Tex... nuff said.

(i'm leaving this post for now, but sadly the shorts I had linked to are no longer available)
Most of my posts these days are less descriptions about my day or thoughts, but rather a record of something cool i've found on the web. Something i want to remember. These shorts (click image) i found over on youtube.com are perfect examples of that. Results from a Tex Avery search. It seems someone or some-many have ripped and uploaded nearly a hundred classic movies i loved as a kid.


As a growing animator I often get into discussions about inspiration or what might have been the one thing to truly inspire your chosen career. For me it was the movie TRON, without question. However when i think about shorts, its undeniably the Tex Avery work for MGM. My favorite by far was Deputy Droopy. I still remember rolling around with laughter as the characters swapped heads to enable the other to scream away from the jailhouse. (you'll know that if you've seen it) These shorts simply were it! Yeah I liked Looney Toons stuff too, but they didn't compair to the entertainment I got out of the many shorts on this link. Sadly they still have yet to release a comprehensive Tex Avery DVD set in the US.

John Lasseter's student film...

No wonder Disney hired him out of Cal Arts, he founded Pixar, and is now the head of feature animation at Disney Studios. There's such fantastic character and appeal in this short, not to mention all the other great animation mechanics going on. Have a look. (click image)

notes from masters...

holy crap there's a butt load of great information here. thanks walt, Glen, and the gang of ground breakers...

Walt on drawing the Disney way

Glen and more

Nine old men (i've often wondered how they felt about being refered to as 'old men')

great short...

...this is freakin awesome! (click image) I'm sure i say that often, but with so much media available today its often true. often often often...

simply put, this is a fantastic little short, and a great example that you don't need terribly complex characters to make them compelling. The lead character is a box with legs, no facial features, but the acting makes him believable.

pixar's way...

interview with Ralph Eggleston speaking about pixar's development process. Questioning is from a younger audience, but the answers and overall information is interesting none the less.

Glen Keane speaks

Nothing more than a cool inspiration link from a cool and inspirational man.

Glen

...it begins again

... my third term at Animation Mentor, Intro to Acting. At long last I've finally gotten around to posting again. Its been a very busy spring for me professionally, as well as personally, but i'll spare all none of you that read my blog from the booring details. Anyway, I really just wanted to post some of the work I completed during this past term of Animation Mentor, Body Mechanics.

CLICK HERE to view ( image uploads to my blog weren't working today)

Each week I continue to learn and grow as an artist beyond my expectations. I'm even finding that the information i'm absorbing at AM often transcends animation and has already made me a better artist on the job. bla bla bla... i can say this kind of foolish crap over and over but i'm sure it gets old.

and now for something completely different... do you like comics? Check out Batman Year 100. I've been reading more of these for art reference related to my work and this story/art stood out. Pretty cool take on "another" Batman 100 years after his first sighting in Gotham. Can't be the same guy, can it?

aaah... good music

Nothing AM related. But I'm a bit drunk, and we just returned from an Imogen Heap show at the Great American Music Hall.

For a one woman show it was pretty damn good. I'm a fan of the recent album, and many of you have probably heard Imogen on the song "Let Go" that was released on a previous album (frou frou), and on the Garden State sound track. Although Della and I are moving out of the city I can't get away from music. I'm sure we will continue to come up an see shows regularly, simply because that just who we are. We love music, and consume it like its going out of style. Guess thats just one of the reasons I love my wife Della. :D

Oh... I made some progress on this weeks assignment to finalize my 180 turn. Here it is

just watched...

3:52 am: just finished the third lecture of term 2, focusing on advanced overlap and anticipation and am getting sleepy, but i had to get something down. I love being an animator! Each day I make something come to life at work, and each night I learn more and more about my craft with AM.(not a bad thing) The vibe with the school is infectious. Bobby, Sean, and Carlos along with so many other animators like Rick O' Conner, Kevin Martel, etc. have this undeniable enthusiasm, passion and inspiration for the art of animation. My fellow students have been equally as... well... AWESOME!!! Great critiques, input and unending inspiration in each of their assignments. Great stuff all around...

Now i have to sleep. Gotta work tomorrow. I'm animating the character and special fx for a thug villain character wielding dual micro uzi's. He pulls the clip out of his left gun, tosses it at his foe and shoots it in the air creating a powerful attack and rather large explosion. fun stuff at work too. hope some of this made sence... sleeeeeeepy.

Metric - Live It Out - cool album from cool band.

turn turn turn...

as I said in the earlier post, I haven't slept too much in the past day and here's why.

assignment, pick one of the following actions to animate. each with a perceived level of difficulty.

1. Have a character kick a ball (legs, spine and head only) Difficulty: *
2. Have a character take a big step to the side (legs, spine and head only) Difficulty: *
3. Have character turn around 180 degrees (legs, spine and head only) Difficulty: **

... during the first week we began planning, thumbnail sketching and shooting of reference video if able. One of the MAJOR things stressed here at school IS to plan thoroughly. So much so that I identify my timing, key poses and overall action prior to ever sitting down at the computer. All I can say is they're ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!!! The more I plan the faster I'm able to complete an animation, and the better it will become.

Now in this the second week we were supposed to go through what is kind of like a first pass of our animation, THE BLOCKING phase. (movie above) As the first time you enter your broad strokes of an animation, your main goal is key poses and timing. Which is why it appears choppy. Think of it as cell animation style without the inbetweens. Again this process that has been suggested to us mirrors my methods (although with less planning) over the past few years as a professional. Although with much more pre-planning and more thorough understanding of how to make a better pose. Yes posing, the subject of this weeks lecture.

Ok... enough work for now.

cool link for today...

mentor

I went to sleep last night at 6:30 in the morning, its the end of the second week of my second term here at Animation Mentor, Body Mechanics, and more late nights to come. My Mentor this term is Charles Alleneck from ILM, here's a little bit from his bio.

"He worked briefly as a traditional animator on the television show The Simpsons before coming to ILM to learn CG animation. Charles has worked at ILM for almost five years, with credit on seven feature films including The Mummy Returns, Hulk, and Star Wars: Episodes II and III. He has served as a Directed Study Mentor, and has lectured on animation both in the U.S. and abroad."

He seems very cool and I'm excited to see what insight he is able to offer us throughout the term. Again, this school continues to impress me with their knowledgable professionals as mentors.

back again...

della and I have returned from our holiday trip to Massachusetts, and things have gotten back underway. Animation Mentor term 2 began this week, so sleep time will be a bit scarce for the next 12 weeks. No matter, I love it!!! Its so fantastic to be passionately working on animations of my own, and to be a part of an amazing group of equally passionate students and mentors. I'm excited and scared.

Work has also been fun lately. Just last week I finished up on animations and Fx for one of our signature villains, Lord Recluse. He's this evil master with 8 crazy spider legs coming from his back. (a few more images) He was a lot of fun but also quite a challenge, as he's a full bipedal character PLUS 8 additional appendages with 4 bones each. Simply put, thats a lot to keep track of. Ok, gotta go. The Patriots second playoff game is about to start.

lately i've been listening to: The Arcade Fire - first EP