Tuesday, May 14, 2013

its finally over!

well its been fun (not really) but now off to do bigger and MUCH BETTER things! I will continue to make blogs MY WAY and hopefully update them on a regular bases. but for now so long, farewell, aufedersein, and good bye.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

more backgrounds!

i found THREE backgrounds that were hiding from me!



animatic update

having problems uploading my updated animatic. it just has the backgrounds and sounds i posted today but blogger is being a butt. i know i hardly have what i should but I'm still confident that it will be done on time!

sound and background progression!

i didnt do any lines or color this week. im trying to get the rest of my finals and reports done so i can devote the rest of my time to this piece later since this is the last full week. but i did some backgrounds and found most of the sound effects that will be in the piece. i couldnt figure out how to show the sound effects so i just put them in a quick video with the backgrounds that i did this week.





 
sound from eatmysocksoff on Vimeo.
sounds of:
arrows
monster cries
running in leaves
night ambiance

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

animatic update

animatic update from eatmysocksoff on Vimeo.

animatic upadte

Journal Question 4/23/2013

Q1: What is your priority list as of today, with two weeks before the deadline?

A: My number one priority is getting the lines and colors done! Then sound effects then music. I really think this piece can work without music but im going to try my best to incorporate music.

Q2: Which "babies are you prepared to kill", if necessary, in order to finish your film on time (May 7) and fit it within the 90 second - 2 minute time constraint - think of in-betweening, simplified color, and eliminating shots not integral to the story.

A: Man where to begin. My first baby that i would have to kill is other classes work. if i can't sacrifice the quality of some of my other projects i dont know if i can finish this piece.

Im not concerned with how long the piece will be so my time baby will be spared.

I already decided ahead of time that i was not going to add shadows and highlights (i was already way to ambitious about this piece and suffered for it) so my detailed baby will also be spared since the detail is in the backgrounds.

Im glad i decided to use paintings and photoshop for my backgrounds. i makes it easier for time and i dont have to redraw any backgrounds.

And lastly 'inking' quality. to be frank ive come to have flash. i tried in the beginning to make my inking look good but flash wants to disagree with me. So my inking quality baby has to die.

wow only 2 out of 5 babies are going to be killed in the making of the piece!

PROGRESS! (finally)

it was a hectic weekend but i got things done! i actually redid some scenes that i had already finished so there wont be a whole lot of new stuff BUT im still proud of how much i got done despite the busy weekend!

this is the final FINAL version of of deer running in scene 3.
final FINAL of huntress running in scene 3
i tried finishing this this morning but i couldnt finish in time. this is scene 5
this is a shot for 8 and maybe 10 depending if i put the flashbacks back in the piece.
this is the very last scene you see in the piece. shot 24 i think.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Journal Question: 4/6/2013

Q: What kind of sound environment do you plan for your film? Realistic? More music-based? What will the role of sound be in your film?

A: My plan for sound, well most of my LITERAL sound environment, is recording in a bathroom on a floor that nobody is in. Since I don't have dialog it wont sound echoey when I record. I plan on using my own voice for the character's.....noises they make. Like a gasp or snarl.  I was going to use sound effects with music but now that I'm typing this and picturing it in my head, I think im just going to use sound effects and ambiance. Like the wind blowing and the rustling of grass. It would be more serious I guess if i just did realistic sound effects. Im not sure what do you think?

slow progress

 this is a screen shot of shot 12. i am currently inking and coloring it. its not even halfway done.

so this is the background for shot...3 i believe. 

this little bugger is SUPPOSED to be my run cycle for the entire film, specifically made for shot 3. when i tried putting it into after effects it does not update the video. it used to have a few layers that did not make it look pretty and i got rid of them on flash but after effects somehow magically brings them back.
im actually proud of this one. look this animation is going to look really really bad but this is one of the rare exceptions.

I also decided to take out the flashbacks because chris said i could get away with it and its less work that i have to do.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Journal April 2, 2013

Q: What will you do with your film when you are done?

A: Well the very first thing that Im probably going to do is post it on the internet. YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, the works. Then if it is good enough (to me) and gets enough views I might send it to my professors from DCAD. Heck I'll probably send it to them anyway. Im also going to put it in my demo reel that Im currently working on. Im not sure if this is going to be a calling card film, depending on how well it turns out it might. If it is easy enough I think I would send it to small american film festivals. Lastly, I highly doubt that this is the piece that will land me a job but I think its the one that will peak people's interest.

Just realized that this wasn't the actual journal question...

Q1: What is your biggest time management challenge, and what is your plan for dealing with it from here through the end of the semester?

A: Being lazy doesn't help. Im just throwing it out there. Also I've been revising the crap out of this film since day one and that sets me back too. When I have too much time on my hands I usually don't get things done if that makes any sense to you. Im thinking of staying in school after hours everyday and not just wednesdays.

Q2: Which of your classmates' films do you particularly like? Why? What is the strongest element of their piece? Where would you make a suggestion?

A: I really like Eun Ock's idea for her animation. Its cute, funny and simple. The way that she tells the story is also pretty clever and adorable. I think the strongest element in her piece is the fact that its a story within a story. Making the setting as a school play also supports it's cuteness. Which is good i like the idea of kids telling a story within a play! The only thing I would suggest is adding textures. Because the style is so simple a little texture could add to the piece even more!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Journal Question: March, 26, 2013

Q: What were the three most important points you absorbed from the mid-semester crit?

A:

  1.  My animation is way too long. Like almost three minutes long. For some reason i thought we could exceed two minutes and i thought id be okay. Until, that is , the critique.
  2. Lots of stuff needs to move around. By that i mean my scenes. Some scenes need to be taken away while others need to be added. Which i think is going to be difficult considering i have to keep it under two minutes.
  3. The scene when the creature gets shot and the transformation scene need to be short. MUCH shorter. I wanted the shot of the creature long just to fill in space. But i guess that backfired. And it was strange that my transformation scene lasted so long. I didnt like the way i did it anyway so I'm just going to redo it.
There are a lot of things i need to reanimate.....a lot a lot....guh. Im still confident i will get this completed on time! THIS WILL BE MY MASTER PEICE.

animatic with critique fixes

critique redo from eatmysocksoff on Vimeo.

not everything from the critique is on here but for the most part this is what the final will look like. IM NOT CHANGING ANYTHING ELSE. PERIOD. However i am thinking of shortening the flashbacks and taking the shot of the huntress dropping her gear. i dont have that kind of time anymore. So after this week I'm going to be finished with all of my rough animation and ail be moving on to lines and color.

oh and i also did a background

man i really need to update my calendar. its a mess...DISREGARD THE CALENDAR. check the shot breakdown instead!

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

critique animatic

critique animatic from eatmysocksoff on Vimeo.

i know its doesn't look like ive done my work but i really really cannot stress enough how many times ive revised and changed my animation. there are some scenes on here that are missing because they were not in the original animatic. other shots are directly from the animatic i intend on putting keyframes in. everything else is what ive animated. some scenes are merged together while i took out some others. my shotbreakdown is the most accurate thing in this blog so far. there is flash, puppet and some crazy after effects, well, effects that is and will be part of this animation. im super exited to finish this piece and even though I'm slow, or as elliot puts it lazy, i will tame this beast and tame it on time!

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Journal: Mar. 5, 2013

Q1: What is the approach to working on this project so far?

A: My approach for working on any animation or illustration is purely random. However when I do do work I do it head on. This blog has gotten me all discombobulated because I have to follow a schedule and going back to change the schedule is too much work and effort that I have to use on working on my piece! When I can do my OWN blog MY way Im not going to need a stupid schedule to keep up with. The shot breakdown is a completely different story. I like it, keeps track of what I've done so far. Except with the dates.

Q2: What elements do you find you need to put you in a comfortable and productive frame of mind for working?

A: I tend to work when my belly is full, sitting on a comfortable couch or chair, with some cold sweet tea, and there has to be some background noise. Whether its music, movies, or the laughter of children in the house, I don't care. The background noise is my biggest booster I don't know why, it just is.

On a side note I cannot submit my work from the past two weeks because I've been experiencing technical difficulties with my computer and will hopefully submit everything by next class.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Last week's entries/Fixed the blog


Here are the things that i failed to post last week because of technical errors:

This is the puppet i plan on using for shot 19 and 20. I animate his face on flash.

These are keys to the transformation scene, or shot 29.

Journal question (Feb. 12, 2013): 

1) How do you hope/want the audience to react/respond to your piece?
2) How do you want the audience to feel about your characters? What kind of connection do you want them to feel to your characters?
3) What sort of audience reaction/response would leave you disappointed? What would be the best response? Imagine a critical review of your piece that would make you feel that your piece was understood, and that it was recognized as being a great piece, a festival winner-what would the review say?

  1. The way i want my audience to react is with serious blank faces. My piece is somewhat a serious one and is meant to just tell a story and entertain. It’s not supposed to have a deep meaning to it but Im sure someone will find one. I’d like for them to think a little about it then nod their heads.
  2. I would like my audience have their own opinions about my characters. I feel like Huntress had what was coming to her, personally. She blindly went head on against Creature without thinking twice about it. And she paid for it. If there is an connection with the audience and my character Huntress, I think they would feel that they have been there before, meaning that they have made a mistake and paid for it before just not as costly as Huntress.
  3. Im pretty sure the worst reaction would be either laughter, complete silence, or booing. The best response for me would be an “ooooooh!” followed by the room being filled with the sound of flesh being smacked together...as in clapping. If my piece was award winning I think the review would go something like this:
“Alexandra Varga’s animation piece (enter title here) had the story telling that rivals Steven King. The look of her animation is almost surreal and BLUE. The animation could have used some work but over all there is not one beat that was missed. It was a truly beautiful and entertaining animation meant for entertainment sake. Its about time someone got it right.”

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Journal: Feb. 5, 2013

Q: What is your relationship to the main character? What experience of yours inspired you to create him/her/it?

A: The Huntress and I are two very different people. Although we both like the outdoors, meat, and sharp pointy objects I believe we think very differently. Sure id go hunting anytime! But id feel bad about it afterwards or not even hit the deer at all! When encountered by the creature id probably run up to it, point at it and say "Coooool!" and have my face eaten of. I guess my recent collecting of swords and purchasing books about sharp pointy weapons this past year has had an effect on this project. I'll never draw weapons the same again. Also I've been completing my Miyazaki film collection and watching them all.

Monday, February 4, 2013

This week's progress


not exactly done but its late and I'm tired. it wont take me long to finish this tomorrow. i think ill add some leaves too






im quite proud of these actually. the two title sequences and the first scene. thank yoooou chris for teaching us about the puppet tool im going to use it constantly now. there is no music or sound effects yet i figured id do that in the final weeks to come. there is another video on the way its just taking forever to download. [EDIT: video posted]

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

deer run cycle final rough


final rough animation of the deer running away. it was challenging but fun! next is the huntress running...

Journal: Jan. 29, 2013

Question: "What did your calendar say would be done today at 9 am? Is it done? How did you arrive at this 'result'? What is the plan for next week, based on what transpired this week?"

I actually did not do what I wanted fully this week BUT I am satisfied at what I have accomplished so far. I knew deer anatomy was going to be tough and it took me a few tries to get the run to look believable. I mean its not perfect yet but Im proud of the result. This shot is supposed to have my protagonist running after the deer but I will add her in today after I put a few in-betweens in the deer run. The next thing I want to work on is a scene with the "creature" but I do not know which yet. Im also thinking of doing the non existent transformation scene too just because it will take some time and i want it out of the way. This is another new and challenging thing for me and I cant wait to dive into it.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Inspiration for the film

I have always liked Miyazaki films. The one that inspired me for my film was Princess Mononoke.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki

I was messing around on this website and I saw the concept art for bambi. I decided to put a deer in my animation because I need more practice with animals anyway. Deer anatomy is prety hard but im getting there.
http://livlily.blogspot.com/2010/10/bambi-1942.html

I cannot pretend that the Hunger Games somewhat inspired me. I hate hate hate the movie but I liked the idea of a girl and her bow. The movie came out around the time we had to come up with ideas for our junior piece and it just kind of happened.
http://koreatowndaily.com/photos/news/d201203/23/20120323161728.jpg

deer eye

just a quick animation of the deer's eye revealing the "creature's" symbol. its eyes ail glow purple when its revealed.

rough deer run cycle

rough deer run cycle. i think its not too bad for a first try. just got to put some in betweens and ill be happy with it.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Synopsis

Okay I think Ive come up with a good and short synopsis for my animation:

"In an enchanted forest, not all are what they appear and anything could happen, even a hunter could become the hunted..."

Is this good enough? Any thoughts?

Character Exercise

This is a character exercise to get to know our main character better for our animation.
  1. Character's Name: 'The Huntress'
  2. Character's Nickname: Huntress
  3. Sex: Female
  4. Age: 23
  5. Looks: (image above)
  6. Vocation/Occupation: Village Alpha Hunter
  7. Status and Money: One of the wealthiest in her village.
  8. Marital Status: Single
  9. Family: None
  10. Relationships: Best Friends with the Village's Shaman
  11. Places: Hut made of animal hides and logs
  12. Possessions: Bow and arrows with quiver, whale bone dagger, wooden charm, clothes, animal hide made hammock and sleeping bag, and extra face paint.
  13. Recreation, Hobbies: Wood carvings and hunting
  14. Obsessions: Always coming home with a good kill
  15. Beliefs: She believes in her strength and her bow
  16. Politics: As long as the village is safe and happy she doesn't care what happens or whose in charge.
  17. Sexual History: Made out with a boy once but never got to second base on account the boy was molesting her. She hates men now.
  18. Ambitions: She is already the best hunter in the village so she doesn't really care about anything else.
  19. Religion: None
  20. Superstitions: None (She is a realist)
  21. Fears: Injuries, rejection, and not being able to hunt anymore
  22. Attitudes: Spunky, smart, cocky, gets annoyed easily, bold, confident
  23. Character Flaws: She doesn't listen to anybody and hates advice
  24. Character Strengths: She is very faithful and loyal towards her friends and village
  25. Pets: None
  26. Food Preferences: Meat
  27. Handwriting: Does not know how to write
  28. Objects in jacket (in this case shorts) pockets: wooden charm

I thought this was pretty interesting to do i had fun with this! Even though my character doesn't talk your doesn't write or whatever, it was nice to explore that side of her.

Cliché (sorta)

THIINK BEFORE YOU ACT mixed with WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY mixed with BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR, YOU JUST MIGHT GET IT.

Imma Blogger Now

Thank you for viewing my very first REAL blog! I guess deviantART, YouTube, and Vimeo are "blogging" websites respectfully, but this is the real deal for me. Im glad i get to do this for my class and watch myself progress throughout the semester. This will defiantly not be my only blog. Im thinking of going to the dark side and create a tumblr too. Im exited that you get to watch, grow and improve with me! Thanks for viewing and i will try to keep you posted as much as i can.




the above are concepts of backgrounds and playing with the look i want. im not exactly there yet but im super close. i have not decided if i want to paint my backgrounds traditionally or on photoshop...

Rough Animatic

this is my super rough animatic from 2012. i am hoping to make some major changes as i am progressing throughout the final product. i will list these changes in my journal.