Week 6

So we are at week 6, which is halfway through the first quarter of Animation Mentor. This week dealt with overlapping action. To me animating overlapping action can be both fun and tedious, but can really make an animation more interesting to watch when done well. Without overlap things can feel really stiff and take you out of a scene. On the other hand too much overlap can make it look way too distracting and rubbery. It can be hard to find that spot that feels just right. It's one of those things I spend a lot of time thinking about when I'm polishing a shot. As with anything in animation it's good to remember that rules can be broken.
Week 6 Overlap Assignment

Week 5

Hi everyone, this week dealt with Anticipation and Squash and Stretch. The assignment was to have a ball going through an obstacle course. Adding the new element of Squash and Stretch made for a really fun assignment. We also had to do sketches of people who were devastated, which proved to be harder than I thought once I got into it. Ok see you next week. Week 5 Obstacle Course

Week 4

So, week four was on timing and spacing. Our assignment was to have two balls, one light and one heavy, bounce in a scene to show weight. I decided to use a cannonball and a kickball. I also had Logan help me with my reference video!
Week 4 bouncing balls

Week 3

Week 3 dealt with planning for animation. The assignment this week was to sketch people who are expressing excitement. I had to think a little more about this one because the range of emotion a human can express while excited seems to run from very suttle all the way to very exaggerated, to the point of being laughable. So week 3 marks our first animation assignment, a bouncing ball. I think even some seasoned animators could benefit from this exercise once in a while. In a way you could compare a ball bounce exercise to an artist trying to draw a perfect circle, how many artists can draw a perfect circle, I know I can't? So in the end I think this turned out to be a fun assignment!
Week 3 Bouncing Ball

Week 2

So, Week 2 we had an overview on the principles of animation, which was really good. Our assignment was to do some quick sketches of people, then put the Stu rig and into a pose from our sketchbook. So this week I did some sketches of people playing volleyball.

Week 1

Week one basically consisted of familiarizing yourself with the inner workings of Animation Mentor and getting to know your mentor. My mentor this Quarter is Sean Ermey. He has worked on and off the last 6 years at DNA. While there he worked on Jimmy Neutron as well as the Ant Bully film. He is a really cool guy with a lot of animation experience and I'm glad to have him as my mentor this quarter! Sorry, no assignments were due for this week.