Bidoof’s Big Stand – Taiko Studios

Of the eight generations there have now been of Pokémon, IV was always my least favourite. Not only did it offer fewer new creatures than others, but many were evolutions or prevolutions of existing ‘mon, often in my view ruining classic, nostalgic designs. Then you had Bidoof. Every gen has its normal-type rodent but somehow this iteration managed to be more dweeby than all before it. As such it is an incredible feat that The Pokémon Company have managed to transform its reputation over the past year.

Alternate Realities Challenge

A 3D challenge for the design community, set by PWNISHER, saw over 2400 artists create incredible examples of CGI brilliance. Focused on a theme of ‘Alternate Realities’ and given a simple walk-cycle animation upon which to base their entry, the top 100 were then selected and combined into a final eight-minute montage. Absolutely outstanding.

Run Forever – Universal Everything

If you think this blog post looks familiar, you would be right. Back in November I did a post on Transfiguration, also by Universal Everything, that also focused on the continuous motion of a figure, transforming seamlessly from one substance to another. Created for Hyundai to promote their hydrogen fuel technology, the figure iterates through the water cycle to present a series of familiar aesthetics and effects.

Pola 2029 Vision

Discovered courtesy of The FWA, I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of Pola before. As a hand cream company, it isn’t really surprising – I don’t think I’ve used hand cream in my life – oily palms are not for me, but apparently the fantastic animations on their website do appeal. That’s handy isn’t it? (forgive me!)

GlobeKit

Courtesy once again of the FWA, I have discovered this fantastic 3D globe integration tool for the web by Rally Interactive. I think I must be drawn to aspects of my recent projects as, just this morning, I transformed a snooker cue ball into a globe. Spooky. Making use of vast statistics, the data is displayed clearly and concisely upon interactive models. Just beware of leaving the webpage open too long. It eats computers.

Google Doodle – Mbira

You would think after the amount of time Google has been customising their logo for our entertainment, that their Doodles would have become, well, less entertaining. Whilst some align with the traditional holidays, Christmas, Easter, St. George’s Day (who else would completely forget the latter if not for Google), it is the outliers, the random unknowns that I find most appealing. Like the Mbira for example which, until today, I would never have connected to being a Zimbabwean musical instrument.

Bad Liar (Lyric Video) – Imagine Dragons

Despite releasing over a year ago now, ‘Bad Liar’ by Imagine Dragons remains a regular hit on my playlist. Initially heard on the band’s fourth album Origins, which following the fantastic Evolve was a little disappointing, the song’s inclusion helped over time to steer my opinion towards the positive. I love to sing along, so I am thankful that so many artists in recent years are producing their own lyric videos rather than leaving the task to the general public, whose co-ordination and hearing apparently leaves a lot to be desired. Intertwined with a gorgeous animation, ‘Bad Liar’ is a standout example of how to do a lyric video right.

TIAA: Difference Maker

Though I have never heard of the Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America before, or TIAA for short, this brilliant personality quiz aims to assign one of eight great ‘Difference Makers’ to your selected traits based on a series of questions and photographic AI analysis of your handwriting. Coupled with some fantastic animation throughout, this quiz trumps the usual static image variant found on the likes of BuzzFeed.

Unexpected Discoveries – Fern

Discovered via my daily use of WeTransfer, a Vimeo advert directed me to this great little animation studio, Fern, based in Atlanta. Depicting a lone traveller cleverly exploring the world through the medium of a torch, this short is both beautiful and intriguing. With soft visuals and a tranquil backing tune the mind escapes as you tag along for the adventure.

Oat the Goat

Imagined by the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Oat the Goat is a short and sweet interactive story centred around the theme of anti-bullying. Rather than enforcing opinions upon young readers however, this story allows the user to decide what Oat does and thus better understand the consequences of their actions.