Okay, I have been writing this blog for over two months now, and have had a total of four comments. I set up the blog, not only to document my learning, but to try to stimulate some discussion on learning to animate.
Whilst attempting to avoid sounding like your mothers, if you read or see anything at all on this site that you like, please, please, PLEASE leave your comments and/or suggestions. Maybe you have some criticism of my work, would like to know where I learned something, or maybe you have some ideas of what I could put on here....just let me know!!
Thanks!!
Sunday, 20 August 2006
It's All Going Thumbs Up!
I have decided that it's time I had a go at some more actual animation, not just still drawings. As I have been studying the human hand, I thought it might be a good idea to animate that, and so am in the process of creating a short piece of work of a hand doing some sort of movement. I started with this idea two days ago and have unfortunately still not got past this first drawing:
I drew this fairly quickly and was pleased with it. If I may say so myself, I liked the design of it. However, every attempt at a subsequent key frame has not appeared to be the same hand. This next one, for example, looks too much like a real hand and not a cartoon one like in the first drawing.
The problem lies in the thumb. In the second drawing it has all of the bumps and curves of a real thumb (my thumb, to be accurate), but in the first picture I somehow subconsciously simplified it, which turned out to be more pleasing to the eye in my opinion. I just can't seem to do the same thing in my follow-up drawings though!
I drew this fairly quickly and was pleased with it. If I may say so myself, I liked the design of it. However, every attempt at a subsequent key frame has not appeared to be the same hand. This next one, for example, looks too much like a real hand and not a cartoon one like in the first drawing.
The problem lies in the thumb. In the second drawing it has all of the bumps and curves of a real thumb (my thumb, to be accurate), but in the first picture I somehow subconsciously simplified it, which turned out to be more pleasing to the eye in my opinion. I just can't seem to do the same thing in my follow-up drawings though!Friday, 18 August 2006
Walt a Lot of Pictures!
Here is another picture made from movie scenes. In this case, there are 1200 images from four Disney movies (Bambi, Lady and the Tramp, The Lion King and Snow White) making up an image of Walt...Enjoy!
One Foot Forward, Two Heads Back
I'm having a break from hands! I moved onto feet last night, with this charcoal drawing of my girlfriend's foot.
However I got a bit bored drawing feet, so I decided to just doodle some characters, which weren't particularly good, but since I have nothing else to post, here they are!
However I got a bit bored drawing feet, so I decided to just doodle some characters, which weren't particularly good, but since I have nothing else to post, here they are!
Thursday, 17 August 2006
Grim Handango
I've been having a bit of a rest from using charcoal. I started to do a couple of sketches of hands using felt p
en, but I was getting frustrated because I was having a bad day, artistically speaking, so I gave up and decided to have a go at some cartoon hands. I was actually pleasantly surprised by what I was able to draw. These hands might not be quite right, but they are far more hand-like than I was ever able to draw before I started studying real hands. I was also
able to draw them without referring to my own hand, which pleased me. I had been getting tired of just drawing hands until I saw that I was actually taking
on what I was trying to learn! I might actually have a go at a different body part tonight!
Wednesday, 16 August 2006
Hands Down
Here are today's attempts at hands. I'm getting a bit sick of putting pictures of the same body part on here day after day. I'm sure it doesn't make great reading, but it's all in the name of documenting my progress!
I thought I had drawn too many hands with the palm facing up, so I decided to do some of the back of the hand. The first is simply a charcoal drawing of my own hand. 
With the second and third pictures, I decided to try drawing from memory, rather than using a real reference hand, in order to see whether I had taken in all the details. I found that I had to refer to my hand a couple of times, but they were largely done from memory. 
Hopefully I will be able to manage one entirely from my imagination within a couple of days.
I also found that trying to draw from memory helped me really pay attention to all the little details of the hand. I guess that sometimes an artist just goes into autopilot from time to time when drawing what he/she is actually looking at.
I thought I had drawn too many hands with the palm facing up, so I decided to do some of the back of the hand. The first is simply a charcoal drawing of my own hand. 
With the second and third pictures, I decided to try drawing from memory, rather than using a real reference hand, in order to see whether I had taken in all the details. I found that I had to refer to my hand a couple of times, but they were largely done from memory. 
Hopefully I will be able to manage one entirely from my imagination within a couple of days.I also found that trying to draw from memory helped me really pay attention to all the little details of the hand. I guess that sometimes an artist just goes into autopilot from time to time when drawing what he/she is actually looking at.
Tuesday, 15 August 2006
Handy Andy
Here are some more hands. I'm getting to like charcoal much more than I did, but I still prefer the felt pen. 
I tried to construct the hands properly, planning out where each part was to go before filling in any details. 
I have always found hands the hardest thing to draw, so I am pretty pleased with these attempts.
I tried to construct the hands properly, planning out where each part was to go before filling in any details. 
I have always found hands the hardest thing to draw, so I am pretty pleased with these attempts.
Sunday, 13 August 2006
Handywork
Well I have found out that the life drawing classes start at the start of September. Unfortunately I am going on holiday to Orlando, Florida then! I hope I can start a couple of weeks late!
In the mean time I have been having a go at drawing hands. I want to concentrate on one body part at a time, and so have picked the hardest one of all (at least in my opinion) to start with. The first is an attempt at my own hand. After my less than happy experience with a charcoal pencil, I decided to try s
imple sticks of charcloal in the hope that they might be more pleasing. And they were. They seemed to be much smoother than the pencil and infinitely more useful.
I have to admit I didn't really think enough about the golden principle of construction, and so I have had a bit of a problem with keeping things in proportion. This was particularly apparent in the second two drawings, which are of my girlfriend's hand. The first is really quite hideous. The second turned out much better, but without having constructed it properly it still is not right. My next attempts will be properly built.
In the mean time I have been having a go at drawing hands. I want to concentrate on one body part at a time, and so have picked the hardest one of all (at least in my opinion) to start with. The first is an attempt at my own hand. After my less than happy experience with a charcoal pencil, I decided to try s
imple sticks of charcloal in the hope that they might be more pleasing. And they were. They seemed to be much smoother than the pencil and infinitely more useful.I have to admit I didn't really think enough about the golden principle of construction, and so I have had a bit of a problem with keeping things in proportion. This was particularly apparent in the second two drawings, which are of my girlfriend's hand. The first is really quite hideous. The second turned out much better, but without having constructed it properly it still is not right. My next attempts will be properly built.
Friday, 11 August 2006
Some Feedback
After posting my attempts at 'figure drawing', I asked Tao Nguyen from ProSketch what he thought. He gave some good feedback, so I have pasted it here:
"First of all, I think you're getting confused w/ the term 'figure drawing' and 'quick sketches'. When I mean figure drawing, you're basically sitting down in an enclosed/relaxed environment and there's a nude figure in front of you. Your drawings reflect more of an indepth human anatomy study. Meaning- you're taking time to study the body structure without clothes. There is no real rush and the model doesn't move as fast as the quick sketch senario. This is where you use a charcoal pencil. It's handy for getting 'tonal details'. There are some models that do 1 to 2 minute poses and that's considered a quick sketch, but you still use a charcoal pencil for this.
As for 'Quick Sketching', at Disney we're taught to quickly capture the moment in a few amount of time and line placements. (this is where the line of action comes in handy.) What you're drawing outside in the city, malls, crowded places- that's more of a 'quick sketch' term- not figure drawing. Of course you can still figure draw w/ people having clothes on. The reason for 'quick sketching' is because the drawings are candid- people will be moving unexpectedly and don't have time to pose for you like in the figure drawing environment. This is where you use pens, felt-tip markers, pencils, etc. - not charcoal pencils. The drawings are quicker and should be expressed w/ only a few simple lines to capture the moment.
Now, as for the 'Line of Action'- there's always one. It comes mostly in the form of a "C" or "S" shape. You will see it more predominently when there are things in motion- like a horse jumping, people playing sports. You can even see a line of action when someone is sleeping, sitting, reading, etc. The only reason you're having a hard time seeing the line of action is when it's facing directly at you. You'll see it better as a profile. I usually use this as a guide for my character drawing in action. Animators use this in their drawings to exaggerate thier character pose by pushing the line of action. It's in the preston blair book."
I'll hopefully be doing some proper figure drawing soon when I find out about classes in the Manchester area, but until then I'll keep on with my quick sketches.
"First of all, I think you're getting confused w/ the term 'figure drawing' and 'quick sketches'. When I mean figure drawing, you're basically sitting down in an enclosed/relaxed environment and there's a nude figure in front of you. Your drawings reflect more of an indepth human anatomy study. Meaning- you're taking time to study the body structure without clothes. There is no real rush and the model doesn't move as fast as the quick sketch senario. This is where you use a charcoal pencil. It's handy for getting 'tonal details'. There are some models that do 1 to 2 minute poses and that's considered a quick sketch, but you still use a charcoal pencil for this.
As for 'Quick Sketching', at Disney we're taught to quickly capture the moment in a few amount of time and line placements. (this is where the line of action comes in handy.) What you're drawing outside in the city, malls, crowded places- that's more of a 'quick sketch' term- not figure drawing. Of course you can still figure draw w/ people having clothes on. The reason for 'quick sketching' is because the drawings are candid- people will be moving unexpectedly and don't have time to pose for you like in the figure drawing environment. This is where you use pens, felt-tip markers, pencils, etc. - not charcoal pencils. The drawings are quicker and should be expressed w/ only a few simple lines to capture the moment.
Now, as for the 'Line of Action'- there's always one. It comes mostly in the form of a "C" or "S" shape. You will see it more predominently when there are things in motion- like a horse jumping, people playing sports. You can even see a line of action when someone is sleeping, sitting, reading, etc. The only reason you're having a hard time seeing the line of action is when it's facing directly at you. You'll see it better as a profile. I usually use this as a guide for my character drawing in action. Animators use this in their drawings to exaggerate thier character pose by pushing the line of action. It's in the preston blair book."
I'll hopefully be doing some proper figure drawing soon when I find out about classes in the Manchester area, but until then I'll keep on with my quick sketches.
Figuring It Out
After reading through the lessons on ProSketch.com I decided to have a break from drawing cartoon characters and have a go at figure drawing - something 
which I haven't actually done before. I went out into Manchester city
centre today, found an area with lots of people, sat myself down and began to draw them. I wanted to have a go at using charcoal, since it is a material I haven't really used before, and also felt pen due to its permanence - I want to get used to not being able to erase what I have drawn!
I found charcoal quite uncomfortable to use. I like the blackness of its colour but I found there to be a high degree of friction between the pencil and the paper, which made the creation of fluid lines difficult.
Here are some pictures done in a felt pen:
I enjoyed using the pen much more due to its fluidity. I got used to having to make every line
count, since I rarely use an eraser in my drawing anyway. The type of pen I used was a brush pen, designed to be like a brush at one end and a normal felt pen at the other. Also, with the pen I felt that I was able to concentrate on getting the proportions of the body parts correct as I wasn't getting side tracked by getting irritated by charcoal!
Although I'm not completely happy with any of these drawings
, I do feel that I am getting slightly better with each one I draw (these are the six most recent). I tried keeping to the formula for figure drawing on ProSketch of drawing the main body mass like a flour sack, lightly drawing in the head, drawing a line of action, roughing out the locations of the body parts and then constructing them from basic shapes. Most of these drawings were of people sitting down though, so I wasn't really sure how to put a line of action in where there was no real action. Perhaps I should find somewhere where people are more active. The only problem is, I'm not sure how to go about drawing people in motion. I'm not yet quick enough!
which I haven't actually done before. I went out into Manchester city
centre today, found an area with lots of people, sat myself down and began to draw them. I wanted to have a go at using charcoal, since it is a material I haven't really used before, and also felt pen due to its permanence - I want to get used to not being able to erase what I have drawn!
I found charcoal quite uncomfortable to use. I like the blackness of its colour but I found there to be a high degree of friction between the pencil and the paper, which made the creation of fluid lines difficult.Here are some pictures done in a felt pen:
I enjoyed using the pen much more due to its fluidity. I got used to having to make every line
count, since I rarely use an eraser in my drawing anyway. The type of pen I used was a brush pen, designed to be like a brush at one end and a normal felt pen at the other. Also, with the pen I felt that I was able to concentrate on getting the proportions of the body parts correct as I wasn't getting side tracked by getting irritated by charcoal!Although I'm not completely happy with any of these drawings
, I do feel that I am getting slightly better with each one I draw (these are the six most recent). I tried keeping to the formula for figure drawing on ProSketch of drawing the main body mass like a flour sack, lightly drawing in the head, drawing a line of action, roughing out the locations of the body parts and then constructing them from basic shapes. Most of these drawings were of people sitting down though, so I wasn't really sure how to put a line of action in where there was no real action. Perhaps I should find somewhere where people are more active. The only problem is, I'm not sure how to go about drawing people in motion. I'm not yet quick enough!
Thursday, 10 August 2006
Always Learning
I found a great site today called ProSketch.com created by the animator Tao Nguyen. As well as having lots of interesting information on his career and his work, the site has a number of lessons on general drawing, figure drawing and character design, which I'm finding really fascinating reading. There are lots of good tips there for anyone wanting to better themselves artistically!
Well done Tao!
Well done Tao!
Saturday, 5 August 2006
Bugs...Frame by Frame
Well although this isn't the kind of thing this blog is intended for, I thought I'd put it on here as it is animation related. As well as an animator, I am a keen photographer and have just learned how to make those collage pictures you see on posters where a picture is made up of tiny pictures, usually depicting scenes from a movie.
My first attempt at one of these is good old Bugs. The images from which it is composed are the entire Looney Tunes episode, Baseball Bugs, and the main image of Bugs himself was scanned from the cover of the first volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD. I put a big enough version of the picture on here because I thought it might make a good desktop wallpaper for any of you that want it. Maybe if there is any interest, I will make some more!
My first attempt at one of these is good old Bugs. The images from which it is composed are the entire Looney Tunes episode, Baseball Bugs, and the main image of Bugs himself was scanned from the cover of the first volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD. I put a big enough version of the picture on here because I thought it might make a good desktop wallpaper for any of you that want it. Maybe if there is any interest, I will make some more!
Tuesday, 1 August 2006
Animation on the Cheap
At what point in an animator's career does he/she invest in an animation desk? I'm sure I'm not alone in being flabberghasted by the price tag hanging from those rectangles of wood with a circle in the middle!
I decided some time ago to try to build one of my own. Unfortunately I have absolutely no carpentry skills and so made a rudimentary stucture that only vaguely resembles a desk, with the intention to learn the skills involved and make a more sturdy piece of furniture at a later date. Well it's about four months since then and I have yet to even invest in a single piece of wood. I have, however, made great use of my first attempt and have grown to be rather affectionate of it. As such, I have decided to share it with you all. Maybe some of you fellow fledgeling animators may appreciate the idea and use it for yourselves.
Ok, don't laugh at it, I know its not the most impressive piece of workmanship, but it has been very handy. It's made from an artist's easel and a cheap lightbox from eBay. The easel wasn't really strong enough to support the weight of the lightbox so I strengthened it with tape around the legs. The lightbox itself was fixed to the easel with tape also. It's all improvised from bits and pieces I had laying around and I keep meaning to replace the tape with a more sturdy strengthening solution. The easel and lightbox cost about £30 so it's a cheap piece of equipment.
I guess I'll buy a proper animation desk at some point. Until then, this little chap seems to do the job!
I decided some time ago to try to build one of my own. Unfortunately I have absolutely no carpentry skills and so made a rudimentary stucture that only vaguely resembles a desk, with the intention to learn the skills involved and make a more sturdy piece of furniture at a later date. Well it's about four months since then and I have yet to even invest in a single piece of wood. I have, however, made great use of my first attempt and have grown to be rather affectionate of it. As such, I have decided to share it with you all. Maybe some of you fellow fledgeling animators may appreciate the idea and use it for yourselves.
Ok, don't laugh at it, I know its not the most impressive piece of workmanship, but it has been very handy. It's made from an artist's easel and a cheap lightbox from eBay. The easel wasn't really strong enough to support the weight of the lightbox so I strengthened it with tape around the legs. The lightbox itself was fixed to the easel with tape also. It's all improvised from bits and pieces I had laying around and I keep meaning to replace the tape with a more sturdy strengthening solution. The easel and lightbox cost about £30 so it's a cheap piece of equipment.I guess I'll buy a proper animation desk at some point. Until then, this little chap seems to do the job!
Drawing Conclusions
Since I found out that the animation desks at Disney may well be getting a dusting down the other week, I have been keeping an eye out for news on the subject. I found this article giving lots more details of John Lasseter's plans for the company. I won't spend any time talking about it, as you can all read it for yourself. Needless to say, I'm very excited!
My girlfriend and I are going to Florida in September and will be visiting Disney World and I got to thinking about what it means for children today to go there and see Mickey Mouse. I grew up knowing all the characters from the Disney shorts, so when I first went there, I was full of butterflies when I got to meet them. However, Mickey doesn't make as many television appearances as he used to (at least that's the case here in the UK) and I was wondering if today's kids know him and have the same affection for him that I had at their age. I was shocked a couple of days ago when my girlfriend told me that my niece didn't know Minnie Mouse's name! Who knows though...maybe this is something else John Lasseter will see to. I have heard rumours that the Mickey Mouse Club will be making a comeback.
If anyone knows any more about anything related to the future of the House of Mouse, please leave a comment and share the news!!
My girlfriend and I are going to Florida in September and will be visiting Disney World and I got to thinking about what it means for children today to go there and see Mickey Mouse. I grew up knowing all the characters from the Disney shorts, so when I first went there, I was full of butterflies when I got to meet them. However, Mickey doesn't make as many television appearances as he used to (at least that's the case here in the UK) and I was wondering if today's kids know him and have the same affection for him that I had at their age. I was shocked a couple of days ago when my girlfriend told me that my niece didn't know Minnie Mouse's name! Who knows though...maybe this is something else John Lasseter will see to. I have heard rumours that the Mickey Mouse Club will be making a comeback.
If anyone knows any more about anything related to the future of the House of Mouse, please leave a comment and share the news!!
Feeling Dwained
Here's Dwain again. I've decided to use him to make my first animated character so I thought I had better give him a body.
I read somewhere that it's best to think of a personality and then design the look of the character around that, so I guess I'm doing things in reverse, but Dwain is going to be exactly how he looks: a rather stupid slob.
I keep meaning to continue the lessons at the Animation Archive, but have been a bit slow thus far. It has also been suggested to me by Clay at the Animation Podcast that I should practice animating bouncing balls of different kinds; basketballs, bowling balls, rubber balls etc. I have started a short animation along those lines to practice timing, but it's so hard to put effort into animating something so simple. I guess I'm just eager to get to the fun stuff! I tried to get myself in the mood by investing in a new peg bar and some proper animation paper from Chromacolour. Until now I have just been using normal tracing paper which is a bit too smooth for drawing comfortably, and has the rather annoying property of curling up.
I also recently got a new pencil.....oh the excitement! I decided to try one of those lead holders (like a fat pen which holds a thick soft stick of graphite) after noticing that several animators (in particular Frank and Ollie) use them. I must admit it feels so comfortable to draw with, although its not much use for detailed work. I have had a go at several different methods of roughing and cleaning up and got to wondering which way other animators prefer. Maybe some of you could leave some comments on whether or not you like to rough out drawings in blue and clean up in graphite or which types of pencil you prefer. Maybe you have some wierd and wonderful techniques that you could share!
I read somewhere that it's best to think of a personality and then design the look of the character around that, so I guess I'm doing things in reverse, but Dwain is going to be exactly how he looks: a rather stupid slob.I keep meaning to continue the lessons at the Animation Archive, but have been a bit slow thus far. It has also been suggested to me by Clay at the Animation Podcast that I should practice animating bouncing balls of different kinds; basketballs, bowling balls, rubber balls etc. I have started a short animation along those lines to practice timing, but it's so hard to put effort into animating something so simple. I guess I'm just eager to get to the fun stuff! I tried to get myself in the mood by investing in a new peg bar and some proper animation paper from Chromacolour. Until now I have just been using normal tracing paper which is a bit too smooth for drawing comfortably, and has the rather annoying property of curling up.
I also recently got a new pencil.....oh the excitement! I decided to try one of those lead holders (like a fat pen which holds a thick soft stick of graphite) after noticing that several animators (in particular Frank and Ollie) use them. I must admit it feels so comfortable to draw with, although its not much use for detailed work. I have had a go at several different methods of roughing and cleaning up and got to wondering which way other animators prefer. Maybe some of you could leave some comments on whether or not you like to rough out drawings in blue and clean up in graphite or which types of pencil you prefer. Maybe you have some wierd and wonderful techniques that you could share!
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