Anywho, I just wanted to post a quick update about how this last artefact is going. If you've seen UP you can probably tell from the title that it has inspired me. I have also used a clip from UP to assist me with the artefact. In the film there is a joke throughout where the dogs shout "SQUIRREL!" but you never see one. So I am making the reaction of that squirrel now..
What you see here is the first main reaction from the squirrel, after hearing the dog; eye lids open, pupils in eye get bigger, ears pop up, tail pops up, arms and hands raise a bit.
If you have any other suggestions to really make the surprise... surprising, please leave me a comment.
The idea is that I will show a sudden change in acting; from an anthropomorphic squirrel, that yawns slowly like a human on two feet, into a real squirrel that is scared and quick to move on four feet. It's been an interesting challenge for me. So far it's going well and i'm enjoying it. So back to it i guess. Thanks for reading.
Update
Having fun posing this squirrel to extremes...
Another update
Every time I see the graph editor I can't believe how much is going on there. Most I have ever done I think...
Soundtrack: Isaac Hayes - Theme From Shaft
4 comments:
Don't forget about getting clear silhouettes when you're posing - one fast way to check it in Maya is (with no lights in the scene) jump into the lit view (7 is the keyboard shortcut).
So the squirrel extreme that you posted, as a pure black and white shape, wouldn't read clearly to me. I would maybe have him urgently turning on the spot (very quick, very snappy movements, and use the tail to help keep the movement believable, overlap it nicely).
Nice to find an animator so close to home; I live in a village about 30 minutes from Milton Keynes.
Hi there. Thanks for commenting!
Wow, cool! That is nice to find out another animator in the same area. How long have you been animating? You were also on the animatinmentor webinar with Aaron and Victor the other night too, right? That was so cool!
About the silhouette, i haven't used that method before but it sounds very useful... is that something you're supposed to do with every pose? So for both of the pictures i uploaded - the first is the reaction, the second is after he jumps back scared - i should check the silhouette? What am I looking for in the silhouette?
I was in the webinar, very briefly - they were using LiveOffice, which does not like Macs! So no audio.
I'm in a similar position to you; I've just completed the Animation Mentor course, I'm working on my reel to send out to studios and will be looking for work as soon as it's presentable.
As far as silhouette goes; you need to be thinking about your golden poses (I prefer that term compared to keys, because that can get a little confusing in CG). These are the storytelling poses, the ones that tell the audience that this character is scared, is thinking, is ready for action, and so on. The ones that should really communicate the main idea of the scene to the audience.
There's so much to look for in a silhouette, I'll do my best to get you started. I'll do a quick sketch critique of the two poses that you have posted here. That might be easier than trying to explain in words!
yeah i'm a mac user too. i had to run around 15mins before to try and borrow someones laptop (which was really slow) but managed to get on to it ok. i think it recorded onto the laptop through the windows live software. if it did, give me your e-mail and i'll send it over to you.
here's a quick playblast of the animation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfZs8tBBNZo
cheers!
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