HellooO!
Term 3 of Animation Mentor is officially done, which means now the focus changes from body mechanics to acting. Next term will be "Introduction to Acting", so things get more interesting, and also more difficult.
Thanks a ton to my Mentor George Schermer for all the help and support throughout the term, and thanks also to my classmates and other AM buddies for all the awesome critiques and comments. It's really an amazing community :)
For now I wanted to upload my finished ape animation, which I'm fairly happy with. It was my first real quadruped animation, and the rig wasn't actually built for 4-legged motion, but it worked fairly well after adjusting some of the rotation orders and the lenghts of arms and legs.
Moreover I updated my Progress Reel, which we have to upload at the end of each term.
The current reel shows all my animations from term 1-3 in reverse order, at the very end you'll find a few renderings, which look a little nicer than the maya playblasts.
Enjoy!!
Finished Assignment 3 of Advanced Body Mechanics
Progress Reel Class 3 (10 mb, can take some time to load)
So the first half of Animation Mentor is done, really crazy how time flies.
However I'm looking forward to the next term, now I need an idea for the pantomime shot and some good audio clips for the upcoming dialogue shot.
Have a great week!
Thomas
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
AM week 308-309
Ok. Next update :)
Here is the planning, blocking and blocking plus for my third and last assignment this term.
Since we don't have creature or 4-legged animation as part of the curriculum, I thought I'd try something a little different with the character "Stewie" and just make him walk on all 4's.
The basic idea was some sort of Tarzan or ape-like animation, because I have never done that before. Actually I never really animated a 4-legged creature so far, once I did cows for a commercial but they were walking upright on 2 legs :)
So, here we go (newest first)!
Blocking Plus
Blocking
Planning
Ok, that's all for this week, I'll be back with more :)
Enjoy your week!
Here is the planning, blocking and blocking plus for my third and last assignment this term.
Since we don't have creature or 4-legged animation as part of the curriculum, I thought I'd try something a little different with the character "Stewie" and just make him walk on all 4's.
The basic idea was some sort of Tarzan or ape-like animation, because I have never done that before. Actually I never really animated a 4-legged creature so far, once I did cows for a commercial but they were walking upright on 2 legs :)
So, here we go (newest first)!
Blocking Plus
Blocking
Planning
Ok, that's all for this week, I'll be back with more :)
Enjoy your week!
Monday, August 17, 2009
AM week 305-307
For the second assignment of Class 3 I wanted to try a shot that had a tiny bit of acting in it, as well as a mini story, while still focusing on challenging body mechanics. We are not supposed to focus on story and acting in this class, but I find that having a little something there makes the shot itself and working on it so much more fun.
So the idea was that a happy character is walking and hooping through the woods, enjoying a beautiful day. Then he suddenly steps on something, jumps away in surprise before he notices that he just squashed an innocent squirrel :)
I went to the park and shot some video reference before breaking down the movement into thumbnails. I was especially interested in trying a transition from a skip to a walk, as well as having the character not walk in a straight line, but around a corner. In an actual production shot I suppose a character will more often move in a non-linear fashion than just in one direction, so it's good to practice that :)
I tried several versions for the ending, you'll see that in the different steps. In the beginning the exit was more cartoony, but it didn't feel like the character's mood had actually changed, so - with the help and suggestions from my mentor - I made the ending more subtle and careful, so hopefully it feels more guilty and embarrassed.
polished version - week 307
blocking plus / refining - week 306
blocking - week 305
planning - week 304
Ok, that's it for now, I'll post more soon. Actually I think it's not too bad having all the steps for an assignment within one larger post. Maybe I'll keep it this way.
As always, comments are very welcome!! So don't hold back ;)
Have a great week everyone and go see "Coraline"! (that applies to the german animation fans, the movie was just released here. We have to wait for "Up" until September!!!)
So the idea was that a happy character is walking and hooping through the woods, enjoying a beautiful day. Then he suddenly steps on something, jumps away in surprise before he notices that he just squashed an innocent squirrel :)
I went to the park and shot some video reference before breaking down the movement into thumbnails. I was especially interested in trying a transition from a skip to a walk, as well as having the character not walk in a straight line, but around a corner. In an actual production shot I suppose a character will more often move in a non-linear fashion than just in one direction, so it's good to practice that :)
I tried several versions for the ending, you'll see that in the different steps. In the beginning the exit was more cartoony, but it didn't feel like the character's mood had actually changed, so - with the help and suggestions from my mentor - I made the ending more subtle and careful, so hopefully it feels more guilty and embarrassed.
polished version - week 307
blocking plus / refining - week 306
blocking - week 305
planning - week 304
Ok, that's it for now, I'll post more soon. Actually I think it's not too bad having all the steps for an assignment within one larger post. Maybe I'll keep it this way.
As always, comments are very welcome!! So don't hold back ;)
Have a great week everyone and go see "Coraline"! (that applies to the german animation fans, the movie was just released here. We have to wait for "Up" until September!!!)
AM week 301-304
Hey guys!
Sorry for the lack of updates, I'll try to catch up this week :)
Here is my first assignment for Class 3 of Animation Mentor - Advanced Body Mechanics. It was meant as an excercise in weight, and I wanted to do something a little different than the typical door opening or box lifting assignment.
So while I'm not completely happy with it and there is still some work to be done, here are the 4 steps - planning, blocking, refining and polish (in reverse order).
polish and quick render
blocking plus / refining
blocking
planning
Sorry for the lack of updates, I'll try to catch up this week :)
Here is my first assignment for Class 3 of Animation Mentor - Advanced Body Mechanics. It was meant as an excercise in weight, and I wanted to do something a little different than the typical door opening or box lifting assignment.
So while I'm not completely happy with it and there is still some work to be done, here are the 4 steps - planning, blocking, refining and polish (in reverse order).
polish and quick render
blocking plus / refining
blocking
planning
Friday, July 31, 2009
Quick Update
Hey! I'm still alive :)
I haven't posted in a while because there wasn't much time, but I'll catch up with my AM work soon. Term 3 has started a month ago and my first assignment is done. As you can see in the profile on the right, the folks from Animation Mentor gave us these cool new badges to show we are happy and proud members of the school :)
In case some of you want to become AM fans, there is a badge for you too, haha.
My Mentor for this term (Advanced Body Mechanics) is George Schermer. After graduating from Ringling School of Art and Design he worked at a broadcast design studio in New York before joining Blur Studio, where he spent several years working on projects like "Gopher Broke" and "A Gentlemen's Duel", among others. After that he worked at Rhythm & Hues, animating on films like "Alvin and the Chipmunks", "The Mummy 3" and "Land of the Lost". George recently joined DreamWorks Animation.
That's all for today!
Talk to you soon...
I haven't posted in a while because there wasn't much time, but I'll catch up with my AM work soon. Term 3 has started a month ago and my first assignment is done. As you can see in the profile on the right, the folks from Animation Mentor gave us these cool new badges to show we are happy and proud members of the school :)
In case some of you want to become AM fans, there is a badge for you too, haha.
My Mentor for this term (Advanced Body Mechanics) is George Schermer. After graduating from Ringling School of Art and Design he worked at a broadcast design studio in New York before joining Blur Studio, where he spent several years working on projects like "Gopher Broke" and "A Gentlemen's Duel", among others. After that he worked at Rhythm & Hues, animating on films like "Alvin and the Chipmunks", "The Mummy 3" and "Land of the Lost". George recently joined DreamWorks Animation.
That's all for today!
Talk to you soon...
Saturday, June 20, 2009
AM Week 212 - End of Class 2
Hey folks,
it's done. Class 2 is finished and the term ended on Friday at noon, Pacific time. The last week of the term is always dedicated to some last fixes, the last Q&A and the creation of the progress reel, which shows all the assignments the students have done up to this point.
While it's sad that it was the last week with my current classmates and my Mentor Josh (the Q&A was quite emotional but still a lot of fun :), it's also superexciting to start Class 3 very soon. Then I'll get assigned a new Mentor and I'll be in class with different students. The new term will start on Monday, 29th.
Once again thanks so much Josh for a great term and for all your help and support!
Another big THANK YOU goes to all my classmates, campus mentors and students from other classes, who commented on my work and helped me a lot with their critiques, comments and ideas. You guys rock!!
For anybody reading this blog and thinking about joining the AM community, this is actually one of the strongest aspects of the school, the COMMUNITY. There is so much support and excitement going on, and if you try to be active and to not hide behind your computer, you will in fact be able to make friends and meet lots of awesome people.
The only thing that really bugs me is that I'm so far away here in Germany that I can't make it to all the cool gatherings and events that take place over there in the U.S. and Canada. This is a bit frustrating at times, but I'll definitely be there for the graduation next year!!
So to sum it up, here is my Progress Reel for AM classes 1 and 2! Enjoy :)
(about 6 mb, I plan to upload a higher-res version once I have my website running...)
it's done. Class 2 is finished and the term ended on Friday at noon, Pacific time. The last week of the term is always dedicated to some last fixes, the last Q&A and the creation of the progress reel, which shows all the assignments the students have done up to this point.
While it's sad that it was the last week with my current classmates and my Mentor Josh (the Q&A was quite emotional but still a lot of fun :), it's also superexciting to start Class 3 very soon. Then I'll get assigned a new Mentor and I'll be in class with different students. The new term will start on Monday, 29th.
Once again thanks so much Josh for a great term and for all your help and support!
Another big THANK YOU goes to all my classmates, campus mentors and students from other classes, who commented on my work and helped me a lot with their critiques, comments and ideas. You guys rock!!
For anybody reading this blog and thinking about joining the AM community, this is actually one of the strongest aspects of the school, the COMMUNITY. There is so much support and excitement going on, and if you try to be active and to not hide behind your computer, you will in fact be able to make friends and meet lots of awesome people.
The only thing that really bugs me is that I'm so far away here in Germany that I can't make it to all the cool gatherings and events that take place over there in the U.S. and Canada. This is a bit frustrating at times, but I'll definitely be there for the graduation next year!!
So to sum it up, here is my Progress Reel for AM classes 1 and 2! Enjoy :)
(about 6 mb, I plan to upload a higher-res version once I have my website running...)
Sunday, June 14, 2009
AM Week 210 + 211
G'day everyone :)
Today I'll post the work of 2 weeks in one post, since I've been busy lately. My last assignment for Class 2 at Animation Mentor is pretty much done. I've submitted the polished version today, of course there is still a lot of stuff I'd like to finess, as usual. However I'm fairly happy with the shot overall, and I hope to add some finishing touches next week.
On Friday at 12 p.m. PST the current term ends, and we will have a 10 day break. After that I'll continue with Class 3 - Advanced Body Mechanics. It's really crazy how time flies. Just when you feel like you got to know your Mentor and classmates a little better, the term is over and classes are mixed up again. But this is also a good thing, since you get to work with many different people.
So here we go, enjoy!
(and comment)
Week 10 Submission: Refining & Polishing
Week 11 Submission: Polishing 2 & Details
As a side note, Disney's "Bolt" will be released next week (June 18th) on Blu-ray/DVD, yeah! I really loved the movie and can't wait to see it again :) I thought the animation was really well done.
Today I'll post the work of 2 weeks in one post, since I've been busy lately. My last assignment for Class 2 at Animation Mentor is pretty much done. I've submitted the polished version today, of course there is still a lot of stuff I'd like to finess, as usual. However I'm fairly happy with the shot overall, and I hope to add some finishing touches next week.
On Friday at 12 p.m. PST the current term ends, and we will have a 10 day break. After that I'll continue with Class 3 - Advanced Body Mechanics. It's really crazy how time flies. Just when you feel like you got to know your Mentor and classmates a little better, the term is over and classes are mixed up again. But this is also a good thing, since you get to work with many different people.
So here we go, enjoy!
(and comment)
Week 10 Submission: Refining & Polishing
Week 11 Submission: Polishing 2 & Details
As a side note, Disney's "Bolt" will be released next week (June 18th) on Blu-ray/DVD, yeah! I really loved the movie and can't wait to see it again :) I thought the animation was really well done.
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