Schedule for the Second Half of the Semester:

October 20th, 2014

• FILM:  Sound production postponed until next week. In class: Development time. Guided instructions, tips for better drawing, better animating, and better timing in films.
• Make a list for your sounds. We will discuss at 2:15 sound research and acquisition.
• PORTFOLIO/ INTERNSHIPS: NA
• OUT-OF-CLASS ASSIGNMENT:
•  For class: Bring list of places to intern, and what is required.  We did this last year. You now have all the work to showcase. In the future we will spend some time in class preparing for interviews, scheduling, and the like. We will begin constructing what is needed to append your portfolio.

October 27th, 2014

• FILM:  Turn in scheduled updates for film on this day.   Sound production will begin. Students need to leave class with 95% of sound and audio gathered and categorized.
• PORTFOLIO/ INTERNSHIPS:  Begin talking about character design, internships, and focuses for developing your portfolio. 
• OUT-OF-CLASS ASSIGNMENT:     For Class: Bring Created Work to Append to Your Portfolio, plus everything that should go in it.  Spend time nailing down completed lineart for animation.  

November 3rd, 2014

• FILM:  Begin Color work on film.  Drafting should be refined. Character designs and set changes should be finalized on this date.  
• PORTFOLIO/ INTERNSHIPS:   Will spend an hour of class discussiing internship research.Will showcase:  Making a print portfolio for storyboards, design work, and a generalist portfolio for animators.
• OUT-OF-CLASS ASSIGNMENT:

November 10th, 2014

• FILM:Compositng will begin on this date.  Film needs to be in a complete enough state to compile ALL SCENES, finished and unfinished into a preview of the final production.  Lay in scratch track of sound production. 
• PORTFOLIO/ INTERNSHIPS: An hour and a half of class will be spent on producing portfolio work, working on reels, etc.
• OUT-OF-CLASS ASSIGNMENT:

November 17th, 2014

• FILM:  Film Drawings Should be 98% complete on this date. Only allowable fixes/work to complete will be in timing, compositing, vfx, and audio production.
• PORTFOLIO/ INTERNSHIPS:  Students will  bring in designs for your reel, web portfolio, and print portfolio.  Time in class will be spent talking about your value as an animation artist.
• OUT-OF-CLASS ASSIGNMENT:

November 24th, 2014 (thanksgiving week is the second half of this week)

• FILM:  Final push for completed animated projects.  A good place to be in on this date is most (if not all of your film complete) and your time in class spent developing your portfolio.
• PORTFOLIO/ INTERNSHIPS:
• OUT-OF-CLASS ASSIGNMENT:
• In-Class day for compositing, sound checks, portfolio development, etc.  (If need extra animated sequences to append to your portfolio, plan to work on them during this date.)

December 1st, 2014

• FILM:  Refinement of Final Animated Work.  Critique During end of week.   Audio Synced, all final products complete for film. We will screen.
• PORTFOLIO/ INTERNSHIPS:
• OUT-OF-CLASS ASSIGNMENT:

December 8th, 2014
Have print portfolio, digital portfolio, and film completed at the beginning of class. Turn in all work. We will close the semester.

Due on 20th!

On this day, we will start color and sound production. Have your ideas for producing sound in place, so that you may produce sound in class!  I will check what you have completed, and will be looking for all of it complete!

For accountability's sake I have added what you have described to be the next two milestones in your art:

David:   Key animation: 90% complete. Lineart: 50% Complete Backgrounds: 33%Complete.
Charles: Key animation 100% complete.  50% Environmentss complete. Dialogue rehearsed.
Melanie: All roughs and Keyframes done.  40% of lineart complete.
Ishmaa'iyl: Key animation complete. *lineart*  20% of Environments Complete (painting skills) Dialogue Rehearsed. Some recorded.
Roxanne: Key animation: 85% complete. 25% Environments complete.  Dynamic animation in completed key animation.

Achieving Appeal in Animation!

The Illusion of Life
http://the12principles.tumblr.com/

Great Website for Animation Environment Designs
http://animationbackgrounds.tumblr.com/


Samurai Jack Background Painting tutorials for Korean Studio animators.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVuNZiYSqrA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JeE5M2Mn38

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-eS_xZbgtc


Scott Wills: Visual Development Artist:
http://animationbgs.blogspot.com/


Have access to other tools. Can use graphic design principles to make art!

 http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/gestaltprinciples/gestaltprinc.htm

Additional resources for the gestalt principles are at the following links:

•  Practical Application of the Gestalt Principles:http://sixrevisions.com/web_design/gestalt-principles-applied-in-design/

Homework for Monday, 9/22

A. Have your preproduction package 100% COMPLETE and finalized! Check the last post to see what I'm looking for!  Be sure to include a preview shot of what the final film would look like, with effects and the like!

• An animatic must be completed, and EXPORTED out! NO EXCEPTIONS!
• If you need resources on storyboarding for film, remember how powerful the internet is as a resource! Notes on framing and cinematic shots  can be seen here: 
• DREAM WORLDS - Production design for animation:
• DreamWorlds preview on google books:
• A link to the most important sections of the book, featured on the LivLily Blog:
• Parkablogs's Review of the Book

B. Stories should be locked in on this day!  Have all characters drawn, all environments drawn, and an animatic timed to perfection! Spend some time outside of class checking with your peers about your story updates.  Send me an email before Monday if you're making any big changes to your story!

C. Come to class with a schedule for completing your film within the allotted time!  (Current deadline: 10/17/14)

• Make note of any content you will need to produce in the time alotted, like:
• Sounds (include scheduling for recording in the sound booth!)
• Effects
• Dialogue (make your script flow as well as possible!)I will check your progress each week!
• Include notes for acquiring the information!
• Keep track of the progress of your film in your spreadsheet!
• Export your storyboard as a 3 panel Horizontal PDF!
• Have your animatic ready to turn in! 

D. Review pages 256- 284 of the ANIMATOR'S SURVIVAL KIT on weight and anticipation.

E. Read pages 285 - 339 of the ANIMATOR's SURVIVAL KIT!  We will focus on putting this section into practice on Monday, along with your collective knowledge of everything else in animation!

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Notes on the current schedule for the semester:
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**DUE TO LABOR DAY, OUR CLASS IS TECHNICALLY ON WEEK 4.  FOR THE FIRST FOUR WEEKS WE HAVE COVERED THE FOLLOWING:

1. Week 1: preparation for the semester.  Introduction to the class, introductory preparation for storytelling and animating.  After Effects's camera controls and 3D controls explained.
2. Week 2: Lip Sync and Story Development.
3. Week 3: (after Labor day holiday)  Volume, accurate storytelling in visuals, producing volumetric and weighted characters.
4. Week 4:  Storyboarding progress and review, In-class preproduction methods!

We will begin animating in class on Monday.  The next 4 weeks will be spent in production.  Jump ahead by spending some time animating on your own this week!  Prepare by doing test shots, gathering video resources, and the like!  The one thing I want you to understand from our first four classes is this:

To produce high-level animation, we must first become masterful at high-level preproduction and development.  Troubleshoot and prepare for as many situations as needed in the beginning, to work more efficiently in the long run! On the flip side, have a DECISIVE date for your start and end dates of production.  Doing so, ensures you make the most of your time, and ensures you make the most of your performances on film!

Important Links for Study!

Dreamworlds: Production Design for Animation.

• Note the choices in cinematic framing and layout.
• Make note of the number of different shots you have to work with.

1.  Produce a full PRODUCTION PACKAGE for next class! In that I need the following:

• Character Designs (with turnarounds, with digital color, and with multiple facial expressions and poses (6 facial expressions per characters, 3 different poses!)
• Environment Designs (All key environments for your story. Everyone must have at least 3.)
• Prop designs, etc.

• One completed storyboard with a TIMED-OUT Animatic.  This animatic and storyboard will be a working production.  In class next week, we will talk resources for producing your animation.  Think about what you need to accomplish it in terms of sound, art, time (SOOPER IMPORTANT-AY!), drawing skills, and technology.  I'd like to know your needed resources in a blog post before monday.

Include questions you have too! Speaking of new resources:

Look at the following toonboom videos over the week:

• Scene Setup
• Character Building
• Library
• Cut Out Animation
• Inverse Kinematics
• True 3D Space (Pro)
• Sound

These videos will show you all you need to know about advanced resources you have to make great animated works in Toonboom!  I want you to look at each of them, and make a list of how each could benefit your production.  Now is the time you stop looking at technology as foreign material, and think about how you can shape it to fit your animation!

Read the document I put on the server: Dynamics of the animated drawing.  Write what this class, and what that document has done to help you push forward in your abilities. Mention awesome new techniques you want to apply to your new animated film!


This is a week to push yourself! We spent so much time talking about volume in animation today to push your skills as far as they can go!  As always, email me if you have any questions!

List of Links for improving your toonboom skills:

                                               i.     Learning Toon Boom:  https://www.toonboom.com/resources/video-tutorials/toon-boom-animate-pro

Check out the following link above for a HUGE list of tutorials for Toon Boom. Anything you would want to know about Toon Boom is divided by category here.  Browse these and watch as many as possible. (1-5 are reviews of what we already know. If you feel comfortable with these, start at 6.) The most important ones are 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 12.

1.     Getting Started With Animate and Animate Pro (for a refresher on drawing skills, and menus)

2.     Drawing Basics

3.     More Drawing Tools

4.     Adding Colors

5.     Gathering  Content

6.    Library (for saving assets)

7.    Scene Setup (possibly nice for motion paths)

8.     Animation Paths

9.    Sound

10. True 3D Space

11. Effects.

12. Exporting and Compositing Animation Files(To take your separate scenes and bring them together easily.)

13. All about timing. (most of this you are familiar with, but this helps with the toonboom side of it.)