Wednesday November 2nd, 2011 Animation Seminar

[OwenWelsh]

The seminar starts every Wednesday at 4pm Arizona time.

We start this thread early to give members a chance to upload any video (http://www.donbluthanimation.com/videos.php) or images they want critiqued on the weekly video seminar. Throughout the week, the Web Master will try to incorporate as many images and video clips (http://www.donbluthanimation.com/videos.php) as possible into the live seminar.

Image and Video Rules:
1. The best format for video clips is quicktime .MOV files, preferably MPEG-4 (H.264). Upload videos here. (http://www.donbluthanimation.com/videoupload.php)

2. Please clearly label all of your drawings in your images, example "a, b, c, d... etc" so that Don can easily refer to them. Please limit your images and /or videos to to five (5) for each seminar.

3. Please clearly label all animation pencil tests with large drawing numbers so that Don can easily refer to them.

4. Please do no post images or videos from the current workshop as it is not fair for the other members. However you may post images or videos from workshops that have already ended.

The deadline for clips and images to be critiqued in the live seminar is 24hrs prior to the seminar date and time. Please limit the number of images and/or video clips for the seminar to 5 total

Please keep your questions concise so we have time to answer everyone. Only questions pertaining to animation technique will be addressed.

Thanks

Here is the link to watch the live Seminar.
http://donbluthanimation.com/_Don_Bluth_Animation_live_seminar.html

You must be logged into your Don's Club account (http://www.donbluthanimation.com/member_home.php) to see the stream.

[arif]

Hello Sir,

Recently, i am trying to draw all the different subjects one after one...like little mouse, boring anatomy or beautiful girl...i tried to capture very subtle feelings or emotion...here is some attempt....

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt308/arifnbd/Mouse-2.jpg

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt308/arifnbd/newcanvas-1.jpg

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt308/arifnbd/myboy.jpg

[arif]

Based on the above sketch, i made this character....

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt308/arifnbd/Gungun1.jpg

And Here is my first CG work...

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt308/arifnbd/1-5.jpg

[lavallelee]

Hey Don,

When animating two characters in the same scene do you usually animate them on the same piece of paper? Or do you animate them on separate sheets?

What about when a character overlaps another?

[lavallelee]

Hey Don,

I watched Rock-a-Doodle yesterday and I was wondering, what was fondest memory you have while making the movie?

[aidanani09]

Hi Don! And Dave!
I was just wondering if you think Disney will ever make a cartoon series of Mickey, Donald, goofy and Pluto. Like the old ones? Not only that I feel that they are only using the characters to put on merchandise e.g. mugs and tops, what do you think?

P.s. sorry for asking again, but my internet crashed last week and I couldn't get back on :(

[aidanani09]

Hi don! And Dave!
My school is pushing us to get the best results we can (obviously I want to do well) but I was wondering, do studios look at how well you did in school, e.g. how good you are at English, maths and science etc..? And if so how much weight does it carry? I am also thinking about doing an apprentership in a studio, do you think this is a good idea?

[aidanani09]

Hi Again!
I recently saw a 2D demo reel, on there was a student that had put smear frames on every single action and pushed it extremely far! Do you ever use smear frames? If so how much would you push it?

[KayMartha12]

Hi, Mr. Bluth, its Martha here.

Last week, I posted a drawing I made of Wart from The Sword in the Stone, and you suggested I draw the character but create unique poses. I thought about the scene when Wart turns into a fish, and I imagined what it would be like if he turned into a human before escaping the water. Feel free to comment on my sequence of drawings, thanks!

http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd436/KayMartha12/Sequence1.jpg

http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd436/KayMartha12/Sequence2.jpg

http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd436/KayMartha12/Sequence3.jpg

http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd436/KayMartha12/Sequence4.jpg

[MoonLightRose]

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n637/MoonLightRose17/sketches3small.jpg
in this drawing I paid more attention to the tree. I want to know what you think about it.
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n637/MoonLightRose17/sketches0013small.jpg
I don't think that the face expression on drawing number 4 is quite right.
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n637/MoonLightRose17/trickortreatsmall.jpg
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n637/MoonLightRose17/EzioandCristinaEaglecry.jpg

[MoonLightRose]

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n637/MoonLightRose17/doodlessmall.jpg
all I can say about these drawings is that I feel very proud of them :D the reason I'm proud of them is that I had a bad day, and a bad day for me means not having any ideas of what to draw. but thanks to my cat which is the inspiration for number 1 and an owl movie I was able to draw something. I especially like number 2 :)

[andrew sharp]

Hello Don and Dave after last weeks seminar I took your advice and put in some still and slow moments into the animation. Thank you for the advice:)
http://www.donbluthanimation.com/videos.php?showvideo=809

[dentitov]

Hello, Don. I have a question about your approach to sketching.

In your videos you always start to sketch from the head, and I'm starting from the body. Should I force myself to start from the head?

[Gabriel-Carson]

Hi Dave & Don :)


Don I have been working on improving my cartoon drawing skills. here is a character I have been working on I would love here what you think of it. http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u317/Gimpy-film/Facial-expressions-numbered-002.jpg


thanks for time :D

[AJartist]

Do you think I'm getting closer to Fred Moore's sensitivity with the drawings below?
http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=293&pictureid=1767

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=293&pictureid=1768
I'm not sure if this is a good drawing, or whether I should include it in my portfolio, when I visit the CTn expo next month. what do you think? Should I leave it out?

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=293&pictureid=1769

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=293&pictureid=1770

[AJartist]

I fell in love with this drawing so much, that I may put it at the front of my portfolio. However, do you see any problems in it..especially with the leg, or should I tweak it?
http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=293&pictureid=1771

[lavallelee]

Hey Don,

I doodled a deviant temptress named Jessica Flower, any thoughts on how to improve her?

http://4mchan.org/Forum/gallery/2_09_10_11_10_12_51.jpeg

[Tanya]

Hi Don and Dave,

I was trying to practice what you said about body line and line of action with this quick sketch. How strong would you say this pose is? Should I have raised his right arm a little more to create a stronger line from the tip of his right had to the toe of his left foot?

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x102/AitariSilvermoon/DonBluthShare/WaldoBodyLine.jpg

[miriambalsano]

Hello Don,

I did the vector illustration about babies and music...
What do you think about the composition, color keys and characters?

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DkhEu9Xe3Bc/TpXTZwJvd3I/AAAAAAAABXk/gohncZbTNxQ/s1600/Children_music_illustration.jpg

[OwenWelsh]

Hi Don,

While you were at Disney and when you were directing your own films did you ever see animators nail their scene on the first test?

[OwenWelsh]

Hi Don,

I found this scene from Land Before Time on youtube. It is an excerpt from a TV commercial. Does this mean that there is a print of Land Before Time with extra T-REX footage? Perhaps a workprint?

Also did you give the Land Before time cels to SCAD or does Universal still own them?

http://www.donbluthanimation.com/videos.php?showvideo=811

[Gabriel-Carson]

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u317/Gimpy-film/time-run-001.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u317/Gimpy-film/egyptian-queen-rotation-001.jpg

[andrew sharp]

Hello Don and Dave I know these images are a little late but here is to hoping.Some drawings of my wife brushing our daughters hair #1 was from life the others are trying to push the posing and attitudes which my daughter has plenty of :)
http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc396/andrew_sharp1/brushhair2.jpg
http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc396/andrew_sharp1/brushhair1.jpg

[Richard Willimot]

Hello Don and Dave!, Don I was wondering if you could explain to us some of the reasons behind framing of camera shots. I understand about establishing shots,close-ups etc., but for instance what would cause you to chose say a medium closeup over an extreme closeup? Or when would you have the camera at an angle?

[OwenWelsh]

Hi Don,

I was wondering if you could share more of your thoughts on good character design and specifically anchor points. I've noticed that on many of your designs you like to line up elements on the eye-line to help direct the audiences attention to the eyes or face. Its also a good place for anchor points when designing your character. Can you think of other examples where you've used the characters design to help create a focal point on the face or eyes?

[AJartist]

When I'm animating a scene, I find myself getting more and more off model. Do you know how I can fix this? because the character starts turning into something else then what was on the model sheet.

[aidanani09]

Sorry but I?m asking these again as i have missed the last couple of seminars.

Hi Don! And Dave!
I was just wondering if you think Disney will ever make a cartoon series of Mickey, Donald, goofy and Pluto. Like the old ones? Not only that I feel that they are only using the characters to put on merchandise e.g. mugs and tops, what do you think?

[aidanani09]

Hi don! And Dave!
My school is pushing us to get the best results we can (obviously I want to do well) but I was wondering, do studios look at how well you did in school, e.g. how good you are at English, maths and science etc..? And if so how much weight does it carry? Also do you think it is a good idea to get an apprenticeship?

[aidanani09]

Hi Don and Dave,
I have a couple of drawings that i have done, what are your thoughts on these?
DAVE: i hope the pictures aren’t too big!

this first one is from an old book i found online about anatomy. I decided to copy one of the sketches from it.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aidan_griffiths/6280941548/" title="anatomy by Aidan Griffiths, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6112/6280941548_a7d8efb718_b.jpg" width="681" height="1024" alt="anatomy"></a>

here is phil from hercules.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aidan_griffiths/6280423795/" title="pen sketch by Aidan Griffiths, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6059/6280423795_d22f90ea2a_b.jpg" width="681" height="1024" alt="pen sketch"></a>

a sketch from eric goldbergs book.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aidan_griffiths/6280939600/" title="drawing 4 by Aidan Griffiths, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6215/6280939600_f47e5536d7_b.jpg" width="681" height="1024" alt="drawing 4"></a>

a sketch from eric goldbergs book.
(Sorry but I couldn't label them, what are your thoughts on the one on the far left, and the middle?)

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aidan_griffiths/6280420573/" title="drawing 5 by Aidan Griffiths, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6095/6280420573_24ef504bb4_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="drawing 5"></a>

[OwenWelsh]

Hi Don,

I've noticed in many disney films that the secondary actions seem to be exaggerated and sometimes have a life of their own. What do you think about this? Notice how the ribbon in Cinderella's dress seems to fly up in the air on its own. I definitely think it makes the scene more interesting.

http://www.donbluthanimation.com/videos.php?showvideo=812


http://i.imgur.com/HLdoQ.gif

[arif]

Thanks Owen....at least they are ok and we got some news now.....hope, it will be alright next week.

[JoelMayer]

Hi Don

1. I recently watched your Tip Video about Inbetweening again. I must confess that, most of the time, when i'm inbetweening, i'll rough the inbetween in and then take one of the keys off the pegs and superimpose it over the inbetween to check my volumes. Is there any downside to this method? I'm guessing that it can get to stiff because you basically tracing the key again more or less.

2. Speaking of volumes: sometimes i really enjoy just animating straight ahead and see where it takes me. Do you do straight ahead animation too sometimes? If yes, are there any tricks to make sure, that the volumes dont change size too much?

3. I was actually really surprised that the Re-Release of The Lion King in 3D made so much money. I thought people won't go see a movie in theaters, that they own on DVD since 10 years. Disney now announced, that they want to do the same thing with "Beauty and the Beast". I was wondering, what your thoughts about that were?

4. I'm not much of a painter but i would really like to learn more about color theory, because i think its one of the essential parts of designing an animated film. DO you know any good Books or Articles about the subject?

And some drawings:

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/297342_10150373934582348_832132347_8132707_1285222 78_n.jpg

I really try to get the rhythm and the action of a pose, when i'm doing life drawing. It's kind of hit or miss sometimes with the proportions, because i really dont like to spend too much time measuring a model since i believe it hurts the spontaneity of the experience.

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/250168_10150202360172348_832132347_6894080_7504238 _n.jpg

I tried some different approaches to cartoon animals in the hope to avoid some of the established patterns that exist. You see a hedgehog, a fox and obviously an elephant.

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/311240_10150306893127348_832132347_7750565_942712_ n.jpg

I'm really struggling with hair, but i think this one came out ok.

[AJartist]

In your last workshop, you mentioned that Frank Thompson used to get mad at you when you made tick marks to help you inbetween.

Why would he get mad, and who showed you how to use tick marks to aid you?

[Gabriel-Carson]

Don could you please critique my drawing?


http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u317/Gimpy-film/female-drawing-001.jpg

[AJartist]

How many frames should a good animator get drawn in a day??