Linacal Run Cycle

I felt like uploading a rough test!!!




This is for a video game level I am creating right now. Picture something like the Lion King Game for Super Nintendo.

Hand animated character sprites, and lush backgrounds.


I was going to inbetween this, but I suppose for a small character sprite, this is more than enough! This character will also have a jump and stationary sprite. And eventually, it will be vicious and have the ability to attack stuff!


All in a day's work. The tail, and facial features/cleanup/color within the next week.

Basically, she's running for her life while carrying two kits in her mouth, and it's raining and scary outside. Woooo!!!!



My first big cat run cycle. I think it looks awesome for a first timer!

How To Train Your Dragon

I promise to keep fanart and copywritten content to an absolute minimum here, but I will admit, I have also been bitten by the Dragon bug.

This is a serious condition, as I've been reading up on it and seeing it plastered all over blogs, Facebook and Deviant Art.  Non-stop Fanart of Dreamwork's "How To Train Your Dragon."

But I understand now.

That movie was incredible.  I no longer resent that I may eventually turn to 3-D animation, because this movie showed me what I needed to see.  I felt like a kid again; I have returned over and over to the theater to see this movie.  Purchased the soundtrack, went to McDonalds for a Toothless toy.

Best movie I have seen in years.  My favorite 3-D movie so far, and I think that's saying a lot.

So here, before I ramble too much...

Toothless.  The show stopper, the cutest thing I have ever seen.

And I Viking'd myself heavily influencing the drawing based on artist Nicolas Marlet's individual style.

He is a huge inspiration.  And I'd love to draw like this more.

T-Square is my sword, Animation Disk is my shield.  I thought it was cute and creative.

I guess that's all for now.   Seen the movie three times now.   That number will increase, I'm sure.

Off to animate!

Cat Nab Visual Development and Color Keys

IT'S SPRING BREAK, WOOO!

But I'm not on a break by any means!

As always, working on my beloved film.  I took a break from animating, and did a few speed paints in photoshop using some of my layouts.  I strongly believe in good color theory to help move your film.

I was trying to show greens and purples in the first and last one, to portray greed or envy, and pastel golds and purples in the middle one to show a serene calm, loving setting.

I'm a little rusty with Photoshop.  Truth be told, haven't touched it in over a year.

But I do love Vis Dev.  

More color keys to come soon!

Animal Drawings

Some new drawings, finally.

It's been a busy semester.  I've been working on two films, one my own personal, the other collaborative.  My brain feels like mush, but it is SO worth it.

I've been stuck animating a lot of little girls, so I decided to do some different stuff in ye olde sketchbook.   Life drawing, oh I missed you.

Drew these at the Berkley Vivarium.  The Rhino Lizard was so awesome.  He posed perfectly for at least five minutes.

And creepers.   I always wondered why there weren't millipede characters or spiders in animation.  Now I know why.  They're really hard to caricature.

I felt -compelled- to draw a Hyena.   So I did. 

And last but not least, a new animal which has only recently started to intrigue me, a PALAS CAT!  I think they are so neat and puffy.  I would like to see one up close and pet it (without it biting my face off).

I would like to make a character out of this.

I think that's all for today!  I must animate now.

Cat Nab Production - 01

Been working on my film..... Here is some of my character development.

It's based on a true story about a young girl stealing a kitten from its mother, and then realizing the consequences a wee bit too late.

Since this is my first real film, I had the roughest time trying to settle on a story. Long before the film class started, I tried boarding a sequence or two to try and find something with a strong enough story, and something fairly possible to animate.

My first idea was of from an aboriginal tale about where the platypus came from. It involved a duck who got kidnapped by a water rat. She escaped, and then laid eggs weeks later. What came of it was the platypus! It was a little suggestive in story, and I couldn't get the length down to less than 3 minutes.

 

 

There was another idea based on an Aesop's Fable about the Stag and His Reflection. It involved very detailed deer and lion anatomy, not to mention, a big technical issue of how to animate detailed antlers stuck in a tree.

 

  

 

I was frustrated. I was telling my mom about this, how I didn't want to just "make something up," I wanted to base it off something, a real story. I know my strengths and strong stories is just not one of them.

My mom didn't even have to think. She said, "Why don't you make a movie about the time you stole that kitten...."

The rest is history.

Here's some character development....along with Character Design concepts. The top left is the finalized character design.

 

 Various Layouts: 

  

 

For my own security, I'm going to take this down in a week or so.

But uploading it for now so you all can check it out.

This is the first sequence.

So yeah.  Cat Nab.

Bring it on!!!!

Cartoon People I Know...

It's been too long since I last posted.  I am ashamed.

I'm sure most animators or character artists do this:  Make cartoons out of their friends.

It's not that easy sometimes.  Never been able to explain it.  There are people who are just dying to be drawn and then other people who are extremely difficult to draw and have them look like them.

Now that I'm more experienced, I realize it's because their features are subtle versus exaggerated. 

Now, a group of animators, that's easy for me. 

And now a group of co workers.  Let me tell you.....

The guy in this picture is really hard to draw!!!!!  However, fun too, once I figured him out.  

I gotta do my roomates next, and some more animator ones!