time for a catch up

well its been over a week now since my last post so i thought it was about time for me to catch up on things iv been doing, il be adding pics later to show some of what ive done.

after doing a load of research on Hideaki Anno who is the animator i chose to do my essay on i finished my essay. early for once, which is really surprising as its usually the night before the deadline im writing it at 3 am. this time i have it finished and i have proof read it and i think i have done pretty well so im going to check with phil and see what he thinks and if i should re-write any of it.

apart from finishing my essay i have seen a new look on uni after my huge cockup of my last project. im now really enjoying uni even tho its a big culture change for me and im sure im not the only 1, but im now looking at what i can learn from uni and not trying to show what im good at. i also want to find out how much its going to cost to get a character model created like the 2 creatures in the cabnets for a character im working on in my spare time.

anyway im ranting on about random things now so back to the work lol, iv done a lot on my story boarding which im now just refineing and finding sequences to add between my scenes, i have also realised that quite a bit of my animation i can re-use and this will save me a lot of time drawing.

anyway the only reason im on here atm is because i cant sleep so im using this time to get some work done and update my blog, my next update will be as soon as my cam finishes charging so hopefully tomoz if i remember, anyway im off to try and get some more sleep, gnight.

eyes for teapot

whilst thinking of my teapot and how i could animate is and give it character i was thinking about adding eyes, this is still an idea and im not sure if i will use it yet but i got some pictures of eyes to help me with my character sketches. the images below are of different types of eyes which might be useful in my character sets.

ideas and research

over the past 2 weeks i have been thinking about my idea and doing research, i have also now finished my essay which i have chosen to write about hideako anno the animator for the evangelion anime series and he has worked in studio ghibli in all areas of animation and production.

i have been looking at ideas for my nimble teapot so i looked up nimble and definitions and this is what i found.

Definitions of nimble on the Web:

• agile: moving quickly and lightly; "sleek and agile as a gymnast"; "as nimble as a deer"; "nimble fingers"; "quick of foot"; "the old dog was so ...
• agile: mentally quick; "an agile mind"; "nimble wits"
  wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
• Quick and light in movement or action; Quick-witted and alert
  en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Nimble
• nimbly - agilely: in a nimble or agile manner; with quickness and lightness and ease; "nimbly scaling an iron gate"- Charles Dickens; "leaped agilely from roof to roof"
  wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
• nimbleness - intelligence as revealed by quickness and alertness of mind; "nimbleness of wit and imagination"
• nimbleness - agility: the gracefulness of a person or animal that is quick and nimble
  wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
• nimbly - in a nimble manner
  en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nimbly
• nimbleness - the quality of being nimble
  en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nimbleness
• Full name: Nimble Status This isn't really a system; it's just a notation that this ship maneuvers particularly well. ...
  www.smileylich.com/sfb/rules/ges0x/ges0xN.html
• nimbleness - ease and rapidity of movement
  encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861698504/lightness.html

adj., -bler, -blest.

1. Quick, light, or agile in movement or action; deft: nimble fingers. See synonyms at dexterous.
2. Quick, clever, and acute in devising or understanding: nimble wits.

[Middle English nemel, from Old English nǣmel, quick to seize and numol, quick at learning.]

nimbleness nim'ble·ness n.
nimbly nim'bly adv.

adjective

1. Moving or performing quickly, lightly, and easily: agile, brisk, facile, quick, spry. See ability/inability.
2. Exhibiting or possessing skill and ease in performance: adroit, clever, deft, dexterous, facile, handy, slick. See ability/inability.

i found all of theseusing definitions from google and i have an idea for a story now which i will be writing up later as i am still linking scenes together and making the story better.

as for research i found a load of images for teapots and i got some ideas from beaty and the beast as i watched the film. here are some of the images i have found,
these images are in no particular order.



the image above i chose because it could be an idea to add feet and arms to the teapot to make movement easier.

i chose this teapot as an idea because of the facial attributes which i could use to add character to my teapot.

this gave me an idea for my character teapot.


i added this image from a tutorial on drawing and animating fish and i thought is could help me with my teapot drawing.



i added this image because it was a good animation set from disney on bringing an inanimate teapot and cup to life which has been a big help with my project idea.

12 principles of animation

THE 12 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ANIMATION Paraphrased from the "Illusion Of Life" by Frank Thomas & Ollie Johnston.(pp.47-69)

1. Squash and stretch

2. Anticipation

3. Staging

4. Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose

5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action

6. Slow In and Slow Out

7. Arcs

8. Secondary Action

9. Timing

10. Exaggeration

11. Solid Drawing

12. Appeal

1. SQUASH AND STRETCH

This action gives the illusion of weight and volume to a character as it moves. Also squash and stretch is useful in animating dialogue and doing facial expressions. How extreme the use of squash and stretch is, depends on what is required in animating the scene. Usually it's broader in a short style of picture and subtler in a feature. It is used in all forms of character animation from a bouncing ball to the body weight of a person walking. This is the most important element you will be required to master and will be used often.

2. ANTICIPATION

This movement prepares the audience for a major action the character is about to perform, such as, starting to run, jump or change expression. A dancer does not just leap off the floor. A backwards motion occurs before the forward action is executed. The backward motion is the anticipation. A comic effect can be done by not using anticipation after a series of gags that used anticipation. Almost all real action has major or minor anticipation such as a pitcher's wind-up or a golfers' back swing. Feature animation is often less broad than short animation unless a scene requires it to develop a characters personality.

3. STAGING

A pose or action should clearly communicate to the audience the attitude, mood, reaction or idea of the character as it relates to the story and continuity of the story line. The effective use of long, medium, or close up shots, as well as camera angles also helps in telling the story. There is a limited amount of time in a film, so each sequence, scene and frame of film must relate to the overall story. Do not confuse the audience with too many actions at once. Use one action clearly stated to get the idea across, unless you are animating a scene that is to depict clutter and confusion. Staging directs the audience's attention to the story or idea being told. Care must be taken in background design so it isn't obscuring the animation or competing with it due to excess detail behind the animation. Background and animation should work together as a pictorial unit in a scene.

4. STRAIGHT AHEAD AND POSE TO POSE ANIMATION

Straight ahead animation starts at the first drawing and works drawing to drawing to the end of a scene. You can lose size, volume, and proportions with this method, but it does have spontaneity and freshness. Fast, wild action scenes are done this way. Pose to Pose is more planned out and charted with key drawings done at intervals throughout the scene. Size, volumes, and proportions are controlled better this way, as is the action. The lead animator will turn charting and keys over to his assistant. An assistant can be better used with this method so that the animator doesn't have to draw every drawing in a scene. An animator can do more scenes this way and concentrate on the planning of the animation. Many scenes use a bit of both methods of animation.

5. FOLLOW THROUGH AND OVERLAPPING ACTION

When the main body of the character stops all other parts continue to catch up to the main mass of the character, such as arms, long hair, clothing, coat tails or a dress, floppy ears or a long tail (these follow the path of action). Nothing stops all at once. This is follow through. Overlapping action is when the character changes direction while his clothes or hair continues forward. The character is going in a new direction, to be followed, a number of frames later, by his clothes in the new direction. "DRAG," in animation, for example, would be when Goofy starts to run, but his head, ears, upper body, and clothes do not keep up with his legs. In features, this type of action is done more subtly. Example: When Snow White starts to dance, her dress does not begin to move with her immediately but catches up a few frames later. Long hair and animal tail will also be handled in the same manner. Timing becomes critical to the effectiveness of drag and the overlapping action.

6. SLOW-OUT AND SLOW-IN

As action starts, we have more drawings near the starting pose, one or two in the middle, and more drawings near the next pose. Fewer drawings make the action faster and more drawings make the action slower. Slow-ins and slow-outs soften the action, making it more life-like. For a gag action, we may omit some slow-out or slow-ins for shock appeal or the surprise element. This will give more snap to the scene.

7. ARCS

All actions, with few exceptions (such as the animation of a mechanical device), follow an arc or slightly circular path. This is especially true of the human figure and the action of animals. Arcs give animation a more natural action and better flow. Think of natural movements in the terms of a pendulum swinging. All arm movement, head turns and even eye movements are executed on an arcs.

8. SECONDARY ACTION

This action adds to and enriches the main action and adds more dimension to the character animation, supplementing and/or re-enforcing the main action. Example: A character is angrily walking toward another character. The walk is forceful, aggressive, and forward leaning. The leg action is just short of a stomping walk. The secondary action is a few strong gestures of the arms working with the walk. Also, the possibility of dialogue being delivered at the same time with tilts and turns of the head to accentuate the walk and dialogue, but not so much as to distract from the walk action. All of these actions should work together in support of one another. Think of the walk as the primary action and arm swings, head bounce and all other actions of the body as secondary or supporting action.

9. TIMING

Expertise in timing comes best with experience and personal experimentation, using the trial and error method in refining technique. The basics are: more drawings between poses slow and smooth the action. Fewer drawings make the action faster and crisper. A variety of slow and fast timing within a scene adds texture and interest to the movement. Most animation is done on twos (one drawing photographed on two frames of film) or on ones (one drawing photographed on each frame of film). Twos are used most of the time, and ones are used during camera moves such as trucks, pans and occasionally for subtle and quick dialogue animation. Also, there is timing in the acting of a character to establish mood, emotion, and reaction to another character or to a situation. Studying movement of actors and performers on stage and in films is useful when animating human or animal characters. This frame by frame examination of film footage will aid you in understanding timing for animation. This is a great way to learn from the others.

10. EXAGGERATION

Exaggeration is not extreme distortion of a drawing or extremely broad, violent action all the time. It¹s like a caricature of facial features, expressions, poses, attitudes and actions. Action traced from live action film can be accurate, but stiff and mechanical. In feature animation, a character must move more broadly to look natural. The same is true of facial expressions, but the action should not be as broad as in a short cartoon style. Exaggeration in a walk or an eye movement or even a head turn will give your film more appeal. Use good taste and common sense to keep from becoming too theatrical and excessively animated

11. SOLID DRAWING

The basic principles of drawing form, weight, volume solidity and the illusion of three dimension apply to animation as it does to academic drawing. The way you draw cartoons, you draw in the classical sense, using pencil sketches and drawings for reproduction of life. You transform these into color and movement giving the characters the illusion of three-and four-dimensional life. Three dimensional is movement in space. The fourth dimension is movement in time.

12. APPEAL

A live performer has charisma. An animated character has appeal. Appealing animation does not mean just being cute and cuddly. All characters have to have appeal whether they are heroic, villainous, comic or cute. Appeal, as you will use it, includes an easy to read design, clear drawing, and personality development that will capture and involve the audience¹s interest. Early cartoons were basically a series of gags strung together on a main theme. Over the years, the artists have learned that to produce a feature there was a need for story continuity, character development and a higher quality of artwork throughout the entire production. Like all forms of story telling, the feature has to appeal to the mind as well as to the eye.

Animation Unit start

well just started my blog at last.

yesterday we received out new project animation where we have to create a 2d paper based animation where each slide has to be hand drawn, this project could take some time as 24 frames a second in a 1 minute 30 animation is 2160 slides, and we only have 5 weeks so i doubt its gonna be 24 frames per second.

every1 received an object and a personality and we have to combine the 2 and create our animation.

my object was a teapot and its personality is nimble.

so my project is the nimble teapot, iv thought of one idea so far with some help but im still not sure what to do so i decided to work on the essay whilst thinking up the concept.

i have looked at some different animators and i have found 2 that i am looking into to but im still looking at other animators incase i change my mind, the 2 animators i am looking at atm are Yutaka Minowa and Hideaki Anno.

i have also done some research on the 12 principles of animation to get an idea for the style of animation i want to use for my animation.