From Russia with love

By Kristel Pent

By and large Soviet envelopes can be divided into two types – air mail envelopes with red and blue stripes at the edges and ordinary mail envelopes with no stripes. The place for the stamp is marked on each envelope and says how expensive a stamp it is necessary to buy. The small script on the back side of the envelope has instructions about how to write the ZIP code numbers into the marked fields. The year when the envelope was printed, its factory of origin and the author of the illustration are also printed on the back side of the envelope in a super small script. The fields on the front side of the envelope say ‘Where’, ‘To whom’ and ‘ZIP code and address of the sender’.

For me the most fascinating part about the Soviet envelopes have always been the illustrations. In many ways, printing the message on the envelopes serves as a great way of communication, a way that unfortunately has been nearly abandoned now. The illustrations on Soviet envelopes were used for many different purposes – advertising, popular education, propaganda, marketing, public service campaigns, decoration and so on.

Occasionally the motives might seem rather unusual for a contemporary eye, as the criteria for selecting them were rather different. Often for instance the buildings shown on the illustrations are neither famous nor beautiful, but chosen for their ideological value as symbols of labour or advertisements.

Here is an overview of envelopes and illustrations:

Ordinary air mail envelope with no illustration (both sides) (~1976)

Ordinary envelope, illustration is about celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Soviet 5-year plan (both sides) (1979)

Ordinary envelope with an illustration of a marten, a part of a series introducing wild animals (1967)

Ordinary envelope with an illustration of a birch forest (1968)

Ordinary envelope with an illustration of a border collie, a part of a series introducing service dogs and their functions (1979)

Air mail envelope with an illustration depicting boxing, a part of a series showing different sports from Moscow Olympics in 1980 (1979)

Air mail envelope with an illustration of café ‘Kadriorg’ in Tallinn, Estonia (1978)

Ordinary envelope with an illustration and logo of the 9th International Congress of Cardiologists, Moscow 1982 (1981)

Ordinary envelope with flowers, sold together with a birthday card. (1981)

Air mail envelope with an illustration of a plane dropping letters and a card saying ‘Happy New Year!’ (1982)

Air mail envelope with an illustration about celebrating the ‘Letter Week’ at the postal district of Moscow 1979. (1979)

International air mail envelope with a pre-paid stamp and an illustration of an airplane TU-144. (1971)

Ordinary envelope with an illustration of a polar bear, a part of a series introducing animals belonging to the International Red Book of Endangered Species. (1985)

Ordinary envelope with an illustration of the central post office in Pärnu, Estonia. (1982)

Envelope-postcard (other side blank for writing) with an illustration celebrating the international special exhibition ‘Automatization ’83 in Moscow. (1983)

Ordinary envelope with an illustration of the writer A.S. Pushkin, saying “A.S. Pushkin was a frequent and beloved guest at Zinaida Volkonskaya’s musical salon”. (1978)

Ordinary envelope with an illustration depicting horse riding, a part of a series introducing different sports at Moscow Olympics 1980. (1979)

Air mail envelope with an illustration of Rustaveli Avenue in Sukhumi, Georgia. (1981)

Ordinary envelope with an illustration of people in the city. (1982)

Ordinary envelope with a decorative winter motive. (beginning of 1990s)

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Indepth Interview With Tuomas Ikonen

Welcome to the story behind Tuomas Ikonen, illustrator and artist based in Helsinki, Finland. Tuomas creates stunning illustrations for various magazines and design projects. We had the chance in ask him some questions about his work, some of his projects and some personal questions about inspiration and some useful advice. Be sure to also check the links at the end of this interview to check out more awesome work by Tuomas.

Tell us something about yourself and how did you get started making awesome work?
I’m Tuomas Ikonen, illustrator and artist from Helsinki, Finland. I live here with my girlfriend and our three cats. As many artists, I’ve drawn since I was a child. In school I was the quiet boy at the back row who spends more time doodling the pages full of monsters than listening what the teacher had to say, you know the type. Later I graduated as a graphic designer, but I knew almost immediately I started my studies that I didn’t wanted to work in the advertising industry. I’ve developed my style during the years, and at the moment I feel that I’ve found my style, or at least I’m going in the right direction.
 
 
Where do you get your inspiration?
I love art in almost all of its forms, especially painting, illustration, architecture, animation and music, so works of other artists inspire me a lot. I like to travel, wandering around in interesting cities and museums, just sitting by the lake watching the sunset or spending time in cafés and bars.
 
 
What tools/techniques do you use and why do you use them?
I sketch my works with pencils, scan them and draw and color rest of the illustration with Photoshop. I use Wacom Intuos3 with my iMac to complete the work. I use lots of different textures with my work, some are from the web, some are my own photos and scans from interesting surfaces. I’m heavily influenced by the design and illustration of 50s to 70s, I love their naïve approach to the world and I want to achieve that kind of feel to my work. Like dusty and scratched pictures from the attic, memories from the past of some weird alternate reality. When I paint, I usually use acryls to plywood. Acryls are great because it dry so quickly, so I can add lots of layers of paint. I like painting on wood, usually I scratch and peel the paint off the surface with knives to look whats underneath it.
 
 
Tell us something about your latest project?
Most of my latest projects have been editorial illustrations for different magazines. These projects are usually quick jobs, it takes one to two days to complete the illustration and the schedules are pretty tight. It’s interesting to do illustrations for clients from different fields, you learn lots of weird and wonderful facts about the world by researching and reading articles that you would normally never read.
 
 
Where do you want to be in the next five years?
Basically I’d like to do the same that I do at the moment, but in a larger scale. In five years I hope to illustrate children’s books and record covers of interesting artists. I’d also like to have time to paint more and exhibit my works in galleries.
 
 
Any cool upcoming projects?
I’m participating in two illustration exhibitions. I’m making a piece for a poster exhibition here in Helsinki and book cover/poster for an exhibition in London. I’m also designing couple of record covers at the moment.
 
 
What would you do if you didn’t do this kind of work?
That is a really difficult question, I couldn’t think anything I’d love to do as much as this. But if I had to choose, it would be something to do with visual arts; interior designer or carpenter sounds interesting. I’ve always been interested in human psychology, so maybe something in that field too.
 
 
What advise can you give to people?
Well I know these sound clichés, but work hard to accomplish what you want to be, draw a lot, be true to yourself. Listen to your mother. Remember, the breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
 
 

Work of Tuomas Ikonen

 
 
Shift Work. Illustration for an article about shift work. Different birds represent different types of workers: owl is at night shift, early bird with worm is at morning shift etc.

 
 
Pamper Your Brain. Illustration for an article about how to treat your brain.

 
 
Be On Time. Illustration for an article about how to not be late on meetings.

 
 
Home safety. Illustration for an article about home safety.

 
 
Slow Movement. Illustration for an article about slow movement and slow food.

 
 
The Client is Always Right. Illustration for a book The Medium is the Message and 50 other Ridiculous Advertising Rules.

 
 
Illustration for an upcoming album of Finnish band UpsideDown UnderWater.

 
 
Cover illustration for an album EP Nothing But Sound by Finnish band MIR.

 
 
Thief. Illustration for an article about Thieves in business industry.

 
 
Killing Creativity. Illustration for an article about killing creativity in workplaces.

Contact details Tuomas Ikonen

 
 
Personal website: www.tuomasikonen.com
Email: info@tuomasikonen.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Tuomas-Ikonen-Art-Illustration/208038545966676
Blog: tuomasikonen.tumblr.com
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/tuomasikonen/
Behance: www.behance.net/tuomasikonen

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What is BRAIN FARM DIGITAL CINEMA

BRAIN FARM DIGITAL CINEMA is an independent, boutique production house focusing on the creation of action/adventure sport motion pictures, commercials and television programming of the finest quality. Headed by director/cinematographer, Curt Morgan, and working closely with professional snowboarder Travis Rice, Brain Farm continually pushes the caliber of its entertainment, raising the bar for the action/adventure sports world to follow.

Brain Farm prides itself on beautiful, vibrant hi-def cinematography and progressive new techniques to capture the action while inspiring viewers. The company works with the best talent, brands and production specialists in the business. Quality and creativity captured on state-of-the-art equipment comes first in every project.

Brain Farm regularly innovates new equipment to make client’s dreams come to life on film. For the box office hit “Jackass 3D,” Brain Farm helped to create the Phantom Gold 3D rig. They used the new equipment alongside director Spike Jonze to capture the amazing high-speed, 3D shots shown in slow motion during the film. Brain Farm also developed the first ever un-tethered Phantom HD water housing to capture unprecedented imagery for Quiksilver’s television and Web advertising campaigns. Look out for the latest 3D theatrical spot Brain Farm created for Red Bull when it airs this year.

Past and current clients include NBC/Universal, Toyota, Red Bull, Visa Black Card, National Geographic TV, Quiksilver, NBC/Universal, Subaru, ESPN, FUEL TV, the U.S. Marine Corp and more. www.brainfarmcinema.com

Who is Curt Morgan

Curt Morgan has quickly become the most sought after director/cinematographer in the active and action sports world. With Brain Farm Digital Cinema, Morgan’s now branched out beyond sports into nature, documentary, commercial and feature film shooting.

Morgan started his early days as a pro-snowboarder. After breaking his back three times, he decided it was time to change pace and follow his other talent for capturing awe-inspiring motion pictures. With a stint at film school under his belt, he set out to capture the buzz of the growing snowboarding movement. Today he has produced, directed, edited and/or shot over 10 films and racked up commissioned work for clients including Red Bull, NBC/Universal, Subaru, Visa Black Card, Quiksilver, Showtime, Fox, Oakley and National Geographic TV.

As President and Owner of the boutique production studio, Brain Farm Digital Cinema, Morgan’s latest projects have shaken the action sports world and captured the attention of filmmakers everywhere. The 2008 Morgan directed film, “That’s It, That’s All.” has been proclaimed the best snowboard movie of all-time with a look that rivals Discovery’s acclaimed Planet Earth series. Morgan and pro-snowboarder Travis Rice made it their mission to change the face of snowboard movies and set a new standard for quality in the action sports industry. ESPN called their 2008 project “the most visually stunning action sports movie ever!”

Beyond the sports realm, Morgan developed a Phantom Gold 3D rig for the box office hit, “Jackass 3D.” He worked alongside director Spike Jonze to get some amazing high-speed shots for the film. With his Brain Farm Digital Cinema crew, Morgan directed a TV campaign for Visa Black Card and was director of photography for a Subaru commercial aired during NBC’s “Green Week.”

• Director/DP – World of Red Bull “Travis Rice” spot – 2011
• Director/DP – “The Art of FLIGHT” – 2011
• Director/DP – World of Red Bull “Ashley Fiolek” 3D spot – 2011
• Director/Producer – TV series (in production) – 2011
• DP – NBC/Universal Subaru “Green Week” spot – 2010
• 2nd Unit 3D Phantom “Jackass 3D” – 2010
• Director/DP – Red Bull “Young Jaws” on Fox – 2010
• Director – Visa Black Card campaign – 2010
• 2nd Unit Camera – Great Migrations on Nat Geo TV – 2010
• 2nd Unit Camera – Expedition Wild: Inside the Wolf Pack on Nat Geo TV – 2010
• 2nd Unit Camera (Aerials) ¬– Red Bull “Stratos” – 2009
• 2nd Unit Camera – Nitro Circus – MTV / Godfrey Entertainment – 2009
• Director/DP – Quiksilver Cypher Boardshort TV & web campaign – 2009
• Aerial Unit – Red Bull Project X – 2009
• DP/Aerial Unit – US Marine Corps: Semper Ride – 2008
• Director/DP – Quiksilver “Natural Selection” on Fuel TV – 2008
• Director/Producer/DP – “That’s It, That’s All.” – 2008
• Co-Director/Producer/DP – Community Project – 2005
• Director/Cinematographer – Grenade Films – 1999 to 2004

What tools do they use?

Cameras and Camera Systems: Cineflex V14, Phantom HD Gold, Arri 235 35mm film Camera, Panasonic Varicam 3700, Sony F3, RED Epic, Canon 7D.
Specialty Camera Support: Cinema Truck, Cinema Ranger, IntelliJib Arm.

Tell us something about their latest project?

“The Art of FLIGHT” – equal parts of action and adventure mix with the inevitable drama encountered along the way. A new breed of action sports film comes to life as Red Bull Media House, in association with Brain Farm Digital Cinema, present “The Art of FLIGHT,” a Curt Morgan film. Two years in the making, “The Art of FLIGHT” gives iconic snowboarder Travis Rice and friends the opportunity to redefine what is possible in the mountains. Experience the highs, as new tricks are landed and new zones opened, alongside the lows, where avalanches, accidents and wrong-turns strike. For the first time, viewers join in the sometimes successful, often trying quest to open up new, unexplored mountains in remote corners of the world.

Immerse yourself in the cinematic experience as Brain Farm and their ever-expanding arsenal of filmmaking technology capture the dramatic beauty of the culture, wildlife and scenic landscapes the riders take in along the way. This fall, join in the ride as the creators of “That’s It, That’s All.” completely rewrite the formula for action sports cinema with “The Art of FLIGHT.”

More info on: http://www.artofflightmovie.com/

Contact Details

Website: http://www.brainfarmcinema.com/

Selected Projects:

“The Art of FLIGHT” – snowboard film
http://www.artofflightmovie.com/

“That’s It, That’s All.” – snowboard film
www.thatsit-thatsall.com

Subaru spot during “Green Week” – NBC/Universal

Quiksilver 2010 Board Short Campaign

Emmy Nominated “Young Jaws” TV show – Red Bull/FUEL TV

Visa Black Card – 2010 television advertisement campaign

National Geographic “Great Migrations”

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What is Nathan Love and how did it all started?
Nathan Love is a world class animation studio in New York City that is known for creating memorable characters, detailed worlds and engaging narratives. Founded in 2007, Nathan Love is driven by a passion for storytelling, and our creative, technical and production capabilities are constantly evolving. Equally at home creating sensational 2D and 3D animation, the studio’s talents span all aspects of project creation and production. We are creators of commercial campaigns, original films, web content, video game projects, merchandise and more. Besides their extraordinary craftsmanship, Nathan Love is also fun and inviting to work with, enjoying daily collaborations with leading creatives, live-action and CGI directors, sound designers, composers, web developers and other artists.

Where/how do they get their inspiration?
Nathan Love gathers inspiration from everything around us. From the most popular Pixar film to the most obscure YouTube video, most visuals inspire us to some degree. We work with very ‘animated’ people and often are inspired by the voices and faces we see every day in our own office. Living and working in New York City gives us incredible inspiration whether it’d be a gallery, museum, or graffiti. We draw additional inspiration from our collaborators, clients, friends, and thinking about the ideas and methods out there that have yet to be explored.

What tools do they use?
While the majority of our ideas begin with the old fashioned pencil and paper, our main artistic tools include Adobe Creative Suite, Autodesk Maya for animation, and The Foundry’s Nuke compositing software for finishing.

Tell us something about their latest project?
We recently completed five CG broadcast spots for a Baskin-Robbins campaign with Atlanta based agency 22squared. These spots roll out Baskin-Robbins Flavor’s of the Month and each feature a loveable character who becomes energized and burst into action once the ice cream is introduced. For each featured character, the studio’s art department has focused on creating unique looks and personalities, while its animators have brought each creature to life, with a soul.

Where do they want to be (with their company) in the next five years?
In the next five years we’d love to be creating and producing our own series, shorts, features, and various other original content. We’ve been building the infrastructure and the talent over the last few years and have been producing our own work whenever and wherever we can. We’d love to extend our designs and characters out of the 3D realm and into more tangible items like toys and merchandizing.

On a client level, we’d love to continue to work with creative people on the agency and client level developing campaigns across all formats. We’d also like to continue to get more involved on the conceptual and script level, and on the distribution and promotional level as well. As a studio we’ve spent the last few years building up our live action, web, and sound/music capabilities, so we’re well equipped to take on a variety or projects, large and small.

Did they win any awards?
We most recently won 10 Telly awards, including 3 for Use of Animation, 2 for Art Direction, 1 for Sound Design, 1 Use of Humor, and the YouTube People’s Telly award.
Nathan Love’s Joe Burrascano also received the SHOOT New Directors 2010 award for his work on the Pop Secret campaign.

Any cool upcoming projects?
We’re wrapping up the last of 5 really fun and entertaining spots for Baskin Robbins, which have been playing and keeping us busy all summer. Currently we’re working on a 90 second spot for Kodak with Rochester NY based agency partners + napier which features a cinematic hybrid of live action and CG elements. This spot will be released in October and will be massive!

Contact Details
Website: http://www.nathanlove.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nathan-Love/12102279293

Artwork

Blood Trail – animated horror trailer

Baskin-Robbins – ‘America’s Bday Cake’

City Harvest – ‘Suicidal Cabbage’

Cartoon Network – ‘Cat Sammich’

Nathan Love original short ‘Cracktop Christmas’

Nathan Love original short ‘Mothership’

NBC ‘Peacock’

Chips Ahoy ‘Oz’

Pop Secret ‘Dark Knight’

Chips Ahoy ‘Rocky’

Nathan Original Short ‘Sluggy’

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Big Spaceship is a world leading creative agency from Brooklyn New York, USA. With several big awards like Webbys, Primetime Emmy Award nomination and first American agency inducted into the FWA Hall of Fame we are very proud to present you our interview we had with them. Check out the creative highlights at the bottom and make sure you visit them on www.bigspaceship.com. Enjoy!

What is Big Spaceship and how did it all get started?
Big Spaceship was founded on the fervent belief that there was an opportunity to do much better work than we were seeing or doing in digital. Thus, we launched Big Spaceship during the post-bubble economy as a place where passionate professionals could explore and conquer the Internet – the ultimate frontier. Today we remain a fast, nimble and independent creative agency for a digital world.

Where do you get your inspiration?
All of us at Big Spaceship feel very lucky to be able to go to work every day at a place we love. We are constantly inspired by the role of technology in innovation and the desire to create valuable communications in the digital community. Our focus on our culture and people has been a constant, and that more than anything else is the reason we have thrived.

Tell us something about your latest project?
In addition to new campaigns for General Electric, Activision and Wrigley, we recently launched The Most Awesomest Thing Ever (literally) – www.mostawesomestthingever.com. The Most Awesomest Thing Ever is a dynamic web experience that gauges what is most awesome right now, based on visitor’s engagement in ongoing battles that pit two random things against each other – which can be anything from Leonardo DaVinci, to Take-out, to When Scotty Beams Things Up… The new interactive experience, created and curated by the agency as an internal creative project, is quickly building momentum as a pop culture phenomenon among consumer and social media audiences.

Where do you want to be with your company in the next five years?
At Big Spaceship, we’ve increasingly come to realize that while most of our work lives in digital spaces, we’re not really a “digital creative agency.” We are a creative agency that works within a digital world – a world where digital and interactive technologies and media have changed how people work, interact and maintain relationships. So as we continue to work with our clients, we will strive to build our creative and strategic approaches around an understanding of digital culture and its ongoing evolution. Our hope is that we eventually reach a point where the distinction between a “digital agency” and a “traditional agency” blurs to become meaningless.

Did you win any awards?
Over the past decade, Big Spaceship has received many accolades for our work, including a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for the agency’s work with HBO Voyeur, Cannes Lions, Clios and One Show Interactive Pencils, as well as numerous Webby, Communication Arts, W3 and Pixel Awards. We have also been awarded Favourite Website Awards (FWAs), and we were the first American agency inducted into the FWA Hall of Fame.

Got featured anywhere?
The agency was named one of the “World’s Leading Independent Agencies” in 2009 by thenetworkone and Campaign Magazine, and we were recently named among Creativity’s 2009 Honor Roll. We’ve also been highlighted in The Wall Street Journal, TIME, Fast Company and Advertising Age, among others.

RECENT PROJECTS

The Most Awesomest Thing Ever – Big Spaceship

This quest scours the universe for the Most Awesomest Thing Ever. The endless battle pits two things against one another, you decide which is more awesome (in the case of this battle, stuffing vs. deer).

Healthymagination – General Electric

Healthymagination is a central hub, content platform and suite of digital applications to help empower people to achieve better personal health—in an interface that makes the content meaningful and accessible.

Morsel – General Electric

Morsel is a mobile app that makes healthier decisions a part of everyday life. It offers simple, fun daily tasks that help individuals get healthier one step at a time. Over 100,000 Morsels have been completed since launch, and enhancements are on the way.

Tim Burton Exhibition – MoMA

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) launched a major retrospective of Tim Burton’s dark, whimsical artwork, which Big Spaceship reinterpreted within a digital environment. The stairways seen in this image
employed a practice that Tim Burton is known for: stop-motion animation. For this hands-on approach, we created model staircases with foam board and conducted stop-motion tests. The resulting look, enhanced by hand drawn font, cast a mood that spoke to Burton’s dark, whimsical aesthetic and served as a gateway to his carefully crafted world.

Victoria’s Secret All Access – Microsoft/Victoria’s Secret

We partnered with Microsoft and Victoria’s Secret to introduce the 2009 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. To engage the audience prior to the live broadcast in December, we launched an online experience to get them as close to the fashion show as possible.

Packland – Lands’ End

This back-to-school diversion—a collaboration between Big Spaceship and Lands’ End—gives kids a fun-filled, imaginative way to design the ultimate fantasy backpack.

The Next Move iPhone Application – UrbanDaddy

The Next Move iPhone app considers whom you’ll be with, what sort of food you’re in the mood for, where you’ll go after dinner and so on. It reacts to an individual’s specific needs. Choices unfold through
interchangeable sentence fragments, revealing information in a personalized manner for those craving on-the-go adventure in the city.

Terminator Salvation Multiplayer Game – Sony Pictures

Pitting players as Resistance Fighters (humans) or Machines, teams of five on five fight to bring down the opposition. Depending on whose side you’re on, the annihilation or salvation of mankind is in your
hands.

The Institute for Human Continuity – Sony Pictures

We presented to Sony a strategic multimedia campaign that integrated certain elements and characters from the film ’2012′ into the larger issue of 2012. At the center of this effort was our formation of the
Institute for Human Continuity (IHC). Founded by powerful business and former government officials, the Institute’s mission is to ensure survival of the human race beyond the year 2012.

Pretty Loaded – Big Spaceship

Pretty Loaded is an archive of preloaders that preload other preloaders. Created and curated by Big Spaceship, this infinite loader captures a vanishing art form.

CONTACT DETAILS
www.bigspaceship.com
On Twitter – @BigSpaceship
On Facebook – www.facebook.com/bigspaceship

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