Posts: 122

1. 

   It's So Cold In This Freezer......

   12.May.08, 13:39 EDT
   
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   Some characters seem to dislike the freezer more than others.
   

2. 

   Sad, Homeless Cat

   11.May.08, 14:16 EDT
   
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   Here's the first character I've started building for my new series. I can't say anything about it yet, but I thought I'd share this little guy with you. I've been doing so many characters with replacement mouthes lately, it'll be nice to animate a character with a good ol' movable mouth.
   

3. 

   Rhonda Faces

   05.May.08, 11:39 EDT
   
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   Rhonda wasn't always supposed to be a caiman, I actually ran her through a couple animal incarnations to find the right look for her unique character. One thing was clear from the get go, she would be a soft, pastel purple. Other than that, it was all up in the air. One of my ideas was a duck.......
   
   
   
   Bre suggested a moose girl would be cute.........
   
   
   
   She was right, but it just didn't seem to fit the character I wanted for Rhonda, but expect to see this sexy moose in the future. Lastly, I sketched a kitten, and I loved her!
   
   
   
   Unfortunately once I saw her in 3D, I fell out of love with her, and the search continued. But the purple kitten didn't go to waste, you can see her in several shots as one of the many extras frequenting the bar.
   
   
   
   Feeling a little discouraged, I decided to try sculpting her without sketching her first. This is something I do for most background characters, but rarely for a main character. As I started to play with the shapes in the clay, I found that I liked her with a long face, and when I added her bug-eyes, well, she looked like a caiman. So I embraced that animal design and went with it. And pretty soon, I had my Rhonda.......
   
   

4. 

   New York: Falling Into Gravity With Ron Cole

   28.Apr.08, 16:54 EDT
   
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   I’ve been out in New York for the past couple of days, clearing my head and doing some early development and pre-viz for my next Tertiary Animation project. It’s been a great and much needed change of scene for my creative mind.
   
   
   
   One of the highlights of my trip so far was getting to visit the Mysterious Ron Cole in his Long Island studio. In the last year or so, Ron Cole has risen out of obscurity to some sort of underground stop-motion animation god. All based on a 1 minute trailer for his upcoming short film “In The Fall Of Gravity” that he posted on the internet. The 12 minute short is a revolutionary experiment involving animatronic stop-motion. This new technology that Ron is developing could very well change the way stop-motion animation is done in the future, as well as improve the quality beyond cartoons.
   
   
   
   When I got to his basement studio, I was EXTREMELY excited, as I have been a fan of his trailer since it first surfaced on the web almost a year ago. Nothing could prepare me for what I was going to see. We journeyed through the various set areas and he introduced me to Isomer and Trevor, the stars of the film. What blew me away was how giant these puppets were, I couldn’t believe it. Moving them around was a dream, they had wonderful ball and socket armatures, and then Ron started to play with their robotics, moving the mouths and eyebrows around, seeing them come to life was truly magical. The type of facial features and movements they make are like nothing I have ever seen in this industry.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   The sets were beautiful, hand panted, leaves and vines crawling up the rails. I just wanted to touch it all. What surprised me was that all the backgrounds were hand painted and right there, no blue screen. The painstaking detail apparent in each one was mind-boggling.
   
   
   
   The real treat, though, was getting to be the first person (other than the composer) to watch the finished “In The Fall Of Gravity” film. And let me tell you, all you stop-mo fans that have been salivating over his trailer for the last year; it is well worth the wait. The final film is stunningly beautiful, and I watched the entire time with my jaw on the floor. The trailer doesn’t show anything compared to what the film has in store for you. The animation is top notch; the visuals are beautiful and fun. I’m pretty sure the deep, philosophical story was compelling too, but I was so captivated by what I was watching, not much else got through. It is a sensory overload and demands multiple viewings to truly take it all in and get the full affect.
   
   
   
   We spent the rest of the afternoon talking about animation and technology, I showed him my Fox & Calf shorts, and I got to know his really cool family. He shared with me how he did all the low-tech effects in the film and my head almost exploded. It’s funny that even I assume everybody does everything digitally. And his tricks were brilliant. So brilliant, in fact, that I feel as if giving them away on this blog would be the same as me telling you how his film ends. Hopefully he will do a “making-of” featurette on his DVD and give us all a glimpse at how his brilliant mind works, and still defies the computers.
   
   I had an amazing experience with Ron and his family, and his puppets, and left feeling very inspired. How often does that happen? I cannot wait until everyone else can see what he’s done and feel the same!
   
   

5. 

   Blue Flamingo!

   24.Apr.08, 14:35 EDT
   
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   Here's one character that I started making for the Rhonda night club that just didn't make it. Too bad, she would have been a cool character. Oh well, maybe she'll appear in something else. Until then, she lives in the freezer, freaking out everyone at the office.
   

6. 

   End Of An Era?

   22.Apr.08, 17:11 EDT
   
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   Well, today was an exciting and emotional day. I shot the final two shots of Rhonda, meaning that I am done animating Rhonda, and for now, done animating Fox & Calf. Anyone who's animated characters over a long period of time knows that the emotion connection the animator feels for his creations is surprisingly high. And having worked with Spencer The Fox and Wally Calf for the better part of a year, I feel particularly attached to them. Usually after a long time spent on a project, I cannot wait to get as far away from it as possible. But this time, I will truly miss these weird little people, and I am really proud of the 6 shorts they have starred in. Some of my most personal pieces yet. Anyway, I am super stoked about my next project, and looking forward to when I can bring these guys back for more adventures someday.
   

7. 

   One More Day To Go

   21.Apr.08, 15:57 EDT
   
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   Well, production on Rhonda is coming to a close, tomorrow will be my last day of shooting (assuming all goes according to plan). And then it's onto Post-production, which should be quick, and then start development of my new animated series. So that's pretty exciting. Anyway, here are some shot's I did of some of the hipsters, you can see that the Italian Giraffe is hiding out in the background, helping fill out the scene, along with Steve The Gecko. I'm getting nostalgic now, sad to see Fox & Calf winding down. It's been way too much fun.
   
   
   
   
   

8. 

   Fish Bartender

   17.Apr.08, 13:07 EDT
   
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   Here's some concept art I did when trying to come up with the bartender a couple months ago. I think he's a cool character, but glad I went with the burly puffin.
   
   Still been animating, "Rhonda" is coming along great! I should finish the animation by next Tuesday.
   

9. 

   15 Seconds In One Day!

   15.Apr.08, 11:02 EDT
   
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   Yesterday I was feeling awful, didn't think I could do anything, but I told myself I would animate  5-10 seconds so I got to work. And whaddayouknow? I animated 15 seconds! I haven't animated that much in one day in  along time (granted one shot was 10 seconds long and had no lip-sync), but still not too shabby. Gonna keep truckin' today! I'm very happy with the progress I'm making.
   
   

10. 

    Even More Rhonda Shots

    14.Apr.08, 11:24 EDT
    
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    Hey Guys, Hope you all had a great weekend. Heres a few shots I did on Friday. I think I'm at about 28 seconds of animation now, that's almost halfway through (although I'm just now getting into the lip-sync, so that'll take a little longer. Gonna shoot a bit more today. My hope is for 5-10 seconds.