Computer Animation Stuff

I would like to go back and redo the lighting. This was our first assignment so I did my best for what I knew at the time. You learn as you go. I enjoyed it.








The weight shift at the end when he steps needs to be refined.

Traditional Animation Stuff

This was the last semester in which we do traditional animation. As much as I enjoy it, I'm ready to just focus on computer animation stuff now. I think it is great that we start with the fundamentals and work with the roots of animation before diving into the new stuff. Here is the stuff I did.








Some of you may recognize the quote as a one-liner from Mitch Hedberg. R.I.P. Mitch.


This is part of a whole. The whole class had characters that transitioned from theirs to the next. My guy is supposed to be flicking the previous character off the screen.

Jaumbi the Enigmatic and Plumpy Platypus

So this is my freshman final animation piece. Enjoyizzle!

This is from spring of '08.

Hayao Miyazaki - that old Japanese guy who makes awesome movies

The eco-smart and naturalistic story-teller Hayao Miyazaki is, without a doubt, one of Japan's most superb Japanese animation directors of the day. He interlaces true-to-life economic situations with amazing animated visuals. He can take a complex scenario and weave it into a visual narrative that allows almost anyone of any age to relate. He travels and finds inspiration for his movies through these journeys. For example much of his setup for Castle in the Sky was based on struggling Welsh miners. He had visited some mining sites and saw all the abandoned machinery and mines and felt it could work well with his theme of a small group fighting for survival against a stronger power.

His fondness for aircraft came in great part from visiting Italy and falling in love with Italian planes. The first tv series he directed was Future Boy Conan, and through this show his fondness for steam technology was noticeable. His feature length directorial debut was Castle of Cogliostro, featuring the story and characters of Lupin III.

Long story short, he went on to create Studio Ghibli with his partner Isao Takahata. He also went on to create amazing movies such as Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro and more. Their movie Princess Mononoke is the highest grossing Japanese film. The success of these films is typically credited to his lovable characters, beautiful backgrounds and the connection with man and nature.

"Only if nature exists can mankind exist, so only nature makes wars and all those other moving stories possible. Because of this, I don't feel interested in outer space movies, since there's nothing much in space but darkness. So all my animation and comics involve land, sea and sky- they all revolve around what happens on earth." - Miyazaki

The animation style is unmistakeable. The character styles are simplified and unique, yet this allows for exceptional character emotion and depth. Miyazaki was mentored in this style by Yasuji Mori and craftily applies it in his movies.

I would highly recommend to everyone that they watch something by Miyazaki and observe the animation and story. Every story brings something new and unique to the table with amazing and imaginative characters.

Feature Length Films by Miyazaki:
Castle of Cagliostro
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds
Castle in the Sky
My Neighbor Totoro
Kiki's Delivery Service
Porco Rosso
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Howl's Moving Castle
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

Ref:
Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation, Helen McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 1999
Hayao Miyazaki Wikipedia

Blue Sky!

When I ask people "What company comes to mind when you think computer animation?" the answer tends to be Pixar. This is not without reason. They are after all a part of Disney and led by a number of what could be argued to be the best minds in the biz. So in contrast I felt like focusing on Blue Sky.

Originally founded by a bunch of old people, this company has done a whole heck of a lot for itself in a short period. You have to consider the facts: a lot of companies have risen and fallen to the beast that is Disney competition such as Bray, Barre or Fleischer Studios. The surviving animation studios are those who focused on different goals such as Hanna-Barbera and Warner Brothers. Blue Sky was the brainchild of just six people who decided to spend essentially all their money in an attempt to produce something new and unique. The year was 1987.

"We arrived at the name 'Blue Sky' for our company after it dawned on us that this was where we had started- with a blue-sky idea: extreme, bordering on impractical, and imbued witho our naive expectation that anything was possible." - Chris Wedge, Director.

The cool thing about Blue Sky is they created a lot of their own software. They "... developed a core of CGI Studio, which is still today the most sophisticated and advanced rendering software used in production." - Weishar. The company produces some of the best computer imagery to this day.

When one looks at their movie Ice Age it should be noted that it is rendered not-so-amazingly-photo-realistic for a reason. At this point in time Blue Sky had already produced amazing photo-realistic video and images.

"Ice Age is deliberately not naturalistic. As in satisfying children's picture books, the sets and characters look believable within their own world, but they are clearly not trying to look 'real'." - Weishar.

So it bugs me to hear people speak of Blue Sky's movie aesthetics as sub-par. I ask everyone to consider their success in the entertainment business since their inception as six people who took a risk.

Their credits include:
The Ice Age Series, Horton Hears a Who, Robots, Bunny (their award winning short)
as well as special effects and CGI for:
Alien Resurrection, Joe's Apartment, Titan A.E., Fight Club, Star Trek: Insurrection and more.

The Six:
Michael Ferraro
Alison Brown
Carl Ludwig
Eugene Troubetzkoy
David Brown
Chris Wedge

Check out:
Bunny - The short film that got them noticed and finally funded (20th Century Fox)
Blue Sky Studios

References
Blue Sky, the Art of Computer Animation - Peter Weishar, 2002
Blue Sky Wikipedia

Bouncing Balls and Platypus...es.. us... Platypi?

It seems that the bouncing ball and modifications of it are where animators start. At first it seems repetitive and monotonous. Let me just say something: everything is a damn bouncy ball with a tail. Evvveeerrryyytthhhiiiing.

Today we handed in the last of our bouncing balls (you can go anywhere you want with that) and we move onto actual characters after break. We were all assigned a random animal and I got this:



The platypus is a weird animal aint it? A mammal that lays eggs, has a duck bill, a poisonous barb and an otter tail. Mother nature must have gone on break, come back, looked at her animal engineers and gone "Wtf guys. Seriously?" Or maybe the instructions were in metric. I think I'll have to stop writing here... Samurai Jack is kicking the asses of a ton of short monkey guys and I can't look away so here's one of my ball bounces.

Cartoon Movie!

3/2/09 : 01

I think it is important to note that animation is just as big, if not bigger, outside of our own shores. The assumption can easily be made that computer animated films are best left to the big guys such as Dreamworks, Blue Sky, Pixar... you know what I mean. This is just how the major entertainment industry works though, at least in the states. I love these companies don't get me wrong. However! For someone to enjoy the the true plethora of ideas, stories and visuals that are typically missed out on, one has to dig for it. What I am getting at is the international notoriety of Cartoon Movie. That is, for the most part, overlooked by us state-side. So what is it? To quote Cartoon's official site: "Cartoon Movie is neither a fair nor a festival, but rather a co-production forum where European producers can negotiate the financing and the distribution of their feature-length projects. Cartoon Movie provides thus support to international cooperation." This is a great way to not just find financial backing, but to socialize, share ideas and network. When finished, Cartoon Movie will feature all these great animated works of art that were influenced and supported by Cartoon. This is a great way to help the little guys go from dream to conceptualization to realization and presentation.

This year's Cartoon Movie forum will be held in Lyon, France starting March 4. For the previous 10 years, the event was held at the Babelsberg Studio in Berlin. The move to France was not without good reason. France has become a forefront in the animation world producing amazing animations such as the Oscar winning "La Maison de Petits Cubes" (2009) and Oscar nominated "Triplets of Belleville" (2004). 3D World Magazine featured an article about the world's best animation schools as compiled by their Ivy League. The chart features Supinfocom of Valenciennes, France as the topper followed by:
Filmakademie Baden-Wuertemmberg of Stuttgart, Germany,
Gobelins, L'école de l'image of Paris, France and
Ringling College of Art and Design of Sarasota, FL where I go for animation! Huzzah! The point I am trying to make is that a majority of the freshest animations are being produced in other countries such as France, Germany and the UK and I think this is awesome. Expand your mind and sources! There is a reason why so many foreign films are not only nominated for Oscars and other awards and win them. The pattern will continue as we look to expand our horizons and absorb other cultures and increase international interest.

So here are some animations to look out for:
"Goat Story - The Old Prague Legends", Art and Animation Studio of Czech Republic
"Mia and the Migoo", Folimage of France
"The Missing Lynx", Kandor Graphics, Perro Verde Films and Green Moon of Spain. (Something to note: Green Moon is a production company founded by Antonio Banderas)
"Journey to Saturn", A. Film of Denmark
... and many more.

See more animation stuff and my references:
Digital
Cartoon Media
3D World Magazine (Animation Schools)
AOL's List of Oscar Nominees and Winners

Magazine
Animation Magazine, issue# 192, March, 2009