Bones commissioned by Red Bull Music Academy to make a series of GIF portraits for Awful Records London show at St Johns Church in Hackney. It felt like such a special place and I really wanted to do it justice, being among these huge characters with huge hair and makeup and heels. “That has definitely been my favourite experience.
Her GIFs from NYC Downlow offer a vibrant snapshot of the event, with grainy close-ups of performers in sequins, glitter and colourful costumes. While GIFs are often considered a throwaway art form, Bones is one of a growing group of digital artists demonstrating how they can be used to create dynamic portraits of people, places and events. I’ve formed a couple of friendships with people who make GIFs in the states, and its nice to support each other and share advice.” Polly & Annie, performers at NYC Downlow Emma, a performer at NYC Downlow “It’s a really good way to connect with other creatives as well. She regularly posts new work on the platform and lat year, did an Instagram takeover for ad agency Mother London. Many of Bones’ commissions have come through Instagram. I can be really conceptual and push things out of the box by utilising different animation techniques.” I also like that I can use my fine art brain. “With GIFs, you see mine, and you know it’s by me, and that’s kind of exciting. “I do sometimes think that with, it can be a bit homogenised and hard to differentiate between people’s work,” she says. One of the things Bones finds most exciting about working with GIFs is the ability to create something distinctive. GIF promoting Annie Ryan’s production of The White Devil at the Globe theatre It’s nice to feel that I’m making,” she says.
I then need to work out how to integrate the hand-drawn animation to make it work as a whole piece. The rotoscope gifs require me to film a movement I think will loop well. The 3D GIFs are shot on film and once developed they need to be hand scanned and animated. Another technique involves looping movements shot with video and adding hand drawn elements frame by frame to create a smooth continuous animation. GIFs promoting Imogen, a play based on Shakespear’s Cymbeline, at the Globe theatreĬreating each 3D GIF is a time consuming process: Bones shoots on film then develops, hand scans and grades, retouches the images before creating the GIF animations. She shot 3D GIFs of rehearsals of Imogen (a production based on Shakespeare’s Cymbeline) and used hand drawn animation to make video GIFs promoting Annie Ryan’s production of The White Devil. White.Īlongside working with musicians and fashion brands, Bones has been doing some innovative work with the Globe, creating GIFs for their websites, newsletters and social media. Bones’ Charge the city GIF series for Nike Sportswear, made in collaboration with photographer Eric T. Online GIF library Giphy also gave Bones a dedicated artist page, which led to a commission for Converse’s Made by You campaign, followed by work for Red Bull Music Academy and fashion designer Liam Hodges.
The project led to commissions from music magazines Crack and The 405. After seeing her work, t he festival invited her back the following year to create GIF portraits of performing musicians. She created her first set of 3D portraits at In the Woods festival in 2013 using a pair of disposable cameras taped together. I spent a long time trying to figure out how did it and once I’d worked that out, how to own and make it my own ,” she says. She had previously been posting photographs on her blog, but says: “At the time, I didn’t feel very confident and GIFs felt like unchartered territory where I could make my own mark.” From a campaign for fashion brand Missguided featuring octogenarian Baddie Winkle “I just thought they were amazing, they really grabbed my attention. My degree show was a very large, portrait-based installation which, when I think about it now, was a little bit GIF-like,” she says. She began experimenting with 3D GIFs after seeing photographer Jaime Martinez‘s animated portraits of musician M.I.A. She has also worked on projects for Nike, Rimmel, ASOS and the Globe theatre.īones studied fine art and sculpture at Wimbledon College of Art. She has created GIF portraits of performers at Glastonbury’s gay nightclub NYC Downlow and a GIF campaign for fashion brand Missguided featuring 88-year-old fashion icon Baddie Winkle. Photographs shot on film are transformed into animated portraits and looping GIFs with hand-drawn elements. Kate Bones combines digital and analogue techniques to brilliant effect.
Bones was commissioned by the club’s designers Block9 and GIFs were published by Hunger magazine One of a series of portraits of performers at Glastonbury nightclub NYC Downlow.