Sunday, January 16, 2011
Regaining the magic
I have been having a major creative meltdown and I'm glad to say it's over. I discovered why I was having it. I've spent so much time on my animations thinking to myself what would Pixar or DreamWorks want to see when I apply to get a job with either company. This trapped me in a box because rather doing my own thing I was trying to emulate the work of those companies. I realized I can't do that. I have to make the animations I want to make and how I want to make them and the jobs will come. I can't say this animation has to look like UP or has to look like How to Train Your Dragon. Neither company is going to be impressed by emulating what they have done. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but in the animation world, it simply means that a potential employer will look at it and say "that's great, but how much of you is put into this animation?" I have been struggling so much with what I will do for my next animation and I woke up in the middle of the night when this idea came from nowhere and hit me. For the first time in a while, my brain started racing with the magic and whimsy of it all. It hit me all at once. My next animation is not going to be for anyone or anything other than what makes me happy, and that alone will bring the success. It will be a laugh, romantic, cute, and sweet. This is the beginning of me carving my niche!!
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ollo! I just came across your blog when searching through the interests tags, I noticed you had alot of the same interests as me! I too want to follow my dream to become an animator. though unlike you I'm not studying it yet, I actually have a few interviews coming up for universities!
ReplyDeleteMaybe we could be friends!? <3 :D
Of course we can. I love talking to and meeting other animators. Any schools you have in mind that you would like to attend?
ReplyDelete:D Fantastic! Hopefully we can learn alot from each other! (Though like I said before I know very little at this point ^^;)
ReplyDeleteI had an interview yesterday and was accepted though I have 4 more interviews to go before making my final decision >//< I like in the UK so I don't think you'd be too familiar with the places and here we don't really have specialist animation schools ^^;
Mind me asking how far into the course you are?
I find it really inspiring that we both got influenced by Dreamworks films :D I noticed on your latest post you had uploaded a How to Train your Dragon and you mention it here aswell! My inspiration is the new release Megamind <3
(I don't seem to get notified of your replies anywhere >//< So I'm just going to bookmark this page)
Yeah, I don't know anything about the schools in the UK. I know animation in the gaming industry is pretty big over there. I go to Academy of Art University with online courses. There are some great schools here for animation. There is my school, SCAD, and Ringling. Animation Mentor is a really big online course. I am 2 years into school but I also learn a lot of things outside of class as well.
ReplyDeleteI love DreamWorks Animation. They make some great films. How to Train Your Dragon completely blew my mind. Megamind was very awesome as well. When I first started school, I thought that Pixar would be where I would to get a job as an animator but now I'm thinking DreamWorks would be the better place for what I like to do in animation.
I don't why notifications for replies here don't happen. It is strange that there isn't an option for that.
xD >//< Because we don't have any specialist schools for animation I wouldn't expect you too, only courses taken in uni, and even then not alot of uni's even offer a animation course :(
ReplyDeleteYes the gaming animation industry here is growing which is great because it provides another alternative to a career in animation. I did a Games Development course in sixth form so it something I would love to go into <3 I did almost do an online at home course in Games animation but the course turned out to not be very good ^^'
Dreamworks are amazing, I have been a fan of DW animation since Prince of Egypt (first 2d) and ANTZ (first 3d). But I must say 2010 has been an absoultely phenomenal year for them, both How to Train your Dragon and Megamind are sensational, they have always been amazing with the graphics but they just captured the heart perfectly with those two films! Stunning! My dream is to work at Pixar or Dreamworks, though living in the UK it's quite impossible but that's what dreams are for right? I would like to at least do an intership one summer :D
Wow the place you study at sounds amazing I'm on the website D= I like the sound of the list of animation companies hiring Pixar and Dreamworks <3
Is your course 3 years? So your quite far into the course! You must know loads >//< I have/ will have loads of questions! I hope you don't mind <3
I know it's really odd seeing as its quite hard to find the blogs you've commented on, and it almost seems pointless replying seeing as the person won't see your reply unless they come back onto the page :(
Oh well, I'm sorry if my replies are delayed I'll check this page regular <3 x
I've thought about going into gaming but don't really think it is for me. I wouldn't mind animating cutscenes but as far as actual gameplay animation, I wouldn't want to do.
ReplyDeleteDreamworks is certainly a great place and produces many excellent films. I would like to go to Pixar also, but it is hard to decide. I plan to get an internship with one of those two companies.
My degree is four years. I'm going after a BFA in character animation. And feel free to hit me up with any questions. I don't mind at all.I can say at first it does feel overwhelming, but once you get used to the software and the principles, it gets easier. Definitely get Photoshop, After Effects and Maya, even if in trial versions just to play around with them. You will need them all.
Also a couple of books to look into getting is Acting for Animators and The Animator's Survival KIt. There are many books out there but these are the ones to start with. The Animator's Survival Kit most of all, it is widely regarded as the animator's bible. XD
Hey thanks for the advice about the books, I knew about the survivial kit one, they had it in the library at my old school, I even took it out once but never got the chance to really look at it, something I regret, I could have learnt to much back then, but nevermind ^^; I found one on ebay and got it for only £6.00! It has a few ink blots on the spine but other than that it's perfect <3 I will try and get that other book soon too :D
ReplyDeleteI had a bit of a disappointing interview yesterday for an animation course, I have no life drawings because the course I did before was in sixth form and was graphic art so it wasn't apart of the curriculum (plus being a public school I doubt they'd allow it haha) I did look into life drawing classes about a year ago but they don't have any round where I live. (I just feel like I knew alot about what I needed to do but never got round to it :( )
anyway they weren't very impressed with my graphics and games stuff and turned me down, now I'm doubting myself, I got offered a place straight away at once and turned down straight away at another ^^;
I don't really want to specialise in 2D because I don't think my drawing skills are up to it, I want to do 3D as I more skilled in digital applications rather than traditional (which the tutor said wasn't a good thing).
Could you maybe suggest what I can do? I have found a life drawing class but it takes place once a month ^^;
Do you really need to know 2D animation to be able to do 3D and how much drawing ability do you need to be able to do 3D animation?
Thanks sorry for the really long comment >//<
The first thing I can say is don't start doubting yourself! It happens to all of us and just have to move on and keep going. Life drawing is certainly something you should look into as it does help you understand forms and shapes which is quite crucial for animation. Studying the figure is a definite must. Something else you could do that I do is I carry I sketchbook with me everywhere I go and will sit and draw the things I see from cars driving to people walking. Knowing 2D animation is also important. The principles of 2D apply to 3D as well. Knowing how to create poses and what poses and when to use them are a part of animation and they will start as 2D drawings. You certainly don't have to be the best at drawing, but some drawing ability is a must and is a major step in 3D animation especially for character design. The school I go to has a figure drawing and illustration has part of the character animation major. There are schools out there that don't worry so much about what work you have done, because they will teach you. It's just a matter of finding one.
ReplyDeleteThanks ^__^
ReplyDeleteI've found this site called animation mentor, which looks quite promising, your thoughts?
Animation Mentor is good at what it does which is teach animation. You will be taught the principles, and all the things you need to know.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there is a downside. Coming up with the money for the course could be a challenge and the admissions process is tough. It also focuses solely on animation, it doesn't teach character modeling or rigging and texturing. This could be an issue if you create your own character on paper, but lack the ability to create it in a 3D program. Many animators will attend Animation Mentor after completing college first, and some even after landing jobs in the field. Think of it this way, in that animator never stops learning. It's very good and I do recommend it, but don't rely on it as the sole means of learning animation. Think of it more as a continuation of what you have learned already.
The course would cost about as much as going to university which is around £10,000 >//< So it would proberly be a choice between uni or animation mentor.
ReplyDeleteI sent an application I would like to find out more details and I haven't made any commitments. You only need a high school education and I know that you don't learn rigging, texturing etc. but I'm not too certain that I learn that in uni I watched the video and the co founder talks about animation being all about the basics and animators are becoming jack of all trades. I just thought it may be better for me to learn a specific area.
and the students seem to become quite successful. It just seems it would be impossible in terms of finance to do both :(
I did get almost fall for a con once that you learnt online, so it's good to know this is real.
I'm just torn at the moment >//< I favour uni like you said but the uni's just seem to teach the basics, I have seen final projects from previous students and they aren't very professional :( I had a bad education experience with my sixth form courses, we were taught nothing and the outcome of out work and grades were all down to previous knowledge, I left with good grades but nothing else, I don't want that to happen again :(
How much is maya on student rate? Its so expensive normal price D=
Do you know where to get the illusions of life book? Its like £50+ everywhere I look D=
You can find Illusions of Life on Amazon.com for around 35 US dollars. Don't really know what the exchange rate would be to pounds. With a student email address you can register at autodesk student and get a 3 year license for free of Maya. If you wish to purchase it, you can buy it for something around 300 to 500 with a student discount but you have to show provide proof that you are a student.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Universities do teach the basics about animation, but that is also important to learn. With Animation Mentor, you are being taught how to animate, but they do skip the basics and go straight to the animating. It is a course that does require you to at least have some working knowledge of Maya and knowing how to work a character rig. If you never used Maya before, it may not be the best choice. Also, a University only teaching the basics isn't entirely true.
I'm in advanced character animation now at my school and we are beyond basics and working on acting and subtle nuances that really make a character believable.
To be honest, the degree of professionalism from students on final projects also depends greatly on the student. It depends a great deal on the effort that is put into it. Which also where learning texturing and modeling comes in. Until you get into a collaborative or team environment, the texturing, modeling, and rigging will all have to be done by you. The other great thing about this that by learning all of these things, you are making yourself a much more valuable asset to say a company like Pixar or Dreamworks. And it is possible to learn all of these things and still specialize in character animation at many schools. Most of them have their course based around this.
Learning the basics is crucial. Think of it as taking an college English course and not knowing the basics of it that were taught in high school. A college professor is going to expect you to know these things and will not teach them. Animation Mentor is the same, the basics are important.
But back to your original statement, you don't want to limit yourself to a specific area. You can specialize in one thing, but you will want to learn it all. I know it seems like I'm repeating myself, but this makes you more valuable. The truth about anything in computer graphics is that it is constantly changing and does it rapidly. So limiting yourself to one area would really be hurting you more than helping you.
Sorry for the late reply, I haven't been on here much recently. I'm trying to improve my art by attending life drawing classes, but having no luck finding any in my area. I go to a monthly class and found a weekly class for the next 6 weeks I'm hoping to enrol on, it starts tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the advice! Your passion and knowledge of animation truely inspires me! I can't believe how lucky I have been to find your account here on blogspot, your going to be an amazing animator <3
There is no easy option with animation and doing animation mentor at the stage I'am now would have proberly crushed my dreams because I would have found it so difficult. Going to uni will ease me into learning animation and even if I only learn the basics that will be enough to top up on animation mentor if needed.
I really appreciate all the advice! and I will proberly have loads of questions for you when I start uni! I hope you don't mind <3 (do you have an email?)
Totally cool. I've been working so hard this semester that I only get on here about once a week and post something. Questions are always welcome. You can email at plaverty2@art.edu. It is sometimes a bit finicky about what it lets through so if you don't get a response, leave a comment here and I'll fix it.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I've added you to my contacts on hotmail.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to start on my reading list which books would you say I should start with, I was thinking the animators survivial guide?
I know I'm starting my course in september, but what should I be doing now, I mean reading is good but any kind of exercises I can be doing basics should I try making some animations? I mean I'm not really sure because at the one uni that turned me down he made out that trying my hand at animation previously was a bad thing.
Should I just be reading and making notes and just continue improving my drawing? or should I be trying out making animations?
also what is your background in maths and science? I'm thinking of brushing up on them >//<
ReplyDeleteI'm more of a science person than math. I've studied psychology and that is about the extent of science or math studies.
ReplyDeleteFor being an animator, math is important, but it's nothing that can't be done in your head or with a calculator.
Physics is certainly something to learn. Things like gravity, the weight of a character. Like a heavy character will put a foot down harder while a light character walks softer. Body mechanics are also something to study. I have an animation I did for my recent class that has a character falling down stairs that you can use to study.
http://www.vimeo.com/24061421
Also. If you have Maya and can find some rigged characters, I would play around with them and move them and things like that to get used to how they work.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't really start animating anything until you have learned about keyframing and timing.
Also, keep up with the drawing and maybe make little flipbooks.
Computer animation has a lot to it. If you do have Maya, a good exercise is the bouncing ball exercise. Find a ball of certain weight and size and make it bounce applying the right amount of squash and stretch when it hits the ground. And also the right amount of height when it comes back up. And it will bounce less high on each bounce eventually until it stops bouncing and rolls to stop. This is a good exercise for physics and weight properties and something that all animation students have to do at some point. :-)