Saturday, March 18, 2017

Teaser for Living Sketchbook


Here's a teaser trailer for The Living Sketchbook™ app, releasing Monday, March 20 for iOS and Android devices. (Link to YouTube video)
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UPDATE: 

The app is now available for iOS on Apple phones and tablets at the App Store
and for Android devices at Google Play

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Sharon Cullen: "CANT WAIT! What does the app do exactly? Is it video clips of you?"
Hi, Sharon—it lets you look through every page of one of my sketchbooks. You can pinch to zoom to see close-up details, while listening to audio of location sounds and my commentary about materials and methods. Plus for some of the sketches you can watch videos shot on location. It makes a sketchbook come to life in a new, immersive and interactive way.

What devices will the app be compatible with?
Android 4.3 KitKat and above
iOS 9.0 and above
Compatible iOS devices:
iPhone 5s and above
iPad Air and above
iPad Mini 2 and above
iPad Pro and above
iPod Touch sixth generation and above

How much will it cost and what are the plans for the app?
The app will cost $4.99. The sketchbook "Boyhood Home" is the first volume in the series. More sketchbooks will be released later as additional apps.


Sunila asks: "I wonder... are you also using one of these egg timers to activate the dolly?"
The dolly is pulled along a homemade dolly track made of two metal broomsticks that I got from the dollar store. Movement is generated by a geared-down Lego motor at a velocity of 1 inch per minute. The camera hangs below the cart and shoots at 5 second intervals using an intervalometer, which is strapped on top of the Lego cart. 

Johnny Matthias: "I don't know what I was watching, but it looked pretty cool. A Lego rotoscope? Sculpey or 3D-printed figures in a walk cycle? You have all the cool toys."
It was a series of 10 hand-sculpted replacement-animation walking poses of my character Clement. I animated it on a timer, changing the poses every 15 seconds, which results in three frames of video. This method of stop motion animation goes very fast; I shot the whole animation in 40 minutes.

FEEDBACK FROM THE PROS
''James Gurney's Living Sketchbook: Vol. 1 celebrates the mobility and charm of gouache, casein, colored pencil, and pen and ink in sketchbook form. This brilliant app is loaded with beautiful high resolution artwork set to a powerful environmental soundscape that brings you there. The narration is full of insightful observations and wisdom to pass on to artists of all levels. Additional layers of video are dispersed in the volume to clearly illustrate approaches by a master teacher and storyteller. An elegant and generous offering that will immediately make you want to sketch out ‘in the wild'!"
—Erik Tiemens - Watersketch.com

"Once again, James Gurney sets the bar for showmanship art, inviting you beyond the final image into the mind and imagination of the artist who created it. His 'Living Sketchbook' App takes a classic Gurney Sketchbook and adds audio, video, and written notes on the inspiration, palettes, and thinking behind the art. It's as if you were a friendly ghost watching the creation of every page. Sketchbooks are often described as snapshots of an artist's soul, giving this App an intense feeling of intimacy. Another small masterpiece of art and technology from Gurney Studios.”
Iain McCaig, concept artist for Star Wars, Jungle Book, Avengers
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The Living Sketchbook app was designed and developed by my son Dan Gurney.

6 comments:

Steve said...

Nice to see Clement again. It's been awhile.

Susan Krzywicki said...

This looks wonderful. I'll be there to buy it on Monday.

Unknown said...

Hi James, I have an iPhone 4s with iOS 9.3.5. I got the message that the Living Sketchbook app is not compatible. Too bad that it doesn't run on a 4s. Otherwise, I'm perfectly happy with this model and its small size... Hans

James Gurney said...

Hans, sorry if it doesn't work with your device. Dan set up the store page to allow it to be sold only to devices that were sure to have enough processor power. That left some people out, and we're sorry for that. But it was true for our old iPad, too. It just crashed the thing, so I wouldn't want someone to buy the app unless it would work for sure.

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Mono said...

Hi, I bought the three volumes available in my region, but I had to change my phone (water damage) and now I can't find volume 1, it disappeared from the Google play store, I was wondering if it will be back. They're awesome by the way, I hope there are more volumes coming.
Thanks