Baxter

We wrote on Ty Coyle's impressive graduation film Baxter when it was posted months ago, but we had to retract our post when the short mysteriously vanished from the web. Turns out, The film was nominated for the Student Academy Award and had to be withdrawn in order to comply with the contest's requirements. Now that the film's festival run is over, we're happy to repost it!

Baxter is a anal retentive raccoon who manages to make his way into Granny's Sweet Shop. But will his obsession for immaculate detail unwittingly set off his own downfall? Many thanks to Ty and the rest of the crew from the Savannah College of Art and Design for sending this back our way. Great job guys, can't wait to see more of your work in the future!

Vagabond

If there's one thing that can survive the suffocating hardships of the dystopian future, it's the love between a man and his dog. Vagabond follows the story of Dio, a homeless man whose unwavering resilience to save the life of his best friend leads him straight into the dark, uncaring industrial sprawl of a towering metropolis.

One of my (many) favorite shots from the film.

With a fascinating futuristic setting of an apparent working-class society, the border-less character-design, The ominious sharp-forking piping of the backgrounds, and the choice use of minimal spoken dialogue and atmospheric sound design, Vagabond is a student short with a strong core premise executed exceptionally.

That final full-shot of the city is spectacular, definitely conjuring up comparisons to Genndy Tartakovsky's Samurai Jack. Vagabond is the graduation project of a team of five animators and three computer graphic students of The Animation Workshop university based in Denmark. Check out more behind-the-scenes production art and bios on the students at the film's Tumblr!

Simpsons Pixels

This is such a gorgeously-animated tribute opening to the landmark American sitcom that I wish it was in an actual episode. It's not like the series has had openers that weren't as crazy or awesome as this one. Simpsons Pixels is the brainchild of animators Paul Robertson and Ivan Dixon, accompanied with music by composer Jeremy Dower.

Baby on board.

 It's a fair guess to make that if you frequent this site, you already know Robertson for his superbly intricate psychedelic pixel-art animations for Adult Swim and independent illustrations. This opener makes my heart yearn for a proper remake to the Simpsons Arcade game released in '91.

'Le Gouffre' is An Exhilarating Testament to Conquering the Impossible

Lightning Boy Studio's Le Gouffre (The Gulf) is an animated short that is thoroughly engrossing as it is visually spectacular. The film tells the story of two intrepid young explorers in their attempt to traverse the titular chasm of "Le Gouffre". Over many weeks, the friends not only manage to forge an death-defying suspension bridge across the expanse, but also forge a relationship with the small rural farmers who call the forested end of the valley their home. But when the leisurely effort quickly shifts into a battle against the elements, can they manage to make it across in time?

The project has amassed a terrific reaction following the overwhelming success of its Kickstarter campaign in 2013, which allowed the creators to finance the movie's post-production. I'd say the money went to good use. The fact that Lightning Boy is made up of no more than three friends who met in animation school is further proof to the point that great things come from small beginnings.
Check out the promotional site for more information about the studio and check paste the break for the equally fascinating behind the scenes video!

Sideshow’s H.R Giger Alien Space Jockey Maquette

Hans Rudolf Giger, better known as H.R. Giger, would have turned 75 years old this past Thursday. A surrealist painter and sculptor infamous for his macabre sexually-infused subject matter, Giger's most iconic work was for Ridley Scott's seminal space-horror series Alien; The titular antagonist of the film being inspired by the night-terror fueled painting Necronom IV.

Along with acting as the film's most prominent visual set designer, his second great creation is that of the colloquially-named Space Jockey, the mummified pilot of the derelict spacecraft where Ripley and her crew discover the lair of the Alien. Though he had long since retired from painting, trading in the color pallets and night terrors for floral-patterned crocs and prime-time television up until his death, Giger's dark and brooding legacy hang low and heavy on the visual language of science-fiction horror today.

That's where Sideshow Collectibles comes in with their painstakingly-rendered Space Jockey Maquette. Sized at 21" high, 18" wide and 23" long, the Space Jockey is currently priced at a whompin' $600 USD and is expected to ship anywhere between December 2015 and February 2016. Pre-orders are available now through Sideshow's personal store-front.  Check out some killer pictures of the statuette just below the break!

Throwback Thursday: Everything I Can See From Here

Salutations Awesome-Robonauts! I'm happy to report that we've successfully managed to survive another 365-day circuit around the sun. Now that everyone is coasting off a two-day stretch of toast-making and nursing hangovers, let's spare a moment to throwback to London-based animation house The Line's exquisitely bizarre short, Everything I Can See From Here.

Making friends is easy, if you know how...

It's a story as old as time. Two buddies are having tossing a ball around in a junkyard, marveling at the force of Earth's gravity, when a strange creature with luminescent dreads materializes out of the folds of space to join in on their game. To say things do not go as well is an understatement.

This short is a true diamond in the rough. The strong reliance on ambient sound design and pantomimic gestures, combined with the expert balance between soft and hard color pallets is powerfully reminiscent of Genndy Tartakovsky at his best. I'm pleased Everything I Can See From Here has finally made its way onto Awesome-Robo's radar. Check out the making of video below the break, and check out the Creator Project's interview with the directors discussing the origins behind the short!

Brainstorm Community re-imagines Tony Stark as a "Steam-Punk Iron-Man"

Jason Kang (via)

I first discovered the Brainstorm Concept Art Community Group via social media a few weeks back. The thing that struck me the most about the group's atmosphere was in how inviting they were to artistic newcomers of all degrees of technical skill and aesthetic temperament. As soon as I saw the results of the group's last major community event, "Steam-Punk Iron-Man", I knew I had to shine a spotlight on them.

This project turned out a wealth of varying reinterpretations and re-imaginings of the venerable "Genius-Millionaire-Playboy-Philanthropist", from Jason Kang's Rockwellian portrait pictured above, to Giby Joseph's Pyromaniacal snow-trooper,  Cheung Chung Tat's Iron-Gojira and Daniele Orlandini's phantom-like aviator, there's a wealth of inspiring creativity and familiar weirdness just below the break!

Metal Gear Online is 'The Phantom Pain's' Multiplayer Co-op Mode

A little late on this one, but I couldn't help but put in my two cents on the world premiere trailer for Metal Gear Solid V's online component. First introduced in the 2005 re-release of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Metal Gear Online takes the tried-and-tested subterfuge skills of Metal Gear fans and pits them alongside and against one another in a massively multi-player combat arena.

Further expanded upon in Metal Gear Solid 4, MGSV's iteration will incorporate awesome new additions such as tactical sideswipe dodge, toy puppy distractions, thermoptic camouflage, ghillie suits, fulton balloon cannons, flanking teleportation disposables, and pilotable bi-pedal Metal Gears that can karate kick opponents. Phew, this is whole other game in and of itself!

Besties.

The Phantom Pain was already one of my most higly-anticipated titles of 2015, but this new trailer just makes the wait that much more excruciating. There's rumors that series creator Hideo Kojima may have "stealth-announced" the game's release date at this year's Game Awards as early as June 22nd of next year. However, given Kojima long-known propensity for fan-baiting promotional antics, this itself could be another total diversion. In any case, I'm excited to finally witness Big Boss' fall from grace first-hand in 2015!

TF2 Short 'End of the Line' is a Testament To the Power of Fans

Fourteen Minutes. That's how long this latest Team Fortress 2 short is. Fourteen minutes; painstakingly modeled, textured, choreographed and edited together by a stalwart team of twelve incredible fans. Not to mention an awesome tie-in update with new in-game hats, costumes and weaponry courtesy of sixteen equally awesome fans. This film's got everything; Drama, comedy, tension, spectacular stunts, cinematic references up the wazoo (The Great Escape, The Shining, Spider-man 2, Super 8 and A Fistful of Dollars to name a few) and a climatic finale that's as tense as it is hilarious. Check out the 'End of Line' community event page here. Bravo guys, Valve would be wise to keep their eyes on you!

Ryan Wardlow's impressive poster art available here 

'The Splinter-Cell' Is A Love Letter To The Franchise At Its Peak

Ubisoft's Splinter Cell is an influential stealth-action series that's been going through something of an 'identity reinvention' as of late. After 2005's sublime Chaos Theory, the series took an abrupt direction into full-on open assault warfare with titles such as Double Agent, Conviction, and Blacklist, straying away from the stripped-down stealth sensibilities of its earlier incarnations.

Directors Ben & Andrew Adams of Austin-based Atomic Productions have managed to craft a short that infuses the best elements of the franchise from both its earliest and later years, though with the noticeable absence of Michael Ironside's signature caustic wit. This short's still amazing though, and I look forward to the promise of more live-action Sam Fisher adventures in the near-future.

"The Splinter Cell' is a live-action short set in the past that follows the early years of the franchise lead as he becomes the titular hero. Before the game stories, before the modern times, and before Third Echelon: There was only a man. Sam Fisher."

The Art of Johnson Ting - Neo Japan 2202

(via)

Johnson Ting is a Malaysian concept artist whose portfolio consists of futuristic helicarriers, armor-clad desert marines, re-imagined Marvel heroes and writhing biomechanical mecha à la Evangelion. His most impressive and well-known body of work however is probably his 'Neo Japan 2202' series, a collection of thematically connected pieces set within the titular far-east metropolis where private police androids and renegade drones clash in a hail of gunfire and neon lights.

Johnson is currently collecting fan input with the intention of turning the Neo Japan illustrations into a 200-plus page book complete with new artwork, posters, in-world documents depicting a fully fleshed-out backstory and possibly a soundtrack CD! After what I've seen of his work so far, I sincerely hope this becomes a reality. Check out more of this awesome series after the break!

R'ha

Most definitely inspired by a pinch of District 9 and a dash of Starcraft, Kaleb Lechowski's short scifi film, R'ha places the viewer in the middle of a rather intense interrogation regarding an alien prisoner of war. The short is interesting for the fact that it mainly involves a conflict between alien races, with no humans in sight.

Now here's the kicker: German director Kaleb Lechowski is only 22 years old, and created this short over the course of 7 months on his own time. Needless to say, his insanely impressive short has already caught the attention of quite a few movie company execs, and Kaleb will be making his way to Hollywood later this month. Not bad for a first year project.

Sight

With the advent of augmented reality technology like Google Eye, we may someday live in a world in which we no longer see through our own two eyes, unfiltered. Not that it's a bad thing, I'm pretty excited about the possibilities that such a technology may bring to us, as showcased in this mini thriller by Eran May-raz and Daniel Lazo. The impressive scifi short showcases the upsides and terrifying downsides if we ever get to the point where we sign our own power of sight over to companies in exchange for some aug capabilities.

I wouldn't be surprised if these guys get their high level concept picked up by a Hollywood studio, because the visual fidelity and concept these guys accomplished is pretty impressive. Especially impressive considering that it was a graduation 'thesis' film at the Bezalel Academy Of Arts.

C&C Truck Ad Will Probably Piss Michael Bay Off

This ad was created to promote a Chinese construction vehicle company known as C&C, with the visualization handled by the studio known as Manymany. Its a slick ad, but boy does it borrow a little much from Transformers..including the visual style for the robots (is that you, Bumblebee?) and the concept behind Devastator from Transformers 2, the robot made out of various construction vehicles. Even the logo for the entire company is strangely reminiscent of the Autobots logo. I guess copyright laws are a little more lax overseas....But hey, that aside I think this is a pretty damn impressive emulation of the house that Michael Bay built. Check out the breakdown of the ad after the break, as well as a few stills!