Some people see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say, why not? — George Bernard Shaw, Playwright
As some of you know, I’ve been teaching/consulting animation artists for over a decade. Many have gone on to solid careers. Starting today, and hopefully on a continual basis, I’ll be showcasing some of the work of my current clients. With hard work and patience, these individuals have greatly improved their workflow, skill set and real understanding of the craft of animation. After all, my goal — and promise to them — is to train them to become not just animators or craftsmen, but real artists (and happy ones at that!)
Note that none of the work here is done using/copying any live-action video reference (altho I’m not against its usage as part of research/exploration). I don’t like any of my clients to produce animation that is devoid of personality or absent of strong posing and beautiful motion. Each one of them learns the proper language and creative process of this craft; they build visions on paper, do detailed research and preparation, and work with great attentiveness and a joy — a joy that is evident both during the process and in their final animations. Although I’m not one to use the word “pride” very often, I must say that I’m truly proud of them (and their accomplishments) and continue to be inspired by their passion and dedication to learning.
Animation by Jody Prouse. This two shot sequence is a nice test of story-telling and acting. Working with a horse rig within a physical environment places a challenge to body mechanics skills, acting and staging choices. Despite the rudimentary rendering (the harsher lighting and limited motion blur reduces some of the smoothness) a good sense of weight, volume and use of 3D space is achieved all the while retaining the joy and visual flavour of the character’s colourful personality.
Animation by Carles Vallbona. This is a simple shot designed to challenge the artist to give a convincing facial performance with a very limited facial rig. It teaches the animator to act with body language (versus depending on detailed lip/facial articulation) and think in terms of broad shapes and clean appeal to achieve believability and interest. I like that the choice of model and dialogue give the scene a certain uniqueness and charm.
Animation by Irina Wolf. Here, a complicated sequence is made to look smooth and simple by approaching it with thoughtfulness and care. Using a moving camera to tell a story is very difficult especially with multiple moving characters. I wanted to challenge the student to deliver a smooth flowing shot that keeps the subjects “in character” — i.e. retain their individual personalities. This means, of course, flawless execution of not just the camera and body mechanics but careful relative pacing between two 4-legged characters all the while maintaining an element of suspense inherent in the set up.
Animation by John Han. This shot showcases how one can achieve strong acting with adult dialogue and realistic models using excellent facial posing and tasteful body language (notice the visual flow and personality that comes from the excellent employment of the hands). The goal was to turn a sit down conversation into one with a bit of tension (altering the context from the film material) while maintaining the charm and elegance of the voice acting. Although the shot is not fully polished (the animator landed a job at Dreamworks shortly after), I believe a solid sense of believability and beauty is achieved here.
Note: The legality of the usage of the models/rigs presented in the above shots is the sole responsibility of the artists themselves, and bear no relationship to me or this website.
