Animated flip book movie made with watercolor and clock parts

Check out this lovely animated/kinetic work by Juan Fontanive.

From the video description:

Juan Fontanive creates machines that combine moving images with clockwork mechanisms. His hand-made screens and metal structures are deeply influenced by the moving image — from shutters and reels to illusory flickering. Responding to the lack of movement found in our current electronics age, he is interested in actual movement in relation to virtual. His machines long to free images; they combine to form a medium in themselves exploring the vividness of living things.

Here is where you can see more animated art Juan Fontanive.

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Mechanical bird automaton by Keith Newstead based on a painting by Ralph Steadman

The wild automaton shown in the video above is the product of a collaboration between British cartoonist Ralph Steadman and automaton maker Kieth Newstead, who has been featured countless times on this blog. The piece is based off of one of Steadman's many paintings of exotic, fanciful, and/or extinct birds (or 'boids' as he calls them). In fact, he has recently released a book titled Extinct Birds Boids.

From the description of book Extinct Boids:

Ralph documents them all in this series of remarkable paintings, featuring unique interpretations of well-known birds such as the Great Auk, Passenger Pigeon and Dodo, along with less familiar members of the feathersome firmament - Snail-eating Coua, for example, or the Red-moustached Fruit Dove - and a variety of bizarre beasts including the Gob Swallow, the Long-legged Shortwing and the Needless Smut. All are captured in a riot of expression and colour, with a slice of trademark Steadman humour. Based on emails, diary entries and phone conversations, Ceri's accompanying text provides a running commentary, detailing the unfolding madness behind the creation of each piece in Ralph's extraordinary work.

Here is where you can see more work by Keith Newstead. And here is were you can the amazing assortment of works by works by Ralph Steadman.

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Attack of the Killer Tomato - an automaton by Kieth Newstead

I posted earlier this week about a Keith Newstead automaton that was in progress featuring a man-eating tomato. The piece is called Attack of the Killer Tomato and will serve as a donations box for Occombe Farm, Devon, UK.

Here it is in full color. The painting turned out fantastic! The plant has an interesting reflective green texture and the tomato really shines. I also love the pattern of the man's flannel shirt. Actually, everything looks good including the man's hair, the watering can, the flower pot. My favorite thing would be the plant's spiked yellow teeth.

If you are interested in making your own, here are some books on carving figures in wood and on how to construct marionettes.

See more automata by Keith Newstead on his web site.

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