Archive | Pixar

RSS feed for this section
Breaking Down an Animated Shot: Animation Mentor

Breaking Down an Animated Shot: Animation Mentor

Looks like a fun day if you are in the area June 30th! Check out the Animation Mentor site for more details.

An excerpt:

“Ever wish you could spend a day with professional animators and watch them break down a shot and detail each step? Well wish no more! Our friends from Pixar, DreamWorks, and Tippett will break down a couple of shots from their feature film work, discuss the challenges they faced, and share how they achieved the final results. And remember to ask lots of questions! Seating is limited — so register today!”

 
Enjoy!
JP

New Animation School: AnimSchool

New Animation School: AnimSchool

So if you haven’t heard about this yet here goes. There is a new online animation school set to debut in November called AnimSchool. The school will be run by the creator of 3D Appeal Blog and 3D Appeal Blog Now, David Gallagher. David has been over at BlueSky for quite some time doing Character Development, including rigging and animating. He is very well rounded in all of the different specialties of the animation process. You can check out some of his crits on the 3DAppealBlogNow. The school seems to have two set paths for training: 3D Character program that teaches modeling and rigging and  3D Animation that teaches animation. As I was writing this post I had many questions so I went directly to the source and David was kind enough to answer some great questions about the school. A main difference between this school and others is this will be teaching other aspects other than just animation. The mentors he speaks of will be from a multitude of great companies including BlueSky and Pixar.

 1. Will each student have the same teacher (say they took the 3D Animation course) the whole 21 months or do they have the opportunity to experience multiple teachers with each term?

David: Each term, the student chooses which teacher to learn from. The students will probably be learning from a different teacher each term.

2. I have heard that you are multi-talented as a Rigger and an Animator. Has this allowed you to be able to produce rigs that you know will help the animators achieve great shapes with and will you be teaching “Animator Friendly Rigging.”

David: I’m most definitely trying to teach “animator-friendly rigging”. I think any rigger or modeler who learns some animation will then become better at their craft, understanding the process of actually using the characters.

 3. Will Alumni still have access to the site/school and or Rigs, demos and lectures once they have completed the course? How does that work? How does that work for students just taking one course?

David: Graduates from an AnimSchool will have continued access to existing and future character rigs, as well as video lectures.

For the students taking a single class, they are able to use the rigs for six months after the class.

4. Is there some type of reel review for professionals that want to take a single course so you know what level they are at?

David: People wanting to take a particular course apply for it at the website, sending a link to their reel. That teacher determines whether they are ready for their class.

5. Besides this amazing new venture with AnimSchool, what have you been most proud of while working in the industry?

David: After working in this industry so long, you wouldn’t think it, but I still feel like I’m getting started. I’m madly passionate about animating and modeling and making cool facial expressions. I’m just thrilled to be able to have done some of the shots I animated. Then some facial expression modeling for pre-production development. I’m really inspired and excited about appealing expressions.

6. What inspired you to start up AnimSchool?

David: I wanted to teach the skills that I know well: animating, modeling, and rigging. And there wasn’t a place online where I could do that, so I decided to make AnimSchool, with the help of so many of my former colleagues.

7. Will you be attending CTN this year?

David: We are so busy working on AnimSchool that I won’t be there! But I will plan for next year.

8. How many rigs will there be for AnimSchool or will the one rig be customizable?

David: Right now there are two: the cute skeleton guy and the human guy you can see on 3DAppealBlog or on the AnimSchool splash page. We have plans for a female character as well. I love making characters, so there will probably be others.

There’s only so much you can do with those editable uber-rigs. I personally get more excited about really fine-tuned custom deformations that work well with the character’s natural shape.

and finally…

9. Will the rigs limits be more on an industry level or a student level?

David: The rigs are industry level. Certainly in terms of deformation and facials, since that was my specialty at Blue Sky for so long.

It sounds like an amazing opportunity and there are more answers to your questions found on his FAQ page here. Thanks again to David Gallagher for taking the time to answer some questions. Take a look around and check it out…check back in for updates.
Enjoy
JP

Animation Mentor Webinar: Timing and Spacing

Animation Mentor Webinar: Timing and Spacing

Hey Everyone

If you haven’t heard by now, go over and check out the Free Animation Mentor Webinar on Timing and Spacing with a couple of great Pixar Animators. Victor Navone and Aaron Hartline are two industry pros that do a great job of explaining their process of  timing and spacing. They also lend some good tips and tricks that you can use to make your animation more authentic.

 
You can check out a couple of other posts by them:

Animation Referance: Aaron Hartline

 

Animating a facial “TAKE”

 So check it out and enjoy!
JP

Animation Referance: Aaron Hartline

Animation Referance: Aaron Hartline

As many of you may know of Aaron Hartline. He does some pretty amazing work “Up” at Pixar. You can see lots of his shots on his blog. He used to be at Blue Sky where he was the character lead for Vlad the Vulture in Horton Hears A Who. In the link I have here, Aaron shows us his reference video that he captured and then the shots of Vlad. Great stuff to look at and get a feel of what goes into reference sometimes.

 

Have a look around and enjoy some of the great stuff on there.
JP

Website Highlight: Mark C. Harris

Website Highlight: Mark C. Harris

I am not sure who has hit this site before and while making your way down my long list of animator’s websites but, I have been visiting and re-visiting his site for years now.

This is the 2nd website highlight that I have done and another well deserved. Mark C. Harris is another great animator brought to us by Pixar. He was at Blue Sky for 3 years and then went over to Pixar. Under his animation tab he has some goodies there. His stuff from Horton and Ice Age are there but what I find myself going back to are his tests that he did with the old Hogan Rig that have stood the test of time. Even though these tests especially his acting are years old I still look at them and am just as impressed as the 1st time I saw them. Maybe even more now?

So head on over and check his site out and oh yeah you can frame through them since they are nicely in Quicktime.

Enjoy
JP

Website Highlight

Website Highlight

I thought I would try something new here once in a while. I know under the Animator’s Website section, there is a ton of sites and it’s hard to explore them all. Soo I figured that I would highlight one every couple of weeks or once a month. I think that some of these sites are great references for us animators out there. Really to see some great work and possibly always something to strive for and appreciate good animation.

The first site I chose to highlight comes to us from Ron Zorman. It seems from his recent updates that he still and has been at Pixar for a while. He has a ton of his shots listed on there in Quick Time format which I enjoy greatly because you can actually frame-by-frame things. I really do prefer that to the alternates of YouTube and Vimeo just for the simple fact that you can’t frame-by-frame and really appreciate the animation.

It seems that he is still in the process of uploading his stuff from Ren & Stimpy and his personal work but the stuff from his Pixar films is def a good ref. So take a look, frame-by-frame and enjoy some good bits of animation.

Animation Mentor Free Webinar

Animation Mentor Free Webinar

Hey everybody. The time has come for another free Animation Mentor FREE Webinar. This one features a brilliant animation producer in Don Hahn. The webinar is a little different in which Bobby “Boom” Beck and Don will discuss the life, work and teachings of Disney legend Walt Stanchfield. Bobby Beck the CEO of Animation Mentor is a former Pixar animator and I have joined his webinars in the past in which he brings tons of great knowledge and enthusiasm! This should be lots of fun and a rare treat of two great industry specialists getting together to share some stories and experiance. So sign up now and enjoy!

Planning is SOOOO important!

Planning is SOOOO important!

Hey everyone

I stumbled on this post from Carlos Baena’s site. It was from one of the shots that he did on The Incredibles. The one where he saves the “jumper” and crashes through the building leading to the supers getting sued. He shows the process of his planning for the shot from thumbnails to video ref. It is a great read and really inspirational.

Check it out:

Tips and Tricks > Planning Case Study: Incredibles

Enjoy!