It's been a bit quiet around here ...!

I've been busy with 2 frame-by-frame animation among other 3D stuff. So far, I haven't found a reason to not like Toonboom. My animation school has actually just acquired TVPaint and teaching with that, but I'm starting to understand what a fellow animator meant when he said he swears by Toonboom. Pretty strong words there.  Though I have yet to get comfortable enough with using it for cut out animation. Anyhow, I'll leave you with a screenshot of my current work. Deadline in 3 weeks - let's hope I can make it!

Making sense of random audio

Exercise in using an X-sheet to sync animation to audio. Drawn on paper and compiled/coloured in TVpaint.  

I only did a pencil test after all the drawings were done, so some parts of the animation could be better. Having to paint every frame was a killer...!  Stay tuned...more work coming soon. 

a short film (updated!)

(I like documenting stuff I do, so if you want to skip my yammering :P, head on down to the videos below!)

One of my classes this year is called Video 1, basically an introduction to Video. And for that we made a short film as a group.

Once we had a base screenplay done, we took it home individually and altered it to our own versions, so that we ended up with 4 slightly different films. 4 weeks later, and our films are finally finished. Shooting was completed in a day and a half. Unfortunately for some shots, we only had time for one take. 

It might sound strange having a video component as part of an animation course, and initially I thought so too. I wasn't sure what I would get out of this class. But live-action film and animation are just two different mediums for the same purpose - storytelling. So I saw this project as an exercise to learn more about storytelling using the moving image.

Apart from learning how to actually use a DSLR and other filming equipment, I really enjoyed going through the whole pre-production phase - writing the screenplay, creating storyboards and shot list ....as well as understanding the limitations and advantages of live action production compared with animation. Plus I had the best group mates to work with for this project (thanks guys!). They really do make a huge difference.

So this is my version. I wanted the story to be subtle, with all the ingredients present. I'm open to comments and constructive critisicm, especially in terms of story - that's where I'm trying to improve. If you want to, a PM would be great.

Remember to turn up your speakers a little (headphones are best) and watch in 720p. cheers guys

Vanessa - "Darren's World"

And here are my group mates' versions  (I'll update this section till all of theirs are up). 

Terri - "Safe"
Check out her blog post for some behind-the-scenes photos

SAFE : Short Film from territory.mp on Vimeo.


Sharin - "Lost"

LOST (A short film) from Absharina Yofitasari on Vimeo.


and finally, Dileepa - "My Name is Darren"

MY NAME IS DARREN from Vincilabs on Vimeo.

Vertices, Faces, Edges

So Maya, we meet again. Just some screenshots from what was done today.

Basic 3D modelling...

... and some workflow principles with creating a scene from concept art.