Xtra Legs

The Three Legged Legs directing collective has definitely shown considerable growth and progress since they launched waaaay back in 2005. A major site update and lots of new work for Amp X-Games, Sony Vaio, and Amp’d Mobile show the stylistic depth and capabilities that these guys possess.

The Amp X-Games spots are really amazing. Traditional 2D character-animation mixed with some digital sorcery: They summed it up nicely in this: “We’ve wanted to do a fully traditionally animated something for a while, and this was the perfect opportunity. Strong dynamic 2d characters against a deep, richly textured backdrop was the stylistic mantra. Mix in a dash of photographic elements, and live action textures and you’ve got yourself a nice little piece of animation. ” True that. And check out the case study on the spots. It’s great to see a studio be open about its process and give a backstage peek at the unfinished and unpolished bits as well as their final product. You can see the level of detail and love poured into all of the character design, animatics, sketches, etc. The background layout paintings are particularly gorgeous.

And Humans is still one of my favorite pieces of the last few years as well. Worth another look.