Sean Coleman Art

So here is the latest for scene 27. Erik Westlund, the new 3d professor at our school has given me some great advice about tilting the head a little and adding some assymetry in the face. We also discussed his method for going about animating in 3d and im very excited to try it on my subsequent scenes. Its very similar to the way you would go about animating in 2d. Essentially you start with all your keyframes on consecutive frames, no frames in between. From there you start to seperate them, looking for the appropriate timing, then add some settle into the frames. From here, you add in your breakdown positions. Then, you go in and add keys where necessary, attempting to stay on 2′s whenever possible, switching to 1′s when necessary. The dopesheet can get heavy, but it is much more organized and you are in control of arcs and spacing, not Maya.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMVhmL0qU_A]

So im only 5 scenes into my short but ive already realized something ive been doing. In my attempt to strive for better animation than i have ever done, ive been looking at each scene individually and trying to make the most out of them. Pushing every pose (appropriately…none of the unnecessary posing Erik Westlund so accurately pointed out in his observations regarding “A Gentlemens Duel”), adding in those blinks that breathe life into the character, and in general, really trying to understand the character and how they would react. All well and good except…i have been forgetting to look at the bigger picture. I need to remember the scenes in the context of the whole.
Crystal, you were more than 100% correct when you mentioned a shaking of the hands. You touched on something that went much deeper: My character was accurately reacting, begging for one more game. But in the context of what had just happened to him, he seemed not too upset. I sat there and said, ‘this guy has just lost a dozen games in a row and all his money…but my animation doesnt suggest that he really wants that last game to make up his losses.’

Therefore i went back and pushed some expressions and added in some shaking in his hands to really get you to feel that this character is desperate. Im getting closer but i know i can push it more…

Your thoughts?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KtvVDklc-A]

Here is the scene i did today. Jack is begging Clyde for one more game.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44XDomQBMcs]

This is the ruff animation from shot eleven in my short. There is still a degree of finesse animation i have to do before i will call this scene done, but its at a point where i wouldnt mind a little input. Does the timing of the actions feel right, is the pacing of the poses smooth and appealing, is there anything that feels odd? Any comments or critiques are welcome. PS. Clyde is taking money from Jack in this scene, but i havent added in the money yet, so just use your imagination.

PS. I know the video is a little dark. the only thing i was able to upload was a playblast. For some reason my AVI’s arent uploading properly and i dont have access to After Effects to composite frames for another week.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdlhrNKOwew]

Here is a low Rez render of the first scene of my short. I wanted to keep Clyde’s movements somewhat low key to fit his character. He really isnt the type to do any kind of unnecessary movement-he just tries to look as cool as he can. I really had to restrain myself not to push any of the anticipations or takes too far. Let me know what you think!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v03O0GGXOG0]

This is the animatic for my senior portfolio animation. Essentially its the storyboards filmed and timed so the viewer can get an idea of what will happen in the short.

As you’ll find, i decided to only have music and no sound effects. I did this because i really feel it evokes that 20′s feel, just before sound came into movies, when all there was to drive the story and mood were the actors and the in-theater accompaniement.

Let me know what you think!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmbB-R9vdwQ]

Decided to finally post the characters for my portfolio animation. They’ve been finished for quite some time now and are fully rigged, including facial animation (except clyde, the shorter one, still making blendshapes). Also included a shot of the room work in progress.

Im now in the process of creating a more suitable environment for them to live in, as the other pool hall simply didnt fit the style i was going for.

Hopefully ill get to do some test animation within the next month, but first, the animatic and finishing the environment!