Vacation time! Hope you have a great break.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
CLASS 14 : Modeling and Animation II: Maya "Action Analysis"
Our last official class of the year, already! Has the poor orphaned topic of 'Newton's Laws' been left til the very end? Horrors! I'll make some time for that and talk about how we can use them in our animation.
We'll also do a quick review of the 12 Principles of Animation - can you name them all without checking?
 |
| Disney animation genius Milt Kahl puts all the principles together |
I'll have time to give you feedback you get your final projects closer to the finish line. I can also help you decipher any of the critiques you got on previous assignments and offer some tips for how to make your future projects even more awesome.
Don't forget your WIP Animation is due today at midnight. Please keep an eye on your file sizes - we'll go over this topic in class.
Reminder -- your Final Animation is due: 08/08/12 at midnight!
Monday, July 9, 2012
CLASS 13 : Modeling and Animation II: Intro to 3D Animation in Maya. Final Assignment - "Action Analysis"
Please note time change to Wed July 25, 6-9 pm in room 503
Please welcome guest instructor Jakub Pazera who has several years' experience as an animator in character animation and visual effects.
The next level of applying the Principles of Animation is the most elusive: adding personality to our characters. Staging, solid posing and appeal will come into play even more in this last 3D animation assignment for this course.
You'll be taking a few weeks to find, analyze and animate a short live action clip of your choice or creation.
Assignment 5
Luxo Lamp: Action Analysis
Assigned: 10/07/12
Your animation is due in 3 stages following the typical stages required in a studio.
Blocking Due: 25/07/12 - show this to Jakub in class
WIP Animation Due: 01/08/12
Final Animation Due: 08/08/12
% of total mark: 20%
Find a live action clip no longer than 10 seconds. Download it using 'Save Vid' or another downloading tool (see sidebar links). You'll need to save the video file locally as a QT so you can stop-frame through it easily. Analyze it frame by frame looking for keys, breakdowns, arcs, timing, and any other noteworthy details that make the clip interesting to you. Take notes on paper or draw over stills. You can also import the clip into Maya.
Animate Luxo acting out the clip using any other primitives you need to sell this piece. Zero marks are given for modeling, lighting, or texturing. This is entirely an animation assignment. The camera angles do not have to match the live action reference but make sure they're flattering to your action.
As with the jump, be sure to make the lamp look heavy by showing the effort required to move that weight. Now's your chance to add a little character and personality to your lamp.
The final output should be 3 files: your reference, your playblast, and your maya file.
Try to optimize your videos so they are as small as possible while maintaining image quality.
Please no .wmv's. No weird codecs.
Files should be named as follows:
tdonovan_luxo_vid_ref.avi or .mov or .mp4 or .m4v
tdonovan_luxo_action_000.avi
tdonovan_luxo_action_000.ma
The file number (000) should be whatever version of the file you hand in. You can hand in any version up to 999. This could come in handy if you need to resubmit. You can simply send me the new file with the new version number. Careful with your file naming. No caps. No extra spaces. No extra descriptors.
Rubric:
Exemplary: Advanced grasp of animation principles evident. Luxo has unmistakable weight, clear, snappy timing, convincing overlapping action. Camera angles should frame action so that it is clearly staged for maximum readability with strong sillhouettes. Luxo has a clear personality and appeal.
Excellent: Strong grasp of most of the animation principles with few mistakes. Luxo has consistent weight, good timing, and good use of overlapping action. Camera angles frame the action well. Luxo has some personality and appeal.
Acceptable: Reasonably executed animation utilizing most of the animation principles with some minor mistakes. Luxo has mostly consistent weight, timing and overlapping action. Action is staged reasonably well. Luxo has a somewhat clear personality.
Not Acceptable: Lack of evident understanding of the animation principles with several mistakes. Luxo not heavy or smoothly-timed with little to no overlapping action. Camera doesn't frame the action well. Luxo doesn't appear to have any personality.
Please welcome guest instructor Jakub Pazera who has several years' experience as an animator in character animation and visual effects.
The next level of applying the Principles of Animation is the most elusive: adding personality to our characters. Staging, solid posing and appeal will come into play even more in this last 3D animation assignment for this course.
You'll be taking a few weeks to find, analyze and animate a short live action clip of your choice or creation.
 |
| student examples of action analysis |
Luxo Lamp: Action Analysis
Assigned: 10/07/12
Your animation is due in 3 stages following the typical stages required in a studio.
Blocking Due: 25/07/12 - show this to Jakub in class
WIP Animation Due: 01/08/12
Final Animation Due: 08/08/12
% of total mark: 20%
Find a live action clip no longer than 10 seconds. Download it using 'Save Vid' or another downloading tool (see sidebar links). You'll need to save the video file locally as a QT so you can stop-frame through it easily. Analyze it frame by frame looking for keys, breakdowns, arcs, timing, and any other noteworthy details that make the clip interesting to you. Take notes on paper or draw over stills. You can also import the clip into Maya.
Animate Luxo acting out the clip using any other primitives you need to sell this piece. Zero marks are given for modeling, lighting, or texturing. This is entirely an animation assignment. The camera angles do not have to match the live action reference but make sure they're flattering to your action.
As with the jump, be sure to make the lamp look heavy by showing the effort required to move that weight. Now's your chance to add a little character and personality to your lamp.
The final output should be 3 files: your reference, your playblast, and your maya file.
Try to optimize your videos so they are as small as possible while maintaining image quality.
Please no .wmv's. No weird codecs.
Files should be named as follows:
tdonovan_luxo_vid_ref.avi or .mov or .mp4 or .m4v
tdonovan_luxo_action_000.avi
tdonovan_luxo_action_000.ma
The file number (000) should be whatever version of the file you hand in. You can hand in any version up to 999. This could come in handy if you need to resubmit. You can simply send me the new file with the new version number. Careful with your file naming. No caps. No extra spaces. No extra descriptors.
Rubric:
Exemplary: Advanced grasp of animation principles evident. Luxo has unmistakable weight, clear, snappy timing, convincing overlapping action. Camera angles should frame action so that it is clearly staged for maximum readability with strong sillhouettes. Luxo has a clear personality and appeal.
Excellent: Strong grasp of most of the animation principles with few mistakes. Luxo has consistent weight, good timing, and good use of overlapping action. Camera angles frame the action well. Luxo has some personality and appeal.
Acceptable: Reasonably executed animation utilizing most of the animation principles with some minor mistakes. Luxo has mostly consistent weight, timing and overlapping action. Action is staged reasonably well. Luxo has a somewhat clear personality.
Not Acceptable: Lack of evident understanding of the animation principles with several mistakes. Luxo not heavy or smoothly-timed with little to no overlapping action. Camera doesn't frame the action well. Luxo doesn't appear to have any personality.
CLASS 12 : Modeling and Animation II: Intro to 3D Animation in Maya. Using video reference for animation.
We'll have a look at the Bouncing Balls and Luxo Jumps in class.
Working with Video Reference
We studied photographic reference of jumping to help us animate our Luxo lamps. We'll spend the next few weeks using video reference to help us bring more realism into our animation.
When animators copy video footage frame by frame it's called "rotoscoping". This can lead to dead, lifeless animation such as you might see with bad motion capture animation. The trick to using video reference properly is to identify and clarify the keys in the action and subtley exaggerate the timing.
In the example below I used a live action reference video to quickly map out a simple Luxo lamp jump. The animation is not identical to the live action but an interpretation. You'll quickly see that with just a little exaggeration you can make your animation even better, heavier, and snappier than the live action footage.
In-Class Exercise:
Animation using Video Reference.
Assigned: July 10th
Due: July 10th in class
Total Value: 10%
Short in-class exercise to practice working with live action reference.
Please download this tennis clip from our shared DropBox folder:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/la6g3v2u343ocrv/tennis.mov
Create a new scene with Luxo and a ball and animate at least some of the action from this video.
Upload it to the folder "tennis exercise".
tdonovan_tennis_000.ma
tdonovan_tennis_000.avi
You can bring your video right into your 3D scene and have it on an image plane. This is a 2-step process: create an image sequence, and then play the sequence in Maya. If you import the movie and project it onto an image plane, it will not scrub in the viewport.
Creating Image Planes From Video Reference
-Find and trim the reference video you want and save it.
-Create a jpg or TIFF image sequence for it at 24 fps, aiming for the lowest tolerable quality setting (I got 11 kb/fr)
You can do this easily in QuickTimePro.
You can also use Premiere, Final Cut Pro, AfterEffects, etc.
In Premiere: -->File | Export | Media. Select TIFF as the format, and set source range to Entire Clip.
In Maya:
-create a new camera from the main menu: Create --> Camera
-in the viewport, look through your new camera: Panels --> Perspective --> Camera 1 (or whatever you named your camera)
-in the viewport, create an image plane: View --> Image Plane --> Import Image, click on the first frame of your image sequence.
-View --> Image Plane --> Image Plane Attributes --> Select "Use Image Sequence"
- in Image Plane Attributes, select the visibility Display --> In all views
Animate through the perspective window or the camera if you like
Reminder: no class next week, July 18th.
Next class: July 25, 6-9 with Jakub Pazerla
Working with Video Reference
We studied photographic reference of jumping to help us animate our Luxo lamps. We'll spend the next few weeks using video reference to help us bring more realism into our animation.
When animators copy video footage frame by frame it's called "rotoscoping". This can lead to dead, lifeless animation such as you might see with bad motion capture animation. The trick to using video reference properly is to identify and clarify the keys in the action and subtley exaggerate the timing.
In the example below I used a live action reference video to quickly map out a simple Luxo lamp jump. The animation is not identical to the live action but an interpretation. You'll quickly see that with just a little exaggeration you can make your animation even better, heavier, and snappier than the live action footage.
 |
| Check out the video to see how I turned one of my students into a lamp... |
In-Class Exercise:
Animation using Video Reference.
Assigned: July 10th
Due: July 10th in class
Total Value: 10%
Short in-class exercise to practice working with live action reference.
Please download this tennis clip from our shared DropBox folder:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/la6g3v2u343ocrv/tennis.mov
Create a new scene with Luxo and a ball and animate at least some of the action from this video.
Upload it to the folder "tennis exercise".
tdonovan_tennis_000.ma
tdonovan_tennis_000.avi
You can bring your video right into your 3D scene and have it on an image plane. This is a 2-step process: create an image sequence, and then play the sequence in Maya. If you import the movie and project it onto an image plane, it will not scrub in the viewport.
Creating Image Planes From Video Reference
-Find and trim the reference video you want and save it.
-Create a jpg or TIFF image sequence for it at 24 fps, aiming for the lowest tolerable quality setting (I got 11 kb/fr)
You can do this easily in QuickTimePro.
You can also use Premiere, Final Cut Pro, AfterEffects, etc.
In Premiere: -->File | Export | Media. Select TIFF as the format, and set source range to Entire Clip.
In Maya:
-create a new camera from the main menu: Create --> Camera
-in the viewport, look through your new camera: Panels --> Perspective --> Camera 1 (or whatever you named your camera)
-in the viewport, create an image plane: View --> Image Plane --> Import Image, click on the first frame of your image sequence.
-View --> Image Plane --> Image Plane Attributes --> Select "Use Image Sequence"
- in Image Plane Attributes, select the visibility Display --> In all views
Animate through the perspective window or the camera if you like
Reminder: no class next week, July 18th.
Next class: July 25, 6-9 with Jakub Pazerla
Thursday, July 5, 2012
CLASS 11 : Modeling and Animation II: Luxo Jr - the short that launched Pixar
We'll do a follow-up on your bouncing ball assignments before moving on to our next task: Luxo Lamp jumps!
 |
| Click here to watch "Luxo Jr" from 1986 |
From Wikipedia:
Luxo Jr. is the first film produced in 1986 by Pixar Animation Studios, following its establishment as an independent film studio. It is a computer-animated short film (two and a half minutes, including credits), demonstrating the kind of things the newly-established company was capable of producing. It was the first Pixar short to release within a Pixar film. It is the source of the small hopping desk lamp included in Pixar's corporate logo. In a subsequent re-release after Pixar became popular, a pretext was added to the film reading, "In 1986 Pixar produced its first film. This is why we have a hopping lamp in our logo." Download and view other examples of Pixar's shorts and learn more about their production process here:
http://www.pixar.com/index.html
Before jumping from a bouncing ball to a complex humanoid, the Luxo lamp gives us an opportunity to use a simple multi-jointed character to practice using the 12 Principles to create not just weight and timing, but also personality.
It's also a great opportunity to analyze live action reference.
 |
| Eadweard Muybridge's classic photo of the long-jumper has many clues we can use to bring life to our animation. |
Download the Luxo Rig for Maya here.
Assignment 4
Luxo Lamp Animation:
Assigned: 05/07/12
Due: 10/07/12
% of final mark: 15%
Animate the Luxo lamp doing a simple jump forward. Using video and photographic reference if possible. All the Principles of Animation should be in this assignment, especially nuts-and-bolts tools like Anticipation, Action, Reaction, Weight, Timing, Arcs, and even more esoteric ones like Appeal. Spend your time on the mechanics of the jump. If you have time, you can add a little personality. Think about how heavy the base of the lamp would be. Show the effort required to move that weight.
The final output should be 2 files: an .avi and an .ma file.
Files should be named as follows:
tdonovan_luxo_000.avi
tdonovan_luxo_000.ma
The file number (000) should be whatever version of the file you hand in. You can hand in any version up to 999. Careful with your file naming. No caps. No extra spaces. No extra descriptors.
Rubric:
Exemplary: Advanced grasp of animation principles evident. Luxo has unmistakable weight, clear, snappy timing, convincing overlapping action.
Excellent: Strong grasp of most of the animation principles with few mistakes. Luxo has consistent weight, good timing, and good use of overlapping action.
Acceptable: Reasonably executed animation utilizing most of the animation principles with some minor mistakes. Luxo has mostly consistent weight, timing and overlapping action.
Not Acceptable: Lack of evident understanding of the animation principles with several mistakes. Luxo not heavy or smoothly-timed with little to no overlapping action.
Assignments to be handed in via DropBox and Vimeo
Thursday, June 28, 2012
CLASS 10 : Modeling and Animation II: Intro to 3D Animation in Maya
Welcome back from the break!
Updated Schedule for the rest of term:
Class 11: Thursday, July 5th 3-6 pm
Class 12: Tuesday, July 10th, 3-6 pm
Class Cancelled: Wednesday, July 18th 12-3 pm
Class 13: Wednesday, July 25th, 12-3 pm with guest instructor, Jakub Pazera
Class 14: Wednesday, Aug 1st, 12-3 This will be your last formal class.
Wednesday, Aug 8th: Supervised work period
For some of you this will be your first look around in Autodesk Maya so we'll get a feel for the interface with some simple exercises.
First up .. everyone's favorite assignment - BOUNCING BALLS: Part 3!
Exercise: Bouncing Balls in Maya
Updated Schedule for the rest of term:
Class 11: Thursday, July 5th 3-6 pm
Class 12: Tuesday, July 10th, 3-6 pm
Class Cancelled: Wednesday, July 18th 12-3 pm
Class 13: Wednesday, July 25th, 12-3 pm with guest instructor, Jakub Pazera
Class 14: Wednesday, Aug 1st, 12-3 This will be your last formal class.
Wednesday, Aug 8th: Supervised work period
----------------------------
Intro to 3D Animation in Maya:
For some of you this will be your first look around in Autodesk Maya so we'll get a feel for the interface with some simple exercises.
First up .. everyone's favorite assignment - BOUNCING BALLS: Part 3!
Why am I so cruel making you do this for the THIRD TIME..? Because there is no other more effective way to practice animation principles while getting used to the Maya tool set.
You can always animate simple primitives by keying the geometry. By all means, if you're new to Maya, you may do so. On real productions, however, we interact with our models via a control rig so I'm providing you with a simple one. Normally we do not animate directly in the rig file, we have the file reference the rig from another location.
You can always animate simple primitives by keying the geometry. By all means, if you're new to Maya, you may do so. On real productions, however, we interact with our models via a control rig so I'm providing you with a simple one. Normally we do not animate directly in the rig file, we have the file reference the rig from another location.
Click to download Maya Ball Rig
I've given you both .ma and .mb files and we'll talk about the differences.
We'll also talk about file referencing and how it's used on productions.
http://tarateach.blogspot.ca/2011/01/file-referencing-for-maya.html
Here's how to make a Playblast preview video:
http://tarateach.blogspot.ca/2011/01/previewing-animation-in-maya.html
Here's how to make a Playblast preview video:
http://tarateach.blogspot.ca/2011/01/previewing-animation-in-maya.html
I'll introduce you to the Graph Editor, a dark and scary fun and friendly tool that is absolutely essential for working with timing and spacing. By the end of class you should be able to know without a doubt what different types of action will result from different types of curves in your Graph Editor. Digital Tutors has some excellent video explanations of the Graph Editor -- a powerful tool that you should be very comfortable using by the end of this assignment.
 |
| 'Cause and Effect' art installation by Ana Soler |
Assigned: 04/07/12
Due: 05/07/12
% of Final Grade: 5%
Animate at least 2 contrasted bouncing balls showing as many of the principles of animation as you can. Balls should be in the same file. Be sure the balls have very obviously different weights. Animate them either until they exit the screen or come to a stop. You may add primitives such as cubes, planes, and use them to create simple obstacles such as stairs, a wall, a room, or a sloping plane. Find a flattering camera angle from which you can see your animation clearly. Tracking camera moves to keep the balls in the scene are permitted but keep the camera move very simple.
Rolling, squashing, and stretching is totally optional.
You may make the objects different colours if you wish. Please do not light these or apply any special textures. No marks are given for rendering.
Animate at least 2 contrasted bouncing balls showing as many of the principles of animation as you can. Balls should be in the same file. Be sure the balls have very obviously different weights. Animate them either until they exit the screen or come to a stop. You may add primitives such as cubes, planes, and use them to create simple obstacles such as stairs, a wall, a room, or a sloping plane. Find a flattering camera angle from which you can see your animation clearly. Tracking camera moves to keep the balls in the scene are permitted but keep the camera move very simple.
Rolling, squashing, and stretching is totally optional.
You may make the objects different colours if you wish. Please do not light these or apply any special textures. No marks are given for rendering.
The final output should be 2 files: an .avi and an .ma file.
Files should be named as follows:
tdonovan_ball_000.avi
tdonovan_ball_000.ma
The file number (000) should be whatever version of the file you hand in. You can hand in any version up to 999. This could come in handy if you need to resubmit. You can simply send me the new file with the new version number.
Careful with your file naming.
No caps. No extra spaces. No extra descriptors.
Rubric:
Exemplary: Advanced grasp of animation principles evident. Balls have unmistakable and contrasted weights.
Excellent: Strong grasp of most of the animation principles with few mistakes. Balls have clear and contrasted weights.
Acceptable: Reasonably executed animation utilizing most of the animation principles with some mistakes. Balls bounce clearly and believeably with some contrast.
Not Acceptable: Lack of evident understanding of the animation principles with several mistakes. Balls not clearly contrasted.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
CLASS 9 : Modeling and Animation II: Pixar Story Quiz
Looking ahead to the 3D part of our course, it would be impossible to overlook the enormous influence of one studio: Pixar. It's fitting that this week is the long-anticipated premiere of Pixar's "Brave". We'll be able to discuss it next week in the context of all they have accomplished from their very earliest experiments with motion graphics decades ago.
This class aims to provide you with some basic general knowledge about the company that started the whole industry of CG animation.
We'll screen a feature documentary called, "The Pixar Story" and complete a short multiple choice quiz worth 5%. The film will be screened in class and the quiz will only be open during class time (Wednesday, July 27th from 12-3pm). If you're away you can view the film on your own and complete the quiz remotely. If you are unable to complete the quiz during the scheduled time please contact me to make other arrangements. The film is available on YouTube in 9 parts or it may be available on Netflix. Click here to view the first 11 minutes.
(Note - this quiz will only be opened while the class is writing it)
Good luck!
Have a great break, everyone!
CLASS 8: Modeling and Animation II: Anijam due! Wrapping up 2D Animation in Flash
Last class before the break!
First: our Anijam Debut! With any luck, everyone's films will cut together seamlessly and we'll have a few minutes of cinematic glory. It's a chance to sit back and ponder how well you've handled learning the complex process of hand-drawn animation, and a chance to look forward to a new set of challenges with 3D. Everything you've learned so far will make the next steps easier as all the animation principles are necessary to bring life to your 3D animation.
As befits the end of our unit on hand-drawn animation, this week's tour is of the National Film Board of Canada -- a hotbed of independent film making for over 75 years! As many of you may not yet appreciate the proud history of animation in Canada, the NFB has put together a short program of award-winning short animated films just for YOU. We're also fortunate to have as our personal tour guide NFB filmmaker Kathy Shultz who teaches stop motion at George Brown College. Kathy's film "A Sea Turtle Story" is currently showing in international film festivals. Sadly, the NFB's public viewing facilities are scheduled to close this Fall so enjoy them while they last!
.JPG)
First: our Anijam Debut! With any luck, everyone's films will cut together seamlessly and we'll have a few minutes of cinematic glory. It's a chance to sit back and ponder how well you've handled learning the complex process of hand-drawn animation, and a chance to look forward to a new set of challenges with 3D. Everything you've learned so far will make the next steps easier as all the animation principles are necessary to bring life to your 3D animation.
 |
| "DESN 1119 Anijam 2012" premieres 20/06/12 |
But that's not all we're doing this class! We'll leave shortly after our screening for a studio tour and it will take the rest of class. Bring TTC fare.
.JPG) |
| Kathy Shultz, filmmaker of "A Sea Turtle Story" |
.JPG) |
| we even got to try some stop motion animation! |
.JPG)
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
CLASS 7: Modeling and Animation II: Anijam posing critique,
More intermediate animation techniques --
- Moving from blocking to animation
- Overlapping action with Alison Saunders
- Combining straight ahead and pose-to-pose animation: tips from Richard Williams p 61-67
We'll look at some kee-razy examples of very exaggerated cartoon animation from back in MY day -- the 1990's -- when animation for grownups went completely off the rails.
Pose-to-pose animation from Ren and Stimpy* -
and straight ahead animation from the Roger Rabbit shorts -
*If this doesn't traumatize you, you might be interested in seeing Canada's inimitable John Kricfalusi live in person at the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International July 6-8.
http://taafi.com/events/taafi2012/schedule/?id=58
Pose-to-pose animation from Ren and Stimpy* -
*If this doesn't traumatize you, you might be interested in seeing Canada's inimitable John Kricfalusi live in person at the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International July 6-8.
http://taafi.com/events/taafi2012/schedule/?id=58
Monday, June 4, 2012
CLASS 6: Modeling and Animation II: Character design with Guest Instructor, Rachel Kahn
After patiently drawing the flour sack for a few weeks, I know a few of you would like to be able to use your own characters. Today we'll talk about finding a style and look at some examples of simple designs that work well for animation. And we have a guest!
Please welcome Rachel Kahn who will be sharing her expertise on character design --
Rachel Kahn is a freelance concept artist and illustrator. She has a BFA from York University and has been continuing her studies at Max the Mutt Animation School in between projects. Rachel has been working as a designer and artist in independent mobile games, and will also have illustrations appearing in literary and comic anthologies in the upcoming year.
Rachel's professional website is www.portablecity.net
________________________________
Also in this class we'll review some of the Flour Sack Jump assignments and start the next assignment:
Assignment 3: Flash Anijam!
Assigned: June 6th
5% Key Posing Due: June 13th in class
10% Finished Animation Due: June 19th end of day
Group critique: June 20th, in class
Re-submission allowed up until June 27th
This is a group project by the entire class using ye olde tradition of an 'animation jam' or 'anijam'.
Using the layout & prop provided, animate your character or the flour sack catching and throwing the prop. Follow the design and stage direction exactly as the layout indicates so that all the scenes will cut together seamlessly.
The way your character interacts with the prop should be the focus of the scene. The animation should indicate that it's heavy and very dangerous. You may include a brief beat before the prop enters and after it leaves.
Please do not destroy the prop in your scene - it should be passed, intact to the next scene. They'll be edited together to make one continuous scene.
You may add a simple BG in your scene but keep it low-contrast.
You may design your own simple character for this piece but be sure it fits the scene and that it's simple enough to draw many times.
Create a 640 x 480 QT with H.264 compression.
Please upload to our group folders/albums called "Flour Sack" on DropBox before the start of class. Please do NOT place your files inside a folder. Watch your naming conventions.
File formats:
tdonovan_anijam_001.fla
tdonovan_anijam_001.mov
The layout for this scene will be on DropBox in the folder "flash animjam"
Please welcome Rachel Kahn who will be sharing her expertise on character design --
Rachel Kahn is a freelance concept artist and illustrator. She has a BFA from York University and has been continuing her studies at Max the Mutt Animation School in between projects. Rachel has been working as a designer and artist in independent mobile games, and will also have illustrations appearing in literary and comic anthologies in the upcoming year.
Rachel's professional website is www.portablecity.net
Also in this class we'll review some of the Flour Sack Jump assignments and start the next assignment:
Assignment 3: Flash Anijam!
Assigned: June 6th
5% Key Posing Due: June 13th in class
10% Finished Animation Due: June 19th end of day
Group critique: June 20th, in class
Re-submission allowed up until June 27th
This is a group project by the entire class using ye olde tradition of an 'animation jam' or 'anijam'.
Using the layout & prop provided, animate your character or the flour sack catching and throwing the prop. Follow the design and stage direction exactly as the layout indicates so that all the scenes will cut together seamlessly.
The way your character interacts with the prop should be the focus of the scene. The animation should indicate that it's heavy and very dangerous. You may include a brief beat before the prop enters and after it leaves.
Please do not destroy the prop in your scene - it should be passed, intact to the next scene. They'll be edited together to make one continuous scene.
You may add a simple BG in your scene but keep it low-contrast.
You may design your own simple character for this piece but be sure it fits the scene and that it's simple enough to draw many times.
Create a 640 x 480 QT with H.264 compression.
Please upload to our group folders/albums called "Flour Sack" on DropBox before the start of class. Please do NOT place your files inside a folder. Watch your naming conventions.
File formats:
tdonovan_anijam_001.fla
tdonovan_anijam_001.mov
The layout for this scene will be on DropBox in the folder "flash animjam"
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