Overlapping for Session 6

Hello to the (very) few blog readers of mine. =)
I've decided to try and keep updating this blog for all the 2 1/2 of you that actually read it. That and it's kind of therapeutic to type about my experiences or so I'm told. Another cool deal is that people curious about Animation Mentor can take a peek at the work we're doing and how we're progressing as students. That's right readers! I finally found out how to embed (correctly) a quicktime movie of the playblasts that I'll be submitting. I won't be posting the work I did before this week though, just from this week on.

This week's assignment is regarding overlapping. We were given a rig that consisted of a ball with a tail (lovingly called Tailor) and were charged with the task to display our understanding of the overlapping principle of animation.

Here's what I came up with:



Feel free to take it apart and leave some feedback if you like. It would be greatly appreciated by yours truly.

It's just not good enough...

So a few times while working on my assignments, I hear this being echoed in the far recesses of my brain. It bounces around wildly everytime I playblast or frame through my work. I don't know why I think this of my work especially since I'm a totally total noobish noob at animating. Before this awesome possum (yes I did just say that) school, the closest thing I came to animating was a box. Yup, a box. Not even a sphere to try a bouncing ball, it was a box. But I digress...

There are a lot of people attending AM that have oodles of talent or tons of experience and some people even have both. I see myself as having neither. Methinks only hard work is going to get me where I need to go. Maybe that's why I push myself the way I do? I don't know. My awesomely supportive wife thinks I'm being too hard on myself and too critical of my assignments, especially this early on. I can't help it, I'm my own worst critic. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but it's definitely pushing me to do my best.

When I'm watching the lectures and proceeding through the current session I occasionally think I'm missing something. That I overlooked an important fact or point. We'er already halfway throough this session and I'm afraid I missed learning something important. It's definitely a funky feeling. It could be that we're blazing through this session and it's natural to feel this way, especially with all the info we're taking in.

In hindsight, throughout all these feelings, trials, and tribulations thereis one thing I can say with definite certainty - I'm having one helluva good time with it. =)

Animation is definitely something I want to do for the rest of my life.

How long has it been?!

Wow! Just...wow! How long has it been since I updated this blog? It seems I've been running out of time lately to update the lil blog I got goin' here. The assignments at AM are getting a bit harder, especially the one due this week. We are supplied with an obstacle course and are supposed to animate a ball going through it. It's definitely not as easy as it sounds. I've worked on it maybe a total of a few hours, but I haven't gotten anywhere past first actual bounce. I think what's tripping me up is the rotation and arcs when bouncing off the slanted platforms.

I've been animating this assignment straight ahead. I think I maybe spending a bit more time finessing on the way. I should really animate the entire animation and finesse it afterwards as a whole.

Not to mention we have a devastation pose due for Stu as well...

This week's assignments are kicking my ass and I love it! ;) Can't wait to see what happens in the coming weeks! =)

Awesome interview, fresh eyes, and random rumblings.

Just got finished reading an awesome interview by AM's co-founder, Bobby "BOOM" Beck. Very informative and it has definitely upped my inspiration meter. Now I can't wait to get home and work on the assignment for this week. You can check it out here.

I just got some amazing feedback on this week's assignment which is pretty quick. I uploaded a clip the other night where I animated the up-down action of two balls with different weights and got some awesome feedback the next day. Talk about a quick turnaround! I even got some critiques from a couple of campus mentors! The feedback enabled me to take a more discerning look and to spot the problems I wouldn't have been able to spot before. Time to fix the problems....as soon as I get home from my day job. ;)

Here's a random tidbit of info I ran into, if you search for "animate" on MSN my blog comes up at the top of the second page! =)

Session 3 is done.

The weekend was a nice, relaxing one. One of the few where nothing is planned and being vegetative is counted as being productive. It was also one where I finished my bouncing ball assignment for last week. I didn't have to rebuild it from scratch due to the timeline fiasco, not at all. I changed the speed to 24 fps and scaled all my keys in the graph editor. Until I got a passable bouncing ball. I had to do a little manual tweaking of some keys in the transform Z, but nothing too crazy. This week's assignment is basically the same, except for the fact that we have to differentiate between balls that weigh differently using only timing and spacing. Should prove interesting no? I'll be sure to upload my the assignment I submitted for this week later on in this blog. So check back later today if you want to see it in action.

OMG?! Are you serious?!

Last night I'm working on my bouncing ball and I get it to the point where it the timing and spacing are almost passable as a ball. It took awhile of tweaking the curves, keys, etc. I even got a little rotation working there, though that needs a bit of work. I figure I'm at the point where feedback would be a big help to me so I set out to render out a playblast.

Funny, the playblast is playing slow. So I try a different codec and try the same thing, I get the same problem. I even try rendering out stills and compile them together in another program - there's the problem again. Hmmm...curious......playback rate is 24 fps so that's right...hmm...

Then I stumbled what I think might be the root of my problem. The timeline setting for playback was set to "play every frame", I think this is supposed to be set at 24 fps. I switch it over to that and it plays just as slow as when I render it. I try to think of some ways to fix it without redoing the whole deal and a few pop in my head but at this point I'm too tired to try. I'll let you know what happens when I get home today....wish me luck!

First Assignment - First Mistake.

So there I am sitting there, in front of my computer. A bouncing ball hastily scribbled on my sketch pad that I made by watching someone's reference video. The ball lifted up in the air waiting to be dropped, just sitting there....waiting. BAM! I drop the ball - literally. I start laying down keys, the ball starts to move....in completely the wrong way. So I sit there, thinking...thinking real hard.

My QA is going to start soon, so I ease up on the thinking and log in. Today's QA is about planning your shot. Bret drops some very useful tricks regarding reference footage, planning, animating characters, etc. Then she drops some tips regarding our assignment and how she would go about it. BOOM! It hits me like a ton of bricks, I've been doing it all wrong or at least the difficult way! "Layers Fool!", I shout to myself, "Animate the damn thing in layers!". I've been trying to animate the darn thing straight-ahead with all the action at once and it ain't working for me. Flashbacks of our video lecture go through my mind like a runaway train as I flip through my notes. I can't believe I forgot that!

I made my first mistake when doing my first animation assignment. Will I ever forget this lesson? Probably not.

Autodesk acquires Alias

This came out of nowhere. Just happily posing Stu for more test poses and BOOM! News arrives that Autodesk is acquiring Alias. That is pretty shocking. Now a lot of people are scrambling around prophesizing the doom of Maya. I admit the future of both 3D Studio Max and Maya look a little unstable now, but if anything is going to change it will probably happen over the next few years and not immediately. Both programs have a huge userbase and a lot of pipelines are based on them so I doubt Autodesk would just shut off revenue streams just like that. Features could be integrated, programs could be merged, new programs could be born, etc. so it's hard to say what will happen, but there is one thing I am sure of...

...it's a good thing that Animation Mentor teaches us the art of animation instead of teaching us the software... ;)

Test posts for session 3 assignment.

Here a few test poses for this week's assignment. They are supposed to convey a sense of excitement. Hopefully that comes through okay with these poses. So far, I think excitement is the hardest emotion to convey through just a pose. To me, excitement is usually conveyed through the face so it was a little challenging to find a way to express that emotion through a pose. I only have time to choose one pose to pursue and fine-tune for this assignment so help me pick one out to concentrate on! As always feel free to critique these poses to pieces people! ;)

I've just been eCritiqued!

My mentor just dropped by my workspace and dropped an eCritique for me. For the unintiated an eCritique is a critique made by your mentor regarding the assignment that was due. It's a video critique aimed at your assignment. Bret made several suggestions regarding the positioning of various body parts, angles, etc. Definitely things I think I overlooked when working on the pose. As it has been stressed, feedback is vitally important to any animator whether you are a student or a working professional. After working on a shot or pose awhile it gets harder for you to determine what needs to be fixed, improved upon, etc. So having a fresh pair of experienced eyes taking a look at your work and making suggestions and critiques is an extermely valuable tool.

Revisions, bouncing ball, and an excited Stu are all due this week. BWUahaha - the workload begins! ;)

Just finished the lecture - learned a ton!

I just got finished watching the lecture for session 3 and it was a great learning tool. It's all about planning animation this week and I had no idea there were so many tools when planning a shot! Totally mind-bending I tell yah! Can't wait to get started on my planning tomorrow. "Why not now?", you ask? Well because I had a full day and a half today. Chores, cooking dinner, late laundry, etc. Tomorrow I'll start fresh and ready to go. I'll be sure to post my finished product here.

I haven't received my eCritique from my mentor yet. Bret said it would be probably done today or tomorrow so I can wait. It's going to be awesome to have an experienced, talented animator tear apart my pose. Other experienced students have already commented and critiqued on my pose, but I will wait until my eCritique then I will apply as much as those changes as I can from mentors and fellow classmates alike.

Session 3 underway.

Session 3 is fully underway which is all about planning your animation. At least I think it is, I just scrubbed through the video last night so I didn't get a chance to watch it in it's entirety. I think it' going to go through the different ways of planning your animation out such as thumnails, references, etc. We actually have two assignments due this week, posing Stu in an excited pose and animating a ball similar to a basketball or soccer ball.

I have things planned for this weekend so I have to try and squeeze every ounce of quality I can muster out this week. Hopefully I can pull it off and it won't be all decrepit and pitiful. The way I see it, I have 5 days to pull of a convincing bouncing ball and a clear pose. This is an excercise in meeting a deadline under a tight schedule. I can either pull it of or a I can't, simple as that. Wish me luck! =)

Also had to throw out there that the people in my class pulled off some very awesome poses! You guys R-O-C-K! ;)