Gifted-Spline revisions

It's really exciting to see my own progress and continually see room for improvement- no plateu in my horizon yet.

This shot will have another week or so to refine some movements and create some kind of deformation lattice for the cloth. No it's not in the curriculum but it will definitely come in handy to have a cursory knowledge of a few associated techniques. Please let me know if you catch anything and I'll be sure to address it in the next post.


Also of note, I'll be attending CTN-X again this year. Let me know if you'll be one of the faces in the mix and I'll be sure to find you. Cheers!

Gifted-Blocking

Here is the latest shot that I'm working on. A young 3-5yr old awaiting his b-day present. This has been a fun shot so far and I can't wait to finish re-blocking to move it toward splines, getting all the breakdowns in.

Quick exercises-- rough spline & blocking

Here are a couple of quick exercises I did during the break between animation terms. One for snappier timing, the other for variation in weight and spacing/timing.

I'm anxious to finish them up as I start a new term with Aaron Hartline!!! He's the pixar animator that animated the mr. tortilla head shots. Man, does AM have ANY bad mentors?? I haven't met one yet, it's awesome!!

Quick Exercise

Here is an animation quickie. Take two related poses and animate the breakdowns in between. I animated between the two extremes of a punch pose with the Animation Mentor rigs..but I couldn't stand to see the action without the anticipation, so I added it on afterwards.

There will be a lot more of these coming soon, so I hope ya' diggs. Any actions you'd like to see?

Jumpin Janitor P3 final---leaps forward

First I have to acknowledge what a great program Animation Mentor is and give props to Mike Walling for investing a little extra time in me to help me make some breakthroughs on this shot. You rock hard core Mike!

I'm still far from being the animation artist that I oogle on Vimeo or the character design blog, but I can see a lot more of the path coming clear in front of me, and it's heading in the right direction.

Here is the latest shot completed. take a look at the earlier version and rejoice with me in my growth--(deadpan --yay) Cheers! and happy trails ya'll.

Jumpin Janitor part 3 revision

Jumpin Janitor P3- 2nd blocking pass

Aloha world,

Here is the last and final shot in the Jumpin Janitor sequence. Moving this shot towards the finishline has been smoother than the last ones. I can't wait to get back to the first two shots and redo them. I have learned a ton in the process of these shots-the constraints for the mop three different ways and I still haven't found a favorite.


Anyway, this term is shaping up as a great one with mentor Mike Walling.

Blocking for Jumpin' Janitor Part 2

I wanted to post up the earliest stages of part 2 of the Jumpin Janitor sequences. Looking at my last shoot I can see a lot of BLAH action, so here I've been trying to push up the antic. There are still some difficulties with the prop handling that are being worked out, but overall I'm pleased with the way the shot is exposing and addressing my weaknesses. Although it generally hurts, stretching my limits has always given me more significant growth than doing things I'm totally comfortable with.

I'd love to hear what you think and/or can suggest. Cheers!

Part 1 of Jumpin' Janitor

Aloha-

Here is the latest shot from Animation Mentor-it's the first shot of a 3 part series. In each wanted part I to focus on a current animation weakness of mine; in part 1 I chose constraint setups and spine transitions. I feel my arcs are a lot better here, but that I can still do more to push the timing/spacing. There may be anther draft posted soon with lighting passes since the face doesn't read well currently.

An update on the AM classes. I finished the term with Dave Vallone-thanks a ton Dave, the feedback just got better and better.

I'm now working with Mike Walling who is currently with Dreamworks- his credits cover Blue Sky, Sony, and independent studios as well. His ability to clearly pinpoint areas for improvement has been invaluable, and he's got a great attitude for people of all skill levels/backgrounds.

One right after the other

Alright, so neither life nor work will ever stop bothering me for more time. Shheesh. Here was the refined animation from the previous post. Lesson learned: Key & breakdown MORE. Maya will not see the great arcs in my head. I have to jam them down it's throat.

Here is also the first blocking pass from the shot I'm working on now. I call it Hula Heartache. Please let me know what you think and if there are any spots that stand out for fixing. I have a little list going already.

Rough Sketch of Project

Here is a pencil test for a new piece of animation I'm working on. Just some keyposes to establish action and timing. Let me know if you have any pointers. Thanks.

Basic Foundations Progress Reel

Here is my Progress Reel for my first Animation Mentor Term, mentored by Chris Chua who has done some great work at Pixar. Having such a dedicated teacher for my first mentor was a surreal blessing. I had a ton of classmates with a lot more experience, they all gave me great motivation, especially Sven and Mike. Cheers

Enjoy!

Squash & Stretch 01

Posting the first version of this assignment. My other projects have me slammed right now and, oh yeah, we're moving this weekend.

Goodness Gracious Great Balls...

The animation assignment here is to create a side shot with 2+ balls of different weights. I'm pretty pleased with it, but there were great things Chris Chua pointed out that I can do to plus it. I'll post the revision too.

We got some bounce in Utah too.

My first official bouncing ball, I learned a lot about workflow and the efficiency of layering keys separately rather than keying all attributes for a frame.

I also taught myself how to texture a basketball by shooting some pics and stitching them together.

The first frame is a pose intended to exude EXCITEMENT. My thanks for anything to let me know how I can make the shots tighter.

There's a ton of learning ahead!

My first baby steps

Here is my first walk cycle ever, I wanted to get some outside-Animtation-Mentor work done as classes got going to keep pushing myself. Although it will be a while before I get into character animation, I'd like to start practicing now. My mechanics and workflow will only improve at the rate I'm willing to put in the work.

I started Animation Mentor this week with mentor Chris Chua, an animator over at Pixar. From this first week one thing really stands out, he has a wonderful ability to be at ease no matter who he's talking with and help them feel comfortable as well.