Aabid Dhamani's Blog

April 19, 2008 - Creating Perspective Grids For Your Projects

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:07:29 GMT

Toon Boom Animation:
Creating Perspective Grids For Your Projects

Perspective is always a bit tricky to get right, especially if you are still new to drawing! Adding this skill on top of animation can become quite overwhelming. Here is a simple trick that will help you to save time and effort while working on your animation project.

Creating Perspective Grids in Toon Boom Studio

If you have learned the basics of perspective, you know how to draw your horizon line and vanishing point. From there you can create a full grid. By using Toon Boom Studio’s 12 Field grid, you can easily trace your lines at equal distance to make a clear and useful grid. This image shows an example of a one vanishing point perspective grid and a two vanishing point perspective grid:

We suggest that you create this grid on a separate element. This allows you to activate the light table and use this grid as a reference.

You can use this method to create backgrounds or shapes that require accurate perspective. And since the grid is on another layer, you do not need to erase any guide lines. Once you are done, you will just need to delete the Grid element in your Timeline!

Using Perspective Grids in Animation

It is also possible to use these grids for animation. For example, this grid has two vanishing points:

You could use this grid as a reference for a 3/4 walk animation. You can see this demonstrated in the next image where each square equals one step:

Trying to create an animation like this without any visual references can be quite tricky and give unpleasant results. Save yourself some time and headaches by using the grid guide lines.

Reuse your Grids by Creating Templates

Why redraw your grids over and over when you can reuse them. In Toon Boom Studio you can easily save each grid as a template and store them in your library to use whenever you need to. To use the Library to store all your grids as a template, simply create a new catalogue called Perspective Grids and then drag and drop the selected cell into your library! Each time you create a new grid, make sure to save it. You just never know when it might be useful again!

Link: http://www.toonboom.com/products/toonBoomStudio/eLearning/tipsTricks/creating...

April 17, 2008 - Ollie Johnston (1912-2008)

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:06:33 GMT

The Disney Company on Ollie Johnston

April 15, 2008 12:20 pm

(Above: Milt Kahl, Marc Davis, Frank Thomas and Walt Disney flank seated Ollie Johnston)

Howard Green just sent over the official studio press obituary, released to the media at 11am today:

Ollie Johnston, one of the greatest animators/directing animators in animation history and the last surviving member of Walt Disney’s elite group of animation pioneers known affectionately as the “Nine Old Men,” passed away from natural causes at a long term care facility in Sequim, Washington on Monday April 14th. He was 95 years old. During his stellar 43-year career at The Walt Disney Studios, he contributed inspired animation and direction to such classic films as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Pinocchio,” “Fantasia,” “Song of the South,” “Cinderella,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Peter Pan,” “Lady and the Tramp,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Sword in the Stone,” “Mary Poppins,” “The Jungle Book,” “Robin Hood,” “The Rescuers,” and “The Fox and the Hound.”
In addition to his achievements as an animator and directing animator, Johnston (in collaboration with his lifelong friend and colleague Frank Thomas) authored four landmark books: Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, Too Funny for Words, Bambi: The Story and the Film, and The Disney Villain. Johnston and Thomas were also the title subjects of a heartfelt 1995 feature-length documentary entitled “Frank and Ollie,” written and directed by Frank’s son, Theodore (Ted) Thomas. In November 2005, Johnston became the first animator to be honored with the National Medal of Arts at a White House ceremony.

Behind every great animated character is a great animator and in the case of some of Disney’s best-loved creations, it was Johnston who served as the actor with the pencil. Some examples include Thumper’s riotous recitation (in “Bambi”) about “eating greens” or Pinocchio’s nose growing as he lies to the Blue Fairy, and the musical antics of Mowgli and Baloo as they sang “The Bear Necessities” in “The Jungle Book.” Johnston had his hand in all of these and worked on such other favorites as Brer Rabbit, Mr. Smee, the fairies in “Sleeping Beauty,” the centaurettes in “Fantasia,” Prince John and Sir Hiss (”Robin Hood”), Orville the albatross (”The “Rescuers”), and more than a few of the “101 Dalmatians.”

Roy E. Disney, director emeritus and consultant for The Walt Disney Company, said, “Ollie was part of an amazing generation of artists, one of the real pioneers of our art, one of the major participants in the blossoming of animation into the art form we know today. One of Ollie’s strongest beliefs was that his characters should think first, then act…and they all did. He brought warmth and wit and sly humor and a wonderful gentleness to every character he animated. He brought all those same qualities to his life, and to all of our lives who knew him. We will miss him greatly, but we were all enormously enriched by him.”

John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios and a longtime friend to Johnston, added, “Ollie had such a huge heart and it came through in all of his animation, which is why his work is some of the best ever done. Aside from being one of the greatest animators of all time, he and Frank (Thomas) were so incredibly giving and spent so much time creating the bible of animation – ‘Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life’ – which has had such a huge impact on so many animators over the years. Ollie was a great teacher and mentor to all of us. His door at the Studio was always open to young animators, and I can’t imagine what animation would be like today without him passing on all of the knowledge and principles that the ‘nine old men’ and Walt Disney developed. He taught me to always be aware of what a character is thinking, and we continue to make sure that every character we create at Pixar and Disney has a thought process and emotion that makes them come alive.”

Glen Keane, one of Disney’s top supervising animators and director of the upcoming feature “Rapunzel,” observed, “Ollie Johnston was the kind of teacher who made you believe in yourself through his genuine encouragement and patient guidance. He carried the torch of Disney animation and passed it on to another generation. May his torch continue to be passed on for generations to come.”

Andreas Deja, another of today’s most acclaimed and influential animators paid tribute to his friend and mentor in this way, “I always thought that Ollie Johnston so immersed himself into the characters he animated, that whenever you watched Bambi, Pinocchio, Smee or Rufus the cat, you saw Ollie on the screen. His kind and humorous personality came through in every scene he animated. I will never forget my many stimulating conversations with him over the years, his words of wisdom and encouragement. ‘Don’t animate drawings, animate feelings,’ he would say. What fantastic and important advice! He was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, and it was an honor and joy to have known him.”

John Canemaker, Academy Award®-winning animator/director, and author of the book, Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men & The Art of Animation, noted, “”Ollie Johnston believed in the emotional power of having ‘two pencil drawings touch each other.’ His drawings had a big emotional impact on audiences, that’s for sure — when Mowgli and Baloo hug in ‘The Jungle Book;’ when Pongo gives his mate Perdita a comforting lick in ‘101 Dalmatians;’ when an elderly cat rubs against an orphan girl in ‘The Rescuers’ — Ollie Johnston, one of the greatest animators who ever lived, deeply touched our hearts.”

Born in Palo Alto, California on October 31, 1912, Johnston attended grammar school at the Stanford University campus where his father taught as a professor of the romance languages. His artistic abilities became increasingly evident while attending Palo Alto High School and later as an art major at Stanford University.

During his senior year in college, Johnston came to Los Angeles to study under Pruett Carter at the Chouinard Art Institute. It was during this time that he was approached by Disney and, after only one week of training, joined the fledgling studio in 1935. The young artist immediately became captivated by the Disney spirit and discovered that he could uniquely express himself through this new art form.

At Disney, Johnston’s first assignment was as an in-betweener on the cartoon short “Mickey’s Garden.” The following year, he was promoted to apprentice animator, where he worked under Fred Moore on such cartoon shorts as “Pluto’s Judgement Day” and “Mickey’s Rival.”

Johnston got his first crack at animating on a feature film with “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Following that, he worked on “Pinocchio” and virtually every one of Disney’s animated classics that followed. One of his proudest accomplishments was on the 1942 feature “Bambi,” which pushed the art form to new heights in portraying animal realism. Johnston was one of four supervising animators to work on that film.

For his next feature assignment, “Song of the South” (1946), Johnston became a directing animator and served in that capacity on nearly every film that followed. After completing some early animation and character development on “The Fox and the Hound,” the veteran animator officially retired in January 1978, to devote full time to writing, lecturing and consulting.

His first book, Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, written with Frank Thomas, was published in 1981 and ranks as the definitive tome on the Disney approach to entertainment and animation. In 1987, his second book, Too Funny For Words, was published and offered additional insights into the studio’s unique style of visual humor. A detailed visual and anecdotal account of the making of “Bambi,” Walt Disney’s “Bambi”: The Story and the Film, the third collaboration for Thomas and Johnston, was published in 1990. The Disney Villains, a fascinating inside look at the characters audiences love to hate, was written by the duo in 1993.

In addition to being one of the foremost animators in Disney history, Johnston was also considered one of the world’s leading train enthusiasts. The backyard of his home in Flintridge, California, boasted one of the finest hand-built miniature railroads. Even more impressive was the full-size antique locomotive he ran for many years at his former vacation home in Julian, near San Diego. Johnston had a final opportunity to ride his train at a special ceremony held in his honor at Disneyland in May 2005.

The pioneering animator was honored by the Studio in 1989 with a Disney Legends Award. In 2003, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences held a special tribute to him (and Frank Thomas), “Frank and Ollie: Drawn Together,” in Beverly Hills.

Johnston and Thomas were lovingly caricatured, and even provided the voices, in two animated features directed by Brad Bird, “The Iron Giant,” and Disney/Pixar’s “The Incredibles.”

Johnston moved from his California residence to a care facility in Sequim, Washington in March 2006 to be near his family. He is survived by his two sons: Ken Johnston and his wife Carolyn, and Rick Johnston and his wife Teya Priest Johnston. His beloved wife of 63 years, Marie, passed away in May 2005. Funeral plans will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations can be made to CalArts (calarts.com), the World Wildlife Fund (worldwildlife.org), or National Resources Defense Council (nrdc.org). The Studio is planning a life celebration with details to be announced shortly.
Original Link: http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/the-disney-company-on-ollie-johnston

January 20, 2008 - Coming Soon in 2008

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 07:02:58 GMT

Hey,

How are you doing?

Just to make a list of topics that I am going to be sharing pretty soon.

The days after Assassination of Late Benazir Bhutto
Milkateer - An Animated Series
Once more KESC!
Want to become an Animator?
Opportunities and Chances

Currently these are my top 5 topics, which I am going to share with you.

Stay Tuned

Thanks

November 13, 2007 - Animation Tricks

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:49:24 GMT

Animation Tricks

by Suzanne Martin

Animation can be thought of as a "trick". The good tricks are the ones that are not noticed unless they are pointed out. This write-up will describe four types of tricks: design, implementation, economization, and production [BLIN94] as well as tricks to animating characters [LASS94].

Design Tricks

The basic intent of animation is to communicate something. There are four types of design tricks: attraction tricks, distraction tricks, timing tricks, and motion enhancement.

Attraction Tricks

The direction of the viewer's attention to what the designer considers the important parts of the image is one of the most important aspects of designing either still or moving images. This is particularly important for moving images, as they are not on the screen for a long time; the viewer does not have the choice to study it for an extended length of time. One must get the viewer looking at the place where the new action will occur before it is all over. The following are ways of achieving this:

Appearing and Disappearing

Changes on the screen will get the eyes attention. Something changing from existence to non-existence, or vice versa, is pretty dramatic.

Blinking

Have something blink before it moves will get the viewer's attention.

Anticipation and Overshoot

Anticipate actions by having the objects backup a bit before moving in a desired direction.

The See-saw effect

Lead the viewer into some such transformation by "rubbing the transformation back and forth" a bit

Parallel action

To point up the connection between two things on different parts of the screen, attract attention to them by shaking them both up and down at the same time.

Tension and Release

Tension is created by making shapes seem unbalanced, nearly tipping over. Release comes from objects being firmly placed.

Hesitation

Make object(s) pause a little before moving them to their final positions. This builds up anticipation.

Distraction Tricks

Sometimes it is necessary to distract the viewer from something on the screen. This could be a glitch in animation rendering or it might be a short-cut the animator is using to avoid some lengthy or complicated computations. One example is the old switcheroo; sometimes different models are needed for the same object at different points in the animation.

Timing Tricks

These tricks apply to how long you make actions take to occur.

Speed adjustment

If a physical action happens too quickly to see, simply slow down the time scale. This is similar to scaling an object to fit on the screen.

Logarithmic zooms

When flying in to objects that vary greatly in scale, it is useful to animate the logarithm of the distance rather than the distance directly.

When to double/single frame

Double framing is the process of rendering every other frame and recording each rendered frame twice. This makes a motion seem to move faster and is sometimes used to add liveliness to the scene. Single framing is preferable to double framing except it takes longer to render.

Overlapping action

Having various actions overlap in time makes an animation seem more alive.

Motion Enhancement

It is difficult to convey some motions without exaggerating them in some way. For example:

Falling bodies

To give the impression of something falling continuously, put some texture in the background that scrolls as the object is tracked. Another technique is adding some random fluctuation to the position on the screen. This gives the impression of a falling object being tracked by a human cameraman.

Rolling Ball

To show a ball rolling down an inclined plane, add a simple line to the ball. This represents a highlight. When the ball is rolled down the plane, the highlight rotates with it looking just like a mark on the surface of the ball.

The spinning top

This is a problem of spinning a symmetric object. Placing a pair of black marks near the apex of the top (in a "+" shape) gives the asymmetry needed to follow the rotation. Another trick is the use of Gouraud shaded highlights. The number of polygons is small so the irregularities in the image, especially in the highlights, gives a nice impression of motion.

Implementation Tricks

Many animation systems are based on some sort of keyframing system applied to a nested transformation scheme. The animator must design the transformation structure and then specify the values for the transformation (i.e. values for translation, scale and rotation) and the keyframe numbers for them to have those values. The following are ways to generate the control files:

Top down design

There are two ways to achieve this. The first way is to animate each keyframe completely and then proceed to the next keyframe. The second way is to animate the root level of the transformation tree for all keyframes and then animate the next highest level for all keyframes, etc. This second method is the easier to implement. That is, the top level motions of the centers of the objects are animated first using linear interpolation between the frames.

Blocking

The entire sequence of events is first layed out with no thought given to how much time it takes for each event to occur. Once the sequence is set the keyframe numbers are spread apart to specify timing.

Fine tuning

Once the top level motions and time durations are set, the detailed motion of sub-objects, i.e. the limbs of the character, are added. Then add anticipation and overshoot to the linear interpolation used for the first approximation.

Changing connectivity

A common problem is the need to change the structure of the transformation tree dynamically during animation. A common solution is to have the object appear in the transformation tree at both positions, and utilize some trick to make only one copy visible at any time. For example: John gives an apple to Mary. The apple is at the end of the transformation tree of John's arm. When Mary holds the apple, the apple should be at the end of Mary's arm in Mary's transformation tree.

Squash and stretch

This is commonly used to give life to inanimate objects. The problem with this is that objects are usually modeled centered on their center of mass. Any squashing requires a scale factor about this center. This makes it difficult, for example, to keep the bottom of an object on the table before it jumps off. A better way is to provide positional handles on each side of the object. It is more intuitive to animate these two locations separately, typically with similar motions but just displaced in time and position.

Economization Tricks

Some ways to produce scenes cheaply where a full simulation of the situation would be too hard or too slow:

Soft Objects

Translucent or cloudy objects are hard to animate. To get around this the following can be used:

Scaling and Fading

Animate the object getting larger while making it progressively more transparent.

3D Sparkles

This effect can be made by using a 3D model of lines radiating randomly from a center. Then make the transparency of each line interpolate from opaque at the center to transparent at the endpoints. The resultant shape is then given a large rotation velocity around a couple of axes This will result in a spray of lines from the origin that is radically different from the one frame to the next.

Temporal Anti-Aliasing

Motion blur must be done to properly portray motion with film or video. This can be difficult since the rendering system needs to know, the position of each object in scene as well as the speed, and maybe the acceleration. One way of achieving this is using speed lines and streaks. Motion can be enhanced by explicitly drawing lines trailing a moving object.

Production Tricks

"Production" refers to the process of rendering the frames and recording them to tape or film. The following are methods to actually produce the animation. They are mainly bookkeeping techniques to keep production from getting out of hand.

Start at frame 1000

Start at frame 1000 instead of 0. It makes it easier to add frames at the beginning if needed. Since the frame number is part of the file name, trying to insert a frame before 0, i.e. using negative numbers make invalid file names. A four digit frame number allows getting a sorted list of frame files and having them come out in order. It avoids frame 10 coming before frame 2.

Skip identical frames

If motion sequences are interspersed with pauses, it is silly to re-render frames that are identical during a pause. Create an automatic mechanism that scans the animation control file and detects frames for which all rendering parameters are identical.

Binary search rendering order

To debug the rendering scene, it is often useful to render several frames scattered through it. If these are ok, render the rest. It is a shame to re-do frames that have already been done. One solution is to render for example every 32 frames. Then render every 32 frames halfway between these, then every 16 frames halfway between these, then every 8 frames between these, etc. An advantage is getting a quadruple framed version done which is important during any time critical operations. If time permits, a double framed version can be made by rendering the between frames.

Multiple machine parallelism

This is basically the standard way to render, especially when machines are connected on a network.

Tricks to Animating Characters

Traditional animation is basically one trick after another. Whatever it takes to get it working right on the screen is fair game. The following are trade secrets [LASS94] to animating characters.

Keyframes

Most commercially available computer animation systems are based on animating with keyframes. In hand-drawn animation, work on basic poses of scene first, drawing poses of entire character so timing and acting can be worked out with a minimum of drawings created. Once the poses are finalized, in-between drawings are created to complete the action. With computer animation, keyframes are values at certain frames for the articulation controls of a model, which are usually set up in a hierarchy. The computer calculates the in-between values based on a spline curve connecting keyframe values. Working down the hierarchy of a model, creating keyframes for different controls at each level of the hierarchy. Controls at some levels may need only a few keyframes whereas at other levels keyframes needed on practically every frame. An important point with this approach is to have a clear idea of the action you want to achieve before starting.

2-D vs. 3-D

The biggest difference between hand-drawn animation and computer animation is computer animation is truly 3D. Animation of a scene or parts of the animation can be reused and you cannot tell that it's the exact same motion. Looking at a scene of animation from a different camera angle, may appear to look completely different. Similar scenes may be recreated by varying the timing of the motion or changing the motion of an arm or head. This technique makes it look different from the original. This is great for crowd shots, where re-use of animation is an easy way to keep the crowd alive.

Weight & Size

The computer has the ability to create images that look absolutely real. It's animation that gives the object its physical properties. The timing of movement of an object defines the weight of the object. Two objects which are identical in size and shape can appear to have two vastly different weights by simply manipulating the timing. Light objects have much less resistance to change of movement and thus require much less time to start moving. The way an object behaves on the screen, the effect of the weight that is gives, depend mostly on the spacing of the poses and less on the poses themselves. No matter how well rendered a bowling ball may be, it does not look like a bowling ball if it doesn't behave like one when it is animated. Proper timing of motion can also contribute greatly to the feeling of size and scale of an object or character.

The Thinking Character

When animating characters, every movement, every action must exist for a reason. If a character were to move about in a series of unrelated actions, it would seem obvious that the animator was moving it, not the character itself. To convey the idea that the thoughts of a character are driving its actions, a simple trick is anticipation; always lead with the eyes or head. If the character has eyes, the eyes should move first locking the focus of its action a few frames before the head. The head should move next, followed a few frames later by his body and main action. If a character has no eyes, such as inanimate object like a Luxo lamp [PIXA86], it is even more important to lead with head. The number of frames to lead the eyes and head depends on how much thought precedes the main action. The character's thought process must be understood before any given action. The only time the eyes or head would not lead action would be when an external force is driving the character's movements, as opposed to his thought process. For example, if a character is hit in the back by a low flying sheep, the force of the impact would cause the body to move first, snapping head back and dragging it behind the main action of body.

Moving Holds

In hand-drawn animation, it is very common to animate action, then slow it into a pose and hold the drawing of that pose for several frames, then move into action again. In 3-D computer animation, as soon as you go into a held pose, the action dies immediately. So instead of having every part of the character stop, have some part continue to move slightly in the same direction, like an arm, a head, or even have whole body. Even the slightest movement will keep character alive. Sometimes an action that feels believable in traditional animation, looks too cartoony in computer animation. One needs to be aware of how far to push the motion. The motion should match the design of the character and world. A pitfall of using motion capture devices to create final animation is that motion capture from human actors will always look realistic....for a human. Apply motion capture to a chicken and it will look like a human in a chicken suit. Motion capture data should be used as a starting place. Tweak the timing and poses to make it more caricatured, then apply it to the chicken and the motion will match the design of the character.

Emotion

The personality of a character is conveyed through emotion. This is the best the indicator as to how fast an action should be. When a character is happy, the timing of his movements will be faster. Conversely, when a character is sad, movements are slower. An example of this can be seen in Luxo Jr. The action of Jr. hopping when the chasing ball, he is very excited and happy. His head is looking at the ball, the timing of his hops are fast as there is very little time spent on the ground between hops because he can't wait to get to the ball. After he pops the ball, his hop changes drastically, reflecting his sadness that the object of all his thoughts and energy of just a moment ago is now dead. As he hops off, his head is down, the timing of each hop is slower, with much more time on the ground between hops. To make a character's personality seem real to an audience, he must be different than other characters on the screen. A simple way to distinguish personalities of the characters is through contrast of movement. No two characters would do the same action in the same way. For example in Luxo Jr., when Dad & Jr. are hitting the ball with their heads, Dad being larger and older, leans over and uses only his shade. Jr., however, is smaller, younger, and full of energy, whacks the ball with his whole shade, putting his whole body into it.

Readability of Actions

Proper timing is critical to making ideas readable. It is important to spend enough time (but no more) preparing the audience for anticipation of the action (follow through), the action itself and reaction to action (the follow through). If too much time is spent on any of these, the audience's attention will wander. If too little time is spent, the movement may be finished before the audience notices it, thus wasting the idea. The faster the movement, the more critical it is to make sure the audience can follow what's happening. The action must not be so fast that the audience cannot read it and understand the meaning of it. An idea or action must be made unmistakably clear. The audience's eye must be led to exactly where it needs to be at the right moment. It must not miss an idea or action. It is important that only one idea at a time is seen by the audience. If a lot of action is happening at once, the eye does not know where to look and the main idea will be overlooked. The object of interest should be significantly contrasted against the rest of the scene. In a still scene, the eye will be attracted to movement. In a very busy scene, the eye will be attracted to something that is still. In most cases, an action should not be brought to a complete stop before starting another action; the second action should overlap the first. This slight overlapping maintains flow and continuity between whole phrases of the actions. In Luxo Jr. it is very important that the audience is looking in the right place at the right time, because the story, the acting and emotion is being put across with movement alone, in pantomime, and sometimes the movement is very subtle. If the audience misses an action, an emotion would be missed, and the story would suffer. An action has to be timed and paced so that only Dad or Jr. is doing an important action at any one time, never both.

A Story Trick

In storytelling, the timing of ideas and actions is important to the audience's understanding of the story at any point in time. It is important that animation be timed to stay either slightly ahead of the audience's understanding of what's going on with the story, or slightly behind. It makes the story much more interesting than staying even with the audience. If the animation is too far ahead, the audience will be confused; if the animation is too far behind, the audience will get bored; in either case, their attention will wander. When the action is timed to be slightly ahead of the audience, it adds an element of suspense and surprise; it keeps them guessing about what will happen. When the action is timed to be slightly behind the audience, the story point is revealed to the audience before it is known to the character. Many of these tricks can be used together in any scene in order to achieve the strongest impact on the audience. In Red's Dream [PIXA86] at the end of the dream sequence, Red juggles three balls and catches them with big a finish; the crowd goes wild, and Red takes his bows. Slowly the circus ring dissolves to the interior of the bike shop. The sound of applause fades into sound of rain. Red unaware continues to take his bows and at this point, the audience has not caught on to what's happening because the timing of the action is slightly ahead of the audience. As the room reappears, so does the large "50% OFF" tag hanging from Red's seat. The animation of the tag is timed to be light in weight. It flops around more actively than anything else in the scene. This contrast in action directs the audience's attention to the tag which is a subtle reminder that Red is still in the bike shop. The audience is now ahead of the character and watches Red discover where he really is. Red's actions were timed to be slow, emphasizing his sad emotion.

Ask Why

In every step of the production of the animation, the story, design, staging, animation, editing, lighting, sound, etc., ask why. Why is this here? Does it further the story? Does it support the whole? To create a successful animation, you must understand why an object moves before you can figure out how it should move. Character animation is the design of an object moveing like it is alive. This is achieved when it looks to the audience like it is thinking and all of its movements are generated by its own thought processes. Thinking gives the illusion of life. Every single movement of the character should be there for a purpose. It should support the story and personality of the character. As soon as something looks wrong or out of place, the audience will step back from your story and think about how weird that looked and you've lost them. The goal is to create a personality of a character and a storyline that will draw the audience in and keep them entertained for the entire length of the film.

References

[BLIN94] Blinn, J., "Animation Tricks", SIGGRAPH 94 course notes and video: Animation Tricks, July 1994.

[LASS94] Lasseter, J., "Tricks to Animating Characters with a Computer", SIGGRAPH 94 course notes: Animation Tricks, July 1994.

[PIXA86] PIXAR, "Luxo Jr.", 1986.

[PIXA87] PIXAR, "Red's Dream", 1987.

Source: http://web.cs.wpi.edu/~matt/courses/cs563/talks/anim_tricks.html

October 18, 2007 - How To Clear Your Memory Without Restarting

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:06:38 GMT

How To Clear Your Memory Without Restarting

If you run a windows computer you’ll know like many others than after a while your system will in doubt start running slow. Most people will restart their computer to remove and idle processes. But if there’s a simpler way, why restart every time windows decides it doesn’t like you today?

1. Right click on an empty spot on your desktop and select New - Shortcut.

2. Type %windir%\system32\rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks in the box.

3. Click Next.

4. Give your shortcut a nice name like “Clear Memory”.

5. Click Finish and you’re done.

Now whenever your computer starts running slow click this shortcut to clear out your memory and get your computer running at a normal pace again.

September 26, 2007 - Becoming an Animator

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 16:53:12 GMT

Becoming an animator

SO YOU WANNA BE AN ANIMATOR?

by Shanna Smith

The term "persistence of vision" describes the optical phenomenon that makes animation possible. The human eye retains an image for a split second after the source of the image disappears, so when 24 frames per second of an animated film zip through a projector, the flow of motion on the screen looks seamless.

The same phrase could also be applied to the mind-set of a young (or not quite so young!) person who has his or her heart set on becoming a Disney animator. For generations, the debut of each Disney animated feature film has ignited in the minds of thousands of individuals the desire to be a part of the marvel they see on the screen.

What does it take to be a Disney animator? What spectrums of talent and elements of training are needed to produce these wonder-working "actors with pencils" called animators? We recently put these questions to Frank Gladstone, Manager of Animation Training for Disney, who works out of the Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World.

Gladstone begins by explaining that natural talent will come out at a young age. Every parent knows that a child with an artistic bent considers the family home a vast and inviting canvas. Such children "draw all the time... everywhere, on everything. They see Mommy and they try to draw Mommy. They see the dog and they try to draw the dog," Gladstone says.

Children go through different phases as they explore their skills. Three that Gladstone cites are: 1) The very young child who tries to render his or her own creative fantasies. Mom or Dad may not be able to recognize it as such, but according to the child, that blue scribble is a dinosaur eating an ice-cream cone! (And who is to say it isn't?) 2) The older child who is fascinated by visuals, who sees cartoons or illustrations and attempts to copy them as accurately as possible. (This "draftsman" stage may be difficult and frustrating - more on this later.) 3) The high school student who goes back to the beginning and gives free rein to the imagination, rather than adhering to straight copying.

"This is the bridge," Gladstone says. "This is when someone may be a serious artist. If they draw things they see - the real world - that is a big jump. The intent to interpret what they see in the three-dimensional world is, for me, the tell-all that somebody's interested in art in a serious way."

Getting to that "bridge," that third phase, though, requires passing through phase two - easier said than done.

Gladstone explains, "Most young people who start drawing are trying to make things as accurate as possible. They work very hard to get the eye right, and that's where a lot of people get discouraged.

"There's a certain strength in being an artist, he says "in that at some point every artist I know is trying to draw Mom or Dad and somebody will come up behind them and say `that doesn't look like that.' This is when many people's art career ends."

He continues, "The only time they'll draw again is if they can copy something exactly, which is why many people are good at drawing from a picture, but they can't do the other [draw from life]. The person who is strong enough to say `So what? It's my version of this'- that's another step."

Practice is paramount to maturing as an artist. "Go to the zoo and sketch: draw your friends," Gladstone suggests. "Drawing people and their animals, trying to capture something that's moving - this kind of thing comes with time. It's not something that many children do early on. It comes with experience."

Milton Gray, in his book Cartoon Animation: Introduction to a Career, recommends studying animated films frame by frame, using a VCR or laser videodiscs.

Gladstone agrees. "I had the opportunity to put an old-time print of "Pinocchio" on a Moviola and spent an entire night going through the scenes I like frame by frame and finding out how they created that movie.

"It won't teach you everything," he warns, but, "we still do that. We still study how [certain segments] were done - how did Frank Thomas approach this problem. It's a very good way to do things, but it's only one of the ways."

Hand-in-hand with practice is formal art training. A young person, brimming with talent though she or he may be, needs structured schooling to make animation a career.

"They're not going to get a job here when they're fifteen years old," Gladstone says. "We recommend not only high school, but additional schooling as well - hopefully a college degree."

This schooling would, of course, have art as its primary focus - not merely drawing, but other disciplines as well, such as painting and sculpting. Milton Gray recommends studying actors and books on acting, learning something of staging, choreography, and principles of music.

Beyond the fine arts, some background in history, geography, the life sciences, et al., makes for a more knowledgeable, flexible animator.

"You have to bring things to the table," Gladstone explains. "Half of doing Disney-style feature animation is the ability to draw, paint, run a computer, or whatever, but the other half is communication skill. We find that people who have some post-secondary education are more well-rounded, more adapted to the needs of our studio.

"We realize," he adds "that not everybody can go to college, but we seem to see more seasoned players if they have." Can you be an animator without being able to draw? Gladstone replies, "If a kid wants to do animation and he or she can't draw, there are ways to do that. There always have been ways to do that - stop-action, pixilation (which is stop-action using people instead of objects), things like that. Now there's another one, the computer. You don't have to learn to draw to learn how to animate on a computer."

He cautions, however, "Computer animators just have a very fancy electronic pencil. If they can draw traditionally, they're that much ahead of the game. In all the computer work that I've seen in my life, [work] that has really pushed the animation limits - not just the movement limits, there's a difference - the animators have either come from traditional areas or had good traditional skills."

These skills, be they traditional or high-tech, can be utilized in a variety of ways. An animated feature film employs the talents of a wide variety of artists. Animators make up a fairly small population of the people that create an animated film. There are also assistant animators; in-betweeners; breakdown, background and layout artists; effects animators; storyboard artists; visual development or inspirational artists; computer animators; and graphic designers - to name a few!

All these individuals work as a team (hence the importance of communication) during the long, arduous process of producing an animated film. Gladstone gives an example of how the artist (in this case the layout artist), director, and art director work together. These individuals interpret the storyboard into the various sets, backgrounds and foregrounds for each shot of an animated film.

"The layout artist has a lot to do with the lighting of the film, the scope, the way the camera moves through the sets," he explains. "The layout artist is in a very great way the cinematographer of an animated film, deciding what the camera is going to see and where the characters will be blocked in a scene."

The in-betweener has traditionally been looked upon as the first rung on the ladder of a animation career. Although there are exceptions, Gladstone says, "Most people come up through the ranks, starting as an in-betweener and working their way up to an animator. I think that's a good way to do it. Eventually, if they become an animator, they will have had the experience of the people that follow them up. They were there before."

So, the path is charted - now, where to go for the all-important formal instruction? There are many schools that offer good fundamental art programs and consistently produce graduates with the skills necessary to become Disney animators. These schools are by no means the only choices available to the future animator.

Gladstone speaks from experience, "If you need to go to a state school - great! Find a state school that has an art program and take the best advantage of it you can. Learn how to draw well. Draw better than everybody there. If you can only go to trade school, great! Go to trade school and do it that way."

The various roads to an animation career all demand hard work, discipline, and patience. We asked Frank Gladstone what crucial advice he would give animators. He responded, "Keep trying. Don't get too frustrated. Realize your potential, be honest with yourself, and apply yourself to whatever that particular goal is you want to reach."

It takes, in a word, persistence!

For information on the Disney Animator Training Program, please write to:

Walt Disney World Casting,

P.O. Box 10,000,

Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-1000.

Article Link - http://www.animationarena.com/become-an-animator.html

September 16, 2007 - Greetings! I'm Back

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 14:59:40 GMT

Hey,

Its been long since I have shared something. The involvement in the project made me busy. I have learned many things during this project. I would continue writing some of my experiences soon.

Currently I have just been released from the pressure of animation, however work is still going on.

During the animation period, i got no time for any other work, as devotion of our mind, was on submitting the shots.

Now all we are waiting is for its release, which is soon. I can't disclose any other information relating to the project until its release.

There are many things to be talked about, on different subjects, but for now,

Thank you for reading,

See you soon

July 08, 2007 - So Long

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 06:45:28 GMT

Hey, sorry for not being active lately.

I am still having tough schedule.

I will continue writing as soon I get time.

By the way, the second lecture for 3D Character Animation will be soon up.

Thanking for all

May 12, 2007 - Animation Lecture 01 - Introduction to Animation

Sat, 12 May 2007 09:20:09 GMT

Animation Lecture 01 - Introduction to Animation
by Aabid Dhamani

"Animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive." - Walt Disney

Its been almost 2 weeks now, from the day animation course was announced. In this lecture I will provide you the basics of animation, what is important for an animator and how things will work.

First of all, who is a good animator? He is not just the animator. Beside being an animator, he is also a person with drawing, acting, observation, planning skills. Animation requires a lot of research. It is the skills which can be developed, if the person is devoted to it.

The principles of animation on which the animation is based was given in early days of Disney animation. It is not hard and fast rule, it is just the essence for the good animation.

"When we consider a new project, we really study it . . . not just the surface idea, but everything about it." - Walt Disney

The 12 basic principles of animation

Squash and Stretch
Anticipation
Staging
Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose
Follow Through and Overlapping Action
Slow in and Slow out
Arcs
Secondary Action
Timing
Exaggeration
Solid Drawing
Appeal

These principles will be explained in the next lecture separately.

Exercise 01

Your first lesson is drawing circles and squares, these will bring the flow in your drawing.

Take a totally blank paper or drawing paper of any size and start drawing circles and squares to reach the goal of making it perfect. It will take time. And one more thing - don't use eraser.

This is all for this lesson, any queries or things that is not cleared to you, you are free to ask. You can also post your work to get some help by replying to this lecture and placing the link of your work.

Have a nice day

April 29, 2007 - Want to learn about 3D Character Animation?

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 18:17:33 GMT

I was thinking for a long time to arrange the course of animation online for those who have the passion for 3D Character Animation. It will carried out from the basic. Every week there will be assignments. All of these will be carried out on here.

Before the learning begins, I just wanted to know, if any of you are interested. If there is no one interested in learning 3D Character Animation, then I think, its better to drop the idea.

Waiting for your responses