We can all draw. Really. We can.
When we start out in life, drawing is just one of those things we can do.
We don’t even need to be taught. It’s not like reading and writing.
It’s just a thing most kids innately do.
​Pick up a pencil, a crayon, a texta and off you go.

And there are massive benefits to drawing.
 
It helps explain the world. It helps you figure things out.
It helps with creativity and individuality and imagination.
Drawing helps you to problem solve, to find new ways of doing things.
It forces you to challenge yourself, to realise that mistakes are part of the process and often, the mistakes are just opportunities you hadn’t thought of.
 
Drawing helps to notice the world around us. Both big and small.
The detail and the essence.
​It can literally give us perspective.
 
And it’s relaxing.
We all know the massive popularity of adult colouring-in books.
They tap into that mindfulness, that stress-release, that big breath out.
 
So draw. A picture. An idea. An apple.
 
Because you can.
 

Occupational Health and Safety (or, if you’d prefer, WHS--Workplace Health and Safety) are the regulations, laws and compliance codes that detail the responsibility of workers and employers to ensure safety is maintained at work.

Each business or industry will have its own risk to identify.

The OHS overview for a construction site will be different from that of a hospital.
A pharmacy will have different risks than a school.

OHS is part of an employer's duty of care, and it’s obviously super important.
​We all deserve to get home safely.
​
But what's the best way to make sure your team know how to stay safe?

Making your physical work environment safe is your business. 
Helping with the information and instruction, and getting the message across—well, that’s ours.

It’s not enough to just have OHS guidelines, they have to be clear and easily understood by everyone, regardless of age, background, or language.
And that’s where we can help.

The beauty of a sketch video is that we can take complex or dry information and make it easily understood, in a language and style that your employers will respond to. We can craft words and pictures for you that will help create a safer workplace.

Whether it's for an induction process, or part of regular ongoing training.
Perhaps you need to alert your workers about new legislation that affects your industry, or there’s been an accident and you want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

You need to make sure that this important OHS information is understood and absorbed.
​
Draw everyone a clear picture. Sketch it out.

​Talk to us. We'd love to help.

The weather is heating up.
Christmas displays are everywhere and people are starting to ask,
​“What are you doing for the holidays?”… but you’re still working.
So make it count.

What have you done this year that deserves to be celebrated? To be shared?
 
Have you had a bumper sales year? Introduced new products?
Found new motivation and reasons to do what you do?
​Won awards? Changed peoples lives? 

Don’t keep your successes to yourself.
Your clients, your employees, they want to know.
So celebrate and share the good times.
 
We recommend you do it with a Sketch Video. It’s almost as good as champagne.
 
A Sketch Video that says “We’re so proud of what we’ve achieved in 2016”
or maybe “We’ve made a difference in the way people think about this issue”.  
A Sketch Video that shares your vision and says
“This is a different way of working and we’ve championed it and made it our own”
or one that simply says “Thankyou for your continued support”.
 
Sketch it out. And then share it.
There’s still time to make the most out of 2016.

At Sketch Videos everything starts with a Sketch.
It's how we think, how we explain, how we explore.
But that Sketch can lead us to so many places...
​we also do animation, and in this post, we talk to our fabulous animator Julia and sketch out some details about how she works

Julia, what's sketchy about animation?
​
There is always sketching at the initial stage of any animation.
Character design, thumbnail drawings, and storyboard drafts all require sketching of some kind.
I think drawing is the best (only?!) way to get visual ideas down on the page, to play with ideas and to block out a good story line.

What would you say are the main benefits of animation?
 
Animation can be super handy when you simply can’t make your ‘amazing’ idea into a live action video. Perhaps you wanted to show a giant orange squashing a building and then bouncing into a lake, and then you wanted to make it into an orange island with lots of little orange people dancing all over it… Well, you might want to animate that. It still won’t be easy but it’s possible.
 
The types of characters and the worlds they live in is totally up to your imagination, and you are not restricted by the silly rules of real life when you are making it all up in your own head and turning it into an animation. The possibilities are endless, which can be great, but also a bit daunting at times.
You might need to reign in those crazy ideas if they get too out of hand. It could get expensive as well.
 
For marketing purposes, animation is very useful when making things like Explainer videos and creating Infographics. Using animated text, characters, icons and other visuals, provides a fun viewing experience and can create a lasting impression when delivering what can sometimes be fairly dry information and data. Even if there is no video footage to speak of, we can make it up with drawings, graphics, stills, text and then put it all in the animation pot, stir it a few times, and out comes a smokin’ video. Voila!
 
The other great thing about using animation in Explainer videos is that you can communicate things that are sometimes near impossible to explain. The ability to layer up information in a fun way and make it more digestible is a definite plus.

And finally, how would you describe your animation style?
 
My animation style varies. It depends on the type of illustrations I am provided (by a client) or myself and the medium in which I work. (ie. cell animation (drawn), stop motion (3D), 2D Graphics in After FX…
 
I mostly work in 2D computer land, but have experience in drawn animation and even more in stop motion animation.
 
For me, I like things to be timed out to music & (secretly) choreographed.
Music is so important to the rhythm and pace of each piece. It really does set the tone.
 
There also needs to be an element of humour in it for me.
I mean, with animation you have the chance to be silly, which is important.
So don’t waste that opportunity.
 
I think what I like best is simple character design, economy of movement, with a great sound track.