Not too sure how I feel about this. It seems like Disney is taking a step backwards with traditional hand drawn animation. Instead of going for something new and daring, they're going for something that already seemed to have worked before.
I've been reading a lot of different comments about this new trailer. Most of it negative. Yes, it is nice to see Winnie the Pooh back up on the big screen for a whole new generation. But, THIS is the best the Disney company can produce?! I know John Lassetter has been pushing for a resurgence of hand drawn animation at Disney. I'm all for it. But instead of going for something new, they go with something old. The Princess and the Frog is a great and beautiful movie. The new CG movie Tangled looks amazing. I would have loved to have seen it as a traditional hand drawn feature. (more on that to come later). But they keep going for the "safe" story lines and themes. Singing princesses and dancing animals. While PIXAR is going for the more daring and innovative story lines. THEY are the ones taking risks (Ratatouille, Wall-E, The Incredibles) and they are paying off big time!
I, of all people, am so happy to see a resurgence of hand drawn animation return to Disney. It's great to see new work from some of the animators that have inspired me over the years like Andreas Deja, Eric Goldberg and Mark Henn. Hopefully, their talents will not be wasted on material that could have been completed by a TV animation studio.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
New book released today...
If you know me at all, you know that I am not political at all. But last night as I was putting out the new releases at work, I couldn't help but see the humorous implications of the two newest titles being released today: Decision Points by George Bush and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney.
Monday, August 9, 2010
The results are in...
...and my entry came in #59 out of 233 entries! Not bad for my first time. It received 5.14 starts out of 11 total. These are some of the comments I received:
"I don't get the sense that she is actually leaning against the couch. Different lighting might help there."
"maybe if the dog put his head down ears up on her leg and rested it there with a sigh that would keep him alive for a little longer. good work though"
"I really like her posing with this dog. Sitting behind the couch instead of on it. Makes the framing interesting. Nice work"
"It seems weird that she doesn't move her eyes when her dog turns back to look at her.. She looks like she looks through the dog, and not at the dog"
"Nice use of dog tail to explain the light thud occurring in the first half the dialogue! Along with, of course, the inclusion of the dog in general; it was a very natural touch and fit well with the context.
The only thing that felt out of place with the rest of her acting was the crossing of her heart with her palms; doing so felt more like a spiritual motion versus bonding her pet, as she had for the rest of it, but that was about it. That could be a personal opinion though.
Good job!"
"Nice, I think the dog perking up on "Hmm?" would have been a better accent than him perking up when he does now.."
"The entire animation matches the tone of the voice extremely well. I like how the dog reacts."
All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the response. I also uploaded the scene to my profile page on YouAnimator.com. It's a new site that showcases animators from all around the world. I uploaded it last night and today they posted it on their home page as "Today's Highlight." It was even posted on their facebook profile! It's really given me a boost of momentum to get started on more scenes. I'm thinking of ideas for this month's selection. I also have a few other things on the back burners that I want to work on.
Didi is sending me ideas for her movie that she is writing. I'm helping her with ideas, but mainly I want to help with visual development, storyboards, layout, and possibly animatics. They way she describes a scene, I instantly visualize it in my head. The trick is getting that picture in my head down on paper or on the computer.
As far as my studio work goes, it can get pretty busy. I have so many irons in the fire that it's difficult to decide which one to pull out and work on. The good thing is that it will never get dull. There is always something to do.
"I don't get the sense that she is actually leaning against the couch. Different lighting might help there."
"maybe if the dog put his head down ears up on her leg and rested it there with a sigh that would keep him alive for a little longer. good work though"
"I really like her posing with this dog. Sitting behind the couch instead of on it. Makes the framing interesting. Nice work"
"It seems weird that she doesn't move her eyes when her dog turns back to look at her.. She looks like she looks through the dog, and not at the dog"
"Nice use of dog tail to explain the light thud occurring in the first half the dialogue! Along with, of course, the inclusion of the dog in general; it was a very natural touch and fit well with the context.
The only thing that felt out of place with the rest of her acting was the crossing of her heart with her palms; doing so felt more like a spiritual motion versus bonding her pet, as she had for the rest of it, but that was about it. That could be a personal opinion though.
Good job!"
"Nice, I think the dog perking up on "Hmm?" would have been a better accent than him perking up when he does now.."
"The entire animation matches the tone of the voice extremely well. I like how the dog reacts."
All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the response. I also uploaded the scene to my profile page on YouAnimator.com. It's a new site that showcases animators from all around the world. I uploaded it last night and today they posted it on their home page as "Today's Highlight." It was even posted on their facebook profile! It's really given me a boost of momentum to get started on more scenes. I'm thinking of ideas for this month's selection. I also have a few other things on the back burners that I want to work on.
Didi is sending me ideas for her movie that she is writing. I'm helping her with ideas, but mainly I want to help with visual development, storyboards, layout, and possibly animatics. They way she describes a scene, I instantly visualize it in my head. The trick is getting that picture in my head down on paper or on the computer.
As far as my studio work goes, it can get pretty busy. I have so many irons in the fire that it's difficult to decide which one to pull out and work on. The good thing is that it will never get dull. There is always something to do.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
"I'm Alone" - FINAL
I finally did it. I finally entered one of the 11 Second Club competitions! I still believe this scene still needs some work, but for this competition it is done. Over the next week or so I do plan on going back and touching up a few things.
This was also an experiment in lighting. I've only done it once before but that was pretty basic. The lighting was very bright with several shadows. This time I had to try and create a mood for this scene. I used three different lights, changed their intensity, changed the color, and changed their decay. I'd really like to learn more about lighting. It's all about creating the right environment that best reflects the mood of the scene. Something more to learn that could be very beneficial in the long run.
This was also an experiment in lighting. I've only done it once before but that was pretty basic. The lighting was very bright with several shadows. This time I had to try and create a mood for this scene. I used three different lights, changed their intensity, changed the color, and changed their decay. I'd really like to learn more about lighting. It's all about creating the right environment that best reflects the mood of the scene. Something more to learn that could be very beneficial in the long run.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Demo Reel June 2010
As promised, here is my current demo reel as of June 2010. It has a new parkour shot that I did a few weeks ago. It took me about five hours to block out the whole thing and get it near completion. I received some helpful feedback from a couple of my AM buddies. I also worked on "Crazy", the second dialogue scene. After watching several demo reels on YouAnimator.com and other blogs, I realized I have a lot of work to do on both scenes. So I think I may work on the first scene a bit. I now see several areas that need to be touched up.
I am also working on another dialogue scene. This one is from the movie "Down with Love" with Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger. I'm still blocking that one out so it will be a while before I post anything. I'm still trying to figure out how to play the whole scene. I'm thinking of adding a quick, smaller scene to set up the line, but I don't want to make it too big that I don't get it done in two months.
I have noticed that as I go throughout my day at work that I am observing the people more and more lately. I'm noticing different types of walks, small gestures, standing poses, etc. I am trying to figure out the pose and keep it in my internal databanks for a later time. What I need to do is quickly sketch down what I see. I have started carrying a post-it pad with me. However, I've been so busy at work lately that I haven't had time to stop and sketch anything down. It's very frustrating for an artist when he isn't able to think freely. Oh, well. It pays the bills for now. Well, most of them.
I applied but did not get into the summer internship program for Reel FX in Dallas. After seeing my reel several times lately, I can see why. I did see that they will be taking applications again in September for their internship to begin in February 2011. So I have a little under two months to get things in order. I need to finish up another dialogue scene and get my scenes for Dana completed. I am more determined more than ever to get these done. I have been spending just about every waking moment in the studio. It gives me something to look forward to at the end of my workday when I know I can come home and really get into the work I truly love. Two plus hours working on two seconds of animation? Yeah, I love it!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
** MENTAL REMINDER **
It's been so long since my last post. I need to make a mental note to update this site later today. There's so much I want to post.
- new demo reel
- blogs of animators and artists I've come across
- sketches and drawings from my latest work
- my thoughts and reviews of the latest animated features
Okay, so I have a rough idea of what I want to post. Now I just need to get my thoughts together so it doesn't come out all jumbled.
- new demo reel
- blogs of animators and artists I've come across
- sketches and drawings from my latest work
- my thoughts and reviews of the latest animated features
Okay, so I have a rough idea of what I want to post. Now I just need to get my thoughts together so it doesn't come out all jumbled.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
I Know What I Want To Do
I am going to be an animator. If I don't achieve my dream job anytime soon, as long as I can animate I will be happy. What caused this resurgence in my animation aspirations? I FINALLY saw the latest 2D animated film from Disney, The Princess and the Frog.
I could go on and on geeking out about the whole return of 2D, traditional, hand-drawn animation. Let me just saw that it was a breath of fresh air to see it up on the big screen. There are just some things that can only be done in hand-drawn animation. In 2D you can really push a pose on a character, stretch it out or squash it up as much as needed and not have to worry about "breaking the rig." If you can't get a pose just right, all you need to do is grab an eraser and fix it.
It was a great story that had me laughing out loud through the entire film. The other thing I love about Ron & John's movies is the cameos they throw in there. For starters I did see a caricatured appearance of both Ron Clements and John Musker. I think I also saw a caricature of another great Disney animator, Glen Keane. And as a throwback to Ron and John's first big hit, The Little Mermaid, I do believe I saw someone dressed up as Ariel at the big costume ball. I also saw a Mardi Gras parade float that looked very much like King Triton, also from The Little Mermaid. He can actually be seen in one of the recent trailers that has been showing on TV.
I definitely need to see it again. The first time I see an animated film I view it as a spectator. I love getting involved with the characters and being swept up by the story and its beautiful artwork. The next time I will be watching it through the eyes of an animator. That is when I will be picking apart different scenes and all the little nuances that go by in the blink of an eye. It could be a certain pose by a character, the transition from one pose to another, even something as simple as a small hand gesture or a simple eye dart. It's the little things I look for that really make the characters come alive. It's the little things I learn from the greats that I try to incorporate into my own work to breath life into my performances.
I am really looking forward to the DVD release. Hopefully, there will be plenty of featurettes talking not only about Disney's return to traditional animation, but also on the making of the whole thing. I love watching the early rough pencil tests by the animators. I remember reading somewhere that it is not the perfectly drawn line that fascinates us. We love looking at the early pencil tests because it is here where we can really see the passion the animators put into every single drawing. THAT is what I love to see. That is what fuels my love for animation.
I could go on and on geeking out about the whole return of 2D, traditional, hand-drawn animation. Let me just saw that it was a breath of fresh air to see it up on the big screen. There are just some things that can only be done in hand-drawn animation. In 2D you can really push a pose on a character, stretch it out or squash it up as much as needed and not have to worry about "breaking the rig." If you can't get a pose just right, all you need to do is grab an eraser and fix it.
It was a great story that had me laughing out loud through the entire film. The other thing I love about Ron & John's movies is the cameos they throw in there. For starters I did see a caricatured appearance of both Ron Clements and John Musker. I think I also saw a caricature of another great Disney animator, Glen Keane. And as a throwback to Ron and John's first big hit, The Little Mermaid, I do believe I saw someone dressed up as Ariel at the big costume ball. I also saw a Mardi Gras parade float that looked very much like King Triton, also from The Little Mermaid. He can actually be seen in one of the recent trailers that has been showing on TV.
I definitely need to see it again. The first time I see an animated film I view it as a spectator. I love getting involved with the characters and being swept up by the story and its beautiful artwork. The next time I will be watching it through the eyes of an animator. That is when I will be picking apart different scenes and all the little nuances that go by in the blink of an eye. It could be a certain pose by a character, the transition from one pose to another, even something as simple as a small hand gesture or a simple eye dart. It's the little things I look for that really make the characters come alive. It's the little things I learn from the greats that I try to incorporate into my own work to breath life into my performances.
I am really looking forward to the DVD release. Hopefully, there will be plenty of featurettes talking not only about Disney's return to traditional animation, but also on the making of the whole thing. I love watching the early rough pencil tests by the animators. I remember reading somewhere that it is not the perfectly drawn line that fascinates us. We love looking at the early pencil tests because it is here where we can really see the passion the animators put into every single drawing. THAT is what I love to see. That is what fuels my love for animation.
Monday, December 28, 2009
My New Year "Animation" Resolution
I have declared to myself and a few others that this Christmas season is to be my last one in the retail business. I want to concentrate and really focus on my animation next year so I can get one step closer to achieving my lifetime dream of working in the animation industry. In no particular order, here are my resolutions for 2010:
Tighten up my demo reel. I received some notes from a few friends on how to tighten up the whole thing. I will be cleaning up a few scenes and reworking some others.
Finish up work on the scene's for Dana's short film. I have two new scenes to work on for my mentor Dana Boadway. This makes a total of four for the whole film. She didn't really give us a deadline for animation, but I need to make some progress at least every week.
Continue work on my Bowfinger scene. I have a scene from the movie Bowfinger that is still in the stepped blocking phase. The tough part is turning out to be the dialogue. One character is speaking so fast that it is going to be difficult to match up the mouth movements to make it seem natural.
Compete in at least one of the 11 Second Club monthly competitions. This is a great website that provides dialogue for animators to animate. At the beginning of the following month, everyone gets to vote on which ones that like the best. December's selection was really good. Even though the month is almost over, I still want to animate that piece.
E-mail Robin Linn and the recruiters at Reel FX. I had such a great meeting with Robin in San Francisco, that I was really expecting to hear from them rather soon. Nothing happened. I later see on their website they were actually hiring for animators. I quickly applied and am still waiting for a response. I will e-mail them soon to follow up. I do plan to sometime next year take a trip up to the Dallas / Fort Worth area. Not only to hopefully get a tour of the studio, but to visit some very dear friends that I have not seen in quite some time.
Keep checking the Animation Mentor job board. I haven't checked on it in a while, but when I last did there were several studios hiring. I did apply to a couple but, again, still waiting. There are a few other studios here in Texas that I would also like to follow up with.
Become more familiar with the Flipbook program. One of the programs I purchased when I first started Animation Mentor was a 2D animation program called Flipbook. It is an easy way to do a "pencil test" of your animation before going into full production in Maya. I have some ideas that I would like to try that I cannot yet do in the Maya 3D program.
Purchase animation paper to experiment again with traditional 2D animation. This is something I've wanted to do for a while. When I ran out of animation paper, I didn't know what to do. I have this really great lightbox here in the studio that is literally collecting dust all over it. I want to get back on there and get back the feeling of WHY I fell in love with animation in the first place. There was something about flipping the pages and seeing the drawings move that was simply magical. Out of all of these resolutions, I think this one is the one I am looking forward to the most.
Well, that's it. My 2010 New Year Animation Resolutions. Wish me luck.
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