I decided to add some tone to the drawings and to make them less sketchy, more tight. Here's just a few seconds.
More Blogger Options. Whoo Hoo!!
Just two days after I finally got around to updating my blog, Google's Blogger announces new templates and functionalities. Whoo hoo! I went with a whole new template, made some customizations and changed the header. I still need to optimize it for search engines but I'm satisfied with the look.
Cosmetic Changes
Making the visual changes I wanted for the blog turned out to be easier than I expected. I had overlooked that "gadgets" can be added, deleted and moved around.
Now, if I can just figure out how to get the photo and the profile text next to each other.. Wow, the answer was surprisingly simple. I really need to learn more about Blogger!
Sunday Film Post--Animatic version 5
Learned how to do a few more things this weekend with Storyboard Pro. Now that I'm understanding the thinking behind the program's workflow, creating shots is easy. This version of the animatic has a change with the camera traveling through the keyhole. I combined a layer transformation (for each side of the keyhole) with a zoom into the guy, Lucius. (Yes, I've decided the dude's name is Lucius and the woman's name is Honey. OK, I admit it, I borrowed those names from "The Incredibles." It's just for reference purposes so why not copy?) This would've been a pain to do in After Effects but took a fraction of the time in SBP. And that was the whole purpose of buying SBP, to make the digital part easier so I could concentrate more on the creative stuff.
Toon Boom Storyboard Pro tutorial
I found this tutorial that gives an excellent overview of the functionalities of SBP. In addition to the narrator's charming French-accented English, he shows how storyboard panels can be drawn directly into the program, dragged-and-dropped from a library and imported. My favorite part was the large background drawing that had a camera move added to it. This type of thing is difficult to do in other programs but is simple and intuitive in SBP.
Take a look, especially if you're new to the program. You won't be disappointed.
Toon Boom's Second Chance--Animatic version 4
I was a little pissy with Toon Boom's support folks. Then they were a little pissy in their response. Then "Ron" was nice enough to post a comment regarding the use of Storyboard Pro (thanks for your help, Ron!). So after ALL OF THAT AGITA—coupled with glancing over answers in the support forums and a few video tutorials—I decided the software deserved a second chance.
And NOW I can say I'm having a good time with Storyboard Pro (SP)! After reading about how others were struggling with the program, I discovered that some of my gripes were valid…and others weren't. As Ron suggested—and as I suspected—I needed to get my head out of the After Effects (AE) workflow and into SP's. After spending just a couple of hours with it today, I've progressed substantially and am honestly enjoy using the program. Right now I'm tired and want to go to sleep but I'm having so much fun with SP that I can't tear myself from the computer!
Below is the latest animatic output from SP (and still needing some tweaks. For example, originally the woman was dancing, not singing, so the music's no longer appropriate to the action). It was amazingly simple for me to show the woman actively brushing her teeth while zooming in on the keyhole. Since my knowledge of AE is limited, doing that action and camera move simultaneously in AE would've been a nightmare!
I'll continue to talk more about my fickle love affair with SP as I get deeper into it. Maybe I'll create a how-to video? Stay tuned!
Updated blog to come
Wow, I feel left behind! So many blogspot blogs have an improved appearance and mine…doesn't. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend? Yep, updating the blog!
Some ideas I had: talk more about all of the great sites available for those wishing to improve their skills or who just want learn about the art forms of animation and cartooning (with lots of links!); a more detailed production diary of the creation of my film "Toys vs. Boy"; more about ToonBoom's software.
Ultimately, if I want to get more people interested in this blog, I need to make it more interesting. It's that simple.
Improvements in the look and content of the blog will happen in the next few weeks so please stay tuned!
Sunday Film Post--Hi, Mom! And characters
Oh, man, late again! I'll get better, I promise!
First, I'd like to give a shout out to my Mommy! Mom deserves a special thanks for making my day yesterday by telling me that she sees an improvement in my drawing. She must've used her Mom instincts to know that her encouragement was EXACTLY what I needed to hear! I had slacked off for a week from my morning practice drawing routine; the routine consist of my alarm going off at 4:20am (yikes!), me sitting down by 4:40am and doing the following: 10 minutes of a blind contour; 10 minutes of gesture drawing; 10 minutes of copying from classic cartoon model sheets to improve drawing forms; 20 minutes of anatomy; 20 minutes of Loomis's "How to draw the head" book (I'm up to facial planes.) A total of 1 hour and 10 minutes.
I had already noticed a slight improvement in my drawing but hearing it from someone else made me feel even better. Thanks, Mommy!
Second, I decided today to re-evaluate the above routine. In order to get up early, I need to get to bed early. And since I don't get home until 6 or 6:30, that leaves little time during the week to work on my projects.
So I'm starting a new routine. I'll stay up later--to do project work--then get up later. I think that will fit my lifestyle better. We'll see how it goes.
Third, here's some drawings of two of my film's characters. They're roughs, just playing with the shapes of their faces. I've been reading and studying a lot about animation, cartooning and drawing and I'm trying to incorporate this myriad of great information into this next project.
I'll talk more later about which sites and artists I've learned a lot from lately.
Sunday Film Post--Animatic version 3
Finally, I'm uploading at a decent hour on a Sunday!
As I said in my previous post, I have abandoned using ToonBoom's Storyboard Pro due to numerous difficulties and have returned to Adobe After Effects to deal with other difficulties. First on the list is how to adjust the speed of camera moves/transitions. As you can see in this animatic, the zooms start out fast then slow down. I don't want that, I want them consistently paced! I know it involves the "graph editor" which is waaaay scary. So figuring that out is going to take some time.
This animatic has some new and/or improved drawings. Now that I have preliminary character designs, I want them reflected in the animatic. I also decided that the gray, scratchy pencil lines make it difficult to "read" the action so I'm improving that, too.
Thanks to Cablevision, I will be unwillingly missing tonight's Barbara Walters special (not only her last but actually interviewing people I want to see!) and the Oscars. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise--do I really need to be up to midnight or later to see which rich and successful person wins best director and best picture? Will staying up late help me in any way? On the other hand, watching episodes of "The Office" definitely helps me deal better with my own…work situation. :)
Graphic Novel Post--Panel 1 test FINAL!!
I'm all tested out. This version was done with watercolor pencil on Bristol paper with some white ink. I adjusted it slightly using Levels in Photoshop and added the text.
At this point, I think this is solid enough to show to the writer. I want to complete roughs of several more panels for the novel before showing the writer. I'm just glad this splash page is done so and that I figured out a workable method in case the project goes forward.
Toys vs. Boy--Character Designs
These are what I have to date. They will probably be modified in some way during this process but I'm happy with them as a first attempt. Now I can cast them in the animatic!
Wednesday Graphic Novel Post--Panel 1 test II
I think I made a breakthrough. I was struggling to find a way to show the lighting on these buildings. My original idea of using Photoshop gradations looked to soulless. Tonight, after playing with pencils, charcoal and watercolor pencils, I decided that watercolor pencils will work best for me. I'll be able to control the tones and adjusting them in Photoshop will maintain an organic look. A rough test is below.
Sunday Film Post--Animatic version 2
Oops, forgot again! But this time I was with family celebrating Grandma's 90th birthday. At least I have a good excuse!
Below is the latest for the "Toys vs. Boy" rough animatic, the first few seconds.
Wednesday Graphic Novel Post--Panel 1 test
I'm currently collaborating on a graphic novel called "Chalk Outline Man." The story opens with an aerial view of a residential cityscape. To date I've done several test versions with the version below being the closest--so far--to what I ultimately want.
I've spent so much time on this one panel because I see it as a splash page (11" x 8.5" folded in half). Since this is the first image the reader sees--well, the second really, to the cover--it's important to me that it fully engage the eye. I love renderin
gs of cityscapes and am determined to make this one look excellent.
This image is a combination of a rough drawing scanned into Photoshop. The tones were added in Photoshop using a combination of fills, gradients and textures. I'm confident that with some more dedicated effort and experimentation, it'll look great!
Sunday Film Post--Animatic version 1
OK, so it's not Sunday anymore--it's Monday evening--but it's going to take some adjusting for me to get used to this new deadline. At least I'm only one day off!
Below is a brief segment of the first, rough draft of the "Toys vs. Boy" film. The entire first draft of the storyboard was completed during a single spurt of energy and therefore will require numerous revisions. As you can see, the character designs have yet to be determined. I'm still working out the action and the timing so there'll be MANY more versions of the animatic to come.
A New Attitude
One thing that I miss about Bill Plympton's School of Animation is the weekly deadlines. I knew it was important to have something to show every Wednesday. Even though I missed a few Wednesday deadlines, I was constantly working towards that goal.
Not so now! I haven't totally slacked off on my next project, but I don't feel that same sense of urgency.
So I've developed a new attitude and approach. The deadline for completion for my next film, currently titled "Toys vs. Boy," is July 1. In order to meet this deadline, I will be posting the latest work—character designs, energy sketches, animatics, pencil tests, background paintings, etc.—on this blog. I will also be posting the latest work at the Plympton School of Animation, First Class Facebook page which will hopefully generate much-needed feedback from my former classmates.
In addition, I will also be posting the latest work of the graphic novel I'm working on called Chalk Outline Man, a collaboration with playwright B. Walker Sampson.
The "Toys" posts will be made every Sunday and the Chalky posts on Wednesday. I intend to have lots to look at so get ready!
My "Avatar" Two Cents
Since no one's writing about "Avatar," I obviously had to do it. :)
Due to the existence of "Avatar", I had my first 3D IMAX experience. I went to the only true IMAX theater in Manhattan (in all of NYC?), Lincoln Square theater on 68th street and Broadway.
By true IMAX I mean the 70-foot screen, not some retrofitted crap. You need to look out for this: the IMAX corporation is allowing anyone with a projector and sound equipment turned to full blast to call themselves an "IMAX" theater. It's only IMAX if it has a 70-foot screen. Period.
Friends told me that to avoid potentially getting ill and to see the screen properly, it's best to sit as far back and center as possible. We arrived 45 minutes before the show to find that the entire back row was taken (they must've gotten there stupid early!). But we managed to get excellent seats anyway.
I felt sorry for the folks who arrived when the film was starting. IMAX is not the place to be sitting in the first row. That's asking for a neck ache and nausea.
Review-wise, I had lowered my expectations slightly because—based on "Titanic"—I knew that James Cameron was not a consistent screenwriter. Also, I had read so much about the story that it felt overly familiar to the point of me almost being uninterested. Cameron came through with a cliché-ridden script ("you're not in Kansas anymore," "we're getting out of Dodge," yikes!) The story, however, ended up being less common than the script. I enjoyed the obvious criticism of corporate greed and the imagining of the culture and world of the Na'vi.
On a side note, I'm amused by some of the right-wing criticism of the movie. My two favorites are that the film is anti-religion and anti-military. Those critics reveal their own prejudices: first, the soldiers in the film are mercenaries, not U.S. military. They were hired by a private corporation to do a private job. The job that they're asked to do is clear—steal from a peaceful people. I'm fascinated—and repulsed—by a world view that says, "whatever I think, say or feel is always right, no matter what." Clearly those people either do not know history or are purposely ignoring it.
Second, the Na'vi people do have a religion, but I guess their mistake was to believe in something other than Jesus Christ. How dare they! How dare anyone not believe in Jesus Christ! Repeat, arrogant world views.
Admittedly, I have doubts that the 3D approach added to the quality of the film. It was a fun experience, but whenever I raised my glasses to get a 2D look, the visuals were equally entertaining. What impressed me more was the motion capture (or as one of the movie's producers is now calling it, "emotion" capture.) Knowing that the actors performed every movement and emotion before digital enhancement made the film feel special.
Although the film felt 15-30 minutes too long (a complaint I did not have with "Titanic"), I'm glad I saw it. "Star Wars Episode IV," "Titanic" and now "Avatar"—I've been lucky that some of the most technically revolutionary films have occurred in my lifetime.
I'm curious to see where filmmaking goes from here.
Calls of the Wild Premiere with Women in Animation
Last night I had the pleasure of showing my film, "Calls of the Wild," to a small group at the Show & Tell event sponsored by Women in Animation in NYC. And I couldn't have imagined a better response!
First, the women were very friendly from the moment my companion and I walked into the room. This may sound minor, but often members of organizations are cliquish and downright unfriendly. Not these ladies; they immediately introduced themselves and were approachable.
Second, they reacted to "Calls" enthusiastically and supportively. They were effusive in their praise and offered constructive criticism. This was true not only with my film, but with all of the works shown that evening.
I look forward to continuing my association with WIA and to their future events. I think any woman living in the NYC-area who's interested in any aspect of animation should join and participate in this group. There are a lot of talented female animators and WIA appears to be a great support system.
Just more incentive to work hard to get my next projects done. Because that's what it's all about, getting our work out there!
Incentive!
A few days ago I received a courtesy e-mail from Toon Boom Animation, the makers of my recently purchased Storyboard Pro and Animate Pro. They asked if I was using their products and if I'd be interested in having the film I make from their products promoted on their website.
As Madea would say, "Hell to the yeh!"
Not that I've been slacking, but if I was slacking, this is a huge incentive to get going. When I first purchased the software, I read and watched a number of their interviews so being the subject of one would be terrific publicity.
So I'm back to work on my new storyline…right now!!!
First Film Festival Submission
I finally did it.
I've finally realized a dream.
Today I submitted my film, "Calls of the Wild," to the Maryland Film Festival. Hopefully it will arrive by Friday, January 15. Even MORE hopefully, it'll be selected for the festival's program!
Let's all pray to our respective higher beings for that one!
A colleague/friend told me a story today that buoyed my hopes: she was playing my film on her computer at home. Her young adult son was intrigued by the sounds and asked her what was going on. She showed him the film—an unfinished version—and he watched it through—twice—LAUGHING the entire time!
It doesn't get any better than that. :-)
Post-Plympton Project
(I have a thing for alliteration.)
Now that I've completed Bill Plympton's class, it's time to put what I learned to use. I also want to put to use what I learned from the Richard Williams class that I took in 1998! Last century, last millennium! Yeah, it might be a good time to dig those notes out, dust off the book and start drawing.
As I reviewed the Williams notes and book, it occurred to me that there are many animation exercises that I've never done. Particularly, walk cycles. One of my first walk cycles had the left arm and left leg moving together instead of oppositely! Nice. But I must have recovered from that silly mistake to draw this:
Not exactly a smooth walk, but it's something!
Williams thoroughly analyzes all kinds of bipedalism. I really wanted to execute his exercises to learn how they're done. But I didn't want the exercises taking away from creating my next film. So I'm combining the two goals into one: the walking exercises will be made into a story! Simple solution. This way I'll get the experience of drawing humans walking, running, jumping, etc. and will have a completed film for distribution.
There's no time to waste!
Storytelling & Originality
Yesterday I came across an image that's appearing on many blogs…so I thought I'd add it to mine, too!
Below is a story outline comparison between Disney's Pocahontas and Avatar:
I was struck by how much it reminded me of a similar one I saw comparing Star Wars and Harry Potter:
It was eye-opening to read the comments to these comparisons. Some feel that there are clear rip-offs while others see no similarities whatsoever.
I think Nina Paley addresses the subject well here.
Someone said that there's only a handful of story themes (love, revenge, etc.). Every story ever created in the history of man is based on those few themes; their originality is in the handling of the themes, not the themes themselves.
As a film buff, I don't feel as much of a need for new film-viewing technologies as I do for the stories to be changed up a bit. Instead of EVERY MOVIE having a white guy named "Jack" (has anyone else noticed this?) make that character Asian or Latino. Make that character female instead of male. Those small changes alone make a huge difference; the point of view of the protagonist is changed. An Asian woman has most likely lived a different life than white guy Jack and that life will inform her decisions. And people's choices and the results of those choices is the essential element of storytelling.
Ultimately, being an artist is about presenting a truthful presentation of one's point of view. Originality, schmariginality!
Super Duper Software! (I hope…)
Whoops! I know I said I'd talk more about my festival plans TOMORROW and now it's ten days later!
OK, my first New Year's resolution is to be more diligent about this blog.
Before I discuss festival plans, I want to tell you about my new purchases! Because a grown-up buying new software and hardware is like being a kid at Christmas!
I attended a Toon Boom presentation several months ago in SoHo. How would I sum up the demonstration of their software? Jaw-dropping. I don't think I've ever coveted something as much as I did Toon Boom's Storyboard Pro and Animate Pro. I was amazed with the capabilities of these two programs. The company actually has an entire suite of animation products for kids, teenagers, amateurs and professionals.
I had struggled to use After Effects with my last film and was thinking that I needed to switch to Flash. I've heard so much about the vast use of Flash that I figured it was a necessity to learn it if I intend to pursue a career in 2D animation. I even discovered animator Adam Phillips's awesome blog that discussed, among other things, the merits of both Flash and Toon Boom. He created terrific, in-depth (and free!) Flash tutorials. But he also spoke about the benefits of Toon Boom, primarily that, unlike Flash, Toon Boom's software is designed specifically for animation. Flash does animation, but that wasn't it's original intent. As a result, the animator has to fight using it, expending time and energy figuring out workarounds.
Time is vital. And if there's a tool that will make the already tedious job of animating even remotely easier, I'm for it. So I took the plunge and bought both Storyboard Pro and Animate Pro. Thanks, Toon Boom, for the discount! This software is expensive but with the discounts I saved $1200.00. Which I needed to invest in a new computer to run the new software. I have a PowerPC Mac G5 which I unfortunately bought 6 months before Apple switched to the Intel chip. My machine, despite working perfectly, is slowly becoming obsolete. It can't run Snow Leopard…nor Animate Pro. But it will run Storyboard Pro. Why, Toon Boom, why?!?!?!
Anyway, I bought a refurbished white MacBook so I could work while commuting on the bus. It's my first laptop and I'm loving it. Now that I'm done with my Plympton class film (and have taken two weeks to recover from the stress of meeting the deadline) I already have the idea for my next film. And I'm looking forward to getting to know Storyboard and Animate Pro. In future posts, I'll review how well it works.
OK, I'm done gushing about the software that I haven't even used yet!
Next post—festival talk
:30 Short Film—Part 7: GRADUATION!
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's finally happened! The first class of Bill Plympton's University of Animation (we started as a school and ended as a university. How's that for progress!) has graduated. Don't believe me? My diploma's below:
Some may not consider this to be much of an accomplishment but those people never made a funny, 30 sec. film in 14 weeks while holding down a day job! About five of the fifteen students had completed films (completed meaning fully animated, color, sound and music) for the final class with several more in various stages of production.
I can say without hesitation that I found Bill's class to be immensely helpful. Since he's doing exactly what I want to do—making a living from independent animated films—the class was full of vital information. I feel more confident pursuing this path as a result of this class. And I even got an original Bill Plympton drawing:
Bill did this in front of the class as a demonstration of drawing purely with shadows, no lines. Everyone in the class left with some sort of Plympton drawing. There were jokes about selling them on eBay but I doubt that's going to happen. We're all too much in awe of Bill's talents to part with our precious drawings.
I'm satisfied with my film although I felt I crammed a little too much story into 30 seconds. I just need to tweak a few things—a character's arm is wonky; credits need to be properly phrased—and then I'm going to enter it into film festivals, starting with the Red Stick Animation Festival. Their deadline is Jan. 4, 2010 so I need to get the film completed and entered by then.
Tomorrow—more about my festival plans…and my next film!
:30 Short Film—Part 6: Final Animation
I could also show photos of my ridiculously messy apartment (even Mom was horrified when she came by during Thanksgiving) but then you'd just think I'm a dirty artist girl.
So it's the last big push for me to finish my BPAS (Bill Plympton Animation School) project. I told myself when I started that I wanted to complete it by December 16, the last day of class. And, darn it, that's EXACTLY what I'm gonna do!
As of this writing, the first 19 of 30 seconds of the film are complete. I basically made the pencil test into the final. I have only one more scene of the hunters to animate and color, then it's on to the ending. I'm still not sure how long the end will take but at this late stage, I want that scene to be as simply staged as possible. I've already decided to cut back on drawing the figures in their entirety in the interest of time. It just needs to be planned.
Below is the latest.
:30 Short Film—Part 5: Pencil Test & Color
Sorry it's been awhile. Lack of blogging is a sign of being busy, VERY busy trying to get this film animated before the last BPAS class on December 16. Since my last post, I have been working on adding inbetweens to smooth the action. As of today, I can say that the progress is steadily getting faster. Despite feeling slightly sick today (I missed spending the holiday with my wonderful girlfriend and her family! *Sniffle*) I was able to get some rough animation done. The product is below. I also got the colors approved by Bill at the last class so I'm happy that I don't have to revisit that. It was a struggle figuring out how to make camouflage not blend into the background! That would, of course, defeat the purpose of seeing the main characters clearly against the background.
Next post—clean animation and more color.
:30 Short Film—Part 4: Pencil Test II
Below is a portion of the pencil test I showed at the last BPAS class. It went over well, thankfully, with only a few suggestions for changes. But one of those changes was significant—more inbetweens! I thought I could get away with doing it the Plympton way, a few inbetweens each on 3 or 4 frames. NOT! I don't yet have the skill nor instinct to do that so it looks like I'll have to take the time to do more drawings to smooth out the action. I knew the movement was stiff and jumpy but, in the interest of time, I was hoping to get away with shortcuts. Guess not!
Next post—extended pencil test.
:30 Short Film—Part 4: Pencil Test
So, after many stressful days (a colleague keeps seeing my scary, red eye and telling me that I "look tired") I finally figured out how to end this freakin' film! It's not ideal, but to tell a funny 30-second story in 14 weeks is an accomplishment in itself (wait, did I say that in a previous post? Sorry!)
Anyway, I have officially started the animating process. I followed Plympton's approach and bought some vellum (or tissue, as Plympton calls it.) This way I can layout and plan various actions with lightweight, inexpensive paper before moving to the regular animation paper. I've already found it helpful when drawing on the bus. Yeah, you heard me right, I draw on the bus. OK, the express bus, but still, it can be done when precision is not needed. But if I've got to commute an hour plus each way, having the vellum and a portable lightbox is incredibly helpful.
I was able to place the figures of Petey and Wayne inside the frame while remaining within the t.v. cutoff area. I'm finding that my drawing of these guys has improved despite not being great. But I'm satisfied that the action that I imagined is actually fitting properly. I also decided that the action would often be limited. The first scene with the hunters is 29 frames. So there won't be much happening besides eye and eyebrow movement.
Next post—pencil test animation of Scene 2.
:30 Short Film—Part 3: Revised Animatic III
Wow, FIVE WEEKS!! It's taken me FIVE WEEKS to figure out how to frame the punchline of this film. I hope it was worth it!
At first I was beating myself up over it, being overly critical, telling myself that I should've figured it out a lot sooner. Then a truth hit me: this is only my second time telling a story with a punchline and my first on a 14 week deadline! There's all kinds of framing, continuity and readability issues involved that I haven't had to deal with in the past. So all things considered, taking five weeks to determine the best solution to the problem maybe isn't so awful.
The good news is that I HAVE figured it out and now I'm ready to start animatin'! The goal for the next class is to have a completed, final animatic that includes between 3-5 seconds of pencil test animation. I'm confident that the goal can be met.
Below is the first 20 seconds of the final animatic. I forgot to warn you before: this is NSFW (not safe for work) due to the sound effects.
At first I was beating myself up over it, being overly critical, telling myself that I should've figured it out a lot sooner. Then a truth hit me: this is only my second time telling a story with a punchline and my first on a 14 week deadline! There's all kinds of framing, continuity and readability issues involved that I haven't had to deal with in the past. So all things considered, taking five weeks to determine the best solution to the problem maybe isn't so awful.
The good news is that I HAVE figured it out and now I'm ready to start animatin'! The goal for the next class is to have a completed, final animatic that includes between 3-5 seconds of pencil test animation. I'm confident that the goal can be met.
Below is the first 20 seconds of the final animatic. I forgot to warn you before: this is NSFW (not safe for work) due to the sound effects.
:30 Short Film—Part 3: Revised Animatic II
Well, I completed a revision of the first 14 seconds of the animatic. It was approved today with just minor changes so I'm excited about getting the remaining 16 seconds of the animatic done. Then on to animatin'!
I just keep hearing Julie Andrews singing about her confidence and, surprisingly, it keeps me going. Thanks, Julie!
Another important accomplishment is that I managed to decrease my stress. Three weeks ago, I was stressing myself so much that my chronic conjunctivitis (I am sooo not going to look up if I spelled that correctly!) was flaring up in my right eye. Which translates to a red eye. Which means people are uncomfortable talking to me because they're afraid I'm going to give them pink eye! (Don't worry, I have the non-contagious variety.) But once I determined the ending of the film and storyboarded it, I began to feel better. And I can say that these last few days I've had no red in my eye.
I just keep telling myself that I don't have to be the BEST draftswoman or the BEST animator or even the BEST storyteller. I just have to get this project DONE in a reasonable time and to the best of my ability. Ultimately, it's a learning experience and everything I go through during the creation of this film will make things easier for the next and the next.
It's a lovely process and I intend to ENJOY it!
Revised first 14 seconds of animatic below.
I just keep hearing Julie Andrews singing about her confidence and, surprisingly, it keeps me going. Thanks, Julie!
Another important accomplishment is that I managed to decrease my stress. Three weeks ago, I was stressing myself so much that my chronic conjunctivitis (I am sooo not going to look up if I spelled that correctly!) was flaring up in my right eye. Which translates to a red eye. Which means people are uncomfortable talking to me because they're afraid I'm going to give them pink eye! (Don't worry, I have the non-contagious variety.) But once I determined the ending of the film and storyboarded it, I began to feel better. And I can say that these last few days I've had no red in my eye.
I just keep telling myself that I don't have to be the BEST draftswoman or the BEST animator or even the BEST storyteller. I just have to get this project DONE in a reasonable time and to the best of my ability. Ultimately, it's a learning experience and everything I go through during the creation of this film will make things easier for the next and the next.
It's a lovely process and I intend to ENJOY it!
Revised first 14 seconds of animatic below.
I'm Mental
Yes, my brain is playing tricks on me again. I've been trying to revise my animatic for TWO WEEKS!!! I've made some progress, mainly that I've come up with an ending that I think will do justice to the setup. I've designed the two main characters and have done preliminary designs for the other two main characters. But my drawing skills are once again messin' with me. I've struggled just to do a few drawings. I've become so frustrated that I took an entire 24 hour break from working on it. And this evening I've done everything except work on the film.
I have to keep on remembering what Chuck Jones said—the sooner I get out those bad drawings, I'll get to the good ones. I have to keep telling my brain that instead of telling it how much I suck!
OK, I'm off to draw.
I have to keep on remembering what Chuck Jones said—the sooner I get out those bad drawings, I'll get to the good ones. I have to keep telling my brain that instead of telling it how much I suck!
OK, I'm off to draw.
:30 Short Film—Part 3: Animatic
My storyboard was approved—with a few minor suggestions—and the next step is to make the animatic. That's basically the storyboard drawings timed to the actual length of the film and includes sound and music.
I had a good time finding the audio, listening to previews of all kinds of stuff. I found the elk sounds from the U.S. government's National Digital Library. Thankfully, I can use the sounds without restriction but some sort of credit is requested. That's reasonable. I returned to a reliable source called Sounddogs.com for the remaining music and sounds. Their preview clips are sufficient for the animatic and the prices seem reasonable for usage. We'll see what their terms are when I actually purchase the clips.
I thought creating the animatic would be straightforward—just take the storyboard drawings, pop them into AfterEffects, adjust the timing, add the sound and music and VOILA!! Well...it turned out to be a lot more than that! Over the course of a 3-day weekend, I spent 24.5 hours making the animatic. There was more drawing to do and a lot of tweaking but I got it done in time for class. But I discovered one thing...the ending wasn't working! YIKES!
There's nothing worse than setting up a joke only to have the punchline fall flat. That's EXACTLY what I discovered once I got to work on the animatic.
Below is the first 12 seconds of the original animatic. In future posts I'll show you the revised version so you can see how it's hopefully improved.
I had a good time finding the audio, listening to previews of all kinds of stuff. I found the elk sounds from the U.S. government's National Digital Library. Thankfully, I can use the sounds without restriction but some sort of credit is requested. That's reasonable. I returned to a reliable source called Sounddogs.com for the remaining music and sounds. Their preview clips are sufficient for the animatic and the prices seem reasonable for usage. We'll see what their terms are when I actually purchase the clips.
I thought creating the animatic would be straightforward—just take the storyboard drawings, pop them into AfterEffects, adjust the timing, add the sound and music and VOILA!! Well...it turned out to be a lot more than that! Over the course of a 3-day weekend, I spent 24.5 hours making the animatic. There was more drawing to do and a lot of tweaking but I got it done in time for class. But I discovered one thing...the ending wasn't working! YIKES!
There's nothing worse than setting up a joke only to have the punchline fall flat. That's EXACTLY what I discovered once I got to work on the animatic.
Below is the first 12 seconds of the original animatic. In future posts I'll show you the revised version so you can see how it's hopefully improved.
Petey & Wayne Evolve
Below are the latest versions of the two hunters in my film, Petey and Wayne. I have a feeling that their look will continue to evolve as the production of the film progresses.
I'm glad I discovered John K.'s blog. It made me realize that I need to improve my drawing fundamentals in order to animate proficiently. So I'm focusing on keeping my characters ROUNDED so it will be easier to turn and distort them. Simplicity is going to be key for this project. Why do you think Fred Flintstone didn't have a neck? So he'd be easier to animate!
Next post—:30 Short Film—Part 3: Animatic
I'm glad I discovered John K.'s blog. It made me realize that I need to improve my drawing fundamentals in order to animate proficiently. So I'm focusing on keeping my characters ROUNDED so it will be easier to turn and distort them. Simplicity is going to be key for this project. Why do you think Fred Flintstone didn't have a neck? So he'd be easier to animate!
Next post—:30 Short Film—Part 3: Animatic
Diggin' the Digital
I'm still astounded by how much easier it is today to make an independent animated film than 10 years ago. No more spending hours shooting tests on film myself, poorly. Then traveling from Westchester to Manhattan to have the film processed, waiting 24 or 48 hours, then returning to Manhattan. Then I'd watch the tests on the projector (!) only to discover that it SUCKED!!! Then there was the whole process again...AGONY!!!
Now, with my PowerPC Dual Processor Mac (about to be obsolete), an Epson scanner (that I've had for 10 years), an HP color printer, a Canon Powershot digital camera, a bunch of software (After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, iMovie and iDVD) and the internet, I'm able to make and market a film ALL BY MYSELF!!!
For example, as I draw my storyboard, I need photo reference. In the 1990's, I would have to travel to a specific branch of the library and pour through hundreds of photos in hundreds of folders. If I wanted to bring the image home, I'd have to check them out or make poor xeroxes. But today, with the internet, a digital camera and a printer, I can quickly find photo reference or take photos of myself posing then print them for reference. It doesn't get any better than that!
Now, with my PowerPC Dual Processor Mac (about to be obsolete), an Epson scanner (that I've had for 10 years), an HP color printer, a Canon Powershot digital camera, a bunch of software (After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, iMovie and iDVD) and the internet, I'm able to make and market a film ALL BY MYSELF!!!
For example, as I draw my storyboard, I need photo reference. In the 1990's, I would have to travel to a specific branch of the library and pour through hundreds of photos in hundreds of folders. If I wanted to bring the image home, I'd have to check them out or make poor xeroxes. But today, with the internet, a digital camera and a printer, I can quickly find photo reference or take photos of myself posing then print them for reference. It doesn't get any better than that!
:30 Short Film—Part 2: Storyboard
I just had my rough storyboard approved by Bill. And as you can see below with page one of the storyboards, I'm not kidding when I say ROUGH!
I experienced some strange feelings when I sat down to draw the storyboard—all of the sudden, despite all of the positive feedback, I began to question my story. Oh, no, was it funny enough?! Was it good enough?! That's all I could think about. So I ended up doing some mediocre drawings for the storyboard as I struggled with envisioning the story from beginning to end. Going into this week's class, I wasn't feeling completely confident or happy with the results.
Bill made two suggestions about improving the story. I appreciated the suggestions but didn't feel strongly that they fit properly. Then today—EUREKA! Bill's suggestions helped me (forced me!) to think of ways to appropriately incorporate them into my story. And I did! Solutions suddenly came to me and now I can't wait to incorporate them into the next step, the animatic.
Stay tuned for more art and the first animated tests from the film.
And I still need a title!!!
I experienced some strange feelings when I sat down to draw the storyboard—all of the sudden, despite all of the positive feedback, I began to question my story. Oh, no, was it funny enough?! Was it good enough?! That's all I could think about. So I ended up doing some mediocre drawings for the storyboard as I struggled with envisioning the story from beginning to end. Going into this week's class, I wasn't feeling completely confident or happy with the results.
Bill made two suggestions about improving the story. I appreciated the suggestions but didn't feel strongly that they fit properly. Then today—EUREKA! Bill's suggestions helped me (forced me!) to think of ways to appropriately incorporate them into my story. And I did! Solutions suddenly came to me and now I can't wait to incorporate them into the next step, the animatic.
Stay tuned for more art and the first animated tests from the film.
And I still need a title!!!
Meet the Players
Or at least two of the players. Pictured below are some very early sketches for two of my film's main characters. I randomly chose the names Wayne and Petey because, hey, they kinda' look like a Wayne and a Petey! Those sound like hunter names, right? Anyway, the names don't really matter since, at this point, they're never spoken during the course of the film. I just wanted to call them something other than stretched-face and football head!
I'm sure these guys will evolve as I get further into the production of the film. I mean, they already look radically different than what I had 48 hours ago! But at this point, I'm satisfied with their looks. And that's important to me, to simply be satisfied. Because being completely happy with the way they look will take soooo long that I'll never get the film done! So I'm not striving for The Best Designed Animated Character EVER! I just want to be happy enough with the design that I'll enjoy animating their faces over the next 12 weeks.
Going to go now and get to work on the storyboard. I look forward to sharing that with you in the next few days.
I'm sure these guys will evolve as I get further into the production of the film. I mean, they already look radically different than what I had 48 hours ago! But at this point, I'm satisfied with their looks. And that's important to me, to simply be satisfied. Because being completely happy with the way they look will take soooo long that I'll never get the film done! So I'm not striving for The Best Designed Animated Character EVER! I just want to be happy enough with the design that I'll enjoy animating their faces over the next 12 weeks.
Going to go now and get to work on the storyboard. I look forward to sharing that with you in the next few days.
:30 Short Film—Part 1: Story
I just completed my second Bill Plympton Animation School (BPAS) class. We 15 students were instructed to do the first step of making a film—dream up a story. We had to come up with 3 or 4 thirty second film ideas and present them (pitch) to the class. Wouldn't you know it that I went next to last, sweatin' the whole time as I tried to listen to everyone's ideas while also trying to figure out exactly how I was going to present my ideas. There was a great variety of approaches and ideas from the class and I'm excited to see everyone's completed project, including mine! But that's not for 12 more weeks.
I decided to just share the 1 idea that I liked out of the 4 I had dreamt up. I had already passed the idea by my daddy and my girlfriend and they both liked it so I thought, it's gotta wor!. Turns out that it passed inspection and now I'm on to step 2: storyboarding and character design.
And you know what that means—I'll actually have some creative content to share with you! In the next 5 days, I need to design 4 characters. And to ensure that I don't give away my film's punchline, let's just say that the film stars 2 hunters.
Next post—art from my film.
I decided to just share the 1 idea that I liked out of the 4 I had dreamt up. I had already passed the idea by my daddy and my girlfriend and they both liked it so I thought, it's gotta wor!. Turns out that it passed inspection and now I'm on to step 2: storyboarding and character design.
And you know what that means—I'll actually have some creative content to share with you! In the next 5 days, I need to design 4 characters. And to ensure that I don't give away my film's punchline, let's just say that the film stars 2 hunters.
Next post—art from my film.
Pitchin' Your Ideas
I recently attended an ASIFA-East (Association Internationale du Film D'Animation) panel to mark the release of David Levy's new book, "Animation Development: from Pitch to Production." There's some notes about the evening HERE, which is a thorough summary.
One aspect of the panel that I found interesting was the diametric opposition of Janice Burgess of Nickelodeon and Amid Amidi of Cartoonbrew.com (which happens to be one of the first sites I check every day. Yep, it's that good.) Burgess—the sole representative on the panel of television execs—explained that material should be crafted to appeal to the specific niche of that station. Amidi, on the other hand, felt that artists should not focus on demographics but should instead focus on becoming better artists.
As I listened, I understood both of their positions and felt that they were both correct. I think Amidi is accurate to tell artists to focus on their craft before they limit their creativity to service one particular type of viewer. I also thought Burgess was correct to explain that the executives who greenlight television projects have as much riding on its success as the creator. It is understandable that executives must always consider the bottom line and ensure that the property appeals to their viewers.
The primary message of the evening was: follow your heart, create from your core, THEN do the research to determine who would be most receptive to your ideas. In other words, don't pitch a raunchy sex comedy to Nickelodeon! HBO or Showtime would be a better home for that type of material.
Ultimately, it all comes back to pursuing your passion. So get going!
Fears & Doubts & Stress, Oh My!
Wow, I've barely started my animation class with its 30 second project and already I'm feeling fears, doubts and stress! How do I know that's what I'm feeling? Because I awoke today with a sharp pain in my right shoulder, my usual spot for the collection of my fears, doubts and stress. I can't tell you how many times over the last...oh...18 YEARS I've felt this! Yep, 18 years of second-guessing, believing other people's negativity about me, not to mention my own lack of confidence. Lack of confidence, now THAT one's a killer!
It's essential to our creativity that we work past all of the negative feelings—both from within and without—and continue working towards our goals. Just. Keep. Going.
And then there's perfectionism, another major bogeyman. How many times have you started something only to stop because you felt it didn't measure up to some artificial standard?
I'm going to get by my perfectionism by constantly reminding myself that other animators (I won't name them. I don't want to start a big ole argument!) don't have great drawing skills. I'll keep reminding myself that a lot of animation on t.v. has mediocre art and stories. So if strive for excellence but only reach mediocrity, my work will be at least as good as the others and maybe even better.
So let's get to work!
Next post—some comments about ASIFA-East's recent t.v. pitch panel.
It's essential to our creativity that we work past all of the negative feelings—both from within and without—and continue working towards our goals. Just. Keep. Going.
And then there's perfectionism, another major bogeyman. How many times have you started something only to stop because you felt it didn't measure up to some artificial standard?
I'm going to get by my perfectionism by constantly reminding myself that other animators (I won't name them. I don't want to start a big ole argument!) don't have great drawing skills. I'll keep reminding myself that a lot of animation on t.v. has mediocre art and stories. So if strive for excellence but only reach mediocrity, my work will be at least as good as the others and maybe even better.
So let's get to work!
Next post—some comments about ASIFA-East's recent t.v. pitch panel.
Back To School
Several weeks ago I learned that Bill Plympton—yes, THE Bill Plympton—was offering an animation class out of his Chelsea studio. I jumped at the opportunity. I jumped so fast, I was the first to sign up! And after experiencing the first class this past week, I'm confident that going "back to school" with this class was a good decision.
The assignment for the class is to make a 30 second film. And although this assignment will take attention away from my 5 minute film mentioned in the earlier post, in 13 weeks I'll have a completed film. And that's the point of all of this, to get projects DONE and my ideas OUT INTO THE WORLD! Plus, with such a short, definitive deadline, I'll be forced to work quickly and efficiently. It will also force me to think funny—my interest in storytelling has always been more on the serious side. So now I have to get out of my serious-chick comfort zone and try to make folks laugh! I'm sure ya'll won't hesitate to tell me if I succeed or not. Just be nice about it, please! :)
The assignment for the class is to make a 30 second film. And although this assignment will take attention away from my 5 minute film mentioned in the earlier post, in 13 weeks I'll have a completed film. And that's the point of all of this, to get projects DONE and my ideas OUT INTO THE WORLD! Plus, with such a short, definitive deadline, I'll be forced to work quickly and efficiently. It will also force me to think funny—my interest in storytelling has always been more on the serious side. So now I have to get out of my serious-chick comfort zone and try to make folks laugh! I'm sure ya'll won't hesitate to tell me if I succeed or not. Just be nice about it, please! :)
Pursue Your Passion
Don't let the orange blob above fool you…this blog is about neither amoebas nor strangely colored fluids. It's about CREATING!
Creating what exactly?
Well, I, the Krause mentioned above, am creating a five-minute animated film partially titled…well…Creation. I'll share the remainder of the film's title later. Yes, I'm pettily withholding minor pieces of information as a cheap ploy to get you to come back to this blog!
Anyway, I'll be chronicling the production of this film with the goal of completing it by June 30, 2010 for entry (and acceptance) into film festivals.
But it isn't all about me! I'm also hoping to encourage all of you to pursue your passions (assuming, of course, that your passions go beyond eating, drinking, whoring, watching televised sports and sleeping. Not that there's anything wrong with those things, but, you know, life's short and stuff).
I know, I know. You don't have the time or energy to write that song, novel or screenplay because of your job, spouse, kid(s) and/or pet(s). Thankfully, I don't have to worry about any of those things (just kidding! I have…a cat.) But imagine for a moment how much more satisfying the other parts of your life would be if you made the time to pursue your passion.
I am struggling, like you, to balance the things I want to do with the things I need to do. All I can offer is some suggestions that have worked for me and hopefully you'll be inspired to share what works for you.
So that's me and what I'm doing. Check back for more—in addition to this film, there's also a shorter film in the works (my first real attempt at comedy!), and a graphic novel and screenplays being developed.
So much to create, so little time. •sigh•
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