Apologies to anyone who has tried to follow links from the ARC to any of Jason Ryan's tutorials of late. He moved them from screencast to his webinar site some time ago I think, but I've only just caught up :P. I'm so glad he has kept these "ramp up" tutorials freely available, they are right up there among my favourites. Jason, you rock!
Showing posts with label _Latest Additions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label _Latest Additions. Show all posts
Some House Keeping
Apologies to anyone who has tried to follow links from the ARC to any of Jason Ryan's tutorials of late. He moved them from screencast to his webinar site some time ago I think, but I've only just caught up :P. I'm so glad he has kept these "ramp up" tutorials freely available, they are right up there among my favourites. Jason, you rock!
Rainplace
The Rainplace Blog has a great series of posts on squash and stretch, its in 3 parts (Part1, Part2, Part3). Frank found this one and brought it to my attention, thanks Frank. Adding to the Basic Physics section.
Some new goodies for the ARC
3D world magazine has made some tutorials from Kyle Balda on animating with dialogue available. Adding to the Character - Dialogue section.
I have mixed feelings about teaching process, the risk of trying to push a square student into a round hole can have some nasty consequences. But this process overview from Mike Walling is so simple and to the point I find it hard to imagine it not being useful to most students. (A new director I have at work felt the need to show this one to me the other day, proving that we all have more to learn and being an animator means being a student for life :P. ) Adding to the Process section.
Share CG has heaps of goodies to help you come to terms with that pesky animation software. Adding to the Software Tutorials section.
Story Post- An Appreciation
Sometimes I go hunting for resources, but other times I'm just ambling around the net and wonder across something simply wonderful, this is my favourite kind of discovery. The Iron Scythe is the blog of Pixar story artist James Robertson, and its full of captivating, beautiful rough and loose drawings. Of particular use as a resource for students is this post about using interesting and smart shots to tell a story, I'm adding it to the storyboarding section of the ARC.
New Stuff
I've added a section to the main list on the side of the ARC Home Page called Character-Games where I can link to animation resources specifically focuses on games animation. In there you will find these new links....
A series of great notes from Jeff Cooperman.
Part2 . Part3 . Part4 . Part5
A great friend of the ARC TJ with some thoughts on animating for games.
A post I made about animating an attack combo for a game. Make sure you check out the comments where some industry pro's drop in with some fantastic advice.
I've also amended some of the categories in the Online Help section. I thought it was a bit Maya and 3D centric, so I changed Maya Character Rigs over to 3D Character Rigs and I added this new link.....
The 11 second club has a great range of character rigs listed on its Forum.
And I changed Maya tutorials over to Software Tutorials where you will find these new links....
The Wonder How To site has free video tutorials for heaps of different software packages.
More free tutorials for more graphics software packages than you can poke a stick at.
Thanks to Frank and Alonso for helping me find some of these links.
A series of great notes from Jeff Cooperman.Part2 . Part3 . Part4 . Part5
A great friend of the ARC TJ with some thoughts on animating for games.A post I made about animating an attack combo for a game. Make sure you check out the comments where some industry pro's drop in with some fantastic advice.I've also amended some of the categories in the Online Help section. I thought it was a bit Maya and 3D centric, so I changed Maya Character Rigs over to 3D Character Rigs and I added this new link.....
The 11 second club has a great range of character rigs listed on its Forum.And I changed Maya tutorials over to Software Tutorials where you will find these new links....
The Wonder How To site has free video tutorials for heaps of different software packages.More free tutorials for more graphics software packages than you can poke a stick at.Thanks to Frank and Alonso for helping me find some of these links.
Making the most of your time
Its insane to pick out a specific article from the Tricks and Tips blog because there is so much good stuff there. But I was attracted to this piece by Kenny Roy about animating aiming for quality instead of quantity. I'm adding it to the Getting started section.Hmmmm, now the astute reader may sense a possible contradiction here, seeing as how I'm the guy tells you, you should be animation 60 frames a day. BUT!! (he cried making a quick side step) I'm afraid I don't see a contradiction here at all. Some students would love to give me ultimatums when I was teaching, "but you told me to do this and I can't do that at the same time." Brace yourself for my stock standard reply......
I WANT MY CAKE AND EAT IT TO!!!! BWAAA HAAA HAA HAAAA HAAAA !
New Goodies
Something very cool has started to happen over the last few months. As the ARC is growing in popularity, people have started contacting me about their sites, asking if I could possibly link to them. Of course I can't link to everyone, but I'll do my best to look at every site suggested and the first two of these sites were brought to my attention this way
Chris from the Animation Career Pro blog contacted me some time back, now that his blog has built up some content its full of useful information. I'm going to link to his Animation Terms section from the Getting started section, but his whole site is worth a good rummage around.
The Colorotate site offers an interesting and unique way to come up with interesting and appealing colour combinations. There has been talk about narratives V's showreels on the ARC of late, in my opinion colour is one of the common weak points in student films so its worth looking into.
I've known of the Animation Backgrounds site for some time, but it wasn't until reader Rejesh emailed me that I considered it could be linked to as a resource. I'll add it ti the layout section. Thanks Rajesh.
Another interesting article brought to my attention by Frank a few weeks back is this one about tallent Vs hard work. I don't know if it counts as an animation resource, but still thought it was worth a quick mention.
Chris from the Animation Career Pro blog contacted me some time back, now that his blog has built up some content its full of useful information. I'm going to link to his Animation Terms section from the Getting started section, but his whole site is worth a good rummage around.The Colorotate site offers an interesting and unique way to come up with interesting and appealing colour combinations. There has been talk about narratives V's showreels on the ARC of late, in my opinion colour is one of the common weak points in student films so its worth looking into.I've known of the Animation Backgrounds site for some time, but it wasn't until reader Rejesh emailed me that I considered it could be linked to as a resource. I'll add it ti the layout section. Thanks Rajesh.Another interesting article brought to my attention by Frank a few weeks back is this one about tallent Vs hard work. I don't know if it counts as an animation resource, but still thought it was worth a quick mention.
Anticz
Two great tutorials form the web site of Mike Brown.
A nice simple, concise and clear walk tutorial. Added to the Walks and Runs resource section.
Ahhh that pesky old Gimbal lock. Its mysterious, strangely seems to affect some animators more than others, and can be a real pain in the but. Your best defence is to understand it as best you can so you can recognise it when it happens and rethink what your doing. This tutorial is a nice clear explanation, and I'm adding it to the Maya Tutorials resource section.
A nice simple, concise and clear walk tutorial. Added to the Walks and Runs resource section.Ahhh that pesky old Gimbal lock. Its mysterious, strangely seems to affect some animators more than others, and can be a real pain in the but. Your best defence is to understand it as best you can so you can recognise it when it happens and rethink what your doing. This tutorial is a nice clear explanation, and I'm adding it to the Maya Tutorials resource section.
The Curious Animator
Links from a great blog run by Tomas Jech, an intern at Pixar from what I can gather.
My favourite post (with a great clip) is about defining your character by giving it interesting decisions to make. Going in the Story section.
This one is about giving your character subtext, what I would call gestures with meaning. Adding to the Character - Acting section.
And another about finding original ideas to animate that I'm adding to the Advice for students section.
Found these links over at Monotreme Dreams.
My favourite post (with a great clip) is about defining your character by giving it interesting decisions to make. Going in the Story section.This one is about giving your character subtext, what I would call gestures with meaning. Adding to the Character - Acting section.And another about finding original ideas to animate that I'm adding to the Advice for students section.Found these links over at Monotreme Dreams.
more More MORE!!!
New goodies YAAAAAAAAY!
From a site called IK boost, a great article on character posing. Adding to Character - posing.
From The Plausible Impossible a nice post on layouts for storytelling. Adding to Storyboarding
Also from The Plausible Impossible a post about using shapes for charactes. Adding to Character Design.
From The Animated Cartoon Factory a whole page of links that makes for a nice overview of the animating process. Adding to Process.
The Mayerson on animation blog with some interesting thoughts on lip sync. Adding to Character - Dialogue
A footnote on the quality of resources.
I've kind of made it a goal to reach 100 different sites to link to from the ARC this year (we are at about 70 now), but as I rummage around the net I can see that you have to be on your toes. There is so much bad stuff out there, some of it is breathtaking in its ineptitude and charged for to boot. I wouldn't ever name a site and don't intend to make a habit of this sort of thing (I'll leave the negative nelly stuff to the likes of John K and Cartoon Brew :P, which I still read regularly), but I just couldn't help but show this one example.
This is a promotional image from a site that expects you to pay them money in order to teach you how to animate characters. WAAAA???! The antic is off balance, the start and end poses have no attitude, the last and first point of contact aren't fully extended, the poses in the air are stiff with no line of action, and I wouldn't describe a single one of these poses as being appealing. And this is the promotional image? Boy oh boy, I guess everything is relative, perhaps the Shawn Kelly's and Kieth Lango's of the net would look upon my advice the same way. But at least I give it freely. I'll tell you what students, if you are going to pay for animation knowledge, my advice is do your research.
From a site called IK boost, a great article on character posing. Adding to Character - posing.From The Plausible Impossible a nice post on layouts for storytelling. Adding to StoryboardingAlso from The Plausible Impossible a post about using shapes for charactes. Adding to Character Design.From The Animated Cartoon Factory a whole page of links that makes for a nice overview of the animating process. Adding to Process.The Mayerson on animation blog with some interesting thoughts on lip sync. Adding to Character - DialogueA footnote on the quality of resources.
I've kind of made it a goal to reach 100 different sites to link to from the ARC this year (we are at about 70 now), but as I rummage around the net I can see that you have to be on your toes. There is so much bad stuff out there, some of it is breathtaking in its ineptitude and charged for to boot. I wouldn't ever name a site and don't intend to make a habit of this sort of thing (I'll leave the negative nelly stuff to the likes of John K and Cartoon Brew :P, which I still read regularly), but I just couldn't help but show this one example.
This is a promotional image from a site that expects you to pay them money in order to teach you how to animate characters. WAAAA???! The antic is off balance, the start and end poses have no attitude, the last and first point of contact aren't fully extended, the poses in the air are stiff with no line of action, and I wouldn't describe a single one of these poses as being appealing. And this is the promotional image? Boy oh boy, I guess everything is relative, perhaps the Shawn Kelly's and Kieth Lango's of the net would look upon my advice the same way. But at least I give it freely. I'll tell you what students, if you are going to pay for animation knowledge, my advice is do your research.
Fantastic Story Resource
As is often the case. One great resource leads to another. The StoryFanatic blog has heaps of great articles about storytelling that make for very interesting reading. Added to the Story resource section of the ARC.
Staging for Status
There are a bunch of blogs I follow that I have in folder in google reader called Inspiration. One of the blogs in there I've been watching for a few years now is Clockroom by Samacleod. I love the little gestural and action sketches he posts. Loose, rough and expressive. Inspirational.So it is with great pleasure that I've discovered his latest post is something I can link to from the ARC. Switcheroos is a post that examines an example of how you can stage shots to show the status of your characters. Added to the Storyboarding resource section of the ARC
If you're ever after some inspiration for shot layouts, you can also check out Samacleod's other blog, Frame Filter featuring screen grabs of great shot layouts from many different sources.
Walks, Process and 3D Rotations
Some yummy new resources.
Jason is a Dreamworks animator and in this post you can watch a timelaps screen capture of him animating a walk cycle. I was interested to see just how much of the animation he was creating in the graph editor. I do this but sometimes feel guilty about admitting it. Nice to know I'm not the only one. Added to the Walks and Runs Section.
Two great posts from Stephen Gregory, this first is an overview of what he teaches, but I think it makes for a great scene checklist and I'm adding it to the Process section.
This one from Stephen is about how keeping track of your rotation orders and keeping keys to a minimum in Maya can make your life soooo much easier. Added to the Maya tutorials section.
From the Coop Notes blog a good post about setting up a scene with referencing added to the Maya tutorials section.
Jason is a Dreamworks animator and in this post you can watch a timelaps screen capture of him animating a walk cycle. I was interested to see just how much of the animation he was creating in the graph editor. I do this but sometimes feel guilty about admitting it. Nice to know I'm not the only one. Added to the Walks and Runs Section.Two great posts from Stephen Gregory, this first is an overview of what he teaches, but I think it makes for a great scene checklist and I'm adding it to the Process section.This one from Stephen is about how keeping track of your rotation orders and keeping keys to a minimum in Maya can make your life soooo much easier. Added to the Maya tutorials section.From the Coop Notes blog a good post about setting up a scene with referencing added to the Maya tutorials section.
Walks, Runs and Those Damb Squiggly Lines
No blogging warms my heart more than delivering new resources to those who want to learn more about animating. With these two additions from new sources we have cracked the 60 mark, that's right through the arc resource section you now have access to over 60 different sources of credible animation goodness. Yuuummmmmy!
From the Line Of Action blog comes a clear succinct overview of one of the most confusing tools for those new to 3D animation, the graph editor. Added to the Maya Tutorials section.
This one is amazing, found by ARCker Franko, the Bio Motion Labs Walker lets you study the motion of different walks of different sex, attitude and weight from different angles, they have a Runner too. Added to the Walks and Runs Section.
From the Line Of Action blog comes a clear succinct overview of one of the most confusing tools for those new to 3D animation, the graph editor. Added to the Maya Tutorials section.This one is amazing, found by ARCker Franko, the Bio Motion Labs Walker lets you study the motion of different walks of different sex, attitude and weight from different angles, they have a Runner too. Added to the Walks and Runs Section.
New Goodies Again
Hazar! Thanks to the eagle eye of co contributor Elfranko a new source of animation goodness has been unearthed. This tutorial on animating with dialogue from the Animation Tips Blog is a beauty, hopefully there is more on its way too :) I'm adding this to the Character - Dialogue resource section.
New Goodies
For all my prattling on, I think its the resource section that really makes the ARC unique, so I love being able to add new goodies to it. Today I have a whole swag of great ones from some of the Arc's heavyweights.
The folk at Animation Physics actually emailed me to let me know they had a new document on the physics of balance up. How cool it that! (Body Mechanics Section)
Spline Doctors have just put up an excellent post about the importance of getting on with your decisions when animating. (Planning Section)
Victor Navone has a great new post on animating eyebrows up, I particularly likes the list of common eyebrow behaviours. (Character - Acting Section)
Carlos Baena has uploaded an excellent case study on how he plans a scene. (Planning Section)
Kieth Lango has uploaded a great little video tutorial on how to get rid of unruly twisting in your 3D animation. (Maya Tutorials Section)
Another great one from Kieth about choosing the right time to offset keys. (Drag and Overlap Section)
The tricks and tips blog poses a real problem for a cataloger of handy Internet animation knowledge like myself. There is so much good stuff there that I just can't keep up. Its all good, go there often, read it all..... Go on!
Isn't the internet grand? :)
The folk at Animation Physics actually emailed me to let me know they had a new document on the physics of balance up. How cool it that! (Body Mechanics Section)Spline Doctors have just put up an excellent post about the importance of getting on with your decisions when animating. (Planning Section)Victor Navone has a great new post on animating eyebrows up, I particularly likes the list of common eyebrow behaviours. (Character - Acting Section)Carlos Baena has uploaded an excellent case study on how he plans a scene. (Planning Section)Kieth Lango has uploaded a great little video tutorial on how to get rid of unruly twisting in your 3D animation. (Maya Tutorials Section)Another great one from Kieth about choosing the right time to offset keys. (Drag and Overlap Section)The tricks and tips blog poses a real problem for a cataloger of handy Internet animation knowledge like myself. There is so much good stuff there that I just can't keep up. Its all good, go there often, read it all..... Go on!Isn't the internet grand? :)
Free and Handy Advice on Advising
If you are a student then perhaps you don't feel confident enough to go around flinging your opinions at other peoples work. But here is the thing, when you do it in a constructive way it can be very beneficial for both parties involved. Having to articulate your thoughts about what makes animation work forces you to clarify your understanding of the topic. In short talking about animation (if done right as I will get to at the end of the post) can make you better at animating.
I've found some amazing free software of late that can help facilitate these conversation in person or online.
Active Pen lets you draw over the top of other programs, great for analysing the line of action in that pose or planing the arc you want something to follow.
Debut is the best free desktop capturing software I have seen by a long shot. The creators (NCH Software) make a whole range of free video and audio editing tools that seem reliable, are easy to use and don't tax your computers system like many of the commercial alternatives.
I'll add these to the Free Software section of the ARC resources, where you can find links to a whole bunch of free goodies.
So back to being a constructive critiquer, here are my tips.
I've found some amazing free software of late that can help facilitate these conversation in person or online.
Active Pen lets you draw over the top of other programs, great for analysing the line of action in that pose or planing the arc you want something to follow.Debut is the best free desktop capturing software I have seen by a long shot. The creators (NCH Software) make a whole range of free video and audio editing tools that seem reliable, are easy to use and don't tax your computers system like many of the commercial alternatives.I'll add these to the Free Software section of the ARC resources, where you can find links to a whole bunch of free goodies.
So back to being a constructive critiquer, here are my tips.
- Watch the listeners reactions, you may have the best piece of advice you will ever have to give, but it will be waisted if the other person is not in the mood to listen and I'm afraid you can't make someone be in the mood to listen. Choose your time.
- Stick to the animation principles (AH! I mean rules), subjective stuff about style should only be on the table if someone asks you for your opinion.
- Don't give advice unless you can take it too, pig headed people are identified quickly and are rarely listened to ever again.
- Have your own house in order before advising others on a topic. This is the great thing about advising others, it can help you lift your own game. If your going to tell someone else their character pose is off balance then you had better make sure your poses are balanced too.
- Keep it as clear and simple as you can. I am as guilty as anyone when it comes to this one. I often find myself going off into a rant only to discover the student has a glazed look over their eyes that says, "I stopped hearing anything you are saying half an hour ago."
More on Rules From Someone Smartera Dan Mes Is
I am a huge fan of 's blog, Temple of the Seven Golden Camels. Recently he did a great post about using flat or deep compositions in order to affect your audience in different ways (I've added it to the resource section under Layouts) . It sparked a debate in the comments about rules and if and when they should be broken. Mark responded in a post about rules that I think follows on nicely from my recent post on the subject. He is far more eloquent and convincing than I was, what a dood :)
Karen J Lloyd on Boarding
A new addition for the Storyboarding resources section. Karen J Lloyd's Storyboard Blog has heaps of great tips and advice on boarding and the animation biz. Also check out her resources section for some handy storyboarding templates.
Get Your Head Right
Just recently one of my students who graduated at the end of last year emailed me about the nervousness he was feeling before applying for work. Ive adapted my response as a post and added it to the Advice For Students resource section of the ARC. Hope it helps :)
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