Ramblings

Questioning Conventions 1

I realized that so much of my animation knowledge is based off of what I was taught, and not from what I've personally analyzed. This is the first in a series of attempts to broaden past the base concepts.

Blinks

There is a very formulaic way to do a blink (See Example 1).

Example 1:

I have been doing variations of this blink since I started animating. At no point have I ever really studied a blink, I've just taken the word of those that came before me. Don't get me wrong, this is a very effective blink. But I couldn't help but wonder if there could be more to it.

I took some time and really tried to break down and analyze the movement of a normal human blink.

Now granted not every eye rig can do this. But understanding these concepts could allow someone to move past the standard conventions. I urge you to take the time to study blinks on your own. I think you'll be surprised with how complex it actually is. I know I was!

Just for fun..I made my drawings into an animated gif. This was not the intention when I drew the images, so the spacing isn't quite right. Nonetheless it may help exemplify the concepts listed in my notes.

It's been a LONG time since I've posted, but I come asking for help.

I need to ask a favor of anyone that might still read this blog. I am looking for examples of great eye acting. (In either live action or animation.) Any ideas? Please don't just say something like "Anything in *insert pixar movie here*" I'm looking for very specific scenes that I can pull for reference. :) I will compile anything I find in with notes on what I already know about eye animation, and post it here. Hopefully with your help we can all learn a little more about animating eyes.

Thanks!!! (hopefully someone still reads this blog.)

Doodle

Yay...another doodle! This one is a little less cartoony, and very rough. I did this one for the Blue Sky Challenge Blog. The theme of the week was "classic movie monster."

Crits and comments are always welcome!!!! :)

Doodle

Lately I've been trying to learn how to draw in a more cartoony style, and this is my latest attempt at it. I would love it if you all could let me know what you think. :)

I'm still learing, so any crits would be awesome!

Horton Hears a Who

Horton the Elephant voice by Jim Carrey

The Mayor of Who-ville voiced by Steve Carell

Images found at the following website:
http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=16502

More Hands

These awesome hand examples were provided by Kaveh Michael. Thanks so much for sharing them. Hopefully others find them as useful and inspiring as I have.

Hands

By no means am I any expert on the subject, but I thought I would share some of my current feelings on hands (I say current because every day I seem to learn something new which totally changes my perspective and understanding).

Hands seem to be an area of animation that is frequently overlooked. Hands are just as important as the face. So much of a characters personality and emotion is conveyed through the hands. A well crafted hand pose can convey if someone is nervous, confident, proud, sad, happy, angry, dainty, powerful, weak, squeamish, tense, relaxed, etc. (the list goes on and on)

I've been doing a lot of stuff with hands at work lately, and I thought I would share some of the stuff I find inspirational and useful. Below are many examples of hands, all of them are in very different styles, yet all of them are serving the same purpose; to aid in the acting, to help the audience understand the character a little more, to help get an idea across, to lead the eye within a shot, etc.

For example, lets say a character adjusts his glasses; he could cautiously places his finger tips on his glasses and adjust, he could wrap his fingers around one side and adjust, he could adjust with his index and thumb on the nose piece, he could use both hands in a dainty manner with his pinkies out, the possibilities are endless! The pose you design could be curvy and elegant, or rigid and sturdy. All of this elaborates and deepens the audience’s relationship and understanding of that character.

Milt Hands