Jason Ryan Animation

Hey guys. I just got my first newsletter from Jason Ryan Animation. I'm really excited about his new tutorial service. Jason is one of the original legendary AM mentors from when the program first started. There were tons of threads about him and his workflow in the forum. He also provided excellent animated demonstrations to help teach his classes. Sadly, Jason Ryan left AM before I could take a class with him. I was really disappointed since I had heard so much about him and have learned a lot from his videos. Plus Larry Lauria, my favorite animation teacher at SCAD taught Jason back before he got hired at Disney. He told me how enthusiastic Jason was and how quickly his work improved over his courses.

I really can't wait until Jason starts his services! The newsletter says he wants to keep everything affordable, so hopefully I'll be able to afford it. I am still pondering whether I should participate or not though. I really want to since I know I have so much more to learn about animation and don't want to let a great opportunity pass me by. At the same time, I've just gone through AnimationMentor so many people would argue I've already received a fantastic animation education. I agree with them, since AM is astounding and I owe pretty much everything I know to them. I guess I'm just afraid of missing out on some really valuable knowledge. Plus Jason is a 2d guy at heart and I know I have a ton of stuff to learn about 2d animation. I guess it all depends on how much his service will cost...

All Good Things...

Sadly, my time at AnimationMentor is coming to an end. Tomorrow is the last day of my last term and I will roll over to the alumni website after the break on July 2nd. I'm really going to miss everyone on the main site. I hope the alumni site is just like the school. I keep hearing great things about it so thats encouraging. I also hear we'll be able to watch all of the new lectures AM comes up with in the future. I think that's really awesome! I know I have so much more to learn about animation and want to watch all the lectures I possibly can. I hear we'll still have the ability to get critiques from mentors as well. It sounds like I don't have anything to worry about, but it's still somewhat disappointing to have to leave. I'm going to miss everyone!!!!!!!!!

Ratatouille(no spoilers) and My Thoughts

I just got back from the Ratatouille sneak peak and can't wait to see it again when its released officially! Everything was superbly done and extremely inspiring. I'd go right into animating if it wasn't after 11pm, lol. I can't wait to get started tomorrow though! Those of you who weren't able to get to one of the sneak peak theaters missed out on a real treat. I'm going to try to stop talking about the film since I don't want to give out any spoilers. On to my thoughts...

Ok, as I said Ratatouille was extremely inspiring. During the drive home I kept thinking "Man, I can't wait until I can animate characters with strong and well defined personalities like Anton Ego's!" He's my favorite character in the film since his personality is so distinctive. I can't wait until I get a job and get to work on characters like him! After saying that I thought for a while and realised I don't have to wait until I'm hired to be able to work on characters with different personalities. Sure I wont be able to work with characters who are defined over the course of a feature length story on my own, but I don't have the characters in my short to work with. I've lost track of how many times I've found myself imagining a scenario with characters from different movies and determining how they'd act/react based on their persona's in their own films.

I asked myself why I can't take that imagination and apply it to my short. Of course it seems like the obvious thing to do, but I don't think I had been doing it for some reason. I told myself I don't have to wait for a job to get the chance to animate fun, imaginary characters. I can do it right now with my short! I think this goes back to my previous post about being so focused on trying to get an internship and trying to hurry and finish my short. I've been so caught up with those things that I haven't really allowed myself to truly imagine what my characters are really like.

Sure I've come up with things for them to do but so far the process has been just that and lacks any creative/imaginative elements if that makes sense. I think that's a large reason why I'm so unhappy with the progress of my short and my work as a whole. I think that might be the spark of life that my work is lacking. I've been so caught up with the technical aspects of animation and trying to get things to look correct that I've forgotten to really imagine how my characters would act.


I went through the usual process of writing down qualities of my characters and using those as a guide when choosing what they'd do in every shot, but I didn't really imagine them doing those things. It was more or a list of things to do rather than an actual performance in my head. I hope all of this makes sense, by the way lol. I know I have the ability to imagine characters doing various things since I do it all the time with characters from other animated films. I just need to apply that to my own work. This seems like an obvious no brainer and I know I've known to do that in the back of my mind, I've just never actually done it. I think I might have lost touch with that element because I was learning how to animate in general...learning about the principles, how to apply them to my work, elements of acting, developing a workflow etc. I'm hoping I now know enough about animation in general to be able to use that knowledge to get the characters in my head on screen for everyone to see. We'll see how that goes. Lol, at this rate my short will never be finished though. I essentially end up redoing every shot I've revisited since blocking it out in the original class 6. I tell myself I can do better and end up changing what I had into something new.

Tomorrow I'll sit down and try to imagine my short as a whole. I'll imagine the character's actual performances, take notes and draw new thumbnails. Hopefully I'll end up with more genuine and lifelike acting and won't have to change my shots anymore after that.

Sneak Peak

I'm going to see a sneak peak of Ratatouille tonight!!!!!!!!!! =D I seriously can't wait! My friends at SCAD berate me for watching all of the Ratatouille clips online, claiming it'll spoil the movie. It might for them, but not for me. I'm even more excited about the film after watching all of those trailers and featurettes!

Some Thoughts

I've been thinking of a few things over the last few months. A little while ago I read a blog entry about James Baxter that caught my attention. It said one of the reasons why he's so great is because he animates for himself. He doesn't start a shot thinking "I'm doing this so I can get a job at *insert studio here*". Instead he animates simply to make himself happy. I've been thinking of that ever since I read it.

I seem to have forgotten that aspect of animation. Ever since AM told us about what different kinds of studios look for in demo reels, I've been focusing on creating shots that Disney, DreamWorks, and Pixar would like. I've been so caught up with trying to hurry and finish my short film while doing my best on my SCAD assignments that I seem to have forgotten about how fun animation is. Rather than concentrating on getting a job, I should focus on bettering myself as an artist on a whole. I'm starting to think a truly happy animator doesn't really care where he or she works. To them, a job is pretty much just that, a job. A means of paying the bills. They don't animate simply to get into a certain studio. They animate because they love it. They're passionate about bringing characters to life and don't really care about where they do it.

I'm in the process of completely converting myself to that mindset. I've stopped worrying about getting a job or internship at one of my dream studios as much and I think I've become more productive. Now I'm just focusing on the thrill of animating my very own short film and trying to bring those characters to life as best as I can. I think my work overall will be much better once I achieve that state of mind...

I'm sorry if this rambles, it's kinda late and I'm pretty tired. I hope all of that makes sense.

Pixar

A super HUGE congrats goes out to Stephen Melagrano, the first AM student to get an internship at Pixar! Congrats man, your work is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You're an inspiration to us all! =D

Another Chance

Hey guys,

Now that I have another acting shot for my reel, I've decided to apply to BlueSky. They still have the position of animator in the now hiring section of their website, so hopefully they still need a few people. I'm preparing my materials now and will send off my reel in the morning. I hope I get in! =D

Summer Student Showcase

The Summer Student Showcase is coming! I think it will be out sometime after August and the submission deadline is July 6th. I wont be submitting anything this time. I don't have any new AM work worth submitting. My short has barely been creeping along. I think it was a bad idea to retake class 6 while I was at SCAD. It's too late now though. I'm going to spend the summer working on it. Hopefully I'll have everything animated by Siggraph.

I'm having some problems with the Twitch rig at the moment though. That's slowing me down somewhat. I've decided to just work on Taylor while I'm waiting for the Twitch rig to be fixed. I really look forward to watching all of the excellent animation that they'll feature on the new showcase though. I wish everyone who's submitting the best of luck!

Summer Status

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!

Animation II Final

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...

More 2d

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.

Pixar Just Responded

...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.

Intern Badge

Does anyone know how to make a scanner stop producing the blue coloration around the edges of images?

Studies in Movement

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

Got that Call

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.

Summer Time!

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"

Medium Woes

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.

Two Down, Two To Go

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.

Subtle Gesture

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

Tiger Life Drawings

Just a few tiger sketches. I really like the one in the center. I think I'm getting better at animal drawing and I think I'm getting faster. I drew all of those in about 20 minutes. :D