devils - Studio 1482 Illustration

As many of you know, I designed and illustrated the animated commercial for the 2014 NHL Stadium Series. Yesterday I was fortunate enough to witness the action first-hand. I thought it would be great to draw from the actual event…so I did. I have to say it wasn’t the easiest event to capture, with temperatures in the low 20s to high teens, my hands didn’t always do what I had ‘instructed’ them to do (I think they were partially frozen). But all in all I’m happy with the small reportage that came out of the day. There were more than 50,000 fans in attendance and with the absurd amount of clothes they were wearing, it was packed tight in that stadium. And I’m happy to report, the cold did not temper the ‘creative’ language common to most hockey fans. And with the added tension of the NJ Devils hosting the NY Rangers, in New York, the love affair between the two states was on display, constantly!

It was a GREAT event, and thank you to Let’s Talk Tickets for getting me great seats.

There is another game Wednesday evening at Yankee Stadium and for those of you in the mid-west, the final game of the Stadium Series will take place in Chicago on March 1. I highly recommend it.

Stadium Series at Yankee Stadium | Greg Betza

Happy New Year everyone! I couldn’t be more excited to share my latest commission with you…an animation for the inaugural games of the National Hockey League’s Stadium Series! It will air for the first time on New Year’s Day during the Winter Classic on NBC.

From the time I became interested in illustration as a career I have wanted to work in film and motion. I used to experiment with video and animation and I’ve worked as a storyboard artist and concept designer, but I had yet to put my stamp on a project until this opportunity came my way late last year.

When I received the call from NBC Sports naturally I was excited, but when I found out it was for ice hockey, I could not believe it. I have been a life long fan of hockey…I even play (street hockey) every Sunday.

I’d like to thank Lorin and Lindsay and the whole team at NBC Sports for having the creative vision to do something DIFFERENT on national television, and for allowing the creative vision to come to life. I would also like to thank the members of Studio 1482 for their support, and fellow Studio 1482 member Despina Georgiadis for her brilliant work with the art direction and storyboards.

Last but not least, a special thanks to J.J. Sedelmaier, who worked as the animator on the project. His professionalism, experience, and sense of humor made the process seamless and enjoyable from the first frame to the last.

Below are some shots of the process and the animation. You can also view the animation on YouTube and Vimeo.