17th November Week

I have just finshed my 2D and 3D walks for the first time. The 2D one I did loads of because I didnt think through the timing. When I actually took the time to think each step through and play it out in my head it worked much better than my other ones even though it is effectively one step, I should have really done double the amount of frames and played out the whole thing so it would flow but I was trying to get the 3D girl working. I have found that I work best when I concentrate on one movement at a time eg. legs then arms ....

The 3D I struggled with as I still dont know enough about Maya. I havent touched the Graph Editor or the Dope Sheet as I dont know how they work and need to ask again as it obviously all went straight over my head. However the walk isnt to bad considering it was done with a few key frames, I loved having an actual character that you could really play around with. It made it so much more rewarding. For my first Maya walk I am relatively pleased but there is so many improvements to be made. It doesnt seem to let me do play blasts either which must be something I am doing wrong even though I have asked others.....

The Life drawing I am still struggling with Kathy got it spot on when she said I want it to be perfect when I draw the outline so I dont go loose enough. When others are better than you, you want to take the time to get the scaling right etc and I take longer. When we did the one where you dont look at your paper it turned out really well. Admitedly I did have a glance every now and then as did everyone. I need to work on sketching at speed and being more confident with my drawings. I think its because I always draw characters or charactures so I always exaggerate everything to make it more interesting. Life drawing is obviously different in that your trying to replicate the weight and mood of the character through sketches.

History is going ok, I really enjoy it when Annes chatting away but then we get completly off point and it turns into something completly random and I either drift off into my notepad with my pen or zone out, eg today Jonnie trying to justify Rape can be enjoyable. With my fantasticly short attention span, it's a struggle to get back into what was actually being talked about.

Finally Matt and I have made a good start on Triangle since yesterday, we have looked at the aesthetics and influences so far. I know I can pull the ideas and info together but its putting them across without rambling when we actually come to do it. I also realised I am going to find it hard to share the control when we talk so we will actually have to pre determine who is going to say what which makes it quite different and hard for me. Hopefully it will go alright but we are going to have to get it sorted by Thursday as I am off at the weekend. Good times.

BAF Awards Bradford

Well we're back, loved the trip was great in so many ways! Got to finally know everyone on our course and think I've gathered everyones names which is always helpful. The festival itself was fantastic, its definitely completely broadened my horizon which was before extremely shallow. The films that inspired me the most where Fears of The Dark which was really interesting for how the film just kept jumping in and out of various animation styles and compelling stories. Idiots and Angels though quite long I loved the style ; very sketchy but really alive and without the dialogue it still managed to engage me which is really unusual for me. I loved so many of the films that were on but admittedly didn't take to quite a few but thats what made the great ones fantastic.

Top 3 probably were Dance with the Devil which was the music video with some shocking images that was really powerful and I loved the music. Skhizein was probably my favourite storyline with some really creative animation the style was really absorbing. My favorite CGI was one of the student films: Decendants. It was so sharp and slick I couldnt believe it was done by students and I'm still skeptical but it should have won an award! RIGGED! Actually one more the Cat film and also there was a black and white 2D with marching guys which I need to know the name of! Anyone?

My favorite event of the week however was the talk with Curtis Jobbling who is a bit of a legend it has to be said, I really enjoyed his talk and workshop and it really helped. Gave us all some sound advice and has made me think much more creatively about drawing characters, hope to get some more talks with him. Bad points of the week: Storyboarding talk canceled, SEGA guy talk in the Uni was a bit of an anticlimax he has inspired me for my up and coming talk as he was quite introverted in his talk, so at least he, who has been in the business for something like 15 years still gets nervous.

Anyway all in all fun times look foward to this week now!

Week 4 ish Review

This week has got me really annoyed, my 2D animation was awful I did one first and the timing was all out, didn't really concentrate. So I did another one which felt like it was too short and I should have added some frames to the end to give the whole thing a bit more character. The timing towards the end is also not great. On Maya it was my favorite week I've started to feel like I have got more of a grasp of the basics and the jump looks good although again the landing is debatable.

This weeks life drawing was good, I have one figure I am pleased with. I enjoyed the quick poses as well, I am definitely improving but I still trail most people in terms of how fast I can get down a pose accurately. Cant wait for Bradford to see some new animation will be awesome hopefully!