Do You Feel Like You're Working Hard For No Reason?

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“If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.”  - Michelangelo

Adventure 217: My buddy and me far from home in Africa..

     "Danny you should write your stories out." "You need a blog." "DANNY, your life is so cool.." (on the inside I'm rolling my eyes so hard and saying fuck off.. They only hear the adventures and they don't listen to HOW I got to this point.) I'm not ungrateful but I've noticed that what they see is a guy in a different country every other minute. They see a guy who worked on Frozen and had been a part of Disney Animation for nearly a decade. They call me brave, talented and different... Buying one way tickets and living out of a backpack for 3 years, Crossing seas and passing by lakes that he can't even pronounce. They project onto me this Indiana Jones character, or hell, for all I know maybe they see me as Julia Roberts in some Eat, Love, Pray bullshit.  Have you ever watched the film, 'The Fall* with Brad Pitt? Remember when he's off in the back of a caravan crossing some foreign desert on another continent with weird animal furs and women napping on him? I'm sure that's what a lot of people imagine me as, which sure... it sometimes has been like that but let me give you a peek of the not so glamorous side.

(I'm currently writing to you from the Nordics. Where it is -15 degrees and the snow looks like a million diamonds sparkling in the sun. It's a rare sunny day here and it's motivating me to be creative and write this post. I just had some oatmeal for breakfast and I have my coffee sitting next to my keyboard. It WOULD be pretty peaceful but I'm listening to "Mo Bamba" head banging as I type. Thanks for joining me here and reading this post.)

"Remember that every successful person or any person that is remotely happy is coasting off the momentum they have made."

    Take moment to read that again and let it sink in. Think of how a NASA rocket takes off. It has to use so much of it's fuel to escape the gravitational pull of the earth. Once it's gone though, it can virtually coast through space for the rest of it's journey. It's the same with people. An extreme example is an amateur athlete who trains like a spartan from years. After they win a gold medal or a championship, offers for endorsements, spokesperson contracts, merchandise deals, and other opportunities often come pouring in allowing them to slow down a bit and take advantage of the momentum they created earlier in their career.
    Likewise for any business minded person or profession, once you paid the price to establish yourself as an expert or a person of integrity who delivers high quality results on time, YOU WILL reap the benefits for the rest of your life. What does paying the price look like? It looks like spending countless hours working towards something shows no sign in getting closer. It looks like not getting paid for what you're worth and taking shitty deals. Sometimes you work for months will no real income. It is being scared, unsure and having tons of doubt but it never never never looks like giving up and staying still. You take all this and you keep moving... sometimes for years.

     I'm in the middle of this 'paying the price phase' right now for the second time in my life. "Wait.. What Danny? But you're set already aren't you?" (I literally "PFFFFF'ed" right now at my computer) Yes I'm in the middle of this again... and wait for it: BY CHOICE.) 
     Sure the first time I paid the price I was putting in the hours as a teenager. I was staying in my room, watching friends on TV and drawing day after day. Parties and hang out's? Once in a while yes I would be social but 80 percent of the time I was with my nose in my sketch book drawing my little heart out. During college, I was pulling all nighters when nobody told me I had to. Completing personal projects for no purpose other than to get it out of my system. I didn't know if it was good, but I did it. I read, I studied, I redid work, I was a machine. My thought to myself, If I am not practicing, someone somewhere is. The average Olympian trains four hours a day at least 310 days a year for six years before succeeding. Training works, but it isn't easy! You need to be willing to pay the price. 
       Even after arriving at Disney and Pixar, I would stay waaay beyond working hours diving into lectures and practicing my animation. Not because I felt my animation wasn't good enough, no. I was still 'training' because I knew my real goal still required me to learn. My real goal extended beyond Disney and Pixar.. I wanted to work for myself. I told myself, I'm not going to work on someone else's idea for the rest of my life. And that required not only learning about animation but diving in and learning inside out all the other parts of the Pixar7Disney studios. I remember I would email and ask Mark Andrews if I can sit in on the story internship critiques at Pixar and I would stay quiet and invisible in the back corner taking notes. I remember I would always go to the Art department in Disney and look at every concept design board and the notes written all over the work. I remember feeling so lucky when I fought tooth and nail to be given the chance to ask Miyazki HIMSELF a question on how he goes about organising his ideas and what was his process in picking ideas for films and scenes. Every thing I did was in the direction of a goal I had in my mind. If an action wasn't getting my a tiny step closer to my vision, I'd ask myself why I was doing it.
 

ME: Working hard or hardly working? 

      There was never a moment I felt I was ready to take my goal head on, but eventually I left the safety and comfort of Disney at the age of 27. I felt good with all the knowledge I had gained. Whatever came my way, I should be able to handle it right? I have seen the inner workings of one of the most successful company in history works. I've worked on billion dollar oscar winning films that have literally effected and changed a generation. But a reality check soon knocked me down with the force of a million hurricanes.

     "What is a business plan? How do I type an invoice? Did you word that contract correctly? Was I too modest and come off as an amateur when I should of been bold and sold myself better? Are you sure you're spending your money the right way? Did you just accidentally offend them as you were introducing yourself because you aren't aware of how the culture works in this country? Do you even know how the taxes work when you earn income from outside the USA?"

   OMG I have so many other examples of shit I went through these last three years.. The ones I typed above are just a few. So again I put in the work, I read, studied and typed and spend countless hours staying up all night learning. Most importantly I asked questions. I remember meeting a business investor in Nashville and after two drinks I kind of straight up asked, "What does an investor look for?" and for the next 3 months he helped me type  and revise 21 pages of business plans and other things.   
      The biggest thing to get what you want is to ask, ask ASK. You have to get use hearing the word 'no', you have to get use to getting ghosted and your emails receiving no responses. You have to get use to getting looked at funny, feeling like an idiot and just being in way over your head and out of your league. But it is paying off. Now I can say I'm set up with contracts with musicians and companies doing work on my own terms where I get creative freedom to do my ideas. I'll share all that if you'd like in another post. 

     Anything worth doing is worth doing badly in the beginning. Remember when you first learned to drive a car. to ride a bike, to play an instrument, or to play a sport. You understand in advance you were going to be very awkward at first. It's just part of the process. And this applies to everything! Children know the best that you have to give yourself permission to be silly. But sadly by the time we are adults, we're so afraid of making mistakes or if something doesn't workout, we don't allow ourselves to be awkward. So we don't learn, we don't succeed and we're so afraid of being wrong. 

We all had a first kiss... How awkward was that? if you could survive that, you can survive the hardships of chasing your dreams. 

Lecture on Value 101

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     When an image flashes in your mind, as an artist your first instinct is to capture it exactly. That's the amateur in you reacting. The experienced artist will view that vision as a guide and know it is ok to divert from it. It's ok to change it and apply principles to make it better. Think like an artist!

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      You eventually have to draw your perfect vision so one important principle to always keep in mind is value! Value is very important. Art teachers always said the word 'value' and talked about it's importance but knuckle-headed younger me never truly understood value. Not until I looked at the work of Hans Baker. His work opened my eyes to how value can be used to tell story but for this post I will only focus on Value itself and what it is...

Hans Baker, Value sets mood, space, composition. 

Light source/Time of day
      It's very important to know what the light in your picture will look like: will it be ambient? Will it be sunlight through a window? Be decisive! Below is a solid example of establishing a light source. The artist's name is Anton Azbe. Drawing with light source in mind can give shape, volume, and definition to your subject.

Anton Azbe - light source example

     Here below is another drawing of a figure, It's VERY well done. You can see form, shape and volume in the figure drawing. This piece of art was made by an artist named Den Drolet. The top drawing is not better than this one nor is this one better than the top drawing. I am comparing the two so you as the viewer can see the difference of having chosen a light source and note having established a light source. Remember that there's is no BETTER way to draw/create something. Every choice must be thought of as a tool. The 'tool' of the light source was chosen to not be used in the photo below to define the figure.

Den Drolet - using line instead of a light source to define the figure

Contrast
     This by far has to be my favorite principle or 'tool'. If you ever hear me speak about movement, line, value, film or critique something, I will always mention the word 'contrast'. In value you can play light against dark. But once again, there are no rules! (I'm getting worked up just thinking about contrast!!) If you have a bunch of pictures that use dark vs lights, try making a picture with light-against-lights or even dark-against-darks! Contrast can be used in an image or used across multiple images. You can contrast where ever you want, maybe thats why I like it so much! (calm down danny you might scare the children..)

Hans baker using contrast in many ways! always draws your eye to the focal point
by making it stand out with contrast!

Balance in Texture using Value:
     A nice drawing is a nice drawing. but what separates great drawings from the rest? Many people have their opinions so I don't see why I can't put my 2 cents in :)

     I believe a good drawing PLAYS with the viewer. Plays with the principles and techniques or art. By play I mean manipulate and use them in an interesting way that gives a bump to it's aesthetic value. Whats this word Aesthetics? Click here for a Kantian view of aesthetics and arts. Let me show you some examples:

     I found this image above on the inter webs and sadly I do not know who created this pencil drawing. It's really good, no one will argue that. But let me bring your attention to the following image below by Igor Kazarin and notice that something about it captures you a bit more firmly than the drawing above. Is it bc he's looking at you? Is it bc it's nicely shaded...?

Nothing but good things to say when it comes to Igor Kazarin and his art

       I believe the Image of the bearded man is stronger bc the artist is using value to direct the viewer. He's controlling the viewer's eyes even when there is no need to (notice it's not as if this was a very crowded busy image where you had to search for the focal point.) This image has areas where there is a lot of detail and a lot of contrast to draw you in. It also has areas of rest where the value and the area surrounding it has similar shades. As the eye looks around the image it is hit with detail, it has a lot to absorb so when it comes across an area of rest (places where the value doesn't vary much) the eye relaxes and processes the piece of art. When you are hit with too much detail and no places of rest, the eye will look away.
     "LIAR! Danny but there are tons of great complicated drawings in the world! What up?" 
     True, but those still have areas of rest and there is joy in taking time to view them. But that doesn't take away from the point that I am trying to make that there is something about these drawings that push it to another aesthetic level. Where as some super photo realistic drawings are trying really hard to blur the lines between photo's and art like the Julia Roberts one above, other drawings such as the bearded man are also photo-realistic but they don't let you forget about the thinking artist behind the art.

      Which one is more interesting (Danny how dare you ask a subjective question!) To me, the one on the right is more interesting to me. The lack of lines, the use of a light source, and the contrast between values are all pushed to the extremes. The image below and the top right are made by the artist Ileana Hunter. I don't know if it's the drawing skills or the fact that it's Audrey Hepburn but I like :) 

        If Leonardo Da Vinci was doing it hundreds of years ago.. then there must be something to it wouldn't you say so?

Leonardo Da Vinci controlling the Eye like a boss

Value in Color
Who cares, draw with the wrong colors! Its all about if the values are right! A little purple in the tiger never hurt anyone...

greg manchess

Art: Stephan anderson

 Mood is Value
      Dark values are usually associated with dark feelings a low moods and the opposite goes for light values. Manipulate your values and you can have Mood!

      Wolfgang Znamanack was one of germany's most important theatre stage designer in the last century. Look at not how his colors set the mood, but the value of the colors... These stages had to be designed for dramatic Wagner Operas so it's appropriate for the mood to be quite dramatic as well!

      I made these last two images smaller on purpose to force to to click on them and get an up close view of these super cool designs! This art goes to show that your occupation can be anything and if you put good creative principles and a determined mind you can inject art/feeling into all kinds of things.

STEP BACK!
      Before you finish your drawing remember to step back and make sure the value works. Squint or step really far back. Even when you can not see details your value should still make sense and look right. :)

     All this knowledge and tips I posted here today are not things I discovered on my own. All this is an accumulation of knowledge from artist all around the world that I'm putting in one spot for you! Knowledge needs to be passed on, and I hope you take a step back and realize that now that you have read this it is your duty to pass it on to somebody who might need your help one day.

Thanks for reading!

Improving Your Animation 101

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lol

       If you are an aspiring animator (or artist) and you find yourself spending more time reading than actually DOING anything then I'm writing this for you. No  baseball player ever read a lot about baseball and then was an amazing baseball player. If you think that since animation isn't a sport you do not have to practice?? Wrong. Articles and tips can get you motivated and inspired to work but thy wont make you great.

      The nine old men of animation (9 men who invented the guidelines of HOW TO ANIMATE) they didn't have anyone give them tips or tricks. They had to do Good ol' hands-on-training. I've searched the internet and asked around and I have put together a list of exercises for an aspiring animator to do! Even if you consider yourself advanced I would suggest you still start from level one. never hurts to make sure you have your abc's/basics locked down :)

      Always remember the 12 principles of animation (google it if you do not know them bc it will change your world!) you should try to incorporate all of them in all your animation test if possible! I put in parenthesis the skills the exercise challenges but always remember that all the 12 principles should addressed.

Basics
Bouncing ball (loop) (squash and stretch/spacing)
Bouncing ball across the screen (2 bounces) (squash and stretch/spacing)
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Cinder Block sliding off a shelf, hitting the floor. (spacing, form)
Flour Sac Jump (mass)
A blink (spacing/squash and stretch)
A head turn (transitions/ arcs)

breaking a sweat
walk cycle (technical)
run cycle (technical)
character jumping (physical/ spacing)
Suicide backwards fall off a ledge (subtle delays and overlap)
A character getting up from a chair (physical, anticipation)
A smile (face muscles, appeal)
A sneeze (exaggeration and timing)
Do an action that requires a 'smear' (technical)
Laughing (reference studying)

Marathon training
Animate a hand doing something-close up (anatomy)
character lifting a heavy object (weight)
animate a dog shaking after a bath (overlap follow through)
hammering a nail (timing spacing)
character blowing up a balloon (physicality)
piano falling on a character (timing weight)
character brushing their teeth (personality)
character eating a sandwich (personality)
getting up out of bed (physical personality)
waiting for the bus stop (entertainment/ appeal)

Quitters quit, winners win
character throwing a bucket of water on another (physical acting)
tug of war b/w two characters (tension)
character drinking wine (research)
character making an egg- full process from fridge to mouth (rhythm and timing)
A feather falling and being blown by the wind (reference)
character reacting to "your parents are dead" (acting)
putting on a pair of pants (physical)
sleeping character being startled, then going back to sleep (rhythm and texture)


KEEP IN MIND - These will make you better not get you a job. Studios want to see dialogue and acting. what these exercises above do is help you become a better animator!

You are not animating lines, you are animating a personality, an emotion, the feelings. you are animating something deeper than just what you see.

keep it simple.

You don't have to show anyone, these tests are for you!!!

working out isn't fun, animation should be. that is the ONLY difference between sit ups and animation :)

internship deadline 2 weeks away?  ...SMH

Who Am I and What Am I Doing?

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Here's a little splurg about me, my classes and other cool things      

        I've never really introduced myself!!, I realized I started this blog and never really told you anything about who I am. I just started typing post and dishing out knowledge like a stranger giving out free candy to kids. If you haven't noticed I have been taking a break from this blog because I have been traveling and teaching on the side ALL WHILE working crunch time here at Walt Disney Animation Studios. I have a grand wealth of new posts and will try to post all of them out every 3-4 days. But let me start of this blitz off post with a long over due introduction of me.

ME:

       My name is Daniel but my friends call me Danny (I wonder if this means I'm going to start meeting random people who call me Danny at conventions now...) I grew up in a corner of San Diego, California where it wasn't the best of neighborhoods. I had a single mom, one brother (that I knew about) and grandparents that didn't speak English. I knew more people who have been to prison than had been to college (or even rarer: had college degrees!) Typical for my part of town but I loved it because it was all I knew.
        I never knew I wanted to draw as a living but it was something I did as a hobby. I think I drew more because people wanted to see me draw rather than the act of drawing actually interesting me. But soon I began to like it. I soon found out, "oh my gawd, I CAN EXPRESS MYSELF (which usually happens around 2nd grade and you keep drawing hearts and stick figures of girl you like on the margins of your homework) :) At one point around Jr. High I believe I even did flip books out of sticky notes and eventually I liked that so much I would duck tape multiple sticky notes together to make epic sticky-note flip books.(most which were of toilet humor and other atrocities which would star my friends. I hope they never see the light of day!)
          If it wasn't for my art teachers that DROVE me to Laguna College of Art and Design for a portfolio day I would of never went to college. While growing up I could never imagine how one could make a living off drawing. I thought all cartoon shows were lone projects made by one artist in their basement. I believed movies and animated films weren't art, they were just things that would mysteriously appeared at theaters for all to see. College was never a REAL possibility  it was a void because I didn't know what college was or meant, it was a big "Question Mark". Because of the extra care my teachers gave me I ended up at California College of the Arts were I was exposed to so much. Soon I switched majors from Painting to Animation. You should of seen my face when I figured out that those flip books I did in Jr. High, were the same way animated movies were made. I wasn't amazed or surprised, I was thunder struck! (Hahaha At one point I asked, "Whats animation paper, why can't you just use computer paper?")
         Soon I landed an Internship at Pixar where I learned computer animation for the first time and a few years later I found myself at Walt Disney Animation Studios. When I first started working I will be the first to admit I had no perspective. I had no perspective that I was at Pixar, what Pixar was or even meant, I had no idea who was who, I even didn't have a clue what was a blog! I was a very, very, VERY green young kid (19-20 years old). I had some growing pains adjusting to Pixar and finding out what studio life meant and how one was expected to act and perform. Thank fully I had amazing mentors such as Mark Walsh, Andrew Gordon and Andy Beal who never gave up on me and gave me the best introduction to animation one could ask for. Disney was a fresh start, a chance to learn from a different style and I'm loving it. I left a lot of friends back north in Oakland and San Francisco that I miss a lot and hope to return one day.
         I found myself pursuing teaching on the side because I was amazed at how much knowledge there is out here and how inaccessible it is! Especially for kids that come from my sort of back ground. I'm always amazed at how much is not taught in schools and how many bad habits are taught. I don't hope to change the world, but at least I can  do my part in giving a little back and helping who I can just like those who helped me. Right now I keep busy with this blog, teaching on Skillshare.com and by working at Walt Disney Animation Studios. I consistently work on my own work (don't ask me when bc I don't know how I find the time!!). I paint when I can, I love to write stories and do story boards, I always try to collaborate with other artist when I can. And of course I go out and act a fool like everyone my age should :) .

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So there! A little bit about who's been writing all these post! Below is information about what I teach and a little insight of my trips abroad. 
TRAVELING:
 Its always nice to travel! I went down to mexico and landed in Guadalajara and road tripped to the coast for a while, Traveling gives you perspective of who you are and the world around you. here are some photos I took while down there
 


MY CLASS:

My class is called CONSTRUCTING A STORY: Advanced Visual Storytelling. Any one can sign up and it's $20 for a lot of goodness. And even if you don't have time for the class, you get access to the material and lectures for life (please return upon in case of death, I'M KIDDING) Email me for a discount code or just to say hi @ daniel.gonzales.3rd@gmail.com

I've taught on this sight before and had over 700 students in my last class! I was floored by the enthusiasm and the eagerness to learn by all of them .I look super forward to teaching this class that starts MAY 27th. Find out more about the class through the link below or just email me!

CLASS LINK:

http://skl.sh/ZrZUla

The Process 101: Critiquing A Short film

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Since I always encourage people to send me work here is the result of one of these emails. I thought this letter would also give some insight and help others who might find themselves in the same predicament. Enjoy :)
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So lets get down to business. (excuse my misspellings and forgetting to CAP my sentences and much much more) Here is a rant of questions I have regarding your short film

       Why is he writing, for who, for what? Does he get what he wants by the end? What does he even want? Why does he not want the skeleton to read the paper, how does he know if its the same paper he was writing on? why does he want to keep the skeleton in the closet, doesn't he want to show off a walking skeleton thats alive?? If it represents something i dont see it whats the relationship between the skeleton and the boy. who's the boy in the photo, he looks like the main character, is the skeleton also writing a story, why are the crumbled papers so important, why does the skeleton go to the door, does magic already exist in this world, why is the boy not freaked out, what does the skeleton want and why? (on a side note, another reason your story is confusing is because you have to hint to all the elements of your story in the beginning. You introduce magic but the story is under way and it came out of no where. It is possible to keep the supernatural part of your story but that I can discuss later if you want)

      So that's a little bit of a rant. They're all rhetorical questions so no need to answer them. But one thing is apparent, your intent and your symbolism is overtaking your story to the point that the story isnt making sense. So this is how I would fix it:

       Lets keep your theme. "Coming out of the closet." ..thats not a theme by the way. The theme is more:"Accepting something about yourself" So EVERY decision I make is going to be based off that sentence. 

       Since by the end of the story the boy has to accept himself ,then to make a full character arc, we shall in the beginning make him not accept something. (original story: you have him being frustrated. thats one reason your story feels like its all over the place. unless you would show at the end of your original animatic that he was overwhelmingly calm)  

        Another thing I want to change is your symbolism.. or.. at least tone it down, One thing to remember is you can not carry a story based on symbolism alone, symbols have to support your story not take front and center. I'm going to keep your symbol of the closet but ditch the literal skeleton. I'm also going to take the magic out of your short. It doesn't need it. So bear with me and read along my version of a story about accepting yourself. I'm changing a lot so dont get scared. But notice how in the beginning our character isn't accepting and through things that happen I force him to change. (change shouldn't come easy it has to be hard, if it was easy then there wouldn't be much of a story to tell bc he would change in the first scene)

STORY:

-Its a boys 8 yr old birthday. All the cool kids with their flashy clothes are there at his party 

-He gets a jacket as a present, he is embarrassed of it because its ugly.

-First day of school. it's windy outside. He chooses not to wear the jacket and throws it to the back of his closet. He's very cold all day

-Second day of school. It's raining. He looks at his jacket. walks to the closet and reaches for--- a magazine. walks to school and uses it to block the rain. He gets very very soaked and is very cold all day and gets sick

-Third day, ITS SNOWING. He reluctantly takes his jacket from his closet. He arrives at school. He anticipates the kids making fun of him and his jacket bc it's ugly. But they don't even notice his jacket. They tell him to hurry up and join them in a game. 

-alterante ending- he gets to school and is so happy being warm and not wet and cold he doesn't care about being made fun of. he's warm and everybody's fancy jackets don't even come close to keeping them as warm as his does.

DONE

       Super simple. lots of opportunity of cool character animation especially when he's making decisions. Sorry about taking out the magic. I really liked it but it's too much trouble for what it's worth. You can still use a skeleton, just put it on his jacket :) See how the symbolism is there? but it's now lowered to a supporting role. :) This is a lot of stuff happening for one story your sanity will lie with how efficiently you story board it. I will do one supper little pass to get you started. 

NOTICE HOW I ONLY USE AND SHOW WHATS IMPORTANT. AND IF IT''S NOT A SUPPER IMPORTANT STORY POINT, I SHOW IT AND THEN MOVE ON. DO NOT LINGER. 

I wont linger doing unnecessary shots if doesn't add/show new information to the story. 

NOTE, 

       I over simplified and of course it looks like a 3 year old story boarded it. BUT it's clear and when you redraw these with cool angles and such, make sure you make your drawings just as clear. are your main story points clear. All the detail you add to your drawings should some second to the story telling elements. Besides, you shouldn't focus to much on story, you want to animate then right? Then get to it. also notice how i re-used some camera shots. YOU ONLY RE-INTRODUCE A SHOT if you have something new to say. the less shots you use, the less confusing your short will be.That is super important. Try to do the same if you are going to change the shots. You can add shots but I wouldn't recommend it. Its already a lot to animate. 

      Your longest shot should be the walk to school! also notice by doing that you are spending the most amount of time on the most important part of the story. Not the end, not the beginning, but the whole part before he gets to school on the last day. Thats his most emotional part (he should be thinking, 'omg what are the other kids going o think of me, omg omg etc) I could of spent more time in the beginning at the birthday party but then I'm going to make it compete for importance with the walk to school on the snow day. REMEMBER, how much time you spend on a moment = how important it is. So DECIDE whats your most important and what isn't important. And use your time accordingly.

I hope this helps!

Study 101: Compare and Contrast ACTING

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     Here is a wonderful example of two actors delivering the same line and getting two very different results. Ask your self: They are both well done, but how are they different. What is one actor doing different than the other actor, Why do I like that one the most. etc etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEN0gCHl7Vc






I hope you enjoy the clip,
-Danny

NEW YEAR = NEW OPPORTUNITIES

   I do hope everyone's Holidays and New Years went by really well.

STORY TIME
     Some time between 3-4 in the morning after the ball dropped I sat down and I reflected on all the opportunities I've come across this year. I thought off all the opportunities I'd taken advantage of and which ones I let slip by. Most of the opportunities that gave me fruits where ones I didn't think too highly of at the time when they first revealed themselves to me. But the best opportunities that I had where ones I made happen with hard work, good intentions, and being in the company of good people that I'm lucky enough to call family and friends.

RANDOM DECISIONS
     About a year ago I did a blog post talking about a short film I did with a few friends. Ted Hayden and Sunday Wang. It was the best random decision I have ever done. I always try to do random decision and stupid things, because from those bad decisions come stories, and those stories have experiences to share and turn into art later. Like driving 1 hour to a party with 7 ppl in my car when it can only fit 4 and not knowing how I will get back bc there is no gas and no one has money (one stayed in the trunk on the ride) Most would call these actions irresponsible or dumb, but I call them adventures, I like situations where I wont know what exactly might happen OR better yet, I know something bad is most likely to happen. I want to see how I'd react, or how I'd handle the situation. I discovered a lot about my self... not all of it something good.
      But this Short Film I directed... was a crazy experience. And on this crazy experience I learned something good:

I'm glad I'm an Animator and not working in the live action business :D



Biker from Ted Hayden on Vimeo.


Moral of the story, make sure you go in your car so you wont have to ride in the trunk.

GRAPH EDITOR: when you are panicking

Animator specific post...

     Graph Editor Tricks that I have found my self using. One is for when I am animating in stepped and the Other trick is for when I'm animating Layered. (stepped is when your graph editor does not allow your splines to curve and keeps looking like steps, layered is a way of animating when you FEEL the animation and its timing from the root out)

     I'm not here to debate which way of animating is better, I'm not about to regress into a school girl type of shouting match. I'm just going to give two tricks I find my self using often and the help me out a lot. Actually.. they've saved my ass more time than I care to admit :)


     So.. lets say you are animating Layered, so happy that you are getting results super fast and you even dare to think you might actually finish before the deadline. But soon you perfect start disappears and soon you animation is muddy, your timing is wrong, your takes melt into each other and nothing is left of your initial timing! You were almost done but now you don't know what to do. There are hitches in the arms, the nose arcs and you even discover you have problems in your root! What are you going to do?

What I do is:

I do hope this makes sense. The numbers at the bottom are frames on the time line.

     So I kind of start over but keep my 'blue print' of what my animation once was. I use the buffer curves (ghost curves) to guide me. I go through each curve pretty fast and double check its right and working well with the curves before it on the hierarchy. Doing this process saves more time than actually trying to fix everything while all the body parts are moving. And most of the time you don't even know that the curves you are fixing are responsible for the pops or bad timing in the first place. So that's why once you remove all the curves from sight and slide them back one by one, you easily come across the bad curves that were messing everything up. Its a bit tedious but it goes by fast. and you know once you are done, you have done everything you could have done and that leaves you feeling satisfied.


     The other situation where I use one of my tricks (well I wouldn't call it a trick, its more a piece of advice) is when I'm animating in stepped. Usually I'm pretty far along with my animation and I'm ready to start splining and making my curves smooth when I realize when that making my curves smooth is LOOSING all my timing etc. Now I'm faced with a choice: Do I continue smoothing out my stepped curves and FIGURE it out like how us good little animators were taught?? Or do i say fuck it and just keep animating in stepped?

I say Fuck it!... bad choice of words danny.. bad choice..

     BUT DANNY why would you animate like that? I don't make this decision out of laziness all the while as I am adding breakdowns I have my eye on the graph editor watching the curves FORM as breakdowns and poses are added and added. once I can see the curves develop more defined, then I will start to clean them up (all the while in stepped) Eventually my animation will be on 2's 3's and 4's here and there. This method keeps my timing and I spend more time animating than fighting with the graph editor. I never allow my graph editor to become messy and I never ignore my curves. I baby sit them the whole way still using as little controls as I can while getting the most out of them.

    These are my methods, they are not wrong, they are not right, but they allow me to finish my animation. It works for me and I encourage that if these methods do not seem to help you, you will search for a way that does. Many times I see a lot of great blocking and Ideas turn into mush and then becomes forever lost in the graph editor.


    Internship deadlines are coming fast in the spring, I wish all of you who are applying to places the best of luck and happy holidays! I guess I should mention here that I will be trying out tutoring after the new years. Not online tutoring but a real legit person to person hands on tutoring. I'll see how it goes. It might be cool it might actually be a utter complete business failure :) I'll do a post in a few days with more details about my plans for this... experiment!

GRAPH EDITOR: Off Setting 101

This post is for animation Students but hopefully it gives some insight to non-animation artists for those who are looking for it.  
__________________
Dear Curves,

Die.

-A Student
__________________
   

      I could write 100 blog posts about the graph editor (graph editor is a tool animators use to move and adjust their characters in the computer. ) but no amount of lectures will substitute raw first hand experience. You have to get frustrated and go through your OWN epiphanies. In my experience with the graph editor I have come across a few tricks/understandings. In this post I will share one of my understandings with you. I will keep it short for I find when something is over explained, it can make a simple subject very confusing.

OFFSETTING in animation:
      -When you break up the moving parts of the body to help show that there are different muscles working at different times to achieve one giant general movement. In the graph editor that just translates to: shifting your curves so that they all are not working at the same time. This is something everyone knows but its tricky to get it to look RIGHT/or ORGANICALLY in your animation for someone who is still learning.
      My tip is, even though we are taught that when things start and end at the same time is bad, TECHNICALLY under the hood (graph editor) it needs to happen at some level. If you look below you will see a very simple turn. (All we will focus on is the body and the head). When you first offset a curve it might look like the example on the lower left hand side of the page I have provided below. Most new students will leave that as is and then wonder why their animation has hitches and pops. You must remember that EVERYTHING moves on the human body at the same time, but somethings move more than others; which gives the illusion that somethings are not moving at all.

My drawings of the curves might not be accurate but its the concept I am trying to get across. 

     So do you notice how my curves will start moving at the same time? Though the curve for the head 'takes off' before the other curve for the head does. The body curve is moving at first but only very very slightly, then it slopes up to catch up to the head curve. When you make the curves harmonize and 'wait for each other' before coming back to a 'flat' stop, it will help with making your movements feel less mechanical and broken. 
   
EXTRA TIP for a head turn: Using counter animation to your advantage. If you look at the next picture, you will see a situation where you are forced to use counter animation.

       Below: Is how that curve will look in the graph editor. Notice how the 'hump' in the head curve doesn't extend the amount of frames needed but works within the frames given. in maya terms: All you need to do is set a key 3/4th of the way through the head turn and then raise it up in the graph editor.

     I can go more into why I believe these tricks work and, how should i put it.. I can talk more THEORY on the subject but I shall leave you with the solid basics and spare you the dense explanations. Try experimenting with these curves yourself. Adjust according to your needs. My drawings are not accurate to real situations but the curves are drawn only to get the point across. Take my tips and make them your own, you might discover better ways to accomplish what I'm trying to teach here. My way by far is not the right way or the only way. I do hope this helps for those that might be struggling with their fundamentals.

-Danny

WRECK IT RALPH: sketches

WRECK IT RALPH

     I hope you all have gone and seen the movie! It was a lot of fun helping create such a fun film. I thought I 'd share some sketches I did while on the film. They are just little doodles and chicken scratches on post it notes and toss away pieces of paper.

ONE of my first sketches of ralph... when I actually had time to draw

'BUT DANNY TELL US SOMETHING INTERESTING?!'
     Hmm, Well working on the film feels like you and your co-workers are on a giant boat. Everyone has their job to do and something to help out with. You learn and become close with your 'crew' bc you end up seeing them more than anyone else, even your family and loved ones. So they in some sense.. a sort of family to you as well.
     And just like a real boat there are rough times and easy times. During the harsh times, there is no sleep, everyone is hard at work, we are all stressed, and it feels like there is no end in sight. Smooth times always come early on in the making of the film. It'll ramp up and get busy until a climatic few weeks of overtime and hell... and then.. its done. Then you have to remember how to live life again and find out what were your old hobbies, and remember that people exist outside of your work life. And you have to be social! (unless you can not remember how to be social by this point)
    Watching the world react to the film through Facebook and reading the reviews in all the magazines is a pretty crazy feeling. It's kind of having a venerable sort of feeling in your gut as you read what people say about the movie. Last but not least, seeing your name in the credits.. makes a landmark checkpoint of emotion that causes me to reflect and see how far I've come and to be excited about the future. I have a lot of life to live and my road is just getting started.

      There was always something to do! It left very little time for drawing, but the sticky notes above I did while animating those characters. Drawing on post it notes is a very good way to become detached to your drawing and let loose. You find yourself drawing very fast with out being precious about each little line you do. And even though that line isn't perfect, there is some energy captured in it that no amount of fiddling and perfection would repeat.

      Animating Vanelope was very fun. I was intimidated by her a lot until I was given a few shots with her.  Vanelope has a very cartoony 2D appeal to her that we always had to be aware of. Not as much as king candy but still a decent amount.

Sometimes when I'm stuck I figure out my problems with drawings

     I spent most of my time animating in Sugar Rush as you might figure out if you look at the ratio of candy racer drawings to everything else. I also animated a lot of characters in the Game Central Station, the Felix party in the beginning of the movie and at the climax of the movie. I do have a lot more sketches but I'll save them for another post. I hope you all enjoyed the movie and make sure to watch it a second time to find all the hidden things in the back ground (hint: look at the graffiti on the walls in game central station)

Drawing 101: Training Your Eye

"There are two ways of thinking about painting, how     not to do it and how to do it; how to do it -- with much drawing and little color; how not to do it -- with much color and little drawing." 

(Letter to Theo van Gogh, April 1882)

      No matter what style you might draw/paint in, it is essential to at least know how to depict things with accurately. The foundation of being able to do so, is knowing how to judge proportions. When I judge proportions while life drawing, I try don't rely too much on my background knowledge of anatomy. I try to judge and draw with what my eye sees instead. Learn how to OBSERVE! Things I might say to myself while I draw, "Well from this angle the head is half the length or her thigh.. her right thigh is parallel to her left arm, and it looks like her head also lines up with her left arm but it obviously doesn't have the same angle as her right thigh. Therefore her head has an angle of its own I have to reflect in my drawing." etc etc... (notice how I talk about parts and not the body as a whole.. You must learn to see and draw the parts that make the 'whole'. You use the 'whole' to guide the over all direction of the smaller parts it consists of so that they exist and look as one.)  

      Looking at a model, a building, an object with this mindset/perspective is not easy. Its a very technical way of looking at your subject in order to get an accurate drawing. Thats why life drawing WITH a teacher is always more beneficial to you than drawing alone because they point out where your eye is weak in observing the subject. The teacher guides you. 

      When I was in high school we didn't have classes like I had in college. So I had to find my own way to improve and start training my eyes. The easiest way to start training your eyes to start learning how to line things up and see the PARTS of your subject instead. Using a grid is a simple example of using lines to guide your drawing. Soon with enough training you will be able to use the same technique with out any visual aids. But if you are just starting to learn how to draw, stick with a grid until you can use it to draw your pictures very accurately. 

      - To use a grid, you grab a picture and draw a grid over it. how many lines the grid has is up to you. But make sure that the grid on your drawing paper is pretty much exactly the same!

 - Then start section by section. Look at the parts that make the whole and draw the shapes they make and not the subject. Look for negative and positive shapes (if you do not know what I mean USE GOOGLE.. you have all of mankind's knowledge at your fingertips. start tapping into it by googling something for yourself. you'll be glad you did.)

Here, the Helen South (awesome tutorial instructor) started to cover parts of the picture so that they could focus on a section of the drawing. 

Remember I mentioned something about positive and negative shapes? on the right hand side: the negative shape is shaded in. You can think of a negative shape as: the space that your subject does not occupy. Notice where the edge of the jug crosses the grid line (is that half way? 1/3? 1/4th?? ) and make sure that your drawing does the same.

      When I was younger I would love to use the grid to draw some of my favorite characters and pictures. Always keep in mind: copying is not the goal! Training your eye is! As soon as you are good at using the grid to replicate drawings, then its time to move on to other techniques such as life drawing and depicting things that are in front of you. To many people get comfortable  and content with themselves in being able to copy very realistically. but when you ask them to draw a face from real life.. they are unable to. This is because copying only deals with LINES not FORM. One must learn to draw things with volume and form. You can not learn this from just copying flat pictures. This is why its important to move on and to not become content with being able to just copy. Your imagination dies when you get stuck copying. 

      I drew this in high-school using a grid on a 3in X 6in magazine photo. 

   This is the first post of a 3. Next will be a little more about whats the next step to do to develop your eye. I hope this post helped out any readers who need the help! And for those who are just curious, I hope it gave you insight into a perspective you might not be familiar with. Happy drawing. 

Thanks for reading,  -Danny