I received a two pound tin of expensive cookies this weekend. I need to be stopped.
This week wasn't really a learning week. I learned how to suffer more, but nothing else exciting. I hope we have a decent amount of learning this week. Or maybe we will learn what the cold fingers of fear feel like. Oh, wait. I already know. Okay new plan, let's learn how to summon the animation gods so that we can figure out how to finish on time.
I. Want. To. Learn. 3D. Animation. It is a hard to process concept but I am sick of 2D. With 3D I can make a model and then they will stay that style for the whole animation! Unlike in 2D where you can someone manage to pull this wild card that says "You wanted this man to look the same for the entire animation? Well, we gave you him drastically changing styles several times in one go!". Please just let us stop, I can't take this anymore.
This week I was frustrated by deadlines and headaches. I've lost an ability to focus which has dampened my ability to get stuff done which has just made me cry. I have a handful of scenes left. I just need to get them done. But I can't bear to look at a screen for more than five minutes without my vision getting blurry. I'm probably going to not sleep for a week.
My cookies made me happy. Oh blessed cookies, you are kind and fancy and don't make me panic. Why aren't there more things like you in the world? If I could write poetry I would write pages for you. Also, I kind of can't distinguish the different tastes of them at this point. I have eaten so many.
This week of comments is short and sweet. So let's top it off with a sweet little video. It is word animation so we don't feel bad about ourselves. I don't think many of you know what Night Vale is, but if you want to feel kind of warm and fuzzy inside you should watch this: Carlos's Speech
Sunday, December 18, 2016
the article has Wizardy in the title cause its about the wizarding world did you catch that
This week's article is about Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them. A movie I'm totally not obsessed with. It is led by a Hufflepuff by the way, important info. Any Harry Potter universe movie is bound to have some form of animation because as much as we wish magic is real, it sadly is not.
The article opens by talking about the VFX company Framestore's previous involvement in Harry Potter, and how Warner Bro.'s hit them up to come back for the prequel of the movie series. They played an integral part in pre-production of this movie, making concept art for the creatures and the like. Their process was incredibly collaborative, with many departments working together to bring the magic to life. Not all creatures were used, but Framestore sat down to try and see what the ones they could use would bring to the table. The creatures first went through an animation test, and once they passed they were handed over to a team of 50 people to continue their journey. The team had to figure out how to work this animated creature into the environment fluidly. They had to convey emotions and personality through something unreal coming to life in the real world.
The Niffler, a long-nosed, burrowing creature with a need for shiny things had about 100 iterations. Four versions of the little hoarder before they started to piece him together with how to place him into his scenes. They used charmful animals like platypus's and moles, who also had the Niffler's spirit. Once he was set and ready to exist he traveled over to Framestore animators. They made him stand out in the New York City background by adding color around his eyes, top of the head, and tips of the feathers. They used a puppet on set for use of proper trajectory, scale, lighting, and actor interaction. Framestore used a Flesh and Flex rigging kit that they developed on their own to make the action of the Niffler's pocket more authentic.
The gangster goblin Gnarlack is what Framestore calls "one of the best digital humanoids yet". The goblin was heavily influenced by Ron Perlman. Ron went through motion capture sessions so that they could work to build Gnarlack, and even sat in front of 98 cameras so that they could real-time sculpt his face in 3D. The erumphet was a complex creature for Frameworks to bring to life. However, through the power of contained sets and a puppet from the stage show of War Horse they brought her to life. She was a work of mainly keyframed animation. The little bowtrucket named Pickett went through 200 designs before one was settled on to use for animation. For on set interaction they merely used a rod that also helped to reference Framestone's keyframes. Though his animation was too slow at first, Pickett evolved into the graceful little guy we now know.
A lot goes into creating whole worlds. Framestone worked not only on the creatures of Fantastic Beasts but also on some environments and Newt's bag and such. They even created a VR where people can interact with all the creatures they made. Animation could be the closest we ever get to having these creatures become real, physical things. Though it may not be magic, it really is something fantastic.
I was very happy to learn about how some of the creatures of Fantastic Beasts were animated. I loved them all very much, and it was astounding to see them come to life on screen. The work that goes behind all this is very tedious and full of long blown thought processes, but I actually wouldn't mind being on a team such as Framestore.
While the article went into depth about the creature production of fantastic beasts, I am still left with questions. Like, how did they go about making Frank? Or the Sweeping Evil? Were they the people who worked to design the Obscurus? If so, how did they work the Obscurus and Credence? I'm probably going to end up researching all of this, I just didn't realize I had these questions until I fully grasped the fact that the wizarding world is animated, not real. I mean I know that anyways, but one can always hope.
The article opens by talking about the VFX company Framestore's previous involvement in Harry Potter, and how Warner Bro.'s hit them up to come back for the prequel of the movie series. They played an integral part in pre-production of this movie, making concept art for the creatures and the like. Their process was incredibly collaborative, with many departments working together to bring the magic to life. Not all creatures were used, but Framestore sat down to try and see what the ones they could use would bring to the table. The creatures first went through an animation test, and once they passed they were handed over to a team of 50 people to continue their journey. The team had to figure out how to work this animated creature into the environment fluidly. They had to convey emotions and personality through something unreal coming to life in the real world.
The Niffler, a long-nosed, burrowing creature with a need for shiny things had about 100 iterations. Four versions of the little hoarder before they started to piece him together with how to place him into his scenes. They used charmful animals like platypus's and moles, who also had the Niffler's spirit. Once he was set and ready to exist he traveled over to Framestore animators. They made him stand out in the New York City background by adding color around his eyes, top of the head, and tips of the feathers. They used a puppet on set for use of proper trajectory, scale, lighting, and actor interaction. Framestore used a Flesh and Flex rigging kit that they developed on their own to make the action of the Niffler's pocket more authentic.
The gangster goblin Gnarlack is what Framestore calls "one of the best digital humanoids yet". The goblin was heavily influenced by Ron Perlman. Ron went through motion capture sessions so that they could work to build Gnarlack, and even sat in front of 98 cameras so that they could real-time sculpt his face in 3D. The erumphet was a complex creature for Frameworks to bring to life. However, through the power of contained sets and a puppet from the stage show of War Horse they brought her to life. She was a work of mainly keyframed animation. The little bowtrucket named Pickett went through 200 designs before one was settled on to use for animation. For on set interaction they merely used a rod that also helped to reference Framestone's keyframes. Though his animation was too slow at first, Pickett evolved into the graceful little guy we now know.
A lot goes into creating whole worlds. Framestone worked not only on the creatures of Fantastic Beasts but also on some environments and Newt's bag and such. They even created a VR where people can interact with all the creatures they made. Animation could be the closest we ever get to having these creatures become real, physical things. Though it may not be magic, it really is something fantastic.
I was very happy to learn about how some of the creatures of Fantastic Beasts were animated. I loved them all very much, and it was astounding to see them come to life on screen. The work that goes behind all this is very tedious and full of long blown thought processes, but I actually wouldn't mind being on a team such as Framestore.
While the article went into depth about the creature production of fantastic beasts, I am still left with questions. Like, how did they go about making Frank? Or the Sweeping Evil? Were they the people who worked to design the Obscurus? If so, how did they work the Obscurus and Credence? I'm probably going to end up researching all of this, I just didn't realize I had these questions until I fully grasped the fact that the wizarding world is animated, not real. I mean I know that anyways, but one can always hope.
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Laptop why? I thought you loved me. I treat you right.
My laptop has refused to connect to the internet until 30 minutes before blogs are due and I am physically suffering.
This week we learned about shapes. But not just any shapes. 3D shapes. I am really bad at comprehending shapes, please send help. I'll get the hang of it once I get out of a 2D mindset...hopefully. School really wasn't filled with learning this week. Just a lot of suffering. How many days until break? Days are just repetitive...But in history, we had to teach a lesson, and my partner didn't do anything. But the lesson I made is not only the example to follow for this project, it is the only project in our class so far with a 100! It makes me pumped about this class again because people keep telling me I could make a good history teacher. Hey, maybe they're right.
I want to learn 3D animation. I know it is hard and scary and everything but I'm so stressed over 2D animation. I also want to just learn. I don't know about what but something. I am itching to write a research paper. I would kill to write a random research paper. Make me learn, make me cite things, let me go off on random tangents. Just give me something to learn that isn't related to any class.
My laptop frustrated me this week, with the whole "what internet?" thing. I'm also frustrated by headaches. Brain please just give me a break. Also? People are really frustrating. And my inability to press shapes really fast while a remote control yells at me is frustrating too.
A lot of things made me happy here we go. My Hamilton mixtape arrived and WOO BOY IS IT G O O D. So good. So pure. So great. Also, the PS4 arrived. Until Dawn arrived too. After an entire year and then some of waiting to play Until Dawn, and never watching playthroughs, I have finally been satisfied. Until Dawn is everything I've ever wanted to play in a game. Your choices have consequences. My favorite theory, the butterfly effect, is a HUGE factor in the game. Split second decisions are a huge thing. Think fast or risk your life. And not moving! If you move when it tells you not to you've messed up!! I just love the game so so much. I may not have spent 16 hours on WoW this weekend, but I spent 12 hours on finishing one storyline of Until Dawn and I am so ready to go through and work with all this probability and the butterfly effect until I run this game raw.
And so, with panic rising because I have four minutes left to get this sucker posted, here's an animation that is all of us. The life of a student animator.
This week we learned about shapes. But not just any shapes. 3D shapes. I am really bad at comprehending shapes, please send help. I'll get the hang of it once I get out of a 2D mindset...hopefully. School really wasn't filled with learning this week. Just a lot of suffering. How many days until break? Days are just repetitive...But in history, we had to teach a lesson, and my partner didn't do anything. But the lesson I made is not only the example to follow for this project, it is the only project in our class so far with a 100! It makes me pumped about this class again because people keep telling me I could make a good history teacher. Hey, maybe they're right.
I want to learn 3D animation. I know it is hard and scary and everything but I'm so stressed over 2D animation. I also want to just learn. I don't know about what but something. I am itching to write a research paper. I would kill to write a random research paper. Make me learn, make me cite things, let me go off on random tangents. Just give me something to learn that isn't related to any class.
My laptop frustrated me this week, with the whole "what internet?" thing. I'm also frustrated by headaches. Brain please just give me a break. Also? People are really frustrating. And my inability to press shapes really fast while a remote control yells at me is frustrating too.
A lot of things made me happy here we go. My Hamilton mixtape arrived and WOO BOY IS IT G O O D. So good. So pure. So great. Also, the PS4 arrived. Until Dawn arrived too. After an entire year and then some of waiting to play Until Dawn, and never watching playthroughs, I have finally been satisfied. Until Dawn is everything I've ever wanted to play in a game. Your choices have consequences. My favorite theory, the butterfly effect, is a HUGE factor in the game. Split second decisions are a huge thing. Think fast or risk your life. And not moving! If you move when it tells you not to you've messed up!! I just love the game so so much. I may not have spent 16 hours on WoW this weekend, but I spent 12 hours on finishing one storyline of Until Dawn and I am so ready to go through and work with all this probability and the butterfly effect until I run this game raw.
And so, with panic rising because I have four minutes left to get this sucker posted, here's an animation that is all of us. The life of a student animator.
Its Better If Kids Realize There's a Cost
The animation genre. Define it. But don't, because animation is not just a genre. It is an entire world. Filled with unreal characters and fantasy lands that people work to bring to life. Think about it, why don't cha?
Our article this week is less article and more video. We listened to Brad Bird's video essay about animation. He talks about how he writes and thinks for animation. His philosophy for animation has been to not think about it as a genre, but an art form because that is exactly what it is. You have drawing and painting and writing and this and that, so why should animation be a movie genre when it is an art form entirely on its own.
Brad Bird talks about how forcing the idea process will get you nowhere. Ideas are complex and there is a value in teasing. "If you try to over control the process, you limit the process". He also mentions how making a scene dark is beautiful in a way, and overlighting is overused. He says most people rush and forget about the "sneaking around part". They don't take a minute to savor. His most admired filmmakers are the ones who take a moment to slow down, which I agree with. The gravity-defying part of an animation film is great, but come the time for danger what will you do then? That is basically the question he throws out there.
Brad Bird talks about how animation is trying to get the audience to feel something, to see the human aspect in something that isn't alive. Animation doesn't do any one thing, it can do everything if it wanted to. He takes adult like approaches to everything he does to get the audience to feel and understand consequences, no matter the age. "It's better if kids realize there's a cost," is something he kind of emphasizes. He works with emotions, not stories, and that is what makes animation great. If you didn't feel anything by the end of an animation, is it truly being done right?
Brad Bird is a genius among story makers and among the animation art form. That is what this animation shows. Weaving stories out of emotion and driving points that people don't often realize are his philosophy. So think about that animation art form, why don't you? It really is more than a 'genre'.
Bird's thing about kids realizing a cost being better than them not is really sticking with me. It is completely true. I, as a kid who has grown up with animated movies, understand consequence a lot better than I think I would if I didn't see it in movies I've grown with. He's trying to point out something here, and I see what he's getting at.
I want more story writers like Brad Bird because he speaks greatly to me. Sure, a fun and weirdly action filled animation is nice. But also animations full of substance and consequence and emotion are ones that make you sit and think. Right now, to me, cutesy animations outweigh substanced animations. one day I'm sure it will be balanced out, and more kids will understand the weight of action and emotions and the small moments.
Our article this week is less article and more video. We listened to Brad Bird's video essay about animation. He talks about how he writes and thinks for animation. His philosophy for animation has been to not think about it as a genre, but an art form because that is exactly what it is. You have drawing and painting and writing and this and that, so why should animation be a movie genre when it is an art form entirely on its own.
Brad Bird talks about how forcing the idea process will get you nowhere. Ideas are complex and there is a value in teasing. "If you try to over control the process, you limit the process". He also mentions how making a scene dark is beautiful in a way, and overlighting is overused. He says most people rush and forget about the "sneaking around part". They don't take a minute to savor. His most admired filmmakers are the ones who take a moment to slow down, which I agree with. The gravity-defying part of an animation film is great, but come the time for danger what will you do then? That is basically the question he throws out there.
Brad Bird talks about how animation is trying to get the audience to feel something, to see the human aspect in something that isn't alive. Animation doesn't do any one thing, it can do everything if it wanted to. He takes adult like approaches to everything he does to get the audience to feel and understand consequences, no matter the age. "It's better if kids realize there's a cost," is something he kind of emphasizes. He works with emotions, not stories, and that is what makes animation great. If you didn't feel anything by the end of an animation, is it truly being done right?
Brad Bird is a genius among story makers and among the animation art form. That is what this animation shows. Weaving stories out of emotion and driving points that people don't often realize are his philosophy. So think about that animation art form, why don't you? It really is more than a 'genre'.
Bird's thing about kids realizing a cost being better than them not is really sticking with me. It is completely true. I, as a kid who has grown up with animated movies, understand consequence a lot better than I think I would if I didn't see it in movies I've grown with. He's trying to point out something here, and I see what he's getting at.
I want more story writers like Brad Bird because he speaks greatly to me. Sure, a fun and weirdly action filled animation is nice. But also animations full of substance and consequence and emotion are ones that make you sit and think. Right now, to me, cutesy animations outweigh substanced animations. one day I'm sure it will be balanced out, and more kids will understand the weight of action and emotions and the small moments.
Sunday, December 4, 2016
-crying-
I'm tired.
This week we didn't learn anything new. We did learn that we all probably need time management. We also took a quiz, which to me is always relearning this because studying. I learned that I still hate text analysis in English. I still hate chemistry. Probability is probably going to kill me. (I like statistics better can we make the course Statistics and Statistics instead). History is finally on a subject I really enjoy, and yet he barely touches base on the things I want to touch base on so I scream. Also, I'm sick of my history class please save me.
I want to learn 3D animation in the future. It seems really hard and scary but also I've played WoW for 1,000 minutes this weekend and I really want to know how they make their cinematics and characters models and everything. I also want to learn what sleep is. It seems fake at this point, and all I want is just one good week of sleep. Also, teach me time management? Seeing as I played WoW for such a large amount of time this weekend it is safe to say I probably did nothing else productive with my life.
I'm frustrated with my animation this week. I feel like I'll be able to get it done but my style is just so inconsistent and it is starting to bother me. I try really hard to keep it the same but every angle is a different style somehow, and I already know it is going to be called out during critiques. It adds character I guess.
What made me happy this week was reminding my mom that we don't have a traditional Christmas and so by default, she gave me my Doctor Who connect the dot book early (I knew she bought it). She also bought me new pens, and I love pens. She then told me that my Hamilton calendar had shipped and that the Hamilton mixtape should be following shortly. Yesterday the parents informed my brother and I they were getting us a PS4 and then proceeded to also get Until Dawn, which I have been waiting to play for ages. And to top it all off I have hit level cap on my space goat (110) and am 5 thousand gold away from finally getting a mount I've wanted for years.
I was going to give you a World of Warcraft cinematic but then came across this cute little animation. Basically, don't do drugs kids. They're bad. Nuggets
This week we didn't learn anything new. We did learn that we all probably need time management. We also took a quiz, which to me is always relearning this because studying. I learned that I still hate text analysis in English. I still hate chemistry. Probability is probably going to kill me. (I like statistics better can we make the course Statistics and Statistics instead). History is finally on a subject I really enjoy, and yet he barely touches base on the things I want to touch base on so I scream. Also, I'm sick of my history class please save me.
I want to learn 3D animation in the future. It seems really hard and scary but also I've played WoW for 1,000 minutes this weekend and I really want to know how they make their cinematics and characters models and everything. I also want to learn what sleep is. It seems fake at this point, and all I want is just one good week of sleep. Also, teach me time management? Seeing as I played WoW for such a large amount of time this weekend it is safe to say I probably did nothing else productive with my life.
I'm frustrated with my animation this week. I feel like I'll be able to get it done but my style is just so inconsistent and it is starting to bother me. I try really hard to keep it the same but every angle is a different style somehow, and I already know it is going to be called out during critiques. It adds character I guess.
What made me happy this week was reminding my mom that we don't have a traditional Christmas and so by default, she gave me my Doctor Who connect the dot book early (I knew she bought it). She also bought me new pens, and I love pens. She then told me that my Hamilton calendar had shipped and that the Hamilton mixtape should be following shortly. Yesterday the parents informed my brother and I they were getting us a PS4 and then proceeded to also get Until Dawn, which I have been waiting to play for ages. And to top it all off I have hit level cap on my space goat (110) and am 5 thousand gold away from finally getting a mount I've wanted for years.
I was going to give you a World of Warcraft cinematic but then came across this cute little animation. Basically, don't do drugs kids. They're bad. Nuggets
Love Your Characters
This article covers characters. It tells us that we must love our characters before we can write our story. We must take our characters completely seriously no matter who they are.
This article tells you that if you don't love your characters, they appeared forced. There is no appeal to the character. The main character needs the love, of course, they are doing something with their life that changes the world around them in some way. But also the protagonist can be someone who doesn't change at all, but rather changes those around him. Like that little lovable Wall-E. He didn't do anything to drastically change, and there wasn't much to him, but he did help Eva to change her ways.
The article tells us to have opposites. Opposite characters, like Carl and Russel or Wanda and Cosmo. Or a character who is completely opposite from their environment, like Wreck-It Ralph in Sugar Rush. Opposites do a lot for characters. If every character was the same there would be no substance. Using the concept of opposites keeps thing fresh and exciting, and could also lead to plot twists here and there.
If your antagonist is weak then your protagonist is going to end up being weak too. Your character should have an equal match. If your struggle or conflict is too weak or too vague, you're not going to get very far. The protagonist is only as strong at the force against them, so don't give them some weak block wall and instead build them a great wall of China that they have to find their way through or around. Remember to keep them evenly matched though, if your protagonist is weaker than your antagonist or the other way away the story doesn't go anywhere exciting.
Remember to love your stories and put love into your characters. If there isn't effort put in, it shows and people lose interest. Development gets you a long way in the long run.
This article showed me that it is important to love your character, or at least enjoy their appeal and build them properly. You shouldn't have to force anything out of them, it should flow smoothly. I want to take this advice and go somewhere with it because I've never really made my own characters.
Learning about how opposites are important intrigued me, I didn't realize how far opposites could take you until now. Opposites really do attract, attract attention that is.
This article tells you that if you don't love your characters, they appeared forced. There is no appeal to the character. The main character needs the love, of course, they are doing something with their life that changes the world around them in some way. But also the protagonist can be someone who doesn't change at all, but rather changes those around him. Like that little lovable Wall-E. He didn't do anything to drastically change, and there wasn't much to him, but he did help Eva to change her ways.
The article tells us to have opposites. Opposite characters, like Carl and Russel or Wanda and Cosmo. Or a character who is completely opposite from their environment, like Wreck-It Ralph in Sugar Rush. Opposites do a lot for characters. If every character was the same there would be no substance. Using the concept of opposites keeps thing fresh and exciting, and could also lead to plot twists here and there.
If your antagonist is weak then your protagonist is going to end up being weak too. Your character should have an equal match. If your struggle or conflict is too weak or too vague, you're not going to get very far. The protagonist is only as strong at the force against them, so don't give them some weak block wall and instead build them a great wall of China that they have to find their way through or around. Remember to keep them evenly matched though, if your protagonist is weaker than your antagonist or the other way away the story doesn't go anywhere exciting.
Remember to love your stories and put love into your characters. If there isn't effort put in, it shows and people lose interest. Development gets you a long way in the long run.
This article showed me that it is important to love your character, or at least enjoy their appeal and build them properly. You shouldn't have to force anything out of them, it should flow smoothly. I want to take this advice and go somewhere with it because I've never really made my own characters.
Learning about how opposites are important intrigued me, I didn't realize how far opposites could take you until now. Opposites really do attract, attract attention that is.
Sunday, November 20, 2016
#freethememes2k16
I made an alien species to escape reality this week. We got memes banned. -Finger guns- What else is new?
Thi week we learned about sound recorders and some audio editing. Sound recorders seem pretty simple to use, but I'm anxious about using one because my dialogue in my animation has very specific specs to it. We already knew somewhat about Audacity, but it was refreshing to learn more. Garage band seems like it will also be really handy for sound as well because it has some sounds that are better than hunting online for uncopyrighted things. I learned that by the sheer power of will you can turn a bad goat imitation into a spaceship noise. I also learned that for some reason I know chemistry math better than statistics math. I learned more calculator commands I don't have the capacity to remember. And finally, I learned I'm too stupid to even apply to a college I wanted to go to.
Something I would like to learn in the future is how to properly lip sync. I thought I had it down, and that was the only thing in my 11 Second Story Club I liked. Then I was informed that I did not, in fact, have it down, and it just looked like mouths opening and closing. Which leads to I need to figure out how to lip sync properly for the single line of dialogue in my 2D short and the loss of slight pride for my 11SSC.
Existing frustrated me this week. I'm still somewhat sick, even though I really shouldn't be. I have grown to actually hate my history class because people in it have no idea what feelings are, and one of my majors was made fun of. Learning I can't even apply to a desired college frustrated me. Everything is just frustrated and I'm frustrated and bitter.
My friend bought my World of Warcraft game time. That's the only thing that really made me happy because I get to waste my weekends on my space goat(draenei) again and it is a huge stress relief. WoW has always made me happy. What can I say? I've been playing since I was four. Which means it has been a part of my life since it launched(November 23, 2004). It really says a lot.
My link of interest this week is really astounding. The amount of effort this person had to put in to edit this is the effort I wish I had. It is smooth and flawless and beautiful and you should watch it: Fan.Tasia.
Thi week we learned about sound recorders and some audio editing. Sound recorders seem pretty simple to use, but I'm anxious about using one because my dialogue in my animation has very specific specs to it. We already knew somewhat about Audacity, but it was refreshing to learn more. Garage band seems like it will also be really handy for sound as well because it has some sounds that are better than hunting online for uncopyrighted things. I learned that by the sheer power of will you can turn a bad goat imitation into a spaceship noise. I also learned that for some reason I know chemistry math better than statistics math. I learned more calculator commands I don't have the capacity to remember. And finally, I learned I'm too stupid to even apply to a college I wanted to go to.
Something I would like to learn in the future is how to properly lip sync. I thought I had it down, and that was the only thing in my 11 Second Story Club I liked. Then I was informed that I did not, in fact, have it down, and it just looked like mouths opening and closing. Which leads to I need to figure out how to lip sync properly for the single line of dialogue in my 2D short and the loss of slight pride for my 11SSC.
Existing frustrated me this week. I'm still somewhat sick, even though I really shouldn't be. I have grown to actually hate my history class because people in it have no idea what feelings are, and one of my majors was made fun of. Learning I can't even apply to a desired college frustrated me. Everything is just frustrated and I'm frustrated and bitter.
My friend bought my World of Warcraft game time. That's the only thing that really made me happy because I get to waste my weekends on my space goat(draenei) again and it is a huge stress relief. WoW has always made me happy. What can I say? I've been playing since I was four. Which means it has been a part of my life since it launched(November 23, 2004). It really says a lot.
My link of interest this week is really astounding. The amount of effort this person had to put in to edit this is the effort I wish I had. It is smooth and flawless and beautiful and you should watch it: Fan.Tasia.
Ideas and Stuff
This week's article talks about Disney and Pixar. More specifically it talks about the process they go through to just come up with the ideas for their movies.
The process is called research and development, and it can take up to a year to finish. It all starts with a story pitch. Or three to be exact. Three separate directors spend four to five months constructing the world, characters, and a theme for their story and then they present. The ideas aren't always picked up, but if they are that director is sent on their way to work more in depth on it. Sometimes there is a certain aspect to the story that is liked a lot, and they are sent off to further that before they pitch again. R&D is mostly used to further develop the given pitch. It takes process through endless notes and pictures and live action reels and this and that until at the end you stand in a story room surrounded by countless notes. The people at Disney and Pixar travel for their research, like to talk to a woman with 36 rats for Ratatouille or to tepuis in Venezuela to create Paradise Falls for Up.
After all this research they then have to find a scriptwriter. They read tons of scripts and then interview writers they have chosen to see if they fit the mold for a Disney or Pixar script writer. It is basically summed up that introverted writers are not really fit for this job. The writers then get together with the story artists to work out an outline and beat board of the main characters emotional journey. Once these outlines are approved by Disney's Story trust and Pixar's Brain trust, boards made of directors currently at the animation studios the story can take its way to scripts and storyboards.
It is necessary to "Be Wrong Fast". The Brain Trusts and Story Trusts have this motto because they need to be able to pick out flaws earlier in the productions rather than later. They will sit and watch the movie six to eight times in various stages of its production. From storyboards to the animation with dialogue, because it is vital to find everything that is wrong fast.
This article gives the reader three key takeaways as it travels through a short movie making process: take the time to develop before launching into creating, know your world through research, and find trusted collaborators to pull your story about as you go through making it. The time you take to develop ideas before launching into them will benefit you in the long run because the idea will be more fully fleshed out then "wow what a good idea lets work with just this and nothing else that could build on it". Knowing your story's world through the power of research will give you the ability to work with everything in it. You won't be unsure how something happens because you will have fully planned it before you even started writing. Collaborators to pull your story apart sound harsh, but they are good because then you have someone who isn't you finding flaws that linger in your world. It is always better to have extra people because you don't often see your own flaws.
This article brought into greater light just how much goes into animated movies. I never really thought about it, but to sit and work an idea to its greatest potential for up to a year before even starting a script or a storyboard is a lot. Being an animator is no joke, there is work upon work to do.
I'm amazed by the amount of time put into just fleshing out a story. I may not be equipped to ever become an animator, but I do know reasearching for a story. I can spend up to a week learning a topic that is only going to be in my story for about three paragraphs. If I ever thought about working for one of these companies I wouldn't mind being with the research and development team.
The process is called research and development, and it can take up to a year to finish. It all starts with a story pitch. Or three to be exact. Three separate directors spend four to five months constructing the world, characters, and a theme for their story and then they present. The ideas aren't always picked up, but if they are that director is sent on their way to work more in depth on it. Sometimes there is a certain aspect to the story that is liked a lot, and they are sent off to further that before they pitch again. R&D is mostly used to further develop the given pitch. It takes process through endless notes and pictures and live action reels and this and that until at the end you stand in a story room surrounded by countless notes. The people at Disney and Pixar travel for their research, like to talk to a woman with 36 rats for Ratatouille or to tepuis in Venezuela to create Paradise Falls for Up.
After all this research they then have to find a scriptwriter. They read tons of scripts and then interview writers they have chosen to see if they fit the mold for a Disney or Pixar script writer. It is basically summed up that introverted writers are not really fit for this job. The writers then get together with the story artists to work out an outline and beat board of the main characters emotional journey. Once these outlines are approved by Disney's Story trust and Pixar's Brain trust, boards made of directors currently at the animation studios the story can take its way to scripts and storyboards.
It is necessary to "Be Wrong Fast". The Brain Trusts and Story Trusts have this motto because they need to be able to pick out flaws earlier in the productions rather than later. They will sit and watch the movie six to eight times in various stages of its production. From storyboards to the animation with dialogue, because it is vital to find everything that is wrong fast.
This article gives the reader three key takeaways as it travels through a short movie making process: take the time to develop before launching into creating, know your world through research, and find trusted collaborators to pull your story about as you go through making it. The time you take to develop ideas before launching into them will benefit you in the long run because the idea will be more fully fleshed out then "wow what a good idea lets work with just this and nothing else that could build on it". Knowing your story's world through the power of research will give you the ability to work with everything in it. You won't be unsure how something happens because you will have fully planned it before you even started writing. Collaborators to pull your story apart sound harsh, but they are good because then you have someone who isn't you finding flaws that linger in your world. It is always better to have extra people because you don't often see your own flaws.
This article brought into greater light just how much goes into animated movies. I never really thought about it, but to sit and work an idea to its greatest potential for up to a year before even starting a script or a storyboard is a lot. Being an animator is no joke, there is work upon work to do.
I'm amazed by the amount of time put into just fleshing out a story. I may not be equipped to ever become an animator, but I do know reasearching for a story. I can spend up to a week learning a topic that is only going to be in my story for about three paragraphs. If I ever thought about working for one of these companies I wouldn't mind being with the research and development team.
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Be BRAVE
The article this week talks about insecurity. Being an artist is hard a lot of the time because you always see someone who's better than you or feel like you aren't enough. This article gives us the seven ways to overcome insecurity.
The first way is to have thick skin. Pursuing an artistic job like animation can lead to one thing: constant rejection. But you can't let that get you down. There's always reasons for rejection, and they tend to be the same through all art fields. They could be looking for a different style, a different angle, a certain kind of person, etc. etc. Most times it is not because of your talent, and you shouldn't let that get to you. But you should also continue to always improve, because even though they may not view your talent as important in every case, the eye is drawn to the concept of improvement. Reason two is that you should have persistence. Put yourself out there always, over and over. Let the world get to know you. Take any job you are offered, no matter what kind of job it is. The wider known you are the better you can ignore your insecurities about your career. You should be able to take constructive criticism. Accept it and treasure it. In the first moments of it, it may make you upset, but later in life, after you've worked with your criticism and used it to the fullest potential you'll be thanking someone for what they said.
The next three reasons center around your abilities. You have to present yourself correctly. Don't pretend to be someone you are not, but be friendly and personable. Being disrespectful won't do anything for you. You also have to be able to get along with people as well. If you can't get along with people or you'd rather be disrespectful instead of making at least an effort, you aren't made for an artistic career. Make sure you are flexible. Animation is a transient industry. You have to people able to go with the flow of work hours or workload or studio switching and such. Be sure to have problem-solving skills. In a technical field, you have to know the technology. While IT people are there to help, it is always better to know how to quickly do it on your own. And having innovation can help you too, innovations can get you pretty far.
Finally, you have to be able to balance owning your work and also doing what is requested of you. While you may want to thrive with your own original stuff in art, sometimes you have to start with someone else's ideas. You have to be comfortable with the idea of that, even if you don't like the idea presented. You also have to be able to communicate ways you wants to make a scene yours in a way. Balance is a well-earned skill to have, and you often learn about it in group projects and such.
This article is really helpful for people going into animation or anything art related. Art is a hard field to be confident on, but if you just follow the right path you can get really far.
There are points in this article I have followed for years. As an actress, flexibility is a must. If you can't follow what your director wants, you shouldn't be on stage. Theatre is a tedious field to reside in, and all these points apply to it just not in the same way as animation.
I feel this article has gotten its point across soundly. It gives you reasons and pointers for the reasons in a well-worded fashion. Even though you might feel like you listen to all of this, but also reading about them and examples of them can help out a lot as well.
The first way is to have thick skin. Pursuing an artistic job like animation can lead to one thing: constant rejection. But you can't let that get you down. There's always reasons for rejection, and they tend to be the same through all art fields. They could be looking for a different style, a different angle, a certain kind of person, etc. etc. Most times it is not because of your talent, and you shouldn't let that get to you. But you should also continue to always improve, because even though they may not view your talent as important in every case, the eye is drawn to the concept of improvement. Reason two is that you should have persistence. Put yourself out there always, over and over. Let the world get to know you. Take any job you are offered, no matter what kind of job it is. The wider known you are the better you can ignore your insecurities about your career. You should be able to take constructive criticism. Accept it and treasure it. In the first moments of it, it may make you upset, but later in life, after you've worked with your criticism and used it to the fullest potential you'll be thanking someone for what they said.
The next three reasons center around your abilities. You have to present yourself correctly. Don't pretend to be someone you are not, but be friendly and personable. Being disrespectful won't do anything for you. You also have to be able to get along with people as well. If you can't get along with people or you'd rather be disrespectful instead of making at least an effort, you aren't made for an artistic career. Make sure you are flexible. Animation is a transient industry. You have to people able to go with the flow of work hours or workload or studio switching and such. Be sure to have problem-solving skills. In a technical field, you have to know the technology. While IT people are there to help, it is always better to know how to quickly do it on your own. And having innovation can help you too, innovations can get you pretty far.
Finally, you have to be able to balance owning your work and also doing what is requested of you. While you may want to thrive with your own original stuff in art, sometimes you have to start with someone else's ideas. You have to be comfortable with the idea of that, even if you don't like the idea presented. You also have to be able to communicate ways you wants to make a scene yours in a way. Balance is a well-earned skill to have, and you often learn about it in group projects and such.
This article is really helpful for people going into animation or anything art related. Art is a hard field to be confident on, but if you just follow the right path you can get really far.
There are points in this article I have followed for years. As an actress, flexibility is a must. If you can't follow what your director wants, you shouldn't be on stage. Theatre is a tedious field to reside in, and all these points apply to it just not in the same way as animation.
I feel this article has gotten its point across soundly. It gives you reasons and pointers for the reasons in a well-worded fashion. Even though you might feel like you listen to all of this, but also reading about them and examples of them can help out a lot as well.
Saturday, November 5, 2016
I'm s u f f e r i n g
Our scene starts with a dark stage, a single light settles on the blue-haired person sitting on a stool. They look you directly in the eye, jaw working as if they are about to say something. Here they go, their mouth opens and..."Ugggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhh I just want to sleep for nine years." And there you have it. A great example of a high school student. Applause sounds, the person slide off the stool, the light dims. Life is a mess.
This week we learned about the camera in Harmony. I thought it would be easy, it looked easy. I understood all of it for once. And then I spent an hour trying to figure it out and decided it wasn't easy. It is nice that we know how to use it now, though, it will add ~pizazz~ to our animations. In English, I learned that Michelle and I really aren't made for public relations. Our project still isn't done. This is a call out post to Michelle: please send me the facts so we don't fail English, xoxo. I learned I hate Chemistry. There is no love in the world for chemistry. Statistics gave us another project and I internally cried because I hate math and her projects are weighted with the souls of tests, aka projects are graded like tests. I almost fought everyone in history. I might still fight everyone in history. Me vs. A History Class. I bet I'll win. History is just very taxing right now and tensions are high and I am ready to fight everyone. All of them. I'm going to stop myself before I keep going on about this ugh.
I don't want to learn anything in the future. I want to leave the plane of existence that is school and go become a sudden broadway star. Okay but for real I want to learn about 3D animation. I'm kind of realizing I'm not really built for 2D animation. Maybe my calling is 3D? I hope. I also want to learn why drama kids are really bad at deciphering hints. I mean we were in the right kind of idea but we were wrong. Our musical is not Peter Pan. It is The Little Mermaid. I see a lot of stage crew members throwing a fit over it because they think it is too hard of a musical. But I'll (i just sneezed all over my laptop. yes you needed to know.) let you in on a secret: they don't have positoovity. Yes, that is a musical reference to a musical we don't even have audition dates for yet, I'm a theatre nerd leave me alone.
The camera frustrated me this week. My immune system has also been rather frustrating. I'm normally used to migraines, but this week one just built and built until it knocked me out on Thursday and I suffered. I woke up Friday ready to keep going but it was still there and also I was sicker so I didn't even try to continue on. I'm still suffering. I can't breathe and a headache still lingers. I'm gonna ignore it on Monday though. I can't miss school with the kind of life I live. (-forever internally sobbing about how I couldn't have just been a normal average grade and no after school commitments student-)
Has anything made me happy? I went trick or treating with Michelle on Monday. That was good. That was the first time I've gone since I was seven. I was given a musical with a lead I may be able to land for once because I already have the trick down of how they harmonize thanks to my glory days at Yente. I'm still suffering though so honestly there isn't much happy. I just want to lay as still as possible and not move for like all the years. Uggggghhhhhhhhh. (Why is my auto-correct calling me out for theatre but not for four unnecessary gs and eight unnecessary hs?) Also this random fun fact I found out: Prince of Egypt and Shrek were being produced around the same time right? Well, Shrek was always viewed as the ugly stepchild of DreamWorks, because of well...you know why. Anyways, if you messed up on Prince of Egypt do you know what happened? You were banished from working on Prince of Egypt and instead sent to work on Shrek. "That's not true!" you claim. But oh-ho yes it IS: "As Shrek floundered, its status as the ugly stepchild at DreamWorks was reinforced. "It was known as the Gulag," said one animator. "If you failed on Prince of Egypt...you were sent to the dungeons to work on Shrek." The assignment was referred to as being 'Shreked'." (Page 58 of The Men Who Would Be King by Nicole LaPorte).
I am really struggling with my link of interest this week. On one hand, you have this really cool pilot episode thing I found that is the bomb dot com and I love it. On the other hand, you have the first episode to the weirdest thing my own two eyes have witnessed. So what will it be? (Jefferson or Burr? We know it's lose-lose.) I'll just go with whatever is first in my youtube history. I just went through like 15 full plays of the Little Mermaid soundtrack for this, please watch it. It's great. (Wow Becky u sure r hardcore)
Sunday, October 30, 2016
It Took Me Three Hours to Write This
The article this week was called Facial Animation 101. Dana Boadway-Mason talks about how to approach facial expressions in animation. Facial animation is used to show what is being processed in the mind of your character. This is important as it gives realism to a piece. It can be achieved with rudimentary and simple rigs, it does not necessarily have to be complicated.
The brain works with a system of input and output, just like a computer or machine. The input is anything that affects a character's senses, like the five senses and more. Those will then lead to affecting the character emotionally and physically. Facial expressions reflect the reaction to inputs, ultimately making them the output.
The rule of thumb for deciding the facial expressions is the KISS method: Keep It Simple, Silly! Basically, you see what is happening in the shot and then decide how your character feels about it. You also decide if something occurs that changes the emotion. Most times there is not a lot that happens to emotion in a single shot of animation so you would only have to cycle through one or two emotions. A start emotion and then the possibility of a change in emotion. Then you pose out those expressions. Create the first pose and key the positions as you go along. Facial and body pose must be treated as separate beings. If the body and face move at the same time, the audience will end up missing the facial expression that takes place. Facial expressions are key to an audience understanding a character's thought process.
To figure out an expression you must internalize what a character feeling. Get into their head and process their emotion, even act it out yourself. Line of action helps to build a facial pose, and you can also break from this to create asymmetry and a more human feel. To work with dialogue you should use jaw blocking first, and work with the timing of open and closed mouth timing. You also must remember to keep the eyes focused, and the irises in proper places. You also need to be careful to not overdue eye darts, which you can easily mess up.
Always think of facial expressions as the order of operations. Follow a chain to get to your facial expression. What is the input? Where are they looking? What are they feeling? The this and that and etc. of emotions. Getting started with a facial rig can be difficult, but with time you can learn to understand it.
I said multiple times that I wanted to learn about animating a face and now I'm kind of intimidated. There is a lot that goes into facial expressions apparently, and I never really thought about it. I wish that there was more with how to specifically adjust a face as needed, and how to work with not meshing body and face language but also keeping your flow.
I hope I can learn to use what I was taught in this article to my advantage. I might even come back to look at it several times in the future. I feel my facial animation will be shaky for a while, but maybe as I process KISS and the such more and more I will create a solid facial movement.
The rule of thumb for deciding the facial expressions is the KISS method: Keep It Simple, Silly! Basically, you see what is happening in the shot and then decide how your character feels about it. You also decide if something occurs that changes the emotion. Most times there is not a lot that happens to emotion in a single shot of animation so you would only have to cycle through one or two emotions. A start emotion and then the possibility of a change in emotion. Then you pose out those expressions. Create the first pose and key the positions as you go along. Facial and body pose must be treated as separate beings. If the body and face move at the same time, the audience will end up missing the facial expression that takes place. Facial expressions are key to an audience understanding a character's thought process.
To figure out an expression you must internalize what a character feeling. Get into their head and process their emotion, even act it out yourself. Line of action helps to build a facial pose, and you can also break from this to create asymmetry and a more human feel. To work with dialogue you should use jaw blocking first, and work with the timing of open and closed mouth timing. You also must remember to keep the eyes focused, and the irises in proper places. You also need to be careful to not overdue eye darts, which you can easily mess up.
Always think of facial expressions as the order of operations. Follow a chain to get to your facial expression. What is the input? Where are they looking? What are they feeling? The this and that and etc. of emotions. Getting started with a facial rig can be difficult, but with time you can learn to understand it.
I said multiple times that I wanted to learn about animating a face and now I'm kind of intimidated. There is a lot that goes into facial expressions apparently, and I never really thought about it. I wish that there was more with how to specifically adjust a face as needed, and how to work with not meshing body and face language but also keeping your flow.
I hope I can learn to use what I was taught in this article to my advantage. I might even come back to look at it several times in the future. I feel my facial animation will be shaky for a while, but maybe as I process KISS and the such more and more I will create a solid facial movement.
O Animation, Animation...Wherefore art thou Animation?
Did you know "Wherefore art thou..." doesn't mean where it means why? So the quote is actually "Romeo, Romeo....why are you Romeo?", because Juliet is questioning what's really in a name (star-crossed lovers and all that you know). Anyways weird facts you don't care for aside, let's talk about a week.
Learning. Things we learned. What did we learn? Lip syncing! (I'm so tired I almost typed Lyp Sincing. That could be a stage name.) We learned how to lip sync, and about mouth charts, and how to mess with sound. It all seems complicated but I'm sure with time I can get a grip on it. Or I can just cry over it. Or cry over it while I get a grip on it. I also taught myself something about sound. I got home and went to work on my animation only to discover a flat line in place of the sound waves that needed to be there for my sound layer. I suffered for an hour trying to figure out if my file was messed up or my harmony was messed up or if my computer was messed up, and after looking at probably 10 articles I finally found the issue. I have a windows computer, so I don't automatically have Quicktime. Harmony functions its sound files through Quicktime. So in order for sound to work on a Windows computer, you need to download Quicktime (which also means I can convert animations into videos now too). The more you know. I'm not entirely sure I learned anything new in other class this week, I've been too tired.
In the future, I want to learn more about how sound works in Harmony. I figure it will be a difficult uphill climb but I know there's a lot more to learn that could advance me in my animation path. I also want to learn what our musical is this year. We all have our suspicions that it is going to be Peter Pan but we won't fully know until Wednesday night. There have been big hints, though, that have led us to our conclusion of Peter Pan. Hints such as: the use of wires, a bit with a dog, an equally split amount of male and female speaking a singing parts, our fight director coming back, our co-director fake coughing out 'Peter Pan'. Honestly, it is probably Peter Pan. If it isn't, drama kids are apparently really bad at deciphering hints.
What frustrated me this week was my lack of sleep. I have had no focus all week, and forget about things constantly. Like my flash drive, which I almost left in the computer twice this week. I almost started forgetting lines and choreography and cues as well, but I'm thankful I didn't. I think people also frustrated me this week. There are people in my classes that make life hard because they don't understand how to just listen to the teacher. We would be a lot farther in statistics right now if people didn't purposely make the teacher's life hard. Which in correlation makes my life hard. School is hard as it is don't make it harder.
I am worn out. I am getting sick. A faded blue heart remains on my cheek and only one eye has eyeliner. I am covered in bruises and I am sick of standing. Soliloquies and monologues are on repeat in my head, and my fight choreography lingers. It all sounds bad but what made me happy this week was finally performing Romeo and Juliet. We had six weeks to put on a rather difficult play and we put it together beautifully. I want to go back on stage and do it all again, even if it was mentally and emotionally taxing at points. Theatre is my passion, and it always makes me happy. I'm also happy that I can finally get some normal sleep. For at least two months.
I say it is time that I give you another Hamilton animatic. Because I'm still fighting with myself to not just give you the link to the documentary. The Laurens Interlude is basically the only speaking scene in Hamilton, and I love it. This is by far one of my favorite animatics for it, so bippity boppity boo: You know you want to watch it ;)))
Learning. Things we learned. What did we learn? Lip syncing! (I'm so tired I almost typed Lyp Sincing. That could be a stage name.) We learned how to lip sync, and about mouth charts, and how to mess with sound. It all seems complicated but I'm sure with time I can get a grip on it. Or I can just cry over it. Or cry over it while I get a grip on it. I also taught myself something about sound. I got home and went to work on my animation only to discover a flat line in place of the sound waves that needed to be there for my sound layer. I suffered for an hour trying to figure out if my file was messed up or my harmony was messed up or if my computer was messed up, and after looking at probably 10 articles I finally found the issue. I have a windows computer, so I don't automatically have Quicktime. Harmony functions its sound files through Quicktime. So in order for sound to work on a Windows computer, you need to download Quicktime (which also means I can convert animations into videos now too). The more you know. I'm not entirely sure I learned anything new in other class this week, I've been too tired.
In the future, I want to learn more about how sound works in Harmony. I figure it will be a difficult uphill climb but I know there's a lot more to learn that could advance me in my animation path. I also want to learn what our musical is this year. We all have our suspicions that it is going to be Peter Pan but we won't fully know until Wednesday night. There have been big hints, though, that have led us to our conclusion of Peter Pan. Hints such as: the use of wires, a bit with a dog, an equally split amount of male and female speaking a singing parts, our fight director coming back, our co-director fake coughing out 'Peter Pan'. Honestly, it is probably Peter Pan. If it isn't, drama kids are apparently really bad at deciphering hints.
What frustrated me this week was my lack of sleep. I have had no focus all week, and forget about things constantly. Like my flash drive, which I almost left in the computer twice this week. I almost started forgetting lines and choreography and cues as well, but I'm thankful I didn't. I think people also frustrated me this week. There are people in my classes that make life hard because they don't understand how to just listen to the teacher. We would be a lot farther in statistics right now if people didn't purposely make the teacher's life hard. Which in correlation makes my life hard. School is hard as it is don't make it harder.
I am worn out. I am getting sick. A faded blue heart remains on my cheek and only one eye has eyeliner. I am covered in bruises and I am sick of standing. Soliloquies and monologues are on repeat in my head, and my fight choreography lingers. It all sounds bad but what made me happy this week was finally performing Romeo and Juliet. We had six weeks to put on a rather difficult play and we put it together beautifully. I want to go back on stage and do it all again, even if it was mentally and emotionally taxing at points. Theatre is my passion, and it always makes me happy. I'm also happy that I can finally get some normal sleep. For at least two months.
I say it is time that I give you another Hamilton animatic. Because I'm still fighting with myself to not just give you the link to the documentary. The Laurens Interlude is basically the only speaking scene in Hamilton, and I love it. This is by far one of my favorite animatics for it, so bippity boppity boo: You know you want to watch it ;)))
Sunday, October 23, 2016
-enter my usual clever title here-
I am eternally screaming. That's right folks; it has gone from internal to external to eternal. But that doesn't matter, leave my eternal screams behind to look at this week.
Did we learn anything this week? I'm not sure. Time is an illusion. I know we took a quiz on animation principles, which was interrupted by a fire alarm. So I mean in a sense we had to refresh ourselves on animation principles. That's like....teaching yourself. But I really don't think anything new was learned. Someone, please inform if there was something new that we learned. In English, I was just frustrated. I struggled with an assignment we were given, and then just gave up and wrote something that might be good. In chemistry, I removed hydration from something and simultaneously ruined my grade all in one go. Chemical formulas and names are too difficult and I vote we sue them. Gym is never mentioned but it was actually fun this week because I climbed things, and rock wall climbing is like one of my favorite past time. Stats is not worthy of our time. In history, we did nothing but review for a test and then I know I aced that test. Thank you extensive knowledge of the American Revolution.
In the future, I want to learn how to lip sync. I know it is coming up. I am scared, to say the least, but maybe it will be something I can grasp pretty easily. And hey with lip syncing you know what comes up? Animating faces! I think I've mentioned my desire to animate them like two times before. I hope it will be more fun than it is painful because I want to animate emotions. Our non-animation related 'What I Want To Learn' of the week is: my lines. "But Heather, isn't your first show on Thursday?", one may ask. I will answer yes, and then continue my eternal screaming because I have all my lines but three that I have no idea how to memorize. Wish me luck, because hell (I mean tech) week is knocking on my door.
The flour sack kind of frustrated me this week, but not really. I know I have to work on my takes and anticipation for sure. Chemistry also frustrated me this week. See: chemical formulas and names. I have no idea how to take a formula and turn it into a name or take a name and turn it into a formula. It is difficult and unnecessary for my everyday life. I want to fight the entire subject of them. Perhaps I'll understand them by the end of the year, or perhaps I will finally figure out how to sue a concept. Whichever comes first you know.
Once again we encounter the single subject that has taken my life over: Hamilton. Why do I bring this up once again in text form? Well, because the thing that made me happy this week was the release of Hamilton's America. Also known as the documentary for my favorite musical. I cried, I laughed, I screamed, and I've already watched it more than six times. No obsession here. Not only did the documentary make me happy, but so did Lin-Manuel Miranda. He is the human embodiment of a cinnamon roll and I love him with all my being. He may be significantly older than me but I am increasingly proud of him. He has gotten me through a lot in recent months, so I can't help but be proud of everything he does.
If I could, I would make my link of interest this week Hamilton's America. I mean, there is some forms of animation in it here and there so it could be justified. But I won't do that. (I debated with myself for 30 minutes over it okay, you're lucky.) Instead, I'm going to give you a little Pixar mini documentary on storyboarding. That's right folks, you can't escape documentaries as long as I'm here. Here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LKPVAIcDXY.
Are You Meant to be a Game Animator? (probably not)
This week's article is about what it takes to be a game animator. While some people may think that all animators work in the same way, this article points out how that isn't true. Now that video games are becoming more prominent in this day and age people are learning more what goes into one, and since every video game is animated there is a ton that goes into them.
Mostly this article talks about the differences in animation. For video games, the exaggeration has to be altered because gamers expect a character to have a certain responsiveness to their input. The exaggerations have to be subtle and not so much that it feels as if the gamer is not controlling the character. Feature animation exaggeration is more cartoony and stylistic but VFX is subtle and realistic.
Audience holds a lot of weight for both film and VFX. Animated films are viewed passively, and animators can cheat angles and camera views because viewers are not actively interacting with them. Video games are a different story because the audience member is always actively interacting with the animation. Animations have to constantly read from every and all angles because audience members are always looking around and interacting with their surrounded environment.
With game animation, you create animation cycles and such in programs like Maya and then export them to a game program. Unlike film animation, where artists have to work to put a little personal flair into the design; game animation gives you full control of one character. An animator is assigned to create and see their character to the end of production so that the character is completely theirs and theirs alone.
The article ends by telling you that it is important to look into all animation careers before settling on one. Exploring multiple animation careers gives you a well-rounded list of skills that you can use in the future.
This article showed me that film animation and game animation are highly different. They have the same kind of concept but different ways to go at it, like with exaggeration and understanding of how to use the angles. The way games are animated does hold interest to me, but I don't think I would ever want to pursue it because there is so much extra and personal thought that has to go into the production. I do not that have that kind of focus.
Mostly this article talks about the differences in animation. For video games, the exaggeration has to be altered because gamers expect a character to have a certain responsiveness to their input. The exaggerations have to be subtle and not so much that it feels as if the gamer is not controlling the character. Feature animation exaggeration is more cartoony and stylistic but VFX is subtle and realistic.
Audience holds a lot of weight for both film and VFX. Animated films are viewed passively, and animators can cheat angles and camera views because viewers are not actively interacting with them. Video games are a different story because the audience member is always actively interacting with the animation. Animations have to constantly read from every and all angles because audience members are always looking around and interacting with their surrounded environment.
With game animation, you create animation cycles and such in programs like Maya and then export them to a game program. Unlike film animation, where artists have to work to put a little personal flair into the design; game animation gives you full control of one character. An animator is assigned to create and see their character to the end of production so that the character is completely theirs and theirs alone.
The article ends by telling you that it is important to look into all animation careers before settling on one. Exploring multiple animation careers gives you a well-rounded list of skills that you can use in the future.
This article showed me that film animation and game animation are highly different. They have the same kind of concept but different ways to go at it, like with exaggeration and understanding of how to use the angles. The way games are animated does hold interest to me, but I don't think I would ever want to pursue it because there is so much extra and personal thought that has to go into the production. I do not that have that kind of focus.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
What the heck I gotta ~do~ to pass school?
What time is it? Week review time! How exciting! (I'm groaning internally at myself I'm sorry.)
This week we learned about keyframes and peg layers. And storyboards and probably something else I'm not remembering. Keyframes and peg layers honestly make me nervous because I feel I'll end up messing my animation up when I use them. Storyboards excite me, though, because even though I'm worried about making full-blown animations I am excited about planning them out. If there's one thing that I can do write it is write down a plan of action. Other than that nothing else was really learned in school. English was wordy, chemistry was chemically, stats was graphy, and history was just me zoning out because I know an unhealthy amount about the American Revolution. (Example: Did you know that once during the American Revolution, Alexander Hamilton and Charles Lee and some other troops were across the Hudson river destroying a flour warehouse before the advancing British troops got there, right? And troops saw the British coming and were like "we gotta bounce lol bye" and left, but Hamilton and a couple other men were left by the side of the river while a ton of Redcoats were coming. But lucky them, they had a boat, so they retreated across the Hudson river (under British gunfire), but that boat was useless cause one man died and another was wounded. So they were like "dudes, time to swim" and abandoned ship and just started swimming. And they made it out okay! But Lee assumed Alexander had died so he got back to camp and was like "Washington, listen, we saw British coming and booked it and accidentally left Hamilton and he's dead now haha sorry bro." And Washington was like "woah, that's sad", so he and his aides started mourning Alexander and drinking in his memory, when A dot Ham busted into his own death party, soaking wet.)
In the future, I want to learn how to apply audio to animations. I feel it will be another painful and tedious process, but what is animation if it isn't tedious and painful? I also want to learn how to animate faces, or how to draw things the same over and over because I struggle with that. Something not related to animation that I want to learn is how to properly front fall for stage fighting. Believe me, I need it.
Here's the big bomb: What frustrated me this week? Me. I frustrated me this week. Everything I did made me want to rip my own hair out. I sabotaged myself on the ball and tail(hello bad grade my old friend), I cried for 30 minutes over not being able to grasp the fight scene choreographing I missed, and some other things. I just made life hard for myself this week, full of anxiety and depression. It is hard to admit that sometimes, but because of it I am sometimes Gaius and Brutus and crew stabbing Caeser in the back while at the same time I am also Caeser. But as of right now I'm better, and feelings have settled. The knives are out of my back and I'm not on the verge of screaming at someone.
So since I frustrated myself all week there really wasn't much there to make me happy. But today was a pretty happy day. We went out to Red Lobster, and for the second time this year I took a bad picture with crab claws as my claws and gave it a bad Wolverine related caption. Then we went to Barnes and Noble, and I got a book and a tote. And then twenty minutes later got another book and a very confused cashier because she could have sworn I'd left. There is also a thing I'm writing that's picked up recently and that has made me happy too, especially the comments left on it.
The link this week is a video called Overcomer. This is an animation made by a student for a class, and I relate heavily to it this week. So, enjoy! Overcomer - Animated Short.
Geometry Can Do A Lot
In the article "How Cinematographers Use Geometric Shapes to Tell Stories with Visuals" and it's accompanying video the importance of geometry in animation is explained. I dislike geometry to a huge extent, but seeing it in this light interests me. Not many people realize just how important shapes can be.
For example, triangles can be used for villainous characters. Maleficent is all over sharp and built on triangles or the sharpness of "kiki". Triangles are an anger shape and are used for teeth and facial shapes and the likes. It is all because a sharp edge can cause a feeling of fear or suspicion or something. Although in animation when you see a triangle being a normal triangle for a mountain range it causes no emotion but "Oh cool a mountain range" and when the triangle is inverted it causes unease. Inverted triangles are often used for caves and the likes, to make a more fearful setting.
Squares can be used to represent stability. Like Carl in Up. But they can also be used to represent isolation or the idea of being caged. Carl's square shape also radiates isolation and a desire to be left alone. Squares are often used in The Incredibles to cage Bob in his office and car and the likes.
Circles, of course, are used as soft and inviting shapes. Like Mickey Mouse and Baloo and Ponyo and pretty much every innocent and exciting character in an animated movie. Circles' rounded edges don't instill fear or worry, but more a sense of youth and the natural state of the world. Circles relate most to real world objects, which make the movie viewers more comfortable. The round shapes of good guys and kids and the likes always subconsciously please viewers because they represent happiness and innocence.
This article was targeted towards both animated films and real life films, but the idea of geometry in films is more prominent in animation. This is because you can just draw it in, if you want a character to be a circle all you have to do is sketch out a vaguely person-shaped circled and then work off of that. In real films, it is harder because you can't just shape human flesh to your pleasure. In a way, that makes animation the easier filed to analyze geometry in. And with this concept in mind, you can also make more appealing characters as you go along in animation.
For example, triangles can be used for villainous characters. Maleficent is all over sharp and built on triangles or the sharpness of "kiki". Triangles are an anger shape and are used for teeth and facial shapes and the likes. It is all because a sharp edge can cause a feeling of fear or suspicion or something. Although in animation when you see a triangle being a normal triangle for a mountain range it causes no emotion but "Oh cool a mountain range" and when the triangle is inverted it causes unease. Inverted triangles are often used for caves and the likes, to make a more fearful setting.
Squares can be used to represent stability. Like Carl in Up. But they can also be used to represent isolation or the idea of being caged. Carl's square shape also radiates isolation and a desire to be left alone. Squares are often used in The Incredibles to cage Bob in his office and car and the likes.
Circles, of course, are used as soft and inviting shapes. Like Mickey Mouse and Baloo and Ponyo and pretty much every innocent and exciting character in an animated movie. Circles' rounded edges don't instill fear or worry, but more a sense of youth and the natural state of the world. Circles relate most to real world objects, which make the movie viewers more comfortable. The round shapes of good guys and kids and the likes always subconsciously please viewers because they represent happiness and innocence.
This article was targeted towards both animated films and real life films, but the idea of geometry in films is more prominent in animation. This is because you can just draw it in, if you want a character to be a circle all you have to do is sketch out a vaguely person-shaped circled and then work off of that. In real films, it is harder because you can't just shape human flesh to your pleasure. In a way, that makes animation the easier filed to analyze geometry in. And with this concept in mind, you can also make more appealing characters as you go along in animation.
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Up's usage of animation principals
Last Friday we watched and analyzed the movie "Up". It was kind of painful to do because the principles of animation were still a new concept to me and I couldn't figure out how to pick them out. By the end, however, I had a solid kind of flow with my analysis. The principles were popping out to me more and more.
One principle I saw a lot was the use of staging. Staging is the presentation of an idea so that it is clear. The usage of this principle set up a lot of good scenes. Before the balloons were revealed, we were shown helium canisters scattered all around the yard. One of the hospice workers noted it, and it made the viewer also wonder what was going to happen. Another act of staging was when the dogs were hunting for Kevin, and the one henchdog said that single line: "Right, Alpha?". The scene is staging because you expect to be on the receiving end of a deep commanding voice, and am instead met with the much more amusing high pitch of Alpha's collar. The use of staging does a lot for this movie because there's a lot you don't expect, and the unexpected adds to the thrill.
Appeal is the design and such of a character, and how they pull you in. It was another animation principle I noticed. There was appeal in the way Ellie had an in-your-face-no-worries-here kind of attitude which leads to Carl and her's relationship. The construction boss had appeal in the way he was very neutral and sharp at the edges. Carl's appeal was his square shape and Russel's appeal was his egg shape. All the dogs were varied in breed and size, and the sharpness of their edges. Kevin was overall extremely unique. And Carl Muntz' had a key hole shaped face that made it hard to look away. The appeal of all these characters, big and small, makes the movie great. This way there is variation in what you see, no two characters are exactly alike, and they hold your attention more effectively if they were all uniform and neutral. Appeal is important to a movie, and Up really grasped that.
A third principle was timing. Timing is the speeding of an object. It is an important principle because it gives meaning to movement. If you had watched Up and Muntz' blimp and Carl's house moved at the same speed you would say "Well, that's not right". But thanks to timing we can see the blimp moving at a blimp-esque slow speed as the house gains on it because the house is significantly smaller and propelled by balloons.
Slow In and Slow Out, or Ease In/Ease Out is also big when used in movement. It is used to let an object realistically accelerate. The biggest object this was used for was, of course, the blimp. Muntz' blimp would not have looked real if it was zipping everywhere, so with the use of ease in/ease out it was able to move at a realistic looking speed. The use of ease in/ease out also helped to register the falling of the rock spires. If they fell at too fast of or too slow of a speed it would have been awkward, but since ease in/ease out was used on them they looked natural.
Secondary actions are actions that result directly from another action. They are important to animations because they heighten interest and add realistic complexities. There in secondary action in the beginning when Carl is running. His main movement is the running. The secondary action resides in the movement of his arms, the one with the balloon and the airplane hand one. The dogs also possess a lot of secondary action, with their ears and tails and eyebrows. Their main action tends to be in walking or talking, but the secondary action adds a lot more depth and realism to them.
The sixth principle I saw was straight ahead action and pose-to-pose action. Straight ahead action is drawing the animation one drawing at a time. It is used mostly for spontaneous or unpredictable action. Using it to try and animate big action can lead to loss of proportion or ending up in the wrong place. Straight ahead was used in Up with the fire that was set. Fire is a spontaneous action and never moves in a predictable way, so the straight ahead was perfect for that. Pose-to-pose action is used for big movements like jumping or just walking. You start at the beginning and draw the middle and end poses and continue on from there until you have a completed animation. This is used so that you avoid messing up the proportion or ending your animation where you didn't want it. Pose-to-pose was used whenever characters jumped from one place to another. Such as when they were escaping the blimp and had to jump to the house.
If animators didn't follow the principles of animation there wouldn't be smooth easy to follow movies. But since they do, we have great movies like Up. It may be frustrating to try and pick out the principles, but I'm sure as time goes by this will be a breeze.
One principle I saw a lot was the use of staging. Staging is the presentation of an idea so that it is clear. The usage of this principle set up a lot of good scenes. Before the balloons were revealed, we were shown helium canisters scattered all around the yard. One of the hospice workers noted it, and it made the viewer also wonder what was going to happen. Another act of staging was when the dogs were hunting for Kevin, and the one henchdog said that single line: "Right, Alpha?". The scene is staging because you expect to be on the receiving end of a deep commanding voice, and am instead met with the much more amusing high pitch of Alpha's collar. The use of staging does a lot for this movie because there's a lot you don't expect, and the unexpected adds to the thrill.
Appeal is the design and such of a character, and how they pull you in. It was another animation principle I noticed. There was appeal in the way Ellie had an in-your-face-no-worries-here kind of attitude which leads to Carl and her's relationship. The construction boss had appeal in the way he was very neutral and sharp at the edges. Carl's appeal was his square shape and Russel's appeal was his egg shape. All the dogs were varied in breed and size, and the sharpness of their edges. Kevin was overall extremely unique. And Carl Muntz' had a key hole shaped face that made it hard to look away. The appeal of all these characters, big and small, makes the movie great. This way there is variation in what you see, no two characters are exactly alike, and they hold your attention more effectively if they were all uniform and neutral. Appeal is important to a movie, and Up really grasped that.
A third principle was timing. Timing is the speeding of an object. It is an important principle because it gives meaning to movement. If you had watched Up and Muntz' blimp and Carl's house moved at the same speed you would say "Well, that's not right". But thanks to timing we can see the blimp moving at a blimp-esque slow speed as the house gains on it because the house is significantly smaller and propelled by balloons.
Slow In and Slow Out, or Ease In/Ease Out is also big when used in movement. It is used to let an object realistically accelerate. The biggest object this was used for was, of course, the blimp. Muntz' blimp would not have looked real if it was zipping everywhere, so with the use of ease in/ease out it was able to move at a realistic looking speed. The use of ease in/ease out also helped to register the falling of the rock spires. If they fell at too fast of or too slow of a speed it would have been awkward, but since ease in/ease out was used on them they looked natural.
Secondary actions are actions that result directly from another action. They are important to animations because they heighten interest and add realistic complexities. There in secondary action in the beginning when Carl is running. His main movement is the running. The secondary action resides in the movement of his arms, the one with the balloon and the airplane hand one. The dogs also possess a lot of secondary action, with their ears and tails and eyebrows. Their main action tends to be in walking or talking, but the secondary action adds a lot more depth and realism to them.
The sixth principle I saw was straight ahead action and pose-to-pose action. Straight ahead action is drawing the animation one drawing at a time. It is used mostly for spontaneous or unpredictable action. Using it to try and animate big action can lead to loss of proportion or ending up in the wrong place. Straight ahead was used in Up with the fire that was set. Fire is a spontaneous action and never moves in a predictable way, so the straight ahead was perfect for that. Pose-to-pose action is used for big movements like jumping or just walking. You start at the beginning and draw the middle and end poses and continue on from there until you have a completed animation. This is used so that you avoid messing up the proportion or ending your animation where you didn't want it. Pose-to-pose was used whenever characters jumped from one place to another. Such as when they were escaping the blimp and had to jump to the house.
If animators didn't follow the principles of animation there wouldn't be smooth easy to follow movies. But since they do, we have great movies like Up. It may be frustrating to try and pick out the principles, but I'm sure as time goes by this will be a breeze.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Circles vs. Me
Here we are again, reviewing a week. We've done a lot this week. I've done a lot this week. It has been a busy busy week, but also a good week. So let's get into this, right?
This week I learned how to properly animate a ball. It was tedious but also really fun when I completed it, it was like the flip book. But it didn't take up three days of my life so I wasn't that frustrated. I also learned to, no matter what (even if you're just quickly coloring), aggressively save while working in harmony. Don't even question it, just aggressively save, constantly. If you feel like you haven't looked at the save button recently, press it immediately, right now. In history, I learned that I know too much history, and sometimes I regret dropping out of APUSH. I also don't, because I only got a two on the AP World History exam and I really didn't want a repeat of that feeling of disappointment. In English, due to our having to write ten thesis statements, I learned that both president Adamses (that is definitely how you turn Adams into a plural) were a complete mess. I managed to fall asleep in chemistry every day this week, please publicly shame me for this. Statistics was just a lot of crying over messing up charts because I missed one piece of data or some other stupid thing.
In the future, I hope to learn how to perfect a walking style or just animating faces. I watch animations all the time, and they make these things look so easy. But I know it is going to take a ton of time and frustration and tears and almost throwing of my electronic devices. But I will prevail because it important for me to learn these things. I may not be going into an animation career, but I would love to just have these skills that I am learning. Plus when I go to college, I could help any animation students I know with their work. That will be exciting!
This week circles are my main frustration. I am thrilled that I made a handful of animations, but I am sick of looking at circles. They are burned into my retinas, I see them everywhere. The perpetual ball bounce also frustrated me, because I did most of it at home. But when I brought it back here I realized it shrank when it bounced, and I fought with it for a while trying to fix that. Outside of animation I have grown frustrated with the production of our play. We only have about four weeks to get this completely together, and yet important people keep missing rehearsal. I don't even need to be at every rehearsal, and yet I'm there when a lead isn't. I just hope they find the importance of a good production faster.
I may want to file a lawsuit against circles at this point, but animating them has made me immensely happy this week. I never thought I'd get the ability to learn things like this but I have and I love showing my parents and watching their faces light up. Things in school that have made me happy this week was learning how to stage fight. Another thing that made me happy was when my chemistry teacher said this: "Use the Snapchat in your brain...or is it is Instagram?...Insta....snap? You know what I don't care just remember this." I love when teachers try and fail to be cool™. Outside of school, there was one thing that made me happy. I went to Fright World with one of my best friends, and we panic sang Hamilton in like two houses, and then I just became a "tour guide" and led a tour through the houses. I also made friends with the lobby clowns because of my hair! My friend hated me for that.
So, how do you feel about butter? The video I'm sharing this week will give you a weird new opinion. It is hilarious, it even made my mom (who doesn't get anything I'm into) laugh. I just have to warn you about language, there isn't much, just one or three things at the end. I apologize for that, but sometimes language adds to the hilarity of a situation. And believe me! It is funny, I cried a little. The animator also has a very unique design of characters and a good sense of color and a sweet twist. Without further ado: https://youtu.be/yKGeJXk2qWQ. Enjoy!
Color, is it important?
Color is a powerful thing to use in art. It often sets a mood of a scene or a moment. But too much color is a bad thing. In the Pixar supercut we were given to watch, you have the ability to see just how important color is to animation. Although bad to saturate every single scene in color, the scenes that are completely one color set the mood you need.
Warm colors are often used for big emotions. The orange and red in the garbage crusher scene from Toy Story 3 and in the lava scene from The Incredibles gives you a feeling of fear, and shows the high tension that resides in those scenes. Red can also be used for love, like the scene in Finding Nemo where you look over all the eggs. Red could even be used for a sense of hope, like in Ratatouille where Remy stands in front of the large red doors. Yellow is often used for a feeling of new beginnings, like the house in Up. Or the feeling of nostalgia in Toy Story 3 when Lots-O thinks back to the time he had with the girl who previously owned him.
Cool colors tend to belong to simple scenes, or scenes that strike a cord of an extreme emotion like jealously or perhaps fear. Green owns the scene in Monsters University when they've reached the scaring games final, and the group stands worried and slightly jealous because they fear they won't win the scaring simulator. Blue is used for both sadness and calm in Finding Nemo. Marlin's scene of the aftermath of the barracuda, when only one egg remains, brings up a sad, and kind of worried mood. But later in the movie when Dory and Marlin are with the turtles, the blue is used as a calming device. Violet gives you an excited feeling in Finding Nemo, as Marlin and Dory race through the jelly fish. It is also used for excitement during the Monsters University frat/sorority party.
Pixar is a great example for using colors, because their movies are usually very in depth and eye-catching. They know how to use colors to compliment a scene and to set a mood, and the video shows just how that works for them.
So, is color important? I vote yes. This video gave me a slew of emotions I never realized I was feeling at the moment of watching those scenes, because I never realized just how in depth Pixar goes with its colors. Color is vastly important for story telling. Mood and scene setting is important, and the concept of color plays a huge role in the ability to do just that.
Warm colors are often used for big emotions. The orange and red in the garbage crusher scene from Toy Story 3 and in the lava scene from The Incredibles gives you a feeling of fear, and shows the high tension that resides in those scenes. Red can also be used for love, like the scene in Finding Nemo where you look over all the eggs. Red could even be used for a sense of hope, like in Ratatouille where Remy stands in front of the large red doors. Yellow is often used for a feeling of new beginnings, like the house in Up. Or the feeling of nostalgia in Toy Story 3 when Lots-O thinks back to the time he had with the girl who previously owned him.
Cool colors tend to belong to simple scenes, or scenes that strike a cord of an extreme emotion like jealously or perhaps fear. Green owns the scene in Monsters University when they've reached the scaring games final, and the group stands worried and slightly jealous because they fear they won't win the scaring simulator. Blue is used for both sadness and calm in Finding Nemo. Marlin's scene of the aftermath of the barracuda, when only one egg remains, brings up a sad, and kind of worried mood. But later in the movie when Dory and Marlin are with the turtles, the blue is used as a calming device. Violet gives you an excited feeling in Finding Nemo, as Marlin and Dory race through the jelly fish. It is also used for excitement during the Monsters University frat/sorority party.
Pixar is a great example for using colors, because their movies are usually very in depth and eye-catching. They know how to use colors to compliment a scene and to set a mood, and the video shows just how that works for them.
So, is color important? I vote yes. This video gave me a slew of emotions I never realized I was feeling at the moment of watching those scenes, because I never realized just how in depth Pixar goes with its colors. Color is vastly important for story telling. Mood and scene setting is important, and the concept of color plays a huge role in the ability to do just that.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"
The thing about our society is that we always go, go go. We do not like to wait or stall or sit idly. So we don't take our time and constantly dive in head first without looking around to discover consequences that could be looming. And the article we read this week tells us just why that is a bad idea.
In the article "The Single Biggest Mistake Animators Make", J.K. Riki talks about how beginning animators always want to skip ahead and get to "the good stuff". He talks about how he also made the mistake. He was in school for animation but kept failing because he couldn't work the way his professor wanted him to. So he did what any stubborn and frustrated kid would do and quit, deciding he could learn to animate on his own. Riki found a site with a program called "Micromedia Flash", that he thought would be his fast track to becoming an animator. But, as he says, there is no animator fast track. He did not learn the principles of animation, and this hurt him in the long run. Had he not tried to do it all on his own, he could have been a lot farther with what he knew.
He ends his article by telling the reader to never neglect the principles of animation, because even though they could be repetitive and annoying, they are necessary. He also says to keep a balance between work and fun, so that you aren't making something you don't care for. Balance is a key aspect of life, and you need to take it and run wild.
What J.K. Riki says is very informative to me. I learned just why it is bad to skip over or ignore learning the principles of animation because doing just that can take you off the track towards becoming a skilled animator. I agree with what he says. With tedious things like animation, it is never good to try and skip everything in an attempt to become the best. The solution is to just walk down the long road, and learn as you go. It is inefficient and impossible to look at a topic and decide you're going to learn everything in one quick go or learn nothing at all.
The idea of not racing ahead is important to the field of digital media because quality things are never rushed. It takes time and patience to animate anything, and without the principles of animation in your hand you don't really have the ability to completely develop your ideas. However, I just want to note one question: What if you can't grasp the use of the principles? Where do you go from there? There is no way to tell, but this article has taught me to not give up; even if I am stubborn and want to get from train A to train B without any obstacles or things to learn.
He ends his article by telling the reader to never neglect the principles of animation, because even though they could be repetitive and annoying, they are necessary. He also says to keep a balance between work and fun, so that you aren't making something you don't care for. Balance is a key aspect of life, and you need to take it and run wild.
What J.K. Riki says is very informative to me. I learned just why it is bad to skip over or ignore learning the principles of animation because doing just that can take you off the track towards becoming a skilled animator. I agree with what he says. With tedious things like animation, it is never good to try and skip everything in an attempt to become the best. The solution is to just walk down the long road, and learn as you go. It is inefficient and impossible to look at a topic and decide you're going to learn everything in one quick go or learn nothing at all.
The idea of not racing ahead is important to the field of digital media because quality things are never rushed. It takes time and patience to animate anything, and without the principles of animation in your hand you don't really have the ability to completely develop your ideas. However, I just want to note one question: What if you can't grasp the use of the principles? Where do you go from there? There is no way to tell, but this article has taught me to not give up; even if I am stubborn and want to get from train A to train B without any obstacles or things to learn.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
A "week" in review
So yeah, it's Thursday, so technically this is not a full week of thoughts. But Friday always has this mantra of "So and so many more hours until freedom, no don't punch the slow walker, just go, I believe in you", so I'm laying it on hot today.
I learned about colors this week! I mean I already knew about colors, but I honestly did not know there were so many color harmonies. I've always only really acknowledged monochromatic and maybe split complements existing, mostly because I don't particularly care for color in my art, and when I do it is disgusting combinations that make me giggle to myself because of how ugly they are. I also learned about the animation principles! Twelve entire things to memorize! I'm a little nervous. (Squash and stretch was said so many times yesterday that I don't even catalog it as a real phrase anymore.) Now let us venture out of the animation classroom for a moment to look at other things I learned this week. I actually haven't learned anything else, or if I did I was too zoned out to remember. Oops.
So, future right? Right. I don't like to think too much about my future, but I do know what I want to learn in this class. In the future coming up right now, I was to learn just how to squash and stretch. I've never really thought about putting anything I do into motion, but I like the physics of squash and stretch and I hope to grasp it. It seems to be something that will be beneficial to me in this class. Also, I want to be about to tell someone "Oh yeah, I learned how to squash and stretch," and watch their faces when they try to comprehend what I just said.
It is only Thursday, and yet a lot has frustrated me this week, to be honest. I've frustrated myself a total of fifteen times today alone. But mostly I was frustrated with the flip book that took over my life for approximately 72 hours. I would work for hours, take a break, and come back to the book to discover forty cards I thought I had finished were really just twenty. I distracted myself a lot and fought with the book a lot too. But even with all that frustration, when I finally finished, I sat there for 10 minutes just watching it. I was in awe that I had created something that I've always admired the concept of. But I'm never creating one again. I refuse.
Something that made me happy this week wasn't really in animation, but animation caused it. Since the flip book took all weekend I didn't do any other homework really, and I openly admitted it to my English teacher. He was alright with it, but he wanted to see the flip book, and he was so amazed by it that he passed it around the class. He also told me that my writing makes him proud, and he couldn't wait to read the next essay by me. One more thing that made me happy was Bronwyn and I creating a son, out of a dumb little doodle I gave her. His name is Apollo and he is trash (he unironically likes Minions guys).
So, my "week" aside, let me share something with you, yea? So you all know I'm a bucket of Hamilton trash, and I don't stop. You probably really don't care, but when Mrs. Licata mentioned animatics I got excited because I watch tons of animatics. Nine times out of ten, those animatics are (as you've already probably concluded) Hamilton animatics. Just the talent one simple and unfinished video can hold amazes me! So here, I'll go easy on you and give you a simple little "Aaron Burr, Sir" one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1BVB3tTW6c.
I learned about colors this week! I mean I already knew about colors, but I honestly did not know there were so many color harmonies. I've always only really acknowledged monochromatic and maybe split complements existing, mostly because I don't particularly care for color in my art, and when I do it is disgusting combinations that make me giggle to myself because of how ugly they are. I also learned about the animation principles! Twelve entire things to memorize! I'm a little nervous. (Squash and stretch was said so many times yesterday that I don't even catalog it as a real phrase anymore.) Now let us venture out of the animation classroom for a moment to look at other things I learned this week. I actually haven't learned anything else, or if I did I was too zoned out to remember. Oops.
So, future right? Right. I don't like to think too much about my future, but I do know what I want to learn in this class. In the future coming up right now, I was to learn just how to squash and stretch. I've never really thought about putting anything I do into motion, but I like the physics of squash and stretch and I hope to grasp it. It seems to be something that will be beneficial to me in this class. Also, I want to be about to tell someone "Oh yeah, I learned how to squash and stretch," and watch their faces when they try to comprehend what I just said.
It is only Thursday, and yet a lot has frustrated me this week, to be honest. I've frustrated myself a total of fifteen times today alone. But mostly I was frustrated with the flip book that took over my life for approximately 72 hours. I would work for hours, take a break, and come back to the book to discover forty cards I thought I had finished were really just twenty. I distracted myself a lot and fought with the book a lot too. But even with all that frustration, when I finally finished, I sat there for 10 minutes just watching it. I was in awe that I had created something that I've always admired the concept of. But I'm never creating one again. I refuse.
Something that made me happy this week wasn't really in animation, but animation caused it. Since the flip book took all weekend I didn't do any other homework really, and I openly admitted it to my English teacher. He was alright with it, but he wanted to see the flip book, and he was so amazed by it that he passed it around the class. He also told me that my writing makes him proud, and he couldn't wait to read the next essay by me. One more thing that made me happy was Bronwyn and I creating a son, out of a dumb little doodle I gave her. His name is Apollo and he is trash (he unironically likes Minions guys).
So, my "week" aside, let me share something with you, yea? So you all know I'm a bucket of Hamilton trash, and I don't stop. You probably really don't care, but when Mrs. Licata mentioned animatics I got excited because I watch tons of animatics. Nine times out of ten, those animatics are (as you've already probably concluded) Hamilton animatics. Just the talent one simple and unfinished video can hold amazes me! So here, I'll go easy on you and give you a simple little "Aaron Burr, Sir" one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1BVB3tTW6c.
Friday, September 9, 2016
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