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All news and stuff related to "Candy The Magic Dinosaur","Flash-Animation" and the "Internet World"!...
Hillbilly!...
Monday, March 8th, 2010
A fantastic new addition to the series!... Luke Hyde invented this amazing character on the weekend, which is making "Candy The Magic Dinosaur 4" look too good!...
Sign up, sign up!!!!!
We still need you guys and girls to type your e-mail in the top box and hit subscribe!!!!!...
Thanks
David Edwards
Candy The Magic Dinosaur will be back!...
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
The official launch date for "Candy The Magic Dinosaur 4" is April 1st 2010. It's looking awesome so far and the timing will be perfect for the re-launch of the "Candy Shop". Take it easy ;]
Flash Special Effects!...
Friday, February 19th, 2010
Behind the scenes at "A Sitting Duck Productions" we are working on some awesome effects!!!!!. We want to raise the game on flash animation and really cement "Candy The Magic Dinosaur" on a global stage.
Rain Effects and Team Effort!...
The opening scene has rain like you have never seen before in a flash animation!. Luke Hyde has worked with Matt (a talented animator) to produce awesome results. All of us are now keen to get in the recording studio to produce the sound for this amazing installment to the mini series.
I have been working on the social media this month to make sure that people are discovering "Candy" and keeping in touch. We have had great success with the Candy Fan Page, over 1,000 fans and the word of mouth is starting to work!...
Thanks for tweeting "Candy The Magic Dinosaur" as well!...
Siobhain
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Candy The Magic Dinosaur 3
Sunday, February 7th, 2010
A chance to watch "Candy The Magic Dinosaur 3" in better quality - Candy The Magic Dinosaur 3
Illustration by Mitchell Horn
Luke Hyde Interview...
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
I thought it would be cool to get Luke Hyde to answer some questions about Flash Animation and how he became a kick ass animator!... :
Luke Hyde
1. When did you start using adobe flash?.
Towards the end of uni - I avoided it like the plague at first thinking it was a bit of a cop out to use. After animating a film frame by frame on paper...I realised how stubborn I was being.....flash kicks ass...
2. What's the toughest part of working on flash?.
Exporting - for some reason.....I just cant export flash files with well synced up sound, I'm sure I'm missing out on something obvious...
3. Have you seen a big improvement working on CS4 to CS3?.
The only improvements with CS4 iv'e found is the armature tool, the blurring effect, filter effects and the improved tweeting system....so yeah shitloads!.
4. What's your favourite on-line animation series?.
Has to be.......salad fingers, for obvious reasons
5. Why do you think Candy is so popular?.
The episodes are short, funny and I've added hundreds of subliminal messages in to control the minds of the viewers.....wait, ignore that :D
6. Would you prefer to be an employee within a large animation company?.
Cant I do both?
7. Do you always sketch out scenes before you draw them on flash?.
Most of the time ;]
8. What's your favourite snacks to eat while you are animating?
Onion ring crisps...hands down.
9. Are there new characters in Candy The Magic Dinosaur 4?.
There are indeed, though I doubt they will make it to the end of the episode.
10. What's the best advice you can give to someone that has just bought Flash?.
uuuuurrm....use online tutorials as much as you can - name EVERY symbol and layer you make - save all the time (ctrl s) - and....never ever EVER...watch the film 'The curious case of Benjamin Button'...
Thanks Luke! :]
No prob Dave ;)
Candy Toy Available To Buy!...
Monday, February 1st, 2010
It's 2010 and we are kicking off the year with a toy launch!. You can now have a "Candy The Magic Dinosaur" on your desk for only $14.95!...
Patch Together
Working on some illustrations...
Monday, January 25th, 2010
Luke Hyde is back on flash to finish "Candy The Magic Dinosaur 4", I'm working on some illustrations to publish on the website and I'm also looking for talented graphic designers to contribute to the website.
Candy Illustrations
If you are experienced in photoshop or illustrator then we would love to have you on board!. "Candy The Magic Dinosaur" is a unique character that is becoming more popular every day. We want to publish more Candy artwork on "Candy News" for people to enjoy and share on the internet.
What's in it for you?
We are happy to publish the digital artwork on "Candy News" which will be seen by thousands of people and we'll stick a link to your twitter feed or website, which can help with your internet presence ;].
David Edwards
Interview with Joe Latham
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Introducing Joe Latham!, Joe played the voice of the thug that was brutally killed by Megasaur 64 but he is better known for his amazing graphic design work... Here are the Q and A's!!!!!...
1. When did you start designing websites?.
I've really only been designing websites for about 2 years - we received very little practical training in university, more theory of good design than anything, so I had to self-learn alot of coding, good practices and techniques. Which was a bit of a brick wall for the first 6 months, but once you've nailed a coding problem it just boosts your confidence and gets easier from then on.
2. Do you use photo-shop or illustrator?.
Both are fantastic tools - and I actually use them both in conjunction with each other. They have very different uses and I find photoshop so much quicker and more sensible for laying out websites, but illustrator is fantastic aswell, and brilliant for logo work and vector drawings. It's definately worth keeping an open mind about alot of design products as if used well they can really benefit your work. I mean at the end of the day, the tools are just there to get across the designer's idea, so use the tool that's best for the job at hand.
3. For someone that has never bought an Adobe product, what's your advice before they get started?
Adobe have always done free 30 day trials of their products for as long as I can remember. The full design packages can cost a huge amount so it's definately worth testing them before you shell out. Also there's a cheaper version of photoshop, called Elements, which I'm told still has huge functionality at a fraction of the cost.
Again though - it's about the idea the designer is trying to convey. There are always cheaper or free alternatives, so for anyone starting it may be an idea to get a sketchbook, some paints, a scanner or digital camera, and maybe some design books or magazines and just try working out some ideas.
4. As a freelance graphic designer, what's the best way to keep the pay cheques rolling in?.
It takes a lot of time, meetings and work. Pricing yourself fairly in the market and amongst piers can be tough. I started hiring myself out at £5 an hour, which was miles away from earning enough to live off, but I built some fantastic contacts and worked with some amazing people. Now I have a couple of regular clients with an agreed retainer for each month, which covers rent and living costs, and the rest of my time is spent doing Album artwork, and myspace page designs for bands. And the money and cheques build up surprisingly quickly.
5. What's the best website you have produced, or the one you are most proud of?.
Currently it's probably my own website lookhappydesign simply because I learnt alot of coding tricks for it. I used alot of Jquery and multiple CSS sheets, along with a php blog built in Expression Engine. Tricks that I will be hoping to build on and keep expanding as a web design resource kind of thing. It's good to know that you can achieve so much without always turning to Flash for the answer.
6. What's the future plan for the Joe Latham graphic design empire?.
I currently really enjoy my lifestyle, so I'm hoping to continue along like this for another year or so. Potential steps that I have considered are - 1/ Renting some desk space in a studio 2/ outsourcing regularly or hiring a coder 3/ hire a designer better than myself so I can become the man to speak to clients and deal with the book keeping and I can do the art direction... Then one day maybe join forces with someone to run the business equally so I can work 3 days a week and spend the rest of my time tending the goats and veggie patch.
We're talking along way down the line there though.
7. Do you have a favourite snack while your working?.
It used to be biscuits (pretty much any) but they can be too addictive if your head's immersed in work, so now it's clementines. The citrus zing helps keep you alert and they are extremely yummy!
8. How do you like to spend your free time?.
I take on far too many hobbies. I play drums whilst the kettle boils or the toaster toasts. I'm trying to learn some bits of classical guitar, and some Ukulele chords. I'm also trying to learn some 3D programs at the moment too. And I try to paint and draw if I ever find time. Oh and I love reading. AND I also go to the cinema alot - myself and two friends have those cinema passes so we go all the time.
9. Are you a fan of the sketchbook or do you gun for the pc straight away?.
Sketchbook every time. Ideas, content and structures should really be visualized, considered and sketched before you turn to a PC. Even if it's a crappy scribble, I firmly believe that considering the artistic composition and tonal weight of an image is quite primal and can be so simple and needs to be sketched. Even a 30 second sketch helps plan a layout. At the end of the day Graphic Design is an art. So it should be thought of appropriately when working.
10. Any chance of a Candy illustration from you in 2010 ;]?
Of course! It would be my pleasure!!! It will inevitably be quite different to Luke's interpretation though, I'm sure...
Thanks Joe!,
Cheers mate :]