Greenscreen

amazing how much you can do with so little (and skill)



Crazy Horse Entertainment

Step Up

just back from camping vacation. note to myself.

been thinking... there is never going to be more time, things will never be easier, no one will ever pay you to do less work. So if you ever want to accomplish anything outside of work (short film, web comic, art, world domination, whatever) you have to Step Up and make it happen. There's never going to be more time, you're never going to feel more energetic or less tired. So it must be a matter of figuring out what you can take out to make room for the things you want to do.

Staging

The presentation of any idea so that it is completely and unmistakably clear.

Current weakness. The last few personal animations I have done I have realized that I am really suffering here. My ideas are fine (probably) but they aren't coming across clearly to the viewer. If the viewer misses it, there's no point for any of the rest of it.

JHD's 100 frame challenges are the perfect solution. Fixed frame limit so I have to learn how to prioritize ideas instead of just stretching things out to make it all fit, and to make them achievable as exercises.

Here's the list of topics that've rolled through on his blog. Going to try and do 1 a week for a while. (but I'm on vacation next week, without a computer, so remind me the week after.)


dying
time travel
unreachable goal
chase
guilty
regret
solitude
longing
forgotten
wisdom
teh end
the beginning
fail
excitement
anxious
mental break down
unscratchable itch
zombie
daring
injured
flying school
anger
shyness
jealousy
cunning
clumsy
patience
surprise
fear
disgust
attention
bored
bored
revenge
revelation
radioactive
sugarhigh/over caffeinated
phobia
do it
nervous
courage
pain
confused
hungry

(and some other exercises that would fit within 100 frames)
Character Walk
Juice box enter scene, react to something, and exit scene
Thought process while getting up from a chair
Character interact with an object
Have Character "fix" something
Gear change: 2 different thoughts with a good transition moment (this LightSwitch moment is the key point to this excercise)

American Photos 1939

Don't remember where I ran across this, but it's a series of color slides taken of America between 1939-1943. Interesting to see how different life was so recently.

Meet Buck

Awesome render style. Solid looking animation too. site.

Meet Buck Trailer from TeamCerf on Vimeo.

*found by David

Ladder Parkour

Whenever I find some crazy parkour


I have to instantly watch the bloopers/making of


so I don't run out and try it. Because it's good to be reminded that these guys are doing that stuff with cables and practiced in gyms first.

Medussa

Awesome short by Nick DiLiberto





found on lineboil

Magic Cards illo advice

Ran across an article from Magic the card game with tricks to make your art pop in a 1 1/2 x 2" sized space. They should know.

Pascal Campion

I LOVE this guys stuff. He really captures and evokes love for me.
blog website

Inspirational Artists: Pascal Campion from Onyx Cinema, Inc. on Vimeo.

Ed Hooks exercise

Ran across this exercise from Ed Hooks. Pick a profession like Dr. or used car salesmen. Then act out a little scene where you as the character are waiting at a bus stop, not saying anything. It is impressive how the audience can guess what your job is from just how you're standing there.

You gotta figure this stuff out from the inside. Easier to come from the inside and become the character, then to come from the outside and try and analyze why that contra posta pose with a slight head tilt is suggesting party girl to me. Listen to Obi-Wan "your eyes can deceive you [distracted by irrelevant details] stretch out with your feelings."


have I mentioned a character's zero before? The neutral pose someone naturally returns to. How their body fits most comfortably in space when there's not something else happening.

So if you can find this feeling of what it is to be a Dr. or whatever, and if you can put it into your character. Then you have to try to get it in there on every frame of the scene, so not just start the scene in character pose and then go and do whatever generically, no she has to walk like a dr. talk like a dr. brush her teeth like a dr. etc. Easy peasy right?

Hyrum Osmond

Stumbled upon Hyrum Osmond's blog. I definitely buy it that his characters are thinking. I want to be able to do that.

Between Bears by Eran Hilleli

Between Bears from Eran Hilleli on Vimeo.

love the grachic designy ness. Interesting how a lot of it is basically the same scene in a slightly different palette.

found on the brew

fable 3

clever presentation twist

Previs

apparently there is a previs society. From all that I've learned it seems like the way to do things right, as in cheapest and fastest and get the best quality, is to do things in previs/animatics, so you can cheaply experiment for the best solution and have a guide so you don't overbuild.

(um guess the embed code vimeo gives me doesn't actually work)

Previs Documentary - Part 1 from Previsualization Society on Vimeo.

Cameron Fielding Dirty Curves

Like JHD before, Cameron Fielding has a great post about dirtying up your curves to make them more realistic.

Kevin Webb

thinking about finally becoming an apprentice to the black arts of rigging and modeling, since Animation Mentor has come out with Bishop 2.0.

Ran across this really appealing character by Kevin Webb. good inspiration.

Facial rig test from Kevin Webb on Vimeo.

Zooey Lipsync from Kevin Webb on Vimeo.