Work as we know it

Yo. Update on the work front.

I've been working on an arcade  machine, making the 'waiting screen' that appears before you put the money in. It includes the instructions in it too, & logo screens. For this, i've delved into After Effects. I've hardly used it before so had to really get to grips quick, and I am very glad I did. It's a brilliant program that has potential in abundance. Anywho i'll post up the video once it's released, or you can go to Paignton arcade and check it out in person ;).

So that is what's been taking up the majority of my time recently, but now i'm finishing it up i'm getting on with both the Experimental & 11 Second project.

I've got my idea all sorted for the experimental, what i'm doing is using my Venetian mask and animate it in a hypnotic way. Here's my mask:

The spikes coming off change shape, so they'll be animated moving in rhythm to the music. Two influences on the project, are Radiohead's - 'No suprises' video & James Whitney's  work . The Radiohead influence comes from how compelled you are to watch a human face in close up, just simply singing the lyrics. The fact that there's a minor narrative to it is part of that aswell... but done so simply. I think this is a brilliant video.



Also, notice the little twinkling stars & other lights reflected in the glass? This is something I want to do too, use lights shining & reflecting off of my mask.

But the main influence comes from the fact your compelled to watch just a face. Despite the fact i'm using a mask, I think it'll still be captivating, especially, when it wont be certain if it's just a mask...

One of my aims with this is to try and head towards that 'Uncanny Valley eeriness'. Rather than it being a hinderance like it is to 3D-people, I want to use the eeriness to *shudder* the audience, If ya get me.

Anywho after all that, onto my 11 Second piece.

I wont write any more, just post some pictures instead. This is some character design sketches for my two characters:

 

I like this pic for the angry character.

 

Working up the 'I thought you put it there..!' character

 

draft story board 

Originally I wanted to try & dig deep with these characters, think about Derrick's "Thought's in there head, money in there pocket" motto, & make the angry character a nice guy, who's just been flipped by the other guy. But the more I listen to it, and the more I sketch, I really just want to make him a exaggerated characture of what an angry man should be like. Something like our pal Withnail...:

Drawings

Here's a few recent drawings. Most are from Italy:

 

& finally one that is meant for Kathy's optional drawing project. 

It's from the Year 3 pitches the other day:

Style & summarising

"Kill your Stress from alberto mielgo on Vimeo.
Directed, Animated and Designed by Alberto Mielgo


2D animation with black inks"

 PS How good a tool is this for animators... haha.


.

Rotoscoping

Here's two animations that show a good/different use of rotoscoping. Both use it as a means to an end, with a purpose that lifts it above and makes it worth animating, rather than just filming.

This first one is called 'Table for Two'. It's about the up's and down's of a relationship.

Table for 2 from DAFNA AXEL on Vimeo.


and here is the second called Stand Up. The first time I watched this animation, I thought it was very hard hitting and clever with its use of rotoscope. It evokes the phrase 'Animation is the iron fist in the velvet glove..', both because its an animation (often seen as a childrens genre) and secondly because of its use of comedy.

LINK!

And then of course there is always A Scanner Darkly. Ciao.

.

Ralph Bakshi: pure inspiration

Check out this pep talk by Ralph Bakshi. It will shut you up, stop you procrastinating, and get you back infront of the magic-movie-box!

The Simpsons

Thought this was an interesting comparison..:

"If a Hell exists for animation artists, I imagine it would involve having to work on later seasons of The Simpsons. There’s an interesting thing going on here though. Anybody familiar with animation history knows that virtually every classic cartoon character from Mickey to Bugs to Woody to Yogi became stiffer and less appealing as the years passed. It’s a good argument for why repetition is unhealthy for artists, and how it leads to artistic stagnation and an overreliance on formulas."


http://www.cartoonbrew.com/tv/the-stiffsons.html


---

And here, something about Tin Tin - http://www.cartoonbrew.com/cgi/first-stills-from-tintin.html

 .

Inspiration

Here's a few little bits of animation inspiration i've found recently...

Here is a comprehensive introduction to the Disney animator Milt Kahl. He was one of Disney's 'Nine old men', and my favorite character animator i've found. Check out the videos to the left,  its a roundtable discussion of Milt featuring the likes of Brad Bird & a bunch of other animator-folks.

Milt Kahl

 

More Milt Kahl stuff here

-----------------------------

I watched this pretty cool animation last year called 'The Secret of Kell's'. I heard about it because it was nominated for an oscar. Anywho, watched it, & animation wise, its very impressive. Its 2D, but has a very distinct style to it based on a Celtic-Irish look. You should check it out.

If you're interested, ask me & I can give it to ya.

----------------------------- 

That's it for now, enjoy.

First life drawing session of new year

I really enjoy life drawing because I find that the next drawing is always better than the last. This isnt something that I find when drawing in my pad - often it's below par, maybe above - its a lottery. To me, that shows that doing life drawing is key to stepping up your drawing ability rather than standing still.

Anywho heres some pics :

Also, ta Derrick for my picture, have hung it on my wall like I said I would!