Animation
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 30
06/07/10 20:45
Good thing I only made this for 30 days. I would
start to forget to do it. Work’s been awesome as
always. After the scene corruption I had I spent most
of today reblocking that shot, and I incorporated the
notes I received on the now-corrupt version of the
shot. They made a decision to have us block out a
full sequence so that they can look at the whole
sequence in the edit and then suggest changes from
there on. Not a bad idea considering they need to
check if shots flow nicely together, if the actions
are working well etc. This does mean that our quota
level will be updated in leaps and bounds though.
Let’s hope they change the tracking system so that we
get a assigned a percentage of our quota per state of
the shot’s progress (e.g. 40 for completing blocking,
40% for the blocking plus and 20% for polish).
Well, this is it for me. I’ll be resuming my usual blogging and only blog when there’s something significant/exciting. Despicable Me coming out real soon. Cannot wait to go see that.
Well, this is it for me. I’ll be resuming my usual blogging and only blog when there’s something significant/exciting. Despicable Me coming out real soon. Cannot wait to go see that.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 29
05/07/10 23:40
What the... day 29 already??!?! Wow, this month flew
by!
So today I gotten 5 easy shots in a row. Just some simple flying happening in each. Managed to block out all 5 of them today, so this should give my quota a slight boost. One of my previous shots seems to have gone corrupt so I will probably have to reblock that.
It was also two birthdays at work today, happy birthday Mike and Francois. We went out for a small dinner at Primi Piatti at the V&A Waterfront. All-in-all a very good day today. Another new animator also started
today, Ruaan Grobler. He came over from Luma.
The studio is expanding very nicely now. I am
also busy cleaning up some of the old fly cycles
that have been giving us problems. I hope these
new ones will resolve the issues we had with the
old cycles.
So today I gotten 5 easy shots in a row. Just some simple flying happening in each. Managed to block out all 5 of them today, so this should give my quota a slight boost. One of my previous shots seems to have gone corrupt so I will probably have to reblock that.
It was also two birthdays at work today, happy birthday Mike and Francois. We went out for a small dinner at Primi Piatti at the V&A Waterfront. All-in-all a very good day today.
Another new animator also started
today, Ruaan Grobler. He came over from Luma.
The studio is expanding very nicely now. I am
also busy cleaning up some of the old fly cycles
that have been giving us problems. I hope these
new ones will resolve the issues we had with the
old cycles.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 26
02/07/10 11:41
Spent a few hours today battling the rigs. Seems like
the fly cycles I created during my first week was
done on rigs that had channels locked since then
which causes havoc on the locked channels. Feathers
pointing in all directions imaginable, toes flipped
180 degrees. Quite a bit of troubleshooting but the
rigging team is pretty quick at sorting the problems
out. I’ll be going in to work on Sunday to go rework
the fly cycles on new rig versions to try and avoid
all those hassles. Let’s hope it works.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 24
30/06/10 23:03
It’s been quite an interesting day at work today. I
figured out two workarounds for problems I’ve been
struggling with. The one being the ability to apply
an action from an animation clip without the need of
using the animation mixer and then plotting (baking)
the animation into the timeline. The second being the
enabling of ghosting to track the animation path of
an object (quite a few hoops to jump through to get
this working). I’ve also had one of my 230-frame
shots taken apart and put back together by the
director and animation lead. They looked at the
blocking in the edit suite and realized things didn’t
flow well together so lots of changes have been made.
This is awesome for it just improves the overall
quality of the movie. So to those animation students
out there reading this, IT WILL HAPPEN and DON’T
DESPAIR. You are still being paid to animate... what
can be better than that?
So I’ll be moving house tomorrow. I’m sharing it with one of my fellow animators and her boyfriend. Quite looking forward to not having to smell cigarette smoke at 3 in the morning. Woop woop!
So I’ll be moving house tomorrow. I’m sharing it with one of my fellow animators and her boyfriend. Quite looking forward to not having to smell cigarette smoke at 3 in the morning. Woop woop!
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 23
29/06/10 22:12
I’m slowly but surely breaking the will of the rigs
and making them do what I want them to do. XSI is
still hardass but it will also be broken. For now I’m
figuring out workarounds for all the issues it has...
it’s pretty much female that’s for sure. Very whiny
and bitchy. Helped a friend tonight record video
reference for a shot she’s working on. Lots of laughs
for she’s nervous but I can see her confidence
improving as she gets used to the idea of a camera
recording her every move. That’s it for now, I need
sleep.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 22
28/06/10 19:13
Work’s been sort of productive. Been battling XSI to
give me what I want. Cycles in the animation mixer
doesn’t behave as stably as in Maya. Now I got to
plot those on the timeline once I’m sure the cycles
are acting as needed. Managed to get one of my shots
up for blocking approval but it’s still not fast
enough to get my quota of 2 seconds per day.
In other news, AM starts today. I’m sure there are many students happy to be back. Good luck guys. Happy animating!
In other news, AM starts today. I’m sure there are many students happy to be back. Good luck guys. Happy animating!
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 21
27/06/10 18:03
Didn’t touch anything 3D related today. Went down to
Simons Town’s Long Beach and watch a buddy of mine
taking part in a kayaking race. Afterwards we drove
down to Boulder’s Beach to look at the penguins there
(I’ll upload the photos sometime soon). Left there to
a picnic spot a few kilometers down the road and had
some lunch. On our way back late the afternoon we
stopped at the Spur in Fish Hoek for a burger and
milkshakes. The weather was sunny, no clouds and I
did’t get sunburnt!! Woohoo!!!
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 20
26/06/10 23:38
I spent the morning at work, trying to catch up on
some blocking seeing as all the troubles from
yesterday with the camera costed me some precious
time. A few fellow animators was also in so the mood
at work was very light... enjoyable and quiet. In the
late afternoon I drove up to go visit some friends of
mine I haven’t seen in 9 years. Was great seeing
them, they got married and had a kid since I last
seen them. Life stands still for nobody.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 19
25/06/10 22:32
Ran into a spot of trouble today. Managed to
overwrite the official stereo camera (that everyone
at the studio references to in their scenes) by using
the option in XSI where you right-click on a local
model in the explorer and select “Convert to
reference”. I was under the impression it would allow
me to select a model to reference to and replace the
local one with. So instead it took my local camera,
the one that was offset from 0,0,0 by a lot and saved
that camera over the one on the network I specified I
wanted to reference in, and referenced that camera
back in. It didn’t even bother to ask me if I’m sure
I want to overwrite the file... it just did it. So,
anybody working at Autodesk on SoftImage... GET YOUR
FUCKING ACT TOGETHER AND FIX THIS HUGE FLAW!!!!!
Luckily we have backups so the original camera got
restored. Have I mentioned how much XSI sucks?
On the other hand I went to see Toy Story 3 with a friend of mine. Wow. There’s no other word to describe it better. Back in 1995 Toy Story set the standard for animation. With Toy Story 3 in 2010 they set the standard again. It was mindblowingly amazing.
On the other hand I went to see Toy Story 3 with a friend of mine. Wow. There’s no other word to describe it better. Back in 1995 Toy Story set the standard for animation. With Toy Story 3 in 2010 they set the standard again. It was mindblowingly amazing.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 18
24/06/10 23:23
Gotten the details for the middle part of the new
sequence worked out. Our team lead will divide up the
shots soon. I started working on blocking in my first
shot. You get to animate all the characters in your
shot which is quite challenging seeing as we work on
a 2-second-a-day of approved animation. This means
I’ll have to skip out on the small details that won’t
enhance the storytelling by much. But you should
still add in the stuff like overshoots, settles,
follow through, anticipation. Decided to work late
seeing as Thursdays are the official work-late night
where the director and other people in charge stays
late to catch up on work. At 7PM they ordered us a
pizza and we all circled around the boxes of pizza
like vultures.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 17
23/06/10 20:27
Been quite a hectic day today. Gotten new shots
assigned from another sequence. Gotten 5 shots so far
but it’s only for the first thirds of the sequence.
The middle part is being reworked and that will
affect the numbering of it’s relevant shots and the
last part following it. Busy brainstorming out the
small details and doing thumbnails. We’re put
together in a team of 6 animators. This will be fun.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 16
22/06/10 18:45
Toy Story 3 had the biggest opening weekend for any
Pixar movie ever, a cool US$109 million. That’s got
to say something. Looking forward to go and see it.
I’ll be checking with the people at work tomorrow if
we will go see it as a studio this coming Friday. If
not then I’m sure we can organize pretty much
everyone to go.
Work was awesome as always. My shot is pretty much done in the AnimA phase. I have submitted it for review. They realized that the shots (mine and the one before) didn’t flow well together and they’re busy reworking the shots to make the sequence work better. They will also chop off the first couple of frames but liked what I did so they want to keep it. Glad to hear my first shot I
animated for them made the cut. But, if it
happened that they had to drop the shot to
improve the flow of the overall scene, then so
be it. I would just be glad that they realized
it and want to make the best movie possible.
This is one great thing I learned from my
mentors at AM. So I should have a verdict by
tomorrow morning if the shot’s ready for
polishing. We also have to work on our next
sequence tomorrow and as a team discuss the
shots, distribute them evenly and roughly
thumbnail things out. I have an idea of how to
improve one of the shots and will mention it
tomorrow to the director and animation lead +
animation director. I’m sure they will like it
and go for it.
Work was awesome as always. My shot is pretty much done in the AnimA phase. I have submitted it for review. They realized that the shots (mine and the one before) didn’t flow well together and they’re busy reworking the shots to make the sequence work better. They will also chop off the first couple of frames but liked what I did so they want to keep it.
Glad to hear my first shot I
animated for them made the cut. But, if it
happened that they had to drop the shot to
improve the flow of the overall scene, then so
be it. I would just be glad that they realized
it and want to make the best movie possible.
This is one great thing I learned from my
mentors at AM. So I should have a verdict by
tomorrow morning if the shot’s ready for
polishing. We also have to work on our next
sequence tomorrow and as a team discuss the
shots, distribute them evenly and roughly
thumbnail things out. I have an idea of how to
improve one of the shots and will mention it
tomorrow to the director and animation lead +
animation director. I’m sure they will like it
and go for it.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 15
21/06/10 21:07
Been struggling with my internet connection. Was
unable to post blog postings because of that but
luckily this awesome app of mine saves the entries
and uploads them when it has a proper connection.
Work’s been good. Been working on my shot mostly. It’s in the AnimA phase (blocking plus for the AM readers out there). The timing’s a bit slow so everything feels floaty. But first I want to get my poses working before I worry too much about timing. The set I have to work in is also cramped so every pixel counts. That also makes it hard to cheat some shots because the movie is also done in stereo so heavy intersections could be spotted at a certain angle but luckily we have a dedicated guy doing the stereo camera setup and checking so he should pick it up and let me know.
Work’s been good. Been working on my shot mostly. It’s in the AnimA phase (blocking plus for the AM readers out there). The timing’s a bit slow so everything feels floaty. But first I want to get my poses working before I worry too much about timing. The set I have to work in is also cramped so every pixel counts. That also makes it hard to cheat some shots because the movie is also done in stereo so heavy intersections could be spotted at a certain angle but luckily we have a dedicated guy doing the stereo camera setup and checking so he should pick it up and let me know.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 14
20/06/10 17:41
Well, with it being a Sunday I didn’t do much
animation wise. One needs a balanced lifestyle or you
WILL burn out. I was invited over to friends of mine
for lunch and just to chillax. Had a great time and
felt ready to face the coming week.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 13
19/06/10 20:48
Had to go in to work today to help plan out my
current shot. I got a lot of things happening in a
confined space and needed to work out the paths
everything takes to prevent them from colliding with
one another. This just goes to show how important
planning is. Even if you have to do thumbnails of
every couple of frames and label each object to help
keep track, then so be it. But, I got through it all
and hopefully I can show it Monday during the
daillies to get feedback from everyone else.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 12
18/06/10 19:20
This is it! Toy Story 3 is out today! It’s a definite
must go see. Rumor has it that we will go watch it as
a studio next week Friday so I’m not going to spoil
my appetite. In other animation related news I
got my shot’s blocking approved, the stereo guy
setup his camera and I got the go ahead for the
next part which is adding in-betweens and
splining. Plan on going in to work tomorrow to
catch up a bit for I’m a bit behind with my
struggles with getting the scene set up for the
first time. And also what controls to animate
for the camera.
We’ve also been briefed about the next scene, the one we would have originally done. Lots of action scenes, not much acting. Nice!
In other animation related news I
got my shot’s blocking approved, the stereo guy
setup his camera and I got the go ahead for the
next part which is adding in-betweens and
splining. Plan on going in to work tomorrow to
catch up a bit for I’m a bit behind with my
struggles with getting the scene set up for the
first time. And also what controls to animate
for the camera.
We’ve also been briefed about the next scene, the one we would have originally done. Lots of action scenes, not much acting. Nice!
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 11
17/06/10 22:42
First things first... the dailies. Some people dread
it, I’m looking forward to it. Maybe because I have
nothing to show yet. But this coming Monday onwards I
will be showing. Why? Because I got my first shot
assigned today. One of my fellow AM students
already sketched out some planning thumbnails of
what he foresee should happen in the shot and
it’s such cool planning that he offered for me
to make use of it. So I spent some part of today
figuring out ways to improve the responsiveness
of SI. Through a combination of display layers,
custom surface approximations and custom display
options that lighten the load while navigating
the viewport I managed to get it so-so. When I
lay out a frame I just do a rough layout with
all models on, turn off the taxing ones after
that to fine-tune the scene and then turn them
back on to check my work from all angles.
Halfway through this I realized I haven’t planned properly for things like IK/FK and found I had to switch stuff I had in FK, back to IK so lesson learned, add useful tips like that to your planning thumbnails. After work I also finally joined the guys in a few rounds of Call Of Duty 4 on the network. It’s my first time playing it so I definitely died a lot (probably the most of everyone) but I also got a few good kills in. They sat up and took notice of this new player... BoulderFoot that joined them. So all-in-all a good productive day. Tomorrow I’ll be putting the hammer down and really try and steamroll through my blocking ASAP. Now, off to bed.
One of my fellow AM students
already sketched out some planning thumbnails of
what he foresee should happen in the shot and
it’s such cool planning that he offered for me
to make use of it. So I spent some part of today
figuring out ways to improve the responsiveness
of SI. Through a combination of display layers,
custom surface approximations and custom display
options that lighten the load while navigating
the viewport I managed to get it so-so. When I
lay out a frame I just do a rough layout with
all models on, turn off the taxing ones after
that to fine-tune the scene and then turn them
back on to check my work from all angles.
Halfway through this I realized I haven’t planned properly for things like IK/FK and found I had to switch stuff I had in FK, back to IK so lesson learned, add useful tips like that to your planning thumbnails. After work I also finally joined the guys in a few rounds of Call Of Duty 4 on the network. It’s my first time playing it so I definitely died a lot (probably the most of everyone) but I also got a few good kills in. They sat up and took notice of this new player... BoulderFoot that joined them. So all-in-all a good productive day. Tomorrow I’ll be putting the hammer down and really try and steamroll through my blocking ASAP. Now, off to bed.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 10
16/06/10 18:32
Well, today’s a public holiday, so not much to
report. I spent a few hours at the studio watching my
final AnimationMentor lectures. Also, did I mention
we have snow on Table Mountain?
Needless to say it’s slightly colder than what
we are used to for Cape Town.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 9
15/06/10 19:24
Spent most of today boringly clicking through XSI.
I’m pretty much proficient with bypassing the flaws I
need to avoid, and I can even do it with one hand
tied behind my back. The rigs are getting better as
we report the issues. Layout guys finished with the
shots today, but the two soon-to-be-newly-assigned
team members are still not done with their current
shots. Let’s hope by Thursday I will have something
to report.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 8
14/06/10 21:53
Didn’t get my first shot to work on today. We’re
still waiting for two of the other animators to
finish their shots because they will be joining and
leading our team. Also found a few more minor bugs
with the rigs so it’s all good. Sat in on the dailies
and a few more shots got shoved over to the final
status.
As for AnimationMentor.com, it still feels unreal that I’m finished. Just found out that Wednesday is a public holiday here so I won’t be able to attend my final Live Q&A.
As for AnimationMentor.com, it still feels unreal that I’m finished. Just found out that Wednesday is a public holiday here so I won’t be able to attend my final Live Q&A.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 7
13/06/10 17:40
I’ve spent most of today finishing off my assignment.
This is as good as it will get without me going
insane. There’s still a ton of stuff I want to work
on but after 18 months the mind doesn’t want to
co-operate anymore. And seeing as it is in control of
the hands and so on, I fear there might be a revolt
or maybe even a coup d’état. Looking forward to the
upcoming week. I should be getting my first shot to
work on tomorrow.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 6
12/06/10 20:24
Seeing as I’m not at work today, I really don’t have
much to say. I’ve spent most of today working on
refining my final shots for my demo reel to be
submitted to Animationmentor.com as my final
assignment. Have to create a DVD Cover Sleeve and
label that can go on the DVD Disc with my name and
contact details, just in case the DVD and the DVD’s
box get separated. I shall upload the final stuff
tomorrow.
On a sports-related note, seems like the French didn’t bring their best team to play the Bokke so they got the hiding they deserved.
On a sports-related note, seems like the French didn’t bring their best team to play the Bokke so they got the hiding they deserved.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 5
11/06/10 22:36
So my first week is over. It’s been quite an
interesting one too. Learned a lot, and I’m still
learning but I feel comfortable at work. Still
swearing at XSI for being such a stupid program. The
DopeSheet is really not cool. And the random moving
of keys in the time line when I select keys on
another frame and move them is pissing me and some of
the other guys off. Oh well, at least it’s not just
us new XSI users that’s having these issues.
We had to watch the soccer match against Mexico today. I was just bored out of my skull and pretended to show interest at the game while I was surfing the net looking at the trailer for Mortal Kombat Rebirth. Looking forward to that and the new movie from Disney called Tangled. We were also given this bag with a few items in it:
With it was a piece of laminated paper with the following written on it:
Mints - To have a fresh outlook.
Rubber Bands - To remind you to have a resilience and “spring back”.
Sparklers - For those days when you feel everyone needs a bit of spark.
Eraser - To remind you that we all make mistakes. It’s OK, we learn from our errors.
Tea Bag - To remind you to take the time to relax daily and go over the list of blessings.
Vitathion - For body and mind energy booster.
Mini Vuvuzela - To make some noise when you have a bright idea.
All in all things have been good this week. Worked on another flying cycle for another character and looking forward to getting my first scene to work on next week.
We had to watch the soccer match against Mexico today. I was just bored out of my skull and pretended to show interest at the game while I was surfing the net looking at the trailer for Mortal Kombat Rebirth. Looking forward to that and the new movie from Disney called Tangled. We were also given this bag with a few items in it:
With it was a piece of laminated paper with the following written on it:
Mints - To have a fresh outlook.
Rubber Bands - To remind you to have a resilience and “spring back”.
Sparklers - For those days when you feel everyone needs a bit of spark.
Eraser - To remind you that we all make mistakes. It’s OK, we learn from our errors.
Tea Bag - To remind you to take the time to relax daily and go over the list of blessings.
Vitathion - For body and mind energy booster.
Mini Vuvuzela - To make some noise when you have a bright idea.
All in all things have been good this week. Worked on another flying cycle for another character and looking forward to getting my first scene to work on next week.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 4
10/06/10 21:36
Another day’s gone by, man does time fly. In order
for us to watch the opening ceremony and first match
of the soccer world cup, we had to either work the
hours in extra tonight, or start work earlier than
usual tomorrow. I decided to stay later tonight and
get used to some other XSI tools I would need for my
first shot. Even though I have no interest whatsoever
in soccer (I reckon it’s a sport for woosies) I will
still join in the watching of the game tomorrow for I
see it as a team-building exercise. Plus there will
be food and whatever I will take in to drink.
Got my first glimpse today at the final quality renders and I’m simply blown away. The lighting and rendering guys are putting in some serious efforts and this will be one awesome-looking movie. Also joined the guys for the dailies today in the screening room and a few shots got final approval. It’s a great buzz when a shot gets final approval and one can hear the animator give a sigh of relief.
I’ve been through most of the script now and I also got to watch some of the videos that was recorded of the different artists recording the new voice tracks. There’s some great references for facial performance there and it’s quite hilarious to see what happens between takes.
I know I said I will take photos today but yet again, the day was over before I realized it. I’m considering setting a reminder on my phone to do so. Until tomorrow then.
Got my first glimpse today at the final quality renders and I’m simply blown away. The lighting and rendering guys are putting in some serious efforts and this will be one awesome-looking movie. Also joined the guys for the dailies today in the screening room and a few shots got final approval. It’s a great buzz when a shot gets final approval and one can hear the animator give a sigh of relief.
I’ve been through most of the script now and I also got to watch some of the videos that was recorded of the different artists recording the new voice tracks. There’s some great references for facial performance there and it’s quite hilarious to see what happens between takes.
I know I said I will take photos today but yet again, the day was over before I realized it. I’m considering setting a reminder on my phone to do so. Until tomorrow then.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 3
09/06/10 19:57
Today I felt a bit more at ease going in to work. I’m
starting to get the hang of using SoftImage with it’s
keyboard shortcuts, but I’m still frustrated at some
stuff that I know how to do in Maya, but have to
fumble around SoftImage to get it to work. To top it
all off, SoftImage has this nasty habit of crashing
and not even saving an emergency copy of my scene
like Maya does. Using Winblows is also not helping.
I’ve learned to Ctrl+S once I made a few changes that
I like to a scene.
With this project they have a requirement of 2 seconds of approved animation per day. It’s a bit tough but I’m sure I will manage. I might be slow initially but I’m sure I will pick up the pace as I get used to the workflow. Today we were asked to create a few cycles for some of the characters. Even though I have only created one I have learned some of the other tools in SoftImage like the Animation Mixer, Synoptic viewer, Animation Layers and the Graph Editor equivalent of SoftImage. Still got to figure out how to get the curves in stepped mode. There didn’t seem to be an obvious shortcut button for that. As I found issues with the rig I logged them with the rigging guys and within a matter of half an hour that rig was fixed and I could update my referenced character. Hats off to Sandy and his team.
To those that asked: I will be taking photos once everyone is used to me. I don’t want to make any sudden movements or have the sounds of the shutter scare them off. Crikey! Now just imagine I said this last bit with a Steve Irwin accent.
With this project they have a requirement of 2 seconds of approved animation per day. It’s a bit tough but I’m sure I will manage. I might be slow initially but I’m sure I will pick up the pace as I get used to the workflow. Today we were asked to create a few cycles for some of the characters. Even though I have only created one I have learned some of the other tools in SoftImage like the Animation Mixer, Synoptic viewer, Animation Layers and the Graph Editor equivalent of SoftImage. Still got to figure out how to get the curves in stepped mode. There didn’t seem to be an obvious shortcut button for that. As I found issues with the rig I logged them with the rigging guys and within a matter of half an hour that rig was fixed and I could update my referenced character. Hats off to Sandy and his team.
To those that asked: I will be taking photos once everyone is used to me. I don’t want to make any sudden movements or have the sounds of the shutter scare them off. Crikey! Now just imagine I said this last bit with a Steve Irwin accent.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 2
08/06/10 20:23
Arrived at work at about 07h50. Decided to go in a
little bit later seeing as it’s not my first day
anymore. Got greeted by everyone and I can get used
to this. It’s so awesome to get to work where
everyone is happy to be there. First order of the day
is to grab a cup coffee to get the engine started.
I spent most of the day arm-wrestling XSI and the rigs for the characters. One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was the URL of the movie’s website in case any of you are interested so here it is. I got informed today that I will get my first shot to work on this coming Friday or next week Monday. I also got a brief description of what it will be about so now I know what to focus on. I’m pretty confident that by Friday (or Monday) I will be a bit more at ease with XSI. I hope they cannot smell my fear.
I have been having a hard time
with getting the characters to do certain things
and it seems like it’s was normal for the other
guys too so I’m feeling more at ease about that.
I spent most of the day arm-wrestling XSI and the rigs for the characters. One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was the URL of the movie’s website in case any of you are interested so here it is. I got informed today that I will get my first shot to work on this coming Friday or next week Monday. I also got a brief description of what it will be about so now I know what to focus on. I’m pretty confident that by Friday (or Monday) I will be a bit more at ease with XSI. I hope they cannot smell my fear.
I have been having a hard time
with getting the characters to do certain things
and it seems like it’s was normal for the other
guys too so I’m feeling more at ease about that.
My first 30 days as an animator - Day 1
07/06/10 19:44
I decided to blog about my first 30 days of my
animation career. Due to the NDA I signed I cannot
give detailed information about the movie.
So I got to work at 07h45 this morning, waited for the rest of the people to arrive. The first thing I noticed was that everyone there seemed happy and got a lot of smiles from these soon-to-be-not-strangers. The studio is located on a farm in the middle of Cape Town. It’s a beautiful setup and so serene. The first person I met was Mike, my animation director. Was just an informal chat. Just after 8 the director held a quick studio meeting. Very relaxed and informal. He discussed the goals for the week.
After that us animators moved up to the screening room for the dailies. Obviously I hid in the back and just watched in awe the other animators’ work being projected on the white canvas while they get their feedback. It is pretty much like we were told at AM it would be. The shot comes up, it gets played through a couple of times at normal speed. The director gives his feedback, and the other animators even chip in their 2 cents. Some shots gets stepped through frame-by-frame. Some funnies even came up like on of the characters spinning out of control towards off-screen (or so we though initially) until we got informed that it’s a temporary placeholder for the character that needs to flail around helplessly after being kicked.
After dailies I got assigned my desk, with a computer (lovely Core i7 3 GHz with 12 Gigs of RAM, a GeForce GTS250 display card and a dual 22” LCD screen setup). The IT guy came around and setup all the network mappings and installed SoftImage XSI 2011 with all the scripts and workgroups I need. They showed me where the models are located and reference videos and images and told me to play around with it and familiarize myself with it as much as possible. Since I’m from a Maya background, this is crucial for me to get the hang of XSI. I’m used to doing stuff in a certain with wait Maya and it’s going to take some getting used to XSI, even though I can setup the shortcut keys the same as Maya.
At 13h00 we all got a cooked meal for lunch which I thought was awesome. One of the guys celebrated his birthday so after lunch we also got some cake. I slowly started to get to know
some of the other people working there as we
mingled during lunch. Lots of laughter as the
people poked fun at the birthday boy and sang
him an inaudible happy birthday song, of which
he joined in and sung the loudest inaudibly.
Back to the computer to wrestle on with XSI after lunch and by 17h30 the big guns were brought out. No, I’m being serious, the COD4 LAN game starts then. Even though I never played it I sure wouldn’t mind joining in some day and become the target the other guys can practice on. But for now, I have to get back home to try and work on my AM assignments.
So I got to work at 07h45 this morning, waited for the rest of the people to arrive. The first thing I noticed was that everyone there seemed happy and got a lot of smiles from these soon-to-be-not-strangers. The studio is located on a farm in the middle of Cape Town. It’s a beautiful setup and so serene. The first person I met was Mike, my animation director. Was just an informal chat. Just after 8 the director held a quick studio meeting. Very relaxed and informal. He discussed the goals for the week.
After that us animators moved up to the screening room for the dailies. Obviously I hid in the back and just watched in awe the other animators’ work being projected on the white canvas while they get their feedback. It is pretty much like we were told at AM it would be. The shot comes up, it gets played through a couple of times at normal speed. The director gives his feedback, and the other animators even chip in their 2 cents. Some shots gets stepped through frame-by-frame. Some funnies even came up like on of the characters spinning out of control towards off-screen (or so we though initially) until we got informed that it’s a temporary placeholder for the character that needs to flail around helplessly after being kicked.
After dailies I got assigned my desk, with a computer (lovely Core i7 3 GHz with 12 Gigs of RAM, a GeForce GTS250 display card and a dual 22” LCD screen setup). The IT guy came around and setup all the network mappings and installed SoftImage XSI 2011 with all the scripts and workgroups I need. They showed me where the models are located and reference videos and images and told me to play around with it and familiarize myself with it as much as possible. Since I’m from a Maya background, this is crucial for me to get the hang of XSI. I’m used to doing stuff in a certain with wait Maya and it’s going to take some getting used to XSI, even though I can setup the shortcut keys the same as Maya.
At 13h00 we all got a cooked meal for lunch which I thought was awesome. One of the guys celebrated his birthday so after lunch we also got some cake.
I slowly started to get to know
some of the other people working there as we
mingled during lunch. Lots of laughter as the
people poked fun at the birthday boy and sang
him an inaudible happy birthday song, of which
he joined in and sung the loudest inaudibly.
Back to the computer to wrestle on with XSI after lunch and by 17h30 the big guns were brought out. No, I’m being serious, the COD4 LAN game starts then. Even though I never played it I sure wouldn’t mind joining in some day and become the target the other guys can practice on. But for now, I have to get back home to try and work on my AM assignments.
Triggerfish here I come!
27/05/10 20:08
I got the great news today that I’ll be starting at Triggerfish Animation Studios in Cape Town within the next week. It’s only a 7 month contract but I am super excited about it. This means I will have to animate 4 legged animals and possibly birds too. I will also have to learn to use SoftImage XSI. Looking forward to these new challenges.
MegaMind Trailer
23/05/10 10:25
A new trailer for the movie MegaMind, created by DreamWorks Animation is out.
As always, try to see it in HD full screen.
Rio
21/05/10 09:34
The trailer for the next movie from Blue Sky Studios have also
been released today. It’s looking good and I’m
looking forward to go see this one.
Shrek Forever After is here!
21/05/10 09:29
Well the day is finally here. Shrek Forever After is now
showing! Well.... what are you waiting for? Go
and see it, now... go go go!!!
Pop
20/05/10 12:37
This short film by Bernard Derriman made me almost
pee my pants from laughing. Press play, you know you
want to.
Azureus Rising
20/05/10 10:15
This is one very impressive short film produced by a
guy named David Weinstein and a group
of talented artists. Would love to see this one
expanded. Oh, and watch it in full screen at the
HD setting if you can.
Shrek Forever After - New Trailer
03/05/10 21:12
New Toy Story 3 Poster!
27/04/10 16:32
A new poster for Toy Story 3 is out.
Gorillaz - Stylo
27/04/10 12:32
Pixels
10/04/10 08:08
Just saw this short film by Patrick Jean and it’s
amazing.
PIXELS by PATRICK JEAN.
Uploaded by onemoreprod. - Watch original web videos.
PIXELS by PATRICK JEAN.
Uploaded by onemoreprod. - Watch original web videos.
Maya 2011 is here!
08/04/10 10:11
And it is official. Maya 2011 is available! I just finished downloading a 30-day trial version of Maya 2011 for OS X last night. The System Requirements on the Autodesk website states that you need OS X 10.6.2 but for the hell of it I tried installing it and it’s starting up on OS X 10.5.6. Don’t believe me, here’s my screenshot:
Time to take this bad boy for a test drive. The interface feels so much better already.
Last Toy Story 3 characters revealed
06/04/10 15:52
The last of the new Toy Story 3 characters have been
revealed:
That also means that the poster with all the new characters are also completely lit up.
I think I covered all the new characters now. They all seem familiar to me at least.
Now June 18th better come along swiftly.
That also means that the poster with all the new characters are also completely lit up.
I think I covered all the new characters now. They all seem familiar to me at least.
Now June 18th better come along swiftly.
9, Secret of the Kells and Fantastic Mr. Fox
05/04/10 12:51
I’ve managed to see a few movies this weekend.
9
This was one of my favorite movies. The story was great, animation well done. The only thing that bugged me was the burlap texture. At times it felt flat with no bump/normal mapping whatsoever. Visually it was pleasing and fit right in with the mood. Might at times be a shocker for people. The scene with the dead mother holding her dead baby comes to mind immediately. Only further on in the movie do you realize what happened to them.
The Secret Of Kells
Wow! This was definitely one visually stunning movie. And with my love for Ireland I enjoyed this one tremendously. Story was good, animation too. But those celtic symbols and signs throughout the movie was just pure eye candy. I would definitely recommend this movie. And if you can, go see the Book of Kells. Last time I saw it was at Trinity College in Dublin.
Fantastic Mr. Fox
With having big names such as George Clooney and Meryl Streep provide the voices, I was expecting more from this movie. The story itself wasn’t bad, based on the Roald Dahl book by the same name. Visually it wasn’t that pleasing. At times I was distracted by the fur on the stop-mo puppets that constantly moved at random places throughout the movie. This is one huge reason why stop-motion puppets shouldn’t have fur... at all... ever!!! The animation was done on what felt like 4’s. There was also part where it felt uncomfortably stiff, with no moving holds to keep things alive.
All in all, I reckon I had a very relaxing weekend.
9
This was one of my favorite movies. The story was great, animation well done. The only thing that bugged me was the burlap texture. At times it felt flat with no bump/normal mapping whatsoever. Visually it was pleasing and fit right in with the mood. Might at times be a shocker for people. The scene with the dead mother holding her dead baby comes to mind immediately. Only further on in the movie do you realize what happened to them.
The Secret Of Kells
Wow! This was definitely one visually stunning movie. And with my love for Ireland I enjoyed this one tremendously. Story was good, animation too. But those celtic symbols and signs throughout the movie was just pure eye candy. I would definitely recommend this movie. And if you can, go see the Book of Kells. Last time I saw it was at Trinity College in Dublin.
Fantastic Mr. Fox
With having big names such as George Clooney and Meryl Streep provide the voices, I was expecting more from this movie. The story itself wasn’t bad, based on the Roald Dahl book by the same name. Visually it wasn’t that pleasing. At times I was distracted by the fur on the stop-mo puppets that constantly moved at random places throughout the movie. This is one huge reason why stop-motion puppets shouldn’t have fur... at all... ever!!! The animation was done on what felt like 4’s. There was also part where it felt uncomfortably stiff, with no moving holds to keep things alive.
All in all, I reckon I had a very relaxing weekend.
More TS3 Characters revealed
30/03/10 22:41
Ok, I apologize for the delay. I’ve been having some
internet connection issues. Hopefully it will be
sorted out soon. So here’s 4 more characters for Toy
Story 3 that got revealed:
I’m really looking forward to seeing this. Have a great week.
I’m really looking forward to seeing this. Have a great week.
SkyWalker Ranch
22/03/10 07:51
This is just a beautiful video shot with the Canon
5DMk II and 7D of the SkyWalker Ranch.
Meet Sparks
16/03/10 18:43
Yup, this is the latest new character revealed for
Toy Story 3. His name is Spark, and ultra cool robot
toy with flashing lights and everything.
Shrek Forever After Trailer!!!
13/03/10 09:14
What's new in Maya 2011
09/03/10 23:07
Well, Maya 2011 is coming. Some of the new things it will support that is of personal interest to me are:
- Support for Mac OS X 64-bit
- Backburner
- More file formats for creating custom icons for the shelf
- The Camera Sequencer for doing layouts and managing camera shots
- Few improvements to the Graph Editor
- Point on Poly constraint
- Viewport 2.0 which will allow for navigating complex scenes with ease
There’s a few video clips here to watch, and here’s the full post listing everything.
Found this screenshot on the web. It shows the new Camera Sequencer in action. You can see multiple audio tracks are now supported too!
TS3's Stretch
09/03/10 23:05
Meet Stretch, and 8-legged purple octopus. Voiced by
Whoopi Goldberg.
Final TS3 Poster!
04/03/10 21:30
And here it is!! The final Toy Story 3 poster!
Meet TS3's Twitch
03/03/10 07:55
The latest character announced to be in Toy Story
3... Twitch. Half man, half insect.
How To Train Your Dragon... for real.
02/03/10 21:57
Dragon Training Lesson 1: The Deadly Nadder
Dragon Training Lesson 2: The Gronckle
Dragon Training Lesson 3: The Monstrous Nightmare
Dragon Training Lesson 4: The Hideous Zippleback
Dragon Training Lesson 5: The Night Fury
Dragon Training Lesson 6: The Terrible Terror
How To Train Your Dragon Olympics
19/02/10 15:59
Hehe, so DreamWorks brought out a few
super cool clips with How To Train Your Dragon.
Here they are:
Snowboarding. Vikings on snowboards?
Ski Jump. Being the best means having speed, agility, timing and a helmet!
Speed Skating. Before they trained Dragons, Vikings trained Olympians.
Bob-sledding requires 3 things: Strength, courage and a guy named Bob.
Medal Ceremony. The awarding of Gold, Silver & Bronze medals is a relatively recent development. 1000 years ago, athletes were awarded slightly different prizes.
Snowboarding. Vikings on snowboards?
Ski Jump. Being the best means having speed, agility, timing and a helmet!
Speed Skating. Before they trained Dragons, Vikings trained Olympians.
Bob-sledding requires 3 things: Strength, courage and a guy named Bob.
Medal Ceremony. The awarding of Gold, Silver & Bronze medals is a relatively recent development. 1000 years ago, athletes were awarded slightly different prizes.
Toy Story 3: Buttercup
19/02/10 12:14
Say hello to Buttercup. He... yes HE... is one of the new characters in Toy Story 3 that just got unveiled. Now, I’m still trying to get over the fact that a HE... got heart-shaped nostrils.
Some more Toy Story 3
goodness!!
12/02/10 19:34
There’s been a flurry of activity on the Toy Story 3
front. A new trailer got released and a few of the
new characters got revealed.
Lotso
Oh Mr. Potato Head
Lotso
Oh Mr. Potato Head
Tim Burton on Creativity
16/01/10 16:53
Wow, I was just now reading this article over at Creative Creativity about Tim
Burton’s take on creativity and it struck a
chord with me. When he says “Goddammit, I
don`t care if I can`t draw, I`m just gonna draw
how I feel about it.” That is pretty much
how I feel about my drawing skills (almost
none). A very powerful sentence that is.
Second Toy Story 3 still!!
16/12/09 10:23
Yup here it is. The second still from Toy Story 3
released to the public.
First Toy Story 3 render!!!
12/12/09 21:08
Well well well, it seems like the first publicly
released render from Toy Story 3 is here!
Image courtesy of The Pixar Blog
Image courtesy of The Pixar Blog
Toy Story 3 Official Trailer!!!
14/10/09 08:32
The official version of the Toy Story 3 trailer is
out now! Get it while it’s hot.
I finally saw Up!!
08/10/09 13:17
I finally managed to go see Up, and in 3D as well. Wow, it was so damn awesome. Dug with his “SQUIRREL!!!” and “POINT!!” had me in stitches. The whole story line was also very well thought out and endearing.
Then I also went to see District 9. I have to admit, I was quite surprised at how well District 9 turned out. Even though it’s a “local” film, the story wasn’t that bad at all. It was quite a refreshing difference compared to other aliens-invaded-earth-OMG films.
I also managed to squeeze in G-Force. It was also very well done and I enjoyed it for it’s entertainment value. Just being able to switch off, relax and enjoy it was a good break from my animation studies.
And a friend of mine gave me The Iron Giant on DVD. I’ve enjoyed it tremendously and will definitely use it as reference during my AM studies. Thanks Leigh-Ann!!
Pretty cool Coca-Cola ad
01/10/09 17:34
I found this Coca-Cola ad quite funny. Even though
it’s not an english ad no words are spoken in the ad,
yet we all get the idea clearly of what their message
is. That is what I call good advertisement.
It's trailers time
22/08/09 09:50
I found the following 2 trailers over at Apple which I’m very excited
about.
AVATAR
This is quite a “controversial” movie in the sense that it was supposed to be done 14 years ago. The film was first conceived by director James Cameron 14 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not yet exist. Now, after four years of actual production work, AVATAR delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film, disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story. It will be released on 18 December 2009.
Alvin & The Chipmunks - The Squeakquel
Yes ladies and gents, they are back! In the “Squeakquel,” pop sensations Alvin, Simon and Theodore end up in the care of Dave Seville’s twenty-something nephew Toby (Zachary Levi). The boys must put aside music superstardom to return to school, and are tasked with saving the school’s music program by winning the $25,000 prize in a battle of the bands. But the Chipmunks unexpectedly meet their match in three singing chipmunks known as “The Chipettes” - Brittany, Eleanor and Jeanette. Romantic and musical sparks are ignited when the Chipmunks and Chipettes square off. This one is set to be released on 25 December 2009.
AVATAR
This is quite a “controversial” movie in the sense that it was supposed to be done 14 years ago. The film was first conceived by director James Cameron 14 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not yet exist. Now, after four years of actual production work, AVATAR delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film, disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story. It will be released on 18 December 2009.
Alvin & The Chipmunks - The Squeakquel
Yes ladies and gents, they are back! In the “Squeakquel,” pop sensations Alvin, Simon and Theodore end up in the care of Dave Seville’s twenty-something nephew Toby (Zachary Levi). The boys must put aside music superstardom to return to school, and are tasked with saving the school’s music program by winning the $25,000 prize in a battle of the bands. But the Chipmunks unexpectedly meet their match in three singing chipmunks known as “The Chipettes” - Brittany, Eleanor and Jeanette. Romantic and musical sparks are ignited when the Chipmunks and Chipettes square off. This one is set to be released on 25 December 2009.
AnimationMentor Student Showcase Summer 2009
05/08/09 10:27
Our AnimationMentor Student Showcase for Summer 2009 have just been released. There’s some really cool kickass animation on there. I am so excited when I see the quality of animation my fellow students puts out. Hopefully soon I will have something good enough to have on the next one.
RobotBoy trailer
01/08/09 10:21
Looking pretty cool! I enjoy the cartoon version of it a lot so I’m sure this one will be able to push the bar.
Gobelins Annecy 2009 Entries
13/06/09 12:01
Toy Story 3 Teaser
30/05/09 16:34
Yup, here it is. The first teaser trailer for Toy Story 3. You can go watch a full HD version on the Apple Trailers website.
Pixar goes to Canada!
10/05/09 07:37
Woohoo! Pixar announced that they will be opening a studio in Vancouver, Canada, for producing their short films. Short films being those short movies of a couple of minutes that gets to play before one of their feature animation films. Short films are also what they tend to test new technologies on so it’s a great way to get a sneak-peek at what they’ve been working on.
Time for some funny clips...
08/05/09 21:25
... speaking of time where did it all go to? I’m
already halfway through the second semester at
Animation Mentor! Anyways, fellow students posted
these two video clips today and I found them to
be very funny, and inspiring.
Supermarket Fever
One and zero
Oxygen
Anyways, fellow students posted
these two video clips today and I found them to
be very funny, and inspiring.
Supermarket Fever
One and zero
Oxygen
Oxygen from Christopher Hendryx on Vimeo.
Zapping
02/04/09 15:09
Zapping from Aritz Aizpurua on Vimeo.
Pretty funny clip sent on to me by my buddy Dave. Quite funny.
Adrenaline Lemmings
29/03/09 09:52
Adrenaline Lemmings CGI test from Alex Orrelle on Vimeo.
Saw this over at Victor Navone’s Blog and just had to post it. Brilliant stuff.
Wow, hats off to Apple.
20/03/09 21:54
When I read articles like this one over at Apple Insider, I just have this big lump in my throat and I feel proud. Not just because I’m an Apple fanboy, but because for the people over at Apple the business they are in is not just about making as much money as they can out of the average Joe. No, these guys also empower people to do so much more with their Apple hardware (the iPhone/iPod Touch in particular in this case) to help other people who have a tough life (diabetes sufferers in this case).
Good job guys!
World Builder
14/03/09 13:13
New UP Trailer!!!
07/03/09 09:03
It's been a while since I blogged, I know. Things have been hectic here. Anyways, a new Up trailer was released yesterday. Be sure to check the HD version if possible.
Monsters vs. Aliens coming soon!
07/02/09 00:11
Transformers : Revenge Of The Fallen
01/02/09 15:24
Yup, that's right. It's the second Transformers movie, Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen. This is the ad that will air during the Superbowl. And this looks like it would be good, really good. Coming to a theater near you on the 26th of June 2009.
G-Force Trailer
31/01/09 10:24
Stumbled upon this trailer for a movie called GForce. It's about guinea pigs used by the government trained to do covert espionage. Equipped with the latest high-tech spy gadgets this can only be one comedy adventure not to be missed. Interestingly it's produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (who brought us such movies/TV Shows as CSI, Pirates of the Caribbean, Black Hawk Down, Gone in Sixty Seconds etc.) so it would be a must-see movie come July 24 2009.
Eddie Izzard - Death Star Canteen
15/01/09 09:06
Oh man that is funny. Love Eddie's work but this is even better.
"Up" sneak peek with Pete Docter
12/01/09 08:36
Another sneak peek at the upcoming animated movie, Up.
AM Blog added
04/01/09 18:49
I have decided to create a dedicated AnimationMentor blog. Also I
will be adding galleries of all the finished
weekly assignments for all the different
semesters. I have just added the clips of my
assignments I did. I will most probably be
posting more frequently there than here.
Disney - Pixar's movie "Up" on it's way!
16/12/08 10:14
From Disney*Pixar comes “Up,” a comedy adventure about 78 year old balloon salesman Carl Fredericksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. From the Academy Award(r)-nominated director Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.), Disney*Pixar’s Up invites you on a hilarious journey into a lost world, with the least likely duo on Earth.
Cars 2 coming in 2011 (maybe earlier)!!!
07/10/08 08:57
Seems like the guys over at Pixar are working extra hard. Rumour has it that for the first time ever, they have 2 movies scheduled for release in 2011 (Newt and The Bear and the Bow). But if Cars 2 is scheduled for 2011 they would probably move the other 2 movies to 2012. Either way I cannot wait.
28 hours to go...
09/09/08 17:00
... until I can setup my AnimationMentor account!!! *does a happy dance* Things are a bit hectic here still. I am busy building a website for a client, and I also got 6 photography assignments to work through and send off. I also got my exam dates for the Photography course and they are in the middle of October. I hope to finish this all before the real AnimationMentor classes starts on the 5th of January 2009!!
Bill Melendez passes away
04/09/08 07:52
It's another sad day for the animation community. Bill Melendez, the only animator authorized by Charles Schulz (creator of the Peanuts comic strip) to animate the Peanuts, has passed away of natural causes at the ripe age of 91.
Rest in peace Mr. Melendez.
Some more links:
Full CNN report here.
Wikipedia
Maya 2009 is coming!
12/08/08 08:51
Autodesk Maya 2009 has been announced at SIGGRAPH (no surprise there).
Have a look at some of the new features of Maya 2009! I personally like the new render pass feature and mental ray proxy.
SigGraph '08 is upon us again.
06/08/08 10:24
Yup, it's that time of the year again... SIGGRAPH '08. The who's who of the industry will be there and by the looks of things, some nice announcements are to be made.
Bolt (Trailer) - Next animated movie from Disney!!
31/07/08 23:14
AnimationMentor here I come!!!
03/07/08 07:59
I woke up this morning to one of the best e-mails waiting in my inbox. I got accepted for AnimationMentor!! Starting the 29th of September.
Kung-Fu Panda released!
09/06/08 10:19
Image courtesy of Dreamworks.
I know it's been a while since my last post. My studies have been keeping me quite busy.
The latest movie from Dreamworks called Kung-Fu Panda has been released. And it's taken the top spot for this weekends release too.
Well, I'll be back some other time with more news.
Ollie Johnston passed away
17/04/08 13:16
Image courtesy of Wikipedia.org
It's a sad day today for me to hear that Ollie Johnston passed away.
Who is he you may ask? He is one of the 9 Old Men as they were famously dubbed that worked at Walt Disney Studios. The last remaining one as a matter of fact. I am actually currently busy reading him and Frank Thomas's book by the title of "The Illusion of Life - Disney Animation". Also known as the animation bible.
Rest In Peace Mr. Johnston
Some more links
Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston's Official site
CNN Report
