Little projects to pay my dues

[Joe Gamblin]

Since it's so hard to get my big projects off the ground, I thought I'd share with everyone my little stuff that I do just to keep in shape.

 

So here's the first, a simple mouse.

 

[attachmentid=22871]

[Rodney]

Cute.

 

I like the way you think.

There are a lot of good practices being shared here in the forum.

Your "little stuff" and "Dhar's Ideas" are great (yet simple) examples of that.

 

When you do these little exercises is there generally a goal (like focusing on lighting or a specific theme) or do you just start throwing things together?

 

Inquiring minds wanna know!

 

Looking forward to your next project but interesting in this simple mouse too.

[steve392]

That looks good some nice modeling there ,the cheez looks very good

[Dhar]

I smell Ratatouille

 

Nice work. I like the simple design with the sophistication of a shiny plate.

[Joe Gamblin]

When you do these little exercises is there generally a goal (like focusing on lighting or a specific theme) or do you just start throwing things together?

 

This is a long answer, but you asked for it. I'm working on a theory that that there are a huge number of elements in animation, and if while learning you try to study it as a whole . . . well, your head just explodes.

 

I mean think about it. First is the art of the story, which is its own discipline. There’s the plot, theme, character, foreshadowing, symbolism, and so on. Simply put, it is infinite in execution and it can take a lifetime of study and practice to be adept in it, and it has always been my passion to tell stories of a fantastic bent that remind me of the speculative fiction that I so enjoyed in sci-fi novels, comic books, and cartoons. In my experience, there can be a sense of wonder that is almost divine then a well-told story is combined with visual artwork whether it been the surreal imagery of Sam Kieth or the subdued lines of Charles Schultz.

 

That artwork brings me to my next point. There is the style of the drawings themselves. Again, we have a complete field of study that one has to strive to excel in and in combination with the story brings creates a new third angle. For example, how would it have changed the mood and meaning of the Looney Tunes if the animals were shown as photo-realistic animals? What if they didn’t squash and stretch? There are many, many considerations that have to be made to ensure that the visuals compliment the story and don’t work at odds against it. Also remember that once one has the decided on the look of the characters, the setting, and the props, there is still the process of modeling, texturing, and rigging all the elements. As readers of this forum know, each one of these takes a great load of dedication to master.

 

Then you have character animation, which involves both voice and body acting, which yet again one has a multitude of decisions to make, which also has to mesh with all the other pieces.

 

And still! There is the craft of cinematography. As the director there are camera angles, fades, pan shots, and basically the guiding of the viewer’s eyes to the point that you want to tell the story. Plus there are decisions to make about lighting, a whole slew of sound editing with the score, sound effects, atmospheric sound. And there are also the elements of physics, particle systems, sprites, sim-cloth, and probably twenty other things that I forgot to mention.

 

And cartoons are kid’s stuff? Phooey.

 

Sorry about the rant, but sometimes I think about all of that and do just a tiny little something to sit and think about how far I’ve come and how very, very far I have to go. Sometimes I do have a specific thing I want to try out, but on this project, I was just goofing off.

[Rodney]

Thanks for the long answer. I like long answers.

 

There are indeed so many elements involved its easy to see why people specialize as they often tend to do.

My own interests are pretty diverse and my efforts all over the map. In the long run I think this is a good thing but in the short term its not so good. If I could focus on one thing until I achieve at least partial mastery of it before moving on to the next interest that'd be beneficial. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on perpective) thats just the way my interests compel me.

 

You never did answer my question though about the Mouse image/exercise. Or did you?

Was there a specific goal in mind for that one?

 

Rodney

[rbjohnsn]

THEN, there is a person like myself, A jack of all trades and a master of none. The sort term memory sucks, and every time I try to do something I've done in the past, I need to figure it out all over again!

[Joe Gamblin]

You never did answer my question though about the Mouse image/exercise. Or did you?

Was there a specific goal in mind for that one?

 

Rodney

 

For that particular project the goal was just to see how smooth of a model I could get with as few splines as possible.

 

And here's the next project, so I could practice decaling a sphere and seeing if I could get a planet's atmosphere looking the way I wanted. It didn't, by the way, but I was overall happy with the outcome. I call it "What Makes the World Go Round".

 

[attachmentid=23005]