Doodling in Class

I have always been interested to observe animators doodling in class while a presentation is being made. In fact I encourage it. One reason is that the doodlebrain is disconnected from the chatterbox and that makes it easier, as an instructor, to present information. Doodling helps students to remember. So please doodle!

Planning Animation

It is so good to hear other animators say similar things. Just add "Act it Out" and collect video reference to the research and you will be enjoying your animation production. It is all about knowing what you want to do before you start in the animating software (or on the page).

Clear Animatic - Get ready for Semester 2

In semester 2 second year animators will be collaborating with music composers and sound designers on their major project. The animatic for the project is the main form of visual communication. Is it clear? Some of you have some story clearing up to do.

This animatic is by an animation student (Henry Zhang, again)

Thought of You - Ryan Woodward

Some new work by Ryan Woodward and any excuse to bring this animation to the top of the post pile. There also is a final version of the documentary "Making of ...Thought of You" to explore.

Google - Martha Graham from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.

I posted about Ryan Woodward's work in May 2010 (below)

Once through for entertainment. Oh, OK, twice through for entertainment because the first viewing is quite stunning. Then study this animated music clip. Note the animation principles. Do you think he used video reference? Note the hand drawn appeal. Ryan Woodward is making a making of documentary. Find out more here.

EVERYTHING WILL BE OK - Don Hertzfeldt

--- earlier on in February...
I was just over at 2nd Year Harvey's blog being wonderfully challenged by some of his ideas and concepts.

It reminded me of Don Hertzfeldt and how an animated story can be well told with well planned, seemingly 'simple' design.

The telegraph poles and wires in the opening sequence made me think of Johnny H's 3D letter design.

There are quite a few lateral thinking and parallel idea cosmic atomic rays currently basting my thoughts.

Shaun the Sheep Animatic

2nd years are working through their storyboarding sessions toward producing an animatic for their major project narrative (and community project as a group). The animatic (above) was created for an episode of Shaun the Sheep.

Margarita by HAMPA Studio

A 'making of' a traditional 2D animated film. It shows the planning including character designs, animatic, storyboard...

Glen Keane insights into character design

Lady and the Tramp pencil test - Frank Thomas

The pencil test is attributed to Frank Thomas. He did animate this sequence in the film. First years in particular should note that name.

Today we had a collaborative class where 1st and 2nd year animators worked together on the concept of ideas. We also looked at animation examples from the Lady and the Tramp (1955).

The first years looking at the film from a historical perspective, in particular taking notes on how the ideas for the story may have developed.

The second years, who will be developing storyboards, looked at how the story was pitched in the 1950's using storyboard panels pinned up on a wall. Taking note of the loose but communicative drawing style of the boards.



Wheren (a new word) animation students get their ideas:

• In the shower
• At the edge of sleep
• Sugar rush
• Mushroom risotto
• After eating
• Swimming
• Walking
• Camping
• When ill with a fever (apparently if you catch swine flu you may think you are a planet)
• On public transport
• Music: listening or playing
• Dreams (if you remember)
• Being out in nature alone
• Inspiration from other artists
• Staring at something
• Eavesdropping/ hearing something said
• Brainstorming in a group

Superman Classic - Robb Pratt

Watch Robb's "how to" clip at the end of the film. The second years will learn some storyboarding techniques taught to me by Robb. Robb is a Disney traditional 2D animator who moved into a career as a storyboard artist. It is a pathway that can be considered by animators who love drawing, or love film making and storytelling (via storyboards).

Sand Stop Motion - team of 4 animators

Would it be crazy to do two things that you like at the same time? How about planning a day of stop motion animation at the beach.

The 2nd years are working with a client this year designing animation with a marine and coastal theme. Keep checking here for a 'making of' video.

This clip is “Lose This Child” by Yuval & Merav Nathan. Their other work should be recognisable straight away.

Addicted - The Old Man and the Sea - Bliss N Eso - Aleksandr Petrov

Painting over artwork. It intrigues me. Crumpling up a ruff pencil scribble used to coax a pose from a piece paper I can reconcile and understand the power in it for an animator. But for a painter working in oils or spray to obliterate their work in pursuit of an animated moment is mind boggling.

I have been over at Elle's blog. She has been researching and sharing her discoveries in true tertiary education style. We had a debate in class about how AfterEffects can be used to create many animated effects such as progressive graffiti style animation. As animators we should seek to understand and deconstruct the 'magic' that appears on screen to inform our own animation.

Elle posted this 'making of' clip:



Elle's research and Zade's debating fired up my curiosity. I hope you all got to see Aleksandr Petrov's Oscar winning film "The Old Man and the Sea" in you animation research classes?

The idea of painting over 'finished' work has a parallel between Bliss N Eso, Blu and Petrov's work. So taking some research energy from Elle's work I was able to find this clip to post of Petrov talking about his animation process (and hopefully proving to Zade the film was not made in AfterEffects ;) ).



All animation consists of creation and destruction of the same picture. A bit more information from Petrov (in Russian with English subtitles) about the process he uses, starting with storyboarding, with which animators will start their 2nd year of study in the course for 2011 (so it's worth watching).



Muto by Blu

The Illusionist - Sylvain Chomet

In November Brisbane animators were lucky enough to have Sylvain Chomet's The Illusionist screen at the Brisbane International Film Festival. "A small, hand-crafted masterpiece." (Xan Brooks, The Guardian UK - click the link - Is 2D hand-drawn animation a dying art?)

A number of animators had been posting about the film with associated video clips (Michelle, Will). Cassie organised a sketchcrawl to the screening where Zade, Jack, Rachel, Cassie and I settled in to a wonderful animation film experience.

It was great to see animators, who I have met and by whom I had been tutored, named in the film credits.

(Gobelins Summer School 2009: Dripha, Liane-Cho and some big scary guy)

After the film, Rachel pointed me to Lian-Cho's blog where he posted some of his pencil tests (below). Thanks Rachel.

Animating Flight

I was over on my animation teacher's blog, Speaking of Animation and saw that he had made a post about animating flight. Being a DreamWorks animator, Jacob relates his post to animators working on How to Train Your Dragon, but he links to a tutorial by Brendan Body a UK trained animator who worked on Legend of the Guardians. The tutorial by Brendan is an excellent resource for animation study.

Brendan, "I created many of the hero characters' flight cycles which were then used by the rest of the animation team."

Earlier this year I posted a short animating exercise that animators could attempt to see if they could fly. It would probably be worth comparing what you learned there to this latest information.


Enjoy flying with a feature film animator. How to make birds fly good (I love the title).

More Brendan Body tutorials (Cassie will see some clips she referred to in her research about the bouncing ball)

More Jacob Gardner tutorials including animating a dancing character and understanding body language to improve animation.

Cinematic Tension - Alfred Hitchcock

I wonder if this may be applicable somehow to a 200 frame animation sequence?

Or, as Corey might advise us, "Show them the banana peel!"

Act It Out - Animation Preproduction Planning

In 2009 I made a post about "Acting It Out"! That post features a video clip of the great Ian Lacey passionately delivering a message to animation students. The message is still relevant (even though we have phones these days that drive your car and make morning coffee).

Actually I have a blog post label over on the side there called "planning". There is also one screaming "Act it Out". There is some interesting information under those links. Just for the 'hey' of it I'll say it again, planning. Hey!

Animators are a good looking bunch of bananas.

Animators act out an animation sequence to get ideas on timing (an animation principle), posing and a variety of acting choices.

But there is another reason why animation students should act it out. Have you ever seen an animator's brain explode? Sometimes it can be messy. Really messy. All that pressure builds up and BOUMPLATHFF! Hopefully just a little puff of steam comes out of the ears and the head bumps noisily on the desk. Sometimes it's a volcanic Vesuvius of ideas vomit. Not pretty. It happens to animators who think that animation is created at a computer.

Acting it out gets the animation out of the brain and into the body. Acting it out gets it out of the migraine and onto video reference tape. It gets it out of the brain where it is a swirling fog and into ruff marks on paper.

Stay pretty. Act it out.

This post is brought to you by the animation student who... 3 weeks into semester, 3 weeks into a new animation project, where we are: working through brainstorming; thumbnailing ideas; storyboarding; acting it out and collecting video reference; ruffing out sketches; recreating, critiquing and improving key, story telling, golden poses... after one of my lectures about animation being created in the planning, while looking longingly at a computer, asked, "Are we going to do some animation today?"

People, we are animating every day. I guess the beauty is that some of us don't realise it.

The clip below is an exercise in finding key poses from Acting It Out and taking video reference. The first years are animating some dialogue of Jack Black from the film "School of Rock". There are some ripper poses in this example. The animators have been AfterEffected to protect their identities from the paparazzi. With a bit of exaggeration (an animation principle), there is potential for some rockin' animation!

The teacher character's dialogue in this clip is anathema to the actual teaching of animation going on in class. It's text! We see through the skin of text to the core of subtext. It's an animator's superpower - animator's eyes! Narrative x-ray vision!

Small Bird Flying Cycle - Don Bluth

I like this clip because Don talks about the animation principle of "Slow-In and Slow-Out", or as we may say in the studio, "Ease-In and Ease Out". He is talking about the spacing of the animation of the wings.

How about trying this 4 drawing cycle (on twos) and test it out with a line test or three?

11 Second Club meets Gobelins Graduate - Liane-Cho Han

The featured clip (above) won the 11 Second Club competition in September 2009. The animator's name caught my eye and I realised that it was Liane-Cho, one of the animators who was a tutor in the workshop time I had at the Gobelins summer school in 2009. He had just finished working on the 2D feature film The Illusionist. Will posted about that film on his student blog.

It was great to read a bit more about Liane-Cho in the interview by Eric Scheur.

His work is critiqued by Animation Mentor Dana Broadway.

The work below is from his blog. Warning: Strong language use.

After Michelle's comment (Thanks Michelle!), I have also embedded Liane-Cho's student showreel from Gobelins - pretty much all pencil tests (some 3D).

Dragon Lessons are Animation Lessons

Many a time student animators set their aim on the stars to discover the weight of the sky crushes dreams.

In other words, when an animation teacher suggests planning a short animation as a step toward greatness, it is done with concern for the student's well being. That is why in-class exercises are short 60, 120 to 200 frame animation sequences (usually of the bouncing ball variation).

Then when an animator is set loose on their major project in second year, they can have a full appreciation of why the teacher keeps suggesting to keep the story to 1 minute, or less. This hurts, especially for animators who dream of animating a 4 minute music clip*.

"But what kind of story can you animate in less than a minute!?", is the outcry.

DreamWorks made an excellent film this year that we explored on an animation field trip. Here are some animation lessons, disguised as dragon training lessons. They're all less than a minute long. Actually they are only about 30 seconds long including titles and fades.







*The trick for animating a 4 minute music clip is study the song and animate for the verses (same beats) and chorus (repeated over and over). Then loop and edit the 30 seconds of animation together in interesting ways.

Posing, Sketching, Planning

I came by Rad Sechrist's "How to" blog via 2nd year Michelle's blog as she posted about working on the storyboarding assignment. I'd recommend students have a look through Rad's (and Michelle's) blogs for some excellent animation cogitation and tips. Thanks Michelle.