Jumping vs. Bouncing
It’s good to understand the physics of how something would bounce in animation, but it’s also important to understand the difference between jumping and bouncing. Motion-wise they seem quite similar, but there are little variations that make differ. The jump-like feel is going to give the ball life and personality ~ it sells that the [...]
Changing Facial Expressions
You ever notice how simply changing the facial expression of a character in a certain pose can completely change the meaning of the pose? Think about this – take this image for example: Baloo’s face is concerned, and his body language says it too — He’s leaning in, and his hands are lightly placed on [...]
Tips to better a sendentary lifestyle
Sometimes what we have to get done causes us to be bound to our seats, lose sleep, and…well…stress. So check this out ~ this is a great read for artists or anyone with a sedentary lifestyle/job. A Life Less Sedentary: CG Artist Health by Sam Conlogue
a healthy body leads to a healthy, imagination mind
Art cannot simply be scheduled into our lives. We need to be in a certain state for it to be possible. I always do my best to keep this in mind: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs~ Imagination lives on one of the higher tiers. Once you are relaxed enough to where you can comfortably “zone out” [...]
Body Mechanics Studies
The following tips are good for anyone currently working on body mechanics in animation: For Class 2 (Psychology of Body Mechanics): The following is an excerpt from Animation Mentor’s blog by Wayne Gilbert: “When doing a body mechanics shot, your attention must be focused on the body and how it moves — don’t spend a [...]
Ideas of how to approach your sketching
Some sketchbook tid bits from Mark McDonnell
establishing character and world
Marek gave us some awesome takeaways tonight! One in particular I want to emphasize: Establish a character and world before you plan the situation or action. By doing this, you’ll have a better understanding of how your character would react in the given scenario. For example: a character is waiting for a bus. If you [...]
How to’s
thought for studying body mechanics: Google a “how to” on a movement you want to animate. Not only will you find video examples, but also written explanations. I found that seeing the written next to the video can help with understanding what’s happening in the movement. You’ll understand where the force is coming from and, [...]
stretching tip
Tony gave an awesome tip tonight ~ When exaggerating/stretching a pose: Put less stretch into “solid” parts of the body, such as the head or hands) and more stretch into the skinnier/elongated parts of the body (such as an arm or neck). This will read better in motion as a stretch rather than a deformation.
demo reel tips
Drew shared some resources on demo reels (for those who haven’t seen these) Spline Doctors on Reels: http://splinedoctors.com/2009/08/more-on-demo-reels/ http://splinedoctors.com/2006/02/demo-reel-tipspart-2/ http://splinedoctors.com/2008/05/revisiting-what-makes-a-good-reel/ Carlos Baena on Reels: http://www.carlosbaena.com/resource/anim_DemoReels.html