Erik van de Wiel

Flying People in New York City. Three human shaped RC planes...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:33:31 +0100

Flying People in New York City. Three human shaped RC planes were flown around New York City to create the illusion of people flying. The flying people campaign created by marketing agency Thinkmodo is to promote the movie Chronicle in which three average teenagers get superpowers.

Chronicle is scheduled for theatrical release in the U.S. on February 3rd, 2012. Check out the trailer and more background info at Screenrant.

The guys from DKNG shared the workflow of the creation of their...

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 23:45:22 +0200

The guys from DKNG shared the workflow of the creation of their new poster: The Black Keys. Every step of the process is shown in this video. Nothing but props for Dan Kuhlken and Nathan Goldman for giving us some insight into their workflow!

This limited edition poster is for sale and be sure to check out more DKNG work after the jump.

Concept artist Dermot Power created this beautiful concept art...

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:46:04 +0200

Concept artist Dermot Power created this beautiful concept art for Batman Begins. He also created concept art for V For Vendetta, Alice in Wonderland and Star Wars episode II.

Read more about his work at interview link 1 or interview link 2.

Mexican graffiti artist Sego Y Ovbal shared a workflow video of...

Fri, 27 May 2011 16:36:01 +0200

Mexican graffiti artist Sego Y Ovbal shared a workflow video of one of his latest creations made in Mexico City back in 2010. He creates unique insect like creatures. Check out more of his work on his Flickr or read his (Spanish) blog. While googling I also came across this interview by Art Asylum Boston that gives more background information about this talented artist.

Link via Steven Spavento.

Sucker Punch workflow: Concept Art In case you need...

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:41:25 +0200

Sucker Punch workflow: Concept Art

In case you need introduction:

“Sucker Punch” is an epic action fantasy that follows a young girl through her vivid imagination to provide an escape from her dark reality. Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, blurring the lines between what’s reality and what is imaginary.

Director Zack Snyder said that he wants Sucker Punch to appeal to those looking for hidden meanings, as well as those fans who just want “crazy shit” in the movie.

I honestly think you can do both. I love crazy shit in a movie, don’t get me wrong. By the way, there is crazy shit in my movie. There is nutty, crazy shit in it but I’d like you to be able to have your cake and eat it too. I want you to be able to just go nuts and then also be able to sit with your friends afterwards and go, “No way, dude. You don’t get the socio-implications of this fuckin’ movie.” And the other guy going, “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about!”

Knowing this, without even seeing the movie, I can really appreciate the concept art. Having worked together with concept artists like the creative geniuses from KARAKTER Concept from Berlin and our own Monster illustrator Joeri Lefévre, I know that concept artists love creative freedom (not unlike any other designer). And reading Snyder’s quote I can only conclude that the creative workflow for Sucker Punch must have been a blast! Can’t wait to see the result on the big screen, IMAX of course.

Read the entire interview with Zack Snyder at Screenjunkies. More about the concept art (gallery image 1-8) on Jerad S Marantz’s blog. The posters (gallery image 9 & 10) are created by designer Ken Taylor for Mondo.

A peek into the design workflow of Wim Crouwel, the Dutch...

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:00:06 +0200

A peek into the design workflow of Wim Crouwel, the Dutch Graphic Designer

“For me it is always a question of thinking before sketching,” explains Wim Crouwel, the Dutch graphic designer. “A design ripens in my head, and then I see it more or less in front of me, before I take a pencil and do it on paper”.

Wim Crouwel started his design career over 60 years ago as a design student at Academy Minerva (Dutch site). After moving to Amsterdam he joined the Gerrit Rietveld Academy where his career really took off. Crouwel was part of the founders of Total Identity (1963), an Amsterdam based corporate identity studio set out to change Dutch design. He was responsible for the graphic design at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. And he designed the Dutch expo at the 1970s World’s Fair at Osaka, Japan. In other words a designer I think we should know and listen to.

Interested? Check out Wim Crouwel: A Graphic Odyssey at the Design Museum London from 30 March - 3 July. The exhibition explores Crouwel’s innovative use of grid-based layouts and typographic systems to produce consistently striking asymmetric visuals.

Batman the Animated series title sequence storyboard. Maybe you...

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:58:00 +0200

Batman the Animated series title sequence storyboard.

Maybe you remember Batman the Animated Series which ran from 1992 till 1995. Up to this day the highly illustrated intro scene is still one of my favorites, really taking the viewer into the dark Batman world. Check out this title sequence storyboard drawn by Bruce Timm and colored by Eric Radomski back in 1992. The level of details used in the simplified illustrations is just astonishing, resulting in a successful combination of the style used in the 1940s Superman cartoon and the Batman created by Tim Burton.

Check out the end result after the jump, Batman the Animated Series intro.

The official opening film for TED2011. The video is created by...

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:38:57 +0100

The official opening film for TED2011. The video is created by Amsterdam based creative production studio +1 (located only a couple of blocks away from our new Monsters office) who also did last years opening film of TEDxAmsterdam. As stated on their website Chris Anderson, the international TED curator, was impressed and asked them to create the film for their flagship conference TED2011 hosted at Long Beach CA. I think it’s great to see a Dutch company create such a beautiful video for a client like TED, loads of kudos!

All credits after the jump.

Check out this video from 1999 showing the workflow of the...

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:55:44 +0100

Check out this video from 1999 showing the workflow of the designers at IDEO (Palo Alto, CA). ABC News asked them to create a new supermarket shopping cart in only five days. We get to see a glimpse of the creative process of one of the, if not the, most innovative company around.

“Enlightened trial and error succeeds over the planning of the lone genius” - Peter Skillman

The video above is part one of two and three.

Craig Mundie (Microsoft’s Chief Research & Strategy...

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:41:34 +0100

Craig Mundie (Microsoft’s Chief Research & Strategy Officer) speaks about what he calls one of the biggest shifts in computer evolution ever: a shift from the graphical user interface (GUI) to the natural user interface (NUI) or rather a combination of both. Very interesting to say the least, can’t wait to really see this mature over the next couple of years. Seems to me a better strategy than blindly copying Apple’s strategy and create average tablet computers.

Check out the workflow of this amazing The Legend Of Zelda...

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 13:52:00 +0100

Check out the workflow of this amazing The Legend Of Zelda artwork created by Japanese artist AG+. The illustration is created to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Legend Of Zelda (February 21, 1986 on the Famicon in Japan, NES 1987).

A high resolution image of the illustration is available right after the jump. In case you need help figuring out who all the characters are check out this post on a Dutch Nintendo blog (Google translated to English).

Take a look at some of the cool things IBM has done over the...

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:42:04 +0100

Take a look at some of the cool things IBM has done over the last 100 years.

There comes a time when every enterprise must ask itself: What difference have we made? What impact have we had on the world? What have we changed? In 2011, IBM reflects on 100 years of innovation, bold risks and transformative breakthroughs. We celebrate the big wins—and the mistakes we’ve overcome. We renew our purpose, unite in our legacy and define our aspirations for the future. Welcome to IBM at 100.

One of the first creative agencies I started following added...

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:16:34 +0100

One of the first creative agencies I started following added their 2011 show reel: 123KLAN. Gotta love the bio they added on their site.

Readability is a web & mobile app that zaps online clutter...

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:58:25 +0100

Readability is a web & mobile app that zaps online clutter and saves web articles in a comfortable reading view. No matter where you are or what device you use, your reading will be there. It works with your browser to remove the clutter from web pages or save them for later for reading at your convenience.

Beyond a great reading experience, Readability offers a new way to compensate writers and publishers without punishing readers. 70% of all membership fees go directly to the people who make the content, 30% to the creators of the app.

If you’re looking for a less clean but free alternative check out Instapaper.

Insert Coin: This incredible stop motion video is created by...

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:45:22 +0100

Insert Coin: This incredible stop motion video is created by Daniel Larsson and Tomas Redigh. At 3:10 they added a short making of video.

Raindrop Mini is a rain-based plant watering system created by...

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:04:34 +0100

Raindrop Mini is a rain-based plant watering system created by designer Bas van der Veer. It’s specifically designed for use on balconies and in small gardens. Need something bigger check the Raindrop.

Architects Jun Inokuma and Yuri Naruse (Naruse Inokuma...

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 23:46:49 +0100

Architects Jun Inokuma and Yuri Naruse (Naruse Inokuma Architects) took the Post-It note idea and made it better. Using recycled wood from houses they created tiny Monopoly style houses (they’re called IE-TAGs as ‘IE’ is Japanese for ‘house’) that you can use as bookmarks. Wouldn’t mind having a bunch of these houses on my desk.

Tetra Tennis is a video mapped on the tennins ground of the...

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:29:20 +0100

Tetra Tennis is a video mapped on the tennins ground of the French Masters series in Paris Bercy / 2010. The video is created by François Wunschel and Pierre Schneider of 1024 architecture.

1024 architecture focuses on the interaction between body, space, sound, visual, low-tech and hi-tech, art and architecture. If you like these kind of videos you should definitely follow them!

Audi made a beautiful commercial launching the new Audi A8, and...

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 14:36:37 +0100

Audi made a beautiful commercial launching the new Audi A8, and why not burn Mercedes while you’re at it. Goodnight Mercedes, Good morning Audi.

Video Games vs Real Life is photo set created by Aled Lewis. He...

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 15:39:00 +0100

Video Games vs Real Life is photo set created by Aled Lewis. He remixed classic video game characters with real life photos and the result is just awesome.

Check out the entire set on Flickr.