems like more groups have released their pieces online. Among them we have Jurassic Ploof, a fun animated short about a Dinosaur themed waterpark with a bad case of the zombies. The Mike Mignola (Hellboy) inspiration is undeniable, but they pulled it off so damn good! This premise deserves to be expanded into something bigger.

After the break we have Kickflip, which has some Jet Grind Radio vibes with a rather abrupt, painful ending. Last but not least there's Sweatness, a cautionary tale of what might happen if you don't take a moment to dry off that buildup of sweat while you workout. As usual, can't wait to see what these students come up with given a few months of production time!

Matthew Wilcock - "Brittle Metal Press"

Shot on location at the yearly Caribana 2013 festival, celebrating Caribbean culture in Toronto, Brittle Metal Press is a heaping helping of glitched out electro goodness from his upcoming Floating Metal Key EP. As the celebration reaches it's most frenzied and fevered state, the track heads into epic territory with tinges of doom. The treatment on the music video is just as compelling, offering us synchronized, colorful and heavily warped visuals to accompany the track. Badass.

Juste De L'eau (Nothing Else But Water)

Juste De L'eau  is a charming short about a pigs struggle with finding his place in a society that seems to act like he's  not there. The art direction in this short is absolutely stunning, resembling a mix between a children's book and an MC Escher piece, heavily distorted, angular and wonderfully lit throughout. I have no idea how director Carlos De Carvalho pulled this off, but it's one of the prettiest 3D animated shorts I've seen in years. It's one of those rare shorts where every single shot looks like it was crafted with great love and care. Check out the making of after the break.

The story takes place in Lisbon at the time of the great maritime discoveries. Explorers, looking like pigs, arrive in the harbour after a long voyage across the oceans. Everywhere in the city small groups gather and congratulate each other. Couples meet again after a long separation and hug one another. They organize spontaneous round dances and celebrate their return. Meanwhile, a young pig has the strange feeling of being completely isolated from the others in his own native city...

Advanced Ghostbusters By Faust

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Frederic Le Martelot (Aka Faust) sent us this awesome little pet project he did called Advanced Ghostbusters, which put him in the art director's seat for a fictional Ghostbusters reboot (Whatever happened to that 3rd installment?). Frederic concepted up all the gear in a typical busters arsenal, including proton packs, P.K.E. meter, ghost trap, particle thrower and outfits, complete with a modern twist. These types of exercises are great in a portfolio, as they showcase an individuals ability to come up with new visual solutions without experience in the movie industry (A field I'm guessing he's aiming for with this).

Using a mixture of photobashing, paintovers and some pretty slick presentation, Advanced Ghostbusters is something I'd like to see (Minus that Hummer Ectomobile). Check out more of Frederic's work on Advanced Ghostbusters after the break!

Attack on Cutest Titan

Attack on Titan's popularity is now in full effect. Last week we were treated with a live-action Attack on Titan commercial for the Subaru Forest (seriously though, what?) and this week we have Fox's ADHD animation block parodying the series. It's been quite a while since I haven't seen this much hype for an anime series in quite a while, it's rather reminiscent of the Toonami glory days when anime had a much larger American audience.

This heartwarming tale tells the story of an aberrant Titan who doesn't seem to fit in the rest, leading to an unconventional story about growing up and coming to terms with you are. I'm actually making this much deeper than it actually is, so just watch it. 

The Art Of Mamico - Fleeting Moments

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Mamico's art evokes pleasant, fuzzy memories of those moments in which things simply felt just right, fleeting moments that remain engrained in your memories for years. Hailing from the Saitama prefecture in Tokyo, her work is incredibly peaceful, typically featuring relaxed looking protagonists in an introspective state, enjoying the warmth of a space heater, the company of a fuzzy friend or a beautiful day out.

Considering that it's a Sunday as I'm writing this and the weather is gray and overcast, Mamico's work just happens to feel right as well. Enjoy more awesome illustration pieces from her portfolio after the break!

Khorkhoreh And Prints In The Snow - Les Gobelins FX Animation Exercises

Second year students at Les Gobelins just recently released their FX movies, 30 second shorts with an emphasis on animated FX and a loose storyline tied in. Created by teams of 5, each group had 3 weeks to design, animate and do post production on their pieces.

Khorkhoreh places an emphasis on fantastical tomb raiding, while Prints in the Snow (Des pas sur la neige) offers a more introspective, bite sized piece unfolding in the woods. Loved it all, and can't wait to see what these folks come up when they'll be given a few months time for production. Expecting my mind to get blown, like it does every year from the Les Gobelins group.

Prime Focus World Presents - 3 Years Of VFX Breakdowns

Hot damn! Looks like the folks at Prime Focus World finally got around to updating their website with a few reels, and by that I mean a few years worth of work. Over the last few days they've uploaded personalized reels and VFX breakdowns showcasing work from feature films spanning 2012-2014. Showreels show off the final product and individual shots that the company helped bring to life, while the breakdowns show of all the steps taken to get to the final product (Modeling, compositing, particle systems, etc).

If you're as into behind the scenes stuff as I am, you can consider this Christmas come early with the sheer amount of eye candy and processes displayed. After the break check out a major dump of VFX breakdowns and showreels for features including Judge Dredd,, The Great Gatsby,  Total Recall, White House Down, Men In Black 3 and World War Z.

Where The Road Ends

Cool to see someone else using the Teehan+Lax hyperlapse script for Google Maps, which allows users to create some stunning timelapses harnessing the incredible archive of photos from the service. Where the Road Ends by the Atlantic focuses on dead ends in beautiful places around the world. The addition of the excellent ambient sound treatment really offers these static photos a sense of life that nearly fools the eyes. Enjoy this one in fullscreen.

Using Google Street View, we drove thousands of miles around the world to find places where the road ends. Our virtual travels took us from the fields of Italy to the fjords of Norway and the tip of South Africa.

Game Of Thrones Behind The Scenes Featurette: Season 4

Half a year of filming, 30 new characters, two crews shooting parallel called 'Dragon' and 'Wolf' and a healthy amount of on location filming in locales including Northern Ireland, Iceland and Croatia: These are the ingredients for the upcoming 4th season of HBO's epic Game of Thrones. This behind the scenes featurette goes into the amazing amount of work that goes into the production of such an epic show.

In an era dominated by green screen everything, seeing the crews do so much work to capture that certain 'practical' feel makes me appreciate the show that much more.

Fishing Without Nets

There's two ways to fish in Somalia. With nets or without nets. This troubling statement sets the stage for this sobering short film about Somali piracy by Cutter Hodierne, offering us an inside look at what leads these men to hijack cargo ships sailing off the horn of Africa. In a country considered to be a failed stated and forgotten by the rest of the world we are shown one man's struggle as he tries to make a living as a fisherman and sustain his family.

When he finds himself with his back to the wall due to the waters not bearing fruit, he unfortunately finds himself participating in something he would have never imagined. Offering some truly epic cinematic shots, a haunting ambient score, and art film like aesthetics, Fishing Without Nets humanizes the condition of these individuals, who's only fight centers around them trying to survive.

The Story Of Francis

The animated story of Francis came from the famed radio show called 'This American Life,' which focuses on journalism, essays, short fiction and other memoirs.  This particular tale came about when the host of the show, Ira Glass asked 6 American writers to create a short story centered around the theme of adventure. One of these stories was written by novelist & screenwriter Dave Eggars, which in turn was read on the show to much acclaim and praise.

Director Richard Hickey decided to adapt this tale into an animated short alongside producer Kevin Batten, tapping the talent of 40 different artists to work on bringing this heartwarming tale to life. Francis has been shown at festivals including Cannes and Rain dance. While I wish the narrator had a little bit more range of emotion, the story is solid and the visual quality is excellent. Loved it.

Fabrika

What's the bowling scene like in Russia? The folks at the Moscow based Bound collective set out to encapsulate an evening outing filled with milkshakes, Brunswick lanes and strikes using stop motion and Franz Ferdinand's (Remember them?) Right Action track. Awesome.

Chrysalis (NSFW)

Chrys·a·lis - A protecting covering :  a sheltered state or stage of being or growth.

French director Stephan Kots's eye candy piece revolves around the emergence of a new entity from it's coating. Mainly focused on a fine tuned blend of cinematography and music, it's a fun piece that delivers from a visual standpoint.

Subaru's "Attack on Titan" Forester Commerical

It should come as a surprise to noone that we here at Awesome Robo love us some Attack on Titan. Mmhmm. Apparently Subaru does too, because this Japanese commercial for their Forester-model SUV is an unabashed thumbs-up for Hajime Isayama's sensational manga/anime about killer naked skinless giants.

The short itself is directed by Higuchi Shinji, acclaimed special effects artist and newly announced director of the live-action adaptation.The giants themselves are a mix between impressive prosthetic make-up effects and green screen VFX. This only makes the wait for the impending film all the more tantalizing/frustrating. Get on it, Shinji!

The Art of Mike Azevedo

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Every piece in Mike Azevedo's body of work is infused with a Pixar-esque whimsicality. Between his rough digital sketches and his more refined pieces, Mike always manages to fit in one detail that brings a bewildered smirk to your face. A pulsating purple heart chiseled in the chest of a fire golem, the silhouette of a giant monster lumbering out of a forest. When it comes to illustration, it's the little things that count.

Check out more of his work after the break!

Mouth Wide Open, Ears Shut Tight

Directed by Emlly Noy and Tom Madar as a graduation film, Mouth Wide Open, Ears Shut Tight uses a mixture of stop motion and hand animation to offer a story about a love unfurling between two neighbors separated by a wall. Loved the ending!

A day in the life of a young woman living a silent, lonely life with her friend the fish. The silence is broken when a new tenant comes to live in the apartment next door. Notwithstanding the constant sounds and noise penetrating through the other side of the wall and perhaps because of them, the young woman finds herself falling in love with her neighbor.

Tussilago

Jonas Odell directed Tussilago, a curious historical short presented using a mixture of live action footage, rotoscoped animation and pop art hailing from a time when Germany was still divided into an eastern and western bloc. Narrating the story of J2M/Red Army Faction member Norbert Kröcher's attempt to kidnap a politican to free his friends from jail (Operation Leo), we are offered this rollercoaster experience from the perspective of his ex-girlfriend.

West German terrorist Norbert Kröcher was arrested on March 31, 1977. He was leading a group planning to kidnap politician Anna-Greta Leijon. A number of suspects were arrested in the days following. One of them was Kröcher's ex-girlfriend, simply called 'A.' This is her story. Tussilago is a short film based on documentary interviews, starring Malin Buska and Camaron Silverek.

Max Gilardi Unearths A Lost Episode of Invader Zim (NSFW)

Hot Topic's favorite Nickelodeon mascot is back thanks to love and detail put in by animator Max Gilardi. Invader Zim has been the staple of "lol random" humor for nearly a decade, spawning a generation of waffle and pizza loving pre-teens, something which Max expertly picks apart in his newest animation. While I found Invader Zim a refreshing change for Nickelodeon's prime time lineup, Max shows us the true backbone for the cartoons style of humor. 

Max Gilardi has an awesome knack for abstract humor and  animation, pulling heavy inspiration from the great John Kricfalusi (best know for Ren and Stimpy fame). While some might be a little hard pressed to find humor in something so blatantly dry, you can't argue that it doesn't hit the nail on the head for the show's Hot Topic marketed humor. For more of Max's work check out his website over here, the PONY.MOV series is definitely a fantastic place to start. 

"Black Sails" Intro - Pirates, Pirates, Pirates

Just recently found out that the Starz Network is throwing their hat into the high budget TV show ring with their upcoming Black Sails, which will hopefully give the under-appreciated pirate genre some love. The folks at Imaginary Forces put together an awesome intro for the show, a stunning display of ornate ivory carvings from the period and figureheads, the statues placed on the front of boats that were once regarded as the spirit of a ship, used to placate the temperamental gods of the sea. I'm personally a little burnt out on the often retread themes of shows these days, so a showed based on the golden age of piracy actually stands out in a really good way. The show will be premiering on the 25th of January, keeping my fingers crossed that it'll be great.

It's 1715 and the golden age of piracy… a world where rebel pirates, collapsing shanty towns, whore houses, illegal treasure and the promise of the New World clash with the imperial forces of European civilization. Nothing less than a full-on art history mash-up of Baroque motifs, Gothic architecture and Rococo style could express this strange society, where outcasts and aristocrats alike vie for power. Using a sculptural language traditionally reserved for saints and kings, we depict a maverick society that is ultimately doomed. Beauty and death abound… as well as a skeleton

The Art of Nesskain

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What is it about Nesskain's artwork that arrests my attention? It could be the way that each of his pieces manages to feel intimate without necessarily being erotic. It could be the ethereal palettes of his digital paintings, or the intricacies of his pen and ink comic layouts. Maybe it's his subject matter, juxtaposing urban surrealism with sci-fi subtlety. Maybe it's something that escapes me right now, dancing beyond the cusp of words. Whatever it is, I like it.

Nesskain is the nom-de-plume of Hong Kim-Seang, a professional comic artist and illustrator from France. He counts both Hayao Miyazaki and Hideki Anno as his inspirations, which isn't surprising given his character and mech designs. It only gets better after the break.

The Art of Rabbiteyes/Kenuju Kim

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I'm always first to admit I'm instantly enamored by anything remotely cyberpunk, which should be no surprise why I was instantly pulled into the work of Rabbiteyes. Rabbiteyes' (Kenuju Kim) has a wonderful mixture of eastern art and western fantasy with heavy cyberpunk influences placed in between. The amount of detail within each character and environment creates a beautiful vision for a world that I'd love to see fleshed out.

Check out more character and environmental art from Rabbit after the break!

Music Video Roundup: Damon Albarn, Megu & Patron, Bombay Bicycle Club

Over the course of four minutes we get to see a 3D portrait of English alt-rock icon Damon Albarn (Gorillaz, Blur) come together in this timelapse of a Zbrush sculpt. From bone to muscle and flesh, and skin to hair it's a mesmerizing 4 minute performance set that ultimately culminates in a final image that looks like an avant garde early 90's album cover.

Created in collaboration with producer David Russell, the track is from Damon's upcoming standalone LP, sharing the same title as the track above; Everyday Robots. Coming April 29.

Fight Club Minus Tyler Durden

Vimeo user Richard Trammell put together this fun snippet of how David Fincher's adaptation of Fight Club probably played out from the perspective of a bystander: Edward Norton talking, fighting and commiserating with an invisible Tyler Durden alter ego. If it was actually possible to edit him out of the entire film, that would make for a truly surreal movie experience.

You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. In Fact, you just are not.

A-ka's Amazing Gorillaz Fanart Collection

This is kind of curious. We recently stumbled into a Taiwanese artist called A-ka, who has a peculiar fascination with Jamie Hewlett's rich, colorful style created to visualize the Gorillaz. However, I don't think I can blame her for trying to emulate a style as strong as Hewlett's..I think any artist worth their salt would strive to develop a personal style that visually appealing. The entire Gorillaz franchise is one that we've only been given tiny tastes of, one of those rare series that never got developed into say, a standalone animated tv show or comic book. It's always left me wanting more, and guessing about 2D, Murdoc, Russel, Noodle and the recently added Cyborg Noodle.

A-ka has probably done a few hundred paintings and drawings of the Gorillaz so far, masterfully emulating Hewlett's distinct style and adding her own spin on his characters, much to our delight. While looking through her vast gallery I kept thinking about how emulation leads to innovation: Once A-ka decides to spin off into doing her own original series, I think she'll come up with something truly amazing. More of her awesome Gorillaz tribute work after the break!

Portrait

It seems like Donato Sansone (aka Milkyeyes) revisited a concept that he experimented with heavily back in August of last year called Untitled, featuring a series of highly grotesque, semi-animated portraits of ethereal entities with glitched out, shifting features. As the video progresses, these portraits continue to break down ever more, until we're left looking at a jumbled mass of unsettling facial features unable to maintain their form.

Coupled with Enrico Ascoli's excellent ambient sound treatment, I get the feeling that Portrait would do extremely well as an interactive installation, a goal that Donato mentioned when he was working on the intial tests a year back.

"Star Trek - Into Darkness" Making Of By Pixomondo

Last year's Star Trek Into Darkness was a bit of a JJ Abram's misstep following the solid reboot of the franchise for a new generation, perhaps suffering from a little too much pandering with the awkwardly retooled Khan storyline that most assumed wouldn't repeat itself in this installment.

Opinions aside, the movie was a visually stunning piece of film relying on the talents of the international Pixomondo FX company. Over the course of 11 months an international team worked on 343 shots spanning their Euopean, American and Asian divisions. We finally get a glance into the making of, as presented by a making of (Above) and studio showreel (After the break). Enjoy the eye candy.

Rodrigo Ico's Amazing Adventure on Titan Fan Art!

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Attack on Titan and Adventure Time are two critically acclaimed shows that are both equally amazing in their own right. One is a hilariously over the top, hyper-serious anime with a ton of gore that follows the cardinal rule of 'no-one is safe from death,' and the other is a post-apocalyptic coming-of-age story posing as a children's show. It was only a matter of time before someone mashed them together, peanut-butter jelly style. 

Rodrigo Ico manages to combine what makes both of these shows so great into a piece that's both hilarious and vaguely terrifying. Nice job mate. Check out some of Rodrigo's other pieces after the break.

The Art Of Ross Tran

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Ross Tran is an Art Center College of Design alum, where he graduated as an Entertainment Design major. Like any graduates from the Pasadena school, they typically embark on a whirlwind of freelance gigs at a variety of studios, with Tran himself working for 4 different employers just last year.

His work is stylized, colorful and playful, leaning more towards painterly rather than detailed, with an emphasis on painterly brush strokes. From a concept art standpoint, it definitely evokes memories of an earlier Jamie Jones/Craig Mullins, although Tran has found his own thematic niches to explore, including his ongoing Nima project. Check out more of his work after the break!

The Master's Voice (Caveirão) Gets A New Trailer

French director Guillerme Marcondes (The creator of those amazing Bunraku credits) has been teasing a project called The Master's Voice for close to 2 years now, with a plan to develop ghost stories inspired by urban folklore. Back in 2012 we got the initial tease, and just recently we've been treated to this newest trailer, which employs a mixture of live action, colorful hand animation and creepy CG, as well as the same creepy skull faced figure with his record player.

Not many people know this but every night at 3:33AM time is frozen for a moment. During what is a fraction of second to mortal eyes there is a second night, a secret one where the spirits of the city come out to play. That is the story of the eternal battle for the soul of São Paulo, the clash between bohemia and authoritarianism, comedy and horror.

Meg Myers - "Desire" (NSFW)

Directed by Jordan Bahat, Desire is an unsettling portrait of corrupted innocence, showcased by Meg Myers herself in an unsettling bedroom. We're presented with lyrics that show someone completely conflicted yet unable to escape, accepting and revulsed at the same time by the events that unfolded inside this dank, cold house.

An invisible figure symbolizes the events that unfolded in this apartment, while we're presented with contrasting, innocent imagery on a TV which breaks down over time. The haunting track is from her upcoming Make a Shadow EP, which will be dropping February 14th. Amazing. 

SUPER SMASH WARS 2: The Empire Smashes Back

Animator James Farr is on a rampage, albeit an extremely awesome mashup-y one. After the fantastic first part of Super Smash Wars uploaded a few months back, he's returned with a two part sequel and it's pretty dang cool.

Compared to the first entry, Super Smash Wars 2 is far more action packed and ends up playing out like an old school side-scroller than a game of Super Smash Bros. Farr does an incredible job at incorporating the Nintendo universe into Star Wars and if this entry is anything to go by, the final entry should be even better. I might even have to go out on a limb here and say I wouldn't mind seeing James Farr tackle the most recent Star Wars films (as much as we like to pretend they don't exist).

Everything That's Wrong With The Social Gaming Industry - In 22 Pictures

We were recently contacted by an anonymous reader/game developer who wanted to share his thoughts on the state of the social gaming industry. After reading his experiences, this was simply too good to pass up. For anyone interested in an insiders look at Silicon Valley's gaming scene, here is an intimate report by reader Iosefatau:

Hello AwesomeRobo readers and game enthusiasts alike. I am one of many artists making (Or at least trying to) a living in this volatile, yet rewarding game industry. I recently ran into a series of anonymous images called Innovation on the App Store, and I was reminded of a year spent in Silicon Valley, seeing what social gaming had to offer. I'd like to share my story to give you an idea of what I experienced.

These companies promised the world, and underwhelmed me so much that I find myself cursing ever having made that decision to take a year to explore that bubble industry. Before I go ahead, I'd like everyone to know that A)I transitioned from a relatively well known gaming studio with AAA franchises and B)Worked at one of the big three social companies (Eg. Zynga).

Now isn't that advertising image kind of curious? Kind of looks like the previous one above in terms of concept. Here's an interesting statistic: I never ran into a single game designer in Silicon Valley's social gaming scene. The entire premise of these 'social gaming' companies was to rip off existing concepts from other companies, slap a fresh coat of paint on them and push even more marketing dollars towards shoving these microtransaction nightmares down the throats of their 'whales' (Account manager lingo for high paying customers). You think the folks at Sony and Xbox are doing it bad? These games are unplayable past a certain point without buying 'gems', or whatever other BS in game economy they pushed.

The Art of Eddie Del Rio

(Via)

If you're looking for a kaleidoscopic sci-fi feast for the senses, look no further than Eddie Del Rio. A veteran concept artist whose previous clients include the likes of Disney, 2K, THQ and the dearly departed LucasArts; Del Rio has over 16 years of professional industry work underneath his belt. His work includes concepts for the Transformers films and the critically-acclaimed XCOM series.

Eddie's gallery is bursting at the margins with competitive racing mechs skating across neon-fluorescent light trails, wire-choked console rooms, interstellar scrapyards, walking airship carriers, and Victorian cobblestone streets besieged by alien technology. Get ready to have your eyes blasted after the break.

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared is Back with more Fuel for Your Nightmares

Oh God no, it's back. The Sesame Street parody/nightmare-inducing Don't Hug Me I'm Scared has finally returned with another kid-friendly (see: not safe for children) lesson about time, mortality, and the perils of thinking about either one for far too long. If you've seen the original, you already know that shit's about get pitch-dark around here REAL QUICK.

As a fan (see: terrified onlooker) of the original, I'd love to see an whole series of these shorts. Don't Hug Me I'm Scared is like if Wonder Showzen never got cancelled and focused more on being existentially terrifying instead of just being stupidly crass and offensive.

A Tour Of "Spirited Away" Recreated In Minecraft

Minecraft junkie/enthusiast Alan Becker set out a few years ago to recreate the worlds of one of his favorite Ghibli masterpieces, Spirited Away - And he's finally sharing his progress with the world. Considered to be 80% complete at this current stage, Becker put together a 4 part tour showcasing everything from the entrance to the parallel world, the night market, bath house and all the various locales in which Chihiro's adventure takes place.

The iconic Spirited Away bath house, from 2D to Minecraft.

By collecting an extensive amount of concept art that Studio Ghibli created during the features production, Becker has been painstakingly putting together, revising and improving all the facets of his take on the Spirited Away world using the limited tile set of Minecraft in some truly ingenious ways. Check out part 2-4, featuring Becker's commentary on the various areas he's created so far as part of his production. You can also follow his progress, as well as acquire the world files on his Spirited Away Minecraft website.

Eclectic Method - "Robocop"

Whether we like it or not, Robocop is getting the reboot treatment and is set to be release next month; The first major production by fledgling director José Padilha, it's set to either do well or fail miserably. The fact that it's getting a February release is a little disconcerting, as most movies from the 'wild west' January-March period are typically Hollywood's high risk or low budget leftovers. Nonetheless, Eclectic Method treated us to a fine Robocop flavored remix featuring cut together from the 1987 classic to mark his reincarnation.

Robocop is getting rebooted, directed by José Padilha with Gary Oldman, Samuel L Jackson and Michael Keaton. But remember the original that predicted a future in which the justice system was run by corporations and Detroit was nearing collapse? Well to jog your memory Eclectic Method has spliced it down and jumbled it up into a robostep video noise trac.

Baïdir - A Stunning Animated Motion Comic From Ankama

Looks like we have a stunning animated comic incoming sometime this year, produced by the amazing folks Ankama and sprung from the minds of Aniss Slimane, Thierry River and Charles Lefebvre. Baïdir has been in the works for years now, with my earliest memories of the project dating back to sometime in 2009. This latest trailer shows the fruits of their labor, and it's nothing short of visually stunning. While the project was initially rumored to be an animated series, it seems like they've shifted the Baïdir project into some incredibly high end animated comic that will be released on iOS and Android platforms sometime this year. I'll be there, day one- More details on the official Baïdir Facebook page.

Paris, 2025. Global warming has reached it's climax. Nayah plays hide and see in her room her big brother Baidir. Suddenly, the room is devastated and Nayah is nowhere to be found. This event puts into motion an epic quest for Baidir, who has to defeat supernatural creatures in a fantastic world, as well as important people on his native earth.

The Art of Rafael Sarmento

(via)

Rafael Sarmento is a Brazilian freelance illustrator whose subject matter combines the painterly nuances of Kuang Hong mixed with the macabre surreality of Francis Bacon. Delving into his portfolio is like walking into a banquet hall where grotesque oddities, otherwordly aristocrats and unsuspecting mortals come together and co-mingle.

The palette and texture of his more detailed painting is so convincing that I almost mistook them for traditional paintings (all digital), and the composition of his illustration work creates a mythology of aloof mystery that I'd love to see explored in the future. Check more of Sarmento's stunning work after the break.

The Art Of Stephane Fert

(Via)

Stephane Fert is an up and coming French illustrator with a truly fresh, striking style dictated by limited color palettes, highly stylized anatomy and a wonderful sense of flow. It's a little hard to put my finger on where Stephane drew his inspiration from to come up with his style, but after racking my brain over it for a while I found traces of Juarez Machado's signature stylization and limited color palettes, a dash of Gustav Klimt (Especially in the patterning used in some of the pieces) and Disney feature animation.

Despite the fact that his pieces look relatively simple on first glance, on closer inspection Stephane's works are actually a great example of doing more with less. Bold, harmonious shapes, fantastic flow and some truly creative compositions showcase a truly confident artist with a very strong style. More of Stephane's amazingly stylized work after the break!

Weekly Chill Session - Blank Banshee

It's the beginning of the week, which means there's no better time to start getting some much needed chill time in (or at least queue it up). Blank Banshee recently fell onto my radar after this early 90's inspired music video dropped, forcing me down the Seapunk rabbit hole.

Blank Banshee does a fantastic job of providing a sound that provides both a relaxing and nostalgic feeling, taking a mix of lo-fi midi sounds (some of those Mario 64 samples are sexy), hip hop beats and more steel drums than you're probably used to hearing (trust me, it's good). If you have a good pair of headphones, this is definitely a mix worth taking them out for. I must warn of prolonged exposure though, you might end up thinking you're flying through an Eco the Dolphin cyber-sea after too long.

Worth Checking Out- Project Rain World

There hasn't been a huge slew of new Kickstarters to hit the new year yet, but Rain World is definitely off to a great start for 2014. On it's surface, Rain World has an aesthetic quite similar to Team Meat's Super Meat Boy, and while I'd love another precision platformer, Rain World is an entirely different beast (or should I say slug?).

In Rain World, players take the role of a slugcat, an adorable cross between (you guessed it) a slug and a cat as the result of a failed ecosystem. Developers Joar Jakobsson and James Primate place a heavy emphasis on survival, forcing players to keep on their toes while they hunt for survival while avoiding the constant threat of rain and other creatures. As stated in their Kickstarter, a large focus has been put into the game's AI, providing creatures that will continue to track you down.

Rain World focuses heavily on it's sneaking mechanics which work both as a method of combat while on the hunt, as well as a form of defense to avoid larger creatures. Along with the game's 16-bit style, the animation adds a level of polish that looks to provide an amazingly fresh experience.

The game is set to launch by the end of this year, and while development is already in effect the two-man development team is in looks of a little support. To help out with the game's development you can donate to their Kickstarter over here and get a peak at a bit more of the game's stellar animation.

Mickey Mouse In "Tapped Out"

Either Goofy is really aloof, or just a massive dick- As evidenced by volunteering his friend to take on a dastardly Peg-leg Pete wrestler. Donald Duck also showcases his OCD regarding people touching his nachos in this action filled episode, and we finally get to see his sailor like temper flare up something fierce.

Check out the other episodes of the Paul Rudish directed Mickey and Co. misadventures in our archives!

Myanmar Idents Montage

From the same Hong Kong based studio that bought us that interesting music video for Kinky last year, the Lab VIII collective has been executing some truly interesting projects globally. This supercut of idents were created as part of a rebranding effort for Burma's Myanmar TV International, and it does a wonderful job showing off slice of life moments from around the country. Simple, effective, to the point.

Process

What's your brain like when you're wracking your brain trying to come up with something new and create? The folks at Pluto creative set out to attempt to visualize the chaotic process of brainstorming - The rapid iteration of ideas, the many paths leading into seemingly infinite directions, visuals and sounds flashing by at a machine gun rate.

Created using a mixture of RED camera footage, CG and some clever sound design to simulate stream of conciousness thinking, I think Process does a good job of simulating what it's like to wrack your brain over a creative problem: It gets pretty intense when you fully focus.

LED Surfer

Ever try snowboarding in the dark? Aside from being insanely dangerous, the thrill of rocketing down a hill with only a few feet of visibility is pretty intense. Fashion photographer/filmmaker Jacob Sutton directed this experimental shoot featuring pro Artec snowboarder William Hughes using a custom made LED suit, and it's nothing short of mesmerizing to see the light diffusing through the powder kicked up by the board at night.

Worth Checking Out - Jazzpunk

Hot damn has it been good for adventure games, for a genre many thought was dead it's amazing to see developers constantly prove them wrong. Jazzpunk is first-person comedy adventure game set in an alternate-reality Cold War World set to be released later this year. Influenced by classic spoof comedy films and cartoons such as Naked Gun, Airplane! and Hot Shots, the overall tone of the game looks to bring a ton of much needed laughs back to the genre.

Nearly everything in the game is a gag, from NPCs to objects found on the ground the game is never short on laughs. With a tecnho-infused soundtrack featuring clips from classic big bands, the game does a fantastic job at feeling like a constant John Kricfalusi cartoon. Jazzpunk releases on February 7th, and you can pre-order it now from the website for $15.

Substance

Created by a talented group of students as their graduation short from the Utrecht School of the Arts in the Netherlands, Substance is a dark tale of one man's harsh downward spiral following the loss of his wife. Using a parallel narration style which kicks us from the past to the present in a series of flashbacks, reality eventually ends up overwhelming the grief stricken protagonist.

Really loved the pseudo cel-shaded style, which kind of resembled the ink and paint style present in the Borderlands games. Substance was directed by Quentin Haberham with the assistance of Bram Vermaas, Tim De Haan, Wesley Vet, Rutgher Jousma, Esther Diepenhorst and Dieuwer Feldbrugge.