About TET & Animation and Video Life

TET a.k.a. The Extraordinary Tourist
a.k.a David Arandle

Introduction

Animation and Video Life began in 2008 as my own personal blog to document my animation projects.

Online I am known as TET or 'The Extraordinary Tourist'. My real name is 'David Arandle'. I'm a self represented artist, animator, video maker, and writer of amongst many other things. I'm currently based in Gawler, South Australia.

I run an online animation studio called Animation 4 Business, with a small team of animators who help me create animated explainer videos for clients worldwide.

As this blog has grown it has expanded into more of an online magazine. I still document my own projects but in between I write everything from animation tutorials, animation software reviews, to feature animators and more. Turning the site into a valuable resource for independent animators like myself.

My art and animation is primarily based around the fictional characters that I create through my drawing, painting and writing (and any other 'ings' you care to think of). With my traditional art I work primarily with Acrylics and Chalk pastels. For my digital art and animation I use a 21" Parblo Coast Pen Display Monitor, Clip Studio Paint, and Cartoon Animator.

Biography

Since completing my Diploma of Arts (Art and Design) in 1994 I have been a self represented artist, working professionally as a freelance artist, designer, and writer from 1995 to the present.

In 1997 I opened my own studio gallery in Perth, Western Australia from which I created and sold my original artworks. At the same time I registered my art and design business, Art Time Productions (http://www.arttimeproductions.com), through which you can commission an artwork, website design or logo design.

Entirely by chance, in 1999, my work started to sell online through various community forums that I participated in. Inspired by this I decided to exclusively sell my art through the internet.

In April of 1999 I adopted the online nickname 'The Extraordinary Tourist', taken from one of my own fictional character creations, to grab people's attention in online forums. Due to the name's length I became known as TET, a pseudonym with which I have signed all my paintings with since 2007 (Prior to that I used my real name, David Arandle).

From 1995 I worked primarily using acrylics overlaid with soft chalk pastels on canvas but switched exclusively to acrylics on canvas in 2007. I also dabble in digital art, mostly collages that include my own hand created artwork.

2001 I began selling my own original artworks through my website and Ebay (http://myworld.ebay.com.au/e_tourist/).

For a time I was most known for my whimsical, cat themed paintings, of which I painted more than 50 artworks, but have since branched out to other themes and characters.

My art is primarily based around the fictional characters that I create through my drawing, painting and writing (and any other 'ings' you care to think of).

My work has been bought by collectors all around my home country, Australia and world wide, in particular the USA.

Prints of my art can be bought through my Redbubble site (http://etourist.redbubble.com).

When I'm not creating art I write on a range of topics for The Extraordinary Tourist Life and produce videos that often feature my art and animation being created.

In July of 2008 I discovered Go!Animate (now known as Vyond) a site that allows users to create their own animations using pre-animated characters and backgrounds. This reignited my long forgotten interest in animation and I have since become one of that site's leading animators.

Exhibitions

2013, 'Horses, Cats and Other Things', Joint exhibition with horse artist, Ellen Steyn, The Gawler Community Gallery, Gawler, South Australia. (9 artworks)

2009, S.A.L.A. Exhibition, Solo show, August, 'Introducing The Extraordinary Tourist', The Gawler Community Gallery, Gawler, South Australia. (17 artworks)

2004-2005, 'Sleeping Cats', Online Exhibition, (9 artworks).

1997, Studio Gallery, East Perth, Western Australia

Awards and Prizes

2014 Reallusion Animation@Work Competition - Runner Up Best Video
http://forum.reallusion.com/Topic187362-361-1.aspx

2010 Go!Animate Creating for a Cause Competition - 1st Place
etourist - Save the Tiger, Super Rica & Rashy
http://goanimate.com/contest/past/8

2008 Go!Animate Site Launch Competition - Runner UP, Series Animation
etourist - The Bikini Proposal
http://goanimate.com/contest/past

Who's Talking About Me

2014, Reallusion TV, Featured Director
http://www.reallusion.com/reallusiontv/featuredstory/David_Arandle.aspx

2009, Go!Animate Blog, The Extraordinary Tourist by eTourist
http://blog.goanimate.com/2009/04/extraordinarytourist-by-etourist.html

2008, Hazel Dooney, Google-eyed.
http://hazeldooney.blogspot.com/2008/09/google-eyed.html

2008, Canvas and Pen, Spotlight Artist.
http://www.canvasandpen.com/spotlight-tet-the-extraordinary-tourist.html

2008, Free Wheely, Peugeot 607 Feline: Cat or Spaceship?.
http://freewheely.blog.com/3206985/

2008, Eric T. Francis, Untitled: I've been tagged.
http://erictfrancis.blogspot.com/2008/01/untitled-ive-been-tagged.html

2007, Pennlive, Tet ~ The Extraordinary Tourist.
http://blog.pennlive.com/iridescentartnews/2007/03/tet_the_extraordinary_tourist.html

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