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How long have you been working in art/design? |
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I've been working in the design industry for nearly a decade. I started a creative firm in 1996 specializing in graphic design, multimedia and web publishing, and together with my team, we pioneered efforts in applying Flash animation to our creative solutions. The company won many awards for our innovative designs, particularly for our endeavors in Flash. Recently, I've started afresh with another creative firm I founded with my partners, called Furryfish Ptd Ltd. We continue to service our clients with the same range of design expertise, with a new focus on producing original cartoon animation to be delivered over new media (internet, mobile, etc.). Coming from a visual communications background, I apply my skills across a broad range of multimedia and web design work, although my areas of specialization are Animation and Sound. Some of the top awards we've recently bagged include the Creative Youth Exchange Asia (Best of Story, Best of Competition), ENCAM's Anti-Littering Campaign Competition (Britain), and the Creative Circle Awards. One of our animated productions is also in the running for the TGSNT International awards as one of the 10 short-listed entries for consideration - wish us luck! :) |
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What kind of pen tablet, art/design software do you use? How long have you been using it? |
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I use the Pen Tablet (Model: GD-0405-U). I've been using it for almost ten years, and I work mainly with Macromedia Flash and Adobe Photoshop.
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Where did you get the idea for this entry? |
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It is our custom to create fresh new e-cards for Christmas every year as a small gesture of thanks and appreciation to our clients, friends, supporters and loved ones all in the spirit of spreading the Christmas cheer. We had been discussing revamping our company website, and decided that the new website will feature a key sheep character called Baa. Having already designed the sheep character (our hero), we thought it would be nice to introduce the character first through the Christmas e-card, so viewers will recognize him as our official mascot when the new website is launched.
The Christmas card idea stemmed mainly from a desire to perpetuate the message of love, which we feel is the true essence of what Christmas is about. We wanted it to be funny, and to create elements in the story that will make people laugh, yet still retain the importance of the underlying message. So we thought to emphasize the not-so-desirable traits about Baa, magnify them for laughs, and turn the story around with a touching scene of acceptance and embrace that we hope will drive the message home.
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Why did you use this theme? |
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Visually, we played up our strengths in 2D animation to tell our story, using the skill we know best. We gave the e-card a soft look and feel, with simple but sweet background illustrations to set the mood right. It also sets a contrasting background to Baa's misadventures, and adds comic effect to the piece.
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Did you use a pen tablet to make this? How did you use it (i.e. what software did you use to make it)? |
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I used the pen tablet to execute keyframe animation in Macromedia Flash.
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Do you use the pen tablet with a mouse or just a pen tablet? |
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I use only the pen tablet - no mouse involved.
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Is there any special way that the pen is different from the mouse in the software that you use? |
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I particularly like the pressure sensitive nib of the pen, which is great for working with graphic creation software like Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter.
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How do you program the buttons on the pen and the buttons on the tablet? |
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Sorry, but I don't. It's great for using as it is. :)
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Do you work only on computers? If not, what other types of art tools do you use? How are they better or worse than the pen tablet? |
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For my animation work, I mostly illustrate on paper as I flesh out my ideas during the initial stage of production. After that, I scan the sketches and trace them with my tablet pen on the computer, thereafter adding any colors/texture/visual effects. The wonderful thing about using the computer is that there's an "undo" feature when you make mistakes. :)
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Please tell us about your company. What projects have you done? Are there any links we can put on our webpage? |
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Furryfish Pte Ltd is a character and animation design firm based in Singapore. Our core business centres around producing quality 2D animation work that entertain and enrich lives across a range of new media.
Founded in early 2004, Furryfish comprises a team of Creative and IT professionals who have pioneered in their respective areas of expertise since 1996. The company has bagged local and international design and multi-media awards since its opening, in addition to other award-winning credentials held by some of our founding members.
Over the years, our team members have headed cross-media projects for clients such as Hewlett-Packard, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Singapore Airlines, Singapore Technologies, Ministry of Education and Ministry of the Environment.
Besides handling commissioned projects, Furryfish maintains a long-term vision to produce and launch a series of animated productions internationally. Having amassed years of experience in both the web publishing and animation industries, our founders are committed to servicing the industry with quality creative work while bringing original 2D animation productions to the rest of the world.
More information about us can be found at www.furryfish.com.
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