MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

*FINAL* - Finally!

"My Paper Mind" by Javan Ivey

I saw this video a while back and it just floored me. It is an experimental animated short in a technique being called "stratastencil" devised by Javan Ivey. Each frame is one piece of 4x6 card stock. To view how it was done, you can visit his website here.

PENGUIN WINS!!!

Final Touches

So I got another awesome E-Critique this week!!! It really got me pumped! So I spent all evening Monday night in the studio. This is what I have been working all year for, this scene in particular. At the beginning of the year, I had no idea what this scene was going to be, but I knew I had to make it great. It's almost there:



These last few weeks I have logged so many hours in the studio. This is all I have been doing and it shows.

Week 10 - DONE!

I was finally able to get the GUI picker working on Bishop so I could do the lip sync. Without it it would have taken a lot longer. The lip sync is now done for both guys. Take a look:

If you notice in the beginning, Brussels is "breathing." I think it looks cool. I also noticed that around f119, Bishop's mug intersects the bar. I WILL fix it.

Here's the latest so far...

GO! GO! GO!

Talk about getting that surge of animation motivation and just running with it. I have been here in the studio ALL NIGHT!! In the word of Rhino the hamster from Bolt, "I FEEL ALIVE!!!"

I got a great e-Critique from my mentor, Dana, and it really boosted my confidence with this scene. She liked the changes I made and everything was looking really good so far. She gave me a great idea for Bishop's reaction after being shrugged off. She was afraid I would not get what she was trying to say, but I understood perfectly. I just hope I nailed it in the scene.

Well, take a look:



When Bishop gets pushed back, I also added a little bit of a stumble. I had a heck of a time getting his left hand to do exactly what I wanted it to do. I also made Brussels turn away a bit after he says, "SHUT UP!" I tried to make it seem like he really did not want to hear anything Bishop had to say about the subject. I think I will move his line of sight a little more screen right. It will seem like he is almost pouting.

I am really jazzed about this scene right now. There's nothing like great words of encouragement to light a fire under your butt.

Just For Fun...

So I know where to find these clips anytime I want:

Week 9 Splining

Tis the end of week 9 here at Animation Mentor. I took care of the camera angles and pans and hopefully that is done. I focused mainly on the body mechanics this time around. I smoothed out the arcs with the hand motions and added a bit more of a stumble for Bishop at the end. I also added a cheesey "eye-roll-then-look-at-camera" move. I know it's cheesey, but my mentor suggested something like that in my last e-critique. SO I did it. We'll see what she has to say come Monday.

In week 10, I will focus now on the lip sync, facial expressions, and hand/finger controls. I blocked out a bit of the lip sync in the beginning ("They were brave men, Voltan.""SHUT UP!"). Now it is time for the rest of the scene. I will go through blocking first. Or should I go straight to spline? Ok, I'll block it out first then later this week spline everything out. I also need to work on the hands and add some movement to the fingers. In some spots they need to be closer together. In other, they need to be spread apart. In Bishop's case (guy on the left), his left hand needs to grip the mug as he is stumbling back. I also need to add in more brow and eye expressions. I feel I need to change up Bishop's expression during the line "With respect...not be forgotten." I also need to tweak his hand gestures in that spot as well. Someting about it just does not feel right.

But for now, I rest.