Midterm Revision, Plus Thumbnails

So here's a revised version of the project I turned in last class. The piece is stil really rough; I haven't had a chance to go back and edit everything that I have been critiqued on. I spent the last two days working on trying to resolve the piece, creating a new background and assets, hoping that the editing and animating would go by quickly. Sadly this wasn't the case, And I had to make ANOTHER false ending. This one, however, makes sense, and does resolve the piece, but in such a way that frustrates me- I still haven't had a chance to follow my storyboard, and I am going to be paying for it.

So heres the thumbnails I picked from the piece that I thought put it in a nutshell:

I'm especially pleased with how the sunset thumb came out- it really captures the mood I was trying to set.

And here's my video...

Demo Reel ideas

Here's my first reel:

It's very rough, and I honestly think it needs a lot of addittions, and a lot more trimming. Here's some ideas I have on what to do next with it:

Cut 1: Gen3- Adam stands up

Cut 2: Junk Room- Bobble walks into the room

Cut 3: Peaceful Afternoon- Guy riding unicycle over the ground, hits block.

Cut 4- Dance Robot Dance- Bobble starts the dance.

Cut 5- Blue- Pink picks up Blue from the ground

Cut 6- Junk Room- Bobble looking in shelf, ominous shadow.

Cut 7- Peaceful Afternoon- Guy hits ground while cat plays guitar to the end.

A lot shorter, to the point. We'll see how it works out I guess.

Midterm Final Self Critique (final final)

It's done. This project, more than anything, was a learning experience. So many things went wrong, and now I know what to do in regards to planning a project in aftereffects. That being said, I'm still proud of this piece, though it is shoddy. I admit, my time management really did me in early on in the project, and I struggled to catch-up and never was able to. I know now what I have to do. 

It's really unfortunate I wasn't able to finish everything I wanted to with the piece. However, I am glad I was able to finish, at the very least.

I have a problem of biting off more than I can chew with these projects- I decide to do something highly complicated (5 fully puppetted characters was way to much, and highly unnecessary). In my rush to finish, I wasn't able to act on the critique I got last class, and thus, even though my project is "done," it's still incredibly rough. Still, it was a exercise just getting the thing totally finished.

Will I revisit this project? Probably. It still feels unresolved to me, and I don't want it to not have the super awesome piece that it CAN be. I just need to do a lot of troubleshooting and management, and I think I can pull it off. I'm disappointed that I didn't pull it off for class, but I feel like there is still hope. We will see.

Internship Update

As a quick update on my internship endeavors- there is no deadline for Running Pony, but I aim to send them everything by this Saturday- the only item I'm missing is my cover letter. If I have time, I'll also probably try and get a new demo reel done, too- my old one needs a serious revamp, but Gadsby promises it'll be good enough to apply for the spring with. All in all I'm feeling pretty good about it all.

Midterm Final Self Critique

One thing is absolutely certain after working on this piece all weekend- I severely underestimated the amount of time and thinking it was going to take in order to arrange my assets. This piece was incredibly difficult for a number of reasons- first, whenever I updated my assets with new layers, it screwed up the entire comp and I would have to re-puppet everything. Second, my main character has 4 puppetted limbs, which just took a long time getting everything working absolutely correctly. Third, a number of assets had to be remade or made from the ground up, forcing me to drop momentum in AfterEffects in order to get everything made. Lastly, on top of all the work necessary for the piece, I also had the obligation of the Literacy Midsouth Gala, which I, and a few others, had the job of getting every decoration done by the day this was due as well, meaning I was working on two big projects at once, 4 if you are counting my other classes.

All of this led me to have poor time management. I worked in the lab every day of the break from 7 to 2, and it still wasn't enough. I honestly should have held off on everything until I was sure this project was ready to go. It just continuously astounds me the amount of work you have to put into the program in order to do what you want.

And of course, since all of the things mentioned previously, my project is only half-finished, despite the amount of time and effort I put into it. I will take this with a grain of salt, and will know what to expect for the next project.

This all being said, I really like what animation I do have. The assembly line could use a few touch ups, and the velocity of a lot of the movements, especially the walk cycles, could use work. Of course, the story isn't done, and the main female doesn't show at all, which is a huge disappointment. But there are moments I really enjoy, like when he begins pushing the cart and when he shakes his hand. Even if I won't be getting a grade on it, I will be finishing this piece in my spare time if I ever have any. It was rewarding to work on, and I learned a hell of lot about the program- I can now puppet, parent, time remap, and key frame like a boss. I now know exactly what to expect from the program. So, even if I take a hit for this project, I will have walked away from having learned a lot of valuable info. Next time, AfterEffects is going down.

Midterm Self Crit

My characters. 

In the beginning of this class, I will openly admit that AfterEffects scared the crap out of me. It's a big program, and all the little minutia behind the scenes were arguably more complicated then basically anything that I'd dealt with.

But I can safely say that as the semester has trucked along, I've become more and more accustomed to working in the program. Where the puppet tool was kicking my ass a few weeks ago, I now fully understand how and why it works. I won't say that I love the program, but I do know what I'm doing now.

I feel pretty comfortable in saying that that my midterm grade should dangle between a C and a B. I have missed 2 classes, and 2 assignments, but I think my work, as well as my input in critique, has been pretty on par. I don't think that I've done amazingly, hell no, but I also don't think that I have done terribly.

My midterm project is coming along well. While I'm still creating assets, my piece is more about the assets than anything- the animation, for the most part, is simple. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it comes out, and am going to really push really hard over the break to get the piece finished. 

As far as internship things go, I'm one cover letter writing session away from sending in my application to Running Pony Studios. I feel very good about it.

MCA Traveling Fellowship Response

The MCA traveling fellowship is an amazing opportunity, I have to give it that. The fact that I could basically get $3000 to go wherever in the world I want is kinda amazing, but it's how I would use that money that really gets my head going.

The place that I want to go more than any other? Italy, specifically Venice. Sure, the city has been romanticized in America like crazy, but it's still an absolutely gorgeous place, and I would spend the majority of the trip in Venice, exploring the country side around me. I don't speak any Italian, but I think that that would be one of the better parts of the experience- I'd be a true outsider for the first time in my life, and I would immerse myself into the language and culture in order to survive.

My end goal is really a simple one- to experience this world beyond my own. while abroad I would sketch daily, keep a journal, and take many many pictures, all of which would cumulate into a project integrating everything I'd take away from the experience. I'd be so stoked if I got to do this.

Midterm Thumbnails

Hey guys, sorry that this is late- my internet crashed last night for some reason. Anyway, here are some thumbnails and a rough storyboard for my animation. 

I kept my main character basically the same, just lightened his palette a little. The "normal" robot will be cloned multiple times. I figured that I didn't want the other characters to have nearly the amount of expression as the main guy- his acting will drive the story, basically. The girl robot, though, has a mouth that is capable of expression. The way I see it, when the main character is fantasizing after her, it would be funnier if the two were radically different.

Introduce the assembly line, have the the main character push the cart down a hallway. He stops to take a breath.

A group of the other robots walk by, laughing. He frowns, and wiggles his spaghetti arm, sad that he isn't rigid like them.

He pretends to walk like them and mimics their face with his  TV screen, but trips and face plants. But O! someone reaches to give him a helping hand.

It's the girl robot. She helps him up, helps him stack up the  boxes, and they wave goodbye.

He looks after her, smiles a dopey grin, and goes about his business, fantasizing about a love life with the female robot.

Back at the assembly line, the man character isn't paying attention to his duties, the  stack of boxes gets too high, and it topples over.

The regular robots are pissed,  and they swarm in. The main character cowers in the corner. However, the girl bot jumps in the way, but is knocked down by the other robots.

The main character is mad now. He picks up the girl robot, and  using his special ability, he runs away from the city.

The girl bot's eye opens, and they are in a field. The two of them walk into the sunset. The End!!