Am back! Now with more Ben10
August 23, 2011
This is whats been keeping me busy for the whole year, I’m animating on the upcoming Ben10 TV feature.
It’s been really cool to work on, even though the deadline is really really tight. We worked super hard on this and I hope it shows – heres the youtube sneakpeek!
Ben 10 – Destroy All Aliens
Work work!
February 7, 2011
Sorry about the lack of posts recently, I’m neck deep in another project, this is a follow-up to the animation test I did earlier, it’s now in full swing and there’ll be launch later this year at Comic-con! This is easily the biggest production I’ve worked on. I also have some really interesting links and write-ups to share, and I intend to post them in the coming weeks. I’ll definitely get around to it, but the posting times will be sporadic.
Interview with Glen Keane
January 17, 2011
Another interview with Glen Keane on the production of Tangled.
CW: It’s because you’re a complete artist. You like creating everything character-based, but now the work is separated more and more. Have you used 3D animation software at all?
GK: Yes. One day, I used it. It was SUPER hard. I gained a lot of respect for 3D animators. And, it was funny, but afterwards I realized they had to put A LOT of energy into creating something average and they put a quote on the wall saying that [laughs]. It’s hard.
But something that was important to me, the fact that I’m not a 3D animator… I was not very empathetic.CW: You were not at ease animating 3D, or you were not very interested in 3D animation?
GK: No, I was not… I was not sympathetic to their struggle. The fact that–
CW: You didn’t understand their daily problems.
GK: Yes. And right away I would say: We have to go much further than that. And they would say: « No, but if you’d seen what we had before you’d be really happy with this. » And I said: « No, I don’t see since I’m not a [3D] animator, but we have to go all the way. »
From Cloneweb.net
Merry Christmas!
December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas everyone!
Here’s this year’s Disney Christmas short – Prep and Landing 2 : Operation Secret Santa!
More on Fibonacci’s sequence
December 23, 2010
This video has been out for a bit, I’ll just post this here as a follow-up to my previous’s post.
I wonder, what if we incorporate bits of Fibonacci’s Sequence in our animation timing? Intriguing, yes.
Golden Ratio in composition
December 23, 2010
They might not look it, but Lifehacker has plenty of articles that animators will find very useful if you know where to look.
Like this article on making the most out of your point and shoot camera, it’s full of tips and tricks on the rule of thirds in compositions.
Or this one using fibonaccis’s sequence to get appealing composition, which in turn lead me to find the Digital Photography School – also full of articles like ones above. Check out this video.
I’ve really been getting into cinematography and composition lately, it’s endlessly fascinating! Expect more posts like these soon 
Cinematography Workshop
December 22, 2010
Ngee Ann Polytechnic is hosting a workshop on Cinematography and Previz in the coming weeks, I’ve got the details below.
| Panel discussion on Art & Science of Digital Cinematography | ||||
| Date: Jan 6, 2011 Time: 9:00AM – 5:30PM Speakers: Rob Dressel, Brian Pohl Moderator: Wong Hock Hian Venue: Ngee Ann Polytechnic 535 Clementi Road Singapore 599489 ( Lecture Theatre 22) 100 Seats
Speakers’ Biography Brian J. Pohl http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1106116/ Brian J. Pohl was apart of the Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones previsualization team up at Skywalker Ranch in northern California. Upon the completion of Episode II, Pohl was transferred to Industrial Light and Magic where he worked as a previs artist on a number of films that include: K19: The Widowmaker, Men in Black II, The Hulk, Terminator 3, Van Helsing, and THX-1138 Special Edition. Pohl is experienced with a number of 3D animation and compositing packages and served as senior previsualization supervisor on a number of films. In his spare time he occasionally teaches classes on previsualization at Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Hollywood. Rob Dressel http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0237560/ Rob Dressel is a veteran animator with almost 2 decades of experience working at top production houses and worked on some of the top grossing films of all time. He worked on many live action features, including Crimson Tide, Armageddon, and was Supervising Animator on Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, Deep Rising, Mighty Joe Young, Inspector Gadget, and was the Creature Supervisor for 102 Dalmatians and Reign of Fire, where he supervise the rigging and animation of some of the most highly complex creatures development and animation at the time. Rob supervised rigging and animation on Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Working on the early development of this film shifted his focus onto live action previsualization. After Sky Captain, Rob went on to previs for Transformers 1, Jumper, Hancock and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Rob returned to Disney Animation Studios in 2008 as the Layout and Sequence Supervisor for Prep and Landing which marks his first CG animated project. He is currently Layout Supervisor on Disney’s next animated feature: Reboot. Wong Hock Hian http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2773686/ For the past 10 years, Hock Hian has worked varies aspects of CG productions on Films, televisions, games etc, from CG sequence for the popular Fight Science and Hock Hian has recently completed previz and layout on Dreamworks Animation’s critically acclaimed, How To Train Your Dragon. He also did Character Effects work on Dreamwork’s Shrek Forever After and on the sequel to the blockbuster Kung Fu Panda 2. He is currently working on another Dreamworks movie, Puss in Boots. Prior to that Hock Hian has work on 2012, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Astro Boy, Eagle Eye, 2012, etc.
|
Rapunzel: Boarding for 3D vs 2D
December 22, 2010
Over at Mark Kennedy’s blog, there’s a great post on his experience doing boards for Tangled, also in the same post are some valuable thoughts on the difference between storyboarding for 3D vs 2D.
I would say the other difference between storyboarding for 2D or 3D is that there’s more subtle acting that can be done in CG – it’s much easier to do a scene where a character just lifts an eyebrow slightly, or just raises their lower eyelids for a moment as an acting beat. In 2D when the characters have to be drawn, we tend not to board such subtle acting, because it can be too difficult to do in drawings, but when the characters are built and rigged in the computer, the animators have a much easier time creating subtle shifts on the face and body to indicate small acting beats.
It’s a most enlightening read, from a really experienced artist. Also check out his other posts while you’re there, I rarely see a blog that’s as chocked full of knowledge as his.
Recent events
December 18, 2010
So many things happened recently, Dream Defenders had a cinema premiere earlier this month. (Tickets pictured) I’ve always wanted to work on features, to do something I’m proud of and see our names on the big screen. This is one solid step towards that direction!
But some bad news, another local studio has closed their doors,.I’ve heard rumblings about the problems they’ve face since two years ago. But I never thought they’ll close down, their pet project is Kung Fu Gecko, slated to come out before Dreamwork’s Kung Fu Panda. But Panda came and went, and still no Gecko in sight.
I’ll leave you guys with a fantastic write up by Keith Lango about running a team of animators. I cut my animation teeth on his video tutorials until he stopped the subscription earlier this year. Check out his site!
Bird Flight
November 30, 2010
Brendan Body has a fantastic tutorial post on his blog about bird flight and other observations, here’s an excerpt;
Swimming is the closest thing we experience to flying, and it is tempting to animate bird flight like an airborne swim-cycle. Because of the vast difference in density between air and water, this can often lead us astray in a number of ways.
As you can see the animator has positioned the wings in the first image up and forward, then they move backward and down, pushing the air down behind, propelling the bird forward. It makes sense, right?
In fact, the exact opposite is true. As the bird’s wings move downwards, they are pushed forward and then rotate back as they return to the up position. The reason for this is simple once you understand lift, and if you’d like an explanation click below. As a general rule the slower the bird is flying, the further forward it’ll push it’s wings to generate extra lift, the faster a bird is flying the less it’ll push it wings forward.
Another important way to show effort during flight is not through activity in the wings, it’s in the hips. The amount of vertical hip movement increases with the effort the bird is exerting. As you can see in the video above*, the eagle has a lot of vertical hip movement when it first takes off, but as it’s speed increases, and the flight requires less effort, the hip translation decreases.
Animation Mentor
