Ratchet and Clank Cinematics: Layout to Final
Youtube Link

I’ve always loved seeing a breakdown of professional animators’ shots, from layout to blocking to finish, so I decided to do that with a few of the cinematics I animated on Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack In Time. For most scenes, I was given a 3D layout created by the awesome Dave Cumbo to work from.  Also included is the time taken, from the moment I received the layout through completion of the scene.
NOTE:
In Terac Sequence, Ratchet and Azimuth animation not by me. Included only for continuity.

Anyone who has played the Ratchet and Clank Future series knows that one of the favorite gadgets is the Groovitron, which is a disco ball Ratchet can toss out, causing all nearby enemies to break out into an uncontrollable dance. Here is a small movie showing off the various dances I did. Unfortunately, the songs weren’t animated to a particular track because the engine randomly picks one of many every time you use the gadget, so i just chose one with a medium tempo. Enjoy!

PS. I promise I’m working on getting my showreel up, which contains nearly all of the work i did for RCF2!

Dance Movie

2009 Demo Reel (29 mb) – Youtube Link

Here is my latest demo reel. It includes my favorite work off Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack In Time, which came out on October 27th, 2009. (29MB) All animation shown is by me.

Stay tuned for my RCF2 Showreel, which includes most of the work i did on the game!

Insomniac commissioned custom maquettes for the employees and they are awesome! They just came in a couple of days ago.  Im not sure if they were designed by Greg Baldwin or Dave Guertin (insomniac concept artists), but either way they’re awesome!

I put up some older work on the Animation page, including the tests I did for Insomniac Games in 2008 and some of my first animations from 2003, before I actually started at the Art Center.

Also, be sure to update your links to my shiny new domain name. All future updates/posts/etc will be on this site, and eventually “seansanimationstation.blogspot.com” will be phased out.

The trailer for “Ratchet and Clank Future 2: A Crack in Time” is out! For those interested, I do have a few shots of gameplay in there and one cinematic shot (the one of Dr. Nefarious saying “part of me wants to let you live long enough to find out. The other part…really wants to KILL you!!”).

The animation in this game is definitely some of the best in the games industry and in my opinion some of it rivals film! But then again…i have a somewhat biased opinion.

Be sure to check it out when its released later this year!

Click on the image to play trailer

The teaser trailer for Ratchet and Clank Future 2: A Crack In Time was released last week. Here is a link to an HD version:

http://www.gamershell.com/tv/18370.html

The first half with all the internal clock workings was done entirely by Ryan Kamins and the second half, with the character that takes off into the distance, was animated by Corey Peagler. Cant wait till its released and i can show you more stuff! Gonna be cool!

EDIT: I had originally credited Grant with the first half of the teaser. I was incorrect! It was Ryan Kamins.

Well folks, it’s officially been announced-the game i’ve been working on for the past few months is none other than Ratchet and Clank Future 2: A Crack in Time (whew, mouthful!). Its gonna be a great game and diehard R&C fans will most definitely love it!

The Teaser will debut tomorrow night on SpikeTV on gametrailers. If you miss it, it should be on the web by next week.

Im working on my first series of shots for Insomniac’s newest game! I can’t tell you what it is but I can say it’s gonna be great! The rigs are a joy to work with and the animation and art in general is wonderful to look at. The kind of animation that makes you want to just find the nearest computer and start animating!

Everything about my first week here at Insomniac has been great. The people here are incredible artists and are all extremely nice as well. It’s very cool and intimidating (in a good way) to be at a studio where everyone…and i mean everyone is phenomenal at what they do. Every monitor i walk by has beautiful art on it. It’s a race just to keep up for me but im lovin every second of it and im happy to be able to learn from these talented people!

That’s right folks! I just accepted a job offer earlier today from Insomniac Games, based out of Burbank, California! I got a job as an associate animator and I’m incredibly thrilled to be a part of a stellar team of artist and a wonderful company!

Insomniac is the company behind such great titles as Ratchet and Clank, Spyro the Dragon and Resistance. They’ve also been named one of the top 10 small businesses to work for in the U.S. 3 years in a row! For more info on them, check out their website and be sure to go out and buy Ratchet and Clank Future:Tools of Destruction and Resistance 2.