Class 3 Week 5: Blocking Pass on New Assignment

Here's my first pass at our next assignment.  I changed the idea a bit from my initial plan (which was a guy falling off a treadmill).  Basically, that idea felt way to much like a good ol' crowd cycle.  And I'm trying to use this class as a chance to explore more dynamic movements than that. 

My last mentor, Jeremy Cantor, gave a list of shots he thinks every animator needs under his belt.  This is why I did a big jump on the last assignment.  One of those he suggests is to have a character running.  (The last one on his list I'm lacking is to lift something heavy...guess what my next project will be...)

So I kept with the running idea, but had Stewie run after something - gave him a goal.  Since my last assignment had a bit of an Indiana Jones inspiration, I went the same route here again.

Class 3 Week 4: Final Pass on "Idea"

Another crazy weekend, another assignment in the bag.  I had a lot of fun on this one.  I really took the time to get into the details and perfect the animation curves.  I haven't gotten that detailed into one of my assignments since way back on the "Ballie Stairs" assignment.  Felt good to get back into that mindset.

Now it's on to planning the next assignment.  I quickly posted an idea to the class that had one of the Mythbusters comically falling off a treadmill...but I still my change that if I think of a more dynamic idea in the next day or two.

Class 3 Week 3: Refining Pass - now with more Swing!

So, decided that this shot needed a bit more dramatic action.  After falling asleep to Indiana Jones a few nights this week I decided a nice swing off the lamp would be a fun addition.  I'm really happy with how this turned out so far...finally a good foundation to the shot.  I also like that it adds even bigger movements into my animation experience, this is one of the most fun weeks I've had animating so far.

Class 3 Week 2: First Blocking Pass on New Idea

 

 

Well, this was an "interesting" week.  I was really unhappy with my initial plan for this shot (the stage swordplay).  I felt that idea would be 1) too similar to the sword in the stone shot from last class, and 2) would involve lots of complicated movements that still wouldn't have the WOW physical action I want to try my hand at.  Since the first class, I tend to gravitate towards more subtle actions, so I wanted to open it up with this class.

This idea came to me really really late in the process - so what you're looking at is what I was able to block out between 10pm and 5am (before heading in to work).  I really like the idea and I'm anxious to get in some more time on it.

I like that this shot can be viewed as a metaphor for me in this class - struggling to find an "idea" (i.e. lightbulb goes on) that's just out of easy reach...

Class 3 Week 1: One-Third of the Way There...

Class 3: Advanced Body Mechanics

Finally had a week off!  It was much needed :)

Moving on to the third class now - which means I'm officially one-third of the way thru the Animation Program...it feels very fast and very long at the same time!  My next mentor is Raquel Rabbit, who's worked at some of the studios up in the Bay Area and is now a full time college professor.  As always, it'll be great to get a new perspective on animation.

My plan for the first assignment is to involve an actor on stage doing some stage combat - ending up falling over the scenery after doing his sword flourishes.  Dug into the good ol' Thesis to get some stage assets to potentially use for this assignment.