You're not gonna hear about this one unless you know some CG geeks, chances are you may well know someone fitting that description, but they're largely subterranean and generally don't like bright lights and conversation and stuff. Blur Studios have a new short in the making. Oh mama!

Pretty much anything that comes out of Blur Studios makes me go weak at the knees. Rock Fish was stunning, intriguing and utterly loveable, and In the rough made me chuckle with glee massively. That's not to mention the reem of other excellent work they've knocked up for games and theme parks and the likes. In their shorts, they have an unparalleled ability to evoke such immense emotion with their visuals, and the simplicity with which they storytell is truly endearing.

A new short is on the horizon from these pioneers of imagery. "Gentleman’s Duel" looks to be a slight departure from the typical Blur trademark look, but easily as beautiful as anything they've conjoured up before. It's the first short amongst their arsenal of award winning animations in which the characters have speaking parts of any real significance. The film is about, well, two gentlemen erm, duelling.

"To vie for the affections of a wealthy woman, a Frenchman named Dubois and an Englishman named Weatherby fight a duel with two peculiar weapons: steam-powered mechs. Dubois, the Frenchman, is large, pompous, with a giant bloated chest and the air of being high society even though he might not be. Weatherby, the thin, high-strung Englishman, has bags under his eyes as if something troubling him has made him tired. The viewer has no idea what weapons they’ve chosen until they take their paces at the beginning of the duel. “Instead of turning to fire,” Fowler says, “they run off into the forest.” The ground shakes. Trees rustle. When they walk out of the forest, they’re inside 10-foot tall steam-powered mechs."

Oh yes!

While I eagerly await a chance to see this short, I feel vaguely satisfied buy the stills we're treated to in the meantime. I need to point out here that the Image rights obviously belong to Blur Studios, who's site you can find many other goodies on over HERE

Click the Image above to view a gallery

Enjoy!