Pigeons...

They (BLEEP) like rabbits.

Happy Holidays

There's something to be said about a "studio growing up." The unified vision to produce something cool that will hopefully entertain many. We've had an incredible year of growing with new faces at HoC, trying out new ventures, and becoming a family that rely on one another. As any person who dreams of starting something fresh, I don't think RC and I could have ever imagined something as good as this... And this is just the beginning. We thank everyone who have supported HoC and wish nothing but the best to you and yours over the Holiday Season and in the upcoming year. We all know that if it wasn't for our clients, our friends and our family... our work/life/balance philosophy wouldn't be possible. I also wanted to personally thank everyone at House of Cool for seeing the Bigger Dream and joining us in our quest for achievement. I love you guys.

-Wes

This year has been the most successful year for HoC but how to we define success. Did we make more money? Yes, a lot more than our previous three years combined. Have we grown? Yes, we were 8 last year and we are now 25 and our client list is longer and more impressive than ever. Have we increased our profile in the marketplace? Yes, our success at Mipcom and the respect that we now have from industry people around the world has put HoC's brand in a happy place. These things alone make me very proud and if we were a typical business it would be enough. The thing is it's not enough for me or I expect, anyone else at the studio. Our goal is to create great content and build the best studio culture. I will be completely happy when we are in total control of our destiny. When we can pitch, develop and produce what we want. When we've decided what is 'cool' and we have the ability to make it happen. Lofty goals but well worth reaching for.

We've come a long way. This is the journal of a studio growing up and I believe that we have now moved from crawling to taking our first steps. Thanks to everyone at HoC, our clients and families for making this years such a great success. Can't wait for next year.

-Ricardo

HoC moustache contest

Today was a big day in the history of House of Cool; the finale of the HoC Moustache contest. After 4 weeks of grueling, itchy facial hair growth the manly men of the studio strutted their stuff, (literally) to win votes from the distinguished panel of judges, (thanks Katie, Christina and Alex). Many titles were handed out but in the end Saud stole the show after working the catwalk like seasoned pro. Perhaps there are some things we don't yet know about him?

faces.

Random sketchiness.

skin & velvet

Good people. Good food. Good ink

Just a few folks from around my neighborhood.

"Weekends"

Congrats to Trevor!

As a studio slaved to admiring artists work; we are always telling each other about different people's blogs, watching countless short films and independent productions, gawking at new creative insights... We get so inspired from talents around the world.
So when Trevor Jimenez, one of HoC's own, won an award at TIFF and at the Ottawa Animation Festival for the short film, Keylime Pie, we were ecstatic.
From all of us at House of Cool... CONGRATS Trev... you're doing some amazing stuff! Thanks for inspiring us!

New guy.

My name's Trev, and I'm one of the new guys at HOC.

Mipcom 07' - The 15 min. pitch

The dream to entertain the world begins with the 15 minute pitch. Knowing how hard the artists and production crew worked; the long hours, dedication and unified vision that we all want to create cool stuff... it boils down to 15 minutes with a distributor or broadcaster. "We gotta make this count." Mipcom is all about 15 minutes. In an arena where there are thousands of content providers, what is going to make your property stand out? For HoC, it's a unique story scope mixed with distinct characters and environments... but you better believe we practice our pitch to make the most of our 15. If you've got a great idea, you've got to have a great pitch.
Here's some pic's of RC and I in Cannes, France along with a poster of "The Dibble Show."
We can't thank the HoC crew enough for their talent and time.

Horny

Adapt

I was a guest speaker at the ADAPT conference on 2D/3D and visual FX conference a couple of weeks ago. On the panel along with me were Brad Booker from Reel FX, Andrew Jones from Massive Black, David Levy and Jesse (I forgot his last name). While we spoke about concept development we worked on this piece. It's nothing much but I thought I would share it with everyone.

Edgar...

HoC Island party pics!

Some pics from HoC's Toronto Island party. Good times!

This is Ian.
This is Ian at 10 am, working hard at being an intern .
He has proven himself to be a hard worker and an even harder drinker!
We would love to have him here forever, but we fear his liver will quit any day now.
In between his runs to the bathroom for prayer lessons, he has shown a strong aptitude for drawing.
He tends to slur his words together a lot so we have no idea what he's saying, but he has a smile on when he does and that's all that matters.
He's living the dream people!!!!

Evil Shek...

Evil Shek, Evil Shek
Does whatever an evil Shek does...

Oz

The kids were bugging me to draw the Wiz of Oz. I got a bit carried away.

BMW Driver Inspired

I was checking out some of the old BMW short films and got inspired so I did this piece . Also, it's hard for me to correctly place characters in cars and stuff, so it was a nice way to see how a person fits into a car.
This is a double post from my blog.

Burma...

Hiding from the sun.

A girl I noticed while waiting for the bus this mornig.

Why is he sitting on a bicycle-like seat in the air? Why is his hand and feet cut off? Who's he yelling at? Why is there a fly on his nose!? Too many questions!

This is what happens when you look away and let the pencil do the drawing.

Here's a sketch of some badass duo kickin' butt in some desert type country. There's no real rhyme or reason to the pic, just done spur of the moment and added some color because I have to start figuring color out!
Drew

Hi All,

My name is Drew and I thought I should start posting stuff on here. Here are a couple of sketch/drawings that I've done when I've had some time. Hope you like!
Drew

ING Commercial

As we expand as a company and venture into different fields of creative thinking, we have been lucky to work with some really talented people. Unfortunately most of our projects cannot be shown until they air but National Television was kind enough to allow us to show this commercial spot.

Here is an ING commercial we did with National Television. They did the live action and animation portion while we produced the designs and illustrations. Hope you enjoy.

Special thanks to: Brumby, Craig, LeUyen, Jake, Willie, Norm, and of course, Ricardo.

National Chris Cann's Day

House of Cool is fortunate to have the artists we have. Equally, we are also lucky to work with people outside our studio: The Freelancers. While we hope to grow and continue to hire new talents, from time to time we acquire freelance artists to help us meet our objectives.
Chris Cann, with his unique (and courageous) sense of fashion and charisma added great value to the HoC team... From the genius idea of Shawn Colbeck's National Chris Cann's Day, here are some pic's of the HoC peeps trying (however highly unsuccessful) to emulate Chris Cann's 2007 low V-neck ensemble.

Trip to South Mexico

Last week Kristen and I flew to Coatzacoalcos, Mexico for my friends wedding. After it was over, the family of the Bride took us through Chiapas, Tabasco, and Veracruz states. It was an amazing time and really beautiful country. I thought I should share some photos of some of places we visited. Hope you enjoy.