Well I have come to realize and WeaklyAnimated has fulfilled its goal as is, in that it was to chronicle my development from a weak animator to a decent one. While I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go, I have decided that Weakly Animated needs to come to an end in its current form. This means I will either shut it down, or repurpose it in the coming weeks.
I was thinking that perhaps turning it into a movie review website might work. However I am open to suggestions. But fear not, you can still keep up with all my latest art and insight and whatnot on my new blog: "Pixel of the Day". Pixel of the Day is going to be dedicated to showcasing something I made or learned every day! I want to use this as a catalyst for getting better at digital art of all kinds, and keep my content together in one place (with a less-dubious name). So for now, you can head on over to PixeloftheDay.blogspot.com to see my latest posts and artwork. Some of it may be old, some of it new, but all it will be my own work.
Thank you for all your support. Please, if you have any suggestion with what to do with Weakly Animated, send them my way!
Keep Animated!
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Vita Magus
I apologize for the long delays between posts. I really do have lots of things going on and lots of things to show people. However right now I'd like to share with everyone the official blog for one of my classes, 3D Group Project. The idea with this class is that a group of about a dozen students (grads and undergrads) make a film from start to finish in 10 weeks (or less).
The film we are making is called Vita Magus and you can find the official blog with all the updates at http://vitamagusfilm.blogspot.com
So be sure to check it out! I should be posting more soon to how projects from past quarters and add some film reviews as well.
The film we are making is called Vita Magus and you can find the official blog with all the updates at http://vitamagusfilm.blogspot.com
So be sure to check it out! I should be posting more soon to how projects from past quarters and add some film reviews as well.
Monday, November 26, 2012
End of film?
So usually I joke about the end of the world according to the Mayans. Anyone who actually looks into it will know that the Mayans did not predict anything of the sort, and yet there is one thing that may be ending sooner than expected for many, and I honestly am surprised it took this long before we started hearing about it in the news.
The end of film as we know it.
Or at least the physical medium of film. According to an article I read recently (http://m.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/paramount-exec-announces-end-of-film-could-be-tomorrow/), the future of the physical medium of film, you know, the stuff they make movies with, and which camera used to use, is about to come to an end. I have already been personally effected by this years ago when I was working at the National Geographic Society HQ imaging department. We used to have 2 black rooms, one of which was dedicated to developing film, and the other for a special kind of printer (called a Lambda printer, which uses light sensitive paper). While I was the, the film development machine was turned off, the chemicals drained, and the room emptied and opened up. No longer sporting a dark room, film at Nat Geo had officially gone digital. And so has everyone else. Professional photographers all use DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera, and everyday people rely on cell phones and snap-shot digital camera for their pictures. Film died in the world of Photography a long time ago. The biggest worry for Photographers was where to develop their old images and how to transition to the new digital world. All but one or two major development labs in the country shut down back then, and I would be surprised if there are any left at all now.
The problem with this wasn't that it was hard or expensive to develop, or even that film didn't produce amazing results (because it still rivals and often exceeds digital photographs), but just that the companies that made the film you put into the camera, aka Kodak and Fuji to make a few, had started to shut down their film making process. There was just no way to buy film anymore. Film was dead.
And yet now, movie companies are finally becoming painfully aware of the impending doom of film for the industry, Almost all movies made in the past decade have had some sort of digital processing done to them, and all haven been converted to a digital medium at some point, even if they were shot with film. And there is a very different visual look to film versus a digitally captured image. Film grain is a topic I could go on and on about, and how many people have strived to eliminate or reduce it but that it is actually the film grain that gives film it's unique high quality images and details. Digital images don't have a traditional film grain, but they do have a sort of dither or digitally introduced noise. The result is very different from grain.
But I digress.
It appears that the last of the film producing companies are finally facing the end of their production. Kodak has been under bankrupt protection for years and is under the control of the government now, and could pull the plug on film production at any time,. Other companies are starting to wind down their processes, and have stopped taking orders. We really are facing the end folks. The Mayans were right.
Digital "film" has now taken over, and has a promising start. While not everyone likes the look of digital over film, it is something we are all going to have to get used to. The end of an era has come, and most people aren't even going to realize it.
But this isn't a bad thing, really. The film industry has always been a leading industry, creating new technologies and adapting. When photography was first invented by Nicéphore Niépce in 1825, it didn't take long before Eadweard Muybridge started to take successive pictures of a running horse to make a form of motion picture in 1877. Ever since then, film has been making strides and leaps in technology, with better quality images, motion, sound, color, aspect ratios, animation, acting, broadcasting, and so much more. This is just the next step in the evolution of what is the Great Image Experiment. An experiment in capturing what it is to be human, what it is to be an artist.
Film may be dead, but movies and pictures will continue to evolve and define the human experience in a way no other art form can. Just remember that changes like this are a part of the innovation of such industries.
Film is dead. Long live the (digital) film!
The end of film as we know it.
Or at least the physical medium of film. According to an article I read recently (http://m.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/paramount-exec-announces-end-of-film-could-be-tomorrow/), the future of the physical medium of film, you know, the stuff they make movies with, and which camera used to use, is about to come to an end. I have already been personally effected by this years ago when I was working at the National Geographic Society HQ imaging department. We used to have 2 black rooms, one of which was dedicated to developing film, and the other for a special kind of printer (called a Lambda printer, which uses light sensitive paper). While I was the, the film development machine was turned off, the chemicals drained, and the room emptied and opened up. No longer sporting a dark room, film at Nat Geo had officially gone digital. And so has everyone else. Professional photographers all use DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera, and everyday people rely on cell phones and snap-shot digital camera for their pictures. Film died in the world of Photography a long time ago. The biggest worry for Photographers was where to develop their old images and how to transition to the new digital world. All but one or two major development labs in the country shut down back then, and I would be surprised if there are any left at all now.
The problem with this wasn't that it was hard or expensive to develop, or even that film didn't produce amazing results (because it still rivals and often exceeds digital photographs), but just that the companies that made the film you put into the camera, aka Kodak and Fuji to make a few, had started to shut down their film making process. There was just no way to buy film anymore. Film was dead.
And yet now, movie companies are finally becoming painfully aware of the impending doom of film for the industry, Almost all movies made in the past decade have had some sort of digital processing done to them, and all haven been converted to a digital medium at some point, even if they were shot with film. And there is a very different visual look to film versus a digitally captured image. Film grain is a topic I could go on and on about, and how many people have strived to eliminate or reduce it but that it is actually the film grain that gives film it's unique high quality images and details. Digital images don't have a traditional film grain, but they do have a sort of dither or digitally introduced noise. The result is very different from grain.
But I digress.
It appears that the last of the film producing companies are finally facing the end of their production. Kodak has been under bankrupt protection for years and is under the control of the government now, and could pull the plug on film production at any time,. Other companies are starting to wind down their processes, and have stopped taking orders. We really are facing the end folks. The Mayans were right.
Digital "film" has now taken over, and has a promising start. While not everyone likes the look of digital over film, it is something we are all going to have to get used to. The end of an era has come, and most people aren't even going to realize it.
But this isn't a bad thing, really. The film industry has always been a leading industry, creating new technologies and adapting. When photography was first invented by Nicéphore Niépce in 1825, it didn't take long before Eadweard Muybridge started to take successive pictures of a running horse to make a form of motion picture in 1877. Ever since then, film has been making strides and leaps in technology, with better quality images, motion, sound, color, aspect ratios, animation, acting, broadcasting, and so much more. This is just the next step in the evolution of what is the Great Image Experiment. An experiment in capturing what it is to be human, what it is to be an artist.
Film may be dead, but movies and pictures will continue to evolve and define the human experience in a way no other art form can. Just remember that changes like this are a part of the innovation of such industries.
Film is dead. Long live the (digital) film!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Almost an update
Hi everyone! I know it's been MONTHS since I last updated. Well I've been really busy, but that's no excuse for failing to update my blog. So I am going to give you a hint as to what has happened and what I will be posting when I find the time to get everything together.
As of the last post, I have made several more animations, one of which was a contestant in the monthly "11 Second Club" contest (I think it was May 2012). I will post a link to that video, as well as any others I can get together. It isn't perfect, but I got the highest rank out of everyone in my class, so I am proud to have made it.
I also worked on a project that was designed to give an idea of the work flow required to make a 3D animation. There are unfinished scenes, a completely finished one, and lots of art. I have since revised the story and if I ever continue the project, I will have a much better result.
I have also been working on a portfolio website, which is still under construction but online and running. I will be updating it with more content soon.
I have also begun a whole new quarter in which I am taking 3 studio classes, a story and concept development class, a character setup and rigging class, and a MEL scripting class. I will be posting a few of the projects I've done soon, including 2 character animations from the rigging class, some art and storyboard and thumbnails from my story (which will be my senior projects), and some stills from my MEL class. It is kind of hard to show anything from MEL without just showing a recording of the interface, so I'll give screenshots with instructions as to what I was doing.
So look forward to these updates, and many more.
Ta Ta!
As of the last post, I have made several more animations, one of which was a contestant in the monthly "11 Second Club" contest (I think it was May 2012). I will post a link to that video, as well as any others I can get together. It isn't perfect, but I got the highest rank out of everyone in my class, so I am proud to have made it.
I also worked on a project that was designed to give an idea of the work flow required to make a 3D animation. There are unfinished scenes, a completely finished one, and lots of art. I have since revised the story and if I ever continue the project, I will have a much better result.
I have also been working on a portfolio website, which is still under construction but online and running. I will be updating it with more content soon.
I have also begun a whole new quarter in which I am taking 3 studio classes, a story and concept development class, a character setup and rigging class, and a MEL scripting class. I will be posting a few of the projects I've done soon, including 2 character animations from the rigging class, some art and storyboard and thumbnails from my story (which will be my senior projects), and some stills from my MEL class. It is kind of hard to show anything from MEL without just showing a recording of the interface, so I'll give screenshots with instructions as to what I was doing.
So look forward to these updates, and many more.
Ta Ta!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Long time coming
So I have been neglecting my blog, I know. But I've always been wanting to post. I've just been too busy. even now, I should really keep working on my projects but I figured I had too many animations done and not posted that I really should do a massive update this week. And next week... FINALS! So you will see the final products of all the things I've been working on.
Also, someone gave me the idea to put tutorials online for various techniques. I might just do that, once I figure out what to post.
Regardless, let's start with my walk cycles. Yes, 2 of them. The first is just a basic study with a tail, which is designed to help us figure out secondary motion. If anyone out there things the tail or whatnot is automatically scripted to move, think again. While big production houses might be able to set that up, often these things are going to be hand done. Especially with students.
So... first the tail walk cycle:
Also, someone gave me the idea to put tutorials online for various techniques. I might just do that, once I figure out what to post.
Regardless, let's start with my walk cycles. Yes, 2 of them. The first is just a basic study with a tail, which is designed to help us figure out secondary motion. If anyone out there things the tail or whatnot is automatically scripted to move, think again. While big production houses might be able to set that up, often these things are going to be hand done. Especially with students.
So... first the tail walk cycle:
Next up is a walk cycle that uses attitude. It can portray anything at all, be it excited or sad or whatever. I decided to do an animation for a tough cowboy. But I'm not really into cowboys... unless their robot cowboys. So... here's a robot cowboy:
Now I bring to you a full character animation. Sure the last animation was a full body robot rig, but I bound his hands to his hips. This next animation focuses on controlling a character more, and acting. Here, we have to show a change of emotion, and a shift of weight.
Speaking of weight... the next animation is all about lifting them. Honestly, this animation isn't finished, I want to add a joke at the end, however it did satisfy the requirements of the assignment, which is to show a sense of weight and balance in a character, and use acting to make something look heavy. More importantly, we learned how to make a character look like they are holding something. We do this with Ik handles and locators, which can "attach" an object to another when used properly.
[Right now there is an error on Youtube, so I will upload this in due time.]
More?! Well yes, there is lots and lots more!! I have a project I will be uploaded parts of soon that involves a robot, a girl, and a junkyard. Right now I'm calling it Junk, and it is only 3 shots. In fact, it isn't even that. it is really only 1 fully animated shot and 2 shots still "in production". This is on purpose as it is to help students figure out how long it takes to make an animation in preparation for the senior project. I will be posting some of the work on this later, so please look forward to it.
Finally, I have a dialogue animation. It is not done yet, so what you see now is merely a Work In Progress (WIP) which is only on the second animation pass. This animation is going to be an entry in the 11 Second Club. This will be done and entered into the contest by the end of the month, which is coincidentally at the end of the quarter as well. In other words, this is my final project in this class. Here is my current WIP.
One last thing, I have been working on a new portfolio website, as well as a new portfolio, resume, demo reel, business cards, etc. for my other class, professional development. You can find my new site at DHixon.com, and I will be posting some things on here as well.
Well that's all for now, I have tons more work to do! I should have work from my finals up by next week. Don't forget to follow me on the 11 Second Club (look for my entry in the forums, under the name WeaklyAnimated).
Ta ta!
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