Following on from a post I wrote earlier this month, I found this tutorial that Alex Grigg made to explain the process of animating on Photoshop, with the different techniques he uses.
Photoshop Animation Techniques (Redux, Creative Cloud) from Alex Grigg on Vimeo.
Some of the points he made I already use in my own work, but as he said himself this tutorial isn't for new Photoshop users.
However he has some good tips on using video layers and how to speed up the animating process in Photoshop!
I will use what I've learnt here to improve upon my own work in the future!
Wednesday 31 December 2014
Sunday 21 December 2014
The Art Of Tangled
In the form of an early Christmas present I received one of the best books I have ever owned... The Art Of Tangled! This is one of my favourite films, and now I can read further into how it was made, and how they developed the elements that make this animation great.
I found the development of Flynn Ryder's character particularly interesting, since originally he looked very different until the makers held a survey among women to see what they find attractive. It's small changes like this that make me realise how different the film could have been, and make me appreciate the final product a lot more.
Along with gorgeous artwork from sketchers such as Glen Keane, this is a book that I feel I will take inspiration from time and time again as I develop as an artist.
I found the development of Flynn Ryder's character particularly interesting, since originally he looked very different until the makers held a survey among women to see what they find attractive. It's small changes like this that make me realise how different the film could have been, and make me appreciate the final product a lot more.
Along with gorgeous artwork from sketchers such as Glen Keane, this is a book that I feel I will take inspiration from time and time again as I develop as an artist.
Thursday 4 December 2014
BAF 2014 - Boxtrolls Behind the Scenes
My favourite event at BAF this year has got to be the behind the scenes talk about the recent success: Boxtrolls!
Mark Shapiro talked us through the process Laika go through to create a stop motion film; from 4 years of concept art to 2 and a half years of production, plus using 3D printers and machine-controlled puppets to make the characters, hand-making and animating every single prop (including the clocks!), using a countless number of different materials to create the right textures on each character, prop and background in between the concept and animating stages, it's safe to say they put a lot of work into each film they make.
He also spoke a lot about the marketing of the film; things are done differently in the US then they are in the UK. This is an interesting factor because I didn't realise how different the campaigns are in different countries, they had to find out what appeals to different people and create a series of posters instead of one for worldwide.
They have been a huge inspiration to me, have taught me a lot about stop motion and animating in general, and I hope to be in a successful company such as this one day!
Mark Shapiro talked us through the process Laika go through to create a stop motion film; from 4 years of concept art to 2 and a half years of production, plus using 3D printers and machine-controlled puppets to make the characters, hand-making and animating every single prop (including the clocks!), using a countless number of different materials to create the right textures on each character, prop and background in between the concept and animating stages, it's safe to say they put a lot of work into each film they make.
- All of this work takes about 20 departments per scene to perfect every detail.
- They used a mixture of practical and natural lighting - the natural lighting being in the tunnels but a lot of practical everywhere else.
- All together it takes about 10 years to make a film!
- They use Maya to build the characters faces and print them, to then move onto Dragonframe to record their stop motions - the same software that we use in college!
- It's all mechanical animation instead of claymation (they're all about the future) - their armatures are made from aluminium/steel, since other materials such as tin don't have as good stability. The largest puppet on set was 5ft tall!
- People on their team have strange backgrounds - were previously teachers, carpenters, actors, jewelery makers etc. - this gives them a different outlook on how to build sets and animate.
- All together it cost them about $85 Million to create the Boxtrolls
He also spoke a lot about the marketing of the film; things are done differently in the US then they are in the UK. This is an interesting factor because I didn't realise how different the campaigns are in different countries, they had to find out what appeals to different people and create a series of posters instead of one for worldwide.
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| US |
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| UK |
They have been a huge inspiration to me, have taught me a lot about stop motion and animating in general, and I hope to be in a successful company such as this one day!
Wednesday 3 December 2014
BAF 2014 - Aardman
The first day of BAF was one of the best in my opinion, mainly because I got the chance to attend an inspirational talk by Peter Lord from Aardman studios!
He showed the cinema behind the scenes photos of the crew, clips from episodes and films they have made as a company, and he described the process from founding the company, to where they are today.
The company is split into 5 main areas; Feature length films, TV commercials, Series for TV, Apps/games and the Rights department (who make money for all of the other areas).
An example of one of their earlier commercials was shown, which proves that Aardman can create clever concepts that are humorous:
One of the main focuses of the talk was the fact that the infamous Morph was to be revitalised as a Youtube series. For the past few months there has been a kick starter campaign to earn enough funds and an audience to welcome the character back, since Peter couldn't sell the idea to anyone.
Morph was first created in 1976, at a time when no one else was really making claymations, so the animators involved had to teach themselves how to use the technique. The two characters, Morph and Chaz, were made with terrecotta plasticine, which involves chalk in the mixture. No CG was involved in making these short films, only clay and clever tricks.
Another major asset to the company is their next feature length film which will be released 6th February 2015, developed on from their popular children's TV series - Shaun the Sheep. That brings their total to 2 CG and 4 Stop Motion animated feature length films. This and some of their other works require no dialogue, but instead brilliant sound design and actions to describe what is happening. Here's one of the trailers for the film:
He also discussed another recent blockbuster success, 'Pirates, in an adventure with scientists'. They had their biggest crew yet working on this film, with more special effects and characters then ever before.
It's so impressive that Peter Lord started out graduating with a different degree, to then just sell a simple animation to the BBC to kickstart his career and company.
He showed the cinema behind the scenes photos of the crew, clips from episodes and films they have made as a company, and he described the process from founding the company, to where they are today.
The company is split into 5 main areas; Feature length films, TV commercials, Series for TV, Apps/games and the Rights department (who make money for all of the other areas).
An example of one of their earlier commercials was shown, which proves that Aardman can create clever concepts that are humorous:
One of the main focuses of the talk was the fact that the infamous Morph was to be revitalised as a Youtube series. For the past few months there has been a kick starter campaign to earn enough funds and an audience to welcome the character back, since Peter couldn't sell the idea to anyone.
Morph was first created in 1976, at a time when no one else was really making claymations, so the animators involved had to teach themselves how to use the technique. The two characters, Morph and Chaz, were made with terrecotta plasticine, which involves chalk in the mixture. No CG was involved in making these short films, only clay and clever tricks.
Another major asset to the company is their next feature length film which will be released 6th February 2015, developed on from their popular children's TV series - Shaun the Sheep. That brings their total to 2 CG and 4 Stop Motion animated feature length films. This and some of their other works require no dialogue, but instead brilliant sound design and actions to describe what is happening. Here's one of the trailers for the film:
He also discussed another recent blockbuster success, 'Pirates, in an adventure with scientists'. They had their biggest crew yet working on this film, with more special effects and characters then ever before.
It's so impressive that Peter Lord started out graduating with a different degree, to then just sell a simple animation to the BBC to kickstart his career and company.
Phantom Limb - Alex Grigg
This beautiful animation was introduced to me by one of my classmates last year:
Phantom Limb from Alex Grigg on Vimeo.
The story has been told very well through the style and fluidity of the animation; you can tell the arm is a part of the man's imagination due to the liquid-like edges compared to the rest of the animation, but it still looks real.
The smooth change between scenes also contributes to how well the story is told, allowing it to run smoothly and pass through time efficiently.
The lack of dialogue allows the viewer to become more emotionally engrossed into the film as they are imagining what it would be like to feel how the characters do.
Alex Grigg uploaded all of his work, the development process of this piece, to a blog, and explained how he got from point A to point B:
https://medium.com/@joyybox/making-phantom-limb-1eef3f6d085f
Phantom Limb from Alex Grigg on Vimeo.
The story has been told very well through the style and fluidity of the animation; you can tell the arm is a part of the man's imagination due to the liquid-like edges compared to the rest of the animation, but it still looks real.
The smooth change between scenes also contributes to how well the story is told, allowing it to run smoothly and pass through time efficiently.
The lack of dialogue allows the viewer to become more emotionally engrossed into the film as they are imagining what it would be like to feel how the characters do.
Alex Grigg uploaded all of his work, the development process of this piece, to a blog, and explained how he got from point A to point B:
https://medium.com/@joyybox/making-phantom-limb-1eef3f6d085f
Flight of Stories - Aardman
Here's a recent film made by one of my favourite animation companies, Aardman:
Though they are primarily a stop motion/claymation company, they have proven they can animate using other techniques as well. This animation in particular was made to advertise a gallery opening last July dedicated to the First World War; which is why this has a simple yet effective concept behind it, keeping the audience engaged until the end to find out what it's about.
Though they are primarily a stop motion/claymation company, they have proven they can animate using other techniques as well. This animation in particular was made to advertise a gallery opening last July dedicated to the First World War; which is why this has a simple yet effective concept behind it, keeping the audience engaged until the end to find out what it's about.
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