Class 3 - Lip sync challenge

New challenge this week, which will cover the entire term. We had to find good single audio clips which lasted around 10 seconds or less.

For each clip i had ideas and notes of what i wanted to do for them and then from that shot reference for each and then awaited the response from my mentor.

Drug Store

Kitchen Audio clip

The Brain

Also i had some final tweaks on my "Vote for Stu" shot, nothing big just really minor things.

Class 3 - Final Handin

Ok Final hand has arrived and i got feed back only a day ago... The hands are still not correct but I'm working on that - again - as we speak. I have other things to fix and i have just noticed some more areas that need attention. But i guess that's the problem with being an artists/animator our work is never good enough to our self's nore is it ever completely finished, as it can always be tweaked for ever. The problem is knowing when to stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Class 3 - Refining

Another week goes by and im into refining. Michelle really wants me to nail the hands coming up and holding. But its really hard to do that with out them looking frozen or to IK like. Also having to keep them on a nice path of action. I do wish i had kept to my FK roots =O)

Class 3 - Blocking Plus

WAhoo, the idea is going strong, my first pass got the thumbs up and now i can crack on with my blocking plus. For me I did my blocking in "copy pairs" mode and i feel like im steaming ahead but really im just skipping the whole step mode to linear to spline out. Im just starting right in spline. In the past i had sort of done copy pairs before but did it all in step mode rather than start in spline. I must admit i may not do this for every shot i do, but for this shot i feel it working.

Class 3 - Blocking

Ok Well the idea went down pan. As much as Michelle liked the idea, but felt that the idea was hanging to much on a gag. Also along with the fact that Stu had no fingers and also only dots for eyes meant that a lot of the stuff i was doing was not really fitting for the Stu puppet.

But on brighter note, she did think my "Vote for Stu" idea was new and that she hadn't seen it before. So in the long run her vote was on this idea (sorry). Oh did i happen to say that this idea was 30 seconds long!!! Somehow need to get this idea down to 10 seconds.

After shooting, over 50 takes (thats no lie) i had managed to get the idea down to 10 seconds ok 11/12. I quickly thumbed the idea outs (capturing the essence of the poses) and also started a blocking pass. So basically i did 2 assignments in 4 days lol - i got feedback on a Wednesday and had to submit it all by the Sunday.....

In case you wonder, copy pairs is basically finding areas you feel you want more pause time so you double up on them frames (you make holds). So firstly what i do is make all my main keys/golden poses, and then work out when i want that pose to happen. Timing to me is felt more than counting and worrying about frames numbers.... If it looks and feels right to me, than it is right. If my mentor didn't like the movement or i get loads of comments about that movement then i would go ahead and correct it.

So once i have done my key poses, i go back and start to double up on my poses to make nice little holds, this way i can quickly see whats working and whats not. This way i find my beats in my scene.

Now as im already in spline, i can already see how things are shaping up. The next pass would be Blocking plus,here i would start to add in my break down keys and tweak all my curves.

Class 3 - Ideas

Well made it to class 3, and boy do i have to up my game. I have new mentor who is great, her name is Michelle Meeker a former Pixar, PDI and Weta animator, EA in fact shes work all over the place, you name it im sure shes been there.

I have a great new bunch of AM people in the class, most of which I have followed along the way, as their animation skills are amazing. So i feel really pleased to be in a class with such a high level of animation skill.

For this hand in i had to submit a bunch of ideas of a character showing 2 emotions with in 10 seconds. We had to shoot reference too and thumbnail out you main idea. I came up with a few ideas the one i picked was a typewriter idea, where the character is typing away and tries to push the paper roller across but its stuck and then tries again -nothing. Then he pounds the typewriter and the paper roller pings off and then Stu reacts in shock. I acted out a number of ideas around the typewriter and picked the best idea i felt right for the assignment.

Other ideas where a vote for Stu idea, Stu watching TV, Stu checking the results for a race on the radio and some others. But all the ideas had been rehashed soooo many times, hence why i opted for the typewriter.

Delay in posts and updates

Well Class 2 has been a nightmare for me on a more personal level. At the start of my AM, back in Class 1, i lost my granddad and while in Class 2 of this term my nan had a massive stroke and a 2 weeks later she sadly past away. My nans passing all happened during the jumping pillar animation and hence why its not the most amazing animation on the planet. Thankfully with understanding friends a good mentor and the support of family, i carried on with my course work.

My baseball pitch i feel turned out well for my end of class 2 animation. I hope class 3 really pushes my skills further and puts me back on track into becoming a strong animator.