tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85617436741049889052024-03-19T00:45:51.333-07:00Pushing Posesanimation stuff by yet another animator who blogsErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-64630854696343504822010-12-06T09:03:00.004-07:002010-12-06T09:49:54.275-07:00this blog and others<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUo3XmwsCPu-fQsdHPSRH1rTBkrljQfBmMnO7NmFRTJllbhmGaZApGqi_ZEDPx5w64bs9FYXHma4hwNUrIyo9ZJN89BqgPrdamEG7NRlS6p-UVJo6x-vCCRZ65FJgsNMj8XmTf_7URSsw/s1600/blogging.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 306px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUo3XmwsCPu-fQsdHPSRH1rTBkrljQfBmMnO7NmFRTJllbhmGaZApGqi_ZEDPx5w64bs9FYXHma4hwNUrIyo9ZJN89BqgPrdamEG7NRlS6p-UVJo6x-vCCRZ65FJgsNMj8XmTf_7URSsw/s400/blogging.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547612062385415970" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Teaching is one of the best ways I've found for learning... that, and being under pressure in a production environment. If you have done one or the other you know what I mean. If you done both you know that each is as challenging as the other.</div><div><br /></div>I originally started this blog years ago essentially as a release valve for all the thoughts, ideas, sketches and discoveries I was making. A public journal of what I have been learning and thinking while also teaching the subject at the college level. As a byproduct the site has gotten attention for some of <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2008/03/basic-walk-cycle-part-1.html">the tutorials</a> <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2008/03/basic-walk-cycle-part-2.html">I created</a> <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2009/09/essential-acting-principles.html">for students</a> and various acquaintances. <div><br /></div><div>Its a lot better than getting attention for mouthing off about some <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2007/08/poses-pushed-little-too-far.html">odd looking double pose</a> found in an animation short film. There have been a few other surprises along the way including the positive attention received for my approach to web design for a portfolio website and interest from students of <a href="http://www.rave.ac.uk/">Ravensbourne</a> in the UK. I've been too busy to return the positive attention from previous blog posts.<br /><div><div><br /></div><div>Blogging here will continue sometime in the future when I am only working one full-time job instead of two. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the meantime I've been putting together examples of work completed by our students which I will continue to post here and video tutorials for those getting started in Maya. Those tutorials are being added to a new blog site called <a href="http://animationprocess.blogspot.com/">Animation Process</a>. I invite anyone reading to check out this new instructional blog, the <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/theartcenter">Vimeo page</a> for our Animation Department and a nice college <a href="http://blog.theartcenter.edu/">news and events blog</a> managed by Emmett Hamilton.</div><div><br /></div><div>The video tutorials found at this new site are <a href="http://animationprocess.blogspot.com/p/3d-basics.html">extremely rudimentary</a> and created in most cases to be less than 5-minutes in length. There is an art to brevity. Currently I have a few videos describing <a href="http://animationprocess.blogspot.com/p/texturing.html">UV mapping</a>, <a href="http://animationprocess.blogspot.com/p/texturing.html">texturing</a>, and <a href="http://animationprocess.blogspot.com/p/lighting.html">working with lights</a> in Maya. </div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Check back for more examples of student work before I return to my original purpose for this site. A special thanks to the followers of this blog. </div>Erik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-25087228397898343372010-03-21T21:52:00.022-07:002010-11-29T22:53:14.780-07:00More Student Work<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Created by Dara Elerath</span><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10216887&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10216887&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/10216887">New Mexico Symphony Guild Ball - Dara Elerath</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/theartcenter">The Art Center Design College</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<span style="FONT-STYLE: italic" class="Apple-style-span"> Dara is a Senior at the Art Center Design College in Albuquerque majoring in Visual Communications.</span></p><div>Our branch campus in Albuquerque, NM was contacted with a request for help on behalf of a non-profit client, <a href="http://www.newmexicosymphonyguild.org/home.html">New Mexico Symphony Guild</a>. Above is one of the two winning submissions created by our students pro-bono.<br /><br />Animation instructor Aaron Barreras turned loose both sections of his AN307 Motion Graphics class on this project allowing each of his students to create a version of this promotion for the New Mexico Symphony Guild. With 21 individual commercials to choose from thanks to all of our talented students, the <a href="http://www.newmexicosymphonyguild.org/2010symphonyguildball.html">New Mexico Symphony Guild Ball</a> organizers had a difficult time choosing a single spot to run. So much so, they ended up choosing 2 spots to run. The winning students, Dara Elerath and Ryan Salway, will have their commercials (shown above) aired on all <a href="http://www.comcast.com/">Comcast</a> channels in New Mexico.<br /><br />There is no learning experience like that of working for real clients. The pro-bono <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/9073693">Membership promotional</a> project completed here in Tucson for <a href="http://www.loftcinema.com/">The Loft Cinema</a> last <a href="http://theartcenterdesigncollege.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/loft-screening-in-full-surround-sound/">January</a> was a very eye-opening and inspiring experience for the students involved. Another project for The Loft here in Tucson is underway, as well as other community-based <a href="http://www.googlequerque.org/">creative projects</a> moving forward in Albuqueruqe, NM. Reaching out to the community has been a real boon for our students, and I can't count the number of blessings that have rolled back to us in response. </div><div><br /></div><div>In case anyone is wondering, as a policy, The Art Center Design College only accepts requests for pro-bono projects from community-based, charitable/non-profit clients. We don't want our students undercutting professionals in the field, <a href="http://hfiasco.blogspot.com/">many</a> of <a href="http://www.redmeat.com/redmeat/">whom</a> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0949959/">teach</a> at <a href="http://aaronbarreras.com/main.htm">our</a> school. That would be both ethically wrong and stupid beyond belief. After all, we are training professionals. -e</div>Erik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-76966492483081557852010-02-10T23:26:00.010-07:002010-03-21T23:06:40.566-07:00Student Work<object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9073693&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9073693&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/9073693">Loft Membership Pro-bono</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/theartcenter">The Art Center Design College</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><p>This is a 1-minute promotional animation encouraging patrons to join as members of the non-profit, community art-house theater called <a href="http://www.loftcinema.com/">The Loft Cinema</a> located in Tucson, AZ. This animation was created by Junior level students enrolled at <a href="http://www.theartcenter.edu/">The Art Center Design College</a>. The work was completed as pro-bono. The mission of The Art Center Design College includes a priority to be a contributing member of the surrounding community and to model this mission for the growth and development of our students as citizens. The Loft Cinema is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The client is very pleased with what was created and is happily screening this membership promotional animation in front of every feature film. </p><p>The group of students who created this are now working on a second pro-bono project for The Loft Cinema, and the client is excited for how this new project will turn out. You can watch the progress of this project as well as the personal films these students create as <a href="http://theartcenterdesigncollege.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/animation-student-blogs/">they blog their production process</a>. Credits for the Loft membership include: <a href="http://charblesanimation.blogspot.com/">Charles Rorke</a>, <a href="http://enailesgrises.blogspot.com/">Eva Alcazar</a>, <a href="http://bfcanimation.blogspot.com/">Auston Klezcka</a>, <a href="http://iembrace2d2.blogspot.com/">Brenda Rodriguez</a>, <a href="http://animatorarmy.blogspot.com/">Benjamin Gray</a>, and <a href="http://the2dwars.blogspot.com/">Arman Jornoush</a>. This team of artists has grown stronger by one, being joined by <a href="http://suarez-christian.blogspot.com/">Christian Suarez</a>, and once again are directed by comic artist, writer and Art Center Animation Instructor <a href="http://redmeat.com/redmeat">Max Cannon</a>. </p><p>We are happily anticipating what the new collaborative and independent films will be developed by this talented and committed group of artists. </p><p>-e</p>Erik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-43808175652354966112009-09-22T00:27:00.031-07:002010-02-03T11:20:15.321-07:00Essential Acting Principles<a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Acting-for-Animators/Ed-Hooks/e/9780325005805/?itm=1"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8cVIvTui9mRaYNm3WHsdRoWytkHpYzWFXs-GUHD1zFuSU-MfH1s2V8qzUIYx82n1OF0ALB93oVEtk_uqzdbwAhy9F9bU0cGyqb5C5KhsYglASxRDop2GqzxiqiZbgGkFagqMcYmsxIc/s400/actingForAnimators_edHooks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384191241847556930" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As defined specifically for animators by <a href="http://www.actingforanimators.com/Resources/booksbyhooks.html">Ed Hooks</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">1) A scene is a negotiation</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>"In any negotiation, there must be a way you can win and a way you can lose." <i>-Ed Hooks</i>. This is another way of saying every scene must involve conflict, or opposing concerns. Example: I want to sit in a chair and you want to sit in a chair, we are both standing there in a room together and we have only one chair between us. Now what?! This is where the negotiation begins. A scene is a negotiation. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">2) Thinking leads to conclusions; emotions lead to action</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Having a thinking character is great but a thinking character can just sit like a lump in his chair while thinking thoughts all day. Now what?! Well, if he has strong feelings regarding one of his thoughts, he is likely to get up out of that chair and get busy. If he hates the noise coming in from the street outside, he jumps up and closes the window. If he loves the girl in the photograph on the table, he reaches over, picks up the picture, and kisses it as if he is kissing her. If he desires a tasty sandwich for lunch, he gets up and heads out the door for the local restaurant to get a meal. And so on. Emotion leads to Action. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">3) Play an action until something happens to make you play a different action</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Actions are based on motivation. If something motivates a character to take action, then the character must have a change in motivation in order to change their action. </div><div><br /></div><div>Example: I want to deliver a package to a neighbor. First, I head out the door to walk over to the neighbors house. When I arrive at the house I stop walking. Why? Because it would be stupid and robotic to keep walking once I arrive. Imagine me smashing endlessly into the closed front door of my neighbor's house. Funny? Maybe. But there is not much of a story there. Ok, now that I have arrived, and stopped, I knock at the door. Now, again, if I were a stupid robot I would keep knocking, endlessly. I'm not stupid, nor a robot so I knock a few times and then wait. Ok, I'm waiting. Waiting more. Still waiting. Nothing has happened. If I keep waiting I'm probably pretty dumb so I think it is time to knock again... I raise my hand and suddenly the door opens. If I were to follow through with my intention to knock again, I'd probably hit my neighbor in the face with my fist. At this point I'll leave it to you if this is a good thing since I have made my point about playing an action. You can always switch it up for comedic effect. Just know what your character is doing and why. This begins with setting him or her on a course and staying the course until there is good reason to change... or not. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">4) Theatrical reality is not the same thing as day‐to‐day reality</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>"Theatrical reality has form and is compressed in time and space." <i>-Ed Hooks</i>. Ok back to me, the package, and my neighbor. If you animated me in "real time" walking from my house to that of my neighbor, knocking, waiting and so on, you would have one, terrifically dull story. Not only would the amount of screen time watching me head out the door and across the street be boring for the audience, it would also ruin the comedic effect of me waiting and waiting after knocking. The audience would spend a lot of time watching me walk, and not so much time watching me wait after knocking. Not very entertaining. Practically speaking it would be a terrible waste of time to produce as animation with little benefit for the audience. Live action filmmakers don't waste that kind of time and effort on simple and obvious story mechanics so neither should animators. Put your story into theatrical time, both for the sake of the story and for the sake of the effort needed to produce it.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">5) Empathy is the key to effective performance animation</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>"Humans empathize with emotion, not with thinking." <i>-Ed Hooks</i>. Remember that part in item number 4 about the audience? Well, the audience is why we do this stuff. Without them, what is the use of so much time and effort? We need the audience... not want, but need the audience to identify with our characters. What can we as animators use as a basis for connecting with the audience? What the character does. Ok, that's easy. Why is the character doing what he is doing? Emotion. Refer back to item number 2 listed above regarding the source of action.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, what we are communicating to the audience is the character's emotional reality, and we communicate this essential reality through action. And best of all we do this to get the audience to empathize with the character.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">6) In acting, an obstacle is the same thing as conflict</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>"In life, we generally try to avoid conflict, but in acting, it is our friend." <i>-Ed Hooks</i>. Delve into your character and find motivations, concerns, interests, and intentions. With these intentions you have a rich assortment of possible obstacles and conflicts. If you are having trouble finding potential obstacles and conflicts then you probably don't have a character, yet. If so, then focus on developing a living character. After developing your character, you may want to define the circumstances in which the character is surrounded. By this I mean the nature, environment, or situation that surrounds the character. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">7) There are only three kinds of conflicts or obstacles: </span></b></div><div><ul><li>Conflict with Self</li><li>Conflict with a Situation or Environment</li><li>Conflict with Another Character</li></ul></div><div>These three types of conflict are listed in a typical order of interest for good story telling. The best is a character conflicted with himself. A character suffering conflict with himself is going to have a lot of interesting problems.</div><div><br /></div><div>For instance think of a boy, who likes a girl, but is also afraid to talk to that girl. This poses a problem, how to let a certain girl he likes in on the fact that he likes her. Hmmmm... internal conflict.</div><div><br /></div><div>That is fairly generic so lets make it even more interesting. What if the boy has to dress-up and pretend he is a girl in order to hide from threatening and dangerous characters, then he meets the girl that he desires. Now he has two internal conflicts... avoid danger from bad people by pretending to be something he is not, and interact effectively with his desired girl even though he is in the impossible situation of being a girl, liker her. </div><div><br /></div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Like_It_Hot"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 302px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKcJD2E-qY4t08ry9S62U0jH2IPQ_YYFD9TOr8Ec9fcXvEvHkdZoE1F27iMzhJltA3s26vrIsfpvTTNbcVITDk1ObFnp-o3QW_6fimkQyzviVTGblfCa7wRiv6H7K_kmKBq-0UpZga9Us/s400/SomelikeitHot_tonyAndJack.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384194534748595634" border="0" /></a><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in drag. </span></i><i><b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053291/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Some Like It Hot</span></a></b></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">, United Artists 1959. </span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>Think this is a ridiculous story? Check out the classic movie, <b><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Like_It_Hot">Some Like It Hot</a></i></b> starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. In fact, both male characters are going through the conflict of hiding as women while being attracted to an ideal woman. And because each has a chance to be alone with her they encounter one additional issue, now they have a rivalry for her affection. And they each identify with her in their 'female' roles differently which changes how others, including this ideal woman, respond to the two men posing as women. </div><div><br /></div><div>What a mess! </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Wilder">Billy Wilder</a> obviously understood that heightened and powerful storytelling involves more than one conflict or obstacle encountered by the main character simultaneously. Storytelling and acting cannot be separated from each other.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ok, that's pretty complex. So, let's start off in a place that is much more simple. Who is your character, and what does your character want? </div><div><br /></div><div>For those who are interested in digging deeper check out these books by Ed Hooks. The first is linked to at the top of this post; just click on the image. Another good reference to acting for animation as it applies to storytelling is <b><i><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Acting-in-Animation/Ed-Hooks/e/9780325007052/?itm=1">Acting in Animation: A Look at 12 Films</a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">. </span></b></div><div><br /></div><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Acting-in-Animation/Ed-Hooks/e/9780325007052/?itm=2"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 271px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErLEnDp8ELc4PUG6g8WXhiU6b_r1yFjPfDGtUe97lBlzeU2q0j8hBi2BkESWzoHqiLqr2VSvUvnReO_Na0cojfzZfpxHK9hB59Ahd4ty9AJap1mqWHVLt6Rv40gpvvhZHrQFugWkMkIY/s400/edHooks_aLookAt12Films.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384197518530796002" border="0" /></a><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Erik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-30935224933676512092009-03-16T11:20:00.048-07:002009-03-18T21:44:09.045-07:00Blogs of note<a href="http://animatorsresource.blogspot.com/"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313878469511217330" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 400px; height: 319px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBncJXkh8aWURl8I-P3uB1wNLrEUQjDwLtl6d18wXH_HQXSn7ND1ZBTbpPDNPIN1x63-QS56Wcyz-qyCM_uR02DXXGOUxarH32N9ZdANzA19CLddQ35Rp36kZyuUF7rFsXLp0b_XG8FQ/s400/jRyan_animatorsresource.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPgGq9CPGl5zFgD6-g1J6T0aasMvFrj5cd4QP6-hXN5kKr5tOgLa3xJWmSsGFUWraXOxG8je_4SHeiOcWjY_25DgSYk7KNdJJob078JvA8kViP2mII8a8Tr0IFNTO7F6qlZ_RgrbP9D0/s1600-h/jRyan_animatorsresource.jpg"></a><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><br />Just want to point out a few blogs. I found out about the blog illustrated above thanks to referral clicks registered at <a href="http://www.sitemeter.com/?a=stats&s=s37pushingposesblog">sitemeter</a>. A character animator located in Savannah, GA named <a href="http://animatorsresource.blogspot.com/">John Paul Rhinemiller</a> has started a very nice blog for animators who are interested in valuable resources. I've already found some interesting links that are new to me. Anyone who knows me knows that I am the collector of links to online resources. He has very nicely pointed me in the right direction regarding his blog which I unfortunately credited to someone else by mistake. So, thanks JP. </div><br /><div><br /><a href="http://www.seansanimationstation.blogspot.com/"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313879024232650130" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 400px; height: 319px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghciqfHNFuLuG5qr2PZK_Yx_yZ-9PnOlguGiqH5xAd99oojKU4ymp7Vph4HeCbldEPUbTQcTFWy-C14YC-OtWMBdzi1Yeslx-ywjGqLOTURiNWA5SF-fRoFh532G-HKioCmbQYho-Qkf8/s400/sColeman_blog.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><br />After I responded to JP's recent request for animated shorts worth knowing about he was nice enough to post Sean Coleman's <em style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.seancolemanart.com/shortFilmMain.html">Scratch</a></em>, Sean's <a href="http://www.seancolemanart.com/index.html">portfolio website</a>, and <a href="http://www.seansanimationstation.blogspot.com/">Sean's blog</a>. Sean graduated from <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.theartcenter.edu/">The Art Center Design College</a>, where I teach and chair the Animation Department at our Tucson, AZ campus. He participated in <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.siggraph.org/s2008/attendees/fjorg/">FJORG! 2008</a> on a team with two animators from Animation Mentor, sharing a second place position with one other team. These days Sean animates for <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.insomniacgames.com/">Insomniac Games</a> in Burbank, CA. Sean's film <em><strong>Scratch</strong></em> has made the festival circuit winning awards including a <a href="http://www.tucsonadfed.org/">Gold ADDY</a> award for <a href="http://www.tucsonadfed.org/pages/gallery.php?id=43&page=10&curr=255846">Student Best of Show</a> here in Tucson and has moved on to the regional ADDY Awards with the collaborative <a style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp80R2BlHuE">Siggy</a> intro completed with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mike Munoz</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brad Wright</span>. </div><br /><div><br /><a href="http://eleazermunoz.blogspot.com/"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313879276287903970" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 400px; height: 319px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dKZXkb7tb9nimDUDF-WgjyWq_ZwoT8kA4046cZCs7cyPFwG9hubZygT2ZgE1CfUCGLWiFBQbss88g8eBSlaPjq6LBoL2Qcls7prMAy1U9RebxSZVoRxglHbEd54y3SUdMSKOw9cZhKs/s400/mMunoz_blog.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://eleazermunoz.com/">Mike Munoz</a> is another recent graduate from The Art Center and is an extremely multi-faceted artist with numerous strengths. He has been working at a modeler for a colleague of mine named <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://hfiasco.blogspot.com/">Gav Gnatovich</a>, who teaches here at The Art Center. In addition to his 3D modeling abilities Mike is an highly skilled character setup artist. He came to The Art Center with an engineering background, developed a strong art and animation portfolio, and then fused the two areas of art and engineering together. Since graduation Mike created a very sophisticated and almost entirely automated character setup toolkit for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Maya</span> using <span style="font-weight: bold;">Python</span>. Check out <a href="http://eleazermunoz.blogspot.com/">Mike's blog</a> to get a hint of the number and quality of tools he has created so far.<br /></div><br /><div><br /><a href="http://bradawright.blogspot.com/"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313879556257066482" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 400px; height: 319px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pCieUYdU8qjIdK_DAWuZEiYtjZNDcrjyVf2juOYqb6pUJciwY8SXKeWgh8fk1wduIs0tlZtYKnQhZVztMbs8NKN7FXlcCXp15MVuKIPYSL-Dn9JraJTHv1chIT8z72bawSsVAgI4yQM/s400/bWright_blog.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><br /><a href="http://bradawright.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Brad Wrigh</span>t</a> worked with Sean and Mike on the animated <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Siggy</span> intro we currently use for The Art Center's animation demo reel. Brad has focused his portfolio on organic modeling while continuing to develop his Character Animation skills in 2D and 3D. He is still taking classes but already has professional modeling and animation work to his credit.<br /></div><div><br /><a href="http://acanimationclub.blogspot.com/"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313879825711046514" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 400px; height: 319px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhucTWw3RPXpj1wMTQ6HkvYfGjM3_NJRFN7gsmonYT2jGB2WmepydvAsFe2c1W7wiIHmCveVqjEwM2o_w7PMKMcjitPWhNI_rcMbJ2I0aQ4Tj85AP6tuEHXdNF_LPK1bUKkhFMi7e8-BGU/s400/acAnimationClub.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><br />Last but not least is the <a href="http://acanimationclub.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Art Center Animation Club</span> blog</a> just created by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Auston Kleczka</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Eva Alcazar</span>, two animation students here in Tucson who have taken the reigns of this club and seem to have a very clear and positive goal of creating a community of animators supporting other animators... not unlike what <span style="font-weight: bold;">JP Rhinemiller</span> is doing. I think this completes a nice circle for this post.</div>Erik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-71490801254646594642009-02-19T01:06:00.009-07:002009-03-16T13:50:57.356-07:00More Life DrawingAbout one year ago my busy life got a lot busier. In between then and now I wrote two parts of an intended 5 part tutorial on walk cycles which became quite popular at this site, got promoted to the lead position in my department, and held down my old job while simultaneously working my new job.<br /><br />I am not about to claim that all of this has all been accomplished in top form. I will claim that I am still standing.<br /><br />Something that I have managed to do is continue with life drawing studies thanks to the Fine Arts department at my school.<br /><br /><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR0mxYBBQJWbVo1hyXpooQXDGM1Ps8IfSA3JQUjxUjzVY9iGu1KKUBzDW6DNH1kWXKw9aLIEfWEHZyI4xWipOlIqSSsfTAyogl4HIRfcrQRjzA32dsHp5b3MImI8glpzgT-br76Rs79RI/s1600-h/lifeDrawing05.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR0mxYBBQJWbVo1hyXpooQXDGM1Ps8IfSA3JQUjxUjzVY9iGu1KKUBzDW6DNH1kWXKw9aLIEfWEHZyI4xWipOlIqSSsfTAyogl4HIRfcrQRjzA32dsHp5b3MImI8glpzgT-br76Rs79RI/s400/lifeDrawing05.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304418534743129458" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobBPKhj8BpebJYyigxiW33UbvpVi-VwHywZH5HhE311nKN0ZNXcQlZdC2IvNzU8qQKw91rDrIHBvODK_1_qaLWek4Ce56ZvCD8vXOKGhAGEFzyMai1nCkjWcy3QOYoTJnawD3SIYlZaE/s1600-h/lifeDrawing04.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 297px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobBPKhj8BpebJYyigxiW33UbvpVi-VwHywZH5HhE311nKN0ZNXcQlZdC2IvNzU8qQKw91rDrIHBvODK_1_qaLWek4Ce56ZvCD8vXOKGhAGEFzyMai1nCkjWcy3QOYoTJnawD3SIYlZaE/s400/lifeDrawing04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304418529363262562" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkC7AleV9DLOVEJ5fzMek5kH7krv5dg7Qt1Ag98Q3eIpz2f8M3NOASRfU5QgUrKlYMIQWQoXrQJ2S6r-D4hQ1JSSyjL4-NHwYNW1TEwI9PfS0G6Am8U6APLpbhSJameK2oGxtIefWYN8/s1600-h/lifeDrawing03.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkC7AleV9DLOVEJ5fzMek5kH7krv5dg7Qt1Ag98Q3eIpz2f8M3NOASRfU5QgUrKlYMIQWQoXrQJ2S6r-D4hQ1JSSyjL4-NHwYNW1TEwI9PfS0G6Am8U6APLpbhSJameK2oGxtIefWYN8/s400/lifeDrawing03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304418524418217506" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6TzgCPs85jI1cneUI5wxEwqOfOsSvK0Ls0fVGlGSFOljQWEwtCpgQd_f1Xu5cs5cQVvaOsSRYCAKCdUpck0oQn77lpKGfg6WKV2G5XILV5y2sQ93xJcD6mypx_eNt5Zv6SfUpTT9eyA/s1600-h/lifeDrawing02.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 397px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6TzgCPs85jI1cneUI5wxEwqOfOsSvK0Ls0fVGlGSFOljQWEwtCpgQd_f1Xu5cs5cQVvaOsSRYCAKCdUpck0oQn77lpKGfg6WKV2G5XILV5y2sQ93xJcD6mypx_eNt5Zv6SfUpTT9eyA/s400/lifeDrawing02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304417827929974786" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArzOWAaNKmcwU4Dje4HYSJJKndPmQ6lx6EEdb1W5v1UZ8hz0qDE01uwL65pyZwthUWBzlxs7DWQY8oCqIH-INcgyn8yCknFx1qvgpZLoGNaFdnsygKmcnZ14TrPB6V9JtmUFKrdXqVo4/s1600-h/lifeDrawing01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArzOWAaNKmcwU4Dje4HYSJJKndPmQ6lx6EEdb1W5v1UZ8hz0qDE01uwL65pyZwthUWBzlxs7DWQY8oCqIH-INcgyn8yCknFx1qvgpZLoGNaFdnsygKmcnZ14TrPB6V9JtmUFKrdXqVo4/s400/lifeDrawing01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304417431295966402" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /></div>Erik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-22783636231663196822008-04-04T12:36:00.009-07:002008-04-08T18:55:56.163-07:005-Minute Walk Cycle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" loop="true" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/movies/fiveMinuteWalkCycle.mov"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit-yVuyB8o6RfnkhH-nIGlZStb8qCos6v4jTxXz6_pQUPAuE5-wr5ybOHrwxmJYYhiVELyiDb_FXv58j9CZzEBJz5vbCLHdwOfWbM6ntazhvjREuO23DjnfMlg-jM6osXZRDIXYv9iE4E/s320/5MinWalkCycle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185479022723846754" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Behold the power of the black Sharpie marker. </span></span><br /><br />I needed to demo capturing into <a href="http://www.digicelinc.com/">Flipbook</a> for a student yesterday. It was an opportunity to show how fast and easy Flipbook is at timing out your work. One problem, I didn't have any hand drawn animation with me, and worse, no punched paper.<br /><br />So, in about one minute, I improvised an alternative registration system and five minutes after that I had a sequence of drawings created with a black, fine point <a href="http://www.sharpie.com/enUS/Product/Sharpie_Fine_Point_Permanent_Marker.html">Sharpie</a> on scrap paper. I think that's the shortest amount of time I've ever used to create a walk cycle.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-269657754725354492008-03-21T12:38:00.000-07:002008-03-21T12:38:23.180-07:00Perception is Reality<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.rickchapman.com/tree/pages/Joshua_Tree_CA_1999f.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpf_I8e6eSudKhVspH3jW9dC3YLvRfIHEcxXnUxNjBUYqitcpIick4amOxt3K0xSelQ28xcTZ39Lq1SQ4kKhxasTzfkx347pHzj9ge-IrTPkjIEwjiYMLz7ppVLIrfbjwbChTfA_BZFes/s320/JoshuaTreeCA99_rickChapman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180148173740560978" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Joshua Tree California © <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.rickchapman.com">Rick Chapman</a> 1999.</span></span><br /><br />I would like to quote an author named <a href="http://www.ratz.com/">Robin Williams</a>, (no not that famous <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000245/">actor</a> and comedian, but a woman living in Santa Fe, NM who happens to share the same name).<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">-- quote --</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Joshua Tree Epiphany</span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">by Robin Williams</span><br /><br />Once upon a time, Robin received a tree identifying book where you could match a tree up with its name by looking at its picture. Robin decided to go out and identify the trees in the neighborhood. Before she went out, she read through part of the book.The first tree in the book was the Joshua tree because it only took two clues to identify it.<br /><br />Now the Joshua tree is a really weird-looking tree and she looked at that picture and said to herself, "Oh, we don’t have that kind of tree in Northern California. That is a weird-looking tree. I would know if I saw that tree, and I’ve never seen one before."<br /><br />So she took the book and went outside. Her parents lived in a cul-de-sac of six homes. Four of those homes had Joshua trees in the front yard. She had lived in that house for thirteen years, and she had never seen a Joshua tree.<br /><br />She took a walk around the block - at least 80 percent of the homes had Joshua trees in the front yards. And she had sworn she had never seen one before!<br /><br />The moral of the story? Once Robin was conscious of the tree, once she could name it, she saw could see it everywhere. Which is exactly my point. Once you can name something, you’re conscious of it. You have power over it. You own it. You’re in control.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">-- end quote ---</span><br /><br />So, why am I including this quote from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Non-Designers-Type-Book-Robin-Williams/dp/0201353679">graphic design and typography</a> author Robin Williams? Because her little story about suddenly discovering the joshua trees in her neighborhood as a young girl is relevant to anyone learning something new about the world that has already been seen, and lived in, for one's entire life.<br /><br />All artists have to rediscover what seems like the obvious, and each one of us has our own approach. No one way is THE right way.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-3902068203349190812008-03-21T02:59:00.007-07:002008-03-21T03:29:25.351-07:00Quick Pencil TestJust playing around with various 2D capture setups at home. I decided to animate something, and unlike what I have been preaching for a while, I decided to just improvise and see what came up.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/movies/improv_test.mov"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcB5Cdn63iyGiSNcwzuVqZlrshGUor8aTH-TO_09bCvC7KtKmg6wYcE_tF37Hb2wj85ApVqE4LZoVl4ba_IhRqJg8RrV5vTojcLSjLm5Haij-k1Pli1cnpA_yLnoKk122VRIAfxmspwxo/s320/trialRun02_improv.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180139111359566402" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />A little improvised waiting sequence with change of focus at the end. </span></span><br /><br />I have a little reversal here. I'm playing with how to keep a simple pose alive while making sure that the small repetitive head scratch has a little texture.<br /><br />I know its only a quick, rough pencil test but boy do I need to get back into life drawing sessions.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-13107291872890877002008-03-19T13:25:00.006-07:002010-03-01T09:21:59.819-07:00Basic Walk Cycle, part 2<- <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2008/03/basic-walk-cycle-part-1.html">go to Part 1: Creating Extremes</a>
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<br />This is the second installment on applying information found in <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.theanimatorssurvivalkit.com/index.html">The Animator's Survival Kit</a></span> by Richard Williams to creating a 3D (CG) character walk cycle. The first installment covered creating the first poses or extremes using a pose to pose method. That tutorial touched on the subject of process but mostly concentrated on how to craft visually appealing <span style="font-style: italic;">contact poses</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">extremes</span> albeit with a not so pretty character. This installment will cover a little more on process while describing how to approach a second pass in the animation process in which I create the <span style="font-style: italic;">prim</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ary bre</span><span style="font-style: italic;">akdowns</span> for this walk cycle. Like Richard Williams' we will call these breakdowns the <span style="font-style: italic;">passing positions</span>.
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<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pass 1 Complete: Timing Poses</span></span>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Contact (or the timing) poses. Frames 1 -3 from left to right. I spaced these ou</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">t to demonstrate a</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> dynamic or progressive walk cycle can be made from this static, treadmill, "</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">on-the-spot" walk cycle. </span></span>
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<br />The first pass in this animation process establishes the <span style="font-style: italic;">extrem</span><span style="font-style: italic;">e poses</span>. Think of the <span style="font-style: italic;">extremes</span> as primary timing poses. Once the walk cycle is complete, the number of frames between these poses will establish the tempo. The second pass will establish the primary spacing poses, or the positions that define <span style="font-style: italic;">how</span> the character moves from one extreme to the next. As stated in part 1, if you alter the <span style="font-style: italic;">conta</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ct pose</span> at either the beginning or end of the cycle, make sure to update its complimentary pose at the opposite end of the cycle. First and last poses have to be identical.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfuZwkJcjctCaxSWVJMw0tOGyD4ZU5HGna11uq9IQaWBRqrlXzNpOmhrQTdhZWq73n1rezPZv_BPFceSSt05H4Q9Xa6sCIlJbGk5vBiy4cl6BWU9MQwNjb3pG1HERqUL7voXbYHNJJWQ/s1600-h/passing_3frameTimeline.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfuZwkJcjctCaxSWVJMw0tOGyD4ZU5HGna11uq9IQaWBRqrlXzNpOmhrQTdhZWq73n1rezPZv_BPFceSSt05H4Q9Xa6sCIlJbGk5vBiy4cl6BWU9MQwNjb3pG1HERqUL7voXbYHNJJWQ/s320/passing_3frameTimeline.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179163019620178498" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Part 1 involved only three frames in the time line, no less, no more. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(click to enlarge)</span></span>
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<br />One part of the process that I glossed over in the last tutorial involved having only 3 frames viewable in my time line. I was creating 3 extreme poses and so only needed three frames in the time line. Frame 1 = first contact pose (left foot forward), frame 2 = second contact pose (right foot forward), frame 3 = exact copy of first contact pose (left foot forward). This approach to the time line causes Maya to show you only the poses you have created and nothing more. I learned this approach from <a href="http://www.keithlango.com/">Keith La</a><a href="http://www.keithlango.com/">ngo</a> who has a wonderful, and very affordable, <a href="http://www.klangoanimation.com/store/storeHome.html">monthly video tutorial service</a>. I subscribe to <a href="http://www.klangoanimation.com/store/VTS_SubscriptionPlans.html">Keith's</a><a href="http://www.klangoanimation.com/store/VTS_SubscriptionPlans.html"> VTS</a> and recommend it to anyone interested in accelerating their growth and understanding of animation. This method of only showing what poses (or drawings) you have created works just as well for mechanical exercises, such as walk cycles, and as well as for acting performances.
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<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Beginning Pass 2: Spacing Poses</span></span>
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8d_Wrw7LqkgPbrHTggXD1_54J4_VU5GHyMehLIHXmJuM0npIP-AVgiwtK1aRUUkjk0X_JLZ9_C4emUTvlgfc3FWsT_WqOQXNRZZ7Vi-C4z_Uu1UIj2T07FWZi3rOSsWtAsRYL8da5Gnc/s1600-h/rwilliams_94_ball_bounce.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8d_Wrw7LqkgPbrHTggXD1_54J4_VU5GHyMehLIHXmJuM0npIP-AVgiwtK1aRUUkjk0X_JLZ9_C4emUTvlgfc3FWsT_WqOQXNRZZ7Vi-C4z_Uu1UIj2T07FWZi3rOSsWtAsRYL8da5Gnc/s320/rwilliams_94_ball_bounce.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178646524033030674" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Spacing of a ball bounce into and out of the contact point. Richard Williams © 2001</span></span>
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<br />The above image is a section of page 94 demonstrating how the path of a bouncing ball requires a series of drawings that define the arc of its movement and spacing into and out of its contact point. The first drawing to define this arc and spacing is called the breakdown. So, how does this information relate to a walk cycle? During pass 2 of this walk cycle we will create the middle 'drawing' between the contact poses that starts to define the arc and spacing of the movement.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAxmOjlpBRy9O_xvJxe9B1WizBWe4-AoKGdMPAfzszrjH8nDb6wlj2xjPQw7-gg3Zuh_qSSpvtrCY_dNqmcqXB6cSFfsiYZUrwL_4-MRlazM6Dxm5pPJzZs6Upt1qu1rqJ9KPwHfXNmWY/s1600-h/rwilliams_112-113_pasPos.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAxmOjlpBRy9O_xvJxe9B1WizBWe4-AoKGdMPAfzszrjH8nDb6wlj2xjPQw7-gg3Zuh_qSSpvtrCY_dNqmcqXB6cSFfsiYZUrwL_4-MRlazM6Dxm5pPJzZs6Upt1qu1rqJ9KPwHfXNmWY/s320/rwilliams_112-113_pasPos.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178743289646209570" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">A variety of Passing Poses between identical and generic Contact Poses. Richard Williams © 2001</span></span>
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<br />The <span style="font-style: italic;">breakdown</span>, also called the <span style="font-style: italic;">passing pose</span> for a walk cycle, provides an opportunity to add unique flavor or style in movement. Shown above are pages 112-113 from <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Anim</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">ator's Survival Kit</span>. Richard Williams is demonstrating what opportunities the animator has while creating the <span style="font-style: italic;">primary breakdowns</span>. Log that information away for future use, this tutorial will focus on a generic <span style="font-style: italic;">passing pose</span> (as seen in the upper left page above) for this basic walk. But first, a little more about software.
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<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Software Inbetweens</span></span>
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArfpJTYdKgkeyLgV0LiB-1XNQokTaNiW9rMP84gSl6EKKR2Y0DUB1DYUUPdeCk1Z6af0IvDqzymLPJMTvqG-7lMVBlC1oqwYTnpNq4lsIFvNBNF-pWuGx5boVC5leWopGym7UpMBYJuU/s1600-h/mechanical_inbetweens.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArfpJTYdKgkeyLgV0LiB-1XNQokTaNiW9rMP84gSl6EKKR2Y0DUB1DYUUPdeCk1Z6af0IvDqzymLPJMTvqG-7lMVBlC1oqwYTnpNq4lsIFvNBNF-pWuGx5boVC5leWopGym7UpMBYJuU/s320/mechanical_inbetweens.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178813374922545714" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Largely symbolic this illustration shows how the computer can precisely split the dif</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">ference between to extremes. Though undesirable as a final position this can be a useful starting point when creating </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">breakdowns. </span></span>
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<br />If you are new to animating in Maya, change away from Maya's default method for interpolating inbetweens: <span style="font-style: italic;">Clamped Tangents</span>. Do it now! I tell students if I can't explain, at least to myself, the math that creates a curve from a <span style="font-style: italic;">Clampe</span><span style="font-style: italic;">d Tangent</span> then don't use it. I don't have an intuitive understanding of <span style="font-style: italic;">Clamped Tangents</span> so I don't use them. In fact, I have yet to meet anyone who can explain <span style="font-style: italic;">Clamped Ta</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ngents</span> without first reading Maya's help files. As animators we don't want anything between our intuition and what we create.
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<br />First lets take control of the Maya workspace. Other 3D packages have ways of doing what follows, but this tutorial is only covering how to approach this in Maya.
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<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Animation and Timeline Preferences</span></span>
<br />Switching your environment settings on the fly is a valuable way to work while animating. Maya gives you a fast get to the preferences in the timeline.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZC4JcofFY9-_DPicHIK9C-XX7TgY-AmJGELCGY4KAI2hxppnQdN4ifd4h-QnO4whOooAi3Qoo22SbtKl_ZmcXMVBtj7Nrc3ZYiUn-AJjYJCOwOrCGMOkOrFCaOzku7rzsoIsCdANkIPE/s1600-h/passing_quickLinkToPrefs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZC4JcofFY9-_DPicHIK9C-XX7TgY-AmJGELCGY4KAI2hxppnQdN4ifd4h-QnO4whOooAi3Qoo22SbtKl_ZmcXMVBtj7Nrc3ZYiUn-AJjYJCOwOrCGMOkOrFCaOzku7rzsoIsCdANkIPE/s320/passing_quickLinkToPrefs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179163487771613778" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">You can find a quick link to your Timeline preferences in the lower right corner of May</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">a.</span></span>
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Setting up your interface to match your work flow is a goo</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">d habi</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">t</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> to g</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">e</span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">t in</span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">to. The illustration above shows an easy way to get to your time line prefe</span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">rences while</span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> you</span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> are working in Maya.
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<br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwrGwoI3WTI2RXl-BbhN9Np6dkdSpdk27B3vMF4XnGzfMCPBTGQjpyetl1LbydpKUcYDiDyBZMcU96upK9wY89h5PFFpPPzhrGyKS9bB-p3xYa73PvbnUDE9uoimhmRi2towATR9r27A/s1600-h/passing_timelinePrefs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwrGwoI3WTI2RXl-BbhN9Np6dkdSpdk27B3vMF4XnGzfMCPBTGQjpyetl1LbydpKUcYDiDyBZMcU96upK9wY89h5PFFpPPzhrGyKS9bB-p3xYa73PvbnUDE9uoimhmRi2towATR9r27A/s320/passing_timelinePrefs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179164600168143458" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Maya allows you to override the default settings for playback speed in the timeline work space. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(click to enlarge)</span></span>
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<br />Here you see a custom setting of only 2 frames for playback speed. That setting allows you to see the timing of the contact poses... click, click, click, click... two clicks per second. Adjusting your playback speed to show you what poses you have created at the proper tempo can help when working in a pose to pose method. For pass 2 you can change the play back speed to 4 frames per second.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1VLfqE1EZuxyUY_hfP1cbwvjaXzUyIW3Jn48el4wAejGfFpNl7dd4JSzIJi3bwWLgwwIMFW4xn0OvpicgyTiLby_gSYJLI7UDi9AOZVU0ygqtv4MKEIh5cMYP39JaPvcfCS9MMp_BNs/s1600-h/passing_animationPrefs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1VLfqE1EZuxyUY_hfP1cbwvjaXzUyIW3Jn48el4wAejGfFpNl7dd4JSzIJi3bwWLgwwIMFW4xn0OvpicgyTiLby_gSYJLI7UDi9AOZVU0ygqtv4MKEIh5cMYP39JaPvcfCS9MMp_BNs/s320/passing_animationPrefs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179166206485912178" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Creating keys with Stepped Tangents for default out tangent will avoid software inbetweening. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(click to enlarge)</span></span>
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<br />In the Maya preferences click on the subcategory of <span style="font-style: italic;">Animation</span> to change how the software is set to interpolate (calculate) transitions between keyframes. Two types of tangent settings useful for early stages of animating in Maya: Linear Tangents and Stepped Tangents. This series of tutorials will explain the value of switching back and forth while using both. Changing the settings in the preferences only changes how new keys get created but keys made with prior settings have to be selected and changed manually.
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<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dope Sheet Editor</span></span>
<br />Here is when keying all attributes of you character becomes critical. First you can find the <span style="font-style: italic;">Dope Sheet Editor</span> with the menu command <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Window</span> > <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Animation Editors</span> > <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Dope Sheet...</span> . You will probably want to store a short cut icon to the Dope Sheet Editor on you Custom shelf with other often used commands... just use the menu command while holding down the <span style="font-style: italic;">Control</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Shift</span> keys simultaneously. If you have not locked your extremes in place by keying all attributes do it now before you attempt to change the timing of your work.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYG6nwZHv7Gq8nCCfMCZxcXhuVZj_F_Biz7fZIXYt8KlwaU24LnAxfIqIIuiWFH7p6_RvzhSczU0l8KyubmTs5EPQW8DrZyFbBE3ZbbkgXxnLNvacJIts-9F-vfn8IFtanz1npVFMaFOM/s1600-h/passing_dopeSheet01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYG6nwZHv7Gq8nCCfMCZxcXhuVZj_F_Biz7fZIXYt8KlwaU24LnAxfIqIIuiWFH7p6_RvzhSczU0l8KyubmTs5EPQW8DrZyFbBE3ZbbkgXxnLNvacJIts-9F-vfn8IFtanz1npVFMaFOM/s320/passing_dopeSheet01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179268078815206034" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Inside the Dope Sheet, the short cuts for Move and Scale tools work same as view ports.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> (click to enlarge)</span></span>
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<br />Select all animated attributes on your character. Open the <span style="font-style: italic;">Dope Sheet Editor</span>. Select all keys found in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Dope Sheet Summery</span> (blue horizontal stripe). Type the <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">r</span> key, short cut for <span style="font-style: italic;">Scale Tool</span>, same as for manipulator in the view ports. You will change timing by scaling the keys over time in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Dope Sheet</span>.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvnsaxGgQdCWH_Pv8af9eD8mPsD1Q3492R9ql09671RScFg4KvwOnlJKg8Q_C7B-b-COKfhfrdmW6wzC-nHd-8evw5u_i43LdzM2ASRfQiQp-34f_DhUDJDogXarabwL9YB_S411tt3w/s1600-h/passing_dopeSheet02.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvnsaxGgQdCWH_Pv8af9eD8mPsD1Q3492R9ql09671RScFg4KvwOnlJKg8Q_C7B-b-COKfhfrdmW6wzC-nHd-8evw5u_i43LdzM2ASRfQiQp-34f_DhUDJDogXarabwL9YB_S411tt3w/s320/passing_dopeSheet02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179269212686572194" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Scaling keys in the Dope Sheet is an easy way to add time between multiple poses. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(click to enlarge)</span></span>
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<br />With the Scale Tool active, use the Middle Mouse Button (MMB) to click and hold on the right side of the selected keyframes.... then drag to the right until the 3 keys are spread out over 5 frames. Keyframe data can have decimal values (floating point data) so use the <span style="font-style: italic;">Dope Sheet</span> menu command: <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Edit</span> > <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Snap</span>. This command forces all selected keys to whole number frame values.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4oliXTPyBEOrPhiVdfAgw20gggZgebs-fJSqjAyNtv-gF-o4Y1Qlqo3k8VKKNsgNK-FvljstRy8T1jQN3NASZtb4Ptqa3ZIbljR8bJVz9ppW-O_crIogsYZXle4KHZn2e0Emb5fWiyv8/s1600-h/passing_dopeSheet03.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4oliXTPyBEOrPhiVdfAgw20gggZgebs-fJSqjAyNtv-gF-o4Y1Qlqo3k8VKKNsgNK-FvljstRy8T1jQN3NASZtb4Ptqa3ZIbljR8bJVz9ppW-O_crIogsYZXle4KHZn2e0Emb5fWiyv8/s320/passing_dopeSheet03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179270222003886770" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Newly re-timed contact poses present blank spaces for new inbetweens to be created. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(click to enlarge)</span></span>
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<br />The new spaces between keys will allow for software to inbetween your poses if you allow it to. The inbetweens will be mathematically precise but will have little value as animation poses until edited by the animator... that means you.
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<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Graph Editor</span></span>
<br />First you can find the Graph Editor with the menu command <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Window</span> > <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Animation Editors</span> > <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Graph Editor.</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">..</span> . You will probably want to store a short cut icon to the <span style="font-style: italic;">Graph Editor</span> on you <span style="font-style: italic;">Custom</span> shelf with other useful commands.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qhf15F0Aikg8958BAu5EFr5BUMIOnWH8GcP_KistTf1xtKh_-A-3uLHaYg4DDkOUcFm27m_RkJPb7ufxsaKwAjUfDfLM_zsSeQLa2IPfz9gNh3vyKqVvGRiZkbwG4atU7V2Xi0lF2Ss/s1600-h/passing_graphEditor00.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qhf15F0Aikg8958BAu5EFr5BUMIOnWH8GcP_KistTf1xtKh_-A-3uLHaYg4DDkOUcFm27m_RkJPb7ufxsaKwAjUfDfLM_zsSeQLa2IPfz9gNh3vyKqVvGRiZkbwG4atU7V2Xi0lF2Ss/s320/passing_graphEditor00.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179267017958283906" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Graph Editor showing three contact poses with Stepped interpolation. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(click to enlarge)</span></span>
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<br />With all animated attributes for the character selected you can frame all keys in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Graph Editor</span> with the <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">f</span> key.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYcrqLJhrws3eKjwf6zxC0AtJpTngSuiQ0kk4m_7YW4AHTEOxJYc6W3XgL6x0eeEfl0E1Tm3VR-mBEJUQp9cTBAu4tv0BnpTkZFbw4wEVAo6gX23xb7QajLM3rTzknbxammpksw3FTyeA/s1600-h/passing_graphEditor01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYcrqLJhrws3eKjwf6zxC0AtJpTngSuiQ0kk4m_7YW4AHTEOxJYc6W3XgL6x0eeEfl0E1Tm3VR-mBEJUQp9cTBAu4tv0BnpTkZFbw4wEVAo6gX23xb7QajLM3rTzknbxammpksw3FTyeA/s320/passing_graphEditor01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179279280089914050" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Dragging left the mouse button over the horizontal lines between</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> keys will select all keys on the character. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(click to enlarge)</span></span>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Commands that changes in tangents will only effect selected</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> keys. As with any graphics application, in Maya selection is critical to control and manip</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">ulation. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHvMbDDBkEa6pq4xU1LqVRHbXu00wRSy0H6QhO2vci2YfEomuX1KltA5ErZtNNnfFuvPGXrOdYU5SRx0whXhrUGp0SjBZb2F2Mv0-nn625E4dzwSloHatWAtt884_Phnr6N86beFzwp8/s1600-h/passing_graphEditor02.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHvMbDDBkEa6pq4xU1LqVRHbXu00wRSy0H6QhO2vci2YfEomuX1KltA5ErZtNNnfFuvPGXrOdYU5SRx0whXhrUGp0SjBZb2F2Mv0-nn625E4dzwSloHatWAtt884_Phnr6N86beFzwp8/s320/passing_graphEditor02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179280297997163218" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Clicking the button for Linear Tangents c</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">reates a linear interpolation between p</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">oses. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(click to enlarge)</span></span>
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<br />With all keys selected click on the Linear Tangents icon convert to linear tangents. You can also use the <span style="font-style: italic;">Graph Editor</span> menu command: <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Tangents</span> > <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Linear</span>. Close editor, click play, watch the ugly inbetweens. Great math, terrible animation.
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<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Using Maya's Inbetweens</span></span>
<br />So, what did all of that fussing with editors and preferences accomplish?
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEMChq2Or59BhdlM1EhRl53wVCPgAckP54b9QXidNXoR8yCkvdJmImIXirXxGItVA-7rKYbgn6Cftq3O9DTioHHlIiAZmtKIHX4fB1L1FZj08pQXIwjsULcvE9mWY45q8vIO835bG8GY/s1600-h/passing_uglyInbetweens.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEMChq2Or59BhdlM1EhRl53wVCPgAckP54b9QXidNXoR8yCkvdJmImIXirXxGItVA-7rKYbgn6Cftq3O9DTioHHlIiAZmtKIHX4fB1L1FZj08pQXIwjsULcvE9mWY45q8vIO835bG8GY/s320/passing_uglyInbetweens.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179282479840549602" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">OMG! What a laugh! Character's feet floating in the air are a perfect illustration why computers can't be animators. </span></span>
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<br />So what if Maya's inbetweens are ugly, they are still very useful. Maya is moving of a lot of details that you can then quickly adjust as needed. This approach will help create the proper (even) spacing along <span style="font-style: italic;">Translate-Z</span> for a foot that remains on the ground. You will need to correct other elements so that they are not spaced in a boring, mechanical, and even manner.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3GFIinVh_5py1M4abA-nOO9jg0ZmlUg3Ylp3h5-W6VkdGrTjAwE1LiY_BXvVcRME7cYJxYPu-BibgJvxjmSu2Eo3ksRHBg7zXrobLETFHy_0a5BL6lshPAYkC5em9wAyPmUJYKt0fFw/s1600-h/passing_correctedFoot.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3GFIinVh_5py1M4abA-nOO9jg0ZmlUg3Ylp3h5-W6VkdGrTjAwE1LiY_BXvVcRME7cYJxYPu-BibgJvxjmSu2Eo3ksRHBg7zXrobLETFHy_0a5BL6lshPAYkC5em9wAyPmUJYKt0fFw/s320/passing_correctedFoot.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179285482022689522" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">A modest improvement is easy to make as are a number of other changes to this first and most important inbetween. </span></span>
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<br />Keep track of which foot is staying on the ground for each frame. The new <span style="font-style: italic;">passing poses</span> will be created on frame 2 and frame 4. Start by removing custom values from the foot control for the foot that needs to remain on the ground for frame 2, and likewise for the opposite foot on frame 4.
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<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Adjusting the Center </span></span>
<br />In general passing poses, or breakdowns, should not occupy the space exactly in the middle of two keys.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkaAgsUi-85Au4YGmy8am-ClX9dvWHWF2FoKVaxfRJk4RsmQzjFXthqinfqEqmq38b0cjKZxfNV_o7LEg-uXFqRDqcKyLAbVXddUCujpBW_nRM4z4OejyjzhzSD1jAUpJFFLgtZ_XaRx4/s1600-h/passing_weightShift.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkaAgsUi-85Au4YGmy8am-ClX9dvWHWF2FoKVaxfRJk4RsmQzjFXthqinfqEqmq38b0cjKZxfNV_o7LEg-uXFqRDqcKyLAbVXddUCujpBW_nRM4z4OejyjzhzSD1jAUpJFFLgtZ_XaRx4/s320/passing_weightShift.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179491417114598146" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Adjusting the mechanical passing pose to look natural can be a quick process. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(click to enlarge)</span></span>
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<br />Adjust the root or center of the character so that the standing leg is straight. Shift weight towards the standing leg. Tilt hips so that passing side is low. Counter tilt in the hips by tilting shoulders in the opposite direction. Tilt the head as if it is dragging behind the body's weight shift. As stated in the last installment, strive top build overlapping action and drag into your poses.
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<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Checking Arcs</span></span>
<br />Breakdown poses are a great way to establish arcs in your animation. The Breakdown is usually not in the exact middle between two extremes. The more it is off center the more pronounced the arc.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9mJQPWgCCfFjD0kQB1rCNwTOSmsOPnDbgM3bstVJ7vgOlbzRNgFW6ZB4Qs1mTwh2B6_p9Sa-zw_PxRU21tc47AJl0VtF2r4G_J7CJnDYXOFd6fpl-f6XQy8c-l7ixtz1a7POO1Olew9U/s1600-h/passing_checkingArcs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9mJQPWgCCfFjD0kQB1rCNwTOSmsOPnDbgM3bstVJ7vgOlbzRNgFW6ZB4Qs1mTwh2B6_p9Sa-zw_PxRU21tc47AJl0VtF2r4G_J7CJnDYXOFd6fpl-f6XQy8c-l7ixtz1a7POO1Olew9U/s320/passing_checkingArcs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179515971442629426" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">IK setups don't create arcs quite as easily as do FK setups. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(click to enlarge)</span></span>
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<br />This example uses the IK controls for the hand/arm so the arc in movement must be established by the animator. Simply pull the hand control object down slightly on the <span style="font-style: italic;">passing pose</span>.
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<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Favoring</span></span>
<br />Favoring is a great way to show weight and momentum in animation. When the breakdown is closer to one extreme it is said to favor that extreme. When creating the passing pose, or breakdowns in general, some elements should favor the prior pose more than others. This is will show weight for that element, as it is taking more effort to move the that part or change the its direction.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmOpxicLjsEskhGBpBvkgnTtorGdMJIP_AqGHov4hVs0D50dsrnBqH2EoNXD77sfMmGu0w-kMq5Z-HsnqN3qTRfIMr1k4AxVp9hkbgm6r3FyfnKcIcQVVI5ltYpEjfCHM05gAfiCdnJeg/s1600-h/passing_favoring.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmOpxicLjsEskhGBpBvkgnTtorGdMJIP_AqGHov4hVs0D50dsrnBqH2EoNXD77sfMmGu0w-kMq5Z-HsnqN3qTRfIMr1k4AxVp9hkbgm6r3FyfnKcIcQVVI5ltYpEjfCHM05gAfiCdnJeg/s320/passing_favoring.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179498035659201314" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"> <span style="font-style: italic;">
<br />Create a position for the rear foot as it passes the standing leg that favors the prior pose. (click to enlarge)</span></span>
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<br />The image above shows how the position of passing foot has been retarded behind the rest of the pose. A common mistake made by many inexperienced animators (especially CG animators) is to allow the passing foot to pop forward from the rear position. The rear foot must take time and effort to changing direction in order to show weight. Refer to my diagram above when I first introduced the subject of software inbetweens versus more organic (human created) inbetweens. This asymmetrical approach to creating poses and movement is central to creating more life like animation.
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<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Standing Leg is Straight </span></span>
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1vEJOW6V1rntuCvD2f6Vd0VWAJd2Ga7XtCimEFDIBHiPrcSE2WkEMuNaRX9bFL7i9hee9oP-tTAZpS5_EzYZSrJuRPIwNwRrzSeSS0WZomFVa9CZtZ5TETfb-_Lc4CD6pCs4ogPpr-0I/s1600-h/passing_standingStraight.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1vEJOW6V1rntuCvD2f6Vd0VWAJd2Ga7XtCimEFDIBHiPrcSE2WkEMuNaRX9bFL7i9hee9oP-tTAZpS5_EzYZSrJuRPIwNwRrzSeSS0WZomFVa9CZtZ5TETfb-_Lc4CD6pCs4ogPpr-0I/s320/passing_standingStraight.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179497387119139602" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Straight standing leg also helps to maintain a sense of weight in the walk cycle. </span></span>
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<br />Another important element is to create a straight knee for the standing leg. Lots of walk cycles (especially in CG) look soft and mushy because the standing leg is bent on the passing pose. Later stages in creating a walk cycle provide an opportunity to show how the knees will bend with the weight in the "recoil" and the "overshoot". These poses will be described in the next installment.
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<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Creating Drag</span></span>
<br />Once again it is extremely useful to create shapes that will assist overlapping action in your sequence. The section above on favoring relates to the subject of creating overlapping action and drag. In general, the rule for creating drag is to have an extremely (such as head, hands, or toes) bend towards the prior position. Bend toes towards prior foot position on the ground. Bend the wrist so that hand and fingers point slightly towards the prior position. Tilt head towards middle position from prior Contact Pose.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdgfj2lRienUjMbWeaiW2d8h3roTNMCZ2f8YFApBUv2IJ6SvcHIK47G0o7CUe_epwB9htweYvOupLzTR17JZi-PxpeZ_5VTu9ZX_VLiBno7cCJZAdBXxq3QMfsMRfiOeHCHtTVClLY6Js/s1600-h/passing_drag.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdgfj2lRienUjMbWeaiW2d8h3roTNMCZ2f8YFApBUv2IJ6SvcHIK47G0o7CUe_epwB9htweYvOupLzTR17JZi-PxpeZ_5VTu9ZX_VLiBno7cCJZAdBXxq3QMfsMRfiOeHCHtTVClLY6Js/s320/passing_drag.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179543893316850210" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Subtle changes in position to drag will add a lot of appeal and weight to your walk cycle. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(click to enlarge)</span></span>
<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br />Flip and Roll</span></span>
<br />There are two ways that traditional animators checked their work while animating: flipping drawings and rolling drawings. Richard Williams describes this on page 81 of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Animator's Survival Kit</span>. One method is for simple changes between a few drawings... rolling, and the other is for testing longer sequences. You have a few options in Maya to do the same kinds of testing.
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<br />To "roll" in Maya you need to use a simple key combination to step forward and backward in your sequece. While holding down the <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Alt</span> key (<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Option</span> key for Mac OS X users) use the <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">></span> key (same as "<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">.</span>" key no <span style="font-style: italic;">Shift</span> key needed) to move to the next frame, and the <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><</span> key (same as "<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">,</span>" key no <span style="font-style: italic;">Shift</span> key needed) the move to the previous frame. Get use to this method for moving forwards and back... and for the love of God (and your wrists) stop scrubbing.
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<br />To Flip through longer sequences you have a few options. Creatinga <span style="font-style: italic;">Playbast</span> (a quick and dirty real-time render) is one option. Or just play back your sequence with the proper 'real-time' playback settings. For that you need the same number of frames in your time-line as poses in your sequence. For this second pass you should have five frames for five poses. With playback settings set to 4 fps click play and view your work from many different angles.... something you can't do so quickly with rendered <span style="font-style: italic;">Playbasts</span>.
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<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Incremental Saving</span></span>
<br />By saving your work incrementally you are providing yourself with lots of options. First, you are giving yourself a valuable archive of your progress. You are applying one of the most important principles of safety in file management: redundancy. Lastly, you are saving your progress in a manner that is very useful for working under a director. If a director needs you to change your performance you have earlier versions to go back to without having to start over from scratch.
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<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Conclusion to Part 2 </span></span>
<br />Below is an example of the poses created in the first two passes of animation. Unlike the prior animation example in part 1 this example below actually looks like a walk cycle.
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<br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=802510&server=www.vimeo.com&fullscreen=1&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=" height="300" width="400"> <param name="quality" value="best"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"> <param name="scale" value="showAll"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=802510&server=www.vimeo.com&fullscreen=1&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color="></object>
<br /><a href="http://www.vimeo.com/802510/l:embed_802510">Basic Walk Cycle: Part 2</a> from <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/user405050/l:embed_802510">Erik Westlund</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/l:embed_802510">Vimeo</a>.
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<br />It's amazing how easy to read this movement is with only contact poses (extremes) and passing poses (breakdowns). The next installment will cover how to create <span style="font-style: italic;">secondary breakdowns</span> that will help to define overlapping action and weight and will spend time on movement of spine and arms.
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<br />part 3 is in the works. stay tuned.
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<br />-e
<br /><- <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2008/03/basic-walk-cycle-part-1.html"> go to Part 1: Creating Extremes
<br /></a></div>Erik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-13623801477030684792008-03-15T14:00:00.036-07:002010-03-01T09:03:42.711-07:00Basic Walk Cycle, part 1<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;">Introduction </span><br /><a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2008/03/basic-walk-cycle-part-2.html">part 2 is also available</a> -><br /><br />(</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Note: skip to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Creating Extremes</span> if you hate blog verbiage</span>)<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilM4ww0O_hchTwTv1K_62wIGPZVzskC88Pl6wJDtcD7J0iW-e3MtnZG2eLIx2849kRWpUjyPRjxBMLq211QnaK89lO4HV783qrC8SCrmiBofeSfyPnZNShGwEJNBC3dh-CqLpVst-HTiw/s1600-h/part1_silo_banner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilM4ww0O_hchTwTv1K_62wIGPZVzskC88Pl6wJDtcD7J0iW-e3MtnZG2eLIx2849kRWpUjyPRjxBMLq211QnaK89lO4HV783qrC8SCrmiBofeSfyPnZNShGwEJNBC3dh-CqLpVst-HTiw/s400/part1_silo_banner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178451738676222434" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">I have been hanging around on the <a href="http://www.11secondclub.com/"><b>11 Second Club</b></a> animation <a href="http://www.11secondclub.com/forum/">forums</a> for the past couple of m</span><span style="font-size:100%;">onths. I genuinely enjoy the vibe of that</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> site. The folks responsible for pu</span><span style="font-size:100%;">tt</span><span style="font-size:100%;">in</span><span style="font-size:100%;">g the site together have faithfully carrie</span><span style="font-size:100%;">d f</span><span style="font-size:100%;">orw</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ard the goal of its p</span><span style="font-size:100%;">redecessor, the <span style="font-weight: bold;">10 Second </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cl</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">u</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">b</span>, o</span><span style="font-size:100%;">nly</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> better.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />One benefit has b</span><span style="font-size:100%;">een reading the questions and req</span><span style="font-size:100%;">uests of animation students who are wanting to learn and improve but feel lost when trying to develop skills an understanding. If like me you teach animation, hanging out in the <span style="font-weight: bold;">11 Second Cl</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ub</span> is a great way to take the pulse of a large community of animation students and p</span><span style="font-size:100%;">repare yourself for their needs.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />One item that </span><span style="font-size:100%;">has come up in t</span><span style="font-size:100%;">he foru</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ms at the <span style="font-weight: bold;">11 Second Club</span> regularly is "h</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ow do I fix </span><span style="font-size:100%;">my walk cycle?"<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">As an artist it is very important to pay attention to cr</span><span style="font-size:100%;">aft. A w</span><span style="font-size:100%;">alk cycle, whethe</span><span style="font-size:100%;">r cre</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ated i</span><span style="font-size:100%;">n 2D or in 3D (CGI) is just such a fundamental to master... including for animators who like to venture into more experimental appro</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ac</span><span style="font-size:100%;">hes of the art form.<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwoz9qjFCEN-cgQYfNay_Sb-5z7T8WCNDGnO5Mergcj1dtdjjhQbPGd2P2pabnLY_HZgYrk1VzkyXTacKRNzzKkmg_bOHvYploUNqRXeRv28qxeljF9FkIrmPMQdcGCbAM9KzwvHLcoM/s1600-h/AnimSurvivalKit_COVER1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwoz9qjFCEN-cgQYfNay_Sb-5z7T8WCNDGnO5Mergcj1dtdjjhQbPGd2P2pabnLY_HZgYrk1VzkyXTacKRNzzKkmg_bOHvYploUNqRXeRv28qxeljF9FkIrmPMQdcGCbAM9KzwvHLcoM/s400/AnimSurvivalKit_COVER1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177852569263593426" border="0" /></a></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span></span><div><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span></span><div><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><br />The cover of </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Animators-Survival-Kit-Revised-Principles-Classical/dp/0571238343/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1">Animator's Survival Kit</a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> b</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;">y Richard Williams</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span>For anyone interested in the sub</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ject, check out the exhaustive description o</span><span style="font-size:100%;">f</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> walk cycles provided by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931530/">Richard (<span style="font-style: italic;">hasn't he been</span></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931530/"><span style="font-style: italic;"> knighted yet?</span>) Williams</a>. Don't let w</span><span style="font-size:100%;">h</span><span style="font-size:100%;">a</span><span style="font-size:100%;">t looks like simple 2D drawings fool you. There is a ton of information for any</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> animator in </span><span style="font-size:100%;">W</span><span style="font-size:100%;">illi</span><span style="font-size:100%;">am's</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> book. If you </span><span style="font-size:100%;">own a copy of that book, open it to page 102 and start reading. Th</span><span style="font-size:100%;">is post here is largely a rehash of what is includ</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ed in that text filtered slightly to a</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ssist newe</span><span style="font-size:100%;">r 3</span><span style="font-size:100%;">D ani</span><span style="font-size:100%;">mators.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtdV0Y3BwjCTOxah6IAibxxYT5q2FWhf1wRP6ZZhwF10kgCmths_W4HXcSoMVj56ldrjvy47Fb7m6JwnOn1aY8gS_7tMT7hnHsr8TxXB2Pkh3Ti3Ihy1OCqly5rJJG8syoqkSddc0UDIk/s1600-h/SurvivalKit_WCBasics_pg108.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtdV0Y3BwjCTOxah6IAibxxYT5q2FWhf1wRP6ZZhwF10kgCmths_W4HXcSoMVj56ldrjvy47Fb7m6JwnOn1aY8gS_7tMT7hnHsr8TxXB2Pkh3Ti3Ihy1OCqly5rJJG8syoqkSddc0UDIk/s400/SurvivalKit_WCBasics_pg108.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177853591465809890" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span></span><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><br />A generic (vanilla) walk cycle broken down into its parts on page 108. © Richard W</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;">illi</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;">ams 2001</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />Above is an example of how Williams explains a walk cycle in basic poses on page 108 of hi</span><span style="font-size:100%;">s book. Strangely, the information is neither new, or revolution</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ary and yet for s</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ome reason lots of new animators who crave this information fail to</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> recognized that it</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> is laid out in c</span><span style="font-size:100%;">omplete detail in </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Animators-Survival-Kit-Revised-Principles-Classical/dp/0571238343/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1">The Animator's Survival Kit</a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Perhaps the minimalist dra</span><span style="font-size:100%;">wings make</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> people think not much is there. Or maybe it is an exa</span><span style="font-size:100%;">mple of the <a href="http://www.dailyblogtips.com/crapthe-four-principles-of-sound-design/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Joshua Tree Principle</span></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">. Regar</span><span style="font-size:100%;">dless of why it gets missed by so many, his book has all you need for a creating good looking walk </span><span style="font-size:100%;">cycles. Loads of it, and then some. If you are learning animation buy the book or check it out fr</span><span style="font-size:100%;">om a library.<br /><br />I am going to outline some walk cycle construction here and follow up w</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ith m</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ore deta</span><span style="font-size:100%;">iled information on the subject with subsequent posts. What I am attemp</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ting to describe is what to do if </span><span style="font-size:100%;">you </span><span style="font-size:100%;">are </span><span style="font-size:100%;">trying</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> to translate Williams' information into 3D using a character rig ava</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ilable for Maya. For this series I am using a free ri</span><span style="font-size:100%;">g called <a href="http://www.3dfiggins.com/gallery.php?id=38&item=143#143"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Geek</span></a>, created by <a href="http://www.3dfiggins.com/">Kiel Figgins</a>. Model was created by <a href="http://www.one-lung.com/">Adam Schuman</a>.<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Hopefully users of other software and/or animation mediums will find this helpful </span><span style="font-size:100%;">too.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Also, I will describe a work method as well as what NOT to do. This information is b</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ased creating countless walk cycles for demonstration and viewing a much greater number of walk cycles from first time animators. First, some bas</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ic terms and assumptions...</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;">Timing and Spacing</span><br />Working in a pose to pose method allows you establish your timing early in th</span><span style="font-size:100%;">e pr</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ocess of creating an animated sequence. After y</span><span style="font-size:100%;">our timing has be</span><span style="font-size:100%;">en est</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ablished you can then create the poses that will define the spacing between your timing poses. The </span><span style="font-size:100%;">spacing poses will depend on your timing pose</span><span style="font-size:100%;">s so you must nail down the timing poses first. Fussing with <span style="font-style: italic;">inbetweens</span> comes much later in the process and is entirely dependent on the quality of poses you create first. We will start with the timing poses only.<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />So, what constitutes a timing pose? A timing pose defines an extreme in the movement</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> that occurs at a specific moment. In this case, we will use t</span><span style="font-size:100%;">he moment when the</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> heel of the front foot first contacts the ground. We will call th</span><span style="font-size:100%;">is pose the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;">contact</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;"> pose</span><span style="font-size:100%;">. We will not be using the term </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;">key pose</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> for this because <span style="font-style: italic;">key poses</span> are story telling poses and not necessarily extrem</span><span style="font-size:100%;">es in movement. This distinction also</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> comes form Richard Williams.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">One additional note, this will be a stationary (treadmill style) walk cycle. Mo</span><span style="font-size:100%;">st</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">3D animators start with this type of walk cycle, most tradition</span><span style="font-size:100%;">al 2D animators don't. Different mediums sometimes require different approaches to the same goal.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;">Animating in Passes</span><br />This work method allows you to start with the most important el</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ements first, leaving less important details until later. For a great description of animating in</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> passes chec</span><span style="font-size:100%;">k out</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> notes on how <a href="http://www.shaunfreeman.com/animating_tips/animation_flowchart.htm">Shawn Kelly organizes his work flow</a>. This post is a description how I create my first pass for a normal 3D walk cycle exercise. Later posts will cover la</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ter animat</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ion passes in m</span><span style="font-size:100%;">y process.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;">Creating Extremes</span><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Although animating for 24 frames per second, I start by limiting my work environment to only three frames in the time line. This is an easy way to m</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ake sure my anim</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ation only conta</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ins</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> poses that I create and nothing more. Ultimately, the cycle will be</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> 24 frames in length (from frame 1 to frame 25) and will include two steps. First, create a contact pose, then an opposing contact pose, and also create a copy</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> of the or</span><span style="font-size:100%;">iginal contact pose.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />For a seamless loop first and last poses in the cycle must be identical.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>Any chan</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ges made to the first pose must also be made to the last since they are in fact the same.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgYWVVzlObPphcWVoI8HoaFH3EzoWSIQn7tJp7ewXOKNlGbeRb8HVwZci5iP_6PvQ1vLvJyEiZPfb6QwJkt5k3ZHqEQbvsMBY3sqK3gqMPfj3UDge5Q5Cd9LPR0PF0e1kGRI4zzTdNgzk/s1600-h/00contact_legs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgYWVVzlObPphcWVoI8HoaFH3EzoWSIQn7tJp7ewXOKNlGbeRb8HVwZci5iP_6PvQ1vLvJyEiZPfb6QwJkt5k3ZHqEQbvsMBY3sqK3gqMPfj3UDge5Q5Cd9LPR0PF0e1kGRI4zzTdNgzk/s320/00contact_legs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178084750900648210" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span><span style="font-style: italic;">A generic <span style="font-weight: bold;">contact pose</span> demonstrating a modest gait for the character. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><br />Start with the feet and hips of yo</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ur charac</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ter. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">For all walk cycles</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, keep the angle of the legs, a</span><span style="font-size:100%;">nd distance between the feet modest. A gian</span><span style="font-size:100%;">t gait in a walk</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> is unnatural and will look awkw</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ard. In general, if it is difficult for you to move or hold</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> yourself like your chara</span><span style="font-size:100%;">cter is posed, then the pose is wrong and should be adjusted. A natural walk, or e</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ven a uni</span><span style="font-size:100%;">que walk, will h</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ave a modest gait... to do otherwise will create poses more appropriate for a r</span><span style="font-size:100%;">un cyc</span><span style="font-size:100%;">le.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwXe715iRVX5fftB_pMFh_c-u-kK8WCvHjx21YmpqHEnsCP31WCRI6nWtlA-KZgV9A5Qvg7ob9PBEr9ETXzPTNI6_0oWWY03pQhct8QhLrsVkder-_lBlssZNa8ygH-EOsIOQvI7sVZvM/s1600-h/01Contact_legs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwXe715iRVX5fftB_pMFh_c-u-kK8WCvHjx21YmpqHEnsCP31WCRI6nWtlA-KZgV9A5Qvg7ob9PBEr9ETXzPTNI6_0oWWY03pQhct8QhLrsVkder-_lBlssZNa8ygH-EOsIOQvI7sVZvM/s320/01Contact_legs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178082916949612786" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Creating a good contact pose requires balancing the feet positions with the hip position</span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Using a 3D rig with IK (inverse kinematic) legs means that the k</span><span style="font-size:100%;">nees are controlled by wher</span><span style="font-size:100%;">e you place the feet relative to the hips. If you move a foot, you will have to adjust the hips as well. If you adjust a custom foot</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> control that lifts the toes, bends t</span><span style="font-size:100%;">he bal</span><span style="font-size:100%;">l, o</span><span style="font-size:100%;">r lifts the heel, the knee will change angle accordingly. You have to balance all of thes</span><span style="font-size:100%;">e elements by watching the shape created by the different parts in combination.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRT3MJwDFEhJ5IvEEZ3rSjbYTWkVwuYQNOmT6OoGAwaL4OYlNDUv9wS4B036NCTCVpXN1QCEYLDyDxLCtC8iXctNpk5DJiH1v3SC_-ncFA0j9qtDZ9QfDf8gOJLCZXPxUxrPe-DwYpAE/s1600-h/03Contact_feet.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRT3MJwDFEhJ5IvEEZ3rSjbYTWkVwuYQNOmT6OoGAwaL4OYlNDUv9wS4B036NCTCVpXN1QCEYLDyDxLCtC8iXctNpk5DJiH1v3SC_-ncFA0j9qtDZ9QfDf8gOJLCZXPxUxrPe-DwYpAE/s320/03Contact_feet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178086997168544034" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Changing small details such as the angle of feet will improve you contact poses.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">To avoid giving your character a robotic look turn the</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> feet outward for the defau</span><span style="font-size:100%;">lt positions. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAyJzJFZ7BjZhFy6Sn11na23Be9v_17CSem3xIW0Zdo65mc81EPOpo12jB3eqV6qzRF575-M9BUFDQJdRiJz-KaQxzHM2IkH3clOroqWnoGIPhJAP5_PtBxiAyD8jNcZ7oj6pGPKTDlA/s1600-h/02Contact_legs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAyJzJFZ7BjZhFy6Sn11na23Be9v_17CSem3xIW0Zdo65mc81EPOpo12jB3eqV6qzRF575-M9BUFDQJdRiJz-KaQxzHM2IkH3clOroqWnoGIPhJAP5_PtBxiAyD8jNcZ7oj6pGPKTDlA/s320/02Contact_legs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178083668568889602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Front leg must be straight at the contact pose</span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Shape change is a hugely important subject in animation, an</span><span style="font-size:100%;">d yet for some</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> odd r</span><span style="font-size:100%;">eason it rarely gets discussed. Your initial pose, the contact pose, will set up a shape of your character that will change, giving the necessary perception of weight and</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> solid forms. What you</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> are setting up in the contact pose is stretch of the front leg. This will be followed by squash of the font leg with a later part of the process with a <span style="font-style: italic;">down pose</span>.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;">Create a Unified Whole, Not Separate Pieces</span><br />It is extremely important to remember that this is supposed to be a living be</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ing, not an assembly of parts and pieces. You have to pay close attention to how t</span><span style="font-size:100%;">he connected elements influence each</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> other.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHegO0XyTq9GCiAQ3LDFwDdSPB2_1oy8BSoj5BgOH1lYL7E2k0rVQA639rLFd02HiAN4s5dC-OTlF5McIr0RtIbfD5tDwhCri-vDCRkTEtTdotENgJJwQV7CU9KQ1mEWSXrPJGZnnhStQ/s1600-h/04Contact_hipsAndFeet.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHegO0XyTq9GCiAQ3LDFwDdSPB2_1oy8BSoj5BgOH1lYL7E2k0rVQA639rLFd02HiAN4s5dC-OTlF5McIr0RtIbfD5tDwhCri-vDCRkTEtTdotENgJJwQV7CU9KQ1mEWSXrPJGZnnhStQ/s320/04Contact_hipsAndFeet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178088427392653618" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">While hips twist only a little, they are not locked in one spot while the feet move forwards a</span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">nd back. </span></span><br /><br />For instance, if the</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> left foot is forward then the left hip will </span><span style="font-size:100%;">also be forward.<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfWdyriewZqHKc5m44Dhzx23MZcJ1Ob6ibbyxIyvOABqGwXuVL1U2qQXLq-qH3f31eFd2Y60ULqAwjDVour2JZFnS22-_SExTe6Puff_ECo5xV4dagmh5hk5q7JZ8X_PHKJZ5G1Thc_g/s1600-h/05Contact_hipsAndShoulders.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfWdyriewZqHKc5m44Dhzx23MZcJ1Ob6ibbyxIyvOABqGwXuVL1U2qQXLq-qH3f31eFd2Y60ULqAwjDVour2JZFnS22-_SExTe6Puff_ECo5xV4dagmh5hk5q7JZ8X_PHKJZ5G1Thc_g/s320/05Contact_hipsAndShoulders.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178089930631207234" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">A small amount of counter movement will ad a lot of flexibility to the torso.<br /></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">If the left hip is tilted up slightly</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, then the left shoulder will have counter balance this by tilting</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> down. In general th</span><span style="font-size:100%;">e shoulders will move in opposition to th</span><span style="font-size:100%;">e </span><span style="font-size:100%;">hips.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">S</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">tart General, Work Towards Details</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span>Line of action (some anima</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span>tors call it path of action) is a ce</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span>ntral line the moves through the character and defines the direction, attitude, and speed of move</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span>ment.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi649S_SRrkU5vrbkX-7s5L9ZKMD6Boc-Gm_mGzUA5HOx5l2t70Ue8-lH59qLwtvorbAJjgnNTGSDxB1qeAbmEseMswCPYi1PSXkAeyWEoh40Zv4MhimPyQiO-XAub_rPiIJe76-g41pBw/s1600-h/06Contact_LOA_angle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi649S_SRrkU5vrbkX-7s5L9ZKMD6Boc-Gm_mGzUA5HOx5l2t70Ue8-lH59qLwtvorbAJjgnNTGSDxB1qeAbmEseMswCPYi1PSXkAeyWEoh40Zv4MhimPyQiO-XAub_rPiIJe76-g41pBw/s320/06Contact_LOA_angle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178090974308260178" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span><br /><br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span><br /></span></span><br /></div><div><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span>It is important to establish a clearly defined</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span> line of acti</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span>on on your first pose and craft the details of your pose to match that line. A forward tilt in the li</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span>ne with create a sense of forward movement.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXgTekBrNInJpIWWZY9QUTMcBVauq2E_a5w0XGBQSa_qau2necSJsEQc6uGhS-siDeUqYhfEp3jvbb_gKkchwlpOtEkhlRz1oCOgPO8aGDh8q07KaD9Wk314wzXwK9QlgMC814DEhUvM8/s1600-h/07Contact_LOA_side.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXgTekBrNInJpIWWZY9QUTMcBVauq2E_a5w0XGBQSa_qau2necSJsEQc6uGhS-siDeUqYhfEp3jvbb_gKkchwlpOtEkhlRz1oCOgPO8aGDh8q07KaD9Wk314wzXwK9QlgMC814DEhUvM8/s320/07Contact_LOA_side.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178091532654008674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span>Creating a line of action that has a slight arc or bend helps to give your character pose more life-like appeal. In most cases, and especially fo</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span>r this type of exercise you should avoid putting a sharp bend in the line of action. </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Touch Everything, Key Every Attribute</span><br /></span>While creating your initial extremes you should key all att</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ributes of your character. If you don't later in the process the software will inbetween some elements differently than others giving you very unpredictable results. Keying all attributes establishes</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> what po</span><span style="font-size:100%;">sition you want all elements of you character to have relative to each other for that one pose.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAJY4hpbFH0jbjR4IvYa6g7pRGnUessNdPgWI89knP-wgeb-DqKU5tb2DTaJavCMGUag66BkACCazuWiXHKwi6SrWPX9eTqKlJWsExLnzHltMP-kWnw11CH0pWMzbwYVB3vXTiPUO_YM/s1600-h/11Contact_pancakeHand.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAJY4hpbFH0jbjR4IvYa6g7pRGnUessNdPgWI89knP-wgeb-DqKU5tb2DTaJavCMGUag66BkACCazuWiXHKwi6SrWPX9eTqKlJWsExLnzHltMP-kWnw11CH0pWMzbwYVB3vXTiPUO_YM/s320/11Contact_pancakeHand.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178092202668906866" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The default position for most hands on</span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> 3D rigs is usually flat, like a pancake. Its unappealing and leaving such details untouched on the first pass doesn't save you any time in the animation process. </span></span><br /><br />You should define the pose of your character down to the finger tips.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLSoqk-zxerKBlBdYHZfv7MVhZ1P1jpwPMNtNMV54HjtPO-sqRWywiFXzTXRTf17TN2fk19ePQ-Jp8ZJy1dkOkt_9YvHo-i7dy_AZB-OWQXF3iW6jirqOkocrUv4QAjFUwRRuxZZssX1g/s1600-h/12Contact_relaxedHand.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLSoqk-zxerKBlBdYHZfv7MVhZ1P1jpwPMNtNMV54HjtPO-sqRWywiFXzTXRTf17TN2fk19ePQ-Jp8ZJy1dkOkt_9YvHo-i7dy_AZB-OWQXF3iW6jirqOkocrUv4QAjFUwRRuxZZssX1g/s320/12Contact_relaxedHand.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178098524860766658" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Create a relaxed pose for the hand early in the process. </span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Posing the hands and fingers into to something that resembles a natural pose will spee</span><span style="font-size:100%;">d up the process of creating such details for pose created later.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Your process in 3D animation has to e</span><span style="font-size:100%;">liminate opportunities for the software to create movement or poses without you. Learn how your rig is setup and use its structure to key all elements simultaneously. The <span style="font-style: italic;">Geek</span> rig for instance is setup to have a single node called "Geek_CTRL" that drives virtually every other attribute on the rig. Keying all requires that you pay attention to what position exists for each element, lest you allow the rigs default (stiff/rigid) positions to define your work.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Build Overlapping Action into Your Poses</span> </span><br />You will want all forms in your character to appear flexible. Flexibility can be a challenge to create in animation and especially in 3D. An important element of overlapping action in a walk cycle is the difference between the arms and legs. While the legs reach an extreme at the contact pose, the arms don't. They will reach an extreme in their swing on the down pose which we will create later.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2abMZi1TX1jnTVbCErJ9yJIlZbgEl1S4MEHDwgkMUlVi8bzQwkunRnwAKBEb3sISM0IUtcdndjpw19UjlbBm4c0fh9KWsq9FqlrzVmFupnJPpaIZlq-Rlo1yMSfWS9cGbYYRF9-kzUZQ/s1600-h/08Contact_rHandDrag.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2abMZi1TX1jnTVbCErJ9yJIlZbgEl1S4MEHDwgkMUlVi8bzQwkunRnwAKBEb3sISM0IUtcdndjpw19UjlbBm4c0fh9KWsq9FqlrzVmFupnJPpaIZlq-Rlo1yMSfWS9cGbYYRF9-kzUZQ/s320/08Contact_rHandDrag.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178092975763020162" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Fingers and hands should drag behind the movement of the arms. </span></span><br /><br />One primary way to make a character appear flexible is through overlapping action and "<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">drag</span>".<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh93SUdrGcWz6rdQD8128hC1qXqYgK3bPhYxu9Ya3sA0Ay0mxblM29HhAh7EiCAjwxJNF0X0NgkOgHvbkgqSbJKJ4HW70CcJH1Z_9jiijjRVQr9E-bBiW6zGodGKjor5CcvbofTzEU24ig/s1600-h/09Contact_lHandDrag.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh93SUdrGcWz6rdQD8128hC1qXqYgK3bPhYxu9Ya3sA0Ay0mxblM29HhAh7EiCAjwxJNF0X0NgkOgHvbkgqSbJKJ4HW70CcJH1Z_9jiijjRVQr9E-bBiW6zGodGKjor5CcvbofTzEU24ig/s320/09Contact_lHandDrag.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178094822598957490" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;">A very small amount of change in finger positions can ad life to your walk.</span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Drag</span> is a term used to describe how some smaller elements resist, or stay behind the larger movement... they get dragged along, so speak.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOGN5mhT8IMixsL2hu8wNRlZZn_gMdxTIQNB2UAFKWqIhyg7oxM_uniTD-e0caUk15o7J555eDHMomiytPirn8QUxAO2RzGuYrK0ycYbncmFweMhbyB3GW6mkO6fZEw06EgRNFUOIyXRQ/s1600-h/10Contact_lFootDrag.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOGN5mhT8IMixsL2hu8wNRlZZn_gMdxTIQNB2UAFKWqIhyg7oxM_uniTD-e0caUk15o7J555eDHMomiytPirn8QUxAO2RzGuYrK0ycYbncmFweMhbyB3GW6mkO6fZEw06EgRNFUOIyXRQ/s320/10Contact_lFootDrag.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178093671547722130" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Feet can demonstrate drag as well. </span></span><br /><br />Most often <span style="font-style: italic;">drag</span> shows up in the extremities of the character: hands, toes, and head, etc. although it can also influence the center or core of the character as well. Later installments on this subject will demonstrate some of this.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;">Things to Avoid in Your First Pass</span><br />1. Front knee bent on the contact pose.<br />2. Large, awkward, and unnatural gait.<br />3. Perfectly vertical line of action.<br />4. Stiff and lifeless torso.<br />5. Straight arms, flat feet, and toes.<br />6. Default, stiff, and flat pose for hands and fingers.<br />7. Extremes for arms on same frame as for feet.<br />8. Rushing this first pass.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;">Conclusion to Part 1</span><br /><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=796194&server=www.vimeo.com&fullscreen=1&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=" height="300" width="400"> <param name="quality" value="best"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"> <param name="scale" value="showAll"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=796194&server=www.vimeo.com&fullscreen=1&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color="></object><br /><a href="http://www.vimeo.com/796194/l:embed_796194">Basic Walk Cycle: Part 1</a> from <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/user405050/l:embed_796194">Erik Westlund</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/l:embed_796194">Vimeo</a>.<br /><br />Here is a simple example of the contact poses from several angles after they were timed out for 2 steps per second which is an average, "business-like" walk.<br /><br />If you actually read Richard Williams' book you will learn a lot more than walk cycles. He explains how such fundamental concepts as timing and spacing affect everything. He also explains priorities, as in what to start working on now, what to leave until later. If you want to get going in animation, read his book. I tell students to sleep with it under a pillow. It gets a laugh, but also makes the point that there is a lot of information to absorb from his text.<br /><br />Oh, and like a skilled musician, practice your "scales". I tell them than too.<br /><br />If you are just curious about this subject and want more right now, check out some excellent alternative explanations for creating walk cycles:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.idleworm.com/how/anm/02w/walk1.shtml">Dermot O' Connor</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.webdesign.org/web/3d-graphics/articles/a-simple-method-for-creating-walk-cycles.624.html">Mike Brown</a><br /><br /><a href="http://tooninstitute.awn.com/lesson/walk.html">Larry Lauria</a><br /><br /><a href="http://splinebender.blogspot.com/2006/06/class-1-session-108-introduction-to.html">Greg Kyle</a> by way of <a href="http://splinebender.blogspot.com/">Shawn Hull</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.awn.com/qas/60.html">Andrew Jaremko</a><br /><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">UPDATE [03.01.10]: Or purchase </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Animators-Survival-Kit-Revised-Principles-Classical/dp/0571238343/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">the newly revised edition</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> of Richard Williams' manual at Amazon. For those who truly love </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6uAXWa86jM&feature=channel"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">geeking out on this stuff</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Richard Williams has </span><a href="http://www.theanimatorssurvivalkit.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">animated the entire text</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. Check out this nifty little line test of the </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeJiteHiNKk"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">cover art being brought to life</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. </span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Part 2 is now available. <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2008/03/basic-walk-cycle-part-2.html">Jump to part 2 in this series</a> -><br /><br />-e</span></div></div></div>Erik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-26005104924947911482008-02-24T15:44:00.014-07:002008-02-24T17:30:11.484-07:00Suspended Animation<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/images/theFall_claireBurbridge2005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/images/theFall_claireBurbridge2005.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Fall</span>, Claire Burbridge © 2005 (date?)</span></span><br /><br />Ok, so the ice has broken and I am finally back to blogging again. When I last posted I was living in Raleigh, North Carolina and only a few days away from driving cross country in a whirl wind single weekend of change in both work and living environs. Now, I'm living and <a href="http://www.theartcenter.edu/">working</a> in Tucson, Arizona. In all the furious effort involved in jumping into my current role here in Arizona I allowed this blog to simply languish.<br /><br />Strange thing is my readership and blog traffic appears to have grown nearly five-fold since August 2007 and now. All I can say is wow! Between <a href="http://www.kcarlyle.com/vegipatch/">Kate</a>, <a href="http://seansanimationstation.blogspot.com/">Sean</a>, and some very insistent curiosity originating somewhere in Portland, Oregon I have been shamed out of my intransigence and am now back to typing about my thoughts, observations, the work of others, and the occasional example or two of my own work. I have plans to start showcasing some student here work as well. Good stuff so, stay tuned.<br /><br />For now I present the work of the British born artist <a href="http://www.claireburbridge.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Claire Burbridge</span></a> who creates in South London where she lives and with her husband and their son. I don't know Burbridge personally but found her sculptures intriguing. I discovered them by google-ing the words that make the title of this post. I back tracked to her portfolio website and found her <a href="http://www.claireburbridge.com/biography/">bio</a> interesting and appropriate in parts to the subject of animation. My original online query lead me to the image below which is of her work <span style="font-style: italic;">Suspended Animation</span>, currently represented at <a href="http://www.davisandcline.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Davis & Cline Gallery</span></a> located in Ashland, Oregon. hummm... Oregon.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/images/suspendedAnimation_claireBurbridge2001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/images/suspendedAnimation_claireBurbridge2001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Suspended Animation</span>, Claire Burbridge © 2001 A nice run cycle cast into sculpture. </span></span><br /><br />I thought it was starting to make a nice circle, or maybe a spiral, posting art work found in the same state where so much recent interest in this blog has blossomed. This circle also includes google which is largely responsible for so much increased traffic at this blog.<br /><br />Lesson: if you blog and want some traffic, or maybe a lot, post on a variety of subjects and then link like crazy to related sources on your topics. It works really well! Just look at my <a href="http://www3.clustrmaps.com/counter/maps.php?url=http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/">ClustrMaps</a> on the right.<br /><br />Ok, for whoever cares, I'm back at it. More to come soon. No more ridiculously long lapses. Oh, and thank you everyone who has stopped by repeatedly over the past six months.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-53477885954423855822007-08-24T15:26:00.001-07:002010-02-26T12:26:37.003-07:00For Your Consideration<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/blueSky/frontend_notimefornutsposter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/blueSky/frontend_notimefornutsposter.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">promotional poster for <span style="font-weight: bold;">No Time for Nuts</span> © Blue Sky</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><br /><br />Damn this is good, but is it the pinnacle of animation? Oh boy, here I go again, stirring up trouble on the subject of animated shorts from big, successful studios. At least I am back to talking about poses and how they can be pushed.<br /><br />Well? Really! I must say! I post my thoughts about a double pose found in a still from an animated short from Blur and I get three times as many replies... and that's if you don't count the personal emails, online chat, and phone conversations. What is it with my readers? Apparently, you people only like controversy. ;) Ok, so I posted a critique of <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.blur.com/gentlemans_duel.html">A Gentleman's Due</a>l</span> that wasn't written from the vantage point of a geeky, devoted, '<a href="http://features.cgsociety.org/story_custom.php?story_id=3829">fan-boy</a>' in that it was actually... um.... <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2007/08/poses-pushed-little-too-far.html">critical</a>. Oh my. Just consider the source and get over it!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/blueSky/noTimeForNuts_39.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/blueSky/noTimeForNuts_39.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Still image from <span style="font-weight: bold;">No Time for Nuts</span> © Blue Sky</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> (click to enlarge)</span></span><br /><br />Ok, everybody likes a little drama now and then. That's a lot of what is behind good stories... drama. Or comedy, for that matter. In fact, in traditional Greek theater comedy meant a happy outcome and tragedy meant a sad outcome. By that standard, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">No Time For Nuts</span> would be a tragedy. I'm going to go out on a limb here and call this animated short a comedy. A superbly crafted, entertaining, and beautifully executed comedy. If you have watched the original Ice Age movie, then you know the motivations of the main character of <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">No Time For Nuts</span>. Based on prior history watching Scrat struggle through the challenges of an 'Ice Age' planet you can identify with him in a big way.<br /><br />That is a valuable starting point for any story teller. Scrat is a memorable character outside of any particular story that focuses on him.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VVrMk3psmXY"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VVrMk3psmXY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />On a similar note, Chuck Jones was responsible for creating many memorable characters during his career. We enjoy the many, many animated shorts he directed because we know who the various characters are over the history of these Warner Brothers animated shorts. The reality of Jones' characters: Pepe le Pew, Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote, Tasmanian Devil not to mention how other pre-existing characters such as Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fud, and Daffy Duck all found an individual voice, unique to each, under the direction of Chuck Jones. Audience expectations play a critical part in how these Warner Brothers characters entertain and how the stories created with them have a life outside of any particular animated short.<br /><br />From a marketing stand point, they are a highly valuable properties outside of any particular animated production. The same is true for Scrat. We know his motivations and state of mind and he exists as a character in spite of any particular production or story. This is meaty stuff for any good writer and the creators of <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">No Time for Nuts</span> take full advantage of the story potential provided by Scrat. Watching the short you see a masterful use of tempo as the main character is rapidly zapped from one reality to another, each setting up a gag of positioning Scrat at the pinnacle of impending doom. In each case, his only way out is the same way he got there in the first place... by randomly hitting buttons on the time machine found in 20,000 B.C.<br /><br />The gags work on many levels making each more enjoyable than the last. Not only is Scrat whipped through a series of dangerous scenarios, each more deadly than the last, but the first half dozen or so are references to other films including one blatant plug for the original Ice Age film. You can get the inside jokes or not, either way its funny. Which brings me to the next image...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/blueSky/noTimeForNuts_36.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/blueSky/noTimeForNuts_36.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Still image from <span style="font-weight: bold;">No Time for Nuts</span> © Blue Sky</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> (click to *ehem*, enlarge)</span></span><br /><br />Its a pretty funny gag, particularly when you see it as originally edited in sequence. The transportation of Scrat through time and location reaches a furious pace pausing only at this moment seen above in the <a href="http://www.accademia.firenze.it/">Galleria dell'Accademia</a>, Florence Italy [thanks to Kate for the correction]. The exasperated Scrat exhales emphasizing the hilarity of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_entendre">double entendre</a>. You can get the joke... or not. The joke is not critical to the story, nor does the joke distract from the story. The creative people who crafted this juxtaposition can claim that they are only showing the main character in a location that is easy to identify historically. Any baser meanings perceived by viewers are simply in their own dirty, little heads. (*wink wink*)<br /><br />This is the kind of adult entertainment found in movies <a href="http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117917228.html?categoryid=1010&cs=1">prior to the toppling</a> of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_Code">Production Code</a> in 1967, and that is <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0322802/">sorely</a> <a href="http://www.girlsgonewild.com/">lacking</a> <a href="http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070721/COMMENTARY/70721001">just</a> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001705/">about</a> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001191/">everywhere</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph%2C_the_Insult_Comic_Dog">else</a> <a href="http://www.jackassmovie.com/">today</a>.<br /><br />So, is this high art deserving of the highest honors? Apparently the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Animated_Short_Film">Academy thinks not</a>, instead giving <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0468380/">Torill Kove</a> top honors in 2006 for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Danish_Poet">The Danish Poet</a>. Extremely well written, directed, and produced, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">No Time for Nuts</span> did receive a <a href="http://www.annieawards.com/">2006 Annie Award</a> for "best animated short subject." Directed by Chris Renaud and Michael Thurmeier, <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">No Time for Nuts</span> may not be the pinnacle of animation today, but it is up there, honoring the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termite_Terrace">Termite Terrace</a> shorts from which it draws so much inspiration.<br /><br />Here is a <a href="http://www.blueskystudios.com/content/shorts-notimefornuts.php">link to the official site</a> for <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">No Time For Nuts</span> at Blue Sky.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-63319928659105770132007-08-18T05:04:00.000-07:002007-08-18T13:33:58.542-07:00Crack Spiders and SuchWarning: At the risk spoilage, there is some colorful use of "street language" towards the end, so don't watch if easily offended. Brought to you courtesy of <a href="http://tonymation.blogspot.com/">Tonymation</a>.<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sHzdsFiBbFc"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sHzdsFiBbFc" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />I'm sorry but this was/is just too funny not to post. I love the hammock and the restraining order... especially the restraining order.<br /><br />I promise to get back on topic soon.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-73935830537989380482007-08-17T20:57:00.000-07:002007-08-17T04:56:39.235-07:00I/O Brush redux<object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aikK7FEltrE"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aikK7FEltrE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Well, my last post was a little off topic so I thought bring it back to character animation gradually. So, lets first lest get things back on the ground by revisiting the I/O Brush. <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2007/07/io-brush.html">My prior post</a> on this was kindly provided by a friend <a href="http://www.marx-myth.com/">Marx Myth</a>. This time I don't know who to thank for this link... other than the creators of this concept.<br /><br />This kind of crazy ''technology-meets-wouldn't-it-be-cool-if' thinking is what I have come expect from <a href="http://www.media.mit.edu/">The Media Lab at MIT</a>. Its nice to find out a little regarding who is behind the project. Trust me when I say that not every Media Lab project gets off the ground, but this one could have legs if they can figure out what the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_application">killer app</a> for it will be.<br /><br />As always, enjoy.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-23845124539217525862007-08-12T09:10:00.000-07:002007-08-12T11:30:59.523-07:00Visual Effects<object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/up5jmbSjWkw"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/up5jmbSjWkw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Ok, more than just a little off-topic from character animation but I have to say, this just looks too good to be true. Supposedly video taped in Haiti on August 6, 2007 this clip popped up on You Tube and has gotten a lot of attention.<br /><br />Approaching this as a creative project there is some nice work with color correction, lighting, and things going out of focus and then back in again. I like the design of the craft, very atypical for this kind of thing. The original camera work provides a good foundation. Camera shake is a great way to sell this kind of effect because with proper tracking it locks elements together in the frame while making the footage seem gritty and real. Trace this back to You Tube and you will find a lot of mediocre to poor attempts at faking unidentified flying objects. This clip and the one embedded below stand out from the bunch.<br /><br />Not only is the image quality great but the sound is almost perfect. And that's just it. This is the key element that makes me suspicious as to the authenticity of this video is (well, ok other than the subject, but really) the sound. What every film maker should know is that sound can absolutely sell the reality/believability of animation and film. The fly-over has a wonderfully subtle Doppler effect. The sound of a woman gasping in the beginning creates a lot of value towards its authenticity. But where is the rattle and scuffle of that comes from a microphone that is embedded in or connected to the camera. There is a little of this but it just seems too clean to me.<br /><br />Or, is someone going to tell me that the image and sound quality is about right for consumer hand-held digital video equipment?<br /><br />Whoever is responsible for this did a nice job with the concept. For instance, I like the orchestrated pattern of craft at the very end... as if the flight pattern and arrangement is some kind of visual message to us earthlings. It reminds me of the pattern in a swimming pool waves make after they bounce off the sides and meet in the middle. Creatively, its a very nice touch. <br /><br />It would seem that someone in the neighboring country of the Dominican Republic had the same equipment for capturing this kind of event, apparently on the same date, at the same time of day, on the same kind of shore-line, and facing the same compass direction as the first example. Here is the same craft as "seen" with others, supposedly on the same date in a different location.<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mos9-LReoWQ"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mos9-LReoWQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Strange coincidence, ay? Beautiful visual effects.<br /><br />Then again, you never know.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-49070626114721767712007-08-10T19:02:00.000-07:002007-08-10T19:27:37.106-07:00Dry Erase Power<object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/u46eaeAfeqw"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/u46eaeAfeqw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />The pen is mightier that what? Oh.<br /><br />Whatever.<br /><br />I'm just having too much fun watching this playful stream of consciousness go to work. Thought others might too. <br /><br />Thanks goes out to <a href="http://www.davidwalden.com/">David Walden</a> for having this You Tube link hanging around on his blog.<br /><br />I like to find out about the people who create things that I enjoy, so I found it a little frustrating when trying track down the source of this work. The artwork was created by someone who's other cool works are to be found at the vaguely identified blog of <a href="http://ljudbilden.com/wordpress/">ljudbilden & piloten</a>. I guess thats first initial followed by last name. Who knows? No profile is available as far as I can tell. Don't ask me why some artists want to stay semi-anonymous by positioning themselves behind handles, cryptic ids, and/or pseudonyms.<br /><br />Whatever.<br /><br />The animation was created as a music video for <a href="http://www.minilogue.com/">minilogue</a>. That would be Sebastian Mullaert and Marcus Henriksson. <br /><br />Follow the links for ljudbilden & piloten if you like the visuals. Follow the links to minilogue if you like the sounds. Enjoy.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-74416706273042277832007-08-05T05:59:00.005-07:002010-02-26T12:48:30.488-07:00Poses Pushed A Little Too Far<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/naughtyBlur/gentlemans_duel_promoStill.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/naughtyBlur/gentlemans_duel_promoStill.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">A Gentlemen's D</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">uel image © Blur </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(click to enlarge)</span></span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">(Warning: a sexually suggestive image is at the bottom of this post)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">NOTE: August 21, 2007... Compared to other items found on this blog, there has been a lot of reaction to this post. Some I care to </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);" href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2007/08/poses-pushed-little-too-far.html#comment-6711856886739269482">speak of</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">... some I don't. Everything in this post is intended to be thoughts and opinions expressed f</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">or constructive purposes. As with any opinion expressed publicly, </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);" href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2007/08/poses-pushed-little-too-far.html#comment-6711856886739269482">not everyone agrees</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">. All I can offer before anyone gets bent out of shape is to consider the source. I have made a few minor adjustments to the original post because of source files no longer being available, and to fix two little typos. The gist of this article is essentially the same as originally posted. </span><br /><br />When teaching animation I tell my students to observe the work of others and learn. I show them stills from various animations, great and small, and I point out all the tools being used by skilled artists who know how to create inspiring, appealing, and life-like performances on screen. As with all things that I teach, I tell my students to do what I do as well. Which brings me to the images you see in this post... and the name of this blog.<br /><br />Poses are fundamentally important to how I understand character animation. The performance is in the pose. No amount of fancy pants spline tweaking, blur frames, or what-have-you can make up for poses that fail to communicate who a character is and what that character is driven to do internally by intentions, attitudes, and emotions. We understand the inside of the character by what we can read on the outside... the pose. To push a pose (as I understand the phrase) is to find the essence of a character performance by exaggerating those qualities of the pose that communicate what the performance is all about. Getting at the essence of what I understand about animation is partly why I came up with the name for this blog.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/naughtyBlur/blur_GDstill2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/naughtyBlur/blur_GDstill2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />A Gentlemen's Duel image © Blur </span></span><br /><br />As with anything in art, you can take something too far.<br /><br />The expertly staged, nicely composed, and beautifully lit stills you see in this post are from <a href="http://www.blur.com/gentlemans_duel.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">A Gentlemen's Duel</span></a> which was recently created by Blur. <a href="http://www.blur.com/">Blur Studio</a> is very unique production house with some fantastic work to their credits. Like <a href="http://www.pixar.com/">Pixar</a>, Blur is one of the few CG shops that <span style="font-style: italic;">consistently</span> puts out animated shorts. As is to be expected, <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">A Gentlemen’s Duel</span> is a beautiful production that is very well animated.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">NOTE: August 21, 2007... the </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);" href="http://www.youtube.com/">YouTube</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"> link originally found here was pulled (as it probably should have been.) You will not find it on </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);" href="http://www.dailymotion.com/us">Dailymotion</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"> either. To see the entire short check out </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);" href="http://www.stashmedia.tv/archive/stash32.htm">Stash 32</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">. Below is a still that matches the original YouTube rip. Click image to see </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaT1zdZkvN4">Blur's trailer</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">.</span> </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.blur.com/gentlemans_duel.html#"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/naughtyBlur/blur_GDstill_staredown.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />A Gentlemen's Duel image © Blur </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(click to jump to Blur's website)</span></span></span></span><br /><br />Yesterday, I surfed over to Angie Jones' blog <a href="http://thinkinganimationbook.blogspot.com/">Thinking Animation</a> and I noticed that one of her <a href="http://thinkinganimationbook.blogspot.com/2007/08/gentlemens-duel.html#links">recent posts</a> was both applauding and criticizing <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">A Gentlemen's Duel</span>. The negatives she summed it up as reasons for dissatisfaction and feeling insulted were probably a by-product of her not having a Y chromosome.<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Well, I have that particular chromosome and I wasn't entirely thrilled with this latest Blur short either. To sum it up, I am not a fan of humor that requires the audience to turn off empathy towards a character. In general, I don't like jokes that are "<span style="font-style: italic;">funny</span>" because a male character keeps getting nailed in the nuts... and I don't like jokes playing off a lack of concern for a female character's well being, so much so tha</span><span style="font-size:100%;">t she is beaten, punched, smacked, knocked over, and hit on the head with a broken stone planter. I also don't find a story funny </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >just</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> because ample bosoms</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> giggle on female character who is generously endowed.<br /><br />While well endowed women are a wonderful site to behold, and the way certain areas of their anatomies giggle can be a delightful experience for many of us humans - for me, it would help if a female character in a story where, oh... I don't know... in possession of a brain, some wit, and her own agenda that may happen to be separate from that of men. Some of us Y chromosome people find such qualities in women attractive, and dare I say it... appealing.<br /><br />Good grief, the toy poodle has more personality than the female character around which so much of the plot revolves.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Angie Jone's post regarding this short reminded me of a rendered still of the production I found online in November of 2006. With this image I made a few discoveries that, atypical for me, I haven't bothered sharing with my students.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEj0KutLsxf5TWNNtbrhkusZBnP7uJqlC_VLYsNCaPcpMeSEFhl588lzTEK4Wjgul9IF7sWOEhqwtcIr5imUsz1xamd9VEDdF1PoQfYWzZxhjZ8fNQYYAJWa0Xs1GLWKFchw0HKFloA10/s1600-h/Blur_doublePose.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEj0KutLsxf5TWNNtbrhkusZBnP7uJqlC_VLYsNCaPcpMeSEFhl588lzTEK4Wjgul9IF7sWOEhqwtcIr5imUsz1xamd9VEDdF1PoQfYWzZxhjZ8fNQYYAJWa0Xs1GLWKFchw0HKFloA10/s400/Blur_doublePose.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442639988286373794" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">A Gentlemen's Duel image © Blur (click to enlarge)</span></span><br /><br /></span>One thing I try, desperately, to get across to my animation students is how all elements in the frame are connected. Which leads me to the still you see directly above this paragraph. If two characters are on the screen at the </span><span style="font-size:100%;">same time they have a relationship, and that relationship is communicated with all the tools great animators developed oh-so-many-decades in the past... staging, silhouette, line-of-action, contrast, asymmetry, eye-line, competing angles, flow-lines... flow-lines are big. Ask any of my students; I never shut up about flow-lines. With that in mind, what is with the male character's arms and hands in this image? He isn't just gesturing, and he isn't just positioning the chair for the female character to sit in... what is he doing with his hands?<br /><br />His hands are all wrong. The flow is wrong. They have been pushed too far. But first lets look at his eyes and his crotch. Oh goodie.<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/naughtyBlur/blur_GDstill_eyes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 132px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/naughtyBlur/blur_GDstill_eyes.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/naughtyBlur/blur_GDstill_crotch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 131px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/naughtyBlur/blur_GDstill_crotch.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Ok, so in part the joke behind this animated short is two "gentlemen" (who are nothing of the kind) </span><span style="font-size:100%;">are competing for the attention of the female character. The attitude and intension of this particular male character is pretty well summed up in how his eyes are positioned towards the female character's backside and how his crotch is protruding forward unnaturally. I'm no prude, I get the joke and I can find this kind of humor enjoyable if it is done well. What stood out to me when I first found this image in November</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> was that all kinds of elements of his pose where pushed too far. Probably on purpose. But why?<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />When analyzing this image I noticed that the silhouettes of the two characters create an outline that is almost in the shape of a heart. Ok, kind of clever, but why? The male is only one of two rivals for the female character's affections. Her eye-line seems to match his and keeps the viewer moving back to the male character. But her arm, although natural, had a strange correspondence with the male characters left hand.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/naughtyBlur/blur_GDstill_hands.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 228px; height: 173px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/naughtyBlur/blur_GDstill_hands.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/naughtyBlur/blur_GDstill_neckAndArm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 140px; height: 172px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/naughtyBlur/blur_GDstill_neckAndArm.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Then I noticed the strange posture of the male character's right hand seemed to have a strange correspondence with her neck, right shoulder, and breast. So, I pulled out my old image manipulation and compositing skills and did a little Photoshop work to test the theory that was developing. And sure enough...</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/naughtyBlur/blur_GDNaughtyStill.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/naughtyBlur/blur_GDNaughtyStill.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(click to enlarge) </span></span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">What the heck?! A subliminal suggestion? That is somewhat pornographic in nature? Again... why?<br /><br />For the record, all I did in Photoshop was slide one character closer to the other and layer the male character's fingers appropriately. The "relationship" on screen between these two characters is no accident. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">I would not be surprised to find more cleverly disguised messages in the staging. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">In my opinion this type of artwork, and the ideas behind it, derives from the preoccupations of adolescent boys. I'm not so prudish as to be offended, but I am mature enough to wonder why Blur, a great creative production studio, would stoop down to this kind of juvenile silliness.<br /><br />Maybe someone else can help me understand why this animated short is so contorted around sexual innuendo as if we haven't had that kind of thing before. Farce, sexual or otherwise, can be a wonderfully entertaining experience for the audience but only if it has been created by masters of the genre.<br /><br />Sorry folks at Blur, in this particular case, I'm not seeing the brilliance of your previous animated short productions. There is brilliance in the lighting, character designs, models, the technical accomplishments for sure, and yes... the layout. But the brilliance on full display in all these areas isn't finding it's way into a story.<br /><br />-e</span>Erik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-35151798150861472742007-08-01T06:00:00.000-07:002007-08-03T15:04:28.987-07:00Neglect<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/neglect040326.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/neglect040326.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">image "borrowed" from <a href="http://tomecat.com/madtimes/">this photo log</a> created by someone named Jeff.</span></span></span><br /><br />It's only been since Friday that I posted most recently and yet I feel as though I have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neglect">neglected</a> this blog. Strange.<br /><br />I've been spending way too much time hanging out on <a href="http://www.keithlango.com/">other people's</a> <a href="http://mayersononanimation.blogspot.com/">blogs</a>, <a href="http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/?p=613#comments">making</a> a <a href="http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/?p=616#comments">complete</a> and <a href="http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/?p=617#comments">utter</a> <a href="http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/?p=641#comments">nuisance</a> of <a href="http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/?p=644#comments">myself</a>... <a href="http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/?p=645#comments">opinionatedness</a> <a href="http://mayersononanimation.blogspot.com/2007/07/two-trailers-two-tragedies.html">all over the place</a>. Soon there will be installment two of Beautiful Silhouettes and I have several other posts in the works.<br /><br />In the meantime for you fellow history lovers check out:<br /><br /><a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2007/07/beautiful-silhouettes-part-1.html">Beautiful Silhouettes, part 1</a> regarding the early work of Lotte Reiniger.<br /><br />Or check out the small but <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2007/07/ken-harris-master-animator.html">fascinating online archive</a> of Ken Harris' work.<br /><br />Or take <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2007/06/old-stone-face.html">a trip in the way-back-machine</a> to watch a cool sample of Buster Keaton's work and read some thoughts on learning from this master of movement and performance.<br /><br />For those of you curious about <a href="http://www.ewestlund.com/">my work</a>:<br /><br />We have <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2007/05/glacial-movement.html">glacial movement</a> in my acting performance work.<br /><br />Some <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2007/05/timing-and-spacing.html">performance improvement</a> through a good critique that forces the issue of timing and spacing.<br /><br />Some <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2007/07/rigging-anybody.html">animation tests</a> geared towards what I teach.<br /><br />And completion of my <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2007/07/test-jump.html">second animation test</a> for the same.<br /><br />Or just some <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2007/06/stealing-time-for-life-drawing.html">life drawing examples</a> from this spring.<br /><br /><br />And definitely check out <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2007/06/what-heck-is.html">this awesome "video" tutorial</a> on the meaning of COPYRIGHT and fair use put together by Eric Faden.<br /><br /><br />All of my commenting on other peoples blogs seems to be driving more people to this location. I'm getting hits from places like Brazil, England, Germany, France, India, Romania, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and Japan just to name a few. Thank you to everyone who bothers to stop by and check out this spot. Very flattering to think in what distant locations my musing are traveling. Stay tuned. I have plenty more to come including more samples of my own work current and past.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-63081241623631504912007-07-27T16:08:00.000-07:002007-07-27T18:27:07.292-07:00A Mantra for Independent AnimatorsI was in Tucson, AZ in June hanging out with one of my mentors and the chair of my graduate thesis committee... Becky Wible-Searles. Becky is an accomplished artist, poet, animator, and director. She had her own animation studio in NY city for some 14 years and has taught her subject for a number of years in New York, Savannah, GA and now, Tucson, AZ. She is also a lot of fun to hang out with, as is her husband Jimmy. During my visit she described a problem dealing with a talented student who was having difficulty getting his final project over the finish line. Becky is the absolute master of getting it done. She told this young student of hers an elegant mantra to chant...<br /><br />SIMPLE. GOOD. DONE.<br /><br />Powerful words for any self respecting animator and/or artist to live by.<br /><br />So, I've been lurking around on <a href="http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/">Keith Lango's blo</a><a href="http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/">g</a> a lot lately... <a href="http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/?p=613">doing my best</a> <a href="http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/?p=616">to make a total nuisance</a> <a href="http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/?p=617">of myself</a>. One item that I mentioned in a comment to <span style="font-weight: bold;">part 2</span> of Keith's <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Fool's Errand</span> series caught his attention. That item was Becky's mantra.<br /><br />Later in part three of the series Keith mentioned that independent animated short production should probably be <span style="font-style: italic;">fast</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">fun</span>. So, I just put the two ideas together and got SIMPLE, GOOD, FAST, FUN, DONE. It sounded okay, although not as good as the original... not as basic... but, it had flavor. FUN was the critical part that seemed to be improving the formula.<br /><br />Well, I spent some time with the phrase today and decided to remove the "fast" part of the mantra. SIMPLE, GOOD, FUN, DONE. Seems to work better. Even more so if I put FUN before GOOD. Sounds good because it has a nice Rhythm.<br /><br />Pulling from my print production and graphic design background I created a poster with this phase. I like the way my typographical layout makes FUN larger than the other words. Included with this post is a <a href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/simpleFunGoodDone.pdf">link to a PDF</a> I created that gives you a tabloid (11in x 17in) poster of the image below.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/simpleFunGoodDone.pdf"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/simpleFunGoodDone.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Click the image or the link above to download the attached PDF. Print it and use it in good health. Credit Becky Wible-Searles and Keith Lango for its intellectual impact.<br /><br />Credit me only for the graphical layout.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-3964636029468977312007-07-27T06:46:00.001-07:002007-07-27T16:05:55.175-07:00Test Jump<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/aniBody_testJump_final.mov"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/aniBody_testJump_final.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Well, I've done a little polishing on my test jump exercise using the 'aniBody' rig with which <a href="http://pushingposes.blogspot.com/2007/07/rigging-anybody.html">I've been tinkering</a>. The movement is about as good as it is going to get considering that I'm using a bare-bones FK Spine setup. The arcs are working to my satisfaction and I have developed all the required elements of anticipation, action, reaction with a minimum of effort. It is no great achievement for the art of animation... just an exercise.<br /><br />If I am proud of anything it is how quickly this came together and how well organized the work has been while it progressed. Accept of my students, I won't bother anyone with what the Dope Sheet editor or the Graph Editor look like for this example but it is something worth geeking out over for you Maya users. Very clean and organized.<br /><br />Speaking of organized keyframe animation...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/kLango_murrayPlanet_002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/kLango_murrayPlanet_002.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />On the subject of process/technology versus art/animation there has been a great series of articles posted by Keith Lango. <a href="http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/?p=613">Check out The Fool's Errand, part 1</a>, <a href="http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/?p=616">The Fool's Errand, part 2</a>, <a href="http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/?p=617">The Fool's Errand, part 3</a>. In this series Lango describes in heart breaking detail an ill-fated adventure he took into producing a personal animated short. Lots of great discussion in the comments as well.<br /><br />Ok, that's it for now. Lot's of big, scary stuff to get started on.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-65730514328786913532007-07-22T08:18:00.000-07:002007-07-24T19:55:32.260-07:00Beautiful Silhouettes, part 1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/Achmed5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/Achmed5.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Most animators understand the importance of a strong silhouette, but how many push this concept to the point of creating a beautiful silhouette? As the image above from the 1926 animated feature film <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Prince_Achmed">The Adventures of Prince Achmed</a> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotte_Reiniger">Lotte Reiniger</a> demonstrates there is tremendous aesthetic potential in the silhouette. By the way, I did type that correctly, 1926, animated feature film, not by Walt Disney, but instead directed by a woman (<span style="font-style: italic;">*gasp*</span>), some eleven years <span style="font-weight: bold;">before</span> Disney created the "first" feature length animation <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Seven_Dwarfs_%281937_film%29">Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs</a> in 1937.<br /><br />I suggest that you sit for a moment and consider the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance">cognitive dissonance</a> in that last sentence... I'll wait.<br /><br />Lotte Reiniger was inspired by the beauty of traditional <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_puppet">Chinese and Balinese shadow plays</a>. Just look at the beauty of these images from <span style="font-style: italic;">The Adventures of Prince Achmed</span> or as it was originally titled in German <span lang="de"><i>Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed</i></span>:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/Achmed1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/Achmed1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/Achmed2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/Achmed2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/Achmed4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/Achmed4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/Achmed6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/Achmed6.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Her use of color which preceded technologies such as Technicolor is both simple an appealing. Notice the subtle details in the backgrounds of the images above. Animated in stop motion using paper cut-outs and captured in multiple planes, she managed to create a sense of depth throughout the film. Reiniger worked primarily with the help of her husband Carl Koch long before standard tools and techniques and were established.<br /><br />For those who are interested here is a <a href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/AchmedPK.pdf">link to download</a> an rather nicely constructed PDF press kit created by Carl R. Pidhagny, © 2001 Milestone Film & Video.<br /><br />The PDF includes an essay titled "Scissors Make Films" by Lotte Reiniger herself explaining the making of the film, her synopsis of the story, as well as background history compiled by others on how Lotte and Carl invented the process necessary to make this production possible. For additional history about Lotte and Carl see <a href="http://www.awn.com/mag/issue1.3/articles/moritz1.3.html">this article at AWN</a> written by William Moritz.<br /><br />This beautiful film as well as a historical documentary about the director and her work are <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Prince-Achmed-Carl-Koch/dp/B0000714B2">available on DVD</a>. For those who believe in animation as an art form having rich aesthetic potential for telling stories, this is well worth the investment. Its also a fascinating slice of the history and development of animation.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/Achmed_engCover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ewestlund.com/pushingPosesBlog/Achmed_engCover.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Adventures of Price Achmed DVD © 2001 Milestone Film & Video</span></span><br /><br />Reiniger's work has inspired the animation of others who have followed her wake such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Ocelot">Michel Ocelot</a>. Check back to see part 2 of this subject on animation aesthetics influenced by traditional Chinese and Balinese shadow plays, and the beauty of artful silhouettes.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-27052322547103979202007-07-22T06:35:00.000-07:002007-07-22T12:53:11.158-07:00Ken Harris: Master Animator<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.masteranimator.com/pictures/KEN002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.masteranimator.com/pictures/KEN002.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I just found <a href="http://www.masteranimator.com/index.html">this very aptly named website</a> dedicated to the career and work of Ken Harris. The URL 'masteranimator' pretty much says it all. Best known for his work with Chuck Jones while at Warner Bros., Ken also worked on various projects for Hannah Barbera, MGM, and later worked with Chuck Jones again on the classic animated production of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060345/"><span style="font-style: italic;">How the Grinch Stole Christmas!</span></a> after Jones "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Jones">left</a>" Warner Bros.<br /><br />In the middle there somewhere is time that Ken Harris spent working for Richard Williams on such projects as the title sequences for <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.masteranimator.com/pink.html">Return of the Pink Panther</a>, Williams' animated production of <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.masteranimator.com/scrooge.html">Scrooge</a>, and the mysterious and storied Williams feature production <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.masteranimator.com/thief.html">The Thief and the Cobbler</a>. There are lots of little goodies to be found including <a href="http://www.masteranimator.com/thiefCycles.html">cycles from <span style="font-style: italic;">Thief</span></a> animated by Harris, and <a href="http://www.masteranimator.com/model.html">models sheets</a> from various productions including some for the characters <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Pussyfoot</span> and <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Marc Antony</span> from the 1951 classic <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044609/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Feed the Kitty</span></a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.masteranimator.com/pictures/modelPussyfoot.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.masteranimator.com/pictures/modelPussyfoot.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><br />click to enlarge<br /></span><br />I find his time working with Williams particularly meaningful since some of the the tutelage that Harris offered Williams and others at Williams' animation studio ended up inside the Williams' animation how-to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Animators-Survival-Kit-Principles-Classical/dp/0571202284/ref=sr_1_3/002-9307046-1661614?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185113450&sr=1-3"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Animator's Survival Kit</span></a>.<br /><br />While the layout of the site is bare-bones and very basic, there are a lot of wonderful nuggets of animation greatness to be found. Special thanks to Animation Mentor student Jeff Weidner for having the link included on <a href="http://www.pose2polish.com/blog/">his blog</a>. Also, while googling stuff for this post I came across Kevin Lanley's blog <a href="http://klangley.blogspot.com/">Cartoons, Models Sheets, & Stuff</a> which has many, many samples of great stuff from the past, so check it out.<br /><br />Wow this post is turning into a real link-o-rama so I'll just rap it up on a good, solid note...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.masteranimator.com/pictures/KEN.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.masteranimator.com/pictures/KEN.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The quote found on the front page of <a href="http://www.masteranimator.com/">www.masteranimator.com</a> much sums it up:<br /><br />"He was a master animator, a virtuoso... Ken Harris did it all."<br />- Chuck Jones<br /><br />And we are all the richer for his contribution.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-88006613396626597292007-07-18T05:49:00.000-07:002007-07-19T06:01:01.840-07:00Cool? Yes. But, will it blend?Sure, the iPhone is sleek, beautiful, a cool to play with... but:<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qg1ckCkm8YI"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qg1ckCkm8YI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Who knew that the iPhone had such remarkable additional qualities. Wow, those boys and girls at Apple must think of every contingency. I have to say that blender is definitely up to the task. Frighteningly so. For those interested in seeing what else 'blends' there is an entire website devoted to the subject:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.willitblend.com/">Will It Blend?</a><br /><br />I was surfing through blogs by way of <a href="http://halcyonrealms.com/">Halcyon Realms</a> when I came across the above YouTube link. It took a little surfing but I found <a href="http://www.textfiend.net/zerohero/">Zero</a> had a link to the geeky IT mag <a href="http://www.gameaxis.com/home/">GameAxis</a>. Yeah, that's how I found it. I need to get a life, or just start acting like I have one.<br /><br />Halcyon Realms is a beautiful blog by-the-way. Vong Yungchow is quite the talented and accomplished artist who seems to attract attention from a lot of other interesting people. Here is a photographer I found thanks to posts and comments at Halcyon Realms:<br /><br />Laurie Jackson:<br /><a href="http://capturethisphoto.aminus3.com/">Parallel Universe</a> and <a href="http://capturethisphotography.com/">Capture This</a><br /><br />Enjoy.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561743674104988905.post-20872872555445362512007-07-17T06:05:00.000-07:002007-07-18T05:24:21.008-07:00I/O brushGet a load of this.<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/p-IlwqXi1MU"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/p-IlwqXi1MU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Just load it up and go.<br /><br />Watching this video I find it just as fun seeing how the various sources for the "paint" program react to being sampled.<br /><br />A special thanks goes to <a href="http://www.marx-myth.com/">Marx Myth</a> for the YouTube link.<br /><br />-eErik Westlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16191332666813397165noreply@blogger.com2