It looks like there has been a change of plans. I lost my position in the Rhythm&Hues apprenticeship program since I haven't graduated from SCAD. I'm somewhat disappointed since my chance for industry exp is gone. On the other hand, I'll be able to work on my AM short full time again. Either way I'll be spending the summer animating. I feel bad for taking a slot that an actual graduate should have gotten. Sorry!
Hey guys,
Here's my final project for animation II class. I still can't believe I actually finished a whole dialogue shot in just two weeks! I guess I'm finally starting to get faster...
I'm in the process of polishing my 3d shot for my Animation II final and animating my 2d shot for my Studies in Motion final. I'm really glad to get back to 2d, but I'm also very unhappy with my assignment. I'm doing the animation in Mirage and it's a constant reminder of how much I dislike doing 2d animation in the computer. Having instant playback is a huge advantage but I just cant draw nearly as well with a tablet as I can with a pencil and paper. I really wish I had an animation disk so I could practice traditional animation at home. There's an animation light box at SCAD's school store that comes with a peg bar and a turnable plastic disc for $349.99. I wish I could buy it but I've been advised to save my money for any trouble I may run into once I arrive in Cali on Monday. That was good advice but I still regret not buying the disc.
I have 2d character animation next term at SCAD. Hopefully the disc will still be in stock. Speaking of 2d character, I am highly upset with SCAD. The original 2d character animation professor Phil Young, is leaving this term. He was the only Disney guy at SCAD and I never got a chance to take a class with him. I was so excited about finally being able to learn from him and now he's gone. To make things worse, I've been reading the blogs of a few CalArts students. They have a bunch of posts about Mark Henn and Glene Keanne lectures and how amazing they are. They also talk about how much their teachers help them by going over their work drawing by drawing. I wish there were teachers like that here. I don't think Glene Keanne has ever even been to SCAD, let alone lecture. I feel like I'm missing out on so much valuable information and its extremely frustrating. I really want to get better with 2d animation but I don't have anyone to help me.
I find myself wishing I had ignored my mother and gone to CalArts anyway. They have access to the best animators in the world and get to pick their brains on multiple occasions. SCAD doesn't have anything like that at all and I feel like I'm being cheated. Sure people say "well, you took AnimationMentor!" and I agree. AM is a fantastic program, and I owe everything I know to those guys. They've helped me improve my knowledge of animation and the 3d medium by leaps and bounds. I am extremely grateful for having the chance to learn from all of the excellent animators in the program. I still want to be able to animate in 2d though. AM has a few 2d animators but I need someone to physically be here to help me with that. I need someone who can draw over my drawings and show me in real time how to do things. I wish there was a way to transfer to CalArts. I'd go at the drop of a hat if it was possible. I hate to seem like I'm bashing SCAD but I really feel like I'm wasting my time here.
...and they said no, lol. I'm not surprised though. I didn't expect to make it there right off the bat and my expectations became even lower after being rejected from Disney and Dreamworks. If my work isn't good enough for them then there's no way its good enough for Pixar. I'll try again next year and see what happens.
Does anyone know how to make a scanner stop producing the blue coloration around the edges of images?
Here's a very quickly done walk for my studies in movement class. There are a bunch of issues with it that I want to address but don't have time. I have two more shots to animate, a term paper to write and I need to continue working on my AM short. >_<
Kitten Walk Animation
Hey guys, I've got some great news! I just received a phone call informing me that I've been accepted into Rhythm&Hues apprenticeship program! This will be my first chance to get some industry experience and I'm super excited about it. Lol, it looks like working in 2d will have to wait a few more weeks. I'll get home from SCAD on June 1st and will have to walk right back out of the door since the program starts on June 4th.
There's only two more weeks left before summer break! I'm really excited about it because I'll be able to work on my AM short full time again. I also plan on doing some more 2d animation. I did a cat walk cycle for my studies in movement class that I will post later on. That was the first time I had done 2d animation in a year and it was great. I can't wait to go back in and draw some more! =D Lol, my friends laugh at me for this. They said everyone else is excited about being able to have fun for three months whereas I'm like "Yeeeeeeaaaaaaah!!! I can do EVEN MORE work! =D"
I wish I didn't draw nearly as slow as I do. I'm planning my final project for Animation II right now and am having medium related trouble. My project will be a dialogue shot that takes place in a surgery room (or whatever it's proper name is). I need a few props to show thats where the characters are. Things like scalpels, forceps, a gurney, a tray/table for the surgical tools to sit on, and a syringe. The character will be preparing his tools for surgery while delivering his line, so the props are rather important.
The trouble is, I cant find any free models for the props that I need. I only have about two weeks to go from start to finish on my shot in addition to final projects for Survey of Animation and Studies in Motion. I don't have time to try to model all of the props that I'll need for my shot, as I need to focus on animating as quickly as possible without sacrificing quality. Lately, I've been really eager to to some 2d animation and would love to try to do this shot in 2d. Sadly, I draw really slow and am afraid that if I try to do it in 2d I wont be able to finish it by the deadline. This really sucks since I could have the whole operation room in my layout if I did it in 2d. I would have everything I need and more. I could even have the character putting on his rubber gloves. I just take so long to draw that I am really unsure if I would be able to pull it off in 2d on time.
This isn't the first time I've had this dilemma and it probably won't be the last. I'm going to spend the upcoming summer animating in 2d digitally. I really prefer to animate the old fashioned way with paper and a pencil, but I don't have the proper equipment at home to pull that off. Anyway, I'm going to work on my drawing and 2d animation skills so (hopefully) speed wont be an issue when the fall quarter starts up. I still don't know what I'm going to do about my current issue though.
I just got an email from Disney about the results of their animation internship. Once again I wasn't chosen to be a part of the program. I'm not surprised though. One of my friends at PDI was exceedingly kind and showed my reel to his peers and animation supervisors. They told me to work on adding details and subtlety to my work. They also requested more acting shots. I wish I hadn't been thrown off schedule during the original class 6 at AM. If I hadn't I would have had plenty of acting shots from my short in put on my reel. Now it seems like I might have to struggle to finish the whole thing by Siggraph thanks to this terms addition of SCAD work.
Anyway, I'll reapply next year. I'll have more acting shots by then and I am working on adding those details to my shots now. Maybe I'll have better luck then. Part of this process is amusing though. I'm keeping track of how many rejection letters I will receive from each feature studio before getting hired at one of them. Lol, they'll end up having a record of my work and how I've improved every year.
Hey guys, here's my latest animation assignment from my Animation II class at SCAD. The assignment was to animate some kind of subtle gesture/action/emotion. I hope you guys like it! As usual all comments and crits are greatly appreciated!
Love Struck Dan
