AnimSchool Blog

We’d like to reintroduce AnimSchool Graduate Mark Tan!

      

Blue Sky Studios is my first animated feature studio experience.  I have previously

worked on television shows and video games, but never at a place that housed so many 

animators.  There are currently over a hundred artists in the animation department creating performances that are seen by millions of people. 

Animating here is both extremely challenging and rewarding.  Peanuts had a 2 week program (Van Pelt University) that involved being immersed in the unique style. The training program was followed by a test which involved creating a shot with Charlie Brown.  After the test was approved, we were moved into production.  I tried to put as much effort and time as possible to every shot I was given, regardless of the length or character.  Most the work I was assigned involved marketing promotional shots or background character animation in the movie.  I did get a small Snoopy/Woodstock shot and Red Haired girl shot, which I am very grateful for.  Currently we are crunching on Ice Age 5.  I have never animated quadrupeds professionally, so getting thrown into a show with 10+ main characters who are all creatures is forcing me to adapt and learn.  My skills have grown significantly since I first stepped foot in Blue Sky.

What’s your typical day at blue sky like?

      
A typical day at Blue Sky can involve different things.  Before starting you attend a kick off, which usually involves the directors showing you the layout or storyboard sequence and telling you what they want.  


 After getting kicked off, I plan either with reference or sketches and move into blocking my shots.  When the shot is blocked out (enough to get the feeling and point across), I show my lead, address the notes, then show the supervisors, and address their notes as well.  After it looks good to them, then you send off your shot to sweatbox, which is where the directors look at your shot again. 


 This process continues in a cycle until your shot is approved.  Sometimes I could get a shot with a lot of characters and the task gets split to two or three animators.  We communicate and try to keep each other up to date on our progress as we all  move through the process. 

Well. You can photoshop a lot of your mistakes. That’s a plus.

But, the lack of movement makes the poses extra stiff looking. It’s very hard to get nice lines.

And, the fact that your readers can literally stare at a single frame for HOURS to spot every mistake is never fun.

But. You can tell a story MUCH quicker (and cheaper) than you would be able to in animation. So there’s that.

How long did it take you to get from your lowest professional point to where you are now?

I started professionally my junior year in college (Academy of Art in San Francisco) at Sega of America. That was 1990.

I don’t want to do the math. It would make me cry all over my keyboard.

You took a very unique path to get to where you are today. Could you identify the major stepping stones for you, and how you got to each one?

I started off wanting to draw comics in High School.

I went to Art school and learned Illustration.

My junior year of art school, I got an internship to learn animation for Sega games.

A few years later, my wife and I moved to Los Angeles to work for a comic company (Malibu Comics) where I did both games and comic book covers (Star Trek and Mortal Kombat).

A few years later, I got a chance to work on my first feature film (Casper: A spirited beginning) which got me doing character animation for film. (I was the lead animator for the uncle Stretch.)

This turned into a lot of work doing tv animation for Saban (Power Rangers, Digimon, Nascar Racers, etc).

All the while, I wanted to do the Spider-Man comic I’d dreamed of since I was a kid.

Then, Marv Wolfman introduced me to the concept of merging the two mediums (animation and comics) and I got my dream job.

From there… I did several years of comics. Mostly for my, then newborn, twin boys.

Suddenly, Hollywood studios were optioning (when they pay you a small amount of money to take a property off the market while they develop a film) my books.

After many years of nothing ever getting made… I decided I’d do it myself.

And here I am. Making my first animated film… Animal Crackers.

How did you get the inspiration and courage, as well as the funds, to turn your Animal Crackers and Pet Robots comic books into full-length feature animated films?

Inspiration was my kids. My twin boys. They were maybe 7 or 8 at the time. I write all my books for them.

The funds was tough. REALLY tough.

The way we got the funds was to put together an animated short to show the investors what the movie would look like. That’s what sold it. Showing them.

What is the most exciting part of producing an animated film from your own home?

I think the fact that I’m doing it from my own home. I love not having to deal with traffic or… well… just people in general.

🙂

I love being able to paint while talking on the phone. Or skyping in my PJs.

What advice do you have for other people who dream of doing something very similar?

Learn and adapt.

I’m an introverted artist. I do not have the personality or tools to do this. So I had to study Hollywood producers. I had to pick up the mannerisms. I had to become a person completely alien to me.

It’s uncomfortable and scary (Xanax helps).

But it was this… or lose my house. So I did it.

As an artist. You can see the end result clearly. But no one else can.

You have to show them. You can’t say “trust me… it’s gonna be great’.

Show them. That sells it.

People have no vision. They lack any imagination.

It’s pretty pathetic, really.

As a creative person and also a business person, how do you define success? For example, is it in the satisfaction with a completed project, from income generated, or something else?

I find success daily. Finishing an email. A painting. Getting the kids to bed without a crying fit.

Every day has little successes.

These build up to bigger ones.

Finishing the movie is the culmination of many years of little successes.

I’ve been working on painting the movie poster for 7 weeks now. Each day… I have a little success. Finishing a chimpanzee. Or just a hand or paw. But it’s a goal I set and accomplish for that day.

One day soon. It’ll be done.

Same for the movie… or pretty much anything we do.

The BIG stuff is always too big to just look at the end result and work towards it alone. You have to chop it up into manageable successes. Bite size.

As for the money? Nah. Artists don’t do it for the money.

We’re just happy to be able to pay the mortgage and feed the kids.

This doesn’t mean I’m not going to get paid well. Eventually. But it’s never the motivator.

As artists… we have to both be willing to sacrifice for our art… while also fighting for our right to be paid for it.

Everyone tries to take advantage of you. It’s just how the industry is.

You have done a lot of work (and a lot of different kinds of work!) in the 3D world. Over the years, did you ever make a major mistake that you learned an important lesson from?

Daily. It’s how you learn.

I don’t recall any one particular BIG mistake. Like my successes… I like to do mistakes daily. In bite size.

Hopefully they don’t add up to one BIG mistake one day. But art is trial and error. It’s exploring the paths less taken.

That’s the fun of it.

Do you have a specific philosophy or approach that you take to creativity and learning?

As above… I have found trial and error, little bites of success, and learn and adapt to be good ones I’ve followed.

My art and my profession have changed so many times throughout my career. From illustrator to video game animator to game designer to character animator for feature films to comic book artist to graphic novel author to movie producer/director/writer.

I’ve gone from exclusively using prismacolors to watercolors and now gouache to paint.

I once had a head full of hair. Now? Totally bald.

Life is change.

Don’t get hung up on one style. One profession.

Explore. Learn. Become more than the person you were yesterday.

Always try to improve yourself… while still being happy with the person you are.

I think that’s the toughest thing. Striving to be better… while still being happy of who you are and who you were.

Knowing that you did your best with what you had in front of you that day… and being content in that is good. Knowing that you can do better tomorrow is great too.

Hope that helps.

Scott

For more information about Animal Crackers and the team that’s behind it,
please visit http://bluedreamstudiosspain.com/

In this clip from Game animation program, Animschool’s instructor John Paul Rhinemiller talks about off sets and bringing personality in a game character even during loops.

For more useful tips like this one, please come and join us at www.animschool.com

     Sure! I grew up in southern California and always had a passion for cartoons and animation. I stayed close to home and attended a film school, hoping to study animation there. When I first started at the university, I was actually planning on being a 2D animator! I didn’t know anything about 3D, but that quickly changed. I took some basic Maya classes at my university and really fell in love with CG animation.

     Coming into AnimSchool, I had a decent understanding of Maya and modeling, but nothing too advanced. I had never even used Zbrush before! Which I always laugh about cause I can’t imagine not using Zbrush now.

     Yes! It was actually thanks to AnimSchool that I realized what I really wanted to do. I originally entered the character program with the intent of focusing on character rigging. I had always enjoyed both character modeling and rigging, but had somehow gotten it into my head that it was much more difficult to get a job in modeling and that I couldn’t do it. Since I also enjoyed rigging, I decided to focus on that more instead. But after taking the intermediate modeling class at AnimSchool, I had so much fun making my model, and got such positive feedback, I realized I could succeed at modeling if I actually gave myself a chance!

     Well like I said in the last answer, I originally intended to be a character rigger. I don’t think rigging was ever my passion, but I was trying to force myself to do it anyway. So I definitely started feeling overwhelmed in the rigging classes. The interest wasn’t there and nothing was making sense to me after a certain point. I really wasn’t enjoying myself and I did feel like I just wanted to give up. So I did! I know that’s not the positive, never-give-up response people want to hear, but that’s what I decided to do! And I think it was for the best. I knew even after I finished the rigging classes, it wasn’t going to be something I pursued, so I saved myself some stress and gave up on the rigging classes. It gave me more time to focus on modeling, the thing that was my passion, and I was happier that way!

     Apart from actual modeling techniques, I think the thing that stuck with me the most is that you really have to put the time in! As with all art forms, no one gets better overnight. And you can’t always finish your homework assignments with just one all nighter either!

We can see from your beautiful 3D models that you’ve grown a lot since starting Animschool. How do you think you’ve improved as a modeler?

     I think I’ve improved in a lot of ways. I learned so much during my time at AnimSchool. First of all, as I mentioned earlier, I actually learned to use Zbrush for my models now! That alone has helped improve my models immensely. Also thanks to the modeling classes at AnimSchool, I learned a lot about appeal, which is arguably the most important thing for characters. I still have a lot to improve on, but AnimSchool helped me get up and going in the right direction!

     My advanced modeling teacher, Dylan Ekren, is always inspiring! His models are gorgeous and I was very lucky to have him as a teacher. There are so many other modelers that inspire me, but I can’t remember the names of them all now. I really enjoy the work of Michael Defeo, Matt Thorup, Chad Stubblefield, and Brandon Lawless to name a few!

     Not too much yet! After graduation I was mostly working on polishing up my reel and portfolio to start looking for jobs. Luckily a job found me! I started working at Ready at Dawn Studios at the beginning of this year, and that’s been keeping me pretty busy for the time being. 

     But I do have a personal project I want to work on! I’ve been talking about making a short film with some of the friends I made at AnimSchool for a while now. So maybe keep an eye out for that in the future! 😉

     Hmm. I’m not sure to be honest! Originally my goal was always to work in feature animation. Right now I work in games, which is something I wasn’t expecting, but I’m having a lot of fun doing! For my ultimate goal…I think I’d really like to work in television animation, but I know CG TV shows aren’t quite up to par. I’d like to get them there! I’d love to see more engaging and better quality animated CG shows.

Modeling Reel Summer 2015 from Katelyn Roland on Vimeo.

In this clip from AnimSchool’s Advanced Rigging class, instructor Nico Sanghrajka shows us that it is just as important to study facial expressions for rigging as it is for animation.