All Righty Then

"Your hand needs to get used to listening to your brain..." Bruno Tacchino

My final animation for first semester, George Jetson doing a quick impersonation of Ace Ventura. Was, as usual, lots of fun to do.

https://vimeo.com/55894501

  I also have it posted on my new youtube account, so by all means check it out and subscribe if your so inclined.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM5xXYQYg74

   So school is finished for first semester and I am pleased to say I passed. My personal, positive opinion on the school has remained relatively unchanged, apart from strengthening the point that the school is what you make it. No one is going to push you to greatness, apart from yourself.

    Case in point, first half of first semester we had a teacher for our Anatomy class who's name I won't disclose. The first class was OK; we were placed in front of a skeleton and told to play around with drawing different areas. However we were starting to worry when play time continued for then next few weeks, especially when our life drawing instructor was asking us to point to our Trocanter (the top end of the femur), and was met with blank stares.

    We could have done nothing. Animation students one year ahead, we were amazed to hear, kept him around all semester, enjoyed their playtime and passed the class. Did they learn anything? I could have cared less really, all I cared for was my own education that I was paying for and wasn't getting. If this was all it took to be an Anatomy teacher, then where do I sign?

    We all agreed, and after notifying staff, by the end of the first half of the semester the Anatomy dud was gone from the building. His replacement was the much more professional and helpful mind of Steve Millard, and I now know the name of every sore muscle in my body.

    So really its all in what you make it. For those curious about attending, the school is not overly obsessed with the initial skill of its students. All who are interested can apply and will most likely be accepted, but to succeed, leave all ego at the door, and bring your organisational skills and sense of humor (you need to laugh at your mistakes, A LOT) and you will knock it out of the park.

Peace out!

Product Pictures

Fingers cross we get in. By the way, those are some weird looking dudes on the cover.

The Children will Wake

It is official, the first material of Without Waking Children has been published.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRpJmlpB7Lg&feature=g-all

Exquisite ear candy? I think so.

All videos are rough acoustic renditions, and better quality recordings will be made in the coming weeks. We have found a miraculous talent of a drummer by the name of Matt Mio and look forward to filling out an electric set and taking Toronto by storm. Music Videos, new songs and artwork are all in the works. So keep an eye on http://www.facebook.com/pages/Without-Waking-Children/118237668211743
as it will be a happening spot in the coming month.

Also I'm happy to announce that my entry for the Game Tribute Legion Contest nabbed me 2nd place and $700 in cash! The animation will be posted on stickpage.com in the coming weeks.

I would go anywhere, just to get around.

Somethings missing here...

Oh right! My activity! Well we'll just have to do something about that!

School has taken a turn from busy to very busy in the recent month. As the semester nears its conclusion teachers begin looking for final assignments for grades and portfolios, and as such the pressure is on, leaving me to neglect the blog. My apologies.

I'm happy to report that the aforementioned stick figure animation contest I entered fared well, as I was able to nab second place along with a very generous seven hundred dollar prize. Though I am not allowed to give out the animation before it its posted on www.stickpage.com, I have made a little trailer ezplaining the animations scenario here: http://supranova92.deviantart.com/#/d5jpio4

I have yet to get myself a proper camera for uploading images sadly, but in the mean time here are my most recent animation exercises from class. Enjoy!

Pink Panther Walk cycle: https://vimeo.com/53785898

Smurf Head Rotation: https://vimeo.com/53786293

Until next time!

Sacked

"Do not create an action so the audience will get it. Be sincere, and the audience will get it." Rob Corbett

Hello again! Hope all who are reading had a nice thanksgiving filled with turkey and filling yourselves with it. I unfortunately didn't have many thanks to give, as this weekend marked the passing of a beloved uncle of mine, who had been battling cancer for the past year and a half. Dave, we will forever miss you.

Mid way into week five of this semester and already pressure is mounting. For this week we have due multiple assignments in animal drawing, anatomy, life drawing, cartooning and animation. On top of which, the animation based on Max Payne is progressing quickly, but then again so is the October thirtieth due date. So many ideas so little time, but hopefully I can at least fill the 2 minute quota and have a decent beginning middle and end.

A bit of info for those considering the animation industry that  teachers have made readily apparent recently; know, specifically, what sort of pictures you wish to work on before you graduate. Reason being is that there seems to be a gap between film, web series, television and commercial animators that can be tricky to cross. For example, I originally believed that the industry was a linear path, that in order to work big budget you had to 'prove' yourself by working on TV shows. In truth, people who worked on TV previous are known to have difficulty with the sheer amount of detail that goes into a movie scene. Vice Versa for movie people, as they are normally deemed to damn slow for the constant deadlines of a cartoon show.

My personal opinion: After working on various projects, I have a tendency to get lost in the details and go for the one perfect shot over finishing the whole thing in record time. Plus, seeing my name on some big screen credits is a personal goal of mine; the answer is obvious.

Speaking of which, here's my newly formed vimeo account. Ill be posting all my animation exercises, and what ever shorts I put serious work in (the stick figures stay on the DA account). Check it!

https://vimeo.com/user13431643

More art next weekend. Bye for now!

Good Art

"The difference between success and failure in the art world is whether or not it evokes an approprate emotional response." Rob Corbett.

 Hey out there! Sorry for lack of entries but I've been busy enough with school to even take the time to upload, but no more!

Classes are going well, Acting with animation being the standout for the moment due to the introspective knowledge from our teacher Rob. Anatomy and Animal drawing are most likely going to be my biggest issues, as so far both teachers have asked for nothing but quick yet accurate drawings, and are going to be increasing expectations quickly. As far as animation, the class is going well as both I and Bruno were impressed with my jumping fat man. Ill post when I can and am very excited for a new project. As far as Max payne, im drastically decreasing its original length to hopefully be able to finish on time. However, since Ive already begun animating the original legth version, ill probably finish it on my own time.

Anyway, enjoy the work!

The Big 2-0

Well, I survived my twentieth lap around the sun, and despite what the calender tells me, I swear my lap time gets faster every year...

First day of school today, and already Im realizing this year will be far more demanding then last. Cartooning consisted of reviewing old covers of the new yorker, as well as other comics, and drawing some select few characters from them (see below). Our general meeting came afterwards, which turns out to be basically a class in itself. Where last year we mainly used the time to talk about how things were going, for this meeting we were assigned an animation exercise as well as a few pages from a package of posed disney characters to draw from, all due next week.

Finally animation, assigned to animate a large individual jumping from one class to another. Our teacher Bruno seems very layed back at first, but he openly explained how he is going to push us to do our best at every asset, which im looking forward too.

A swing through the Concrete Jungle

   After a few days of slow organisation , my brother and I are all moved in to our Toronto apartment. The place is more spacious then I could have asked for and is going to be a heck of a lot more hospitable for this years workload.

   Two days ago I took a trip down to the main campus to ask if there was any help needed for the new year. I talked to Tina Seeman, director of the animation program at Max the Mutt, who was happy to hear my offer but informed I was too late. That's one thing that sets this school apart from any other I have seen; there's a real sense that every pitches in everywhere. Its not uncommon to see the director of your program throwing out the trash or washing a washroom. Of course, I'm sure when the school grows this won't be necessary, but seeing such action makes you want to push yourself to do the best job possible, since the teachers work so hard to see you do just that.

    After meeting I bought some mandatory anatomy books and headed out for the first years first day celebratory BBQ.  Everything was going smoothly until one of the first year students went into epileptic shock and fell to the cement a few feet in front of the burger stand. Paramedics were called, CPR was employed, and apart from a bump on the head and, worst of all, embarrassment he was fine. Heck of a first day.

Top: A watercolour painting from first year.                Bottom: An image from an animation based on the game Max Payne

All for now

Daily Compositions

Im Linkedin

http://tinyurl.com/6w4fzte


Created a Linkedin page. On the page, you can view a self portrait of mine from last years projects. Fall 2012 semester begins on the tenth of September, with 9am-9pm classes four out of the five school days of the week.
To keep in touch with what I've learned,  I've been doing daily quick sketches of life or of an idea floating around in my brain at the time. Ill be posting some of my favourites soon.
Until next time!

The bottom

"There's no winning or losing, only learning."

Hello out there. I am an aspiring animator currently studying at Max the Mutts' classical and computer animation program. This blog will contain updates of school work including pictures and hopefully video of projects, as well as thoughts and opinions of the program itself and of course, of life in general.

 Currently impatiently awaiting to attend the second year of the course. Upon attending the school I have to put most negative opinions of Max the Mutt to rest. A school is a facility designed to teach students new skills that are practical and will allow the student to succeed in the future occupation of his or her desire, and Max holds these qualities in spades. I honestly have never learned so much in such a short period of time. From being for the most part artistically illiterate  at the beginning of the year, I know know how light an shadow is used to bring depth, the general proportions of the human form, how to paint in both oil and watercolor, how to compose an image to establish a certain mood, and more. The only issue, you get out almost solely what you put in, and those with a flimsy work ethic need not apply. Our class dropped from the already tiny fifteen to an echo-inducing ten, and that was the easy year. With classes going into second year exceeding 50 hours a week, It won't be getting easier.

  Looking forward to it non the less, as this year is less art focused and more animation focused, which I'm excited for. I'm already literate in the basic concepts of animation and am well versed in flash, and will be posting updates from upcoming projects. I'll also be posting updates on Without Waking Children here as well; twenty songs are complete and ready to go with demos coming no where near soon.

For Animation: http://supranova92.deviantart.com/

For Without Waking Children: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Without-Waking-Children/118237668211743

 Share and enjoy.