Final Thoughts: Publishing art, making your own website, and other content:

For my Intro class, I made this link, which served as a useful entry point for showcasing your art online. It shows you how to create a youtube page, a blogger page, and compress video footage.  As you progress, I highly suggest you should continue building an online video presence to showcase your artwork! There are a wide variety of methods to do so!

Consider getting a weebly.com website (as you will need/are using one for Eric Huber's Classes and for personal development.  If not, check out one of the resources below!

Behance.net
Wordpress.com
Wix.com
Tumblr.com
Instagram.com
Vimeo.com

Review this link for saving and cataloging your artwork into an online portfolio!


As an additional note, I originally planned for us to learn how to make our own press materials and "art-of" books this semester. While we ran out of time, I did have some older materials I produced that can help you get started on this process! For the sake of ease of access, I'm going to add some older materials I produced a few years ago that provide a nice introduction to graphic design and layout of images, as well as some notes on using Adobe Indesign and Illustrator to make interesting book layouts! (I taught a Digital Foundations class once upon a time.)  Feel free to review this content and then email me if you have any questions!


Designing a page for your portfolio and notes about layout design for type and image:

Notes on using Adobe Indesign

Notes on using the Fiery Printer in the school to print Double-Sided layouts.

GUIDE FOR END OF SEMESTER:

By April 30th, you should gather the following materials into the FINALS FOLDER on the server for review.  I will have two folders: Solo Project and Group Project! Consolidate and organize your projects into the following divisions!

SOLO PROJECT FOLDER:

• Your Lip-synching Project!
• Character Designs
• Environment Designs
• Sound Clip
• Your Solo Project
• Storyboard
• Animatic
• Character Art
• Environment Art
• final 18 seconds of animation
• Any additional animated content you have produced.

GROUP PROJECT FOLDERS:

• A copy of the final film, compiled together!
• Your storyboard and animatic
• Your character design model sheets
• environment content
• A text document containing the following:
• Your name,
• your contributions to the film
• a writeup about your time working together as a group.
• What you feel you did well, what you need to do to improve this semester.
• Any ideas you have for making a stronger animation class next semester!

All content for the class must be complete by 12:00 NOON on MAY 6, 2018!

Additional Vid Resources!

Coloring your Animation:


After Effects: Adding Highlights and the like to your final:

Final Project Parameters:

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I couldn't make it today. I will update this blog post with more information as soon as I can. Review the three blog posts: Final Project Parameters, List of Job Titles, Notes on the Collaborative Art Process. Start getting everyone's contact information as well! The start of this project officially will be Monday.  It will go quickly!  You can use some time this weekend to brainstorm ideas to bring to the table for Monday!
~Shaw
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FINAL PROJECT - we will watch your film on the last official day of class, April 30th!
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Using the skills you have gained during the semester, learn the amazing art of collaborative film making by producing a group film together!  The film you produce is YOUR CHOICE.  However, the runtime must be at least 6 seconds x the number of students working together. (Each student animates at least 6 seconds.)  If all of the students are working together I will be expecting a film of at least 48 seconds by semester's end!

While I have provided a lot of information to help you get started, we can summarize this final project in three steps:
1. Come up with a cool idea.
2. Agree on said idea.
3. Enjoy making mistakes, ask lots of questions, and try out some new techniques!
4. Work together to make this idea a reality!


This is a chance to multiply the amount of experience you have gained this semester! Typically, when working together in groups, you gain experience by your successes and failures as well as the successes and failures of your group mates! And since overcoming challenges is part of the process of film making, this is the ultimate opportunity to try something new and creative!

Realistically, the most intensive part of this project will be the animation production. As a word of advice, come up with an idea that can be drawn by everyone in class, and an idea you can realistically make and complete within the time limit. Part of your grade will be project management!

Here is an outline of the process you should follow when producing this film!

Preproduction:  
Brainstorm ideas!  Leave no stone unturned in the beginning, then take the best of your ideas and decide on a final idea. This can be a single idea mentioned by someone, or the sum of a lot of good ideas mentioned by many.

Storyboarding:
Storyboard this film! Come up with a few different ideas of how this film could be executed. Having a couple storyboard drafts can allow you to take the best of both worlds and refine it! Come together to make an animatic. Once the animatic is agreed upon, build six second scenes in Storyboard Pro. Divide up the animation, and guide each other in producing quality art! Use premiere to make a composite of your final animation!

Animation Production: 
After making the animatic, and separating the work into scenes, choose scenes you want to work on and begin animating your film! Periodically, show other students what you're currently working on. Provide helpful advice!  To keep you motivated, I will place some "making of" animation videos on the server to show you what is possible when people work together!  To help you with the journey of collaborative animation, I have a blog post called "Notes on the Collaborative Art Process" every student should read!

Audio Production:
Audio Production will be required for this project! We will go back into the sound studio to record and process sound for your movie! Everyone will learn how to use Garage Band and Logic Pro!  For now, plan what sound effects you would like to have. We will record, edit, and piece together our audio as a team!

Visual Effects:
If there are any special effects (like glows, camera shakes, etc...) we will plan for them and schedule a time before the semester is over to implement them. I will guide you and help you create whatever look or feel you need!


ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Dividing up work:  During animation production, each student will produce 6 seconds of your animated film. During development, Storyboard ideas should be developed in groups of 2-4.  Designs should be agreed upon by the class, and a design document should be built to keep objects and characters on model as much as possible.

During a collaborative project, there is a term called "Lead (pronounced leed)." Each person comes to the project with a specialty. It is okay and advised to pick a part of the film to specialize in.  Everyone has a strength they can bring to the table, as well as a weakness to develop.  Be open to playing towards your strengths, and using this project as a chance to work on your weaknesses!

Example: "Person A is a great environment artist, but wants to get better at character design. Person B is the opposite. Person C has an amazing sense of color theory. Maybe Person B serves as the lead character designer that helps nail down a final look for the film that everyone can draw and replicate.  Person A serves as the lead environment artist making compelling stages for the action to take place. Person C serves as the color stylist, making sure light, shadow, and color design works wonderfully. During the project, they ask questions and provide samples of the other jobs to learn a bit about making better art.  Person A contributes clothing ideas to the characters. Person B contributes prop and object ideas to stick in the environment. Person C offers a little of both, and gives ideas about lighting and shadows."

As stated before, read the following post, Notes on the Collaborative Process before you get started!
Review the "List of Animation Studio Positions to see where you fit in the process!"


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This should be enough to get started.  I will provide grading paramaters and additional help when I return. There will be some inspirational "making of" videos added to the references folder on the server. The first two should be a video about the making of Netflix's Little Witch Academia, and a tech and technique video on the making of Ankama Studios' Wakfu. These are to help you see different methods of animation production. I will add more in time.  Good luck, my students! =D

List of Animation Job Titles!

Obviously, in any given production, a person can take on multiple roles.  There are more jobs than are on this list. 

Executive Producer: (Changes per production. Creative producer can be executive producer.) Oversees film in question, and oversees all parts of film with regards to finances, resources, and copyrights. In the case of this class, me! (I'm providing the time and the school is providing resources to help you complete your film. No need to credit me as such, however. EP is tasked with making sure you turn in your projects on time and making sure you don't break copyright laws and plagiarize.  EP talks to the "powers that be" to make sure you have all of the funds and resources for this film.  To ensure you're ready in case you work for a network with lots of "suits," I will play the role of the "hands off" executive producer you report to, and you will not credit me in the film as such. (A teacher mention in the special thanks is optional, but good enough for me. lol)

Creative Producer/Director:  Without this person, the film does not get produced.  Oversees all aspects of the film's production, making sure that the vision is maintained, and the creation reaches it's fullest potential. Those of you that have your films approved are in this position by default, but you are free to pass it up to others periodically.  You are not a Dictator, and you will not run your production like one.  But you are a leader now, and you must make sure you know the times to lead, and the times to follow. Contrary to popular belief, there will be a 51/49 split in this department. You will find out where the split lies.

Animator: (You know the drill by now!)

Animation Director: Controls the overall quality of the animation in production. In larger productions, there will be individual directors for animation, sound, special effects, and any other part of the project that can be broken down into more manageable chunks.

Key Animator: (Animates primarily keyframes and extremes of animation. )

Inbetween Animator: (Animates the in-betweens. Matches the style of the film.  A great position for those entry-level artists who want to boost their fundamental skills in animating, because it forces you to adapt to a level of artistry you may or may not be used to.  By the end, you have learned a lot of what helps the director)

Background Artist: Creates environments. May or may not color them.  May possible draw only, and give to Color Artist.)

Character Designer:  Refines character designs and optimizes them for animation production. makes sure that all designs are as polished as can be.

Cleanup Artist: (Ensures all lineart maintains a consistent quality.)

Layout Artist: Takes the team's storyboards into ToonBoom Animate. Develops files that have proper layering and layout for animation, making it easier for all members of the team to animate.  (Probably best done together as a group.)

Color Artist:  Specializes on giving the film the best color palette imaginable.  Best for someone wanting to push their ability of color theory to the max.  A color script and ample lineart must be generated before color production begins.

Executive Sound Director:  Guides the teams in their exploits for film.

Sound Designer:  Gathers and coordinates acquisition of all sound necessary for film.

Foley Artist:  A person who creates customized sounds from scratch to give the film a personal touch.

Sound Editor and EQ: A person who takes the sounds gathered and makes sure they all play at a respectable level for multiple shots.  (The recommended decibel level when all sounds are mixed together:  -12db)

Compositing and FX:  Post production position where the film is taken to software like after effects and/or final cut for laying in sound, audio, and other special effects. Sound can be added in toon boom as well.

Production Coordinator: Makes sure everyone stays on time and on schedule.

You will create extra jobs

Storyboard Artist (Story Artist): Develops the storyboards of the film.

Technical Director (Research and Development (R&D):  Determines the software, hardware, analog, and electronic resources used to create the film.  Usually a team all on it's own, anyone in the research department (R&D) makes sure all software is operating at peak capacity for the artists.  They are also there to provide feedback for any "How do I possibly do this?" and "What can I do with this?" questions.

Notes on the Collaborative Art Process!

These are tips for maximum success when creating art as a team!

One of the important facets of artistic creation is the collaborative environment. Everyone must gain the important skill of being able to work with others!  It gives you new points of view for problem solving, and a chance to work on something much larger than an individual could produce in that time. Learn from each other, be willing to teach when necessary, and make something awesome! I believe in all of you! 

Here are some tips to make the collaborative process easier and more enjoyable. Begin reviewing the following information and we will discuss on  Monday!

1. Allocate responsibilities!

Every member is good at something. Spending 30 minutes in the beginning making a list of what everyone is good at, will help the group succeed in the long run!

2. GET THAT CONTACT INFORMATION, and Check in every two days as a group with progress updates!

You should not tackle this assignment with an “everyone do their part, we’ll put it together in the end” attitude.  Instead, create a list of small, objective-based goals that will help you see your project through to the end!
Check in does not have to be in person. It can be over facebook in a group, through skype, or an email chain! (Hitting reply all in an email will save your life!) Either way, get those digits! Communicate!

3. Create a schedule!

Design a timeline that has, at minimum the following milestones!

1. Story finalized! (do you need a script written? it may help!)
2. Vocals recorded!
3. Music begins production!
4. All sound recorded!
5. All sound effects created!
6. Music is completed and ready to test!
7. Audio mixing begins!
8. In-Progress Track is fully mixed and ready to test!
9. Final mixing is completed and ready to test!
10. Music is revised!
11. Final adjustments complete!

Those are clear objectives that help you make artwork within a group setting. Any large jobs should be broken up into smaller, easily digestible jobs.  To help you better function, be willing to help someone with one part of their work with the added notion that that person helps you with your work as well!

4. Brainstorm ideas!  

Go one by one, across the entire group 4 or 5 times.  Pick a person to take notes, and write down every idea everyone has first!  Ask each other why the idea came to mind, and what quality scenarios could be made from the idea.  (The question mentioned just now is what you call an OBJECTIVE question. It gets you thinking in terms of specific goals, and not open-ended thoughts that often end with everyone going "I don't know...")

Sift through each idea with pro and cons lists and see what sticks from each idea! Find a way to incorporate something that everyone likes to create a piece that is greater than the sum of it’s parts!

5. Take turns leading and following when working together!  

If you have an idea, be willing to share it! But make note that you may be working with someone in your group who is usually more on the quiet side. Because of this, be willing to periodically ask the members of your group one of these simple questions:

"What do you think?  How can we get this done?  Do you think there is a better way?  What would you do differently?"

This encourages group participation and encourages critical thinking on all ends of the process! Remember we are all banding together as a team to learn something new!

6. The goal of collaborative art making is twofold: Make incredible art, and have a good time doing it.  

Follow the steps above to make the experience an enjoyable one!

7. Clear Objectives 2:

Be sure to have a goal for all class periods! Someone should take notes of all ideas mentioned.

8. COMMUNICATE!

Before you do anything else, make a list of everyone’s contact information. Emails, phone numbers, instant messengers, and even Facebook addresses if need be.  Once you have an idea you’re happy with, you need to make time during the week to meet together to make epic sound projects!

If you find that you’re having problems, nip it in the bud and talk it out early!  Be cordial, and try to avoid hostile language.  Be mindful that your idea of natural speaking patterns may not be the same as someone’s else. If you make controversial jokes, like to use excessive four-letter language or the like, make sure everyone else in your group is cool with it.  Yes, we're an art school, but you never know. It’s better to check early.

If you often have medical issues, or something unavoidable that you feel may cause you to leave from a collaborative session early, talk with everyone ahead of time.  The best thing you can do is communicate!

Make note of email chains! Start an ongoing conversation with your group mates and make use of the "Reply All" button!

UTILIZE facebook or skype for group conversation when not in class!

If you find that you have a dispute and you need a mediator outside your group, that is what I am here for. Let me know of the problem early, before it becomes much larger! (note: if you feel like you're on the verge of speaking with hostility and a few 4 letter words, stop, take a breather, and come back to the situation when you've calmed down.)

9.  Find each other's strengths!

Everyone, EVERYONE, is good at something.  And part of the collaborative process is finding out what someone else can do, that is done much better than you!  Being open and honest about this makes it easier for you to learn new strategies for alleviating your greatest weaknesses, while helping someone else do the same!  Be open, ask questions, and be willing to ask each other about processes you have yet to try!

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One of the important facets of artistic creation is the collaborative environment. Everyone must gain the important skill of being able to work with others!  It gives you new points of view for problem solving, and a chance to work on something much larger than an individual could produce in that time. Learn from each other, be willing to teach when necessary, and make something awesome!

Homework for Monday

Use what you know to bring a composite to class with at least 16 seconds of animation!

That's it!  More info will be given monday! =D

Secondary Action and Limited Animation

Let’s begin with a really nice message about being an animator:

"...No, audiences want only one thing- they want you to entertain them. And there are a LOT of ways that can be done." -- Keith Lango

I really like this quote. It talks about how, at the end of the day, our goal is to connect with an audience, with whatever means we choose to use.  While I don't agree that audiences, don't care about quality animation ever, I do agree that, as artists, our expectations for quality are far different than our audience. Using our art to communicate clearly is more important than achieving the most ideal beauty of any image. In that same vein, I present to you:  LIMITED ANIMATION!

Limited animation is a term for an animation method that has been refined over the years to make higher quantities of animated content. While it has many origins, one major inspiration for it is: Gerald Mc Boing Boing

This was created by what became the UPA or United Productions of America.  They specialized in finding methods of storytelling that didn’t require the same level of rigor as traditional feature-length animation.  With technological advents, a need for more economically friendly production methods, people became masters of making every drawing and illustration count!

The example below is made with the same techniques.  I have provided a link to the blog to a project file I have broken down into chunks for you to review! As you continue to make art, remember that communication with the viewer is most important. Having the most beautiful work is a wonderful goal to have, but bear in mind that many different means are at work here!

Can you think of any examples you have seen from TV?

Example of Techniques Used:

• Animation Cycling: (In this case a run cycle.)
• Squash and Stretch:
• Panning and Tracking:
• When using the ADVANCED ANIMATION TOOLS: Move, Rotate, Scale. Building keyframes to interpolate movement.
• Pegs:  (Creating Peg layers and adding them to drawing layers to track artwork.
• Limiting animation frames: 
• Secondary action: Moving the background or objects on screen to add to the sense of movement

Secondary Action:

Additional Examples of Secondary Action:

• Bending the knees before lifting an object, 
• Sticking a leg backward when reaching over for something.
• Hair blowing in the wind when a character is not moving.
• Someone putting their hands up to their face before they sneeze.
• The shifting of the body around the spinal axis during a walking or running cycle.

Limited animation:

In the next couple days, we will begin to talk about technical process behind animation! This will help you become better accustomed to the software, but will also open up your methods of animating and movement!