Blog & News

In addition to being an accomplished storyboard artist, Famous Frames artist Al Evicmen also carries the title of ‘Legendary Palm Cartoonist’.

As stated on The Palm’s website: “The Palm’s legendary tradition of caricatures originated in 1920s New York, when some of its first patrons – talented cartoonists from the nearby King Features Syndicate – virtually paid for their supper in original art on the walls of The Palm’s first restaurant; then a speakeasy. These artists would draw lively scenes of the restaurant’s clientele – neighbors, family as well as celebrity patrons – that came to be known as the hieroglyphics of New York City life at the time.”

Al began working as the resident caricaturist at New York City’s The Palm Too in 1974. His work continues to adorn the Palm’s walls to this day.

Al and Nas with Al's drawing of Nas on the wall behind them. 

Among the stars on the wall are Famous Frames' very own agent Scott Stein and family. 

For more on the history of The Palm's caricatures visit thepalm.com.

The long time running hit fashion show made a debut of integrating women and video games into one of this season’s episodes. To make this happen their team reached out to our very own women owned company to fulfill their artist needs. We were excited to have the opportunity to share some of our great talent for on air cameos and off air executions of designs, shown to the contestants later on in the show.

The episode starts with the likeness of Karlie Kloss done by Victor Gatmaitan. As we watch we are introduced to some of the top women in video games as they guide the contestants to create their own characters to be judged on the runway.

Our artists were asked to sketch ideas with the talent and finish them in color. Stefania Gallico & Maria Chou were featured on the show and off air executing the drawings for the finale.

Lanny Markasky helped from the sidelines with additional fashion executions as well as more work from Victor.

The art was integrated throughout the show and introduced each style as they took the runway, taking the episode to a more diverse level of creativity integrating fashion, video games and illustration. 

Famous Frames is happy to support our clients and artists with a message of inclusivity. Here is some work we have done for brand’s Pride and LGBTQ support.

Advertising is one significant way for companies to communicate their values. Companies like Ben & Jerry’s, Oreo, & Starbucks are among the businesses that have featured same-sex couples in their advertising.

(Fun Fact) Ikea was the first brand to feature a same sex couple in this 1994 spot:

According to Ad Age: “Last August, Hornet and Kantar published a study that revealed the LGBTQ+ market has expanded to a total buying power of more than $1 trillion. It’s the fastest-growing demographic in the U.S. right now, with an estimated 13% of Americans identifying as LGBTQ+. The explosive growth in this population is being driven by younger generations, with 20% of millennials and a staggering 31% of centennials comprising the community. And it just so happens that these are the generations that care the most about purpose-led brands and can easily sniff out those who are only in it to profit.”

Micah Brenner captured the spirit in these shooting boards for The CW’s “Batwoman,” which stars Ruby Rose as TV’s first LGBTQ superhero:

The Night King by Robert Kalafut

It may be the middle of April, but WINTER IS OFFICIALLY BACK!

Sunday's Season 8 premiere brought with it some major excitement!

"It was the TV fan's Super Bowl on Twitter." That's how Twitter VP of U.S. client solutions Jean-Philippe Maheu referred to the return of Game of Thrones on Sunday. The premiere of the show's eighth and final season was the most-tweeted-about episode of the show ever, with more than 5 million tweets. 

"That is roughly 10 times what the most-tweeted show usually gets," said Mahue. 

Naturally, brands are out in full force pushing every potential link, and who can blame them? The show's Season 7 finale attracted over 16 million viewers. That's more than the population of New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles combined.

Not wanting to miss out on all the hoopla, Famous Frames is sharing some of our brand tie-ins along with some good ole-fashinoed fan art!

Khal Drogo by Robert Kalafut

One of the most notable tie-ins was with Johnnie Walker for their special White Walker blend. Shown below are shootingboards by Jarid Boyce. Check out the finished commercial HERE.

Additionally for Johnnie Walker is this key art by Jasper Yu. 

Next we have some concept frames done by Jeremiah Wallis for a Game of Thrones video game. 

Here, artist Polina Hristova shows three stages of progression of this Jon Snow likeness. 

Lastly, Denice Au drew these awesome GOT icons for an mobile app game. 

Famous Frames has been proud to be a part of the Game of Thrones journey throughout all 8 seasons, and we cant wait to see who will wind up on the Iron Throne. 

For Women’s International Day, March 8^th, Famous Frames Inc, Grainey Pictures and Action Against Hunger teamed up to share with you a story about Hawa, a tribeswoman that has made a difference in the fight against hunger.

Famous Frames, a woman owned talent agency still going strong after 30 years, and Grainey Pictures, a directing sibling team known for their humanitarian outreach, came together to collaborate on a call to action video. The Directors of this project, Megan and Colin, with their award-winning documentary skills, made this particular project a cause we could enthusiastically get behind.

Action Against Hunger is a global humanitarian organization that takes decisive action against the causes and effects of hunger. When it comes to tackling hunger, particularly at the community level, women are among our strongest allies. This is why they choose to get the word out on March 8^th, International Woman’s Day. And why they choose women to spearhead this message.

Our beginnings on this project started with finding the right artist. This candidate, had to be a woman that could collaborate, create and execute beyond just drawing. There was no better choice than Renee Reeser-Zelnick. Renee is a seasoned, skilled talent in the creative world. She’s a visionary, taking an initial idea to higher levels on any job she takes on. She was the woman needed to make this project happen.

Tara Aarons, (Famous Frames’ VP) got right to work putting this team together. As another visual artist with years of film production behind her, she jumped to ‘greeking’ markers and sitting in on production meetings to establish the needed shots. The question was; how do we tell a long story in a short time while getting the poignant action across?  The answer was to incorporate a whiteboard style with live action. This video needed to inform and generate donations to the woman that need it most.

The day of the shoot was awesome. We connected with the team at AAH and locked in the right set up. Renee even had her own personal eraser assistant! With days of prep behind us, we got to see the ideas come to life, and hours before Women’s International Day, the video went live.

Thank you AAH, & Grainey Pictures for making us part of a wonderful project we can be proud of.

A spoon full of sugar (and some help from Famous Frames) helps the medicine go down!

Often when we hear medical jargon, the majority of us glaze right over. Famous Frames medical and pharmaceutical illustrators are professional artists that collaborate with clients to translate complex information into imagery suited for broad audiences. For medications, hospital care, diet products, skin treatments and much more, our artists employ a variety of techniques to communicate a clear and concise message. 

For instance, in this piece by Micah Ganske, we can see that combined elements of photo composition, 3D rendering and graphics to create a clear picture of what might otherwise be an incredibly complex description of a medical technique:

Medical illustrators are visual problem solvers. Their contributions are vital in developmental stages of Medical and Pharmaceutical advertising. From simple imagery like this doctor at work by Alex Lanier: 

Or these images from Nick Randall showing a variety of patient care in a hospital:

To more specific and technical images, like this rendering of a body in motion by Lidat Truong: 

The growing need for patients to better understand the state of their health and their medical options is expanding the production of medical information aimed at the public. Advances in graphic and imaging technology are making it easier for clients to relay to consumers what was once abstract, tough to grasp information.

In addition to still imagery, the Famous Frames animatic studio can bring your spot to life with the help of animation and sound. Animatics and Boardomatics can be used by directors to perfect scenes or campaigns before production. Creating an Animatic or Boardomatic can help prevent errors in the stages of production and post production. For more information or to hire an animatics artist please contact Famous Frames.

Famous Frames artists handle a variety of art services for productions: promos for photo shoots, key art, on air marketing as well as live events. These services can be used to estimate time and cost of a production, and ultimately bring the vision to life.  Using the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards as a case study we can explore the work that Famous Frames artists have provided to help these shows bring home the Gold.

Famous Frames storyboard artists Sean Chen, Drew Pierce, Robert Kalafut, Eddy Mayer, Lidat Troung, and Wes Louie, partnered with RPA and the Imaginary Friend Society to bring to life a cast of characters inspired by the imaginations of kids themselves. Through a series of 20 animated short films, our imaginary friends explain a wide range of complicated cancer topics in a way that kids can understand. Because the more they understand about their treatment, the less scary it will be.

Normy and Unie were brought to life with the help of FF Artist Drew Pierce

Sean Chen shows us that Robots Rock, and so do you!

Robert Kalafut draws Chopp and Cheetah

Renditions of Tipper and Princess Lulu, by Eddy Mayer

Lidat Truong illustrates the Power Puncher and Samson

Imaginary Friends Tuna and Jackson, illustrated by Wes Louie

Click Here to read more about the campain on Adweek.

For more info or to watch the films, please visit:

imaginaryfriendsociety.com

Pediatric Brian Tumor Foundation

Head over to our FAMOUS WORK section to see the work Famous Frames did for this year's Super Bowl!

Lexus: Black Panther 'Long Live The King'
Artist: Eddy Mayer

Pepsi Generations: This is Pepsi
Artist: Angus Cameron

Avocados From Mexico: #GuacWorld 
Artist: David Larks


Pringles: Wow 
Artist: Al Frank

DiGiorno: Long Way Home 
Artist: Robert Kalafut

T-Mobile: #Little Ones 
Artist: Kai Simons

Winter Olympics: Best of U.S. I Chloe Kim
Artist: Anuj Shrestha


Persil ProClean: Game-Time Stain-Time
Artist: Jonathan Woods
 

Famous Frames would like to congratulate all of the talented artists who were honored at the 22nd Annual Art Directors Guild Awards.

The awards took place before an audience of more than 1,000, including guild members, industry executives and press. ADG President NELSON COATES and Art Directors Council Chair MARK WORTHINGTON presided over the awards ceremony with comedian JOHNATHAN FERNANDEZ serving as host. Returning again as producers of this year's ADG Awards (#ADGawards) were Production Designers THOMAS A. WALSH, ADG, and THOMAS WILKINS, ADG. The guild debuted its new award category Excellence in Production Design for an Animated Film and Pixar’s Coco was the first recipient of this award.

Full list of winners below.

Fantasy Feature Film
Blade Runner 2049 — Dennis Gassner

Period Feature Film
The Shape of Water — Paul Denham Austerberry

Contemporary Feature Film
Logan — François Audouy
Animated Feature Film
Coco — Harley Jessup

One-Hour Period or Fantasy Single-Camera Series
Game of Thrones (HBO): “Dragonstone,” “The Queen`s Justice,” “Eastwatch” — Deborah Riley 

One-Hour Contemporary Single-Camera Series
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu): “Pilot, Offred,” “Birth Day,” “Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum” — Julie Berghoff
Television Movie or Limited Series
Black Mirror (Netflix): “USS Callister” — Joel Collins
Half-Hour Single-Camera Series
GLOW (Netflix): “Pilot,” “The Wrath of Kuntar,” “The Dusty Spur” — Todd Fjelsted
Multi-Camera Series
Will & Grace (NBC): “Eleven Years Later,” “A Gay Olde Christmas” — Glenda Rovello
Variety or Competition Series/Awards or Event Special
Portlandia (IFC): “Portland Secedes,” “Ants,” “Fred`s Cell Phone Company” — Schuyler Telleen
Short Format: Web Series, Music Video or Commercial
Star Wars Battlefront II: “Rivalry / PS4” — Jason Edmonds

Oscar-winning Production Designer RICK CARTER (Avatar, StarWars: The Force Awakens) presented KATHLEEN KENNEDY (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Jurassic Park, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial) with the prestigious Cinematic Imagery Award following a filmed salute to the eight-time Academy Award®-Nominee and President of Lucasfilm. The William Cameron Menzies Award honored Disney’s Oscar®-nominated animation filmmakers RON CLEMENTS and JOHN MUSKER (Moana, Hercules, Aladdin) and was presented by ANIKA NONI ROSE (Dreamgirls, The Princess and The Frog), who thrilled the audience with her vocal performance of The Little Mermaid’s “Part of Your World.” A special Leadership Award was bestowed upon International IATSE President MATTHEW D. LOEB by ADG Executive Director CHUCK PARKER. 

Fall is beautiful, and it’s a season well represented in the commercial arts. It brings a visible change to the world around us. From the colorful weather to the food we eat, the clothes we wear and of course, the celebrations. Throughout Famous Frames’ long history, our artists have created so many pieces that truly capture the magic of November. Join us as we take a look at some of the highlights.
 

Fall Fashion
While we may miss the summer sun, it's nice to cozy up in jackets, boots and scarves. Check out this glam gal by Nob Yamashita.

The Changing of the Seasons
Oh, the magic of the autumn leaves!  Poets have written about it, singers have sung of it, and Kensuke Okabayashi has drawn this enchanting image.

Presidential Election
The United States Presidential election occurs every four years on the first Tuesday of November. Last year, Fred Fassberger threw this one into the ballot box. 

Holiday Reveals
From Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa to Michelangelo's The Last Judgement, art has a long and storied history in relation to controversy. In modern times, we've been witness to a new art-controversy... Commerce and coffee!

Starbucks has been producing new holdiay cups for the past 20 years. Some have come and gone with little commotion,  while others have drawn the ire of conservatives for what has been seen as a secular design scheme that fails to properly represent Christmas. Below we can see a past holiday cup design drawn by Robert Kalafut.

Black Friday
Since 1952, the day following Thanksgiving has been regarded as the beginning of the country's holiday shopping season. In this photo frame by Peter Vu, we see a mall with shoppers hoping to take advantage of some Black Friday deals. 

Thanksgiving!
Of course, no November tribute would be complete without proper Thanksgiving coverage. On this day we celebrate family, friends, food, football, spirits... did I mention food? Here's a look at some Thanksgiving work our artists have done over the years. 

Alex Lanier

Barcelona Boys

Merle Keller

Renee Reeser

Shari Wickstrom
 

Famous Frames artists work on Storyboards for countless commercials, but we also offer outside-the-box services like Experiential and Whiteboarding.  

ExxonMobil’s new campaign shows how clean energy is created by capturing carbon dioxide molecules from a power plant’s emissions before they reach the atmosphere while also generating power.

Easy to understand right? ...We didn't think so either! That's why ExxonMobil Scientist Tim Barckholtz and Famous Frames worked together on this campaign to show what's really happening:

Vinny Dellay worked closely with director Christian Webber to create the shootingboards for the spot:

While artist Vinny was tasked with creating the storyboards, Evan Yarbrough's art (and hand!) was featured in the actual spot itself in the whiteboard illustrations:

And finally, a behind-the-scenes look with Evan at what went into creating the whiteboarding featured in the spot:

To see more of how Famous Frames can help elevate campaigns in ways that are outside of the box, check out these categories:  

Experiential  

Whiteboarding

Animation

Have you ever wondered if your city has disturbing hidden secrets from the past?

What if those things were still going on right now as we speak?

What if you were confronted with the truth and had no choice but to face it or die?

Famous Frames artist Alex Lanier has released The Hidden Dimensions, a graphic novel which seeks to have those questions answered.

Written and illustrated by Alex himself, this sensational story is the first book of a trilogy about government greed to the max and how it horribly backfires. Journey along with a hilarious and fun-loving family as they discover this government secret which is deeply embedded in their quiet City of Little Hill. What they see next can only be described as hidden pandemonium! 

CLICK HERE to see more of Alex Lanier's art, or CONTACT US to work with this visionary artist on your next project!

The much anticipated arrival of Destiny 2 finally came today, September 6, 2017, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with a Microsoft Windows version scheduled for release on October 24. Destiny 2 is an online-only multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Activision.

Famous Frames artists Micah Brenner and Shane Carrington spent several months at Bungie Studios in Seattle working with Bungie’s team. Micah, who also worked on the first Destiny game, said, "Bungie's cinematics team was amazing to work with – the Destiny franchise has some of the greatest art and artists around, and I'm proud I got to contribute.”

A sequence of Micah Brenner's storyboards of cinematics from the game.

Shane Carrington's storyboards of one of the lead characters, Cayde-6, taking on a big baddie. Of his work on Destiny 2, he said, “It was exciting to work on a massive gaming franchise that so many people enjoy.”

Destiny 2 features the same three character classes of the original Destiny; which Micah also worked on along with fellow Famous Frames artist, Drew Pierce. 

Drew Pierce's storyboards of an Exo in action.

Creating the boards for Destiny was extra fun for these artists because each class has their own specific upgrades, perks, special abilities, and two sub-classes that allow players to finely tune their individual characters to provide a different style. After choosing a class, players select one of three species for their character: Human, Awoken or Exo. There is a unique artistic aspect as players involved can then customize their character, opting to change gender or skin color. A character's species is only cosmetic and does not affect gameplay. 

A sequence of Micah Brenner's storyboards, featured in the "Official Gameplay Reveal" trailer.

In addition to storyboarding Destiny 2, Famous Frames artists have a rich history creating key art and promotions for a variety of video games. Jeremiah Wallis worked on to promotions for Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege, Lidat Troung has worked on several games, most recently Call of Duty. Charles Ratteray has worked on Concept Art for Assassin's Creed, and recently Amazon.com's game version of the film Dunkirk. Click an image below to see more!

To see more stunning video game art our artists have worked on, click here.

To inquire about your next storyboard or animatic project,
you can reach us 24/7 by phone, or by email:

LA  310.642.2721 
NY  212.980.7979
project@famousframes.com

Famous Frames artist Charles Ratteray teamed up with Amazon.com and the film Dunkirk to create a unique action-adventure game. For Destination: Dunkirk, an Amazon Alexa Skill, Charles was tasked with creating the art for 3 different immersive stories: Infantryman, Tank Commander, and RAF Pilot. In the game, you get to play a “Tommy,” a British soldier, during the Battle of France.

Charles says, "The project was super exciting to engage with. I thoroughly enjoyed designing action setups for the game, fashioning characters and WW2 tanks and aircraft to exist within the scenes."

"Several rounds of thumbnails were done to create strong, illustrative jump points for the final layered artwork..."

"...All the panels were layered for simple animations: foreground, middleground, and background. The final product Amazon created for the Dunkirk games was amazing!"

Click Here to play the game and check out more of Charles Ratteray's amazing art from Destination: Dunkirk.