Wednesday Feb 24, 2010

[jeremyhopkins]

We decided to start this thread early to give members a chance to install any video or images they want critiqued in Feb 24th seminar. The best format for video clips is MPEG 4; we seem to be having trouble with sync on quicktime videos.
Throughout the week, Dave will try to incorporate as many images and video clips as possible into the live seminar. The deadline for clips and images to be critiqued in the live seminar is Tues Feb 23th @ 5:00 PM sharp AZ time.

Thanks


Here is the New 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 to see the stream.

Post ALL questions in this forum.

[lavallelee]

http://4mchan.org/Forum/gallery/2_22_02_10_2_54_38.jpeg

Pencil Test/Voice Test: http://www.donbluthanimation.com/videos.php?showvideo=306

Here is my character and my progress for this months challenge. I did a little pencil test with him.

Vinnie "The Chik" Costello

Even though he is small he has a big personality. At a young age, Vinnie knew he had to use his brains not muscle to be a wise guy. But don't take him for a push over, if you get him fired up your in trouble.

[Poulpette]

Hi there!

Sorry if I was not here for the past seminars, but I have so much work that I don't have so much time to think about animation for now.
I'll be back in some weeks but for now it's difficult to come every day.

I'll probably post a message in the ?I'm leaving/I'm back? topic, just to clarify the situation. :)

I'm not leaving, it's just that I don't have time now.


Enjoy the next seminars!

[jeremyfries]

Hi, this is a funny character, the joker of the picture. He thinks that life is a party and can't take anything seriously. He is always laughing at everyone's jokes, and he laughs even harder at his own jokes. Consequently, everyone around him starts laughing simply because his laugh is so contagious. This guy would be cracking jokes at his own execution and even make the executioner laugh!
http://www.theindependentanimator.com/CharDes_Joker_s.jpg

[jeremyfries]

This guy is a mean character. He is an aging king who desires to keep his power forever, and this desire has resulted in paranoia. He thinks everyone is after his throne, so he is constantly watching everyone. He imprisons and abuses people without warning. This guy would kill his own mother to keep his power.
http://www.theindependentanimator.com/CharDes_King_s.jpg

[jeremyfries]

Hi Don! One of the things that I think would really help my learning process would be to animate from an X-sheet that someone else has already completed, just as you would in a production setting. Would you be able to post up a couple of example X-sheets on the website for us to practice with?

[jeremyfries]

How can we use live action video reference without falling into the boring "rotoscope" look? Is it as simple as pushing the extreme poses further, or should we actually be changing the timing or spacing also?

[madanimator]

Hi Don!
I want to show you an update of my character for this month.
I'm still working on him so it may not be the finished design.

Name: Rusty
He is the outsider- pig in a group of big, fat and lazy house-pigs, who live on a farm in Potsdam, near Berlin. Rusty is the friend of the wild pigs, who live in the forest next to the farm. Everybody on the farm hates him, because they can't accept that Rusty is a friend of the wild pigs. Rusty is very bold, insubordinate, funny but also angry and sad (but he tries to hide that frome everyone).

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=186&pictureid=867

[joedorsey]

Hey Don!

Here's an animatic my Son and I put together. The Dad is a happy go lucky guy who's son embraces a darker side. The Son confronts him in this quick short.

http://www.donbluthanimation.com/videos.php?showvideo=305

[Rodney]

I hope to simplify this characters design even more but I don't think I'll get that posted before Wednesday's seminar so I'll post this for seminar feedback.

Rather than just establishing basic forms to guide construction I've allowed myself to slip into the never ending realm of endless noodling. I found myself interested in Desmon's armor more than the character himself. In my defense... um... I'll just say I was exploring the character!!! Yeah! That's it.

While the face may be leaning a bit too much toward Tazmanian Devil I think that should be easy to correct. Especially when bringing the side view into play (which is currently not designed but inferred a bit in the original drawing).

In considering the design I think I need to find more areas of the character to be able to exploit for exaggeration. If not he'll be playing the role of a very sober and serious gateguard. Which the more I think about it is not entirely out of the realm of possibilities. One of the aspects of the character is that he is roleplaying so this character (the guard) is not him. Its Desmon playing him. The story is about his adventures as an extra and this is Desmon trying his best to play the role of (what he thinks is) the worlds most important character. Hey, don't you laugh or think otherwise... or Desmon will eat you.

Showbiz is very serious business!

http://blog.5pointpatch.com/wp-content/uploads/blog.5pointpatch.com/2010/02/Desmon-2.png

[lavallelee]

Hey Don, here is my next attempt at Scene #30. I did as you suggested, added a squash and stretch on impact, added flying animation also added more bg.

http://www.donbluthanimation.com/videos.php?showvideo=307

let me know if it needs anything else :D

[Stewart]

Hi Don,

This is a character that I am developing at the moment and isn?t quite there yet. Still, I would appreciate any suggestions as to how I might improve the design and make him more interesting.
Backstory: The character is going through a bit of a mid-life crisis, he is full of regret and low on confidence. Taken for granted by his wife, loathed by his kids and working in a job he hates, his life is dull and grey and he feels like a complete failure. He copes with his humdrum existence by using his imagination as an escape. In his own little world, he can be anything he wants to be, and very often is!

Thanks, Stewart.

[jeremyhopkins]

Updated character design:
*Here's the backstory again just in case it was forgotten:
Henry is a paradox being a gentle, warm father and a scheming gambler. He lives a normal, quiet, family life but when every other father leaves for work, he heads for the casino. Lady luck has been good to him and he really doesn't need any more money but he gambles for the thrill of winning. However when he starts to lose, it reveals a cruel and dangerous side to his personality while he plots to get back what he has lost.

Setting: 1940's Chicago
http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=188&pictureid=873

http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=188&pictureid=872

[lavallelee]

I was wondering if you could demonstrate the correct use of the rotating disc.

How do you know when you should turn it.

[OwenWelsh]

Buttercup is a mean and cruel flower that lives in the garden. Her best friend is vanity who urges her to grow taller and seek beauty above all others. Gregarious and flirtatious by nature, she makes friends easily yet her shrewd desires always lay hidden beneath the surface waiting to emerge.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p143/robertow/buttercup-1.jpg

[OwenWelsh]

Cap is a cute, naive little mushroom who is holds unrequited love for a popular flower in the garden. Seduced by her charms, he joyfully abides her every whim.


http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p143/robertow/cap.jpg

[zanekohler]

In this sketch I was trying to work with specifically with straights against curves. Just wanted to see if I have the right idea in the right places?
Thanks


http://www.zanekohler.com/storage/sketchblog/jackalope-sketch-800.jpg


This character is Jack A. Lope. He Lives out in the desert where food is sparse. So when he finds it...He is very excited. Being a jackalope he is thought to be fictitious until a burley transient comes across him as a money ticket. Currently Jack has just discovered food left by the transient.

[admin]

Hi Don,

This is a character that I am developing at the moment and isn?t quite there yet. Still, I would appreciate any suggestions as to how I might improve the design and make him more interesting.
Backstory: The character is going through a bit of a mid-life crisis, he is full of regret and low on confidence. Taken for granted by his wife, loathed by his kids and working in a job he hates, his life is dull and grey and he feels like a complete failure. He copes with his humdrum existence by using his imagination as an escape. In his own little world, he can be anything he wants to be, and very often is!

Thanks, Stewart.

Littlestu,
For future reference, please give your image a title so we can refer to it in the forum.
Thanks

[jeremyhopkins]

1. Distilling reference from complex forms to basic shapes while maintaining the uniqueness of the live action character is still a challenge for me. What's your ideal approach for using and simplifying reference without losing what makes that actor special?

[jeremyhopkins]

2. Getting the proper weight for a hand drawn character is tricky. Staying too close to live action can be boring but straying too far can be floaty and can end up in reusing timing cliches. How do you approach getting the weight just right for your characters?

*whoops, Jeremy Fries already asked a similar question

[jeremyhopkins]

3. I found a quote from Walt Stanchfield regarding the creative process and was wondering if this is the same belief that you share:

What is going to make an artist out of you is a combination of a few basic facts about the body, a few basic principles of drawing and an extensive, obsessive desire and urge to express your feelings and impressions.

[jeremyhopkins]

4. After reading some of Walt Stanchfield's book, it feels like he had such a zeal for life and the wonderful experiences that life can bring to animation. If animation is treated as an industry (or a commodity) and some of that feeling is lost, how do you encourage that sense of passion and responsibility to improve in others?

[AJartist]

Hello, Don

I noticed some differences between the Titan A.E. characters and the dragon'
s layer/space ace style, especially when it comes to mouths and the heros feet. In Titan A.E. alot of the male human characters had "M" shapes for mouths. Where everytime they smiled you noticed the peak thats characterstic of every mouth. Was this done to make the characters more real and less cartoony than the dragons layer/ space ace characters? because i'm wondering why you didn't take the same approach as you did in the video games.

-a.j.

[madanimator]

Was there a special number of cheek-hair that Fivel had? And was it the business of the animator to draw the exact number or was it the area of responsibility of the clean-up artist?

[AJartist]

Hello, Don

From what I understand, one reason you left disney is because they didn't want to push the envelope of special effects like they had in their earlier films...when you were given the task to direct Small one, did you try to invoke some of the special effects in the film?

[AJartist]

You were once talking about the "magic of screenplay writing book by Donna Lee...however, does she cover anything in which Robert Mckee didn't in his book. IN short, what will I get from Donna Lee's book, that Robert Mckee didn't tell me-a.j.

[OwenWelsh]

Hi Don,

If I want to shoot a super long pan shot with the character walking across the paper (not in place). How do you recommend setting that up without pan paper and getting it into the computer with the panned camera move.

[SpiralEFX]

Don.. IM in process of designing characters for TV show concept i have created...how do you make your decision on eyes? there several artists giving different versions of a character.... The character is bit clueless but Lovable.... but im just not sure.. which one to pick.... one has simple dot eyes... will that limit my character emotions?... other is normal eyes... with whites of the eyes

[Richard Willimot]

Hello Don and Dave.When you're animating a scene now do you totally focus on the performance and worry about the technical stuff after?

[joedorsey]

Eric Goldberg said that Ken Harris as he was getting older was still doing thirty feet a week and it was really good animation. Some have said that Chuck Jones became a caricature of his earlier work. Having seen so many animators over the years. Does the season of life have an effect on an individual's art?

[Richard Willimot]

Don, can you remember your A-HA! moment when you were first learning animation.

[zanekohler]

From your talk of studying pre-existing animation and live action, what type of clips as beginners should we be focusing on to study?

Also what things should we be focusing on when going frame by frame?
Thanks
-z-

[Richard Willimot]

Is there any story that you always wanted to see animated?

[lavallelee]

I was wondering if you could do a lesson or tutorial on taking an already done scene (example: a scene from Secret of Nimh or Banjo) Then break it down on the xsheet, charts, voice acting, extremes. Everything basically dissect the scene. I want to do this but no idea how to start.

[AJartist]

hello, Don

I've been drawing for eight years....and what I've found for me to be the big problem with drawing is not the drawing itself, but getting motivated. Do you have any advice on how one can get motivated, especially when hes not being paid at a studio and working at home? because i've found that when I work only at home, i'm tempted to take more naps.

[Stewart]

I watched a Jason Ryan webinar on Saturday and he talked about finding your own shorthand of your character when putting down your initial poses. Do you use your own shorthand when animating?

[joedorsey]

Tomm Moore the director of "Book Of Kells" used a management program called Hobsoft to keep track of various studios he was using online. Do you think having a studio made of other studios in various locations is the way of the future?

[Richard Willimot]

Thanks Don and Dave

[jeremyhopkins]

Sorry guys, I said the notes will be up tonight but the file for this week and last week was corrupt and all my notes were lost. You'll have to wait till the video files are up and transcribed. At least you'll have the full transcription rather than my notes.

[Rodney]

Jeremy (and everyone!),
My apologies.

I had planned to be there and be your backup.
Looks like I'm not very good with this other side of the world time factoring thing so I'm afraid I failed you in the effort.

[arif]

Sorry guys, I said the notes will be up tonight but the file for this week and last week was corrupt and all my notes were lost. You'll have to wait till the video files are up and transcribed. At least you'll have the full transcription rather than my notes.

ohh..Jeremy, that is so sad and unfortunate....but,hey..i appreciate your all hard work for us....i really appreciate it......

Regards,
Arif.