Nature often devises surprising solutions for hunting food, warning predators away, and attracting mates, but one of the most magical-looking of these solutions might be bioluminescence, or biochemical light created by a living creature.
In this TED Ed video by Leslie Kenna, watch how creatures like angler fish, deep sea shrimp, railroad worms, and fireflies make and use this glow. And then learn more about how humans might put this biochemical solution to good use in innovative new ways.
Animation Director Andy Martin has been creating an alien a day at his Tumblr, Illustrated Aliens, and then uses those illustrations to help compose a monthly animated short about what their planet is like. Above, his January 2013 planet, Planet One, where the musical inhabitants get together and get a bit more than they bargained for.
Our little team skater, Annika Vrklan, spends the day in Raskullz Studios laying down her very first ever voice over for some new character work. All great voice actors use lots of “hands”. Can someone say ‘Nailed it!’?
A character in a moment, one created each day for 30 consecutive days, animated as an exercise of skill and imagination by UK-based animator Geoff King. He writes:
“It was difficult to even think of what to animate most days. I spent a few hours on average for each day, sometimes it felt like all day. I originally intended to do them quicker but they usually didn’t get going till the late evening. This also meant all the days where only ‘first passes’ or ‘straight aheads’. After the first 5 days I realised I should try to maintain a reasonable quality. It wasn’t easy, a lot of time was spent hitting a wall but I had fun trying something different everyday.”
Happy Friday Raskullz! Five days a week of work deserve a fabulous video dug up form School House rock that will makes counting those days up a whole lot more fun.
Bottle by Kirsten Lepore, a 2010 stop-motion animated story about a transoceanic, message-in-a-bottle conversation and the emotions that come with it. You can also watch how she made Bottle in this behind the scenes vid.
A hilarious but humbling little animated video about what the world would look like if animals ate fast food. Just another reason to get out there and ride a bike!
Check out this awesome little iPad app called ‘Petting Zoo’. It features over 20 anima characters that are simply amazing to interact with. If you’ve ever wondered if a dog can breakdance, this app is for you. Oh, and the kid will love it too.
