AndyCLon opened this issue on Apr 18, 2009 · 24 posts
AndyCLon posted Sat, 18 April 2009 at 1:41 PM
Seem to have misplaced my motivation to get my film completed, has anyone seen it?
CaptainJack1 posted Sat, 18 April 2009 at 7:55 PM
Wait, let me look in the box I keep by the computer...
No, not there.
What's it look like? Mine is kinda blue, with a plastic wrapper. 
A lot of times, when I can't get going on one project I'll go to my notebook where I'm always jotting down ideas for stills and animations, and I'll set up a new project. Often the act of doing something entirely new rejuvenates me on an existing project.
If not that, try doing something completely different. Sometimes the brain gets burned out, and going for a walk, or reading a novel, or watching some TV gets it rested and back on track.
AndyCLon posted Sat, 18 April 2009 at 11:36 PM
I'll see if its under all of this junk blocking up my office.
FranOnTheEdge posted Mon, 20 April 2009 at 11:43 AM
Hey, I think I've got it!
.
.
.
Nope, it just vanished out the door. Sorry.
I find that reading books on related subjects or looking at other types of art can sometimes help....
Measure
your mind's height
by the shade it casts.
Robert Browning (Paracelsus)
Miss Nancy posted Mon, 20 April 2009 at 12:18 PM
there are two motivations AFAIK:
oops! that means there's only one motivation, according to the "monism" theory of animation 
as opposed to the "dualism" theory of animation, in which the motivation is either a big pile of cash, or because it's so fun and easy and only takes a few minutes :lol:
p.s. in response to the following msg, I don't actually recall reading anything (poser manual, carrara manual, photoshop manual), but mostly learned by watching videos. however, reading things is how humans have learnt things over the last 3 millennia - can't be bad.
CaptainJack1 posted Mon, 20 April 2009 at 12:20 PM
Reading related books is an excellent idea. I've been reading "Timing for Animation" (Harold Whitaker & John Halas). It's about 30 years old, and it's written for cel animation (but John Lasseter recommends it, so I'm sold.) Reading it makes me want to get to the keyboard and try all kinds of things.
CaptainJack1 posted Mon, 20 April 2009 at 12:31 PM
Quote - as opposed to the "dualism" theory of animation, in which the motivation is either a big pile of cash, or because it's so fun and easy and only takes a few minutes :lol:
How do you do an animation in a few minutes? I do something quick, then I see something I want to change, then I want to change another bit so that it tells a story, then I want to add a main character which means writing a script and then doing sound effects and voices and then I'll need some music, and then I gotta add an explosion because explosions are just plain cool and then maybe some lightning and thunder and then I have to figure out how to make believable rain, darn it, and none of my particle systems will behave but that doesn't matter because the dang drops are so small you can't see 'em but if I make 'em bigger then it looks like a deluge of spinning disco balls and then the whole thing is stupid and I have to take a break and maybe have a drink to clear my head and...
Wait, what were we talking about? :lol:
AndyCLon posted Mon, 20 April 2009 at 2:24 PM
Quote - I've been reading "Timing for Animation" (Harold Whitaker & John Halas).
Yes, a top book. I've got two copies as they changed the cover and hence did not recognise it when I bought the second one.
AndyCLon posted Mon, 20 April 2009 at 2:33 PM
Attached Link: My Stop Motion Films
> Quote - How do you do an animation in a few minutes?Keep it simple!!
A few of my stop motion films were done in just an afternoon, I nicknamed them "Speed Animation". The exception was the Ratobat film that was filmed in an afternoon but took about 16hours to colour correct and edit together.
Miss Nancy posted Mon, 20 April 2009 at 2:47 PM
jack, it takes a few minutes to do one like the thing to the left of this msg, but obviously it takes more time (5-15 min per frame) for more ambitious anims. the way to do 'em fast is to use every shortcut in the book. if it hasta be perfect, it will never be finished AFAIK.
CaptainJack1 posted Mon, 20 April 2009 at 2:59 PM
Quote - jack, it takes a few minutes to do one like the thing to the left of this msg, but obviously it takes more time (5-15 min per frame) for more ambitious anims. the way to do 'em fast is to use every shortcut in the book. if it hasta be perfect, it will never be finished AFAIK.
Which is really the problem I usually have with an animation... I keep tweaking it and tweaking it, and then I decide I don't like the camera angle but when I move the camera I find that everything I posed has glaring positional flaws from the new angle, and on and on. Then I make sound effects, and I can't get them to match the motions, so I try to re-do the motions, and--
Well, you see how I get... I really need to take on tiny projects and just get them out the door.
:biggrin:
AndyCLon posted Mon, 20 April 2009 at 3:49 PM
I'm not sure I typically have that, "it's never finished issue". Mostly with the CGI stuff I find myself hitting a brick wall where I just can't make something happen. What I typically do at this point is either work on another section or to find some assistance or training.
My issue at the moment is that I've done most of the simple animation of the props and have to create the movement of the main character the ringmaster. Even what seems to be a simple movement like turning to a table seems to be very difficult to create.
I think what I'll do when I get back in the UK is to start breaking down all of the moves into really small movements and then try some of the easy ones first before trying to put them all together in a sequence. My step to the left, I think I'll leave till later...
I think I'm on the way to finding my motivation again... cheers everyone
Miss Nancy posted Mon, 20 April 2009 at 3:51 PM
CaptainJack1 posted Mon, 20 April 2009 at 6:05 PM
That's pretty cool. I haven't done an animation in Photoshop yet (I just got CS4 a month or so ago, and I'm still getting the hang of it).
Come to think of it, I haven't dragged Anime Studio out of the ol' Start Menu in quite a while. Maybe I should get that out and do some 2D stuff for a while, just to get the animation muscles loosened up.
FranOnTheEdge posted Mon, 20 April 2009 at 7:42 PM
Quote - Reading related books is an excellent idea. I've been reading "Timing for Animation" (Harold Whitaker & John Halas). It's about 30 years old, and it's written for cel animation (but John Lasseter recommends it, so I'm sold.) Reading it makes me want to get to the keyboard and try all kinds of things.
Exactly. I'm reading "The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki" (Cavallaro, D) at the moment, and I've been very lucky with my seminar tutor this year, the guy's a genius, and so eclectic he can talk about such a wide range of related subjects, and inspire and inform you on so much stuff. But reading well written books can help give you insights into various artists, their methods, intentions and the deeper meanings often hidden beneath a simple seeming surface.
I am just so glad I took this course.
By the way, I've never yet found any animation to be quick, not if it's got any ambitions to be good. My animations have the ambitions, but unfortunately I often fail on the execution.
It hasn't (yet) stopped me from trying.
I'm going to have to buy Richard Williams' "Animators Survival Kit" - just continually getting it from the library just isn't working.
Oh, when I talk about "Good animation" I don't mean that animation of the eyes on Miss Nancy's character's face isn't good, & it is animated, but I'm thinking more of full animations, not icons or avatars, something with a little length and a purpose. I just wish I could come up with something.
Measure
your mind's height
by the shade it casts.
Robert Browning (Paracelsus)
AndyCLon posted Tue, 21 April 2009 at 2:35 AM
Quote -
Oh, when I talk about "Good animation" I don't mean that animation of the eyes on Miss Nancy's character's face isn't good, & it is animated, but I'm thinking more of full animations, not icons or avatars, something with a little length and a purpose. I just wish I could come up with something.
Between these two extremes there is also limited animation as made famous by UPA.
FranOnTheEdge posted Tue, 21 April 2009 at 7:54 AM
And often used in Anime.
Measure
your mind's height
by the shade it casts.
Robert Browning (Paracelsus)
CaptainJack1 posted Tue, 21 April 2009 at 9:27 AM
Quote - I'm going to have to buy Richard Williams' "Animators Survival Kit" - just continually getting it from the library just isn't working.
I got that a couple of weeks ago. It had been on my wish list for a couple of years, but somebody elsewhere recommended it to me as a way of helping to develop walk cycles, and I took the plunge. It's a great book, I can see I'll be reading and re-reading it for years to come.
CaptainJack1 posted Tue, 21 April 2009 at 9:29 AM
Quote - Between these two extremes there is also limited animation as made famous by UPA.
Not me. I'm animating on the ones, every frame, every time.
At 120 fps.
In a snowstorm.
Barefoot.
:lol:
Miss Nancy posted Tue, 21 April 2009 at 11:26 PM
fran, yer seminar tutor sounds very groovy. show him yer storyboard to see if he's got any tips on how to do the animation.
p.s. I looked up UPA. somewhat shocked to see that:
was one result of it
FranOnTheEdge posted Wed, 22 April 2009 at 10:27 AM
Showing tutors storyboards is part of the course anyway.
My tutor's name is David Surman - you would be able to find articles published by him around on the net, in case you're interested.
One was on Swanquake. And he has blogs too:
http://davidsurman.blogspot.com/
http://littleredlion.blogspot.com/
Measure
your mind's height
by the shade it casts.
Robert Browning (Paracelsus)
Miss Nancy posted Wed, 22 April 2009 at 10:22 PM
o.k., fran, keep us posted on yer animation, like when ya got the rough animatics done.
FranOnTheEdge posted Sat, 25 April 2009 at 12:11 PM
I'm terrible at animatics, but I'm not working on an animation for David I'm working on an essay and on my dissertation that goes with the essay, or is that visa versa? the diss' is much bigger...
I need something good for next year's final film, actually I'm dreading it, as I'm not brilliant at animating, I've proved that too many times.
Measure
your mind's height
by the shade it casts.
Robert Browning (Paracelsus)
CaptainJack1 posted Sat, 25 April 2009 at 1:14 PM
Fran, have you seen the animation called "Kiwi!"? I've found it to be very inspiring. The rendering looked very simple, very basic shapes and textures. With the tools available today (listen to me... the thing is only three years old!) I don't think it would be difficult to do an animation of this quality. What was important, I thought, was the character. The whole thing is a set up for a punch line that is both happy and a little bit sad. Somebody told the little guy, "you can't" and he did anyway. The little tear he sheds at the end makes the whole animation.