More professional quality tutorials for AS

And right after that I said that there are no good tutorials around for AS I start finding them everywhere. :-)

Check this youtube channel out. I don't know who the author of the videos is really, but he made a good job out of it.
http://www.youtube.com/user/animationfun101#p/u/48/s3kXt9BCQK4

These tutorials are well adapted for the novice beginner, but there are actually a lot of good hardcore tips for the more experienced animator too, who is interested in advanced cutout techniques and efficient workflow in this specific program environment.

In this clip you can see how the "actions"-function in AS (recoradable and reusable bits of animation) can be combined in a clever way to achive efficient overlapping animation in the character. (Make sure you watch the videos all the way to clip nr 10.24)

Ehow: career options for animators

Here are some nice videos from ehow.com. Good, informative stuff to watch, especially for the young, aspiring animator.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGfaU5yJRfM&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=SPB4D6DB894E474E2B

This is one of the clips in the series: "Career Options for Animators"

Eric Goldberg talking pose-to pose, spacing and breakdowns

Still a little mad at myself for cheating the planning stage in my last assignment I stumbled across these clips, uploaded by Jeremy Hopkins.

Animation guru Eric Goldberg talks about animators not using strong poses enough.
Eric says he usually figures it all out before he even starts to draw. Pre-thinking, that's what is lacking today with many young animators.

Do I feel guilty as charged!



What's missing in CG and hand drawn reels.



benefits of planning



benefits of pose to pose in CG animation



about Ken Harris, who knew EXACTLY where to put his breakdown drawing



That's it for this time. Thanks Jeremy for uploading these clips.

And don't forget to check out Eric's book "animation crash course". You can find it on amazon...!

Some nice tutorials from Randolf Dimalanta

Woohoo, class 1 of Animation Mentor has just begun, and I'm stunned to see how many really amazingly good artist's there are among the students. I really, really have to develop my drawing skills! :)

So, beside the standard curriculum of AM, I will continue trying to get some extra life drawing exercise.

Here are some good tutorials I found from Randolf Dimalanta's site. Good for a noob like me to watch.


Lifedrawing Demonstration: "The Gesture" from Randolf Dimalanta on Vimeo.

And if you click on this picture to the right you'll be directed to another nice life drawing tutorial at his site. 
There are some Maya stuff there too, so if you are interested in that go to the site and check them out. Have fun!
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and even more drawings...

I had a really enjoyable day today. I have been drawing all day, which is fun in itself - but it got even better because while drawing I listened to a webinar from Jason Ryan's site with storyboard artist Robb Pratt.
Very interesting interview! I recommend it. (It's long, over 2 hours, but it's reaally worth tuning into!)

Here's the link to Jason Ryan's site, thanks, Ryan for putting this one out there!
http://www.jrawebinar.com/Robb_webinars/interview/

And here are some of the drawings I did while listening:

maya springboard is over - now; life drawing and some reading

So, the Maya springboard workshop has come to an end. I learned a lot, met a lot of nice fellow students, got over the worst fears of getting into 3D and I am now really looking forward to march 29th when class 1 of the core program starts. And now I have two weeks time to prepare. What shall I do?

LIFE DRAWING
I am definitely going to give some serious time to more life drawing exercises. I found a local course meant for amateurs like me :)    Just around 20 euros but with access to live models. What a deal! Sadly this course doesn't begin until april, so I have to wait for it.  (Jeez...!  I would like to start NOW!)
Meantime I'll sit at my desk or at some local cafe and draw, I will check out some literature and anatomy books and maybe experiment with some different materials. I like to draw, I think I have a little talent for it, but I have never developed any skills, never been to any art school or anything like that. Still have to get those "one thousand bad drawings" out of my system... Now I have my chance to really do something about it! And I think I'm going to have lots of fun diving into it.

Here is an inspiring site I found the other day when I was googling around looking for inspiration. Go and have look yourself at Mark McDonnells blog site at http://markmcdonnell.blogspot.com/







So I will devote some time to life drawing. Secondly; I will read some books about animation production in general:


ANIMATION PRODUCTION

Part of my aim with my time at AnimtaionMentor - besides the obvious; to become the best animator I can be - is to learn as much as possible about the animation industry in general and especially about the producing side of the business.
This book I recently aquired from amazon.com

Winder/Downlatabadi; producing animation.

I have just turned a couple of pages in it and it definitely looks very interesting. Exactly what I need to get a clearer picture of the production systems of the larger animation industry. I come from live action television myself and I am more used to rather small production units, so I need this. :)

link to amazon.com; producing animation

The frogumentary

A "making of"-insight into Disney's "the princess and the frog".




Part two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RezHckg1yc
Part three: http://www.youtube.com/watch?videos=oEZ_8L5mbe4&v=cbZQ8CmL7yk
Part four: http://www.youtube.com/watch?videos=oEZ_8L5mbe4&v=ABroz5l2W9M
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An old Man's fight with an anti-gravity-device

This is a clip from a lecture given at Calarts by Glen Keane as he goes through a simple scene under a document camera.  An old man fighting gravity as he forces his way up from a chair.