Wednesday June 29th 2011 Animation Seminar

[lavallelee]

The seminar starts every Wednesday at 4pm Arizona time.

We start this thread early to give members a chance to upload any video or images they want critiqued on the weekly video seminar. Throughout the week, Dave will try to incorporate as many images and video clips as possible into the live seminar.

Image and Video Rules:
1. The best format for video clips is .MOV files, preferably MPEG-4. You can upload them here.

2. Please clearly label all of your drawings in your images, example "a, b, c, d... etc" so that Don can easily refer to them.

3. Please clearly label all animation pencil tests with large drawing numbers so that Don can easily refer to them.

4. Please do no post images or videos from the current workshop as it is not fair for the other members. However you may post images or videos from workshops that have already ended.

The deadline for clips and images to be critiqued in the live seminar is 24hrs prior to the seminar date and time.

Please keep your questions concise so we have time to answer everyone. Only questions pertaining to animation technique will be addressed.

Thanks

Here is the link to watch the live Seminar.
http://donbluthanimation.com/_Don_Bl...e_seminar.html

You must be logged into your Don's Club account to see the stream.

[lavallelee]

Hey Don,

Last week you drew a forest layout, here is my attempt at that same layout. How did I do?

[OwenWelsh]

Hi Don,

I have taken your advice and tried to use more simple abstract shapes to design my character Snapdragon. I was wondering if you could critique this latest evolution and perhaps how it could be improved further. I'm trying to create designs that would be super simple to animate with little to no detail at all except simple color shapes and only spending detail on the face and mouth.

Also because I'm creating a lot of plant like characters, I am trying to get away from the "viney stem plant" look. I looked at your design for plants for a Troll and Central park, and while I like them alot, I'm trying to steer far clear from that and create something new and give the plants more animal or creature like appearances.

[OwenWelsh]

Hi Don,

Another character I'm still working on is a potato character. I took your suggestions for giving him little "eye markings," and decided to put them on his belly like buttons. I think it will help define his shape. Do you think he's looking potato-ish? His arms and legs are sprouted stems and roots. I'm not sure if you've seen a potato, but if they sit in your cupboard a while they will slowly grow sprouted roots or stems.

About the character:
He's old and cantankerous. Grouchy and stubborn. He lazy and easily irritated by too much noise. He wants to be left alone in the dirt where he can sleep.

[AJartist]

The drawings by Marc Davis below I already posted, however I'm posting them again so you can compare my drawing to his....

Do you think the swatches I used on the Dog's back take away from the focus of the drawing? The focus is the area between the Dog and the Bug. Also, whats the difference between the way Marc Davis used his swatches and the way I used them? I know he did it better then I did, but I can't exactly see how.

[OwenWelsh]

Hi Don I have a few questions about this sequence from NiMH:

http://donbluthanimation.com/videos.php?showvideo=751

1. The first thing I noticed about this sequence is that there seems to be a jump cut after Ms. Brisby trips on the string and loses the packet. I noticed that after she trips suddenly there is a new scene, with a new BG, and the string is oddly missing on pan BG. Was this because one was a pan BG and the other was just a still bg? If thats the case, why didn't you just use the pan bg? Did two different animators work on the scenes? By the way, you don't really notice the jump cut because of the frantic action, but on closer inspection it made me wonder why you did it this way.

2. The two pans that happen one after another seem to pan and rotate at the same time. Did you animate Ms. Brisby in place or did animate across the paper in order to align to the pan? The only way I can see you doing it is animating her across the paper so she lines up with the background and the camera is free to follow her. Otherwise it sounds like a headache to animate in place.

[andrew sharp]

Hello Don and Dave.
Owen invited me to do some work on some of his video game characters. this is Berry Baby, he is a happy cheerful little berry. He will be small in the video game just wondering if we could get some pointers on the animation. Right now the sileuette is blocked in and its just basic construction eyes and brows need to be added thankyou


Baby Berry 6 drawing run cycle shot on 1's
http://www.donbluthanimation.com/vid...?showvideo=753
Baby Berry 8 drawing spin cycle shot on 1's
http://www.donbluthanimation.com/vid...?showvideo=754
Baby Berry 6 drawing hop cycle shot on 1's
http://www.donbluthanimation.com/vid...?showvideo=752

[Sung1]

How are these poses? I'm working on appeal and posing.

Really felt like sharing some art. I had finished the animation on the fight scene awhile ago. I learned much since then and would do many things differently. There are a few shots that need to be fixed too, but I wanted to show you anyway. Tell me what you think. Thank you.

[Richard Willimot]

Hello Don and Dave! Don what would impress you more to see in a demo reel, really good acting or body mechanics?

[AJartist]

I read that the 9 old men would spend about one day on their character poses in hopes of getting it right. With Milt Kahl, I suspect that he did it with his sillhouettes. When you were around him, did you ever see him fussing over a character's sillhouette as much as other animators fussed over a single pose????