Animator Doodles

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    Well Big Hero 6 came and went and it was definitely an adventure, That would make it.. my 3rd Disney film under my belt. Now I'm working on Disney's ZOOTOPIA which is looking very promising. And as if I already didn't have enough on my plate I'm also teaching at CalArts 2D animation which is a lot of fun.

         I though I'd make a post and show you a window into my day to day life. It's not a crazy insight unless you are really fascinated with an animator's day to day doodles and the humor I have developed on my Snapchat. Enjoy the pictures and always keep in mind, every situation have entertainment value!

 

 

 

 

 

Things animators say at Disney

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Animators are always talking: we trade tips, talk art, make each other laugh.
We're family behind the scenes

   

  I think the best kind of advice and life lessons come candidly. Sometimes the things people say when the mic isn't on, get right to the point and is more truthful than any prepared speech can ever be. These quotes below are some I found on the internet. If you are looking for more: Andreas Deja has tons of quotes on his sight and so do a whole bunch of other blogs. So this is a short list of some things the 9 old men use to say. (who were the 9 old men? -They set the bar and raised animation's status in art. They were Master Animators that worked at Disney a long time ago.) I have to remind myself that not everyone knows who these guys are! If you're an animator and you say, who's Ollie? You might get stoned. haha

     Seeing this list makes me think of all the things animators say today here in the studio about computer animation and the films we work on now. I mean I'm not sure how much substance our quotes might have, we can be a bit silly when we talk to each other in our offices... like really, really off topic, nsfw, 2 oclock in-the-morning-rants-about-nothing silly! But I think I will start to write things down when someone says something of note. Who knows, maybe you guys might want to know what we talked about behind the scenes 20 years from now! 

This quote is a fundamental step when starting to animate a character. Every movement, decision, and pose MUST have a purpose in our animation. This keeps a performance believable and natural. 

1970 book, "Composing pictures" is a book that gets as close as ever to the teaching style of Don Graham

Poses Matter = Appeal

When you observe life, you are mentally building a library of reference in your mind that soon will become second nature in your animation. 

subtext > action

Lol

We all know artist from different studios, and we all respect each other's films, but sometimes you just have to call it what it is. Even if it's not politically a great choice, speaking your mind with your friends is a way to observe, criticize and ask yourselves, "How would I do it better? What is it that is missing from their film/work so that we can add that x factor to our films?"

GOLD

       I hope this list was a unique insight or at least entertaining. You underestimate how much you learn by talking to your friends and colleagues. You can't learn everything by studying animation. sometimes you must dig and hear what the artist is thinking to understand how they reached their final product.

BIG HERO 6 and CalArts

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Maybe a blog post can help me procrastinate from doing my syllabus :) 

   
  I haven't been posting because so much has been going on. I've been preparing for my trip to Costa Rica which I leave for in 2 days!! Also I just completed animation on Disney's current film BIG HERO 6 and that comes out in theaters NOVEMBER 7th! 

    I can't wait for everyone to see all the hard work that has gone into it. People are going to fall in love with Baymax just like how many did with Olaf. Maybe theres something to be said about them both being similar white talking marshmallows... hmm

_______________________________________________________________

   

     Some more big news is that I start teaching at CalArts in September! 

      I am teaching 2nd year 2D animation and to be honest I'm pretty damn excited. I had never been to CalArts before my interview and don't know much about it. I do know that Walt Disney created and founded the school in the early 1960's. I am surprised and happy to say that quite a few other Disney Animators are teaching at CalArts as well. You might recognize a few:

-Eric Goldberg who has worked on many memorable characters, including the Genie from Aladdin, is teaching 4th year students.

-Dale Baer is another amazing 2D Disney Artist will also be there.

-Jorge Ruiz and Wayne Unten are teaching 3D first year!

-Jen hager who is supervising on Disney's next film Zootopia is teaching 3rd year students.

     Many more amazing teachers work there but these are the ones from the Disney Animation Department. You can expect a few updates about my teaching experience at CalArts as the year goes on :D I remember being in college since it wasn't too long ago that I was in college myself. Maybe thats a bad thing or maybe thats a good thing I don't know. But whatever I bring to the table, I can guarantee its not going to be like the rest.

Why a bouncing ball?

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    I found this wonderful post on Cartoon Brew-ED that I feel all animators need to see. It illustrates how all 12 principles of animation are used in animation. If you are a student and you're thinking, "why am I learning how to do a bouncing ball?? WHY!?" This hopefully answers your question. If you can animate a flour-sack well, you can animate anything. The only thing standing in your way are probably technical skills such as drawing.

     

Post by Cartoon Brew-ED.

How To Improve Your Creativity 101

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It's been a while. I wont make a big deal about this being my first post in almost half a year, obviously my clavicle is healed so lets just get right back to business :)

Staying creative is one of many things an artist must do to be successful

      It takes a lot of motivation and drive to continue making art. You will read MANY things that insist that they are the key to retaining your momentum and increase your drive. They are all a little bit true and a bunch of bull at the same time. Every person is different and will have different ways to get motivated. For example some people like it rough with the stress of deadlines while others enjoy a slower, thought out pace. It makes sense to me that what might motivate one person will not motivate another. 

      Today I read something that I felt spoke directly to me and gave me tons of energy inspiration. I read 4 tips about creativity by the creator of a comic strip called "Calvin & Hobbes" (Bill Watterson) I'll share them with you:

1) You have to lose yourself in your work
     Make your art and your thought process should be one. Inject your opinions and how you see the world into your work and let it inspire your imagination back. 
(I'm always thinking about my animation and even during stressful times, dream about it! This small tip I can relate to a lot)

2) Create for yourself

     Once in a while forget that you have an audience and just do what you like. Aim to make yourself laugh or a close family member. 

(I especially like this note because when you enjoy the work you are doing, you don't mind working hard and putting a 110% into your art)

3) Make it beautiful
     I'm going to quote the exact words bc it hits it right on the nose: "My advice has always been to draw cartoons for the love of it, and concentrate on the quality and be true to yourself. also try to remember that people have better things to do than read your work. so for heaven's sake, try to entice them with some beauty and fun."
(always do your best!)

4) Every medium has it's power
     Whether its the power for a few seconds strung over 10 years or a national anthem being sung at the World Cup Finals, video games, or crafts... Every Medium has a way to connect to people that is unique.

The internet never stops being creative

         These four tips have helped me out, I hope sooner rather than later you also find what you need to stay pumped about your work

MOMENTUM 101

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Momentum! aka INERTIA

      Always remember my advice and views are just one possibility. Chocolate might not be the best ingredient for every cake... This post is less of a lecture but more of a bunch of tips put together that have helped me out over the years. 

     When animating things move you must establish a force. Ask yourself: what is making this object/body-part move? Can you 'see' that visually?
For example: if you are observing a body is walking across the screen you could ask yourself: what is making it move? You answer: The legs. Can you see it? Are the legs moving the body realistically?.....

     Believable Animation always dies when things move for just the hell of it. When your object moves realistically, the viewer then has the freedom to observe the story/character instead of wasting time figuring out why the animation looks so weird.

small ball vs. BIG BALL
     Heavy objects take longer to accelerate and decelerate but they can move just as fast as anything else. (the ease in and ease out will just take more frames!)
      Now for CG animators we have to translate this knowledge into the all mighty graph editor (DUN Dun dun) That might sound like a scary task so I made a cheat sheet for you. Some teachers might just say, go explore the graph editor and figure it out for yourself. Why waste your time when i have the answers right here. Leonardo Davinci would have his students copy to learn! And they all ended up as great accomplished painters in their time.
      Below check out how the small ball has short ease in and ease outs. Smaller things usually have less mass which equals less momentum when it's moving around. Heavy objects will have longer ease in ease outs.

On the left is the graph editor for the small ball and the right side has the graph editor for the heavy ball. 

MORE TIPS
-Make sure anything pulling something heavy has a 'straight' line in it
-In a walk cycle: heavy spends more time at the bottom

The Balloon Exercise 
-will challenge you to: animate something light with little momentum, perfect your bouncing ball skills by forcing you to animate the same pattern upside down. Animate a ballon bouncing across the ceiling!

Remember this is just like a bouncing ball but upside down. 

Shapes
         When looking at your animation you should be able to pause it and still see what direction the momentum is going in the object that is moving. Moving your characters and objects around isn't the whole story. You must construct appealing shapes that communicate where the momentum is going. The silhouette can say so much about what direction your object is going.

You should always tell where the mass is at in soft objects. 

-Just in case I didn't make it clear enough, here are the definitions of the concepts I am typing about.

MOMENTUM from wikipedia
In classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum (pl. momenta; SI unit kg m/s, or equivalently, N s) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. For example, a heavy truck moving fast has a large momentum—it takes a large and prolonged force to get the truck up to this speed, and it takes a large and prolonged force to bring it to a stop afterwards. If the truck were lighter, or moving more slowly, then it would have less momentum.

Issac Newton on INERTIA
"The vis insita, or innate force of matter, is a power of resisting by which every body, as much as in it lies, endeavors to preserve its present state, whether it be of rest or of moving uniformly forward in a straight line."