After posting my previous WIP on Facebook I received the following notes:
Lauren Orrels: Remi, what those guys need are hawaian shirts! XD hehe! In terms of the animation I think it's coming along really well. There's a definite contrast in body language and attitude in the two characters.
Siobhan Fenton: Love the backdrop Remi, v effective [and the shirts!] Still think your guy in red needs to look away [full of himself] when the other guy looks at his watch OR you need him to notice the guy look at the watch and react to that in some way. Very good stuff.
I do think Lauren's idea about the shirts is cool but it's not what I had in mind and I'm not sure they will come across as door salesmen if I do so.
Siobhan's suggestion to make the main character appear more full of himself was a good idea and I have addressed that in this version:
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Thursday, 28 April 2011
11 Second Club WIP 4
When I started this animation, I thought it would go much quicker for me than with the mime as this is only 300 frames in comparison to 1200 frames.
I was wrong. Walk cycles are the most difficult thing to animate and here I have two characters doing walk cycles and I really want them to obviously be two different characters walking differently. And after all as I said, it is two characters. That's twice the work as it is with one.
So far I have animated the first 100 frames on 5s and this is what I've got so far:
Also I have started preparing for render when taking some short breaks from the animation and I've done a test render:
I have also posted these things to Facebook to see if anybody has any more comments and feedback.
I was wrong. Walk cycles are the most difficult thing to animate and here I have two characters doing walk cycles and I really want them to obviously be two different characters walking differently. And after all as I said, it is two characters. That's twice the work as it is with one.
So far I have animated the first 100 frames on 5s and this is what I've got so far:
Also I have started preparing for render when taking some short breaks from the animation and I've done a test render:
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
11 Second Club WIP 3 Feedback
I have received some more feedback from Siobhan on Facebook:
Really like being able to see them come close to the camera at the end. You might find you keep the character in one spot and they walk up to it - you could look at that but I do think it works well with them closer in the second half.
Personally I think it is working quite nice now as it is and I really want the camera to track down the street in front of them so the mailbox isn't revealed before a little later.
Really like being able to see them come close to the camera at the end. You might find you keep the character in one spot and they walk up to it - you could look at that but I do think it works well with them closer in the second half.
Personally I think it is working quite nice now as it is and I really want the camera to track down the street in front of them so the mailbox isn't revealed before a little later.
11 Second Club WIP 3
I have now done changes to the camera as suggested by Siobhan as well as making the main character look behind him more as he walks off. He walks off looking for a reaction at the same time as he is looking down on the second character:
I have also posted this to Facebook for more feedback
I have also posted this to Facebook for more feedback
11 Second Club WIP 2 Feedback
After posting the video on Facebook, I received the following feedback from Siobhan:
Very good so far. For the camera - it would be nice to see their expressions especially just before the 'How's that again' You could, for example, have the camera move with the characters [just as you have now although the camera could be a little closer] then hold the camera and have them walk closer to the camera [for a mid shot] so that we can see your right hand characters expression when he says 'Hows that again' and the other guy walks out of shot.
Your character on the left appears to be VERY keen to get the character on the rights attention, his eyes are focused on him whereas the guy on the right looks fed up. But then the guy on the left walks off. Think about status relationships because if the guy on the left has the higher status and is in charge [which is what is suggested at the end when he walks off] THEN perhaps the guy on the left would look for a reaction but not be so eager to please, ie he would have a high power centre and down at the other guy - just now the status is unclear in parts. If he is going to walk off, he needs to have a more full of himself posture - hope that makes sense.
Some really good pointers here that I will definitely take care of. The camera I haven't set completely either and I do agree that I wanted a closer picture of the second character but at the same time I want the framing to show him left off alone as the other character walks off.
I will tweak around with the camera to make it work more in the way as Siobhan has suggested.
Also I will make the main character look more behind him as he walks off to look for a reaction in the second character.
Very good so far. For the camera - it would be nice to see their expressions especially just before the 'How's that again' You could, for example, have the camera move with the characters [just as you have now although the camera could be a little closer] then hold the camera and have them walk closer to the camera [for a mid shot] so that we can see your right hand characters expression when he says 'Hows that again' and the other guy walks out of shot.
Your character on the left appears to be VERY keen to get the character on the rights attention, his eyes are focused on him whereas the guy on the right looks fed up. But then the guy on the left walks off. Think about status relationships because if the guy on the left has the higher status and is in charge [which is what is suggested at the end when he walks off] THEN perhaps the guy on the left would look for a reaction but not be so eager to please, ie he would have a high power centre and down at the other guy - just now the status is unclear in parts. If he is going to walk off, he needs to have a more full of himself posture - hope that makes sense.
Some really good pointers here that I will definitely take care of. The camera I haven't set completely either and I do agree that I wanted a closer picture of the second character but at the same time I want the framing to show him left off alone as the other character walks off.
I will tweak around with the camera to make it work more in the way as Siobhan has suggested.
Also I will make the main character look more behind him as he walks off to look for a reaction in the second character.
11 Second Club WIP 2
As I have written earlier, when we were filming the reference footage my idea got changed so I have made some new thumbnail drawings based on this new idea and video reference:


And here is my first storytelling block


And here is my first storytelling block
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
11 Second Club WIP 1
Earlier before we actually filmed the reference for this clip, I was lucky to find the source of the sound clip on YouTube which can be seen in this video around 3:50min
I was kind of surprised by the whole situation of the original scene as well as the characters as I did not imagine it to look quite like this. The main character for instance, I pictured to be larger built and most importantly, I thought he was the one with higher authority.
It is interesting to find out it was actually the opposite.
Well well, over to the animation;
I have chosen to try lipsyncing before blocking out the rest of the animation because of the workflow I have I'm not sure how to move on to lipsyncing after the other animation as I am keying everything , including the face and I would be left with a lot of keys to delete in order to do the lipsync.
It might not be the right workflow but I'll give it a try and see how it works for me.
For this part I have just been focusing on the jaw and lips. The rest of the face will come later as I progress and this is what I've got so far:
I was kind of surprised by the whole situation of the original scene as well as the characters as I did not imagine it to look quite like this. The main character for instance, I pictured to be larger built and most importantly, I thought he was the one with higher authority.
It is interesting to find out it was actually the opposite.
Well well, over to the animation;
I have chosen to try lipsyncing before blocking out the rest of the animation because of the workflow I have I'm not sure how to move on to lipsyncing after the other animation as I am keying everything , including the face and I would be left with a lot of keys to delete in order to do the lipsync.
It might not be the right workflow but I'll give it a try and see how it works for me.
For this part I have just been focusing on the jaw and lips. The rest of the face will come later as I progress and this is what I've got so far:
Monday, 25 April 2011
Mime WIP 6 and Showreel for Double Negative
Phew. I have had a lot of work. I thought I would be finished with this animation by now but I still have like 200 more frames to go. Next to this I have also prepared my showreel for Double Negative. I haven't even gotten to touch my staircase unfortunately but right now I just have to put both of these animations on hold and get started with the 11 second club as the competition is over in 5 days.
My mime animation is now taken all the way up to the point where I could call it polishing stage except from the last 200 frames. I have now added all breakdowns offsetting body parts as well as defining the brush strokes when he paints the door. Since I have put this in my showreel, I have also bothered with the effect of him painting the door.
So here is my latest Mime WIP as well as my showreel:
My mime animation is now taken all the way up to the point where I could call it polishing stage except from the last 200 frames. I have now added all breakdowns offsetting body parts as well as defining the brush strokes when he paints the door. Since I have put this in my showreel, I have also bothered with the effect of him painting the door.
So here is my latest Mime WIP as well as my showreel:
Thursday, 21 April 2011
Mime WIP 5
Most of the animation has gotten so far now that I dare to show it in splines as it it working quite nicely. I have also rotated the head more towards the camera as he is pushing on the wall and I think it works great. The last bit is still floaty though because it needs more poses as well as when he paints the door it needs more breakdowns to give the wrists a more natural painting feel.
It pretty much counts for the whole animation really to add that extra pass with breakdowns to offset things.
But this is what I had to show in class today:
There wasn't really much to say about what I have so far except from that it is looking good and I just have to keep on working.
I am hoping to be done with this animation over the weekend so I can fully focus on 11 second club next week until the deadline.
Also if I get the time during the weekend, I will pick up the staircase animation and try to finish this as well.
It pretty much counts for the whole animation really to add that extra pass with breakdowns to offset things.
But this is what I had to show in class today:
There wasn't really much to say about what I have so far except from that it is looking good and I just have to keep on working.
I am hoping to be done with this animation over the weekend so I can fully focus on 11 second club next week until the deadline.
Also if I get the time during the weekend, I will pick up the staircase animation and try to finish this as well.
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Mime WIP 4
I have now added a lot of breakdowns and really worked with the bounce in the wall making it very clear he is hitting something hard. I have also addressed Siobhan's comment on giving him that extra beat of realization of what just happened after hitting the wall.
Also I have made stronger poses as he is pushing on the wall and adding shaking arms to strengthen this illusion. Still need a lot more breakdowns in the last half as he paints the door.
After showing this in class today there were some arguments from Andreas Hansen about if he should look forward when pushing against the wall, but I disagree as if he would do this, his head would go through the wall and simply if it was a real wall, it would not be possible.
After some discussion we agreed that it is not possible to look straight ahead but Andreas still suggested to turn his head a bit more so we can see more of his face. This I will try to do and see how it works.
Also Siobhan suggested to give him more time to feel the wall and define it before he starts to push on it. It is a nice idea and I will try to put this in later but first I will try to get through the whole animation like it is currently and if I find the time, I will add this extra animation.
Also I have made stronger poses as he is pushing on the wall and adding shaking arms to strengthen this illusion. Still need a lot more breakdowns in the last half as he paints the door.
After showing this in class today there were some arguments from Andreas Hansen about if he should look forward when pushing against the wall, but I disagree as if he would do this, his head would go through the wall and simply if it was a real wall, it would not be possible.
After some discussion we agreed that it is not possible to look straight ahead but Andreas still suggested to turn his head a bit more so we can see more of his face. This I will try to do and see how it works.
Also Siobhan suggested to give him more time to feel the wall and define it before he starts to push on it. It is a nice idea and I will try to put this in later but first I will try to get through the whole animation like it is currently and if I find the time, I will add this extra animation.
Saturday, 16 April 2011
Hollywood Opportunity update
After asking Chris about how quickly I should apply, it turns out I won't be able to finish this module before applying for this job.
It is kind of a slap to the face as right now I feel like I have more than enough work to do but I will try my best to also get a show reel up and going ASAP.
My lecturer encourages me to apply as it is a great opportunity as if I would get the job, there should be a way of solving the issue with my degree, in terms of possibly making my internship my final project.
And of course as stated before. It is a great opportunity which is too good to miss and I agree with my lecturer (Siobhan Fenton) that it will be a great experience.
At the same time it might be nice to see where I stand.
It is kind of a slap to the face as right now I feel like I have more than enough work to do but I will try my best to also get a show reel up and going ASAP.
My lecturer encourages me to apply as it is a great opportunity as if I would get the job, there should be a way of solving the issue with my degree, in terms of possibly making my internship my final project.
And of course as stated before. It is a great opportunity which is too good to miss and I agree with my lecturer (Siobhan Fenton) that it will be a great experience.
At the same time it might be nice to see where I stand.
Thursday, 14 April 2011
Mime WIP 3 Feedback on Facebook
After posting this on Facebook I got a note from Siobhan:
Much better. Also - when your character bumps into the glass, consider having a moment of confusion [a beat] before he places his hands on the glass just to give us a moment to understand what is happening.
I do agree that it will help the animation giving him that tiny bit of extra thinking time so I will address this for my next version.
Much better. Also - when your character bumps into the glass, consider having a moment of confusion [a beat] before he places his hands on the glass just to give us a moment to understand what is happening.
I do agree that it will help the animation giving him that tiny bit of extra thinking time so I will address this for my next version.
Mime WIP 3
I have now gotten rid of the teapot and the feedback from my lecturers after sending them the new clip by email is positive so all I have to do now is to take the mime to the next stage.
Mime WIP 2
After a lot of hard work, I have now finally gotten through my whole sequence with the storytelling block. In addition to adding the remaining storytelling poses, I have also addressed the feedback I received on Tuesday and this is what I had to show in the class today:
After showing it to my class I got to know that it is really starting to come along but they did not see the point of the teapot.
I was suggested to get rid of it as well as they did have troubles understanding what he was doing when he was getting his paint from his paint palette and painting the door.
When it comes to the teapot, I'm actually happy to remove it as it will save me from some hundred frames and the nightmare of trying to get dynamics to work as I wanted it to break into pieces when hitting the floor.
The movements he does when painting will make more sense as I get more breakdowns defining a swirly motion in his hands I believe.
After showing it to my class I got to know that it is really starting to come along but they did not see the point of the teapot.
I was suggested to get rid of it as well as they did have troubles understanding what he was doing when he was getting his paint from his paint palette and painting the door.
When it comes to the teapot, I'm actually happy to remove it as it will save me from some hundred frames and the nightmare of trying to get dynamics to work as I wanted it to break into pieces when hitting the floor.
The movements he does when painting will make more sense as I get more breakdowns defining a swirly motion in his hands I believe.
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Deadline Extension
Siobhan brought some good news on Facebook today.
We have gotten one week extension for our tasks. Even though the new module will start as normal, this is great news as I absolutely need that extra time quite badly as I have now come to realize how much work I have to do with my mime.
We have gotten one week extension for our tasks. Even though the new module will start as normal, this is great news as I absolutely need that extra time quite badly as I have now come to realize how much work I have to do with my mime.
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
Mime WIP 1
Over the night until the lecture today, I had done as much as I could with my storytelling block for my mime. I wish I had more to show my class today but this is what I had so far:
One major difference that I've done from the storyboard is to remove the trunk and make him get what he needs from behind his back like in most cartoons. This is to simplify the idea and to shorten the animation as it is already quite long.
My classmates and lecturer thought it looks good so far but I need to make it more clear that he hits a wall as well as improving the poses when he is pushing against it, making him go down a bit and start pushing upwards.
When it comes to him hitting the wall, I'm sure it will look a lot better once I get more breakdowns in there as now it is a very rough block.
Still a lot to do, I'm barely half way so I will do what I can to have the whole block ready for Thursday's feedback session.
One major difference that I've done from the storyboard is to remove the trunk and make him get what he needs from behind his back like in most cartoons. This is to simplify the idea and to shorten the animation as it is already quite long.
My classmates and lecturer thought it looks good so far but I need to make it more clear that he hits a wall as well as improving the poses when he is pushing against it, making him go down a bit and start pushing upwards.
When it comes to him hitting the wall, I'm sure it will look a lot better once I get more breakdowns in there as now it is a very rough block.
Still a lot to do, I'm barely half way so I will do what I can to have the whole block ready for Thursday's feedback session.
Eyes in Slow Motion
When I was reading on Carlos Baena's webpage some days ago, I came across his post about eyes in slow motion, where I could see this video:
It is a really interesting study to see how eyes behave and move. What I found especially fascinating was to see how wobbly the iris actually is when moving about. It almost looks like jelly. Even though it won't be of much relevance when animating at 25fps for something which is not Slow Motion, it is still cool to know about it.
It is a really interesting study to see how eyes behave and move. What I found especially fascinating was to see how wobbly the iris actually is when moving about. It almost looks like jelly. Even though it won't be of much relevance when animating at 25fps for something which is not Slow Motion, it is still cool to know about it.
Monday, 11 April 2011
Ed's Feedback on Staircase WIP 7
Already?
I'm surprised how quickly he has responded this time as I thought I now could put this task aside and focus on my mime while waiting.
But here are Ed's words on my animation so far:
I like that bit where he kicks the toy off the side of the steps. Everything is there for the exercise. You have succeeded in getting him to go upstairs for a reason, and you have conflict for him. I'm not hearing any sound on the animation now, so it is not possible to judge whether or not his reactions are good. That is still a heck of an obstacle course on the steps!
Nothing negative there really, but I can't believe that he still complains about how many toys I have in the staircase!
I have really cut it down a lot I think and it is after all supposed to be an obstacle course. Why would the character be so irritated if there was almost nothing to get passed?
I will ask in the class tomorrow and see what my fellow students and lecturer thinks about this.
For now, I still have to put this animation on hold so I can get through my mime as well as I still haven't finished my storytelling block and I can't wait to get started on my 11 second club piece.
I'm surprised how quickly he has responded this time as I thought I now could put this task aside and focus on my mime while waiting.
But here are Ed's words on my animation so far:
I like that bit where he kicks the toy off the side of the steps. Everything is there for the exercise. You have succeeded in getting him to go upstairs for a reason, and you have conflict for him. I'm not hearing any sound on the animation now, so it is not possible to judge whether or not his reactions are good. That is still a heck of an obstacle course on the steps!
Nothing negative there really, but I can't believe that he still complains about how many toys I have in the staircase!
I have really cut it down a lot I think and it is after all supposed to be an obstacle course. Why would the character be so irritated if there was almost nothing to get passed?
I will ask in the class tomorrow and see what my fellow students and lecturer thinks about this.
For now, I still have to put this animation on hold so I can get through my mime as well as I still haven't finished my storytelling block and I can't wait to get started on my 11 second club piece.
Opportunity to work on a Hollywood Movie
Also during the week that's passed, I've received a very interesting email from Chris Williams where he wrote the following:
"
Hi,
Your name has been forwarded to me as a candidate for a potential opportunity to work on the upcoming Hollywood movie John Carter of Mars, Pixar's highly anticipated first foray into live action.
The University has been approached by Double Negative Visual Effects in London and asked to nominate who we think are animation students who are best placed to work on a summer internship on the movie down in London.
The work will be for a period of 8-12 weeks and payment would include return train travel to/from London, accommodation for the duration of the placement and a small salary (£14000 pro rata). You would be working on crowd animation as part of the production pipeline.
This is a fantastic opportunity for you and I would hope that you are willing to apply.
You will be competing against graduates from a small, select group of Universities in the UK and Europe for a limited number of places, but I know that you are more than capable of winning a place.
To apply, you need to send the following:
- your showreel
- a shot breakdown
- CV
- covering letter
Remember, you are applying for a role as an animator so everything you send should be targeted accordingly. Here is some info on the opportunity that was sent by DNeg:
"John Carter of Mars is a film based on the 1912 serial "A Princess Of Mars" written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. John Carter is a American Civil war Captain who whilst hiding in a cave from Apaches dies, and is mysteriously transported to Mars. Here John encounters various tribes of aliens, including 10 foot tall one with four arms and tusks, as well as many other strange creatures. This is a truly exciting project for the company, with 450 artists working on 1300 shots, and is especially interesting for our 100 strong team of animators.
For more information please look on Wikipedia and the MARTIAN HIERARCHY.
We will be looking for Junior animators to help us with crowd work and some of the simpler animation. We want the most talented students to do this work, and they will be required to work hard, but this will be a fantastic opportunity for them to get production experience."
As soon as you are ready to send your work, please get in touch and I will let you know where it needs to be sent.
If you have any questions regarding this opportunity, please drop me a line.
Best regards
Chris Williams
"
I actually can't believe I have been so lucky to be chosen for this opportunity as my dream is to work for Pixar one day, this is the perfect chance of both getting some studio work experience as to actually work on a Pixar film.
The only concern I have is how I will be able to do this internship next to my degree. Of course the chance of me winning the position is extremely slim but there is always the possibility of "what if".
I really want to get this module finished before putting together a showreel but I will have to ask if I have the time for that as well as what to do if I would be so lucky as to get the job.
It still is a super exciting chance that I don't want to go to waste.
"
Hi,
Your name has been forwarded to me as a candidate for a potential opportunity to work on the upcoming Hollywood movie John Carter of Mars, Pixar's highly anticipated first foray into live action.
The University has been approached by Double Negative Visual Effects in London and asked to nominate who we think are animation students who are best placed to work on a summer internship on the movie down in London.
The work will be for a period of 8-12 weeks and payment would include return train travel to/from London, accommodation for the duration of the placement and a small salary (£14000 pro rata). You would be working on crowd animation as part of the production pipeline.
This is a fantastic opportunity for you and I would hope that you are willing to apply.
You will be competing against graduates from a small, select group of Universities in the UK and Europe for a limited number of places, but I know that you are more than capable of winning a place.
To apply, you need to send the following:
- your showreel
- a shot breakdown
- CV
- covering letter
Remember, you are applying for a role as an animator so everything you send should be targeted accordingly. Here is some info on the opportunity that was sent by DNeg:
"John Carter of Mars is a film based on the 1912 serial "A Princess Of Mars" written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. John Carter is a American Civil war Captain who whilst hiding in a cave from Apaches dies, and is mysteriously transported to Mars. Here John encounters various tribes of aliens, including 10 foot tall one with four arms and tusks, as well as many other strange creatures. This is a truly exciting project for the company, with 450 artists working on 1300 shots, and is especially interesting for our 100 strong team of animators.
For more information please look on Wikipedia and the MARTIAN HIERARCHY.
We will be looking for Junior animators to help us with crowd work and some of the simpler animation. We want the most talented students to do this work, and they will be required to work hard, but this will be a fantastic opportunity for them to get production experience."
As soon as you are ready to send your work, please get in touch and I will let you know where it needs to be sent.
If you have any questions regarding this opportunity, please drop me a line.
Best regards
Chris Williams
"
I actually can't believe I have been so lucky to be chosen for this opportunity as my dream is to work for Pixar one day, this is the perfect chance of both getting some studio work experience as to actually work on a Pixar film.
The only concern I have is how I will be able to do this internship next to my degree. Of course the chance of me winning the position is extremely slim but there is always the possibility of "what if".
I really want to get this module finished before putting together a showreel but I will have to ask if I have the time for that as well as what to do if I would be so lucky as to get the job.
It still is a super exciting chance that I don't want to go to waste.
Staircase WIP7
It is kind of in the last minute but here is the new version I will be showing Ed.
As you can see, I have now removed a lot of the boxes in the staircase and changed it with larger and fewer toys. Hopefully Ed will think it looks better now.
I have also started on my next pass, adding more breakdowns during the first 250 frames.
As you can see, I have now removed a lot of the boxes in the staircase and changed it with larger and fewer toys. Hopefully Ed will think it looks better now.
I have also started on my next pass, adding more breakdowns during the first 250 frames.
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
Video Reference for 11 second club and today's lecture
Even though I could not work with any of my animation in Thailand, I at least got my hands on the 11 second club clip for this month so I could start preparing for the green screen studio today.
When listening to the clip, I kept on thinking of salesmen or lawyers. I decided to go for a car salesman and I made the following sketches before going to the studio:

While we were in the studio, we started to play around with various ideas based on this one. We ended up with an idea of having two door salesmen, where one is full of himself, bragging about what a good liar he is as they're walking down the street.
Here are a couple of the takes which I will use for my reference:
Acting out this scene was so much fun and I can't wait to get started animating but for now I have to focus on my mime as I have barely gotten started.
In today's lecture however, we were reminded that we will send another version of our staircase to Ed over the weekend so this means I will have to delay my mime even further so I have more to show Ed. It is very unfortunate as I do know I have a lot of work to do with my mime as well.
When listening to the clip, I kept on thinking of salesmen or lawyers. I decided to go for a car salesman and I made the following sketches before going to the studio:

While we were in the studio, we started to play around with various ideas based on this one. We ended up with an idea of having two door salesmen, where one is full of himself, bragging about what a good liar he is as they're walking down the street.
Here are a couple of the takes which I will use for my reference:
Acting out this scene was so much fun and I can't wait to get started animating but for now I have to focus on my mime as I have barely gotten started.
In today's lecture however, we were reminded that we will send another version of our staircase to Ed over the weekend so this means I will have to delay my mime even further so I have more to show Ed. It is very unfortunate as I do know I have a lot of work to do with my mime as well.
Monday, 4 April 2011
Back from Spring Break
It has been a lovely holiday in Thailand, even though I did not get to do any more animation during this time, I had a lot of fantastic experiences as well as re-charging my batteries.
What I did manage to do while away though was to read through some material on acting as well as doing some sketching:






Now I must quickly pick up where I left off and get started on my mime animation once again.
I'll finish this post with a few pictures of my time away:
What I did manage to do while away though was to read through some material on acting as well as doing some sketching:






Now I must quickly pick up where I left off and get started on my mime animation once again.
I'll finish this post with a few pictures of my time away:
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)





