"Compliance" in animatronics

This is really cool. I never knew they've reached this level of movement in animatronics! 

From an animator's point of view (and especially as animation instructor), I thought it was very insteresting that the brakethrought in believability was what the call "compiance" - counter balancing quick movement with the entire body. It's quite amazing how this very specific physical notion changes a robotic machine into something that feels quite alive. Definitely something for an animator to keep in mind.

Stripgenerator

There's a cool little web application called "stripgenerator". Like with a lot of other web applications, you're very limited in what you can do with it. Which sparks up creativity like nothing else! You can start a comics blog, or just play around and make standalone strips.

Here's my first attempt (direct link here).

Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas

Very few people get to really make a difference in the world. Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston (I can't really separate these names) made it twice: once by giving us some of the greatest animation ever made, and again by telling us how to do it. These people helped transform animation from silly curiosity, to perhaps the world's most complex, refined and deep art form.
If you think about it, very few people can take that sort of credit.

To them, to the rest of the nine old men, and to Walt Disney himself - all now gone - I take off my hat and bow.

YouTube analysis #2: Final answer

Poor guy...note to self: get a good night's sleep before my next gameshow appearance.

What I find so interesting here, is the switch from self confidence, almost to the point of being cocky, to complete embarrassment and humility. BUT even though the change happens in a single moment, the reaction is gradual and goes through several different beats.

First Beat (1:00) - he realizes something is wrong. This is also gradual - you can actually see realization dawning on him, in slow motion (I'm guessing the transition would have been a bit quicker, had he not been so tired)Second beat: he stares at the monitor, dumbfounded. There's a very subtle transition here - starting with a vague shadow of his former confident smile, then no no smile at all, and finally - a first trace of an embarrassed smile. It's interesting that the change is so subtle that I can hardly see any movement at all - and yet, the change of expression is very clear.

Look carefully at the corner of his mouth throughout this beat. This is what texture is all about: layering very slight variations on top of a very strong pose or transition. It's a great way of making your animation feel rich, without loosing clarity.

Third beat: the embarrassed smile is his brave attempt to hide his frustration and shame.

Conclusion:
I like thinking of emotional changes in terms of weight and inertia (something we animators know about). Just like a moving object takes time to change direction (AKA motion arc), so mood and attitude take time to change. I think this clip shows a great example of such an "emotional arc".

Hospital

Unfortunate circumstances have brought me to spend some hours in the hospital.

I hate hospitals. They stress me out. The neon lighting, the bland colors, the constant humming, the still quietness with the occasional cough. I saw a doctor; for the life of me, I can't understand how anyone would be willing to go through years of hard training, only to end up spending most of his waking hours in such a bleak environment. Yes, I know they're helping people and all. Perhaps I'm just not enough of an altruist.

You know what I really missed in there? Something to focus on, some points of interest for the eye to rest upon. It's all so damn repetitive! A small colorful picture here and there, an occasional plant, perhaps a cheerful decoration hanging from the ceiling – why not? It's not expensive, and I think it can do so much for the wellbeing of both patients and staff.

Or maybe I don't understand anything.

YouTube analysis: "You get away from here!"

This is one of the most animated live-action clips I've ever seen. The timing is simply perfect!

A few things I've noticed:

1. Much of the charm here comes from the contrast between the busy, wild 7 seconds of the beginning, and the remaining 5 seconds of quiet aftermath.
   
2. The dog detaches and leaves not at once, but gradually. It reminds me that the principle of arcs is much broader than we usually give it credit for: things tend to change direction over time, not in a single moment.
3. Another gradient is his posture. He's hunched down for the first 6 seconds or so, then straightens in three beats:
   00:06 - slightly straighter, the dog is further now
   00:07 - almost fully upright, but his back is still arched forward - he's still inside the situation
   00:10 - fully upright, spine arch reversed, he's out of the situation.
4. His arm up when he says "you go" is clearly an act of pride and victory.
   
5. For the first 10 seconds, the only thing in the world is that dog. This we see through change: when he feels the crisis to be over, he looks at the photographer - the rest of the world is relevant again

I'm sure there's more - feel free add your own observations.

Kudos for Shuki Gamliel, who sent me the link.

Photo Analysis 1

Following something Alex Orrelle was talking about in the studio, I'm recently trying to notice interesting pictures and analyze what's interesting (to me) about them. Well, here's one:


So what's interesting about it? I did a few sketches trying to simplify and exaggerate, almost as if I was caricaturing the photo. I think what made me stare at it in the first place, was the sudden streak of strong warm yellow within all the blueness.


In this black and white, high contrast version (thank you Photoshop), something else comes up: the attractiveness of the small, relatively bright tree, in the midst of his big dark peers. Being an "oddity" in the context of this picture, it stands out and becomes a natural focal point for the picture.


[Disclaimer: I'm not a great painter to say the least, and I don't intend to teach anybody anything. These are just some illustrated thoughts, sort of a visual analysis for my own enjoyment.]

To be honest

I have to admit: when browsing through my art blog feeds, I usually look at the pictures, briefly go through the the text, and proceed to the next blog. A post from Emma's "Art, plz" blog made me stop and read carefully. It's really, really well written. It has a touch humor, a touch of personality, and a ton of wisdom. And good sketches to go with it, too! No wonder she works for Pixar. Have a look. Then come back, I want to add something.

[No no, don't continue - read her post first!]

So. Drawing honest is absolutely where the gold is. That's a great notion. Problem is, most of us consume mind-food in the same way we consume body-food: if it's not tasty, we're not going to eat it, no matter how good the nutrition value is. You can be honest till you're blue in the face, and it won't do anybody any good if it's not well put together.

That, folks, is the catch22 of good artwork: if you focus on good form you lose the honesty, if you don't – you lose your audience. How do you get honest, then?

I think, by taking the long road. You spend some years climbing up the mountain of craftsmanship, working hard to conquer form. Then you spend some more years climbing down again - down to reality, down to where your audience lives, down to content. It takes time and effort to learn how to use the craft as a consultant, not a tyrant. Once you can do that, then – and ONLY then – you can, and should, draw honest.

She Donkey, or: the beauty of ugly drawings

Some months ago my Dad was complaining to me about a cartoon he was trying to draw, which was giving him a hard time. The drawing involved a guy riding a lady-donkey, who obviously had the hots for him (don't look at me, it's his idea!).

I offered to help, and he agreed. So I took a bunch of papers and started doodling, just idly exploring some possibilities. Dad was puzzled; as an amateur cartoonist, he was sure his professional son is going to be able to just draw the thing right off the bat - which was what he was trying to do the whole time.

In my mind, however, being a pro means more than having more knowledge or better tools. It also (perhaps chiefly) means better problem-solving strategies. It's the ability to recognize how complex a problem really is, and finding ways of breaking it down so it can be dealt with one step at a time.

That drawing Dad was trying to make requires designing two characters, communicating the donkey's feelings (and the guy's reaction), all that while dealing with the weight and pose problems that come from one character sitting on top of the other. Add staging, donkey anatomy, composition, and the usual challenges of drawing, and it becomes clear that trying to do all that in one step, is really asking for trouble.

He got the idea pretty quickly. We sketched together for a while; below is a collection of some of the butt-ugly drawings we made. The hopefully nice she-donkey design at the top of the post, is based on these careless doodles. By allowing ourselves to explore without fear of ugliness, we were able to explore a lot of ideas before making a commitment.

The animation industry and me discover humor

One day, I would invite the animation industry to my living room, and together we would sit and watch “Lady and the Tramp” (or any other Disney film from the era).

We would notice how we start laughing where no punch line has been delivered, and no joke was there to be found.

What then, we would ask ourselves in wonder, made us laugh?

Perhaps it was a fun personality, revealed through a well selected gesture, walk, or facial expression. Perhaps it was something we recognized from life - the sort of laughter you get from a shrewd caricature. Perhaps it was a detail so subtle, that we felt the film winked at us. Or perhaps it was just a moment so original and clever, that we laughed simply to express delight.

The animation industry and I would be fascinated to discover that we can laugh from deep within, not just with the mouth.

We would then put on some recent animation films. We would sit there, watching these gag-swollen films huffing and puffing and getting all red in the face in a desperate attempt to push us into a smirk. And it would make us sick.

The animation industry and I would agree that humor and gags are different things, and that we need to strive for a better balance of the two. The animation industry would then go home, get rid of the clowns, and search for insightful people instead; and a few years later, it would start making great animation films again.

Amen.

Infinite Options Paralysis

Part of the difficulty with making your own short film (or any major creative project, for that matter), is that anything is possible. Think about it: ANYTHING.

So, I hear you ask - isn't that the fun part? Well sort of, but here's the problem: imagine one day someone comes to you and says, you know what - for the next 5 years, you can do anything you want. No limits at all, not even physical limits. Wanna go and live on the sun for 2 months? Go ahead. It's possible.

What do you do?

You see the difficulty? There are just too many great options. No matter what you come up with, there's something even MORE wonderful that you're missing out on. For me, this can be a paralyzing thought.

One of the symptoms of this "infinite options paralysis" is going in one direction for a while, then changing your mind, taking a different route, then changing your mind again, and so on - until you get completely confused about where the hell you're going and why. I've seen it happen to others, and I've done it myself. In fact, I'm doing it right now... I'm trying to figure out if I should stay with my latest idea, or go back to the original silly animation gag idea (the one with the purple alien), which is far easier for me to make. So far I'm leaning towards the gag - perhaps using it as as an experiment before going on to the more serious project.


Hmmm....this was supposed to be about environment concept art, but ended up with too many words. I'll post the sketches next time. Stay tuned...