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Animation Mentor Newsletter - January 2010

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Animation Mentor September 2009 Newsletter !

Another info packed newsletter from the folks at Animation Mentor.

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@|b

#3 - In Conversation With AM Student Steven Hughes On His Short Film, Animation and Life In General

This is #3 in the series of conversations I have started with my fellow Animation Mentor(AM) schoolmates. You can find #2 here and #1 here.

This time its Steven Hughes who is also participating in the Virgin Media Shorts Competition with his wonderfully animated short - The Icarus Effect.

You can watch Steven's short in all its glory here. I wish him all the best for the competition !

So without further ado, lets get this started !

Anirudh Bhalotia (@|b) - Hello Steven, thanks for your time and getting this conversation started. Tell us a bit of yourself, like how did you get into animation, how did you hear about Animation Mentor (AM), when did you graduate from AM and what you been doing/working on currently?

Steven Hughes (SH) - Hi Anirudh, I guess friends would say that I was always an arty person, and I first started using 3D graphics on an Amiga way back in the day, about the time Pixar released Tin Toy. The only Studio animation then was 2D and Quantel Paintbox ruled TV video effects, so I was always encouraged to get a 'proper' job instead. I am finally looking to change that and work in digital animation or visual effects. Living in the UK means there isn't quite the selection of studio's that there are in California, but there is still a great choice out there.

AM is one of those things you hear about but are never quite sure if it's for you. I had visited the web site but was still undecided about signing up, but then two things happened; I realized that I needed structured training, and a chat with a forum friend who was currently working through AM showed me his progress reel and that convinced me that AM was exactly what I was after. I graduated from AM in September 08, also known as Graduating Class 9. I'm currently taking one of those 'short breaks' now I have finished my short film.

@|b - Congrats for your short film – The Icarus Effect. It’s looking great with nice animation, lighting, rendering, overall a very well package short indeed. How much time did you get to work on this right from the story stage till the final output as we see it?

SH - Thank you, I am pleased I managed to finish it...

I worked through the standard AM process for the short, with 3 months for story development, planning, layout and animatic. During this time I also created most of the digital assets (modeling, rigging, texturing), although I would still tweak these throughout production especially when I needed a break from animating. It was also a great time to start finding the sound effects needed and even recording my own, as this always takes more time than expected. It's worth considering the music you want to use as well, which does help set the pace of the film, but it can take a while to find a musician to help out, or to license some music.

Then there was 3 months of animating, where I was putting in around 25 hours a week as well as doing my full time job. After graduating I took a short break from my short film, dabbling with some minor things, such as the look and feel for the security camera shot, and the shader for the forcefield. The short break turned into a longer break, until finally I saw a competition by Virgin Media Shorts - there is nothing quite like a deadline to really focus your efforts. By this point I had a lot of work to do and not much time, so you get to make creative decisions very quickly and get creative with workarounds to problems. This means that ultimately you are making compromises, and nothing is going to be 100% to your satisfaction, it just needs to be good enough for the time you have. This final push took about 6 weeks, and I even borrowed a friends PC to render on while I worked on other shots. Once again I found myself putting in long hours just to get it done as I couldn't get any time off work. I finally submitted the film with less than 24 hours before the deadline.

@|b - As someone who is into the process of making his own short, I had quite a tough time brainstorming ideas and then finally get onto some idea which can be used for story telling in an interesting way. What was your process for getting the basic story outline nailed down? Or rather from where did you get this idea from, was it your own experience or remembering someone else’s or something like that? What advice in this context would you like to give to aspiring animators who would like to get started with their own short films at some point of time?

SH - Yes, the story creation can be hard to deliver 'on demand', and I found that in the early stages it was more about the evolution of a story idea. I had some personal criteria as the building blocks to my short which helped define the story; as digital animators we don't always visualize the use of light and shadow so I wanted to utilize that as part of the visual style, and I also wanted a story with a lot of physicality to allow me to explore more body mechanics. And a jet pack, that was key, who doesn't love a story with a jet pack! And no, unfortunately this is not built on personal experience ;)

I knew I had to stick to 30 seconds for my short if I was ever going to get it done in the time I had available, and it started out at 30 seconds but ended up getting a little longer in order to make the story work. So really it could only have one punch line, one message in such a short amount of screen time. Some of the details in the story actually come out as you start laying out the shots, finding what works and what doesn't, layering in other visual clues for continuity etc. The story really is something that grows from the original draft. Whatever story you want to tell make sure it's one that you enjoy, because you'll be working on it a lot. When you hit those times where your motivation starts to drop (and we all have bad days) you will find you can be carried along by the desire to complete something you want to do, rather than working on something you have to do.

@|b - What was the biggest challenge you came across during making this short film and how did you overcome it? Were there some problems which kept cropping up time and again during the pursuit of getting your short done?

SH - I find that you do get that one problematic shot, the one you just can't get quite right, and the one you dread starting work on again; it might be the camera move that isn't working, a pose you can't lock down, almost anything, and you just can't seem to get it quite right. That is something you just have to work through.

However, since it is a short film you end up facing all the challenges of production, from concept through to render times. While there were technical issues to resolve, as well as stylistic choices to be made, I think the biggest challenge was the motivation to complete the film after graduation. I'm very driven by deadlines, it helps me to focus my efforts in the area's needed to complete the work in the timescale, so when the deadline for completing the animation passed (my graduation), it was hard to start on the final phase of lighting, tweak the models, finalize the textures, and polish the animation. After all, we all want our short film to be perfect, and without a deadline it is too easy to keep dabbling until it is perfect. Setting your own goals is good, but for me personally I needed to find a reason to work on a shot until it's complete, and more often than not I would have a more compelling reason not to work on it. It was only when I wanted to enter my short into a competition that I had a new deadline and the drive to finally finish my short film.

@|b - How important was the research/pre-production/planning process on getting your short done and looking back what is that one thing which you wished you had done more of?

SH - The planning stage is immensely important, and scheduling your time for each task. Once you have the basic draft of the story you can storyboard the shots. Sketching this out is fast, and you can try different ideas out very quickly. Once you have that, you need to move on and setup your layouts. I actually stuck to my storyboards very closely, they were a great reference later on when I was trying to get the composition for a shot right, a couple of times I had placed a camera and thought it was ok, then when I referred back to the storyboard I was able to match what I originally imagined and it felt like the visual aspect of the shot improved. That’s not to say to should always stick to the storyboard, there are enhancements you make along the way which dictate changes in different aspects of a shot (composition, animating to camera etc). One example is that I actually ended up adding in the burley security guards very late in the initial stages, but it was essential for the story to work. If you overrun on time for one task you need to save time elsewhere, so don't overrun! If this means it isn't quite perfect then that is how it has to be. Only at the end will you know if you have any time to revisit anything you feel needs more love and attention.

The rigs for the props also changed throughout production, as I would find a need to do something specific to suit the animation and the rig would need to change. It would have been nice if all my props and characters were finished before I started animation, but it isn't always possible work that way. I'm not sure if there is something I would have done more of, but there certainly is something I wish I had more of, and that was time!

@|b - Different animators have their own ways of reference and planning. Some prefer doing a lot of thumbnailing, some just can’t get by without doing video reference or some do a bit of both. What’s your way of reference, something to keep you in check and avoid taking a detour from the main essence of the shot/scene you working on?

SH - For the character work I start with thumbnails to find something that is close to what I visualize. Then I found it very beneficial to use video reference - however I am no actor, so the video reference is exactly that; a reference, as it helps me understand the timing. I can be hard to judge the time needed for some shots, such as if a heavy lumbering move across the screen. By quickly filming some reference you can lock down the timing, and then you also have reference for the body mechanics or the facial poses. Sometimes there is some subtlety in a reference that you find appealing so you work it into a shot, and it might be something you never planned for originally. Referring back to the storyboards was one way I made sure I was staying true to my original ideas.

Here are a couple of storyboards, concept drawings I did in the planning stages -

@|b - For any beginner in animation, there is always the temptation of making an epic right from your first independent short. What’s the ideal duration a first timer should strive for so that he doesn’t eat more than he can chew and also enjoy the entire process of actually seeing the short from story to screen?

SH - Ah, the epic first film, I think we all start there (I know I did). To know how long your short should be you need to start by understanding how much real time you have available to dedicate to the project. Generally people are not very good at estimating how much time something will take. Your gut instinct, your intuition will often mean you don't allow enough time so you have to allow for that, but it's something you get better at with experience. Depending on what you want to portray in your short will also help determine the duration; two characters on screen who interact a lot will mean you have twice the animation work for the same length of screen time. Conversely a medium shot of a single character that is mostly standing in place requires much less time to animate for longer screen time. For someone starting out I would recommend no more than 30 seconds - which really means that you should plan for 20 seconds and you'll find it will take 30 ;) But I would also add that you should try and use a single character for your first short, avoid dialogue, and keep the environment as simple as possible. By being realistic you stand a better chance of completing it and having something nice to use on your reel.

@|b - What keeps you inspired as an artist as I am sure there would be times when no matter what you do or how work you hard, things just don’t go your way. What keeps you inspired and motivated and are there any other creative endeavors you pursue to keep your creative juices flowing and keep things in perspective? As I understand it’s very important to take a break often rather than struggling with something for extended period of time and not getting anywhere. Your thoughts on this?

SH - Yeah, those are some interesting topics. We all have bad days where we find we can't animate for toffee. At times like that I like to switch gear in the production and I may work on a bit of modeling, or maybe texturing, even a concept sketch, anything that keeps the production moving forward but that also takes your mind off the problem. Even then there are times you can't focus at all, which is usually the body's way of saying 'enough!’ At these times it's time to take a breather, do something enjoyable, if it's the evening I might watch a movie or play the guitar. Inspiration comes from many places, even going out for a meal can give you food for the mind as well as the body (a chance to do some people watching). I do get inspired when watching films or other peoples work, there are some amazing artists out there.

@|b - What’s the best advice you ever got and something which you want to pass on to your fellow animators?

SH - The best advice I ever received when I was starting out was "to get involved with a forum". As long as it's a friendly community the feedback you can get will be essential, it can help you to grow as an animator as well as to improve a shot. Don't take other peoples comments personally and you will benefit tremendously from it, you need a thick skin!

@|b - On a concluding note, any words to students who are waiting to get their first job in the industry?

SH - I'm actually reminded of a quote by Randy Pausch which struck a chord with me when I heard it, "brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people".

@|b - Thanks once again Steven, for taking the time to do this wonderful conversation.

SH - Thank you Anirudh, it’s been a pleasure.

You can reach Steven and see some of his other work on his site.

Woo-Hoo ! I Am The Winner Of The Animation Mentor Student Choice Award !!!

You read that right !

Just a few hours before, Animation Mentor had their graduation ceremony in San Francisco, US, where I was announced as the winner in the category : Forum Ninja !
(Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend the graduation in person)

This is a huge honor for me and I am totally ecstatic at the moment !

Thanks a million to Animation Mentor, you all rock !

Cheers!

@|b


P.S. -For more details on what the award is about, kindly visit my earlier post when I was nominated !

Animation Mentor July 2009 Newsletter Out Now !

As the post title is self-explanatory, another info packed newsletter for July 2009 is out from Animation Mentor.

Check it out here!

Register here to make sure you don't miss any from now on !


Cheers!

Animation Mentor Co-Founder and ILM Lead Animator - Shawn Kelly, On Radio Alice@97.3

There is a super fun interview of Shawn Kelly(ILM Lead Animator and Animation Mentor Co-Founder) on Radio Alice@97.3 where he talks about Transformers, what its like to be animator, what does an animator do and many more cool crazy stuff.

Check it out!

@|b

Animation Mentor June 2009 Newsletter Is Out !

Animation Mentor's (AM) monthly newsletter is a great resource of things related to Animation : industry trends, short films, tips and tricks, etc and to an extent what AM is all about.

Their June 2009 newsletter is out.

If you havent registered yet, I suggest you do it here and check out their stuff.

@|b

#2 - In Conversation With AM Student Christiaan Moleman On His Short Film, Animation and Life In General

This is #2 of the series of conversations I started with my fellow Animation Mentor(AM) schoolmates. You can find #1 here.

This time I am in conversation with Christiaan Moleman who went out of the way and made a very beautiful 2D Animation short film - "Teddy" during his time at AM.







Anirudh Bhalotia (@|b) - Hello Christiaan! Thanks for your time and getting this conversation started. Tell us a bit about yourself, how did you get into animation, how did you hear about AM, when did you graduate from AM and what you been doing/working on currently?

Christiaan Moleman (CM) - I started animating using trueSpace when I was still in high-school. I went to college for game art and animation (though the course was labeled Game Design) in the UK and after that I started as an animator at a games outsourcing company in Amsterdam.

I heard about AM from Shawn, whom I'd been asking a bunch of newbie questions about animation. Just before I started my first job, I enrolled in the second ever class of AM, doing assignments evenings and weekends.

In Class 5 I decided I needed more time to focus on my short film so I quit my job and did Class 6 full-time. I graduated in 2006 with a film that was very much not finished yet, so as I set out to look for jobs, I continued working on it.

I got hired at Arkane Studios in Lyon, France, which is where I am at the moment.


@|b - Congrats for your short film - Teddy. It has come out beautifully and to see a short film in 2D is so very refreshing in today's 3D world ! How much time did it take for you to get this done right from getting the story to completion?

CM - At AM, I did three months of part time pre-production, and three months of full-time production. After that I got a new job so my time was limited(evenings and weekends again), but I spent about another year and a half working on and off to complete it.


@|b - What made you choose 2D as a medium for your short? Have you been working as a traditional artist since sometime ? What are the advantages/disadvantages of using 2D over 3D and vice versa?

CM - I do 3D all day at work so if I'm going to animate in my free time, 2D makes a nice change. I also like that it's more spontaneous. You spend less time fighting with your tools and more actually animating. I like 3D, but I think the software we're stuck with is pretty counter-intuitive. Another reason was a purely practical one : I wanted to do a film with three major characters and a fairly elaborate exterior background. I know how to model and rig, but building three characters and an environment in the time we had was clearly not feasible. The cost of drawing an extra character is minimal.


@|b - As someone who is into the process of making his own short, I had quite a tough time brainstorming ideas and then finally get onto some idea which can be used for storytelling in an interesting way. What was your process for getting the basic story outlined nailed down ? Or rather, from where did you get this idea from, was it your own experience or remembering someone else's or something like that? What advice in this context would you like to give to aspiring animators who would like to get started with their own short films at some point of time?

CM - Train rides ! Sitting with a pencil and notebook and writing down random ideas until something sounds good...

The inspiration has to come from somewhere though. I considered what I wanted my film to achieve. I didnt want to try to be funny. I wanted to do a story I had an opinion about. I remembered seeing the documentary "Death in Gaza" and thought his could be something different...

Now I have never been to Palestine and I dont know what it's like to grow up in a warzone, but I have two brothers, so I know what it's like to fight over toys with your siblings, and I'm often struck by how children seem to see the world a lot clearer than adults. Even if your chosen theme doesn't map directly to your own experience you can find something in there that you can speak honestly about.


@|b - What was the biggest challenge you came across during making this short film and how did you overcome it? Were there some problems which kept cropping up time and again during the pursuit of getting your short done?

CM - I struggled with the drawing and definitely staying on-model was a problem. Keeping proportions consistent while getting the right expression out of the characters was a constant fight and the final frames a result of many many revisions.


@|b - How important was the research/pre-production/planning process on getting your short done and looking back what is that one thing which you wished you had done more of?

CM - Crucial. Without research and planning you are stumbling around in the dark. You can't know everything, so read up, get reference and figure out what you want to do. If I could go back I would have quit my job sooner so I would've had time to do proper model-sheets and character tests before starting production.


@|b - Different animators have their own ways of reference and planning. Some prefer doing a lot of thumbnails, some just can't get by without doing video reference or some do a bit of both. What's your way of reference, something to keep you in check and avoid taking a detour from the main essence of the shot/scene you working on?

CM - I thumbnail a lot, but I also try to do (or get) reference when I can. Big fan of BBC Motion Gallery, but You Tube is also great. Getty Images also has some good stuff, though more for locomotion than acting reference. A lot of it is staged.


@|b - For any beginner in animation, there is always the temptation of making an epic right from your first independent short. What's the ideal duration a first timer should strive for so that he doesn't eat more than he can chew and also enjoy the entire process of actually seeing the short from story to screen?

CM - 30 seconds is perfect.


@|b - What keeps you inspired as an artist as I am sure there would be times when no matter what you do or how hard you work, things just don't go your way. What keeps you inspired and motivated and are there any other creative endeavors you pursue to keep your creative juices flowing and keep things in perspective? As I understand it's very important to take a break often rather than struggle with something for extended periods of time and not getting anywhere. Your thoughts on this ?

CM - Hmmm... seeing the awesome work done by everyone around me is a constant inspiration and going back to my favorite films and games (or trying new ones) always helps remind me what I'm doing in this medium.

I love traveling to new places and experiencing new cultures and languages. I definitely think it's healthy to have interests outside of animation and personally I find ancient history and mythology endlessly fascinating.


@|b - What's the best advice you ever got and something which you want to pass on to your fellow animators?

CM - This advise was not given to me directly, I read about it on James Hull's Seward Street. It's something Eric Larson said to Glen Keane (paraphrased slightly) :

"Don't cheat your audience"

The audience will never know all the things you "didn't" do, so never take the easy way out when you could have done something more true or entertaining...


@|b - On a concluding note, any words to students who are waiting to get their first job in the industry?

CM - Don't get discouraged, never wait and keep working on your portfolio. If you have the drive to keep improving, getting your foot in the door is a matter of time.


@|b - Thanks once again Christiaan, it was an interesting and inspiring conversation.

CM - My pleasure!


You can reach Christiaan thru his site here.

Woo-Hoo!! Got Nominated For Animation Mentor(AM) Student Choice Awards !

I write this post with utmost humility and humbleness. I have been nominated for Animation Mentor(AM) Student Choice Awards in the category of Forum Ninja and it feels so awesome !

What Forum Ninja actually means is some one who has been actively and creatively involved in the AM Community thru the inbuilt Forum on the school online campus.

For me Forums is a very strong and immensely helpful facet of AM, more so because AM is an entirely online school compared to the other convention brick-and-mortor Animation schools. So the best and fastest way to interact with my fellow students and not just from my class is thru Forums.

To be frank I never imagined to be bestowed by this wonderful gesture by the AM Community and this just re-affirms my faith in AM all the more.

Winning or losing is totally irrelevant as being nominated itself is a huge honor for me considering that these awards are based entirely on the feedback from Students.

Thank you AM !

@|b

Animation Mentor Tips & Tricks Volume 2 and Free Webinar

P.S. - A bit late on posting this, but better late than never !

Almost a year back Animation Mentor had released its very popular Tips & Tricks(which comes in its monthly newsletter) in an E-book.

Now its back with Volume 2 !!!





This second volume of Tips & Tricks is full of insider knowledge from professional animators who have contributed to the Animation Tips & Tricks blog, Carlos Baena's site carlosbaena.com and the Animation Mentor newsletter. The eBook features articles written by Animation Mentor co founders Shawn Kelly and Carlos Baena, Animation Mentor mentors Keith Sintay and Aaron Gilman, and special guest Wayne Gilbert. It includes tips and tricks on the working life of an animator, making a scene, acting, bringing characters to life and workflow.

You can download your free copy of the ebook here.

Animation Mentor is also offering a free webinar called ‘Planning and Workflow Tips,’ which will be hosted by two of the authors of the ebook. Wayne Gilbert, animation director and writer, and Keith Sintay, senior animator at Digital Domain and mentor at Animation Mentor, will share their knowledge and advice on how to create amazing shots.

The free webinar will be held Saturday, April 18, 2009, from 1 -2:30 p.m. (PST). You can register here.

In case the registration slots are already full or If you can’t attend the webinar, you can catch the replay on April 22.


@|b

#1 - In Conversation With AM Student Prashanth Cavale On His Short Film, Animation and Life In General

As mentioned in one of my previous post, I have been thinking of adding some new and interesting sections on my BLOG.

Well this is one the section which I was thinking since quiet sometime, but didn't really get to make it happen for some reason or another. Well all that is past and its finally happened !

Just to give a brief about it, here I will be showcasing Short Films from my schoolmates at Animation Mentor(AM) and then follow it up with a very interesting conversation on their Short Films, Animation or just life in general !

It feels so good to start this section with a very dear friend of mine Prashanth Cavale, whom I met at AM. He was one batch senior to me but that was hardly a deterrent for starting a long lasting friendship as the only thing that matters is the passion we share about Animation.

So without much further ado, lets get this thing started.




Wrong Answer!! from Prashanth Cavale on Vimeo.

Anirudh Bhalotia (@b) - Hello Prashanth, thanks for your time and getting this conversation started. Tell us a bit of yourself, like how do get into animation, how did you hear about Animation Mentor and what you been doing/working on currently?

Prashanth Cavale (PC) - Hey Anirudh!..My pleasure man!

I come from an Engineering background and I found my way rather late. The final year project while pursuing Mechanical Engineering got me interested onto Computer Graphics and my mind was drawn more towards animation. The interest got stronger on watching animated movies like Lion King, Ice Age, Shrek, Toy Story and it compelled me to take up animation seriously.

During 2007, I was on the lookout of joining a school/Uni to study animation when I came across the show reel of AnimationMentor.com and my search ended there. The very next batch/term I enrolled for the program and the 18 months I spent during the program were the most memorable and satisfying learning experience I’ve had so far!

Having graduated out of AM last December, I got to animate on the Ice Age 3 game which will be released along with the movie later this year. I’m now in the process of supervising the animation of a CG short film at my current workplace and it’s a lot of fun!

@b - Congrats for your short film – Wrong Answer. It has come out very nicely. How much time did it take for you to get this done right from getting the story and to the stage shown above?

PC - Thanks! I had loads of fun working on it! The film was done as a part of the curriculum at AM so it took me around 3 months to conceptualize, plan and come up with an animatic.and a little more than 3 months to animate and reach the stage I have at the moment.

@b - As someone who is into the process of making his own short, I had quite a tough time brainstorming ideas and then finally get onto some idea which can be used for story telling in an interesting way. What was your process for getting the basic story outline nailed down? Or rather from where did you get this idea from, was it your own experience or remembering someone else’s or something like that? What advice in this context would you like to give to aspiring animators who would like to get started with their own short films at some point of time?

PC - I had a tough time too as it was my first attempt at making a short film. The original idea was inspired by a real life incident that happened (not to me!!: P) while I was in high school. But when I pitched it to my mentor (Mike Gasaway), he felt that a lot about it could be simplified into a more generally consumable form. It was about taking that special moment from the original idea, trying to centralize things around it and adding value to it through animation.

Once I got a hang of his insights, I went ahead and changed/modified bits of my short film and tried to make the plot more entertaining which I couldn't have if I had blindly followed my original idea. These were some of the things I took care of while finalizing the story. And I guess these insights would be of some help to animators who want to create their own short film.

@b - What was the biggest challenge you came across during making this short film and how did you overcome it? Were there some problems which kept cropping up time and again during the pursuit of getting your short done?

PC - The biggest challenge to me was timing the storyline and adding a rhythm to it. I learnt that it’s important to get a texture in your story structure so that there are a few "not so funny" moments that actually contribute to magnifying the funny moments in your short. These were hard to plan and I watched out for these ingredients in movies and cartoons and even in comics on how the story is paced and how to have different beats and have it flow. I’m not sure how successful I was at implementing them, but they helped me to a great extent.

Apart from this, there were lots of hurdles during the animation process. My short had around 24 shots and initially it looked like an impossible task...so obviously getting things done without delays was a big challenge but I’m a kind of guy who believes that unless your mind is in a challenged state there is no motivation. So it ended up being one fun filled ride for me and my mentor loved it equally.

@b - How important was the pre-production process on getting your short done and looking back what is that one thing which you wished you had done more of ?

PC - To me, preproduction is very crucial stage as you would be defining the path your short would be taking. It’s the phase where you ensure the workability factor before getting into 3D. In putting my ideas on paper I parallel had to think about the camera framing, character placements and hook-ups. In my case I had 3 characters of which 2 students were facing the teacher so I had to be that much more careful about the camera angles and establishing the placements of characters. I found that working out these things on paper was a lot helpful which otherwise would have been time consuming had I tried it out in 3D.

Looking back, I wish I had spent more time detailing out the character traits that would have helped me to push the performance even more.

@b - Different animators have their own ways of reference and planning. Some prefer doing a lot of thumbnailing, some just can’t get by without doing video reference or some do a bit of both. What’s your way of reference, something to keep you in check and avoid taking a detour from the main essence of the shot/scene you working on?

PC - I do a bit of both but it ideally depends on the shot you are working on. Filming a reference of yourself enacting the shot out is a starting point usually; I would do a few different takes of the shot just to explore the acting choices. Then it’s about deciding what to take and what to leave. I explore these during the thumbnailing where I try to exaggerate the interesting bits and poses in my video reference and and finalize on a sequence of poses that serve the shot best. I keep putting these thumbnails on the timeline to ensure that the shot I’m working on plays well with respect to the whole short

@b - For any beginner in animation, there is always the temptation of making an epic right from your first independent short. What’s the ideal duration a first time should strive for so that he doesn’t eat more than he can chew and also enjoy the entire process of actually seeing the short from story to screen?

PC - Yeah I can totally relate to that temptation but I feel that as a beginner one needs to try out simpler and shorter ideas to get a hold of the process and analyze the area one needs to improve. Its preferred that we work on our weak points before attempting things on a bigger scale...So, for a beginner, I would recommend keeping the short film anywhere under a minute.

@b - What keeps you inspired as an artist as I am sure there would be times when no matter what you do or how work you hard, things just don’t go your way. What keeps you inspired and motivated and are there any other creative endeavors you pursue to keep your creative juices flowing and keep things in perspective? As I understand it’s very important to take a break often rather than struggling with something for extended period of time and not getting anywhere. Your thoughts on this?

PC - True. I have faced such situations. I remember while animating on Wrong Answer, there was a particular shot that had a very simple hand gesture that I struggled with. It was a very simple move to animate, but I worked for over 3 hours and was still not happy with the way it was...I took a break from it and made a conscious attempt not to think of the shot and that helped me fix it when I sat on it next. But there are times when I zipped through challenging portions in my short and I kept wondering how it happened. It’s funny sometimes!!

I think it’s very necessary to take frequent breaks while animating and unwind so that you have a fresh pair of eyes every time you get back. I also feel that it is important to have a parallel creative activity which you can fall back upon when stressed up. I usually play the keyboard while I’m on a break.

@b - What’s the best advice you ever got and something which you want to pass on to your fellow animators?

PC - Most of our mentors say: "Don’t get too obsessed with your shot or a portion of your shot as you sometimes might have to fore go that bit to facilitate the other bits falling into place to solve the jigsaw puzzle." That I think is a golden piece of advice to any animator.

@b - On a concluding note, any words to students who are waiting to get their first job in the industry?

PC - I think we need to focus on making strong original reels that display proper weight, timing and acting choices.

Working in the industry may or may not be as rosy as we might have thought but one needs to be open and ready to adapt to the situation. Keep working hard and most importantly.. have fun! :)

@b - Thanks once again Prashanth, it was wonderful talking to you !

You can reach Prashanth thru his BLOG or email.

AM Class 5 : Short Film 3D Layout

Here is the final Layout for my Short Film. The composition/framing is more or less finalised. The titles and the credits are rough as of now. Seeing my idea from story on paper to the stage below was so very satisfying !

As Anthony Robbins says -

"Its not about what you get that makes us happy; Its what you become in the process"

Any feedback of any kind is more than welcome.

Short Film 3D Layout from Anirudh Bhalotia on Vimeo.

AM Class 5 - Short Film 2D Animatic

As mentioned in my last "Catch Up Time" post, here is the fruit of my Class 5 work at Animation Mentor.

I was totally petrified by this Class 5, as we had to make an entire animatic on paper on our own ! The very thought thought of drawing kind of gives me the scares and to draw a full animatic and to convey my story and to make sense from it was a huge uphill task for me. But as I started and progressed I was getting quite comfortable. The main thing of this assignment was to have a sense of clarity and vision of your entire story and actions(to an extent) before we even opened our 3D application, which is a very prudent thing to do. Also storyboard is a very fast and efficient to test your ideas by not wasting too much as would happen if we directly go to our 3D application without any idea at all.

You can try framing/composition/angles/poses which wont take more than 60 seconds for one panel (say idea, beat, action) and incase you not satisfied you can chuck it off in the trash and move on. In 3D it will take a lot of time and since we have would have already spent so much time, making corrections or discarding it altogether can be that much more difficult(its a mind thing actually).

Ok enough of my rant. Lets get to the animatic right away.

Short Film 2D Animatic from Anirudh Bhalotia on Vimeo.

P.S. - Due to some reason I am unable to upload my 3D Layout. I will try posting it in my next post. May be it was just my connection playing spoilsport or may be it was the size of the video. I don't know the exact reason as yet.

Do Animator Enthusiasts Need to Attend Animation School?

There is a very nice and relevant post on Animation Mentor BLOG on whether Animator enthusiasts need to attend animation schools, what are the benefits and so on.

Check it out here !


@|b

Animation Tests - Football Kick

Its been quite a while since i flexed my anim-brain on some body mechanics. So i thought it will be a good time to do it now, since i am comparatively less occupied.

Here is the first one, i do intend to keep doing these on a regular basis.

Feedback/suggestions/tips/critiques are most welcome, just one request, don't pull any punches back, the more you rip me apart, the stronger i hope to become !

@|b

Animation Mentor February 2009 Newsletter Is Out Now !

Animation Mentor has released its monthly email newsletter which is so full of interviews, articles, short films, tips and tricks and so on.

The latest one - February 2009 is no different !

Contents of this month's newsletter in a snapshot :

Already hooked and curious to read the the full ?

Register for the newsletter.

AM Class 5 - Week 1, QNA, Introductions

Another new term begins here at Animation Mentor(AM). This term is significant in a few ways.

Firstly its the term where we start our own independent short films right from story/script till the final render. So its no easy task by any chance, as here we need to combine all the stuff we have learnt so far, in addition to building a good story entertainment wise, learning layouts, cam angles and cuts, how the story flows, whats the entertainment value, how to keep the audience engrossed, in short we our, our own directors in a way for the next 6 months. Class 5 is the first 3 months which involves pre-production in the form of layouts and blocking and Class 6 is the last 3 months where we animate and build upon from whatever we did in Class 5.

Secondly this is the 2nd last term for me here at AM, sort of entering the twilight zone at AM. A journey of a dream which i decided to pursue in 2007, a pssion for animation and for learning it from the best in the business, for which i left my full time job, will be soon completed. Its been more than a year, but somehow it feels just yesterday when i had my first ever week here at AM. Some experiences lasts for a long long time in our life and this will surely be among one of them.

Yesterday had my first ever Class 5 QNA with my mentor and new class mates. My mentor for this term is Cal Brunker !



I must say, i didnt know much about Cal prior to this, but after interacting with him in the QNA, i think i couldnt have asked for a better mentor. Cal has a tremendous amount of experience in this field, has worked with studios like Disney, Blue Sky, to name a few and he being in the thick of things at Red Rover Studios(check out their work, its awesome!), you can imagine the amount of information we are lucky to share from him. Also as a person he is a joy to speak to and to listen to him share his very infectious enthusiasm for everything related to Animation. I am totally excited to see how this term goes and what it brings to me.

I am also lucky to have a wonderful set of class mates. During the introduction we all had to come on the cam and speak a bit about ourselves and it was so nice listening to all my classmates and now friends, as to what brings them to animation, their interests, etc. Also many of them(i guess all) have a lot of experience and are skilled in drawing as an artist, so it would be fun to learn from them about drawing which totally petrifies me a lot of time. :-)

Next week our stories brainstorming starts !

Keep a tab on this space for more !

Ciao!

AM Class 4-Assignment 2-Week3 - Blocking

Week 2 i had covered Layouts. Based on some very good critique from my super mentor Sean Ermey here is my rough blocking pass where i have added some more breakdowns in order to have a better idea of how my scene is progressing.








This week we also had to find one photo from magazines, books, etc where there was a clear emotion being communicated from the face. The same emotion we had to re-create in our 3D model. This is what my main image and the 3D face came out in the end -



Coming up next, my week 4 - Blocking Plus

AM Class 4-Assignment 2-Week2 - Layouts

Based on my assignment of Week 1, in Week 2, I had to set up the layouts and very rough poses of my entire performance. Layouts included the setting of the scene, the camera angles and the camera cuts to have an idea of how the entire scene will flow and make the entire scene interesting to watch.

Below is my layout for Week 2 -