The Stanleys 09

Yep, thanx to Jules Fabre and the Australian cartoonist association the four of us packed our bags jumped on the plane and headed for Sydney to attend the 2009 Stanley awards, which in short completely ROCKED.
We arrived not knowing what to expect but soon fell in love with the huge and pretty city of Sydney. Besides being directionless tourists we managed to make our way around and to the nova hotel which is where the Australian cartoonist association hosted the event.

The festivities started by heading off to the ABC centre where we attended an exhibition of pat Oliphant and other well know AcA member’s work (think I’m going to be on TV mum =D) Which was great since us small town wanabee animators got to meet and mingle with some very talented artists (should definitely mention free coffee )
The conference was overall a big eye opener as to where we might end up as creative individuals. And I’m overall pretty cheering I got to meet Tom Richmond and Pat Oliphant, who kindly signed copies of their books for me.


Tom Richmond caricaturing albert einstein =)


About Pat Oliphant =)

All at attendance where lovely people and all have great senses of humor and plenty of talent and where happy to share their expertise, as Sarah discovered as she was swarmed by a group of impressed AcA members while sketching and caricaturing at the ABC centre.
Sadly I wasn’t ready for the Stanleys, and didn’t create a portfolio to show around, but I’ll definitely be ready next time =) and it would be good to do some research on some of those that might be attending prior to going =) so I know who I’m speaking to ,what questions to ask and how dirty my jokes can be.

Sydney is definitely a lot more artsy than Brisbane, there wasn’t much graffiti from what I can see, but there were a lot of murals on high buildings, statues, memorials, and just overall a lot of esthetically pleasing works for the public. Not to mention the couple of museums and art exhibitions. Btw contemporary art is completely bolics. We attended the museum and had a walk through some of the most unimaginative imagery that I have ever seen, and I have internet access.

But anyway Sydney is a beautiful city and to all who haven’t been I recommend going, but taking a big pile of spending money is definitely the way to go, but don’t use it to catch taxis, spend it on books, booze, or hurling yourself out of an airplane and take plenty of photos, cause I bet like us you’ll be wishing you could stay a bit longer all the way home =)

Yays?

Now be sure to visit Tom Richmond's blog =) hes got some great carticatures and caricaturing tips on there =) enjoy

-willva

YAAAYs

So with tafe and the skool year slowly coming to a grinding halt, and all the deadlines for assignments and projects either past or imminent, we animators stare blankly with a big smile in glorious awe or realization that we are first year animators NO Longer!

Next year we will be the ones greeted by a the gazing blank stare of a new set of strange faced first year wannabee animations. Anyway "over adjective" realisation speech/blurb over.

I'm excited, for me and a few fellow animators are setting our sights for Sydney and the caroooooonist convention where we will get to meet Pat Olifant and Tom Richmond along with a large array of Australia's elite illustrator community... jealous? +)

But not to worry we will be sure to snap up lots of photos of both Sydney and the convention to share among the rest of the group =).

anyway here is a 7min piece i threw together for my articulation pathway into Griffith =) its got some bits and pieces of work spanning from all over my project timeline but probably some more recent stuff including my stop mo and a rare piece of editing i did in multimedia (for xbox) =) enjoy


-much love
-willva

Projects =)

over the past couple of months iv been covered in projects which iv been trying to complete


My parts for the 3d owin wilson piece the whole class participated in =) character animation in maya and the rig is max

Astro buggers off and sir licks alot

Astro buggers off and Sir LicksAlot are pretty much what iv been doing with my holidays =)


http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/503663 and the newgrounds version ofcourse =)

Astro Buggers off which i just released outside of the collab it was originally created for, with a couple of extra bells and whistles, specially in the sound and music department =) I'm happy with it, and thanx to Sam Hafts great voice talent the piece works rather well =)

Sir LicksAlot which is my submission to the superpets collab which everyone hopefully worked on these holidays, its on the final draft and will be complete this week with color and lines made with a pen! oooh that's always good.

=) I'll be back to normal posting again

Let me know what you think bout Astro Buggers off, preferably on youtube with comments and ratings and naked shots of yourself of course =)

Much love, the type that could be considered quite creepy
-will

Animation illustration holidays and you

Hey kids =)
Over the holidays, to avoid getting rusty and to have a good play with animation me and bobbah are doing ians 48 animation challenge

Animate all or as many of these as you can =) anyone is welcome to join and i commend you to do so =) what i like about the challenge is you can animate in whatever style you like +) definitely playing with some more pixel animation hehe
and no matter how it turns out it can only be an improvement from my last pixel animation back in 2003 when i was 13/14 or something =)



=) i really like this piece of myne, not even really sure how i pulled it off =) what love does to you eh lol anyway now that you opinions about me have been tainted forever...

SUPERPETS

Also to keep all of you EVEN busier these holidays the super pets collab comic is due at the end of the holidays, lets say first week back =)

Whats due? your comic on A4 paper or A4 photoshop size, can be as many pages as you like, color preferred but not necessary =) good luck to all, give us a bell if you have any questions or queries =D

Motiongraphic Sketchbook

=) my sketchbook sofar this year, please take a sec to head over toNewgrounds.com and vote =) it would help me alot =D


I remember watching this animation a little while ago, but iv come upon it again and its got just over 2 mil views =)

Always good to see animators are doing well, i really like this piece, i feel like hes really achieved that spark of life, which every animator should be striving to master.


Another nice 2d film using some rigging and a lot of 2d animation, this is definitely the balance we as the future animators need to strive towards in this current low paying, short deadline slump the world seems to be in ATM, this is from the Vancouver Film School by the way =) and you have to love it =)


Anyway let me know what you think about rigging animation and the balance between full 2d traditional and the rigged flash characters? whats acceptable? And breathing life into your character?

The italian maiden Marla

A few years ago i was wondering the web as i do, and i believe i saw it on www.coldhardflash.com and it was so beautiful then that every now and then i just havto watch it, so i'll wonder the web for hours looking for it, so i'v saved you the effort =) enjoy Marla



'Marla' is a graduation short film created in traditional animation in 2004 by a group of artists not limited to Alessandra Sorrentino, Alice Lia and Simona Ciraolo.

There are a bunch of concept sketches and all the beautifully painted backgrounds posted at calzette-rosa.blogspot.com
and i suggest heading over and having a gander =)
If you would like to have a peek at their latest works just head on over to

Alessandra - blog
Simona - blog

Defnitly worth a peek =) enjoy
-will

created by blu, a german graffiti artist from berlin, he does amazing things with his spray cans, just search blu on youtube and you can see plenty of his amazing work =)



A short by hichem arfaoui from animation mentors online class =), there are a few free tutorials and peeks at how they do things, if you are intrested =)


this here is the blocking from the same animation =) really cool to see the before and afters, if you check the related vids section on youtube there are also a layout design and even a 2d animatic =) if you'd like to see how they work =D


Also ran into these awesome scrabble ads =)

Hula from Scrabble on Vimeo.

Sumo from Scrabble on Vimeo.

Yoga from Scrabble on Vimeo.

So cool =) really like the style and how the music fits and makes it all seem rather edgy, reminds me a little bit of andrejs style

CHARGED - Animated Short Film from Collin T on Vimeo.

This one is very nicly animated and has a cool little plot line =)
Produced at Algonquin College in Ottawa Canada =) plenty of cool animation related places in Canada =D if you where thinking bout traveling =D


Below.. the majestic moose =)


This is from a head model andrej chucked onto the m drive =) defnitly get it, its fun!


And these are my acrobatic maya poses for franky boy =D




yays for updates, hope you enjoed the animated pieces
short bursts of love
-will

Story telling Magic? and weeping

Being a student with his sights set on the creative animation and illustration industry, I’ve heard a few things about some awful employers and their sly tactics, so be prepared for clients pulling some of these...




That watched and after weeping a little in the corner, I was reassured by some comments made by industry professionals that there only a handful =) and that most clients respect that you've spent so much time perfecting and honing your skills.

Here are other creative types poking fun at one of these demanding clients =) have a read and a laugh


Story telling ability

the ability to construct a sequence of camera shots, to accuratly portray the feeling/emotion of the film. The viewes brain should have to do nothing more than tune out and pay full attention to the preformance. Film technique/story telling ability

I keep coming across these animated pieces where the animator doesn’t apply any of the 12 holy principals or any animation concepts but basic moving from a to b.

Now the reason these are still watchable is cause the story is being told in such a way to keep you watching and interested.. even with minimal animation. Now if we could learn this story telling ability and get really good at it and combine it with our other arsenal of skills there would be no stopping us.



37mil views on the tube can’t be wrong =)



this one had success on newgrounds but due to this creative portal being blocked to us by the great hand from above heres the tubed version


Now this week iv stumbled across some cool stuff =)
The Vancouver film school =) which seem to pump out some awesome stuff
check out some of these and make sure you subscribe to their channel for updates on animated goodness =)




I also really like this 2d film their students created =) so pretty and it reads so well.





The Vancouver film school seem to know the secret of story telling and their students are enriched with this Story telling ability to create visual interest to keep you watching =)

Now we need this skill so i suggest after we read the book below, at the dead of night we kidnap the best ones =) COMON how badly do you want it lol


and yes this is a real book


Make sure to have a have a peek at the SUPERPETS collab and join in =) why not eh


-will

Collab fun =D

hey kids =)
So we'll finally be getting some time off (4 weeks =D) from our busy assignment schedule and super pets is on the todo list =)
If you haven't though of your super pet yet, the best time is now =) can be as silly as you want him/she/it to be =D



specifications
each page will be A4 sized
page limit...well not really a limit but try not to go to far over 5
anything else you want =)



So how to create your own super pet piece

step
1)Think up a super pet, easy peasy =)

2)think of an epic or not so epic story your pet will feature in

3)do some rough drawings, figure out, what you want your pet to look like

4)storyboard out your comic, just be rough, make little thumbnail sketches so you
get the ideas and the story down!

5)Redraw your thumbs this time thinking about layouts and structure putting a bit more detail into it =)

6)Now just redraw your thumbnails on your A4 pieces of paper =) making sure your comic reads well.

7)Onwards to finishing your comic however you want, you can scan it in and finish it digitally, you can ink and color it on paper, anyway you prefer =)




And yeah =) it'll be good fun, first actual published work =D
plan is to try pitch it to some publishers or we can try to flog them ourselves lol but although this is a student piece, quality is important =) and i know you are all capable of creating pretty drawings =)



so My superpet
Meet Sir licksalot =) I'm not a 100% happy with the design or the color choices just yet but so far i like him =)

If you have any troubles or problems please don't be shy, talk to either Sarah (ze loud one) or myself =)

smiley face
-will