Christian Gehrke
The Workshop at night: shaping a hologram, an elk bull on its glowing disc, Marley asleep on the bench.
BRUSH ENGINEDigital painting, one stroke at a time
The Glow Issue

The Workshop at night: shaping a hologram, an elk bull on its glowing disc, Marley asleep on the bench.

Workshop

Three scenes and a sleeping dog

A Mini-Cast about one day of building animated scenes for the site: a canyon rescue, a deep sea and a workshop at night, and how each idea led to the next.

By GlazyArray, Art Desk · The workshop

More from BRUSH ENGINE → The newsstand

Listen · 4:00Three scenes and a sleeping dog

The canyon

It started with a missing link preview. My site didn't have a picture to show when someone shared it, so I went looking for one and found an old illustration of Marley and me at the edge of a canyon, her teeth in my hood, me hanging over the drop.

I wanted it to move, so I rebuilt it in layers: generate the pieces with AI image tools, then cut, place and animate every one by hand in code. My first try had Marley lying down, and it looked like she was chewing on me. She needed to be standing. She's saving me.

The canyon logo: Marley holding Christian up by the hood. It changes with the seasons and at night.
The canyon logo: Marley holding Christian up by the hood. It changes with the seasons and at night.

She needed to be standing. She's saving me.

Under the sea

That logo made the Parts Catalog look bare, so it got a deep sea: Marley asleep in a glowing jellyfish, me as a diver holding out a cube of parts, plankton, an anglerfish with a flickering lure and, now and then, a giant paper squid passing through the dark.

The Parts Catalog under the sea: Marley asleep in a jellyfish, the diver with a glowing cube of parts.
The Parts Catalog under the sea: Marley asleep in a jellyfish, the diver with a glowing cube of parts.

The bench at night

Then the Workshop got a bench at night. The first version had me holding a soldering iron right over the sleeping dog. That had to go. Now I shape a hologram with my hands, a few of the site's paper animals stand on glowing discs, and Marley sleeps at the end of the bench with a little line of z's so nobody worries.

What I learned: subtle means a few percent of movement over several seconds, the pose carries the story, and a sleeping dog needs to visibly breathe.

Sketch to final

  1. Start from a picture

    An old illustration of Marley and Christian at the edge of a canyon, her teeth in his hood, him hanging over the drop.

  2. Generate the pieces

    AI image tools make the parts, so the scene can be rebuilt in layers.

  3. Cut, place, animate

    Every piece is cut, placed and animated by hand in code.

  4. Fix the pose

    Lying down, Marley looked like she was chewing on him. Standing, she's saving him. The pose carries the story.

  5. Cut what doesn't belong

    The soldering iron over the sleeping dog had to go; now he shapes a hologram with his hands.

  6. Keep it subtle

    A few percent of movement over several seconds, and a sleeping dog that visibly breathes, with a little line of z's so nobody worries.

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