Intro to Acting - The First Shot, Sleepy Stewie

So I said I was going to do it, and here it is.  My first shot from Intro to Acting (or Class 4 for you AMers!).  I've never been happy with this shot, and I think part of it was the business and feeling that I needed to pack a ton in to it.  I wanted a belly scratch, a head swing, a pause for "dramatic effect", etc.  It would have been a much nicer shot if there was much less happening.

Here's the initial blocking pass which isn't half bad.  I think I should have realized that it was a bit much at the time since none of my characters actions had any time to breath.  They were just firing off, one at a time.  Since this guy was supposed to be exhausted, his walk would have been incredibly slow with feet dragging, maybe a pause when he got to the door, etc.  Everything just... went.  No time to let him doze off, let the audience really get a sense of his exhaustion... he just moved from action to action.  Looking back, I'd strip out the belly scratch (secondary action) and have him wobble a bit when he gets to the door.

ZZZZzzzzz.... 

Skipping a few weeks ahead, here's the final piece.  I did end up ditching the ending and Paul Mendoza gave me some great advice, which sadly never really made it in to this shot (at the time I was beyond burnt out and rushing every week).  If I had it all to do over (and I will!), I'd definitely polish this thing a lot more, spend the much needed time on the body mechanic issues and also make it a lot simpler.

*sigh*

Here's my advice, for any shot... KEEP IT SIMPLE.  Yeah, I know, they tell you that constantly at AM, but it's true.  Seriously, plan out your shot and then sit on it for a day.  Go back and check out what you have and see if you your character takes any time for himself... is he constantly going from pose to pose?  if so, is that the theme/tempo of the shot?  What can you strip out and still get your point across?  It will probably make it read a lot better and you can really delve in to great poses instead of trying to figure out how your character is going to get from here to there in 3 frames!

Stewie Soccer Throw In - Polish

So here's the final pass I handed in. The arms are "hitchy" to say the least. I talked a few things out with Marlon, both in the Q&A as well as letting him know when I turned the assignment in, and he gave me some great advice. Another cool thing was the video lecture this week actually talked about a few things the AM rig has to counter act my issues. I plan on redoing the arms for this animation in the next few weeks, so expect an update!

Overall, I'm not satisfied with this one, mostly because I didn't give myself enough time to finish it. It's something I do not plan on doing again! Animation-wise, if I hide the arms, I really like it and think it has some potential. I'd like to work on some of the easing, maybe speed up the throw and also do something with the end of the throw in where his arms extend (offset them so they don't hit at the same time, etc).

Final... for now.

Until next time... and let's hope that isn't another 3 weeks!

Blocking Plus -Soccer Throw-In

Man, I have been slacking when it comes to posts. I can't even make my once a week! **sigh** Sorry to all 4 people who read this blog! Anyway, here's my blocking for the soccer throw in, part of my AnimJam for class 3. I've received very little in the way of critique about this, in a good way. Marlon really dug it and thought it was going to be a really strong animation. I like it myself, but I noticed a serious issue with the arm controls and how Maya is handling the animation (you'll see it in my polished phase, and I think I learned a way to combat it for further assignments!). Anyway, without further ado!

Stewie the All-Star Soccer Guy

Oh yeah, and I left my reference video on the end of this one. Marlon asks us to submit it every weeks tacked on after our animation so he can show us where we may have strayed, issues to work around, etc. I seriously think not shooting reference was one of my biggest issues before AM. I would just wing it and, well, we see where that got me!

No Rioting, Please...

It's the start of another session at AM, and this time my class is in Advanced Body Mechanics. My mentor is Marlon Nowe, who has worked at Blur studios, Rhythm and Hues, and is currently animating at Disney Animation Studios (animator on Rapunzel/Tangled). He's a really cool guy and I can tell already, he expects a lot out of his class. This is a really good thing! It's going to be a tough semester, but I think I can hang!

The first spin of the semester! We weren't given a pick list this time (list of 10 or so animations to choose from), but rather expected to come up with our own ideas. We also had to decide if we wanted to do an "Anim Exercise" (3 totally different animations/themes) or an "Anim Jam" (3 animations with the same theme, but not a short). I went with Anim Jam, and more specifically 3 soccer related animations. I thought I could get some subtle stuff in there as well as some really big actions so I could practice (or learn!) the whole gamut of a realistic style. So, here's the blocking for my first shot - a traditional soccer throw in.

"Only Americans would call a game you play with your hands football..."

So far I think it's working well. Marlon had a few things to comment about my silhouettes (i.e. - the ball and head were visually "touching" in one pose and it needed some negative space) but overall, he was pretty positive. I felt good about it especially since I didn't feel like I spent enough time on it before I had to rush and turn it in. I need to be a bit more stringent with my time, but if you know me, you know I'm a procrastinator! Hehe. Anyway, I'm off to Blocking Plus this week so it will have a lot more breakdowns and probably hit spline mode before I turn it in. Here's hoping for no red cards....

Parkour - Polishing

I'm heading to the final 10% this week. I've started to clean up my splines, fix issues and whatnot, now I just need to get that last little bit so it kicks hind quarters. Last update for this project on Sunday!

Stewie-man, Stewie-man. Does everything that a

Stewie-man can.

Parkour - Gimbal Lock And Other Fun Stuff

So Steve really liked my blocking for the Parkour. He gave some really great tips to enhance some poses and that he felt I would be really happy with this animation when I'm done. Apparently he wanted to build me up before this week when I wandered in to the wonderful world of Gimbal Lock! (no offense to Steve, of course!).

Sooo, Gimbal Lock.. aaah, good times. If you don't know what it is and for some crazy reason, interested in it, check it out here. Essentially, it crept up in my project when Stewie was doing a lot of flips. The torso would look fine in blocking but as soon as I went to spline, he was twisting like a pretzel. The torso would rotate on all three axis several times over a short span of frames. OUCH! Hehehe. Anyway, hours later I had it all straightened out, but it still got me very frustrated. I'm sure this isn't the last time either!

I'm fairly happy with this phase of the animation, but I know I have plenty of work ahead of me. I need to add some more overlap to the places where he stops quickly, like the wall jumps or the landings, but at least I know they're needed. I also have to smooth a ton out, lock planted feet in place... the list goes on and on. I only have 2 weeks to finish up before this class is over. Better get a move on!

Parkour - Insane even with pixels!

Box Jump - Final

Here's the final box jump assignment. I've learned a lot about lead and follow with this assignment and how I want to work for the next piece. This is still in the "OK" range for me, but I know it's a step in the process of learning.

Moving on...

Box Jump - Blocking

Here's my blocking for my new assignment, jumping on and off a box. I decided to keep this one "simple" (quotes because it's sooo not!) and just get the basics perfect. Steve gave me some great feedback, taking to heart that I asked him to be brutal. He liked the side step and settle on the top of the box, a lot of my reversals (C-shaped poses that start one way and then switch - see the jumps) and how I led my actions with the eyes. Other than that, he let me know where I was going off course and I think his critique was dead on.

Key poses from my sketchbook

Planning the animation

Why would he walk around the box?