Back in After Effects

For the first time in a while, I haven't done any animations in Adobe After Effects. But, last week (22/1/13) I went back into the program for the first time, did a few animations to back to grips with After Effects. And here they are a few animations below I did in After Effects through the day.







Bye.

Animal Walking part 2

Second post of my snakehound walking. This is continue from the first post.

I had another go of redoing the snakehound walking (14/1/13), on the pervious attempt I started off by looking at Richard Wiliams theory of animating a dogs walk cycle.  This time I used Steve Robert's theory on animating a walk cycle, which I found easier to understand to animate with. Got some feedback, one opinion was that the back leg once again didn't look smooth with the upper rear leg and the upper front leg as-well. However, this was an improvement from the pervious attempt.



Then later in the week (16/1/13), I had a first attempt of doing a basic rough snakehound run cycle as-well.




Overall, more to come from this project.

Bye.

Birds and the bees (I really means to say the hornets) animated

During the morning session on Monday morning (14/1/13), a little exercise on doing birds, insects, snakes and fishes cycles. I had a go at the flying insect cycle. I based my flying insect on a hornet, which was basically draw the hornet in six different wing positions.

Then, I scanned all the frames into Photoshop and Illustrator to tidy up each image. Then drag the files into Flash to give this animation blow.



Got some instance feedback to make the frames a faster pace. Also blur the wings in a few frames to give it a faster pace to the viewer.

After I done this, I went back into Flash. Shrink the Hornet a little bit more and added some colour to give the final animation below.



Then, I had a go on doing a flying bird cycle. However, due to I did not had a lot of time, I only managed to do the keyframes only.



Good little exercises nonetheless.

Bye.

I've not been to National Gallery this time, but instead I've been to...

I've not been to National Gallery this time, but instead I've been to the Natural History Museum at South Kensington this week (9/1/13), doing a few sketches of some of the stuff animals inside the museum. I started off drawing down at least five different animals inside the museum.

Then, after drawing down at least five different animals, we had to decided to draw at least one of the animals put them into a story with only putting them in five frames. I based my story around the Natural History Museum, I used the sloth bear, and at the end of the story, the sloth bear finds the stuff sloth bear. If I had a sixth frame, I would have made the real sloth bear in tears. Nether-less a good days exercise.

Bye.

Animal Walking part 1

As I said in a previous post, I have decided to develop the snakehound creature. So I started off doing some basic walk cycles.

But instead of doing a dog cycle first, I decided to try a horses walk cycle for an exercise. I started of by drawing a simple horse by looking at 'How to draw animals' by Jack Hamm, which I have looked at the book before perviously how to draw a perfect bear for my research.

Then, I started to draw down a horse doing a walk cycle on the lightbox. Got some feedback, the feedback was a good walk cycle but the rear top legs need to be more smooth while walking.



Then, I had a go of doing a dog walk cycle. I started off by looking at Richard Wiliams theory of animating a dogs walk cycle in 'The Animator's Survival Kit', in page 330-331 how to do a basic animal walk pattern. I used his version of the walk cycle because I have use this perviously in a pervious project.

After I looked at Richard Wiliams theory of a dog walk cycle, I started to drawn down the snakehounds walk cycle down onto the lightbox. After I got down in Flipbook (animation below is taken on my iphone due to give you guys looking at the walk cycle for a few more seconds to give a feel to it).  Got some instant feedback, one was I have gave the snakehound some attitude, just like a model going down a runway. An other opinion was the back legs in one frame was doing a moonwalking instead of walking.



Overall, need to improve on the rear of the dog walk cycle. A lot of work to go, although a good start nonetheless.

Bye.

Animal drawings part 2

Second Part of my Animal drawings for an up coming project for the start of next year which I have to create a four legged creature that can be based on either a real or mythological creature. Here is a mood-board below of my drawings and ideas I have develop through the last month of drawings.

After I showed a range of my drawings to few of my peers. I concluded that I should go with my snakehound.

So therefore, I will continue with the snakehound creature. The idea was influnced by an interview of a former WWE wrestler called Jake 'the snake' Roberts, and he disused a promo were he told a story about a snake and a rabbit, were the rabbit helped the snake to recover and every time the snake says he will kill him because his a snake. And at the end of the story  the snake kills the rabbit, before the rabbit dies, the rabbit asks why did you killed me. And the snake says, because I am snake. Because the snake doesn't have legs, so therefore I added some legs and a body from a greyhound to complete the snakehound creature. As this mood-board below shows.

So lets animate the creature.

Bye

Animal drawings part 1

Here is a selection of sketches that I have drawn down since December for up coming project for the start of next year which I have to create a four legged creature that can be based on either a real or mythological creature. I started off looking at real life animals in videos and in images such as bears, greyhounds, rats, tigers and so forth.

















Then I started to read the book How to draw animals by Jack Hamm. After I read the book, I started to drawn down what’s in my mind. These are my sketches what may possibly what my creature could look like as these sketches shows.

Part 2 soon.

Bye.

Straight edge Sketches/Illustrations

This post isn’t coursework based, but more of my spare time just before the course started. These sketches were done a few months before the course started. I did some sketches and a character design influenced by current WWE Champion CM Punk and Family Guy’s Stewie Griffin.

Then I done a few sketches of the character.



And then scan the sketches into the computer and then gone into Illustrator to drawn over the sketch to give this image below shows. Some of the styling is a bit similar to the Ricky Gervais show. Overall, a good drawing nonetheless.





Bye.

Once again I've been to.....

Once again I've been to the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square this week (5/12/12), looking at a few paintings inside the gallery, which will help for a forth coming project in the new year. We looked for colour in paintings and monsters which includes looking at Luca Giordano's piece Perseus Turning Phineus and his followers to Stone (early 1680s).  Below there some sketches includes of some paintings without looking at what I am drawing and experimenting with colour.

Bye.

The finished work for term 1

Here are the finished pieces that needed to be completed by the start of December, which includes the finished Character designs, the walk cycles and mood change walks with the character I created, the Followthrough animation and the Pull animation. And the three animations are below. Also, I have altered the Pull animation the last time you have seen it, so enjoy.







Bye.

Walk cycles and mood change walks now with added Character

Continuing from the walk cycle and mood changes exercises. I concluded that I will use the Steve Robert's walk cycles theories rather than use the Preston Blair's theories. As these was simpler to draw and to walk for my character to animate rather than using Preston Blair's theories and time is not on my side and the Preston Blair's theories takes more time to understand in my opinion.

Then after a few tries on how the character will walk and what mood he supposed to walk in the scene in a certain way, see something that makes him react and go out of the scene walking in a different way (happy walk - look at sign - angry walk-end). I got out an X-sheet and started place were the happy walk goes, the reaaction and the angry walk goes in frames.

Then, I got the happy walk out of the way onto the lightbox and  put onto Flipbook, however I needed to tidy up the walk cycle in Flash to look convincing.

Then, I got the second walk done within the end of the day. However, due to I got an on my iPhone called iMotionHD. Which is similar to Flipbook, but on the iPhone instead and exported the movie onto YouTube.

Next, I needed to do the mood change in-between the two walk cycles. I started by acting it myself so I know what keyframes I need. After that I drawn down the keyframes which will connect to the two different mood walks.



However, the first attempted I felt it need to be acted more and added more keyframes, so I added the extra keyframes in, which worked better.



Then, I added the in-between frames that were missing for the completed mood change. Got the remaining images and scanned into Flash to finish off the mood change with my character.



Overall, a touch challenge to animate my character, nether-less  enjoy animating the character. End of first term work.

Bye.