Next post: Luthor does his sexy LL Cool J lip lick!
Luthor Model Sheet/Turnaround—Body
In the interest of time (as of today, I have 278 days until completion deadline), I decided to do a full body design of Luthor in only the front and back views. I'm confident that I'll be able to base all other views on these two:
Next post: Luthor does his sexy LL Cool J lip lick!
Next post: Luthor does his sexy LL Cool J lip lick!
Luthor Model Sheet/Turnaround—Head
The final inked model sheet for Luthor's head:
It's neither great nor perfect BUT it's good enough. With my deadline being Dec. 31, 2013 (279 days left) there's no time to fuss around. All that matters is that I'm satisfied with it. I'm looking forward to watching Luthor transform from this neutral expression to all of the dramatic acting he has to do!
Next post: Luthor's full body turnaround.
Next post: Luthor's full body turnaround.
Creating Model Sheet for Luthor's Face
These drawings show how I searched for the final design for Luthor's face:
Yes, there was a little frustration during this process! :-) But I realized that's the ultimate purpose of the model sheet, to remind me of how he should look so that when I'm animating, I can keep his appearance consistent.
Next post: the final model sheet for Luthor's head.
Sun Valley Film Festival Review
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| The Sun Valley Film Festival 2013 banner in Ketchum, Idaho. |
I recently returned home from the Sun Valley Film Festival in Idaho. In only its second year, the festival brought out filmmakers and film-lovers from the immediate area and around the country.
I'll admit, the festival wasn't on my radar until I saw that Jodie Foster was not only going to be in attendance, but was hosting a free (!) and open to the public (!) Q & A. Within 24 hours, I had booked my flight, hotel, festival pass and transportation from Boise to Ketchum! (Next time I'll fly to Seattle or LA then to Hailey instead of the Boise route. Lesson learned.) EVERYONE in Idaho was friendly and pleasant and it was a constant reminder as to why I want to move out of NYC!
I chose to stay in Ketchum instead of Sun Valley because the hotel is literally next door to the theater where films were being shown (nexStage Theater) and where Foster was going to speak. I knew there was going to be a big turnout for her so by being nearby, I significantly increased my chances of getting a seat.
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| View of Ketchum from hotel balcony. |
And get a seat I did! I was admitted into the theater after the VIP's had been seated (and a very cold 45 minute waitFoster spoke eloquently and carefully about acting and directing and was gracious throughout even when asked some potentially uncomfortable questions (about Hinckley, her lost childhood and LGBT-themes).
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| Jodie Foster answering questions at the nexStage Theater during the second annual Sun Valley Film Festival. |
(Sorry about the blurry pictures but these people would NOT stand still for me!)
Despite the flight delays and illness on my way home, I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to interact with someone who I've admired since childhood. And I made a filmmaking connection, too!
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| Festival Executive Director and Founder Ted Grennan and festival Director Candice Pate during the closing ceremony. |
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| Jodie Foster talks to DeWayne Briscoe, mayor of Sun Valley, during the closing ceremony. |
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| Jodie Foster shows off her key to the city during the closing cerremony. |
Since this festival is in its infancy, now is the time to submit to it before it becomes huge like Sundance. I fully intend to submit Adult Toy Story and possibly their screenwriters lab, too.
The moral of this story is: NEVER hesitate to take advantage of even the smallest opportunity because you never know what will come of it.
Scene 16—Luthor's Right Foot
Here's the rough animation of Luthor moving his right foot toes:
It's not perfect, but it's good enough. On to the left foot!
It's not perfect, but it's good enough. On to the left foot!
Scene 16—Luthor Layouts
I've FINALLY moved on to scene 16 which is one of my favorites in the film: a pan from Luthor's discarded clothes on the floor, to his wiggling toes, up his body, past his red shorts to a hold on his face at which point he does an LL Cool J lip lick.
One thing I learned from doing the first 15 scenes is that the proper planning up front will save a lot of time in the end. The primary challenge of this scene was to place Luthor properly onto the bed background that had already been created for scene 12 while also fitting his feet comfortably into the frame:
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| Scene 12 background adjusted for use in scene 16. |
These are the rough versions of Luthor's placement on the bed. They evolved from rough to more polished as I figured out the best solution to the problem:
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| First attempt: figuring out perspective and the pose. |
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| Second attempt: one of four drawings used to make a quick reference animation. |
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| Third attempt: prefer the laid-back pose but the spread legs aren't fitting into the frame the way I originally planned and imagined it. |
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| Fourth attempt: I was happy with this until…I wasn't. His legs are supposed to be in perspective but they just seem too short. |
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| FINAL: Once I elongated the legs, it came together with the other elements of perspective and pose. |
I'm slowly beginning to embrace the reality that EVERY animated element of EVERY scene will require this type of exploration to find the best solution. If I accept this idea, it'll make animated filmmaking a lot less stressful!
Tomorrow: a video of rough animation from this scene.
Creating a Basic Pan in Toon Boom Animate Pro
After completing the scene, I decided that a pan was necessary to link scenes 12 and 13. Until this point I had not moved the camera so I needed to learn how to do this. As usual, Toon Boom Animate Pro made it easy.
The best explanations I found were videos made by Adam Phillips, alias Chulaid. Among his accomplishments is the creation of the Bitey Castle website and the Brackenwood Series. I think it says a lot that Chulaid switched from Flash to Toon Boom to make his animation.
I recommend Chulaid's videos in addition to those produced by Toon Boom. If you know of any useful Toon Boom Storyboard Pro or Animate Pro video tutorials, please share in the comments section. Thanks!
Be Quick But Don't Hurry!
Since I had been working on Scene 13 since July, 2012, I was eager to get through the cleanup stage. As a result I ended up with 19 drawings of Honey with a stiff and wonky neck which I didn't see until after doing all of the drawings, importing it into Toon Boom Animate Pro then exporting the Quicktime video.
It was bugging me so I fixed it.
The lesson learned: I knew the neck should not be that straight but I did it anyway in the interest of getting it done. But it wasn't worth the 30 minutes I had to take to redraw it and the time spent re-scanning the drawings.
As the great basketball coach and teacher John Wooden said, "Be quick but don't hurry!"
Creating a Camera Shake in Toon Boom Animate Pro
This is a prime example as to why I invested in the Toon Boom software and why I'm glad I made that investment.
For scene 14 of my film, Honey slams shut a bathroom door. I wanted the door to shake a little when it shuts. Traditionally that would mean making about three drawings of the door at slightly different positions and cycling them on one's. Instead of me having to do that work, I simply searched the Toon Boom site for "camera shake" and immediately found the answer HERE.
The explanation was clear and illustrated so I was able to complete the effect in a few minutes. And it came out EXACTLY as I imagined!
Moving Past "Mistakes"
Scene 13 of my film has been a huge challenge. Begun in July, the scene's action is still be roughed out in December. I keep asking myself, "Why is it taking so long?"
The answer is, "That's the WRONG question!"
This is the longest film I've ever made (five minutes.) This is the first film I've made with characters speaking. This is the first film I've watercolored the backgrounds. This is the first film I've made using Toon Boom Storyboard Pro and Animate Pro. Why would I think it would be easy or quick?!
As a result of asking the wrong question, I procrastinated, which was simply the manifestation of fear. I was afraid to continue making the film because it wasn't going as I had originally--erroneously--planned.
Although it took months, I eventually diagnosed the problem and, after more time passed, I got back to work. I told myself that I--no one--can do ANYTHING perfect the first time out. Period. What I CAN do is make the best film possible with the skills and resources I currently have.
Below are various stages of the layout for Scene 13. At first I thought of the early drawings as "mistakes" but now I see them correctly, as "discoveries."
Moving on to the next step!
The answer is, "That's the WRONG question!"
This is the longest film I've ever made (five minutes.) This is the first film I've made with characters speaking. This is the first film I've watercolored the backgrounds. This is the first film I've made using Toon Boom Storyboard Pro and Animate Pro. Why would I think it would be easy or quick?!
As a result of asking the wrong question, I procrastinated, which was simply the manifestation of fear. I was afraid to continue making the film because it wasn't going as I had originally--erroneously--planned.
Although it took months, I eventually diagnosed the problem and, after more time passed, I got back to work. I told myself that I--no one--can do ANYTHING perfect the first time out. Period. What I CAN do is make the best film possible with the skills and resources I currently have.
Below are various stages of the layout for Scene 13. At first I thought of the early drawings as "mistakes" but now I see them correctly, as "discoveries."
After thinking more before drawing, and applying what I'm learning from studying Loomis, Hogarth, Bridgman, et. al., I ended up with a drawing that was satisfying.
Moving on to the next step!
Terrific Animation Panel Presented by NYWIFT
Last night, I had the pleasure of attending a New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) panel called "Women in...Animation: The Business of Creativity." Candy Kugel, Deena Beck, Bernadine Santistevan and Ginger Brown were generous with their experience and advice. The people of Raw Space/Imagenation should also be commended for supplying the venue (and the post-presentation refreshments and music!)
Some take-aways from the event:
1. Be fearless
2. Do what you can with the resources currently available to you
3. Maximize all avenues (web, film festivals, museum installations, children's books)
4. Pursue your passion project because it's most likely other people will relate to it
Andrew Loomis's "Flat Diagram"—Part II
In Part I of this topic, I broke down the first of two figure-in-perspective methods explained by Andrew Loomis. The methods are diagramed on page 30 of his book "Figure Drawing For All It's Worth."
My preference is for that first method. It involves drawing fewer lines and is easier to follow. This second method is more complicated but it could be helpful to some so I'll break it down into steps.
1. Establish your vanishing point which is located on the horizon line (eyeline). (Note that Loomis doesn't show the horizon in his diagram.):
2. Draw a line that represents the width of your figure. This is line A-C (like the diagram on the left) and Loomis labels it "1":
My preference is for that first method. It involves drawing fewer lines and is easier to follow. This second method is more complicated but it could be helpful to some so I'll break it down into steps.
1. Establish your vanishing point which is located on the horizon line (eyeline). (Note that Loomis doesn't show the horizon in his diagram.):
2. Draw a line that represents the width of your figure. This is line A-C (like the diagram on the left) and Loomis labels it "1":
3. Find the midpoint of line A-C. This is point B:
4. This step is not labeled on Loomis's page but I think it needs to be clearly stated. Find the midpoint of line A-B. This is point D:
5. Draw lines that extend from points A-D to the vanishing point:
6. Draw a line to indicate the depth of the figure. Loomis labels it as "Optional depth for rectangle." The confusion for me is Loomis's use of the word "optional" which implies it's not necessary. But it's TOTALLY necessary! I think he meant to say "arbitrary":
7. We now have our large main rectangle. To continue, we need to find its midpoint. To do this, draw a diagonal from point A to the opposite corner of the depth line. Loomis labels this "1st diagonal":
8. Draw another diagonal in the opposite direction. Loomis labels this "2nd diagonal":
9. The intersection of these two diagonals is the midpoint of the box. Draw a horizontal that goes through that intersection and extends from line A to line C. Loomis labels this "1st division" and "5":
10. To create the next segment, draw a diagonal from point B to point 5. Loomis labels this "3rd diag.":
11. The 1st diagonal and 3rd diagonal now intersect. Draw a horizontal through that intersection extending completely across. Loomis labels that line "2d division" AND "3":
12. Draw a diagonal from point 5 on line A to the intersection of line B and the depth:
13. You've created a new intersection of lines. Draw a horizontal through that intersection to get line "7":
14. Draw a diagonal from point D to point 3 on line A:
15. Continue to draw diagonals lines A and D until you have four total (in the far left section/column of the rectangle):
16. Draw remaining horizontal lines through the new intersections created by the diagonals. Loomis labels those lines "2," "4," "6," and "8":
17. Now with the 8 divided boxes you can place the figure into this diagram using the anatomical landmarks established in the frontal flat diagram at left:
The first of Loomis's methods I broke down into 9 steps and this method has 17. That's enough of a reason for me to stick to the simpler first method although it doesn't hurt to know this alternative.
Hopefully you found this helpful. In Part III of this series, I'll explain these diagrams:
Andrew Loomis's "Flat Diagram"—Part I
I'm currently studying Andrew Loomis's 1943 classic book "Figure Drawing For All It's Worth." I was moving along until I turned to page 30 and saw THIS monstrosity:
Dayum! That's A LOT of information! Moreover, Loomis makes assumptions about our knowledge and therefore doesn't fully explain all of these diagrams.
I went online looking for an explanation of this confusion. Instead I found only more questions. NO ONE had a full explanation as to what was happening on this page.
So I decided to crack the Flat Diagram code myself and can happily say that I think I did it.
The first step is to divide this page into sections. For now, let's focus on this part of the page:
Dayum! That's A LOT of information! Moreover, Loomis makes assumptions about our knowledge and therefore doesn't fully explain all of these diagrams.
I went online looking for an explanation of this confusion. Instead I found only more questions. NO ONE had a full explanation as to what was happening on this page.
So I decided to crack the Flat Diagram code myself and can happily say that I think I did it.
The first step is to divide this page into sections. For now, let's focus on this part of the page:
Loomis has divided the figure into an idealized 8 heads tall and 2 1/3 heads wide shown in equally divided boxes. Loomis notes some anatomical points that relate to the box divisions (the female figure's divisions vary slightly, see page 27):
That's pretty clear and self-explanatory. Where the trouble begins is adding perspective to that diagram which Loomis, in my opinion, doesn't fully explain. Here's my approach:
1. Establish your vanishing point. Loomis doesn't show a horizon line in this diagram, but that's on what the vanishing point sits (also known as the viewer's eye line).
2. Draw the width of the figure with a line, here it's A–C. (The dashed lines indicate the extending of the width from that diagram to the new, perspective diagram.)
3. Indicate the midpoint of line A–C with point B.
4. Draw perspective lines from points A, B and C to the vanishing point (NOTE: in the image below, I extended the three perspective lines to the vanishing point. They're not fully shown in the book.)
5. Draw a horizontal to create the first box's depth by "eyeballing" its position. Notice that Loomis labels it "Optional Depth" with an arrow and the number "1".
6. Draw a diagonal line from point A through line B to line C. Where the "Optional depth"/box 1 line meets line B is point D. Where the diagonal meets line C is point E. Loomis labels the diagonal just drawn the "1st diagonal."
7. Point E indicates where the horizontal for box 2 should go. From point E, draw a horizontal to line A. Where this horizontal and line A meet is point H. Also, where box 1's horizontal meets line A is point F. See Loomis's note about the lines.
8. Continue to draw the 2nd and 3rd diagonals. When completed you'll be as far as line G–J and point I. This gives you the first three of eight boxes.
9. Continue the same method of drawing horizontals and diagonals until you have all eight boxes.
10. Now when you place your figure drawing in the perspective diagram/map, according to the original diagram at left, you'll have the figure in correct perspective as shown in these diagrams:
So that's my explanation of the first of Loomis's two ways of rendering the box of the flat diagram.
Tell me if you found this helpful or if any of it is still confusing.
My part II blog post discussing this page will explain the diagram below, the second of the two methods for creating the box:
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