Mery Rig - One Week Animation Project Pt 4

Hello hello, so my weekend was spent planning and getting ready for my big move to Australia so the animation had to wait for the week. (Don't worry, I bought a new sketch book for the 4 months of travel...yes i'm thinking of the essentials).

Yesterday I turned on the splines and started working on separate body parts. On this rig (as if I don't praise it enough...it's free too...go get it from here) you can make only certain elements viable which means its a great way of getting those curves smooth in the spline.
I am struggling with the dance, I altered it to try and find a bit more variation and comedy so it's a few stages behind the rest of it. Once again, the face is not even slightly done. apart from vague poses left over from the blocking stage. So ignore those horrible face...if you can.
I hope you like it and please forward on any critiques. I'd love to hear your opinions.

How to tell you're an old animator

There are certain events that make you sit back and realise that you have changed, things that make you aware that there has been a significant passage of time. At the moment I am creating my showreel and cv for job hunting in Australia. I can't tell you how excited I am to apply to work in Australia. The whole reason to come to Korea was to save enough money to animate in countries such as Australia and Canada so this is a big step but it's easy to still think of yourself as a graduate when in fact my CV tells a very different story. Here are just a few things that have dawned on me lately to make me realise that I am no longer a 'fresh out of the box' animator and maybe those 7 years I've been animating in the industry make me an actual animator now.

CV's

Creating your CV when you leave uni is a experiment of words. How can I make the part time job I had in the toy shop at 15 sound like it's relevant to a studio environment? But as soon as you have some jobs on that CV it actually becomes more like a game of Tetris. What to leave off? What should I leave in ? How can I make that really ,really cool thing I did jump off the page? This week I faced a new problem that made me step back and take a breath...'I think I may be old!?' I had to get rid of my A-levels from my CV. Squashing a life time into two pages can prove hard but at 28 I've finally reached the stage where A-levels are such a distant memory that they no longer seem relevant on my CV. That's some scary stuff. I realise in the big scheme of things this is just silly but it's nice/weird as hell to be at an age where something so momentous from my past has well....been sent to the bench.

Rigs

I paid for a rig, yes I know! As a student animator living on cup-a-soups and 'chicken' cola , the idea of paying for a rig was insane. I could use the free ones to my hearts content why would anyone ever buy a rig? Then at some point I crossed that line where I realised how 1. insanely hard rigging is and how I should give them all my money 2. How much time it takes to make a good rig. I still use the incredible Malcom rig and I even still use the morphus (old habits die hard) but when I saw the Body Mechanics set of rigs by Joe Daniels (here) I had thrown money at them before I had my first coffee. Was it worth it? YES. I love them. You definitely get what you pay for and I can now animate things I've always wanted to try such as lady walks and baby walks. It may be age (or laziness) but I've crossed the line where I'm an animator through and through so spending money to be one doesn't seem strange, after all I've been spending every penny I've made on animation books for so long that moving house means I need to hire the world's stoniest man to move my boxes, at least rigs fit on a hard drive.

Remakes

This isn't an important point but the other day I caught some kids in my class reminiscing about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...it took me far to long to realise they were reminiscing about the new modern version. I've become so old that I've started reminiscing about reminiscing.
And there you have it...in conclusion I'm old, and there is nothing wrong with that. Bring on the next stage of animation because something tells me it's gonna be a lot of fun.

Laptop

My laptop broke....ten minutes later I was online looking at how to buy a new fancy one. This isn't so much me since I think all animators would buy a laptop no matter what age but my lovely boyfriend heard my laptop had broken and he went as white as I felt. 'How will you animate?' was the first question that passed his lips. He gets it....so this either means a. I'm annoyingly obsessed 2. He doesn't question I'm an animator. I think there is definitely a tendency in our industry to idolise everyone with experience and I still do, in fact everything I've ever learnt from animation has been a lesson taught to me buy another animator or actor but it's strange to see that the people around you don't doubt that you are an animator too. I feel I've come a long way from my first animation job where i'd go to the toilet just to dance because I was so excited....nahh that's a lie. I'll still be doing that on my first day in every animation job.

How to understand your CG animator - Tips and Tricks

A while ago I wrote a post about '20 reasons it's hard to live with an animator' .
So for those people that ignored the last list an are now living with an animator  or who have an animator friend/family member here is your crash course in 'How to understand a CG animator' :

. Keys - You are checking if your animator has locked up your house to safe guard the valuable items inside (mainly the most expensive stack of books you have ever seen)
They are thinking of the important poses their latest work will be using.

Tip: always lock up yourself


. Crunch - You are asking them to pick up your favourite cereal or chocolate bar from the shop.
They have gone into a mini coma thinking about the last deadline month they faced in work. Crunch time!

Tip: if your animator suffers from PTC disorder (post traumatic crunch disorder) be understanding. During an attack cover them with a blanket to keep them warm and feed them biscuits until the memories fade


Anticipation: You are talking about the excitement of an up coming event.
They are working out the intricate moments before you throw a ball.

Tip: never say you are anticipating a baseball match . They will make you watch goofy throw a baseball frame by frame. Ahh that baseball throw!


Weekends:
You hear 'Saturday, Sunday'
They may not be familiar with the term.


Overlap: you are talking about your own busy schedule and the overlapping events you have coming up.
They will just be moving they're arms and staring at their sleeves.

Tip: hide all Newtons cradles and tie long hair up before you plan your week with them.


Blocking: you might be talking about the idiot who blocked in your car in the car park.
They will just be doing the robot in the corner.
Tip: to break the spell shout 'spline'


Maya/ Max:
You mention a friend with these names in passing. To which your animator flips over the table in front of you, screams expletives and sits mumbling and shaking in the corner.
They hear the computer program that has a personal vendetta against them.
Tip: If you happen to have a friend with either of these names
a. Give them a nickname
B. Never leave them alone together as your animator will punch/cry/glare at them until you return.


Disney:
You may like disney films
They Love them with their very being.
Tip: unless you are prepared to know what the '9 old men' means, who they are , what their hobbies were and their shoe sizes it's best to just keep quiet.


Coffee:
You hear a delightful beverage
They here 'lifeblood'
Tip: have a supply in the vicinity at all times


Thumbnail:
You are talking about your hand and your general nail area.
They are instantly drawing on any object at hand. Be warned they may use your arms if a piece of scrap paper/wall/ envelope isn't at hand

Tip: carry a sketch book to occupy them . Hide all sharpies.


Uv:
You may be talking about the strength of the sun today.
They will be looking at the seams on all of your clothes and disassembling all boxes within their reach to study the construction.
Tip: just buy the strongest uv protection and put it on them. They probably don't get out much.

Spungella 100 Frame contest

Last week was the www.spungella.com 100frame competition.
Normally i always want to do these things but something always gets in the way.
This time i was putting my footdown and no matter what getting an animation out.

The theme was Magic so my partner and I came up with two ideas we liked. i animated them both but he was in charge of one and so was I.
He built, designed, rigged and skinned the rabbit which is a fantastic model in just 3 days.


'Levitate' was quite hard as there was a lot to get across in 100 frames but really enjoyed it.



The animation isn't what i wanted it to be for both as things did get in the way but i'm so glad that i got something out. its a step in the right direction :D
we're on our way to the next project now.
Too many ideas and not enough time!