Homework For Monday, Sept 17th:

Using what you have learned about character action:

A. Add context to your scene that you started on Monday! Build up the action and improve the content of your story!  We started with four panels. Can you flesh that story out?

B. Revise your homework from last week! You probably see a lot of improvements you can make to your scenes!  Review the homework post below for more information!

C. Clean up your jumping animation!  Make it a little cleaner and make it tell a more effective story!

Homework For Monday, Sept 10th and Notes from today (9/5/2018):

Using what you have learned so far, create one(1) of the following:

OPTION A:  

A 6-7 second RESEARCH project, where you try to recreate one animated character action scene from another animated work of art. This is good for people that want to try to break down the structure of another animation artist's work.

• As with before, DO NOT cut the camera.
• Have the entire character in frame when you animate the sequence.

OPTION B:

A 6-7 second FLOUR sack animation, where you animate a sack of flour moving about.  This is good for people who want to better harness their fundamentals!  Use the same approach you used for your simple 3-D object to create this animation. Give the sack a name, a simple story to tell, and try to tell that story! There are a lot of references for animating flour sacks online, as well as information on why this is one of the first "characters" animators learn how to draw. 

• As with before, DO NOT cut the camera.
• Have the entire character in frame when you animate the sequence.

Regardless of your choice, I STRONGLY suggest doing a google search for "flour sack animation" to get a myriad of examples! I also have some general notes on character animation that will help you this weekend. Think of it as an introduction to making characters that builds off of our animated sequences of simple shapes!

Bring ALL of your assignments to class to turn in on Monday!

NOTES FROM TODAY:

Production Checklist (for an animated sequence):

• 1. What is the story about? 
• make the sentence you write “active”
• If the story is good…
• 2. Is the character(s) acting in a well paced manner?
• look at your artwork as if you are your audience.
• pacing —> timing?
• too fast? less timing. (less frames)
• too slow? extend timing. (more frames)
• 3. Can we CLEARLY see the most important action taking place?
• context in the number of key drawings, breakdowns, and in-betweens (in that order)
• list your actions in your sequence. 
• check off each one that is shown clearly.
• put a star next to the ones that need more attention.
• for the drawings that need more attention: 
• determine what type of drawing you need (key, breakdown, in-betweens)
• add a select number of them. (less than ten to start.)  re-review your artwork. Go to question 2. If the answer is yes, go to 3. If good, then you’re set!
• 4. HOW does it look with respects to craftsmanship/ polish?
• Visual aesthetic: Line quality, color theory, size of line art!
• Question: Are your characters and objects held together with line, or with volume?

Introduction to Character Animation (we will talk heavily about animating characters on Monday!):

When animating a character on screen, follow these four simple rules.

1. Start with a simple mass.
• Use basic 3-D shapes to construct your character.
2. Stack your simple mass.
• Stack your shapes on top of each other to achieve accurate bends in the body and limbs.
3. Find your center of gravity!
• Draw a line down the center of your character. That line will help you bend your character in different ways.
4. Remember to move that mass!
• Animation is about movement over time. Be sure to stretch, push, and pull your characters by manipulating the mass underneath. Skin works like a sheet: If you move everything underneath, everything on the surface moves with it!

Homework for Wed September 5th:

Important Dates to Remember:

• Monday: September 10th: Bring your receipt from the business office to receive your paper and peg bar! 
• Wednesday: September 12th: Bring your light table and your animation paper to class! We will begin our WALK CYCLE PROJECT!
• I will update these dates following our labor day holiday!

Content for this class's last assignment is below:

PROJECT 2:   THE SHAPE/EMOTIONS PROJECT! (PROJECT SHAPE FEELS)

NOTE: DO NOT DRAW A FACE ON YOUR CHARACTER.  SHOW THE EMOTION THROUGH BODY LANGUAGE AND ACTING!


GOAL: Create a 6 to 10 second animation, where a primitive 3-D object (CUBE, BOX, TRIANGULAR PYRAMID, RECTANGULAR PYRAMID, TRIANGULAR PRISM ) that you have named displays a single emotion!

STORY:  *insert character name here*   feels   *insert emotion name here*. (_____ feels like _____)

The strategy: You are going to give simple inanimate objects human characteristics!  This is the most common practice for young animators, and professionals trying to get an audience to relate to a character, scenario, or prop on-screen!

• mark in the corner of your drawing if it is a Key(K), breakdown(B), or Inbetween(I)!
• create an environment for your character to act within!
• DO NOT CUT THE CAMERA IN THIS PROJECT!
• does not have to be complex, but does need to be an environment that the character is living within!
• Think about the cubes you saw on http://the12principles.tumblr.com. Those cubes are characters! They move with vigor and personality!  I want yours to do the same! Think about how you can assign an inanimate object human characters through movement! Would a cube jump up and down when it's happy? Or slump over when it's sad?
  
  
  I know this may be difficult, but I promise challenging yourself now will give you a stronger set of skills by the end of the semester! 

I will grade based on the following!

1. Craftsmanship!  (are your lines cleaned up? I suggest creating your animation first as a sketch, then making a lineart layer!
2. Timing! (Are your actions well-paced?)
3. Acting and Locomotion! (Does your character act? Can we understand the emotion(s) your character goes through?
4. Storytelling (Is your film about the SINGLE emotion you chose to be the most important one? Do we see your character acting within its environment and stage?)
5. Professionalism!  (Did you come to class with your toonboom project folder, your files, and an EXPORTED MOVIE of your film that has ALREADY been converted?)

As an additional note, please bring your updated Ball Bounce to class on next wednesday!

Lastly, If you finish your shape emotion project, and bring a developed "head turn" animation from what we started in class, you will recieve extra credit on this assignment!  Be aware that extra credit is only valid if you FINISH your Shape Emotion project first!