[oliversin]

Extremely late post on this but it was an absolute honour to have my 2015 showreel chosen as one of the 11 best showreels from 2015 by Peter Quinn for Motionographer. Never would have expected that to happen! To see all 11 showreels and the article, visit: http://motionographer.com/2016/01/20/11-of-the-best-2015-showreels/ You can also watch my showreel here: vimeo.com/135335676

[oliversin]

Follow mine and @shabellocreative‘s inspirational video channel ‘Eye Explosions’ on Vimeo!  https://vimeo.com/channels/eyeexplosions and / or on Tumblr!  http://eyeexplosions.tumblr.com/

[oliversin]

Website: oliversin.com

Twitter: twitter.com/oliversin

[9-squares]

9 Squares + #dotdotdot

This special 9 Squares round was created as part of onedotzero’s event, #dotdotdot v5. For this round, each square was composed of a deconstructed version of the #dotdotdot branding: circles, dots, and lines in black and white.

Top: Sara Bennett, David Stanfield, Linn Fritz Middle: James Curran, Al Boardman, Skip Hursh Bottom: Adam Plouff, Oliver Sin, Zac Dixon

About the project

[oliversin]

Everyone loves a walk cycle!

New project for the lovely guys at Automattic to promote their world known blogging service - WordPress http://oliversin.com/WordPress

oliversin.com | @oliversin | facebook.com/oliversin

[crazyanimalface]

Oliver Sin Interview

Why did you feel animation is best suited to you as an art form? What excites you about it?

I’ve tried many other areas of art but nothing intrigues and excites me as much as animating does. I know it’s the right medium for me as I always get that proud feeling and a sense of accomplishment when animating. Being able to bring an illustration to life gives me great joy! It really does make me happy. I like to think that it’s always been something I wanted to go into after watching tons of animations when younger, I just never knew I could actually make a living doing it…who knew!?

Give us an idea of your average day, how you work and how do you get your creative ideas done?

I wake up at around 7:00am each day, mainly because my wife is already up and stomping around so I’m basically awake from the racket anyway! I try to get ready and at my desk for around 8:30am and then use some of my time in the morning to catch up on emails and Twitter. I tend to allocate time for flicking through Dribbble and watching Vimeo to get some inspiration for the day. My brain takes a bit of time to actually start working… Usually I’m churning away at whatever project I have on for the rest of the day, with a break here and there. It’s always great to catch up with some people over Skype through the day as well and if my mind is really feeling extra numb while working, I’ll usually stick some music on. Then I finish for around 6:30-7:00pm, as I like to try stick to some sort of schedule so my brain doesn’t rot! My typical project usually involves me illustrating and animating for a video, which consists of me designing in Illustrator and then animating in After Effects. Sometimes I dabble around drawing in Photoshop though if I need initial sketches, texturing or if I’m storyboarding.

How do you attract new work?

From my own experiences I have found that the best way for me to keep attracting new work is to always stay active on social media and keep posting new work on places like Vimeo, Dribbble and my own personal website. It’ll bring in new viewers each time and keeps my portfolio fresh.

I’ve had phases where I disappear from the net and don’t upload as much, that’s usually when enquiries can get a bit quiet.  It’s a tough world, one day you can be the talk of the day and the next you’re just yesterdays news.  It just means we’ve always got to stay on our toes and keep working for what we want.

How long have you been an animator and would you say it’s your career?

I believe I have been animating for about 5/6 years but only taken it more seriously and professionally the past 3 years. My first taste of animating/mograph work was in University while I was studying Graphic Design but it never really dawned on me that I would be good enough to pursue a career in illustrating and animating until after 3 years in a web design job… Now I’m 2 years into a freelance career doing that exact thing!

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

What really helped me at the start of my animating career was to work on personal projects in my spare time or down time. It was always harder to find clients when you’re so new to the industry, so the best way to show my skill set and learn at the same time was to work on my own stuff. Just keep working hard at what you want to become, I will admit that there will be tough times where you feel things aren’t going your way and you may want to call it quits. Initially, it’s normal to feel like you’re not getting the projects you want or other artists work will dazzle you so much that it lowers your confidence in your own work… but trust me, every artist will feel like that. Just keep plugging away, don’t be jealous of other artist’s work but use it to inspire and motivate yourself in becoming a better artist. If I can making a living in art, anyone can! :o)

– 

View Oliver’s work on his site or follow what he’s up too on his twitter

[oliversin]

I was invited to answer a few questions for Crazy Animal Face.  I’m terrible at interviews but hopefully some of what I blabber about is interesting or useful in some way.

[shabellocreative]

[oliversin]

SayChiizu! Me and Shabello have set up a new fun collaborative side project involving character design and animation.  The great thing is EVERYONE can take part! http://saychiizu.tumblr.com/

Logo animation by the awesome Shabello

[oliversin]

Oliver Sin Showreel 2015 A bunch of client and personal projects squashed together into one weird reel

[oliversin]

Life after graduating

It’s that time of the year.  The art and design students have graduated from university and now looking beyond the horizon of what is to come in life after their studies.  It’s been 5 years since I graduated but I would like to share my own experiences and views on life after graduating.  Hopefully my views are helpful for anyone who has finished university or going into their final year of education. Whether you want to embrace it or take it with a pinch of salt, if it helps just 1 person out there I will be happy. :)  

Just so you know, I’m horrific at writing so you will have to bare with my terrible grammar and sentence structuring... I've tried my best but I shouldn’t give up my day job...

Grades aren’t everything.

One of the biggest fears for anyone in their final year is what their final grade will be.  If I had a £1 (or Dollar…or Euro…or Yen, ok ok you get the idea) for every art student that worried about getting a low grade, I would be a very wealthy man! - but of course, it’s natural to want educational success, I am also like that.  However, try not to feel as if your career choice has to change or go on hold due to not receiving the grade you desired.  You will find, future employers care more about how strong your portfolio is and how passionately you can relate to your work and experiences.  If you have the confidence in what you produce and a portfolio you are proud to show, you can go far!

Don’t become something you are not.

I remember throughout my third year of university, I would spend most of my time worrying about how to get the highest grade I possibly could.  It soon became less about designing for myself but more so about designing to please my lecturers and markers.  That is the biggest mistake anyone who wants a career in design can do.  I soon saw that I became less ambitious in how I designed and the creativity in my work suffered from the consequences of it.  My portfolio was a mishmash of random styles and my work lost its own identity. It looked as if it just came off the university’s production line - It just wasn’t me.

Try to take all your project critiques as a way to improve how you are now and not who you should become.  I come to realise that if I didn’t create the type of work I enjoyed, then why would I push towards that career in life?  I do still enjoy working as a designer but It was only after graduating from Graphic Design and taking my first job as a designer, that I knew my true calling and passion was to be an animator and illustrator.

Your first studio job doesn’t have to be your last.

When I left university, I joined a digital agency for 3 years doing what I thought I wanted to do.  At first I was happy with what I was producing, I had my first real taste of studio work and I was having a good time.  After a while, the more I did web and graphic design work, it dawned on me that I wasn’t pursuing what I truly wanted to do.  I got so comfortable in my first design job I neglected my love for animation and illustration.  I eventually left and decided to set up shop on my own as a freelancer, doing what I love.  It’s never too late to switch your path in life, whether it’s changing within the creative sector or even leaving it behind.  Don’t ever feel as if your first studio job has to be your be-all and end-all, because it’s not, it’s only just the beginning of an exciting life in your creative career.   Keep creating, continue to build your portfolio, inspire others and just enjoy your journey.  In the end, we are in a pretty awesome industry to work in. oliversin.com | @oliversin | facebook.com/oliversin

[oliversin]

Howl’s Moving Castle... Moving oliversin.com | @oliversin | facebook.com/oliversin

[oliversin]

PaRappa the Rapper LOVE KICK. LOVE PUNCH. SWEET CHOP. Illustration by shabellocreative - Animation by Me oliversin.com | @oliversin | facebook.com/oliversin

[shabellocreative]

Dankey Kang just can’t catch a break when showing off to the ladies ;D

A collab i did with the awesome Oliversin (www.oliversin.com). He illustrated and i animated.

[oliversin]

BOING WHIZZ PEW! See the rest of the 9-squares here:  http://9-squares.tumblr.com/post/113796462220/9-squares-2-top-sara-bennett-bran

oliversin.com | @oliversin | facebook.com/oliversin

[9-squares]

9 Squares 2 Top: Sara Bennett, Bran Dougherty-Johnson, Brandon Wall Middle: Zac Dixon, Oliver Sin, David Stanfield Bottom: Al Boardman, Skip Hursh, Jeroen Krielaars

About the project

[oliversin]

Yehhhhhhhhhhhhh dudes!

[oliversin]

So people who know me know I love Ghibli films. Howl's isn't one of my favourites but I absolutely love the designs within the film and always wanted illustrate it myself.

I've been working on this illustration in my spare time for a bit now and thought I'd show how it is currently looking. I'm planning on trying some other styles for treating this as well but this is my usual style for now! ...Also, I plan to animate this and do more Ghibli pieces!

What is everyone else's favourite Ghibli?

oliversin.com | @oliversin | facebook.com/oliversin

[oliversin]

Bunnies!

oliversin.com | @oliversin | facebook.com/oliversin

[oliversin]

The Resin.io team got in touch wanting me to direct and produce a fun animation that could help explain their service.

Thank you to @Andrew Embury for the help with animation.

Watch the video here on my Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/117286077

p.s this needs a bit of bee gees 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_izvAbhExY

oliversin.com | @oliversin | facebook.com/oliversin