AnimSchool Instructor, Mike Mattesi, shows how to draw an appealing pose by using the force of straight to curved lines.
AnimSchool offers Mike Mattesi’s drawing class to all students signed up for current terms. This term Mike is focusing on Force in Anatomy.
Today we would like to welcome Aju Mohan. First of all, congratulations on your September win for the 11 Second Club. Well done! Can you tell us a little about yourself and your animation background?
Thanks a lot for having me here. I’m basically a Mechanical Engineer. By the last semester of my degree, I got introduced to a guy who was working as an animator. I got to see some of his work and it blew me away!!
From that instance onwards, I knew that I wanted to be an animator. After finishing my degree course, I went straight to an Animation academy and enrolled myself.
When all my engineering friends were getting jobs and earning tons of money, I was drawing and animating my heart out. But I have to say, It was the best decision of my life!
11 second club entry, audition!! 🙂 from ajumohan on Vimeo.
Out of all the rigs out there, tell us why you chose AnimSchool’s modified Malcolm female rig for your animation, “Audition”?
It had been a while since I’ve animated anything at home, due to tight production schedule, so I wanted to try something out. I was hearing a lot about the Malcolm Rig from my colleagues and friends, and I thought I’d give it a try. I was blown away by its flexibility, and I knew instantly, that Malcolm was the one for my shot!
Were there any challenges or difficulties you faced when using the rig, and if so, how did you overcome them?
Absolutely none. I used the Malcolm Rig before too (for my August entry). My only regret is I have not utilized its potential fully cause of lack of time!
You had many dramatic expression changes in your animation. Did the rig meet your expectations to push those expressions and get what you were looking for?
Yes, the Malcolm rig is fantastic for facial expressions, actually now when I look at my shot again, I think I could have pushed the expressions a bit more. But no worries.
In Part 2 of Aju’s interview, he discusses his planning process and how he created the unique look.
JP Sans reviews AnimSchool student Jorge Feres’s character walk from his Animating Characters class.
Here JP goes over fundamentals and how to push poses to help create contrast in a shot.
AnimSchool offers General Reviews for 3D modeling, rigging and animation students every week for those who can’t
attend their normal class review, or for those who would like an extra
critique.
AnimSchool would like to introduce, Animation Program student, Ala’a Hanish. Can you tell us a little about your background? What brought you to AnimSchool?
Well, before animating I was programming. During my second year at a university I took a Computer Graphics class, I remembered the first lecture when the professor showed us examples of CG! My feeling at that moment was as if you take a child trip into space for the first time! Then the professor played a trailer that I hadn’t seen before, Disney’s Dinosaur, and told us that all the animation was done on a computer, this is how my dream was born.
I started learning animation by myself by reading a lot of books, watching hundreds of animated movies and practicing everyday. I downloaded free rigs from the internet and started animating. I was always looking for appealing characters with great instructors living under same roof, a place where I could fall in love with the characters that I’m animating and an instructor who would guide me through it all! I found all this at AnimSchool.
What inspired you to get into animation? What do you enjoy about animating the most?
The idea of bringing a character to life. I remembered when I animated a character for the first time and saw it on my screen, I screamed out: He’s alive, He’s alive! You don’t know how beautiful that feeling is, unless you’re an animator. I always try to build a relationship between me and the character to become real or “alive,” not just a file or pen on paper anymore.
What are you thinking about when choosing dialogue for you animation test?
I’m Always looking for challenging and deep dialogues, something different than my personality. I try to live the dialogue. I love the silent moments in the dialogue where the character is listening to somebody or thinking of something; in my opining these areas are where the animator shows his capabilities as an actor.
So far you’ve done 2 tests with AnimSchool’s female character Marnie, How did you make each character feel so different from one another in your tests?
Before I start animating, I always put myself in the place of my character and get inside their head as much as I can. I believe knowing your character well, will help you cross half of your animation. Even if I have 5 or 10 seconds of dialogue, I always try to come up with a story staring my character. This always leads me to knowing my character very well. I think this is the best thing that I learned at AnimSchool. Also, the critiques that my instructor gave to me about the character itself, not about animation or Maya, not at all, it’s about performance.
How has your experience been at AnimSchool? What is your favorite thing you’ve learned?
Wow, that’s a hard question, my experience at AnimSchool has been amazing, learning from the top animators of the industry. This in itself is a great opportunity. I mean, one term left for me, and until now, I cannot believe that the Instructors who teach me are the same animators who animate my favorite movies. And once the term is done it’s not over, the instructors continue to see your work and give you feedback. They always push you to the next level. What’s the best thing I’ve learned from AnimSchool? Well, believe in myself and feel confident.
What advice would you give other students that are just starting out?
Practice, Practice and Practice, don’t be afraid of changing your whole animation. Take advice from everyone, and learn quickly how to take it well and make it your own. One more thing that I find very helpful during critique time, is to look at your classmates’ critiques carefully, not only yours because maybe the instructor gives them some feedback that could help you to improve your next animation.
In AnimSchool’s Advanced Rigging class, Instructor and Blue Sky Character TD, Chris Pagoria, shows how to easily transfer facial blend shapes after changing your characters mesh.
Welcome Jackie, can you tell us a little about your background and how you got into animation?
I went to school originally for Graphic Design in my home town of Vancouver, Canada. Upon graduating 4 years later, I entered a New Media and Technology 6 month program which was my first step into animation. I remember them showing us Jurassic Park to explain what animators could do. I was hooked. I completed the program and then took classical animation night classes for a year. At this point, I knew I needed to animate something new for a demo reel. So, I quit my non-animation job, gave notice on my apartment, put all my furniture in storage and moved into my sisters basement for 3 months to animate something for a demo reel. While not fabulous by today’s standards, that animation was enough to get me my first job! I was hired by Mainframe Entertainment in 2000. Mainframe began the first 6 years of my animator career where I worked in TV and Direct to DVD movies. I left Mainframe to do the “crunch jump.” Working on 3 different feature film crunches in a row which were ‘Happily N’ever After,’ ‘Night at the Museum’ and Blue Sky’s ‘Ice Age – The Meltdown.’ My temp job on ‘Meltdown’ eventually turned into a permanent offer, and I’ve been at Blue Sky ever since!
What is your favorite type of character to animate, and why? Do you have a favorite type of scene to animate?
I can’t say I have any one particular favorite character. My interests seem to change from film to film. Today, my favorite characters to animate are humans. I’ve worked on a lot of animal shows and its interesting to try something new. I’m enjoying searching for natural gestures and emotive body language and expressions.
My favorite scene to animate is emotional acting shots. The more I can feel and relate to the scene, the more I enjoy it.
On Rio you were the lead on Marcel. What were some of your thoughts when coming up with appealing poses for the villain?
I started my research & development on Marcel with Brazil. Marcel is from the Favelas, which are the shanty towns of Rio de Janeiro. I spent a lot of time hunting for information on the Favelas such as articles, documentaries and images. Once I had a grasp of where he came from, I started to think about who he was, how he carried himself, and what his background was. The best resource turned out to be the movie ‘City of God‘ and the ruthless gangster boss ManĂ© played by Seu Jorge. ManĂ© was a huge inspiration for Marcel. The way he carried himself, where his center of gravity was, how he held his head high so he could look down at others always with a relaxed but “tough guy” stance. ManĂ© was a dark character with one of those unpredictable dangerous smiles. Great stuff!
What was the most challenging character you’ve animated? What made this character so challenging?
The most challenging character I’ve animated was Horton from ‘Horton Hear’s a Who’. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well because I was still pretty new to Blue Sky (which was stacked with talented animators!) and was still in the first year or so of my feature film career. Horton was a beloved childhood character of mine, he was also very expressive and cartoony in the story boards and he had really juicy dialogue from Jim Carey. ‘Horton’ was both challenging and exciting at the same time.
There are many steps in animating, from planning/video reference to splining, what is your favorite step when doing a shot? Why? Do you have a least favorite?
My favorite step when working on a shot is the polish at the end. At this point, the idea is approved, the execution is there, now it’s just hunting for cool details to add to and plus the shot. My least favorite step of a shot is the first day or two of splining. Those couple days where I’m cleaning curves, poses and timing.
Out of all the films you’ve been a part of, what film have you had the most fun working on, and why?
I had a great time on our most recent film ‘Ice Age – Continental Drift’. I was the Lead on Shira, Diego’s rival and love interest. Jennifer Lopez did a great job on the read, and Shira’s sassy and strong personality was a lot of fun to animate.
Lastly, Do you have any advice for student animators?
Perseverance. That’s what I think students need most of all to succeed. Animation is a very complex theory to grasp, and the software is equally challenging when you are first starting out. Accept that you will spend hours and hours at this before you start to grasp it all. Keep at it, keep pushing yourself. The second most important thing is to learn how to take constructive criticism for what it is… constructive! This goes for school and work. Animators get daily critiques from Directors, Supervisors and/or Leads, the sooner an animation student gets used to critiques, the better.
We’d like to thank Jackie for taking the time to interview with AnimSchool. Check out her reel on Vimeo:
AnimSchool Instructor and DreamWorks Animator, Tyler Phillips, breaks down the mechanics of a realistic eye blink for students in his Facial Performance class.
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AnimSchool’s founder, Dave Gallagher, gives great modeling tips while demonstrating how to achieve character appeal, when reviewing Gustavo Forster’s 3D model.
AnimSchool has these General Reviews for animation, modeling and rigging students every week for those who would like an extra critique outside of class.
Come join the over 150 students at AnimSchool http://www.animschool.com/
AnimSchool would like to introduce Jim Donnelly. Jim, can you tell us a little about your background and what 3D experience you had before entering AnimSchool’s 3D Character Program?
I come from a traditional film background. I started off working as a camera loader and later as a camera operator for music videos and TV. As a lover of visual storytelling, I’ve always been intrigued by the power of 3D animation, but was a bit intimidated by it. I thought that working in CG required a degree in computer science. It wasn’t until I played around with a friend’s copy of 3ds Max that I realized I could actually make 3D art. My first piece was a cube and I’m still proud of it. From there, I was completely hooked. I tried to teach myself as much as I could about 3D modeling before eventually taking some classes in Maya at the Rhode Island School of Design.
What peaked your interest in becoming a 3D Rigger? What do you enjoy about rigging?
My interest in Rigging came as a result of wanting to do more with the models I created. I absolutely love the modeling process, but once I’ve completed a character, I find myself wanting the ability to play with it a bit; try new poses, facial expressions, etc. Learning how to create and install the controls that would make this possible was the next logical step for me. As it turns out, I enjoy it a lot more than I thought I would. It’s a part of the pipeline that has its own unique set of challenges and utilizes several different skills. For me, it’s the perfect mix of visual art and technical problem solving. It also rewards my need to stay organized!
What artists inspire you?
Oh wow, there are so many artists that inspire me. Like many interested in 3D animation, I’ve been inspired by Glen Keane, John Lasseter, and Brad Bird. Their ability to push boundaries and further the medium has been nothing short of amazing. I’m also astounded by the work of fairly recent digital sculptors like Laurent Pierlot, Alessandro Baldasseroni and Rafael Grassetti. Their attention to detail is just incredible. But, I also have to mention that AnimSchool’s own Marty Havran actually played a role in kick starting my fascination with 3D. I was just starting to study cinematography when I saw the film ‘Contact’ in the theater. There were a couple of shots in that movie that just did an amazing job of playing with perspective and seamlessly blended cg with practical elements. I remember buying the issue of American Cinematographer with ‘Contact’ in it so I could read how they pulled those shots off. It totally blew my mind when I saw Marty’s reel and learned that he worked on one of the very shots that I was obsessed with. What a crazy coincidence!
Looking back at past 3D films, is there a character that you would have loved to model or rig? Why? What do you like about the design/character?
I would have loved to model and rig Scrat from the Ice Age films. I just find that character’s design to be so appealing. So much is communicated without even speaking. It’s hard not to smile when he first appears on screen. And I think the challenge of designing a rig for a such a dynamic character whose body is subjected to nearly every force of nature would be a lot of fun too. The poor guy is such a glutton for punishment.
Now that you’ve had a couple rigging classes at AnimSchool, when you watch a 3D film do you see it differently? How?
Absolutely. I’m so impressed by the amount of thought and effort that goes into creating a feature rig. Before taking these classes, I hadn’t truly considered the amount of design challenges you’d encounter when trying to accommodate all of a character’s particular animation needs. Rigging not only requires a firm grasp of anatomy and body mechanics, but you have to understand the technical hurdles within the software as well. I have a much greater appreciation for all of the hard work that goes into these films.
After having the rigging classes has your thought process behind 3D modeling changed?
Yes, totally. I think I’m much more economical with my modeling now. In the early stages, I try to focus on conveying as much detail as I can without the weight of unnecessary geometry. After having rigged a character, I can now fully appreciate the importance of proper edge flow and knowing where to strategically place resolution for clean deformations. I think it’s great that we’re exposed to different areas of the pipeline so that we can directly see how our work impacts others down the chain.
How has your experience been at AnimSchool?
My experience at AnimSchool has been phenomenal. Learning directly from the people who have helped create some of my favorite animated films is a truly rewarding experience. Just the breadth of practical knowledge being taught by our instructors, who are dealing with real-world production challenges day in and day out, has been priceless. The classes are so well-structured and thorough that no questions are left unanswered. There’s a strong sense of community at AnimSchool as well. Fellow students are very encouraging and supportive. And, because the classes are live, I feel close and connected to people who are on the other side of the globe. It’s pretty cool. I’ve had the desire to work in this field for quite some time, and through AnimSchool, I’m finally starting to feel the confidence I need to reach that goal.
