AM Class 1- Week 5 Assignment

 This week we had to animate a ball going through an obstacle course. We had to incorporate Squash and Stretch and Anticipation. This was a really fun assignment and a chance to give the ball some life and character. We also had to pose Stu (AnimationMentor supplied rig) in a "Devastated" pose.

This is my revision of my bowling ball vs. ping pong ball.

AnimationMentor BBQ!

This Weekend I traveled up to San Francisco with my son to attend the AnimationMentor BBQ!!! It was located in a park right by Fisherman's Wharf and Fort Mason. We could see the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance and it was a sunny beautiful day. Got to meet some of my co-students and the founder's of AnimationMentor.  Food was great and it really felt like a family. I'm definitely going to have to go next year.

Tour of Dreamworks Animation Studio!

AnimationMentor recently had a raffle for five lucky students to get a tour of Dreamworks Animation Studio. Guess what... I WON!!!! I got a call this morning and I was jumping up and down when I heard the news.  Dreamwork's should be contacting me this coming week when its going to be.  I'm very excited!  I'll definitely post the pics I can from the tour.

AM Class 1-Week 4 Fourth Assignment

This week we had to animate two bouncing ball.  One has to be heavy (bowling ball) and the other Light (ping pong ball).  We also had to revise our last week bouncing ball assignment.  I didn't change anything to the bouncing ball because I didn't get any notes from my mentor.

Revised "Excitement" Pose

I tried to make the line of action run from the top of the hand down to the leg. I switched the leg my character was standing on to help.  So then I put the other leg up.

Walt Disney book from the library.

I found this book at my local library. It's such an entertaining read I finished it the first night I got it.  It's written by Jack Kinney who was a great animator at Disney Studios. He was a supervising animator that produced such memorable shorts such as the  Goofy how-to series and he worked on features, one of my favorite scenes in Dumbo (the pink elephants). The book describes an array of characters that worked at the Disney studios. There are some great stories about Walt and hysterical situations that you wouldn't have believed took place there. Each story has a sketch made of the character and the situation Kinney is talking about.  Makes you feel like you were actually there during those golden times.

AM Class 1-Week 3 Third Assignment

This week we started on our first animation! We were given a ball and we had to animate it with the weight of a bouncing basketball. We weren't allowed to use Squash and Stretch, were are suppose to focus on the timing and spacing.  The assignment also had to be under 100 frames.  The next part of our assignment was to draw 'Excitement' poses and upload our sketches.  Then we had to pose Stu (AnimationMentor character model) in an "Excitement" pose.

AM Class 1-Week 2 Second Assignment

Our second assignment is to go to a public place and draw people in different poses.  Then we have to pose "Stu" (our AnimationMentor supplied character) into that same pose. I decided to choose #9 because I liked the line of action and I thought it was interesting.

 

Here is my first crack at my pose.

This is my final pose. I got a lot of feedback from the Facebook groups that I belong to. Having other people critique your work is one of the best tools for an animator.  The shot is rendered with some lights to give the character a shadow and depth.

 

AM Class 1-Week 1 First Assignment!

Our first week assignment was to make a video about ourselves. Why we wanted to become animators and what led us to AnimationMentor. I decided to make  a funny video so it would be interesting...

I also sent my video to the Co-founder, President,CEO of AnimationMentor (Bobby Beck) and here is what he had to say...

Hey Loran,

        Normally I would reply straight back to your AM mail, but I'm away on holiday with my family and don't have anything besides my phone :)

Luckily I was able to load your INCREDIBLE intro video/story via YouTube. Fantastic my man. I see your passion and it is going to pay off big time! Stay focused and tackle each week with this same passion and you will indeed soar! 

I can't wait to see how you progress! Keep rocking my man!


-Bobby Beck