Lovely Movies: the Boxtrolls

So I knew about the Boxtrolls movie way before it came out. In fact, the wait was so long(about 2 years), that by the time it finally hit the theaters I was still so stuck in waiting mode that I let it pass me by… But I finally saw it on dvd!

In this day and age, people can achieve the most amazing things with animation technology. However, there are still some crafty folks sticking to good old stop-motion. And honestly that pays off, it's still so much more magical!

And they could have just glued together snippets, but they even made a special trailer for it!

If I can make one complaint about the dvd… I wish it had extras! I would have loved to see some behind the scenes action for this, because that always intrigues me and makes me want to work on such a film myself! Thankfully I did find a very cool article about it on WIRED and there's also a talk at Google that I have yet to check out.

Lovely Movies: Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart

My expectations pretty much ruined this movie for me. It was still a good movie, I was just prepared for something that would blow my mind and instantly knock all my other favorites down a notch in my top 10, which it didn't...

I love the special look of the animations! They were a bit eerie, breathtaking, and exactly my up of tea. However, the story, and even more so, the pacing, left a lot to be desired. It had plenty of amazing moments, but something was off.

Anyway, I'll definitely rewatch this some time. Perhaps the French version is better… And I'm also very much interested in reading the book it was based off. I'm guessing that something might have gotten lost in the movie.

Intrigued: Thorunn Arnadottir

Thorunn Arnadottir's candle idea is so simple, yet so unbelievably brilliant! These little cats reveal a skeleton as they burn up. The whole burning process is so cool, but it also leaves you with a little something after the wax has gone.

Unfortunately you can not order them yet, but you can sign up for the newsletter. If you want a candle for yourself, I suggest you do that because you'll then be updated when the designer's Kickstarter project goes live.

UPDATE! The Kickstarter is now up and running until November 22nd!

the Cacomistle

It's not often you suddenly discover the existence of a cute animal you didn't know about yet. And the cacomistle -or "ringtailed cat"- looks so cute that I'm surprised it's not a huge hype on the internet. Granted, it looks pretty eerie in some other picture, but just look at this face!

Here's a little video so you can see one in action:

Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow to announce who won that lovely photography prize pack!

Amazing Art: Roby Dwi Antono

Today I came across the amazing art of Roby Dwi Antono! It is painted with such skill that it often looks like a picture. Though the surreal scene makes it pretty clear that it can't be. Anyway, it's very dreamlike, full of amazing bunnies and a tad eerie. Just as I like it! Enjoy.

If you want to see more, I suggest you check out Roby Dwi Antono's blog.

Amazing Art: Xue Wang

Creepy and cute is still a combination I'm drawn to in art. And I was in luck, because I recently came across the works of Xue Wang(who also keeps a blog if you want to stay in the loop).

It is very Mark Ryden-reminiscent, but it's often more glamourous, and in my opinion, a tad more creepy. It's not scarier in it's subjects, but where Mark Ryden brings a calm vibe to each piece, these just tend to look a lot more haunted. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I did. And I apologize in advance for the crazy dreams you might have tonight.

Cute Little...ehm...Killers?!

Here's a lovely animation I found today. It's very short, yet very good. And quite different too... Enjoy!

Pretty Paintings

The digital art of Lostfish seems to portray the dark side of fairy tales. It's usually quite morbid, but in a doll-like way. Despite, or perhaps because, most of these sugar-coated -yet gut wrenching- portraits are so static, you really get the sense that there's a long story behind each and every subject. And that smooth texture is just surreal! Wow.

{All images belong to Lostfish of course}

Pretty Paintings: Daniel Merriam

Today I stumbled upon Daniel Merriam's enchanting paintings. They look like fairytales brought to life. Not only the kind with princesses, but also the ones with strange and magical creatures that have the quirkiest and sometimes darkest personalities. It really brings me back to when I was little and could really lose myself in to those stories. It makes me feel like reading some of them again!

{all images belong to Daniel Merriam of course}

Pretty Painting: Naoto Hattori

Leaving through Mark Ryden's Pinxit this week has definitely rekindled my love for low brow art! And to stick with the surreal vibe I thought I'd show you guys the art of Naoto Hattori. It is very trippy, very cool and includes quite a lot of pandas. Enjoy!

                            

{All images belong to Naoto Hattori of course!}

Pretty Paintings: Chrystal Chan

Chrystal Chan has made some spectacular oil paintings. Though she definitely has her own style, she likes to play around with a lot of different colors, vibes and compositions. Some of her work has a very medieval look to it, others have more modern subjects. It's beautiful and a bit eerie, just the way I like it.

 

    

All images belong to Chrystal Chan of course.