Animation- WIP

DM Test Scene from Doug on Vimeo.

 

 

Sh 23 Blocking from Doug on Vimeo.

I took 2 of the most challenging/most fun shots to tackle first to set the style of the motion and get a feel for drawing the character. I was also thinking if the project turned out not to work or if I couldn't find time for it at least these would look good on my showreel as standalone pieces.

Freelance Concept Work

The image above was done for a local graphic design agency, they were looking for some cartoony designs to pitch to their client. Unfortunately the client didn't really know what they were after so I put loads of work into something that I eventually didn't get a penny for. After they rejected the above image they gave the feedback for something more ICONIC. So I developed this next set of images:

They were quite quickly roughed out but again they didn't go for it. I thought I would put them up here to show some of the things I've been up to on the freelance front.

Character Animation

Blocking (first pass)

I've transferred my thumbnails into 3d now, and as you will see it has already changed quite a bit from the initial sketches. I found that some of the poses needed pushing for clearer silhouettes and also you start finding nice contrasting lines of action in the body and head when you are flipping between the poses. I like to pose out my shot with the keyframes next to each other before I time them out along the audio so you can do the 3d equivalent of flipping your drawings.

I have changed one of the camera choices from the animatic too beacuse I needed to frame the characters a bit differently. Some of the acting/pose choices have evolved here too. I am constantly acting it out in my head and getting up and doing little gestures to see what might work better for the character. Some people would shoot reference before starting to block out the shot but I like to get quite well into the second pass blocking before I shoot any reference on something like this. Really I will only use that to get ideas for where I can refine and add extra realism which comes much later. It's important not to get bogged down in details at this stage. For now I'm happy with the first pass and where it is leading... you might want to get some feedback at this stage or show it to your director to make sure you are getting what you want from the keyposes. Even though I have blocked it very simply it is important to have some idea of where you are going to elaborate on actions in the next phase.

Next installment: Blocking (plus)

Character Animation

Breaking Down Audio/Camera Animatic

The first stage in my process is basically layout. I take the characters into the 3d environment along with any props and models I may need. I set up the characters sitting around a table as I wanted to make it feel like this dialogue was part of an interview (I may elaborate on the gag further down the line). So two guys interviewing and one interviewee. I sit them down in a neutral pose and then go in and set up some camera's that will determine the shots I want. With this done I take a render of each camera angle and then edit them together in After Effects to see how the sequence will break down into seperate shots. Here is the video of that edit:

I think this is a pretty good pacing for the sequence, keeps things interesting focusing on different character's at various points. Obviously the more you know about cinematography the better you will be able to set something like this up. You should be aware of things like the 180 degree rule so that things are clear and readable. At various points we are not actually looking at the person who is talking which will give me a chance to animate reaction shots which will add to the cinematic feel. I may add changes and subtle zooms etc in MAYA but for now this does it's job and gets the ball rolling.

Next installment: Thumbnailing

Comics Roundup

K-9Lives - The comic is back and running after the hiatus and things are going well. With the animated short going round festivals it is advertising the comic around the country. Last week I came up with a topical Swine Flu story that fitted in nicely with the theme. The Dog goes to Mexico to try to infect the Cat with flu... Ending with the CDC tracking them down, and an underground resistance group of pigs who've joined forces with refugees of the bird flu and BSE epidemics who defend them from the CDC patrol! http://www.k-9lives.blogspot.com/

Bloodwhat? - My new comic, at it's core is a parody of an 80's dungeon adventure game, but it will go further than that and I will develop the world and characters into unique stories and situations. With 13 strips up so far it is early days but this is going strong and I have a good buffer built up so I should be able to keep the updates regular. http://www.bloodwhat.wordpress.com/

The Von Spleen Experiment - This is very early days in production... I was developing this as an animated short but the story kept growing and growing and ended up being beyond my ability to produce independently at the moment. So I am translating the thumbnailed story skectches into full comic pages. The hope is that I can generate interest in the story and characters through the comic first, eventually print a book and then see whether an animation would be viable afterwards.

And with all these projects going, I am now slightly burned out... I need to go out and have a beer, chill out and re-charge the batteries so I can get going on all these projects.