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....