I've been to Victor Navone's blog many times, but somehow I've missed this page, which he recently added to and posted about.
http://www.navone.org/Media/AnimationThumbs/index.htm
Thumbnailing ideas is a skill I'd like to develop further myself. I think video reference is good, but I feel that thumbnails can be a great way to caricature and build better composed, graphic poses. Drawing small is a big advantage, I think because it makes you think more about the pose and less about the drawing itself, but I'm still figuring that out ;)
Navone's drawing are quick and expressive, so I wanted to post and share them in case you've missed them too! I know I've benefited just by seeing how other people sketch their thumbnails.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Saturday, August 02, 2008
My 3 Elements of Animation, (subject to change)
Have you ever had information overload? There's so many helpful animation websites, blogs, and various resources out there, many times I feel like I can barely keep up. Then when I do spend a lot of time reading everything I can find, I start to feel like I can't even process it all.
Such is the case with many of the "animation checklists" that people talk and write about. The old Disney animators had their 12 principles of animation, that they used to critique their work, and many animators today have their own checklist that they use to finesse their shots. Many of these checklists talk about the same things, just in different terms that make sense to the animator writing it. A good example is Travis Hathaway's post on Spline Doctors. I think animation checklists are very personal, and you have to find your own vocabulary that makes sense to you. After all, we're not really re-inventing the laws of physics or human emotions that have been around for ages, so unless you're brand new to the animation thing, nothing on these lists usually come as a surprise.
But after reading many different lists, I've kinda wondered what mine is, but have never come up with one. Victor Navone's recent post on Posing and composition inspired me to think about it again, especially since he posted Walt Stanchfield's 28 principles. I don't know about you, but I can't recall 28 principles on command. I need something more elemental, that is easy to remember, and applicable in all situations. Magic number? 3.
So here we go, with my 3 descriptive elements of animation (subject to change)
1. Graphic
Victor Navone's analysis reminded me of how much I want to get that sort of visual element in my animation. Sometimes I'll see a shot that's animated beautifully, very naturally--but almost too natural. There's no spice in it, it's just fluid movement, and straight poses. There's no contrast in them. There's no rhythm in the lines of action. There's no directing of the audience's eye. There's nothing very interesting going on visually. Victor's post, however, reminded me that even in natural poses, there are very extreme lines of action, composition, and graphic elements. (Check out his examples if you haven't yet). So reguardless of if the style is cartoony or naturalistic, you can still bring a very graphic quality to your character's poses and staging. I could put nearly anything visual in this category, but I'll probably dedicate it to composition, staging, design, appeal, silouette...the list could go on and on. It's easier for me to remember "graphic", and then break it down from there.
2. Emotional
This is the human element to the shot. You've heard all of this stuff before too. What is the character feeling? What is the point of the shot in the story? Do I feel for the character? Do I understand or recognize something about it? Does it cause an emotional reaction in me? Not every shot is an "Oscar" shot, but hopefully I can find something emotional, relatable, and entertaining, no matter how small. Even if it's only a setup for what pays off in the next shot that another animator is working on. This is the stuff that people care about, this is what people go to movies for.
Wall-E immediately comes to mind as an example of emotional animation. His character is so appealing, and so emotional! When Eve takes him to the escape pod and is entering in commands on the panel, he looks at her hand, and quietly asks "...Eve?..." You know from seeing him watch Hello Dolly and from his previous actions around her that he wants to hold her hand. It's so simple, yet so powerful! This is the stuff that really gets my animation inspiration going full steam ahead.
3. Physical
Is the movement believable? Are the breakdowns interesting? Am I showing weight and anatomy? Of course, the lines begin to blur between the physical and the graphic, since both play a huge role and affect one another. A great composition can really accent and show off the weight in a character. In this case, I think I'll look at this category when I'm trying to figure out movement, timing, spacing. Of course timing is often affected by emotion too ;)
That's why I chose these 3 things--all of them are extremely important to consider, but general enough to remember. The lines between them are pretty blurred, many things could go into multiple categories, but I think these three concepts together cover the bulk of things I should be checking in my animation. (Did I just say that?...well, I did subtitle this "subject to change".) Like the elements of nature that are present in every living thing, I want to remember these elements of animation.
Take a look at this drawing from "Pecos Bill". Sorry, I don't know who the artist is.
The line of action is incredible, going all the way through Pecos' body, and continuing down through the horse's front legs. Secondary and complimentary to that is the line of action of the horse's spine. It's a very a graphic composition, very rhythmic. Lots of attention to detail in the silouette.
From an emotional standpoint, you can see (and feel) the strain on Pecos' face as he pulls on the reigns, and on the horse's face as the bit pulls on his mouth. There's also emotional tension in this drawing alone--will they stop? Why are they stopping so suddenly and forcefully?
From a physical standpoint, you can tell that they were moving, probably at a good pace, and are coming to a sudden stop. The anatomy of the horse is clear, the bit is pulling at the corners of his mouth, Pecos' shoulders are pulling much of the force along with his arms. This legs have thrust downward into the stirrups as an opposite action to pulling backwards.
That's a pretty short description of a great drawing, but I think it makes my point. If I can get all of those elements working together, then hopefully my work will improve to a clearer, more emotional, entertaining, and visual standard.
Such is the case with many of the "animation checklists" that people talk and write about. The old Disney animators had their 12 principles of animation, that they used to critique their work, and many animators today have their own checklist that they use to finesse their shots. Many of these checklists talk about the same things, just in different terms that make sense to the animator writing it. A good example is Travis Hathaway's post on Spline Doctors. I think animation checklists are very personal, and you have to find your own vocabulary that makes sense to you. After all, we're not really re-inventing the laws of physics or human emotions that have been around for ages, so unless you're brand new to the animation thing, nothing on these lists usually come as a surprise.
But after reading many different lists, I've kinda wondered what mine is, but have never come up with one. Victor Navone's recent post on Posing and composition inspired me to think about it again, especially since he posted Walt Stanchfield's 28 principles. I don't know about you, but I can't recall 28 principles on command. I need something more elemental, that is easy to remember, and applicable in all situations. Magic number? 3.
So here we go, with my 3 descriptive elements of animation (subject to change)
1. Graphic
Victor Navone's analysis reminded me of how much I want to get that sort of visual element in my animation. Sometimes I'll see a shot that's animated beautifully, very naturally--but almost too natural. There's no spice in it, it's just fluid movement, and straight poses. There's no contrast in them. There's no rhythm in the lines of action. There's no directing of the audience's eye. There's nothing very interesting going on visually. Victor's post, however, reminded me that even in natural poses, there are very extreme lines of action, composition, and graphic elements. (Check out his examples if you haven't yet). So reguardless of if the style is cartoony or naturalistic, you can still bring a very graphic quality to your character's poses and staging. I could put nearly anything visual in this category, but I'll probably dedicate it to composition, staging, design, appeal, silouette...the list could go on and on. It's easier for me to remember "graphic", and then break it down from there.
2. Emotional
This is the human element to the shot. You've heard all of this stuff before too. What is the character feeling? What is the point of the shot in the story? Do I feel for the character? Do I understand or recognize something about it? Does it cause an emotional reaction in me? Not every shot is an "Oscar" shot, but hopefully I can find something emotional, relatable, and entertaining, no matter how small. Even if it's only a setup for what pays off in the next shot that another animator is working on. This is the stuff that people care about, this is what people go to movies for.
Wall-E immediately comes to mind as an example of emotional animation. His character is so appealing, and so emotional! When Eve takes him to the escape pod and is entering in commands on the panel, he looks at her hand, and quietly asks "...Eve?..." You know from seeing him watch Hello Dolly and from his previous actions around her that he wants to hold her hand. It's so simple, yet so powerful! This is the stuff that really gets my animation inspiration going full steam ahead.
3. Physical
Is the movement believable? Are the breakdowns interesting? Am I showing weight and anatomy? Of course, the lines begin to blur between the physical and the graphic, since both play a huge role and affect one another. A great composition can really accent and show off the weight in a character. In this case, I think I'll look at this category when I'm trying to figure out movement, timing, spacing. Of course timing is often affected by emotion too ;)
That's why I chose these 3 things--all of them are extremely important to consider, but general enough to remember. The lines between them are pretty blurred, many things could go into multiple categories, but I think these three concepts together cover the bulk of things I should be checking in my animation. (Did I just say that?...well, I did subtitle this "subject to change".) Like the elements of nature that are present in every living thing, I want to remember these elements of animation.
Take a look at this drawing from "Pecos Bill". Sorry, I don't know who the artist is.
The line of action is incredible, going all the way through Pecos' body, and continuing down through the horse's front legs. Secondary and complimentary to that is the line of action of the horse's spine. It's a very a graphic composition, very rhythmic. Lots of attention to detail in the silouette.
From an emotional standpoint, you can see (and feel) the strain on Pecos' face as he pulls on the reigns, and on the horse's face as the bit pulls on his mouth. There's also emotional tension in this drawing alone--will they stop? Why are they stopping so suddenly and forcefully?
From a physical standpoint, you can tell that they were moving, probably at a good pace, and are coming to a sudden stop. The anatomy of the horse is clear, the bit is pulling at the corners of his mouth, Pecos' shoulders are pulling much of the force along with his arms. This legs have thrust downward into the stirrups as an opposite action to pulling backwards.
That's a pretty short description of a great drawing, but I think it makes my point. If I can get all of those elements working together, then hopefully my work will improve to a clearer, more emotional, entertaining, and visual standard.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
White snow, White Plains, Blue Sky
Hey everyone, sorry for the lack of posts--"reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
Anyway, a little update. This week I started back at Blue Sky for another temp job, this time working on Ice Age 3. I have to say, it's fun to be back and see a bunch of familiar faces. All in all, the first week has been a completely different experience than my first week on Horton. First of all, I'm not freaking out at the sight of all of the rigs and tools, since all I need is to refresh my memory of how they work. Secondly, I get to warm up with an animation test this time, instead of dropping straight into production, hooray! Thirdly, crunch time hasn't started yet, so I actually get to go home at a decent hour. I'm also glad that I had some time away from it after Horton, to clear my head, and learn from the experience before diving into it again.
Also, I want to give a big thanks to the entire animation department for being so welcoming and helpful, especially for the new temps. It's very much appreciated!
Week 1, done!
Monday, June 30, 2008
One for the history books...
I've put off writing this post because, frankly, I wasn't sure how to put my reaction to Wall-E into words. Especially since anybody who reads this is most likely an animator and probably loves the movie too. Regardless, if you haven't gotten to see it yet, shame! Make time for it, and buy your tickets now, because you have the chance to witness something truly special.**SPOILERS** (best not read more if you haven't seen it yet)
I've been thinking about the themes in this movie over and over, and I saw it twice this weekend already. Obviously to say the ecological themes are strong is an understatment. At first, I was a little put off by the slightly cynical and satirical view of the future, as for some reason I always seem to be pretty optimistic about the future. I don't think people are stupid, and while I see people as flawed individuals I usually don't think of them as defined soley by their flawed characteristics. I think many judgements on other people can be avoided if there's merely an effort for sincere understanding. So seeing a movie where humanity has utterly failed and has become an entire race of fat babies just comes off as a little unbelievable and cynical to me. At the same time, that I definitely feel we have a responsibility to take care of the planet, and that there are many things we need to do better.
I think some people will love and some people will hate this movie for its anti-consumerism "agenda". But regardless of if you praise or scold that message, to leave an analysis of this movie at that point would be superficial, and would ignore the complexities and truths that are revealed throughout the story. At first I saw the movie portray humanity in a negative view, but what I didn't see was that the story actually is oddly one of hope. It says, that even *if* worse came to worse, to a satirical level, there's hope for recovery. In this movie, that hope is Wall-E. And what's more, even according to Andrew Stanton's comments in "The Art of Wall-E", love is what has the power to make that change.
Wall-E changes everyone he comes in contact with. Eve, the two humans on the ship, the captain, even the typing robot by the elevator. And he does it through his sincerity, his innocence, and by being "the most human thing left in the universe" (As Stanton has put it). The only character he can't change is Auto, the robot auto-pilot who can't overcome his programming, a character with no love. Wall-E's yearn for love, and his genuine nature is felt by everyone who meets him. And what's more, he's gained that personality, that yearn for love, by collecting "junk" on Earth. See the paradox? Consumerism ruined the Earth, but also was the instigator of its salvation? No no no, it must go deeper than that. What ruined Earth was people's loss of humanity on the Axiom (ship). That was what caused Earth to never be re-settled, even though it could have been earlier. It's only when people start relating to each other again, when the captain sees what was lost on Earth, that things start going back to the way they should be. Did consumerism cause the loss of humanity? Did the loss of humanity cause consumerism? The interesting thing about Wall-E is that it doesn't damn everything consumerism produces, if you look closely. There's beauty in the rubik's cube, in "Hello Dolly!", in everything that Wall-E collects. I'm not defending consumerism here, I'm not saying that there isn't a lesson to be learned from the movie. What I am saying is that this is a complex movie that reveals a lot of lifes truths, and as we all know, life is not simple. We want it to be. We want to divide everything and everyone into "left" and "right". But life's just not like that.
I don't think Wall-E can fully be defined as a movie with an agenda. We're not talking Michael Moore here, what Andrew Stanton has done is take his views on the good and bad aspects of humanity, things he sees as truths of life, and created a masterpiece that makes you think, cry, laugh, and dare I say love, instead of creating a platform of division, all the while making you think about how we can improve. I know, I'm sure someone disagrees with me right now...that's fine! This is the type of movie that will be interpreted in various ways. There's no way I could ever sum up this movie in a single blog post, and maybe even my interpretations will change with time. It's complex, and though this is what I think now, I don't have life figured out ;)
I could go on and on about the artistic accomplishments of the movie as well, but that's best left for another post...if I get around to it ;) Wall-E is simply amazing, and what an incredible accomplishment. Critics are comparing it to Chaplin, and other things that usually only animators talk about. Flip through the "Art of" book after you see the movie, and don't just look at the cool designs, read what people have to say about the movie.
Oh yeah, and go see Wall-E, err, again...cause if you haven't yet I hope you didn't read all of my spoilers! Don't forget about Kung Fu Panda too!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Batman: The Animated Series
It's always great when I revisit my favorite animated shows as a kid, and find out they're just as good as I remember them--sometimes even better! Unfortunately many times that isn't the case. Thankfully Batman: The Animated Series is in the former group. I grew up watching this show after school, and even years later I find the stories very compelling, and extremely well written. Just check out the intro:
The poses and silouettes are amazing in this intro. I love when Batman jumps and flips over the "bad guy"! It's so dynamic and moody! The art direction is something that the show was known for, and the phrase "Dark Deco" was used to describe it. I love how the Gotham Police ride around in blimps--I mean really, is that the best mode of transportation for police? But it fits completely in the world they created, and makes it unique.
The tone of the series is so incredibly dark, with some very dramatic scenes that usually aren't played in kids entertainment, even today. While the episodes need to move fast for the half hour length, it doesn't talk down to kids, or explain everything through cliche dialogue. I don't understand the perceived need to dumb down stories for kids to "understand", and while I can understand Batman on a different level now, I would say I understood it when I was a kid too. Kids understand much more than we give them credit for, and just because they usually aren't burdened with the cynicism that adult life can bring, doesn't mean they don't understand certain truths of the world.
If you want to hear some behind the scenes comments on Batman The Animated Series, there's a good commentary on YouTube. Here's Part 1:
The poses and silouettes are amazing in this intro. I love when Batman jumps and flips over the "bad guy"! It's so dynamic and moody! The art direction is something that the show was known for, and the phrase "Dark Deco" was used to describe it. I love how the Gotham Police ride around in blimps--I mean really, is that the best mode of transportation for police? But it fits completely in the world they created, and makes it unique.
The tone of the series is so incredibly dark, with some very dramatic scenes that usually aren't played in kids entertainment, even today. While the episodes need to move fast for the half hour length, it doesn't talk down to kids, or explain everything through cliche dialogue. I don't understand the perceived need to dumb down stories for kids to "understand", and while I can understand Batman on a different level now, I would say I understood it when I was a kid too. Kids understand much more than we give them credit for, and just because they usually aren't burdened with the cynicism that adult life can bring, doesn't mean they don't understand certain truths of the world.
If you want to hear some behind the scenes comments on Batman The Animated Series, there's a good commentary on YouTube. Here's Part 1:
Friday, June 20, 2008
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Skidoosh
Thanks to my friend Jon, I got to check out an ASIFA-Hollywood preview of Kung Fu Panda last night! My buddy Ben Willis has been animating on this film for the past 2 years, so I've been waiting to see it for a while. Congrats to the folks at DreamWorks, great job! The action sequences in particular really blew me away, and the movie itself was thoroughly entertaining.
Go check out Kung Fu Panda when it opens this week!
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