Various works for the Discovery Channel Network including styleframes for motion graphics development, marketing decks, ad sales materials and animation.
Created at Discovery, Inc. for the Discovery Channel network. All Video Content & Images property of Discovery, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
As host Amy Holmes states, The History of Currency is a Blaze Special that covers a topic we all know and love ...money. It’s a show that highlights the history of money starting with the early bartering years and spanning all the way to the current era of tele-communicative transactions.
When it came to developing the design and look for the graphics package we knew we had to focus on telling the story of our country's currency and what better way to do so then with actual money. Working with a team of talented videographers and producers we were able to visually depict the story of US currency in a very appealing and sexy way.
Here are a few stills, videos and style frames of some of the design and motion graphics work I contributed to The History of Currency.
All Video Content & Images property of TheBlaze TV. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Lead Designer & Animator
Client: TheBlaze TV with Goldline
Various works for the Animal Planet Network including styleframes for motion graphics development, marketing decks and animation.
Created at Discovery, Inc. for the Animal Planet network. All Video Content & Images property of Discovery, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
So many memories come flashing back to me when I revisit my time spent working on the Emmy nominated four part mini series Fabric of the Cosmos. The amount of graphics created and the size of the overall production were truly incredible. It was and still is one of the biggest accomplishments thus far in my career, and it was an honor working and collaborating with such a multi-talented team of artists, creatives, producers and executives.
As part of the Pixeldust team, we were in charge of creating visually engaging and scientifically accurate graphics and effects that helped explain all the theories and equations of Brian Greene's second book on theoretical physics. Working directly with PBS/NOVA our team had the opportunity to get immediate feedback from Sr. Producer and Creative Director, Jonathan Sahula, Sr. Executive Producer, Paula Apsell, and work in house together in the Bethesda studio to complete the series.
Pixeldust Studios received many accolades for Fabric of the Cosmos, and the work has been duly recognized nationwide in The New York Times, TIME Magazine and The Los Angeles Times.
Find out more about the mini series here. To the side are a few still images of and links to some of the graphics and effects work I contributed to the series.
All Video Content & Images property of Pixeldust Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Role: CG Artist
Client: PBS/NOVA
Bomb Patrol Afghanistan, a show about members of the US Navy EOD that search for and destroy explosive devices throughout Afghanistan, was another example of a great collaboration between Big Fish Entertainment and Pixeldust Studios, and another creatively challenging show that I was privileged to work on. I worked closely with a small team of artists, designers, and a coordinating producer in order to create interstitial graphics that matched the title animation and concept art. I really enjoyed the tech-style of this show and 3D/compositing approaches we used to complete the necessary graphics for Episode 12. Here are a few stills of and links to some of the motion graphics I created for Bomb Patrol Afghanistan.
You can find out more about the show here.
All Video Content & Images property of Pixeldust Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Motion Graphics Artist
Client: Big Fish Entertainment & G4TV
When Caterpillar came to TheBlaze and said they would sponsor our network special, Building America, hosted by Mike Rowe, we knew it was going to be one of our bigger productions to date. Our dedicated team of producers, artists, videographers and editors created beautiful graphics that showcased the many engineering, architectural and structural accomplishments of our nation over the past few decades. I was responsible for many 3D elements that were incorporated into the title animation, as well as the title animation resolve.
Attached are some stills and links to some of the style frames and motion graphics I created for Building America. You can also find out more about the show here.
All Video Content & Images property of TheBlaze TV. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Motion Graphics Artist
Client: TheBlaze TV
While at Pixeldust Studios I had the wonderful opportunity to work on the famous TLC show DC Cupcakes. All of the interstitials that represented the massive cupcake sculptures, hand built by sisters Sophie and Katherine of Georgetown Cupcakes, were a ton of fun to create. Since the look of the show had been established two seasons prior my graphics were a continuation of that same style. Here are a few stills of and links to some of the motion graphics I created for Season 3.
You can find out more about the show here.
All Video Content & Images property of Pixeldust Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Motion Graphics Artist
Client: Big Fish Entertainment & TLC
Another year, another type challenge! And yes, you guessed it, I was all in for 36 more days of interpreting the alphabet. This year’s eighth edition was so much fun and did not disappoint.
Last year I found myself focusing on animation principles with basic shapes. This year I decided to go in a completely different direction and practice some 3D skills with the specific intention to get more comfortable using Maxon’s Redshift renderer.
Going into the challenge I wanted to have a fun and engaging theme; something that an audience could get excited about for 36 consecutive days. I decided a 90s theme would be the perfect fit. For anyone like myself, the 90s were an iconic decade. The music was iconic, toys were iconic, film and television were iconic, food and beverage were iconic, and even the evolving technology was iconic. I wanted to find a way to capture some of this nostalgia, and what better way to do that than to weave these elements into my theme. For 36 days I tried my best to find creative and clever ways to capture several 90s brands in each of my posts as well as in my Instagram stories through 90s-related polls, questions and even daily 90s music tracks.
By the end of this year’s challenge I can successfully say that I learned a ton about Cinema 4D and Redshift, but for me, the community is always the best part of the 36 Days of Type challenge. I enjoyed the camaraderie I developed with other artists, creatives and my peers over an engaging theme. It’s been a pleasure connecting with and getting to know so many new artists this year and building even deeper connections with friends in the industry from years prior.
Shout out to Nina Sans and Rafa Goicoechea for curating another year of type awesomeness. It’s a real treat being a part of this amazing community you’ve built.
To see the winners of this year’s type challenge head over to the official Instagram account of the 36 Days of Type challenge or check out the official website here.
Styleframes for motion graphics development created as marketing material for Investigation Discovery.
Created at Discovery, Inc. for the Investigation Discovery network. All Video Content & Images property of Discovery, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Various works for the Oprah Winfrey Network including styleframes for motion graphics development, marketing decks and animation.
Created at Discovery, Inc. for the Oprah Winfrey Network. All Video Content & Images property of Discovery, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
A compilation of the work created while taking Learnsquared’s Main Title Design course.
For an in depth look into each lesson and assignment visit the links below: Analyzing Titles, Typography, A Controlled Experiment, Graphic Design Basics, Finishing Graphic Design, Using 3D Software, Compositing 3D Renders, Brains Over Brawn.
The 36 Days of Type challenge is a daily art challenge that was designed to allow artists of all types to showcase their interpretation of the alphabet every April. I decided to partake for the first time ever during the second quarter of 2019 and it was exactly what I needed to get out of a monotonous creative rut. My theme for the #36daysoftype challenge was “Cities I’d Like to Visit” for letters A-Z and “Top 10 Favorite Cities” for numbers 0-9.
I’d say my graphic style typically gravitates to photorealism so the concept I came up with for this challenge was very fitting. It felt very authentic and unique to me, and I received a lot of positive feedback on it as the month progressed.
Executing daily designs and completing the entire challenge was rewarding for several reasons. First and foremost, I felt like I further developed my technical and storytelling skills, which is always a plus since the tools us designers use are always evolving and morphing. The amount of time us designers have to connect with our audiences gets smaller and smaller every day, too, and learning to communicate a theme effectively and appropriately (and only having 24 hours to do it) was also very rewarding. Lastly, connecting with amazing artists from around the world throughout the challenge was simply humbling. It was amazing to see how our themes and designs resonated with one another, and allowed us to deepen our connections within the design community.
Shoutout to the many talented photographers that contribute to Unsplash’s large directory of photography. Without your photographs my designs wouldn’t be possible. The same goes for everyone who contributes to Adobe Stock’s catalog.
Thank you to all the artists I got to connect with this year, and last but not least thank you to everyone who followed along. I really enjoyed your support and feedback.
Early inspirations for my design decisions can be found on this moodboard and more information about #36daysoftype can be found here. Until next year!
When nationally syndicated radio talk show host Joe Pags became part of the prime time lineup on Newsmax TV we knew we wanted to make this graphics package special. Politics aside, Joe Pags is one of the most sincerest guys to work with, and it was a pleasure collaborating with him on this project.
Joe's enthusiasm was contagious throughout the entire project, and he made the process enjoyable every step of the way. We knew we captured Joe's vision once we presented our pitchbook, but it was incredibly rewarding to know how happy he was with the end result, too.
To the right please find videos and imagery from concept development all the way through to the finished product.
Check out The Joe Pags Show weekdays at 6PM ET on Newsmax TV.
All Video Content & Images property of Newsmax TV. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Lead Designer
For the 7th edition of 36 Days of Type I decided to focus on the basic principles of animation. Instead of designing the typeface, I decided to purchase the following vector typeface, Pisiko, from designer Irene Cula Geli on Hellofont.com. I was drawn to her use of basic shapes and forms for this typeface and knew it would be a perfect fit for the playful animation style I was hoping to achieve. Ultimately the goal was to use principles like squash and stretch, exaggeration, anticipation, follow through, etc. to inject life into each letter and number and give them their own individual character/identity.
I was heavily inspired by the animation style of various artists and studios including, but not limited to (and in no particular order), Eduard Mykhailov, Jordan Scott, Jose Pena, Greg Stewart, Claudio Salas, Jorge Canedo, Andrew Vucko, Joash Berkeley, Ameen Shahid, and the teams at Ordinary Folk, Gunner Animation, Buck and Cub Studio. These people are the creme de la creme of 2D motion design, injecting life into everything they touch, and I look up to their talents greatly.
Thank you to everyone who followed along and joined in the journey. Already looking forward to next year’s edition!
To learn more about the annual 36 Days of Type challenge please visit http://www.36daysoftype.com/.
Various 3D illustrations turned into prints.
The sequel to The Overton Window by bestselling author, Glenn Beck, led to the request for a new network commercial that TheBlaze graphics team was thrilled to create. The publishing department presented us Glenn's new book, The Eye of Moloch, and asked if our graphics team could create mocks and a storyboard for a teaser trailer on the network. The Eye of Moloch, a book about the last battle for freedom, captured a determined, dark and daunting theme that served as the baseline for our early concepts.
The following are a few of the styleframes I developed around a chess board motif that foreshadowed some of the themes of liberty, tyranny and defense within the story, and the overall synopsis of the book.
Find out more about the book here as well as other books published by Glenn Beck.
All Images property of TheBlaze TV. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Graphic Artist
Client: TheBlaze Publishing
Concept and styleframe development is probably my favorite part in the whole motion design process. These are collection of frames that either didn’t make the cut or were used to get ideas out in front of me.
Styleframes for motion graphics development created as marketing material for the Motortrend Network.
Created at Discovery, Inc. for the Motortrend Network. All Video Content & Images property of Discovery, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Election year was dedicated to a lot of, you guessed it, election-related content. When it came to interstitial packages and small content series, Newsmax's niche was definitely history. Producers and creators alike did endless research on such pieces, and the resulting end products were attractively informative.
"Why We Vote on a Tuesday" was one of many pieces where I had the opportunity to act as both the creative and the producer. Working with our SVP of Programming, we decided it would be a great idea to create election-related content for our audience leading up to election night, and instead of focusing on the candidates themselves, we decided it would be a nice and light-hearted change to hit the audience with some 'did you know?' facts.
We pulled together several resources to build the script for this piece, and eventually had it voiced in house by our very own talent. The script was candid and conversational in tone so we wanted to make sure it sounded that way when the voice over was done. Bill Tucker, who ended up voicing the track, made sure to do just that while also adding his own flare. Not to mention, the pace was absolutely perfect for our motion graphics build.
Due to limited resources I was tasked with all of the design and animation responsibilities for this piece, and even though it was very tedious work, I couldn't have been happier with how it turned out in the end. The network was very pleased with the overall outcome and it was a huge hit with our audience, too.
So before you watch the video to the right, do you know why we vote on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November?
All Video Content & Images property of Newsmax TV. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Producer, Designer & Animator
The talented crew from Dancing with the Stars, who also own the Dance with Me Studios franchise in NY and NJ, needed something new to add to their productions so I hooked them up with a bump out that matches the regal and majestic look of the company's logo and brand.
You can find out more about the company and the services they offer here.
All Video Content property of Caroline Le. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Motion Graphics Designer
Client: Dance with Me Studios
What was intended to be a short history series ended up becoming only a pilot, but This Day in History: Little Rock Nine was a successful pilot nonetheless.
With the television industry constantly changing and cord cutting becoming more and more popular, Newsmax TV knows that in order to keep up and stay ahead it means having to create engaging cross-platform content for its vast audience. And while this change in consuming is scary to some, it too creates opportunity. With audiences spending a considerable amount of time on mobile devices, coupled with short attention spans, we knew at Newsmax TV that we had to have content that resonated with our audience everywhere, and This Day in History was supposed to do just that.
Working with the SVP of Programming and Network Operations, we researched, scripted, produced, edited and created a powerful piece that tells the story of the Little Rock Nine with the intentions of cross-platform consumption. Everything, including the script, imagery, music, etc., was tactfully written and selected in order to tell these individuals' story and convey emotion. When the video aired on the day when the Little Rock Nine made history, September 25th, the engagement showed both on broadcast television and on social media.
Unfortunately, the series never made it past the pilot due to timing, and while it became more of an experiment piece in the end, it just goes to show that taking a chance on a changing technological landscape is always worthwhile no matter the outcome.
All Images property of Newsmax TV. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Producer & Lead Designer
TheBlaze recently made a tribute to the many keynote speeches that Glenn Beck has written/given over the years in a special presentation on TheBlaze TV, and I was really excited that I was asked to create the graphics package for the show.
The producers had requested that the theme be somewhat patriotic and uplifting in tone. Naturally images of our nation's flag along with stars and stripes immediately came to mind. Glenn himself was also a very important element that needed to be incorporated so we made sure to use imagery that emulated his presence on stage. After a couple styleframe iterations we agreed on the chosen style as we felt it portrayed Glenn's demeanor and speeches appropriately.
Like many projects I have worked on at TheBlaze texture and lighting played huge roles in setting the tone for this package. Timing was essential to this piece’s success. Careful attention to camera movements and cuts truly set the tone for the entire open as well as the show.
The video and images you see as you scroll down this page became the end product. The Keynote team and I felt everything flowed together effortlessly from beginning to end and that the entire graphics package accompanied the Glenn’s speeches perfectly.
Sign in with your Blaze subscription here to watch The Keynotes on-demand.
All Video Content & Images property of TheBlaze. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Motion Graphics Designer
Client: TheBlaze
Styleframes for motion graphics development created as marketing material for American Heroes Channel.
Created at Discovery, Inc. for American Heroes Channel. All Video Content & Images property of Discovery, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
My Patriot Supply, an emergency preparedness and survival store, came to TheBlaze TV and asked us to produce a 15 minute infomercial. The goal was to create a spot that conveyed the company's message and reflected the provided services in an aesthetically appealing and informative way. Although we had creative freedom to go beyond the style of the network, we still had to coordinate certain looks and elements of the infomercial so that it matched the appeal and attraction of TheBlaze TV brand and audience.
A team of videographers and editors shot and edited the footage, and I was responsible for creating styleframes that would unite the graphics with the video content, title animation, lower thirds and a few interstitial graphics.
More about the company can be found here.
All Video Content & Images property of My Patriot Supply and TheBlaze TV. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Motion Graphics Designer
Client: My Patriot Supply
Day of Air operations tend to be more quick turnaround than post house environments, and one of the first shows I got to work on when I started at TheBlaze TV network was Wilkow! During his nightly program, host Andrew Wilkow goes over current events, political issues and American history with various guests and other network talent, and discusses differing views and opinions on where America stands as a country.
When it came time to revamp some of the shows on the network I had the pleasure of working with the Wilkow team and a small team of artists to create a new look, title animation, and several animated and still graphics to be used throughout Andrew's hour long show. The result was an authentic yet gritty style that not only showcased the associated network look but also stayed true to the Andrew's personality, passion and integrity.
Here are a few stills of and links to some of the motion graphics I created for Wilkow!.
All Video Content & Images property of TheBlaze TV. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Motion Graphics Artist
Client: TheBlaze TV
An in depth write up on Amor can be found on my blog. Feel free to check it out.
Here are a few images of the logo design, location scouting and VFX I created and captured for the project.
Music: Spanish Rumble Part 1 by Senbei
All Video Content & Images property of Caroline Le, Jose Duran and Stefania Orru. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Producer, VFX Artist & Logo Designer
While at Pixeldust Studios I worked on a show called Big Cat Wars (aka Lion vs. Cheetah) and did digital sketches and reveals for a couple of episodes in the series. The client, National Geographic, needed sketches of some frames of video to act as transitions. Attached are a few stills of those transitions. You can find out more about the show here.
All Images property of Pixeldust Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Motion Graphics Artist
Client: National Geographic Channel
Election years are always big in America, but 2016 was unlike any other election year. Everything about it was unconventional, however when working in television, that might not be such a bad thing.
For the television biz, the 2016 Election season translated into content overload. There wasn't a day without a story or current event, which, come Election night, made the main event and results that much more anticipated.
When building a style for our social media campaign we knew we wanted to keep with our network standards and develop something polished yet also make it feel presidential. We knew we wanted the graphics to make a statement when we covered each candidates wins, as well. Knowing that each candidate would win certain states, our strategy also involved building out multiple versions of elements for the "just in case" scenarios, and boy were we glad we did that.
Politics aside, working election night was exciting because of the pace and enthusiasm in the television studio. It quickly becomes a results driven environment that presents its own challenges, and all of that coupled with working alongside your friends makes for a fun evening of prime time television. The television and social media teams worked hand in hand that night making it a successful multi-departmental event, too.
To the right are some of the graphics we contributed to the Newsmax social media and television audiences during election night.
All Images property of Newsmax Media. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Lead Designer
Client: Newsmax
"Conversations with Nancy Brinker" started out as a special on Newsmax TV, and eventually became a small series. When one of our EPs approached both the SVP of Network Programming and Nancy about the idea of a casual conversation piece, everyone agreed it was a nice change in tone to add to the network programming line up. The production took place during a very polarizing election year so everyone really enjoyed the idea of a show that was a bit more relaxed and benevolent in nature, as well. Sure, politics were a topic of discussion from time to time, but the overall content was quite different from the broadcast news norm.
When developing a style for the show we knew we wanted to create aesthetics that explored a casual and humanizing ambience that would compliment Nancy's character and the show content. The mood board we put together in pre-production was incredibly important when developing the show style. Everything from color choices, composition, textures and typography were directly influenced from the mood board, and ultimately evolved into the style you see to the right.
Check out Conversations with Nancy Brinker on Newsmax TV.
All Video Content & Images property of Newsmax TV. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Lead Designer
When I was approached by our network executives to help out with the design of a new mini series called Blaze Special Report I was really excited about the opportunity to be part of the team growing TheBlaze's digital catalogue. During concept development, I liked the idea of each series having its own unique theme. Since the A Hero's Story episode focused on the heroism of Marine Veteran Dakota Meyer I knew I wanted the style to be patriotic. I did some brainstorming with the producers and we agreed on using the American flag as our main piece of imagery for the episode. The concept I drafted (to the right) was quickly approved by the show's EP, therefore, getting together all of the necessary elements for the small graphics package took little to no time.
Find out more about Will Cain's discussion with Dakota Meyer here.
All Video Content & Images property of TheBlaze TV. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Motion Graphics Designer
Client: TheBlaze TV
TheBlaze's News Update team approached the graphics department with the request to create transitions for daily news hits. The three animations to the right, along with a few others that were developed, were in constant rotation during host Amy Holme's news correspondences. They were a great way to transition between stories as well as live and prepackaged segments.
Sign up and watch the network's news updates on demand here.
All Video Content & Images property of TheBlaze. All Rights Reserved.
Role: Motion Graphics Designer
Client: TheBlaze
