Can't wait to see what the New Year brings

I was going to wait to do this post but I can't sleep so thought now would be a good time.

For this I wanted to do something different. Rather than reflect on the past year I wanted instead talk about the future.

I have this feeling this year is going to be a big one not just for me but for my friends as well. I would also like to impart some words of wisdom going into the New Year based on what I have learned this year.

The most important thing I could say is don't change anything for anyone. Not personally, creatively, or intellectually. Be who you are and do as you want.

Also, fail! And fail a lot. I don't mean this to say don't strive for success. But our failures are what shape our success. Don't be afraid of messing up every now and again. It's how we learn. Wear your failures like badges of honor. Because without any of those failures we would not be who we are. So let me rephrase. Failure shapes our character and points us in the right direction.

Always pursue your dream. I've met too many people this past year who talk about doing something but never actually do what they say. Don't talk and take action. It's the ones who act instead of talk who change the world.

So those are my words of wisdom.

I would also like to take this moment to express my passion for something I've discovered this past year.
I have learned that I really enjoy in some way mentoring those who do not yet have the knowledge I have about animation and storytelling.

And while I do not yet know everything, this blog is going to change this year. I am going to do a weekly post as much as possible about storytelling and how animation plays into that. So that perhaps someone who finds it can learn something. Because if there is anything I have learned this past year is animation is not about gags and gimmicks. It is about telling a story. A story that an audience can relate to on a personal level.

As Ed Hooks said during the class I attended. "Empathy is the most important thing an audience needs to feel for a character. Without empathy, the story fails."

So with that. Happy New Year. Let's see what this next year brings. :-)

Good night all!

25 years of The Legend of Zelda- The Timeline and History (warning Skyward Sword spoilers)

 So it pretty much goes without saying that The Legend of Zelda game series is my favorite of all time and is a big part of my life. And with 25 years of LoZ and my recent completion of Skyward Sword, I decided to write the history and a timeline of what I consider the core games in the series. Note, this is my personal interpretation and Skyward Sword spoilers are in this so if anyone has not played Skyward Sword yet, stop reading now and listen to this song instead!!

Skyward Sword is essentially the origin story the entire series is based upon. This would be the game where everything started. So as it has been said in many games, the goddesses; Nayru, Din, and Farore came from the heavens and created the world and when they departed, they left behind the Triforce. The three goddesses entrusted the Triforce to the Goddess Hylia to ensure it was protected.

After some time had passed, the demon king known as Demise sought the Triforce for himself and threw Hyrule into civil war. In order to prevent Demise from obtaining the Triforce, Hylia used her powers to seal him away in the Sacred Grounds and as a result she took a mortal form. Before doing this she created the Goddess Sword and tore a chunk of land from Hyrule and sent it to the sky. The essence of her power would be contained with the newly formed Goddess Sword.

The last surviving Hylians now only vaguely aware of these events now lived in Skyloft. The same piece of land Hylia sent to the sky in order to protect the Hylians from the demon infested world below. It would be sometime in the future that Demise in his imprisoned form would begin to break free. During this time, childhood friends Link and Zelda are celebrating Link's recent knighthood in Skyloft. Zelda goes missing having fallen to the ground below. Link discovers the goddess sword in Skyloft and is guided by the sword's spirit known as Fi. Entrusted by Hylia to guide the Hero of the Goddess, Fi helps Link on his journey to find Zelda and stop the demon lord Ghirahim from reviving Demise in their time.

As events unfold, Link using the Flames of Nayru, Din, and Farore gives the Goddess Sword it's full power and creates the Master Sword. It is also during this time that Zelda is revealed to be the mortal form of the goddess Hylia. Zelda enters a sleep that she will not wake up from until the destruction of Demise. Link is now tasked with finding the Triforce and wishing for the end of Demise so that Zelda will awaken. Link discovers the Triforce in the Goddess of Hylia statue in Skyloft. The statue and the Triforce fall to the Sealed Grounds below as the wish for Demise's death is granted.

Ghirahim knowing that is Zelda is awake and Demise has been destroyed in the present takes Zelda through the Door of Time to the past to revive Demise there. Using Zelda's spirit and nearly killing her, Ghirahim succeeds in reviving Demise. Ghirahim's true nature is revealed as he is the spirit of Demise's own twisted version of the Master Sword. Link battles Demise in order to save Zelda who is dying as Demise continues to consume her spirit to sustain his life. Link ultimately kills Demise but not before Demise places a curse on Zelda and Link that a reincarnation of his hatred will be born and Link and Zelda's descendants will never be free from pain and suffering.

Link's quest completed places the Master Sword in the Pedestal of Time to never be used again and Fi enters a neverending sleep within the sword. Link and Zelda decide to stay in Hyrule rather than return to Skyloft. It is likely this Link and Zelda of whom the future Link's and Zelda's descend.  During this time Link and Zelda build Hyrule Castle and construct the Temple of Time in the Sacred Grounds to conceal the new location of the Triforce.

Events seen in Twilight Princess leading to Ocarina of Time

After a thousand years of peace, the people of Hyrule begin to once again fight for the Triforce. The ones seeking this power became known as the Dark Interlopers. With the assistance of a mysterious man known as Ganondorf, the Sages were shown how to defeat the Dark Interlopers. The Sages ultimately banished the Dark Interlopers into the Twilight Realm where they became humbled and know as the Twili.

Ganondorf had now gained favor with the King of Hyrule for his help in banishing the Dark Interlopers. The King's daughter however did not trust Ganondorf and believed him to have more sinister motives. The King's daughter Zelda sent a Kokiri boy known as Link to open the Door of Time and retrieve the Master Sword so Ganondorf could be stopped. Once Link now known as the Hero of Time had opened the Door of Time, he was sealed away for seven years. Ganondorf knowing what Zelda was up to followed Link until the Door of Time was open and Ganondorf now had complete freedom to take the Triforce for himself and usurped the Kingdom of Hyrule throwing the land into darkness and polluting the once sacred Golden Realm into the Dark World. It had now become clear that Ganondorf was the reincarnation of Demise's hatred and the curse placed so many thousands of years ago was coming true.

After seven years, Link awakened from his slumber and with the help of Zelda and the other 6 sages, Ganondorf was sealed away within the Golden Realm but not before vowing his return. This chain of events would later become known as the The Imprisoning War. After Ganondorf's defeat, Zelda used the Ocarina of Time to return Link to his childhood to live the seven years he lost while sealed in the Golden Realm.

It was this that would cause the timeline to split thus creating two parallel Hyrule's each with it's own history. The first of these would be the Hyrule of the adult Zelda timeline. Zelda having sent Link back to live out his childhood had a terrible side effect. The line of descendants for Link had now been broken. When Ganondorf did as he said and broke free from his seal, this time no hero appeared to stop him. The people of Hyrule prayed to the goddesses and those prayers were answered with what was known as The Great Flood. The people of Hyrule took to the mountain tops and made homes for themselves and has time passed had forgotten the blood stained history of Hyrule.

It was now that an aged and weary Ganondorf would once again break free from his seal and search for the descendants of Zelda and Link. Zelda would soon be revealed to be the pirate girl Tetra with Link now becoming the Hero of Winds. Together with the help of the King of Lions who actually turned out to be the past King of Hyrule, Ganondorf was defeated for what appeared to be the last time as the Triforce was used to wish for an end to the curse that had been placed on Link and Zelda so many years ago by the Demon King Demise.

The other history of Hyrule that would occur would be a direct result of Link's return to childhood. Link as a child now knew the full events that would occur and warned the King of Hyrule of Ganondorf's deception and true intentions. After telling the King of this, Link set out on a new quest where he found himself in the land of Termina and battling against an ancient demon known as Majora. During Link's time in Termina, the Sages were conducting an execution of Ganondorf. In a cruel twist of fate, the Triforce of Power became Ganondorf's and the execution failed which resulted in the death of the Water Sage. The remaining Sage's banished Ganondorf to the Twilight Realm. The same place where the Dark Interloper's had been sent during their bloody quest for the Triforce.

It was in the Twilight Realm that Ganondorf would find a puppet in the downtrodden Twili Zant. With Ganondorf's power, Zant was able to take over both Hyrule and the Twilight Realm and transform the Twilight Princess Midna into an impish manifestation of her former self. Midna found the new Hero of Time and took him to Princess Zelda. The Princess explained what was happening though none of them were fully aware of the power and rage that fueled Zant.  It was now clear that the Master Sword would once again be needed and Link removed the sword from the Pedestal of Time in the ruins of the what was once the Temple of Time.

With the Master Sword in hand, Link traveled all across Hyrule and to the Sky to discover the keys that would take him to the Twilight Realm. Once in the Twilight Realm, Link learned Ganondorf was behind everything and defeated his puppet Zant. Link then proceeded to Hyrule Castle for one last confrontation with Ganondorf. After a long battle, Ganondorf was defeated once again and this time seemingly for good. But he would still return one last time.

Sometime long after Link and Midna said their goodbyes and a new line of descendants had been born, Hyrule was enjoying a time of peace. This peace would not last with the arrival of a mysterious wizard calling himself Agahnim. This mysterious wizard began sending the descendants of the Seven Sages to the Dark World that had once been the Sacred Realm. The Hero of Time would once again return to thwart the evil that was now taking over Hyrule. Traveling between both Hyrule and the Dark World, Link learned that Ganondorf had once again returned. Link would follow Ganondorf atop his pyramid within the Dark World and battle him in one last fight. After Link was able to defeat Ganondorf, the Triforce was once again Link's to make his own wish. Link made his wish for the return of peace to Hyrule and the end of the curse that had been placed by Demise all those years ago. With that, Ganondorf was now finished and Link returned the Master Sword to the Pedestal of Time where it would sleep forever....


The End

So yeah, there is my interpretation of The Legend of Zelda's history. I know I have left the original Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link but I do not consider them core games as I think they were made before a definite history had been established.  So if anyone reads this, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. 

Dialogue shot blocking/final

Here is the final blocking pass of my last character animation assignment for the semester. I'm rather proud of it and amazed at how well it is looking. Time to take it to the final polish. :-)

Animators... are actors

I'm sure that many animators have heard people say after watching 'Toy Story' that Tom Hanks and Tim Allen did a wonderful job portraying Buzz and Woody. Non-animators will accept this but animators know the performance came not from the voice actors but the animators.

On Saturday I had the privilege of being a part of an all day master class taught by Ed Hooks. Animators know him as the author of the 'Acting for Animators' books.

If there are 3 essential books an animator must have they would Acting for Animators, The Animator's Survival Kit, and The Illusion of Life.

So to be a part of this class was amazing and I learned so many new things and approaches to animation.
Performance and acting is far more important than gags.  Ed told us that many reasons students don't get hired is because their characters don't act. He said if we have a reel full of dialogue shots, body mechanics, and cheap gags we won't get hired. Studios want to see acting and story.

He taught us a lot of really cool tricks to apply in getting a believable performance from our characters that I will share in a later post.

He also deconstructed several films that many of us know and love and pointed out why they were films with bad acting and story. Most notably of this was 'UP'. Shocking right!! Who does not love UP?

But he was right about UP. It really is a poorly made film and it shows.

He also stated how with Pixar being acquired by Disney, we will see the further decline of Pixar. He pretty much said Pixar has not made a good film since Monster's Inc.


He also offered words of encouragement and inspiration in light of further decline of Pixar.

He said to us, we don't want to be Pixar anyway, we want to be the un-Pixar. He said to us this is an exciting time for us to be animators. We are the next generation of animators and the innovations that create a giant leap forward in animation will come from us. He told us we are the ones who will bring a something new and fresh to animated films. I took this to heart and firmly believe that.


Stay tuned for Part 2 of my day with Ed Hooks.

Pixar bound!!!!!!!

So as the title says I'm going to Pixar!!

Apparently the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco hosts a benefit each year that includes a tour of the Pixar Studios.

http://cartoonart.org/2011/09/save-the-date-benefit-at-pixar-animation-studios/

So I made the decision to go. I have to go. It would be an absolute dream come true. This is one of those things I could check off my bucket list!! I am going to Pixar!!

Hakuna Matata!!!

So today I will blog about something special that could be said to coincide with certain milestones in my life.

The release of The Lion King on blu-ray. By far one of the greatest animated films of all time.
But this film probably more than any other has many memories for me...

It was released in 1994 at which point I was just entering high school. Yeah, I'm that old. Though I'm not really. I just like to joke about being that old.

I was just about to turn 15 a few months after it's release. Not really a milestone so much.

But these are.

I loved drawing all the time. I got my hands on everything I could related to art and drawing. This caused me to have a hard time in high school because I got picked on a lot. In 1994, being an artist in high school was grounds for bullying. (it probably still is)

If anything The Lion King (though I did not know I wanted to be an animator yet) kept me drawing even though I took abuse for it everyday because my fellow students labeled me an "art fag" A fave term of the bullies.

The Lion King also coincides with what was my first real girlfriend. Many times we sat and watched The Lion King and discussed the film and how much we enjoyed it. Though I do not see or speak to her anymore, I still remember those moments.

It also coincided with my formative teen years which can be rough for everyone. I was one of those kids that did not know what I wanted to do with my life except I knew it would be something artistic. Though my high school years almost killed that dream due to the bullying. I just wanted to not be bullied and tried to avoid it as much as possible.

I would watch The Lion King on my parent's old VHS copy when they weren't around because I was forced into being ashamed of liking animated films at 15 by my school bullies. I was picked on for still buying toys.
Though all of these things were signs of what I would become nearly a decade later. (or what I always was... an animator)

And also probably the most important milestone that began in my second year of high school that I learned from The Lion King. Be who you are and be who you are meant to be and let nothing stand in your way.

So I now have The Lion King on blu-ray and watch it fondly with memories of my childhood and how the film helped in defining who I am and to not care what anyone else thinks. :-)

character model.... done

Yep, finished this model for rigging class. I had to stick with certain guidelines for the model, but I really just wanted to make something as cartoony as possible within those guideline. I like how he turned out. Still debating on whether or not to give him hair

Music that rocks my socks

Good stuff to listen to while animating. Bands with female singers are so much cooler!!

May the force be with.... uh wait nope

Quick post about something near and dear to my heart. A big chunk of my childhood being ruined. I was very excited that the Star Wars Saga would be hitting blu-ray on the 16th but not anymore.

This is why!!

Thanks George Lucas for turning Darth Vader (the most badass villain in film history) into the biggest pansy in film history!!

And here is another vid to show far Lucas has fallen from grace and given into the temptations of the dark side.

I now go back to school work.

twinkee twinkee twinkee

Yeah, so I got back to this finally and did the mouth animation. The word twinkee starts to sound really weird after hearing it again and again. That is one shot down. One to go...

Edit:

I'm going to do a shot breakdown of this to get used to it for a demo reel and why I made the acting choices I made.


First up. His body is moving through the entire shot until after he says lives and then he stops moving his body in reaction to what he just said as he tries to digest the realization.

His eyebrows. I have them hold for 2 frames after he raises them just to add that same element of acting as mentioned with the body movement.

Also he moves his head a lot but also moves it much less after he says lives.

I let his eyes do a lot of the acting as far as his emotion. He is dumbfounded that his life is about to be risked for a box of twinkee's so to express that, he never stops moving his eyes. Even if it is very subtle.

Lastly his hands. I animated the right hand and the fingers to move much more than the left to show that this is a right handed character.

At SIGGRAPH, I learned from some great animators and they all said the same thing. The little subtle touches you add to a character are what make their performances believable. Not the over the top exaggerated stuff.

Great advice that has already made me a better animator.

dialogue blocking twinkee

feel free to critique. taking some of the things I learned at SIGGRAPH and applying them to my animations. No mouth animation yet and still in stepped mode.

25 cent peepshows... SIGGRAPH Recap

So here goes...

SIGGRAPH 2011

I got in Vancouver on Wednesday and stayed at the Samesun Backpacker's Lodge until Friday. I only mention this cause if Vancouver has a red light district, Samesun was in it. There was a place for 25 cent peepshows on the corner. Hence the title. This also became a running joke during the week.

So Thursday I woke up and took a walk around Vancouver.  That afternoon I met up with some other SV's and TL's and we went to dinner. This was a good start to the week. Saw some friends from 2010 and made some new ones.

Also saw some sights during the day as well. Stanley Park is amazing. I walked everywhere in Vancouver. Vancouver is a big walking city. Everyone walks there. Granville Street is certainly the place to be in Vancouver if looking for anything to do.

So Friday came and it was time for my first (pre-conference) shift. We were supposed to set up the computers in The Studio. As sometimes happens, the truck with the computers was being held up at border control. Needless to say my first shift consisted of sitting around and talking with the other SV's.

I met up with my roommate Shern when returning from shift and we hit the Steamworks Brewpub in Gastown. This became one of my fave places to go. They have an awesome drink there called the Nirvana Nut Brown Ale. I don't know what was in it or how it was brewed but two of them could knock me on my ass.  I did this just about every night.  Next day was SV Orientation. I could tell right away this was going to be one hell of a fun experience. With Maya Karp running the show, there was never a dull moment.

Then a group got together to see the fireworks in the English Bay. This was the most awesome fireworks display I had ever seen. After the fireworks, we went to a pub called Morrisey's on Granville St. Awesome place.  

Sunday came and did my short shift in The Studio and then started making the rounds. Went to several places but most importantly was the Autodesk Student Experience at the Marriot just around the corner from the Convention Center. Since I registered, I had a cool little badge waiting for me with my name on it. I felt a bit like an important person at that point. During the Autodesk event, I was able to see Carlos Baena talk about animation and his work on Toy Story 3 animating the Spanish Buzz. This was awesome to say the least.

Went out for a party that night. I would describe it, but I honestly don't remember any of it. It was that good.  Before that went and saw more of the sights with some of my new friends. 

Had a total free day on Monday.

Went to the Computer Animation Festival and saw the Commercials, Games and Music Videos presentation. Saw lots of cool stuff there. 

Saw Terrence Masson sitting outside the Convention Center and immediately went up and talked to him. Got his biz card. Score 1 for the day.

Went back in and took in more of the Conference. Went back out to eat, and saw Carlos Baena outside. Immediately went to him and talked to him. He was freaking awesome and very personable. Score 2 of the day.

Then went and saw the Captain America production sessions. I love comic books so I had to see how this movie was made by the people who made it.

Then went to the SV Office for the Special Session with Jeremy Birn from Pixar. Got him to sign my Digital Lighting and Rendering Book. Score 3 of the day.

 Had a late night shift working the reception so I did not get to attend the Chapter's Party. This was probably the biggest disappointment. I'll never figure out why the Chapter's Party was scheduled the same time as the reception. But I had a damned good day so I was cool with it.


So came Tuesday and my long shifts in The Studio started. During my shift I met a girl named Elvira (yes that is her actual name) no joke!! After the shift ended, we went and grabbed a bite to eat and hit the Animation Festival. Many great films were shown at CAF this year. I was amazed by all the work that went into each film. Some were funny, some were very poignant and some drew uncomfortable responses from the crowd. But they were all damned good. Left the convention center and walked Elvira part of the way back to her hotel and met up with the guys and had a few drinks at the Steamworks Pub again.

Next day came for my other long Studio shift. It was over and I was going to meet up with guys to go grab a Canadian dish called Poutine?  Elvira found me in the SV Office and bailed on the guys to hang out with her. What can you do?!! I didn't live that down. The guys ragged on me a lot for that. The fact that they actually saw me walk out of the SV Office with her didn't help any. Turns out Elvira got a ticket from the guy at the VFS booth to see a presentation from a Disney animator and did not know where the place was for the presentation.  I offered to help her find it as I had been in Vancouver for some time now. I honestly think I was the first SV to arrive other than those who did not already live there. I got there before some of the TL's.

So I walked Elvira to where she needed to be for the presentation and was going to leave. I did not have a ticket. I just wanted to make sure she found the place. The person in charge let me come in to the presentation also. I got to see lots of the shots the animator (don't remember his name) did on Tangled. I love Tangled so I was pretty much happy as a lark at this point. And then he showed something special that no one will see until it's release. That was awesome. All that just for making sure someone found where they needed to go. Nobility does pay off.  Walked her back to her hotel and met up the guys again. The ragging on me began at the point during another venture to the Steamworks Pub.

Then came Thursday. Last day. Bittersweet!! Went to the Exhibition Floor. Made the rounds and got my teapot. I was really worried I would not get one cause the line formed fast. I was there, walked out for ten minutes, came back and there it was. But I got the teapot and all was well.  Then came the final SV raffle after check out time. I won something!! I won one of the top prizes.  The Art of Kung Fu Panda 2 signed by the artist's themselves! I also won something earlier in the week during a raffle so I think I did a pretty good job as an SV. Elvira also won something during the final raffle and this is us posing with our prizes. Yes, I look like a dork. I'm not photogenic!!

So with that came the teary goodbyes to everyone and end to one of the most amazing weeks of my life. I learned a lot of new things. Made some new friends, and forged some strong bonds and memories that will last a lifetime. This was an amazing experience at SIGGRAPH with my SV family, but as with all good things, it must end. I love them all and it was a great time and I will miss everyone of them. I can only hope that I will see them again next year. All I can think is that I can't wait to go back home and see my friends again. :-)

SIGGRAPH... tis almost here

Got my schedule. yay!!

I'm an application guru again this year!! I loved being in The Studio last year so I'm sure I will love it this year as well.

I also have a pre-conference shift this year setting up The Studio. That should be fun as well. I'm a big geek so I rather enjoy setting up computers. I tore them down last year and that was fun.

And a shift at the Reception. Not sure what that shift will be like, but it should be interesting.


All in all, I will have pretty much a total of 3 of the 5 days free to take in the Conference. Not to thrilled that I won't be able to see the Exhibition Floor until Thursday, but I will have a full day to see it rather than the half day I had last year so that is awesome.


On to the parties I'll be attending.


Animation Mentor Happy Hour. Yeah, I got into that one. :-)

SIGGRAPH Chapters Party of Course. I will go to this one after the Reception.

League of SIGGRAPH Parties Party on Saturday. Yes, there is a group for SIGGRAPH parties that decided to throw a party. Any reason we can. We geeks know how to party that is for sure.

And the Autodesk Reception. Last but not least.

So with that, this is my last post until my return from the happy happy joy joy land of SIGGRAPH.

Soon begins the packing and last minute prep for my flight on Wednesday.

Stay tuned for the post SIGGRAPH post about all the week's festivities.

It's almost time to Make it Home. :-)

Tell tale signs

So I found this page on facebook. Take a look.http://www.facebook.com/pages/You-Know-Youre-an-Animator-When/201282243241366?sk=info

and here is the list on the info page. It's scary how true these are.

You know You're an Animator When...

... Walking is more complicated than it looks.

... Besides the 'compelling story-lines' Anime generally does suck.

... MAYA is not just the name of a girl you know

... Same goes for BRYCE

... When teachers draw stick figures you doubt their teaching ability.

... When you are used to hearing gasps when you tell people exactly how long it took you to animate 'those 15 seconds'.

... Disney is a building full of Gods.

... You know who Glen Keane, Andreas Deja, Ub Iwerks, and Bill Plympton are.... or you ARE them.

... Paper dominates everything else in your room

... You are always think of new things to animate, even while animating something else.

... Drawing 200 drawings in one night is not that uncommon for you.

... Hearing the word 'Modeling' does not make you think of photographing advertisements.

... Hearing "Flash" has no sexual connotation.

... You know exactly why the Disney sequels suck.

... You know what PSD, MOV, AVI, and AEP files are.

... Tarzan has the greatest animated musculature ever.

... Not going to sleep at night isn't unusual.

... You hate X-sheets, but you know if you don't use them, it will all fall apart.

... a hole puncher costs you 500$

... You can see the brushstrokes in Ratigan's cape as he moves and changes layers

... People want you to draw them.

... People act like your career choice is awesome, but you know they are thinking "Where the hell is the money in animation?"

... You never want to hear how many individual hairs were rendered in Sully fur, or feathers on Chicken Little... ever again.

... When Mo-Cap doesn't count... but the tweaking does, no matter what James Cameron says.

... CGI is not as easy as people think it is.

... Neither is timing out good lip sync.

... There is no greater joy than watching what you just drew nonstop for a month (or more) come to life.

... Someone asks you what you thought of an animated film and you comment on the quality of animation.

... You think Fantasia is one of the best animated films ever despite your friends moaning that it has a soundtrack of classical music.

... You watch a cartoon on TV, start noticing repeated frames or backgrounds, and get annoyed by them.

... You know Tim Burton did not direct Nightmare Before Christmas .... OR....Coraline.

... You want Tim Curry, Keith David, or Jim Cummings to do a voice in a film of yours because they are just brilliant.

... You want to cry when you hear the words ''it's good but can you just change this one motion...''

... You say you do animation and your friends who don't do it say ''Are you mad? how can you stand drawing that much?''

... You try to be sneaky in using repeated/held frames hoping nobody notices...

... You spend a lot of time waiting for rendering.

... Someone looks at your completed scene, says "That's all you've bee doing for these past weeks?" and then you have to explain how animation works.... again.

... You have no social life when animating during crunch time.

... If you have a strong story, you can make a compelling film no matter the medium (2D/3D).

... Anything.... literally anything... can happen.


So with that, I hope to get in one more post before SIGGRAPH. If not, look for the post afterwards to describe all the awesomeness of the week. :-) 

Oh, and on a side note if anyone reads this. 
Does anyone know about how long it would take to send a postcard from Vancouver to Italy?
I'm curious to know if it would reach it's destination before I get back home.

AM Showcase 2011

So AM finally uploaded Showcase 2011 to youtube and here it is for viewing pleasure. It fills me with all kinds of happy!!

SIGGRAPH Travel Preparations... just two more weeks

Yep, just two more weeks and I'm starting to nail down everything for the trip. I got the passport, the little letter I need from the SIGGRAPH Conference Chair to enter the country and all that. Maps from the hotel to the Convention Center.

Not worried too much about getting there.

Flying to Vancouver. Not a big deal.
I'll be leaving Indy at 4 pm on the 3rd, landing in Denver for a 3 hour layover and make my way to Vancouver from there and landing at 9 pm. Plenty of time.

Now here is where I get worried.

Leave Vancouver on the 12th and land in Chicago about 4 pm.
And leave Chicago at 5 pm to go back to Indy.

So this is what concerns me.
Land in Chicago at the International Terminal, take airport transit to the domestic terminal, go through security AGAIN and get on my plane. ALL IN ONE HOUR!!
Are you Serious?!?!

Now granted I'm sure it can be done otherwise a flight like this would not have been scheduled but it still makes me nervous. Especially considering that last year without a strange twist of luck, I would have been stranded in Chicago on my way to L.A. because of flight delays.

I'm also probably a bit nervous because this is only my second time flying and first time flying to another country.

I'm really hoping all goes well and my nervousness is unfounded.

I'm all about the music today!! :-)

Yes I'm also a music lover and have just been all about the music.

Two things

First a kick ass song and then a damned kick ass piano cover of the same song by some girl who can just downright bloody play a piano!!

and the piano version

This could be my theme song... lol

Yep, so anyone knows me knows I love me some symphonic/Gothic music. And I swear this song could be my theme song. lol

Enjoy!! :-)

back to the drawing board

So I really wanted to focus a bit more on walk cycles here lately and just start doing different walks and trying to bring a personality to the characters when they walk rather than the more straight forward stuff I've been taught in classes. This guy specifically has a lot of my characteristics when I walk especially when he looks around briefly cause I do that a lot when I walk.  :-)

3D.... Too much of a good thing

*Steps up on soapbox*

Seriously, the use of 3D in films is getting out of hand. If they weren't shot for 3D, they are being transferred for 3D. And all I can think is 'STOP IT'

Not every movie needs to be in 3D. Certainly not some craptastic little Michael Bay movie that horribly dishonors all things Transformers.  I'll stick with my 1980's traditionally animated Transformers movie thank you very much Mr. Bay. Filled with some great actors like Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack, and none other than Orson Welles voicing the Transformers. You know, not the Even Steven's upstart Shia Lebouf who always seems to have a love interest whose lips are so swollen she looks like she just got hit in the face. Granted I do give Michael Bay credit for bagging the original and one and only Peter Cullen to voice Optimus Prime but that is about all the credit he gets.


Anyway, back to the point. Enough with the 3D. And I know that sounds strange coming from me, but really if Hollywood continues to oversaturate the market with 3D, people will just get sick of it. Why do they never learn?

Case in point. Terminator 2: Judgement Day. A liquid metal man who could morph into other people and sharp objects and stuff like that. We all thought it was cool when we first saw it on screen, but eventually people got sick of it cause everybody had to do it. Everybody needed morphing in their movie.

Now back to Michael Bay and the Transformers movies. The first one was good, I admit that. But for the sequels, they seemed to just become an excuse to blow shit up and there was no story of any kind.

We saw this also with Tron: Legacy. Looked great visually and was also in 3D.  No story structure of any kind. The movie sucked basically.

Now as a part of my major, I have been through several film making and storytelling classes, some focused on script writing or non linear vs. linear storytelling and the like. But the one that will always stand out is the cinematography class. I was really taught how to tell a story by using the camera. And the one thing that was always drilled into my head in that class was that if it doesn't serve the story, then don't do it. 3D does not serve the story and a film if it is truly great will still be great without it.

Personally, I blame George Lucas. Okay, it's not all his fault, but it certainly is rooted with him and the Star Wars prequel trilogy. I love Star Wars just as much as everyone. And I was probably one the few people who thought The Phantom Menace was a kick ass flick with a great storyline. Seriously, Darth Vader as a little boy. Doesn't get much more scary than that. That was a stroke of genius on Lucas' part cause it made his turn to the dark side that much more chilling knowing that we had seen him as a little boy.

Then came Attack of the Clones, very visual effects heavy. I mean damn, there was nothing in that movie that did not have a blue screen or green screen somewhere for digital set extensions or for the sake of blowing shit up. Seriously, the number of visual effects shots in the The Phantom Menace was somewhere around 800. With Attack of the Clones, it doubled to 1600. And the story was somewhat lacking in Attack of the Clones. Coincidence, I think not. Thankfully Revenge of the Sith sort of rebounded and toned down the VFX and focused a little more on story.  Lucas had to get that one right or he would have been lynched by geeks from all over the world.

Anyway, this set off a trend of people making their movies with as much VFX as possible and naturally as such, the storytelling suffered. Then came the stereoscopic camera which I love and believe it is an excellent story telling device when used properly. But for now, it seems it just being used for the sake of making as many movies as possible be in 3D. Enough. I want to see Hollywood get back to telling stories, not making everything in 3D and with a shit ton of VFX and CG just for the sake of it being there.

Story is key. Everything else is meant to serve the story. 

And here is one more thing that needs to stop while I am on this little rant. Senseless and needless sequels.
Pirates of the Caribbean 4. Not needed. I loved the trilogy and it had a nice ending that brought everything full circle. Leave it alone at that point. Stop seeing dollar signs at every turn Hollywood!!

There is also rumors going around about a Toy Story 4. And all I can think is please don't let that happen. Toy Story 3 had the perfect ending and brought all the character's as far as they could go. There doesn't need to be anymore Toy Story films and if there is my faith in the great and mighty Pixar will be shaken.

Which brings me to another point. Cars 2. I personally think the first Cars movie was the weakest of all the Pixar movies and feel that weakness has only been beaten by the sequel. Don't make a sequel to the weakest film in your canon, please.

And then comes prequels. This also needs to stop. And I also blame George Lucas for this. But back to Pixar, there are plans to make a prequel to Monster's Inc. And all I can say is NOOOOOOOOO.... much in the same way Darth Vader did when he found out he killed Padme thus destroying his menace and ability to scare people just by entering a room forever. And this seriously has me concerned about where Pixar is heading.

Pixar... just focus on Brave cause it looks bloody awesome.

And there are remakes. Which also need to stop. If you are going to remake a movie, remake a shitty film and make it good. Quit remaking films that were already good or in some cases great. If it isn't broke, don't fix it.

So in summary, enough with the 3D, unnecessary sequels, prequels, and remakes Hollywood.

Story and originality is where it's at and everything else comes second to that.

I now step off my soapbox.

Thank you for tuning in and good night. :-)

still employed... YAY!!

Yep, so I went back to work today and I still have a job.
I was even told after the management reviewed the security cameras I was perfectly within in my right to react the way I did. I was essentially told I was being verbally assaulted and to not expect me to verbally respond would just be ridiculous.

That having been said, this means I can still go to Vancouver and pursue Animation Mentor.

However, in light of this, I am really attempting to find the route of the problem that led to this outburst.
The truth of the matter is that I have been stretching myself to thin and am just physically and mentally exhausted.  I've been working on a demo reel, directing an animated short, planning for Vancouver and working a full time job all at once. People have always told me that I push myself way too much and that it will eventually catch up to me at some point. And I think it finally has.

So, I'm very carefully going to start examining what I can do to alleviate much of the pressure I put on myself.

The first thing that I really plan to do is get out from behind the computer screen more often. In pursuit of my career to be an animator, this is what I spend all time doing. And I'm realizing now that this isn't working. I've neglected the things I used to do before I set out to be an animator. So, I'm going to try and get out more and go on bike rides like I used to and go the park and just walk around, and just try to experience more of life. And if anything, this will help become a better animator. After all animation is creating the illusion of life. What good is that if I'm not experiencing life itself because I am trying so hard to be an animator.

I have spent so much time focusing on the future that I've neglected the present. And the present is the most important thing above all other things.

As the great Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn once said "be mindful of the future, but not at the expense of the moment"

Wise words from a wise man. So that is what I plan to do.

Though I will still continue with my future plans, I am just going to slow down a bit and take a  more relaxed approach.

I'm going to try and give the chaos a bit more structure so it doesn't become so overwhelming.

So at this point, I'm really just going to focus my attention on the trip to Vancouver and it's planning.
Then I will focus my attention on another trip I'm taking to visit the Animation Mentor campus in November or December. Which will be cool and I was told I could even bring guests. Of which two people I know already are coming along. But the AM guy was like "the more the merrier" so it will be fun to gather more people for that.

That said though, I am really just going to focus on one thing at a time, and just see where it leads. Goals are great to have, but sometimes the goals can blind you to what you are really seeking.

I'm going to try and change this. :-)

triggers

triggers are the thing that all people with BPD know very well. Triggers are the things that set our episodes in motion.

I've been having them quite a bit lately. Perhaps it's boredom, perhaps it's a depressive state, loneliness, or something else. 

One major trigger is that I may be in danger of losing my job now because I may have responded angrily to the wrong person. And nobody at work will care or view a mental disorder as a legitimate reason. They will not understand that as much as I try, I cannot control my emotions 100% of the time.

I am deeply concerned by this because without this job,  my trip to Vancouver will not happen, I will not be able to continue going to school, or start attending Animation Mentor. It almost feels as though everything I have worked for in the past 2 and half years will have just been a waste.

The other part that is bothering me is that I have been avoiding my friends during this episode or episodes.
So do I talk to anyone about what is going on with me. No. But when I am ready to talk, they are not around to talk which just triggers another episode. It is a vicious cycle. And I hate it. I really wish that I did not have to live with this sometimes. 

Pictures truly speak louder than words

So I'm sure just about everyone who keep up with current events is aware of the riots that took place in Vancouver a couple weeks ago.  Now out of those riots came something really great. When humanity shows it's ugly side, there is always something to shows just a tiny little bit of light in the dark things we are capable of doing.  And it is this. One of the best photographs ever taken.

A man comforting his girlfriend with a kiss after she was knocked down and injured by the riot police. Everyone knows the story by now, I'm sure. But I can't get over just how wonderful this picture is and what it shows. This is a photo that will surely be one for the history books and perhaps even more interesting is that the photographer snapped the photo by accident while being pushed back by riot police. I call that providence if there ever is such a thing.

So here it is. What is certainly going to be one of my favorite photographs ever.

A split second of compassion happening during absolute chaos.

Learning more....

So yeah in my pursuit of becoming a student of Animation Mentor, I have been doing research into the school and have come across some pretty cool things.

One of them is this. A blog written by an AM student who also lives in Indiana. In the blog, he describes in some detail each of the assignments he has done with AM so far in his studies and my only thought is why don't universities teach these and hand out these kinds of assignments in their animation programs.

Though I am not an AM student yet, I have been looking at the work this guy has done with AM and thought to myself there is no reason why I have to be an AM student to do these assignments on my own and improve my skills. Which is exactly what I am doing. It also helps me to serve as a guide to know what to expect when I am an AM student. Now some may argue that finding a blog that states all the AM assignments is a cheat, but I rather view it as a heads up since no one animator is the same.

Now clearly I do not have the rigs this guy has since they are exclusive to AM students only, but I have several rigs that are just as good and flexible to do what this guy has been doing.

This blog is a huge inspiration and it coupled with several of the things Animation Mentor has sent me has already helped to improve my skills as an animator and given me more confidence which admittedly is something that I lack from time to time.

And since I feel no artist or animator should be left out of the things I learn, here is the link to the blog.

http://chaseshields.blogspot.com/

Hopefully it is as inspiring and helpful to others as it is to me.

On another note, I downloaded the tween machine plugin for Maya and I can't imagine how I have gone without it for so long. It's freaking awesome.

So, on that note. Expect to see more and better things from me in the not so distant future.

Now on to animating!! :-)

horses... yay!

Yep, I like to animate quadrupeds now. I initially hated it but it's actually a lot of fun once I got the hang of it.

Dinosaurs!!!!!

Okay, so yeah I'm making an attempt to start animating something other than bipeds. I really want to explore everything I can to animate and found some great rigs ranging from horses to tigers and demon type beasts with wings, but the ones I'm having the most fun with are dinosaurs. Growing up, I loved dinosaurs and I remember the first time I ever saw Jurassic Park when I was just young kid and how my eyes lit up when the dinosaurs first came on screen. It was like being a kid in the candy store.

And now here I am beginning to animate a dinosaur. Since I have had no formal training of any kind in animating creatures, I am starting off slow and just creating some strong poses for the time being before I really start animating them but this is what I just did with one of the rigs.   :-)

Because I never posted it before... class final animation

http://www.vimeo.com/24061421

SIGGRAPH Preparation and other news

A group of students at my school have gotten together to produce an animated short to put on the festival circuit.
We have a really great story and we have this gut feeling that people will really enjoy it. After a seven hour production meeting, we got more than we could have asked for. We have a producer now.  We are getting ambitious, but ambition is a good thing.

I actually like that we had this meeting as well because it made me think of the story about how most if not all of the Pixar films were ideas that happened during a lunch John Lasseter was having with the other big names at Pixar who would go on to direct Pixar films.



On another note. I'm prepping for SIGGRAPH 2011. And I designed my own business card. No pre designed crap like had last year. I really just thought about what do I want this card to say about me. Yes, I am a character animator, but it has to have my personality as well. And here I am unveiling my business card design. The first time I ever designed one. It's simple, but elegant. I think anyway.

And yes my number and email is on there for the upload, but I thought if it wasn't the full effect would be lost.

Just one week left

One week is left in what has been my most difficult semester yet. Not that the work was extremely hard, but the workload was tough. Some of which I brought on myself.


First there was my class animation project. I never do anything simple and probably never will. Not only did do more work than the other students who only animated one or two characters, I animated 3. I then decided one would be animated going up stairs and falling down them. That turned out alright, but damn I was killing myself on that one. Then I decided well 2 of the characters are ghost and they need effects. And in comes compositing and After Effects work. So I then to break up the animation into render layers for the composite and the effects. Overall, it was a lot of fun and I loved doing it. But it was stressful, I was pulling at my hair, I didn't sleep, and deadlines were always looming. So if anything from that stand point, I think I'm ready to work at a studio.

Then there is the Texturing and Lighting class. This class had two major projects. First the alley project and the pumpkin composite. The alley project not so bad. The pumpkin composite kicked my ass. But it was also fun.

Then there is Perspective class which at that the start of the semester I really enjoyed and totally loved. Now I just want it to come to an end so I never have to think about that class again. 10 times the work of the other classes combined. Now I know this sounds like I'm complaining, but I'm really not. I truly enjoyed every minute of the semester and really know now that I do love this. You have to love it to put this much time and work.

That also having been said, this semester was a learning experience. I really learned what kind of an animator I want to be as far as the stories I want to tell and the emotions behind those stories. I also got extreme encouragement from my texturing class instructor to take a story I've developed and have been for close to 10 years and get it really going.

So all I can say at this point before head into the lion's den to do my Perspective class final (the only one left) is I learned a lot and made a lot of new friends and connections and even myself a bigger part of the University through my new position and title. And because of all of this... big things are on the horizon. And that is all I will say. :-)

Okay... one more. For good reason.

This is one of my prouder moments in life. And a great accomplishment for me. And also Flaminia Grimaldi who has sort of become my partner in crime in this project. I believe that when you succeed at something, then share that success with others. Nothing is ever a one man show, it is the combined work of several talented people. Flaminia and I have already come up with so many ideas and Vince is pretty much giving us free reign to act as the representatives and the producers of what this office will churn out.

 Now back to schoolwork.

Last posting for a few weeks

So, there are three weeks left in the semester and now all the work I have done this semester is reaching it's end.
This has been by far the busiest yet the funnest semester of all the ones I've been through thus far. There have been surprises, some ups and downs, mostly ups, with one especially major up that has been covered so I won't go into that.

For the end of the semester, I have to complete my animation project. I am looking forward to this because it will be great to see how far I have come, but also because I so desperately want to animate something other than the Norman rig after animating this guy for 3 months.

I also have to wrap up the photo real pumpkin composite. This is by far the easiest of the assignments, but still a big challenge that needs devotion and attention to detail.

The remaining and final assignment for perspective is to either draw storyboards or a comic book using what we have learned. I am still undecided on which I want to do, but for my idea storyboards are probably the best route.

And one more artwork upload to share from perspective class. The 5 point fisheye perspective view.

So this all I have to post before I vanish into the final few weeks and come out on the other side prepared to sleep for a few days after it's over.

More goings on...

So, I had another meeting today with Vince DeQuattro. This time other faculty members of the department. When I arrived at the meeting,  I was greeted by Vince with "this is Andrew, and I would like every to give him a round of applause for getting this idea going". That was pretty cool, but I was also turning red a bit. Vince then when on to say how he and Chad (modeling genius and technical guru) at my school were talking and remarking
"that they were kicking themselves for not coming up this idea themselves".

To really elaborate on the idea and what it is would be this. An online office for coordinating online and onsite students both grad and undergrad to get collaborative projects off the ground and work in a studio production pipeline. The opportunities that this will give the students is enormous. This is the sort of thing that every student in Computer Graphics should be doing. I have no doubt that the work we churn out will be amazing. It is my goal to see this program develop some very remarkable shorts that will garner recognition for everyone involved.  These are the things that are going to get us on the path to our careers. The thought it is hitting me that demo reels, portfolios, and websites are nice, but this program is the thing that will get us to Pixar or Dreamworks. This is a bunch of students getting together and saying we don't have to be Pixar or Dreamworks to create some damn good shorts that people will love. It's the people that grab life by the balls and run with it that are successful. This is exactly what myself and other students are going to achieve. This is what I have been dreaming of doing for so long.

Also, since I will now be at SIGGRAPH this year, I am going to meet Vince at the Conference. This is another step towards realizing what I want to do and see it accomplished. When one door opens, it leads to another and then another and another. Eventually all those doors lead to the place I want to be. I am looking forward to going back to SIGGRAPH and meeting all the new faces, and reconnecting with those I met last year. Though I know that there are some who I met last year that won't be able to make it for various reasons, and I wish they could be there. I would love to see many of them again and talk about how their lives has changed since last year. After all, a lot can happen in a year.

Today was a damned good day!!!

So yeah, last night I got the acceptance letter for being a SIGGRAPH Student Volunteer. Now I know I'm going. And I really didn't think there is anything that could possibly trump that news. But something did.

I had a meeting today with Vince DeQuattro, the Director of the Animation and Visual Effects Department at AAU. I was really only meeting with him to discuss my career path, classes I should take, and the choices that will effect my career. I walked away from this meeting getting far more than I ever expected.

We discussed how online students tend to feel disconnected from the school because we are so far away and are missing out on things. He then said he wants to setup and online office for on campus and online students to  meet and collaborate on projects. The office would then have a student rep to communicate their questions or concerns to Vince. He basically just said to me that the office would be mine to control. I would set the hours, and be the student rep. He asked me to send him  a headshot so the students know who the office instructor is and know who to talk to when problems arise. He told me since some students might be nervous about talking to him because he is the big cheese of the department, I could voice their concerns and questions to him directly if they were too nervous to speak to him. This was a damned good day. I just went from being an AAU Student to being AAU faculty. Only in my wildest dreams could this have happened. This is one of those defining moments when the unexpected happens. This is the moment when careers are made.  I'm beside myself with happiness.

Accepted!!!

Yay. I just the acceptance letter to be a Student Volunteer. I'm going!!!!! Made that decision rather quickly.

Too tired for a title...

Finding a way to start these things is the biggest pain. Anywho, I am continuing work on my character animation for class and I finally am beginning to fully understand how computer animation works. The one thing I have heard over and over is arcs, arcs, arcs. Now in my animation, my character is running up the stairs and falling back down them. I was reaching the point were I was regretting this decision because I just couldn't get it to look right. Then it hit me. Make the run up and the fall down one large arc. Then I realized it applies to more than just arm and leg movements. It applies to everything. I got it now. :-)

Next up is the debacle over the SIGGRAPH Student Volunteer acceptance letters. I did not get one and my app was changed to incomplete for reasons I do not know. Even though it showed as being complete since December of 2010. I'm still not entirely sure that I want to go, but even at that I would be upset that I was denied going because of a technicality.

I also still have it in my head that I want to move but that also has changed a bit. I'm now thinking of moving to San Francisco so I can start attending school on campus rather than online. I feel like there is so much I am missing because of conversations I have been having with the director of the animation department at my school.

That and there is also a another issue now. While several months back I had no ties to Indiana that could really stop me from moving. That is not entirely the truth now. I will still leave everything behind if that is something I must do, but now it is more complicated. There is someone now that I don't know that I could really leave behind. I'm certain that if push came to shove, I would walk away to pursue my career. But as before, I will leave if I must. I'm just sort of torn. Life has a funny way of throwing you curve balls.

And lastly, my because of the extremely increasing inability I have towards sleeping, my doctor has prescribed me sleeping pills. Real genius idea there too. Everyone doctor I have ever been too has a complete medical history of me, both physical and mental. There is a part of me that is saying "wow". This guy just handed a BPD patient a bottle of sleeping pills. Smart move. Now to clarify, this is not meant to sound that I'm suicidal. Very far from it in fact. But BPD does cause sudden shifts due to emotional instability and patients of BPD are very prone to self harm in one form or another. In my opinion, I don't think it's a wise idea for a doctor to hand out the means to commit acts of self harm to a BPD patient so easily. 

On another note, one of the supervisors whom I found out was badmouthing me behind my back got into an extreme amount of trouble for said badmouthing. Basically the supervisor was bad mouthing me to the wrong person. (aforementioned person in a previous paragraph) The supervisor had to have known that the first thing that would happen is she would come to me and tell me what was said. So, needless to say. I nailed the supervisor to the wall. I have a certain level of moral integrity to the point that if you have something to say someone, say it to them. Not behind their back. This kind of thing will make me pursue an act of retribution very quickly. And everyone who knows me knows this. I sort of have this reputation for being the person not to fuck with. I think I'm seriously just going to have shirts made up that simply say "you've been warned"

Anyway, I'm tired and I'm going to bed now. :-)

*insert attention grabbing title here*

Yep, I'm still alive... barely. I'm nearing the end of my semester and just about every bit of energy I had is fading. There is something like 3 and half weeks left and now it's getting very heavily loaded due to trying to get everything done on time. It also doesn't help that I've been sick for the past 4 days and working at the same time. I'm the time of person who would be on my deathbed and still go to work. People have told me that I push myself too much, and I know they are right.  But I tend to think, you don't get to be successful by not working your ass off, and pushing yourself to your limits and beyond them.

It is also getting to me that I have pretty much no time whatsoever for any kind of a social life at all. Granted, not that I really want one, I'm sort of a loner. I just want the option. I would rather spend time by myself just chilling and watching movies than hanging out with a large group of people who don't really know anything about me. I'm really more the type of person who randomly finds a kindred spirit and hang out with them a lot. But I don't really even have the time for that. And there really aren't many of those where I live. Artistic types don't exactly come in large quantities in Indiana.

Also, there has been a bit of confusion regarding the Student Volunteer statuses for SIGGRAPH 2011. First my app said "rejected", and then it said "incomplete". I'll admit that I breathed a bit of a sigh of relief when I saw it said rejected. I'm really not even sure that I want to go this year. I keep thinking that I saved all this money for the trip that could be more useful if it were focused elsewhere... like moving to L.A.  Now I certainly don't have enough money to move there yet but with some more saving, it could be possible within the next year.

I would also like to move there because it would give me the chance to get away from a lot of people here that are just breaking me down mentally. Not to go into much detail, but scary stalker types are not good for the psyche. Especially when those scary stalker types have been repeatedly told "NO" about a thousand times. Then being asked by said stalker type, "Why hasn't somebody snatched you up yet?" and I have to reply, "Uh, if anyone does, it won't be you." Hello restraining order.

Also, I did buy and watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Now when I watched it in theaters, I reacted a bit differently. It was probably the excitement. When I got it and watched it at home, I couldn't help but think it's good, but damn it is just dragging on and on. Too much Harry, Hermione, and Ron walking. Not enough focus on Voldemort and his search for the Elder Wand. Not enough focus on Snape or the goings on at Hogwarts. These two things were just as important as Harry's search for the Horcruxes, but it seems like they were just given a backseat to Harry. I know he is the title character, but c'mon.

Now it also time for a walk down memory lane. This song came on the radio during a drive to work this past week and I thought 'WOW'. It's been a while. Not only is it a great song, but also the very first song I learned to play on guitar. Here is probably one of the best live performances of the song. One man and his guitar, in the pouring down rain. It doesn't get much better than that.

Untitled

So, I suppose I'll do the post of schoolwork now. Even though I'm really sort of not interested. This is my 2 point vertical perspective drawing.

That having been done and out of the way. Come my next day off from work, I'm going to pay a visit to the local police station and request that they better monitor the speeders on my street. The person who hit the cat last night had to have been going at least 60 mph and my street is 20 mph zone. One day, it's not going to be a cat dying in the middle of the road. It's going to be a child.

RIP Kitty

So what was originally going to be a post with updates of schoolwork is now something else. For the past couple of months there was a cat running around that belonged to the people across the street. Needless to say, they really did not take care of him and I had been putting food on the front porch so he would at least have food and water.

Tonight he was hit by a car. He was still alive after being hit and died while I was holding him. I never kept him because I already have a cat and tried several times to bring him in the house and they were constantly fighting because of territorial issues. I wish had kept him in the house now. This just sucks. He was so adorable. So long Furball.  :-(

A bit of a mixed bag

Yep, so I come equipped more uploads. First up, another assignment from Perspective class. This one was the reflection drawing. We can use Photoshop now and there is a very visible difference from my pencil drawings and my digital drawings.

Also, since I refuse to use youtube because the compression on the site sucks and pretty much destroys any quality of any video, and I can't post directly from Vimeo, this is the link going to my class animation blocking part 2. It's coming along rather nicely.

http://vimeo.com/22270511

Also, I don't know if anyone who reads this has ever seen the movie Strange Days and I don't really feel like going into what the film is about, but it has one of the best endings ever. An entire film that was comprised of violence, doomsday theories, paranoia, and at the heart of the film was 2 people in love with each other. One realized it and the other did not. It was not until the end of the film that the character of Lenny finally realized he loved the character of Mace and went after her. This is romance and passion in my opinion and the song helps a lot. So here is the actual scene. 

And here is the full song that played during the scene.

And yes, that is Ralph Fiennes who portrayed Lenny who also plays Voldemort in another film. See how I segued there. lol

That's right boys and girls. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 hits the blu-ray tomorrow. And yes I will be buying it and totally geeking out for hours on end. Cheers!! :-)

Now I'm disappointed. It's actually Friday that Harry Potter is released. I could have swore that it was the 12th not the 15th. Tuesday is always new release day. That is crap. I won't even be able to watch it when I do buy it. :-(

It's pumpkin season

Yep, more assignments. For texturing class, we are texturing a photo real pumpkin so we can later composite it into a pumpkin patch photo without being able to tell the difference between the real pumpkins and the fake pumpkin. And here would be my pumpkin after painting the color maps.

I can do this!!!

Yep, I'm rather happy now that I finally landed an A in my character animation class. Granted B+ grades are not bad, but I'm one of these people that when it comes to what I want to do for the rest of my life, I must get an A. A little neurotic sure, but what can you do. He is also a tough instructor, and he has been hard on everyone in that class. That is to be understood since he was a character animator for Pixar. This guy has probably seen it all, and is likely not easily impressed. So I figure getting an A on an assignment with him is something to be proud of. Honestly, I was reaching the point where I was thinking 'crap, what if this was a bad decision and I don't have what it takes to be an animator?'

I think I'm getting it now though. I'm really beginning to fully understand the graph editor and how I make it work for what I want. I also think the instructor for my animation workshop is totally awesome as well. He gives me some of the best ideas with what I'm doing, and helps me to get the most out of what I'm doing. He also complimented my scene and saying he really liked it and the story. In a way with him, I feel like I'm in a collaborative project because he helps me so much. He's pretty damned cool.

So now I will continue onward, and keep myself learning so I can go down this road towards my passion. At this point, I am a bit on cloud 9 and really feel like someday when others go through animation classes, maybe, just maybe, my name will be mentioned as one of the greats. In the words of Rapunzel, "I've got a dream" :-)

Something else and this is entirely Tangled related. I admit I work in retail. It pays my way through school, so I can't complain too much. (even though it sucks) Anyway, where I work has several Tangled displays and they all have little Rapunzel dolls, and even Belle and Aurora dolls, and little Disney Princess dresses for little girls and all that. I keep looking at them and thinking to myself, man if only I had a daughter, I could buy her all these things that would probably make her so happy. Kind of a scary thought!!

Midterm grades are in....

Character Animation. B+
The instructor for this class is a tough one. But I figure hey if I walk away from this class with an A- which I'm confident I can do, I'll be happy.

Fundamentals of Texturing and Lighting. A

I'm not really surprised by that. If there is anything I know it is texturing and lighting. I could probably do it blind. Really not trying to sound arrogant there.


Perspective. C

This will get better now that we can use Photoshop for our drawings. Give me a pencil and I'm like what does this do?

Give me a Wacom tablet and I'm a drawing badass. lol

Putting things in perspective

My 2 point light and shadow drawing assignment. The instructor is letting us use Photoshop now. Give me the choice between markers and my Intuos 4. I choose the Intuos 4!! :-)

Once before I sleep....

I've completed half of my animation blocking and that was the easy part. Making one of the characters fall down a flight of stairs will be the interesting part and now post more music from this kick ass album before I head off to sleep.

A fave band... new music

Yep, so this Dutch band that I've been listening to for quite some time just released a new album and I'm excited. It's a concept album based on a graphic novel. Art plus music....  yes please!!!!