Benjamin Mitchley

Benjamin Mitchley is a South African fine artist, born on 1 Jan 1967 in the Free State. He studied fine arts from 1985 to 1987 at the Vaal University of Technology and Tshwane University of Technology. 

As a full-time fine artist, scenic artist, illustrator, 2D digital animator and augmented reality artist, he consults and presents workshops on 2D animation and Artivive augmented reality. He does commissions and collaborates with artists by animating their artworks for the Artivive App.

He had his first international art exhibition in Germany in 2005 and 2006.
From 2004 to 2016 he furthered his scenic experience while working in Dubai on the IBN Battuta shopping mall, a sculpture project for the Dubai Municipality horse museum and mural work at the Dubai IMG Worlds of Adventure indoor theme park. 

In South Africa, he worked on a scenic project during the first phase of Monte Casino's East-End Teatro and scenic mural projects for television with Brian Rolfe.

Since 2010, as a self-taught animator, he created a short animated film for a SABC documentary and animation collaboration for corporation info-graphic projects. In 2013 he received a first-place award in a medical animation competition for the Iheed institute.

Technology plays an integral part in his creative process. Augmented reality has made it able to showcase his animation alongside his artwork. In 2019, the introduction of the Artivive app allowed the viewer to use a smartphone or tablet to see these animated artworks come to life. 

This medium has taken him on a new journey with exhibition collaborations with the Artivive company. 

The first exhibition was held at the Venesia Hotel during the Miami Art Basil in December 2021. 

He also participated in the 5th Ranetas VR Fest in Alcaniz, Spain, in 2019. 

In 2020 he received a place as one of the top 10 artists in the Artivive UN Peace Poster International Competition. 

In 2021 and 2022 he was a participant and animation AR consultant at The Junction's Window Wonderland Augmented Reality event in Toronto, Canada. 

In 2022 a selection of his Artivive artworks formed part of the 'Art + AR = New Experience' Artivive exhibition, hosted by Sunshine Studios in Korea.  

With a pencil, I draw onto the canvas an outline of the artwork I want to produce. I start filling the canvas with paint medium until all areas of the canvas are completely covered. Once dry, I continue to add transparent layers of paint medium until I've achieved the desired colour, hue and detail. Once the painting is completely dry, it will be sealed for added protection. Reference images used for my paintings are from photographs taken in my surroundings. 

I create my digital artwork using design and illustration software such as Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, Clip Studio Paint EX, Krita and Artrage. I create with an interactive touchscreen monitor and digital pen which mimics the feeling of creating traditional artwork, whether it be drawing or painting. I consider the digital creative process similar to that of traditional media. 

I create my animation using a variety of digital animation software. Moho Pro is my preferred animation software. Depending on the animation project, I alternate between software like Toon Boom Harmony, Clip Studio Paint EX, Krita and Open Toonz. With Moho Pro I mainly create using a digital 2D cut-out style combined with bones and triangulated 2D meshes. Using photo editing software, I digitally created layers from the photograph. These layers comprised of each moving part in the animation as well as masked areas like props on a stage that the actors can move or hide behind. The background image becomes the backdrop. The cut-out areas in a scanned artwork or photograph are edited and filled with cloned areas of the image to match the proximity surrounding the cut-out areas. Once the layers are ready, they are imported into the animation software. The moving parts are rigged with bones or deform meshes depending on the desired effect. Whether it be a head turn, a bending motion or one layer switching to the next, animating bones, or transforming mesh points along the animation timeline would create a keyframe to freeze or capture a pose or movement. It's a timely process with rewarding results. Sound effects are added to match the actions and style of the animation. Once completed, the animation video is exported. To create the augmented reality, the rendered animation video is uploaded to the project on the Artivive Bridge website. Once processed, the animation video will trigger on the Artivive App when viewing the artwork, photograph or a printed image with a smart device.

The Artivive App has allowed me to upload and link an animation to my artwork or create visual depth perception in front of the artwork with animated or static digital elements. An image of the artwork uploaded to Artivive Bridge becomes the fingerprint or QR code which the Artivive App will recognise to trigger the augmented reality when the App is held in front of the artwork.

The animation video or digital image elements are uploaded along with the target image (artwork) to Artivive Bridge. Here I can manipulate the size, shape, distance and transparency of the uploaded files in the 3D/Pro workspace. Once the project is processed, it is automatically linked to the Artivive App. Once the Artivive App is downloaded to a smartphone or tablet and held in front of the artwork, the Augmented Reality becomes visible. 

Awards and Competitions
2012 Vuleka competition, SA Art Times Merit Award. 

2013 Iheed Animation 1st place Award.

2020 Artivive Top 10 UN Peace Poster International Competition.