shelf buttons….tangent switching

I mentioned a workflow I use of switching tangent types even in the early stages of an animation to evaluate timing.

Here’s a few shelf buttons/mel commands you can use to avoid having to do a lot of clicking in maya. Just save the icons to your images directory and add them in. Were I more clever, I’d build a UI for this. The first 3 scripts change selected keys in the timeline (or graph editor) to different tangent types. The following 3 determine what sort of keys you’ll set next. Enjoy! They save me a ton of time.

 

 

//change selected keys to linear
keyTangent -global -itt linear;
keyTangent -global -ott linear;

 
//change selected keys to stepped
keyTangent -global -itt flat;
keyTangent -global -ott step;

//change selected keys to plateau
keyTangent -global -itt plateau;
keyTangent -global -ott plateau;

 
//change key type to linear
evalEcho "timeSliderSetTangent linear";
timeSliderSetTangent linear;

 
//key type to stepped
evalEcho "timeSliderSetTangent step";
timeSliderSetTangent step;

 
//change timeslider to plateau
evalEcho "timeSliderSetTangent plateau";
timeSliderSetTangent plateau;

amnesty

since there have been a LOT of missed assignments, I'm giving the weekend to email in any missing shots...next grading period is next wed, so the cutoff is monday at noon.

twitter keeps finding me great shorts

THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER from THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER team on Vimeo.

anime - shades of looney tunes

the stalking cat

Interesting as study in moving holds and the study and buildup of tension in anticipation

cartoon motion blur

Cartoon Motion Blur with RenderMan from James McCarter on Vimeo.

found via Steve Talkowski

kamil crit

some quick sketchovers...notes to follow.

pigeon impossible

aaron hartline....process video

>click here<

I love watching Aaron Hartline's process vids. The interesting thing with blocking is that by definition it's wrong..it's incomplete with only partial information, but manages to really communicate a lot with a few poses and continues improving/adding/refining with each pass.

compositional inspiration

I'm pretty much a sucker for all things noir. In planning out an animation, it's easy to want to worry about the camera later on. This turns out to always be a mistake, as you can get to the heart of your shot much faster if you treat the camera as another character.

What I love about noir is that lighting, composition and set all pull together as a primary aspect of storytelling. Foremost, it sets up a sense of drama...sillhouetted characters against light fog...characters faces shadowed under wide brimmed hats. The cliches abound, but for me, it gets intersting when the characters are small onscreen and the background elements played up. It gives a sense that the protagonist is up against forces much larger. The use of shadow as a framing device that enhances sillhouette adds drama.

Not that I'm advocating the over use of heavy shadow, but the idea of using the environment as a storytelling device, and the use of strong foreground and background elements has merit.

choosing dialogue

Since this week is the first week of dialogue driven animation, aka lip synch, aka acting, I thought I'd mention a few things to consider in choosing a line of dialogue

10-12 seconds. This is a good length for the remainder of term. Too long, and it may be difficult to complete with any sense of polish. Too short and it limits your options.

Pacing. Choose something with a variable rhythm to it. I like to think of jazz drumming in considering variable patterns. Too often a line is chosen because of the entertainment value it has without factoring in how you might animate it.



Avoid the Gag. Be wary of going for humor through a single gag, where you arrive at a snappy punchline. If done right, it can work, but if the reliance is on the gag and not leading a situation up to a dramatic conclusion, humorous or otherwise, it can feel cheap.

Don't use something everyone knows. It's a challenge, but if you grab an Adam Sandler clip off of moviewavs.com, chances are people know it and will think of the source before they think of your animation.

more to follow..

Monkey Island

Telltale just released the newest episode of Monkey Island. I did a couple of shots, one of which was used as a promotional still (disclaimer, as they provided pretty detailed layouts)! This project was a huge treat, and I really geeked out on working on these iconic characters.

liked this

first aid

Prolific animator and educator, Keith Lango, has posted these, which are conveniently directly relevant to the weight pieces you're working on. I highly recommend Keith's tutorials as well.