Sunday, June 3, 2007

I introduce to you "Tailor" starring in "The Squirrel Chase"



Alright, I'm finally getting a chance to post some more work up for you again. The assignment was to bounce "Tailor" a minimum of 3 times, and as you can see I got really carried away. I could have done the minimum, and theres nothing wrong with that, but I just can't help the urge to be a little creative. I am thankful to have the time to do it too. For this assignment we were learning about arcs which is another fundamental of animation. If you just simply reach for something right now, you will notice your hand will move in a little arc. Its not something we think about at all, but pretty much everything we do moves in arcs. With the computer its so easy to move things around in a linear fashion, but that gives it a very mechanical unnatural feel. So its very important to always be thinking about arcs while animating. My mentor, gave me a cool little idea to have the camera shake when the big squirrel hits the tree. It helps emphasize the impact just a little bit and gives the piece a little more "flavor" as he put it.

I love relearning all these fundamentals again because its really forcing me to think about them with every move I make. Its getting to the point where I don't even have to try to remember to think about them. If that makes any sense. :)

Many people told me my animation reminds them of a scene from Disneys "The Sword in the Stone" when theres 2 little squirrels running on some tree limbs. I hope you like it.



Since I missed a week I will upload another weeks worth of work.

Planning



Blocking



This is just my blocking pass of a vanilla walk. A blocking pass is just the main poses needed to create the scene ,as you can see in my planning. That why its feels choppy. A vanilla walk is just a "normal" walk with no personality....in other words, just ordinary. So as you can see its not too exciting. We are getting into walks with more personality this week which are more fun to watch.

We also had to do a another pose with Stu showing strength. So I caged up a huge Tailor and got Stu to pull it.

Strength



I will post another weeks work in another day or two, but I think that enough for now. :)

As always, I love hearing your comments or even just a simple hello.

Thank you!

2 comments:

John said...

Sheldon,

I've been meaning to make a comment regarding this post...awesome stuff man. I really like the Squirrel chase...it does give an old disney feel in regards to the way they bounce and move...even the tiny squash and strech...looks great.
I think the little camera shake is very subtle and does add just the slightest bit of icing to the piece.
I'm amazed at your growth as an animator since you've started Animation Mentor. You've already got stronger portfolio work than most people get through their entire college career. Keep up the great work dude.

Sheldon Kruger said...

Wow! Those are some really kind words. Thank you very much! The way we are being taught at Animation Mentor is great. They are just slowly adding one element at a time. For example, this coming week is the first week we are allowed to animate in perspective view. I am really seeing how well thought out this program was. Even though I have experience already, I am really enjoying just taking it slow and having everything thoroughly explained. Its awesome.

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