Phillip Hall

HAPPY FEET TWO TV TRAILERS

2011-09-23T19:32:00.003-04:00

Here are 2 new TV Trailers for the film I am currently working on. Check them out!

HOW TO MAKE BIRDS FLY

2011-08-27T10:25:00.010-04:00

Animating flying birds can be a lot more involved than you might think. There is a lot more to it than just setting keys on the up and down positions for the wings.

Brendon Body is currently a Character Animator at Double Negative but he worked on Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole at Animal Logic and contained in his Showreel are some beautiful shots he did from that film. After having an experience like that there is no doubt he knows bird mechanics.

Brendon has a very informative blog and he's created a fantastic read every animator should check out with "Tips and Observations of Bird Flight." To see for yourself, click HERE.

You can check out his Showreel HERE. Really great stuff!

CG REELWORKS

2011-08-24T21:41:00.005-04:00

Do you love spending countless hours watching animated short films and reels? If so, this might be the site for you! Big shout out to my friend and co-worker Adrian Lim for showing me this site today. Isn't the internet great!?

You can check out CG Reelworks HERE.

MAC 'N' CHEESE

2011-08-21T19:58:00.007-04:00

This got passed around work about a week or so ago. Pretty amazing considering this short film was animated, directed, and created by four students at the Utrecht School of Arts in the Netherlands. This roughly two minute animation took about five months to make. While the "chase" format is starting to feel a little played out it seems to be a successful format for student short films.

REFERENCE! REFERENCE!

2011-08-19T20:30:00.011-04:00

I'm working overtime today so I don't have much time to write about how blown away I am by this new site but WOW! That's really all I can say. Training your eye in the study of how things move is critical in the development of any animator, and you can never study enough! Thankfully there are sites like Reference! Reference!

I don't have enough time right now to write about how awesome it is. Just go see for yourself. Check it out HERE.

FRAME BY FRAME

2011-08-10T19:34:00.009-04:00

Here's an awesome new website called Frame by Frame. Just as you might suspect, it's a great site to study animation... frame by frame, which of course is the BEST way to study animation.

To check out the site click HERE.

NEW HAPPY FEET TWO TRAILER

2011-07-26T21:28:00.003-04:00

Here's the new trailer to the film I am currently working on in Sydney, Australia!

TOOLS OF THE TRADE OF A SUCCESSFUL ANIMATOR

2011-07-05T00:04:00.007-04:00

CTN- The Creative Talent Network is an amazing animation resource. I attended the CTN Animation Expo in Burbank, California 2 years ago and what I loved about it most was going to all the seminars and learning all these little insights from the industry's top animators. If you ever get the chance you should go. Anyway, CTN has kind of become like the TED of animation with their Vimeo page. Check out this vid hosted by veteran Walt Disney Supervising Animator Andreas Deja, and Pixar Animators Victor Navone, Michal Makarewicz, Aaron Hartline, and Carlos Baena as they discuss 'Creating Believable Characters in Animation.' This is good stuff!

ANDREAS DEJA

2011-06-07T19:55:00.010-04:00

Finally! Andreas Deja has started a blog! Check it out HERE.

HAPPY FEET 2 TEASER TRAILER

2011-05-29T22:11:00.004-04:00

Check out the teaser trailer to the new film I am working on in Sydney.

COLOR CODED KEYS

2011-05-22T23:52:00.015-04:00

Thank the Lord. How many long suffering nights have I searched for this? Okay, to be honest maybe no more than two but still, I've always wanted to know how to do this.

I suck at MEL scripting or any kind of scripting for that matter. I could use the excuse I just don't have the patience for it but it's probably because I'm too lazy to learn it.

Aaaanyway, here is the MEL script to change the color of a key tick in the timeline in Maya. Wait for it...

keyframe -time `currentTime -q` -tds 1;

That's it. Add it to a shelf. After that just set a key, run the command, and then go to Window > Settings/Preferences > Color Settings, go to the Animation bar and change the Time Slider Tick Special color to whatever you want.

What a time to live.

**UPDATE**
Since my good friend JP Rhinemiller over at Animators Resource posted a link to this, I've received some requests to demonstrate how to change the color of the key ticks. It's super simple. Hopefully these pics help.

After you have run the script in the Script Editor...
Go to Window> Settings/Preferences> Color Settings (like this)

A new window will pop up. You'll want to click on Animation under the General tab. Look for Time Slider tick special. (like this)

It is set to green by default. Change it to any color you like. Blue starts with 'B' like BREAKDOWN so that's why I chose that color.

As always, I hope this helps!

Peace!!!

EYES ARE PLAYING TRICKS

2011-05-20T00:41:00.005-04:00

Frank Thomas created these different eye shapes. What do they communicate to you? He was always trying to get to the heart of the character. "What is the character thinking and why does he feel that way?" If you can answer those two questions before you ever set a key, in Frank Thomas' opinion, you're well on your way to becoming a great animator.

Contrary to wait you may think, so much of what we communicate to other people doesn't come from out mouths. Body language speaks volumes about what we really feel and think. But even more so, the number one thing that will truly reveal what we think and feel can be found in the eyes. There are social scientists all over the world dissecting the secrets of human communication. What do we tell each other when we don't say a word?

For the film actor, eyes are the most important communicator. They are so expressive and so telling that even if we are watching animated characters, our connection is with the eyes, especially if the goal is for the audience to make an emotional investment in the characters.

You can tell what people's minds are doing when they are thinking or asked to remember something. Here's a fun little exercise you can try with your friends and family. The following is true for most right handed people (reverse all this for left-handed people): As you face them, and their eyes go...

Up and to the right - They are remembering a pictoral image.

Up and to the left - They are constructing a visual image.

To the right - They are remembering sounds or conversations.

To the left - The are constructing sounds or conversations.

Down and to the right - They are experiencing an internal dialogue.

Down and to the left - They are accessing kinesthetic feelings, tastes and smells.

of human communication. What do we tell each other when we don't say a word? How does our body language affect our relationships with others? The results of these studies are rather fascinating, and can lend credence to the supposition that we communicate more with our bodies than with our words.

EMOTIONS AND FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

2011-05-18T19:15:00.010-04:00

Every once in a while there's a tip or trick or some kind of reference I come across that sets off a mushroom cloud in my head and I wonder how I ever got by without it. Well, this is something that would definitely fall under that category.

Behold...one chart to rule them all. Okay, this isn't the end all be all but it is a terrific guide. I find myself constantly referring to this, especially during the initial blocking phase and even addressing director notes. Like all reference it's just another tool in the toolbox, but it's a tool I use a lot.

For the high-res version click HERE.

SEVEN ANIMATION ESSENTIALS

2011-04-11T16:37:00.008-04:00

This is animation gold! Glen Keane is one of the greatest animators alive today over at Walt Disney Animation Studios and is truly an inspiration. The following is a excerpt taken from "A System For Planning and Timing Animation." This has been around for years but if you'd like to read this document you can download the pdf at AnimationMeat.com. This weekend I was going through some of my old files and rediscovered these simple Seven Animation Essentials.

1. Make a Positive Statement

Do not be ambiguous in your approach.
Thumbnail until you have that clear approach and conviction.
Be bold and decisive.

2. Animate From the Heart

Feel your drawings.
Let your action be an extension of how you believe the character feels.
Put yourself in the place of the character your animating- associate.

3. Make Expressions and Attitudes Real and Living

Focus on the eyes and eyebrows- mouth and cheeks.
Always lead with the eyes.
Be sure the eyes are solid and placed securely in the head.
Study your own attitudes. Ask yourself, "Does this drawing feel the way my face feels?"

4. Draw As If You Were Sculpting

Describe the forms in dimension.
Understand the character design in 3D.

5. Animate the Forces

Allow the momentum of and already animated movement to suggest the next drawing.
Draw the leading edge of forces.

6. Visualize and Feel Dialog

Be sure you are truly capturing the inflection, volume and tone of the dialog with proper mouth shapes.

7. Simplicity

What is the essence of your scene, your action , your expression- what is indispensable in communicating your thought?

DON'T QUIT. KEEP GOING. WALK ON!

2011-04-06T00:52:00.013-04:00

My Dad emailed this video to me a few years ago to express how proud he was of me for achieving my lifelong dream to be a Character Animator on a Fully Animated Feature Film. I had the dream in the 2nd grade, but the journey didn't begin until after high school in 1997 when I left home for college. Little did I know it would take 12 years before I'd see it come true. There were plenty of times when it would have been easier to quit (and believe me there were times I wanted to) but one thing kept me going; one promise I had from God. THIS.

With a promise like that, how could I possibly quit?

We aren't born winners or losers, but choosers. What do you do when your goal seems out of reach? What do you do when you fall? Be like DJ Gregory. Make the right choice. Get back up and walk on!

"I THINK ALL DIRECTORS SHOULD BE ANIMATORS FIRST"

2011-04-05T17:01:00.006-04:00

I didn't say it. He did.

THIS MIGHT HELP...

2011-03-31T00:03:00.012-04:00

This has been floating around the interwebs for a while, but it definitely helped me so I thought I'd pay it forward. Here's something that every animator should consider. Keri Smith has a great blog. To see her site, click HERE.

THERE ARE PENGUINS IN SYDNEY!

2011-03-27T22:10:00.007-04:00

It's amazing (and a little overwhelming) to think in less than 2 months my wife and I will be living in Sydney, Australia... and I'll be working on Happy Feet 2. That doesn't even make sense to me. How is that possible?

THIS is how.

I can't even write about what this feels like. If you knew how many times I've been rejected and how many times I've wanted to quit you might understand. But when things like this happen, I can't help but reflect on where I've been and how thankful I am for what I have and what I've been blessed to experience. I know it's cliche, but if you had told me 10 years ago when I graduated from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale about all the things I'd get to do, and the great friends I'd make, I wouldn't have believed any of it. Why? Because I was living back in Virginia with my Grandma and her cat, in her two bedroom apartment with no job and no leads. My dream since elementary school was to be a character animator and make movies. How was that going to happen?

My wife LOVES the Boston Celtics. In fact, tomorrow night we are driving down to Indianapolis to see them play the Pacers. In 2008 they won the NBA Finals. For most of the players on the team, it was their first NBA Championship. One of those players was Kevin Garnett. I shared these videos with my students a few weeks ago. Because his emotions are so raw, I explained to them this is what it felt like to get rejection letters and lose year after year, what it felt like when I won, and finally what it feels like once you've gone through all of that.

I don't know who, but this is for someone out there. No matter what it looks like, no matter what it feels like...don't ever, ever, quit! Trust me. Keep after it!

NEW TO ANIMATION? IF SO YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS!

2011-03-26T14:05:00.008-04:00

Everyone has their own workflow. The thing about it is there is no right or wrong way to approaching 3D character animation. If it works it works and if you can get it in front of the director in a timely manor who cares right? Wrong!

This is the kind of crap I was fed for years and years and I wasted so much of my life trying to discover MY workflow. Knowing the 12 Principles of Animation by heart didn't do anything for me once I tried to go from Blocking to Spline. Every time I tried to animate, it was a full out war between me and the computer. "Work smarter, not harder." That's good advice but it doesn't do any good if you don't know how.

Truth is, I believe there is a right and wrong way to approaching 3D animation, just like there is a right and wrong way to approaching how to change a flat tire, or baking a cake, or flying a plane. If you want to succeed at any of these things there's good news! All of this stuff has already been figured out!

Today I came across these fantastic tutorials from Doron Meir. You can check his site out here. If you are new to 3D Character Animation and you are struggling to find your own workflow, I highly recommend you watch these videos. This is how you do it!

***NOTE*** Just to clarify, this is regarding workflow once you are ready to start animating in the computer and has nothing to do with planning out your shot. Just wanted to clear that up. ;)

PERFECTIONISM LEADS TO PROCRASTINATION

2011-03-26T01:06:00.016-04:00

Over the past year or so Lifehacker.com has quickly become one of my favorite sites I try to hit once a day. They have all sorts of helpful little tips about technology and other nerd related activities which I enjoy, but every once in a while they'll post an article about something that inspires daily application; hence the name of the site.

Today I came across an article they posted entitled How Perfectionism Can Lead to Procrastination (and What to Do About It). It's a great little read and you can check it out here.

I could be wrong but I think it can be especially easy for us animators to fall into this trap. Our work is constantly being evaluated, judged, and revised that through the course of a show we experience many highs and lows to meet the needs of our clients and directors. This article helped remind me that trying to make my shots perfect on the first go-round probably isn't the best strategy for success.

When I started working at Blue Sky Studios on Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs I really struggled at first. The first couple of months, I got my ass kicked. Big time! It was my first "real" industry gig and I was wasting so much time trying to make every single pose and every single action perfect that I began to miss my deadlines. Certainly in a studio like Blue Sky there is a tremendous amount of pressure, but one of the many valuable lessons I learned during that time was this: "Fail fast." In other words, get something (within context) in front of the director as soon as possible. Don't try to be a mind reader. Let the director direct you. Give them something to work with. Otherwise you're probably going to end up wasting a ton of time.

I remember having a conversation on this same subject with a fellow animator and great friend of mine, Sheldon Kruger. We were talking one day about our approach when assigned multiple consecutive shots in a sequence. What Sheldon realized was it's a waste of time to think you can focus on one shot and try to make it look perfect, even in blocking, and expect to have enough time to hit the other shots by the deadline. His solution: Do something on all the shots, even if you know it's not perfect.

This was a hard lesson for me to learn. It seems so counter productive but it works. Hopefully this will help someone out there. If you ever catch yourself thinking this way...STOP IT!

RANGO- BEHIND THE SCENES: NATURAL ACTING EXPERIENCE

2011-03-09T02:41:00.018-05:00

I loved this film! Let me just say it has been a long, long time since I've had this kind of reaction watching a film (much less an animated film) where I stopped and thought, "Man, how did they do that?" Granted, it wasn't the kind of reaction I had watching Jurassic Park or Toy Story for the first time. I'll explain.

Knowing the ins and outs of the technology and eventually becoming a professional animator kind of ruins the "magic" of "how they do that." What I got wrapped up in watching Rango was thinking about the sheer man power it must have taken to make this possible. How is it possible this could be completed? "How did they do that!?" It's an entirely new perspective on the same question and I think that sums up what I loved about this film the most.

Almost everything about this is refreshing and new.....and surprisingly unassuming. There wasn't much about the trailer that grabbed my attention. Admittedly, I wasn't too thrilled about Johnny Depp voicing the lead character. I just imagined it'd be Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow as Rango; you know what I mean? To my surprise though, I didn't even think about Johnny Depp at all during this film which is exactly the way it should be. When I watch Toy Story I don't think, "Oh that's Tom Hanks." I'm thinking, "That's Woody!"

Even the design of Rango, who you would think as the title character would be one of the better designed characters, is not. That's not to say he's designed poorly but clearly more attention was given to the supporting cast, and in my opinion they steal the show, both in their design and performance. From the get go you realize Rango isn't your typical animated character.

This is as much of a visual effects film as much as it is a fully animated film. The cinematography is unbelievable. There are three or four exciting action sequences and at times I felt like I was actually on a ride. The sets and environments help bring this world together. They are so well designed, every shot is eye-candy. The art direction is on another level. That being said, the other aspect to this film that blew me away was the sound design. Damn. That's all I can say. Unbelievable!

This movie makes use of an old genre. It's a western to be sure, but the experience is completely fresh. As a character animator my most favorite part of this film is captured in the video above. It's not motion capture. It's not performance capture. It's EMOTION capture! Oh God, I love it!

As far as I know, I have NEVER seen this level of commitment to getting the performances from the actors. Usually the actors lending their voices are in a booth behind a microphone. While the animators typically have access to these video recordings for facial reference, most of the performances are tested by the animator through trial and error based off direction and storyboards. While I love shooting my own reference video (it's one of my favorite things about being an animator) I'm not an Academy Award Nominee for Best Actor. Johnny Depp is. I'm not saying this should be the future of character animation, but I can't help but think what a learning opportunity this must have been for the animators.

I don't think I can say enough good things about Rango. I was blown away. I think I'm done praising this film for now. It's a marvel. Go see it.

SUPERMAN CLASSIC

2011-02-07T23:45:00.007-05:00

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a HUGE Superman fan. Well today my friend and fellow animator Alex Snow sent me this fantastic little short fan film from Disney animator Robb Platt. This is just great! One of the hardest things about being an animator is staying inspired. Well, I just got inspired. Thanks Alex.

FRACTURED FUTURE (IN LEX WE TRUST)

2011-02-05T14:41:00.008-05:00

This is the second game trailer created by Blur Studios for DC Universe Online. At the end of the first trailer we see Lex Luthor from the future explain to Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman their fate and the events that will occur when he finally defeats the entire JLA. Luthor is left defenseless against a full-on alien invasion lead by Brainiac. In this new trailer we see the events that follow the battle in the first trailer. It looks like the Joker didn't kill Batman after all. Seriously, when has trusting Lex Luthor ever been a good idea? I've been playing the game for two weeks now and I am enjoying it so far. These trailers however are blowing me away. I hope they keep making them and that one day WB will decide to make a direct-to-video movie based off these 3D characters. That would be so sick! Do it WB! DO IT!

PHIL VISCHER VISITS HUNTINGTON UNIVERSITY

2010-11-10T19:51:00.009-05:00

Yesterday afternoon Phil Vischer (founder of Big Idea Productions and creator of Veggie Tales) visited Huntington University to drop some wisdom on students about his success and failures in the animation industry. Unlike the students, I kind of missed "VeggieTales-mania" but it was still interesting to hear what Phil had to say. One of the points he made during his talk was about his hopes and dreams for what he thought Big Idea might become. The thing about dreams is eventually you have to wake up. This idea may seem like man, what a total downer, but listening to Phil's perspective and testimony there is definitely some truth to what he was saying.

YOGI BEAR POSTER AND TEASER TRAILER

2010-07-28T19:34:00.014-04:00

JAMES BAXTER DRAWS PO

2010-07-28T16:46:00.008-04:00

James Baxter from Dreamworks Animation demonstrates how to draw Po from Kung-Fu Panda. This movie is easily in my Top 5 favorite animated films of all-time. One of the most memorable sequences from this film is Po's dream which opens the movie and was animated traditionally in 2D. The most important thing to take from what James Baxter is talking about here is how characters are formed with simple shapes and how those shapes are connected with lines that flow together through the entire body. I work in 3D everyday so anytime I get see it done with just a pencil and paper, I'm blown away.

DC UNIVERSE ONLINE TRAILER

2010-07-25T03:46:00.022-04:00

I've been a DC Comics fan practically all of my life. In less than 6 minutes this trailer manages to show the deaths of all of their greatest super-heroes. It kind of makes the JLA look pretty weak, but clearly this isn't their best day. I don't know if I've ever seen anything like it. Blur Studios has a solid reputation now of creating unbelievable trailers for games. In such a short amount of time they manage to showcase each character's distinct personality, strengths, and weaknesses. Animation wise my favorite thing about this is the weight. You can just feel it. Lifting, punching, running, even Batman pointing Cyborg where to aim has a real sense of weight. I need to go through this frame by frame. I love this!

WILE E. COYOTE AND ROAD RUNNER IN 3D

2010-07-22T13:31:00.007-04:00

Reel FX is no joke! This new Wile E. Coyote/Road-Runner cartoon, entitled Coyote Falls, is coming out next weekend attached to Cats and Dogs 2. The great news is this is the first of many new 3D Looney Tunes shorts to come. I figured it was only a matter of time, but I could have only hoped it would look this good. I am happy to see they decided to stick with the original character designs. This looks so awesome! Here is a quick preview of just how awesome it will be.

I GOT TO WORK ON RED DEAD REDEMPTION!

2010-02-24T23:08:00.005-05:00

My time working on Red Dead Redemption has come to an end and I have since moved on, but I will definitely miss the good times and friends I made working in Santa Monica at Image-Metrics. I tried not to take for granted all the days we walked down to the Santa Monica pier for lunch. (I'll probably miss that about as much as anything else.) My time there was short, but it was a treat to work on Red Dead Redemption. If you're a gamer, I don't have to tell you how amazing this game is going to be. Trust me, I was already excited about it long before I got to work on it.

If you've never heard of Image Metrics, they provides superior facial animation solutions to the entertainment industry. That's what they do. They've done a ton of facial work in movies, games, and music videos. They were contracted by Rockstar Games to do all the facial animation for the game. I have to say I learned a tremendous amount during my time there.

Thanks Image-Metrics.

On to the next...

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL

2009-12-14T21:11:00.006-05:00

This past weekend I was invited by Rhythm and Hues to see a screening of Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel on the 20th Century Fox Studio lot. I may be a bit biased since I worked on the film, but this movie is hilarious! There isn't much more I can say about it now, but I can't wait to go see it again when it is released. It comes out December 23rd but I am planning to watch it with my whole family on Christmas Day.

PREP & LANDING

2009-12-09T14:00:00.011-05:00

I'm not sure how long this will be available, but if you missed it last night on ABC, here's your chance to watch this fantastic instant holiday classic. I really enjoyed this.

JESUS 2000

2009-10-13T20:28:00.006-04:00

This quick 1 minute animated short was passed around work earlier this week and I just can't stop watching it. So much symbolism captured so cleverly in a fresh contemporary way that only animation can do. I just love the crazy use of squash and stretchy rubber-hose limbs, the arcs, character design, and how they chose to go live action back to animated to show the resurrection. So tight and so clean. Needless to say, it definitely has inspired me.

GOING BACK TO CALI

2009-06-03T11:04:00.037-04:00

Alvin and the Chipmunks 2- The Squeakquel Teaser Trailer

On to the next! I just found out I got the job! I'll have to leave Vicarious Visions and the Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 team (luckily we just finished the beta version of the game)to head back to the west coast to animate Alvin and the Chipmunks 2. I start June 15th. I am soooooo excited! Got to get packing!!!

ICE AGE 3 - BEHIND THE SCENES

2009-05-31T20:25:00.005-04:00

It's hard to believe there is only a month until Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs hits theaters. I've been seeing posters and cardboard stands and banners at the theaters and I can't lie; it's a pretty amazing feeling to see that stuff and know that you had a part in it. Today I saw this video and to my amazement it features two of my shots from the film! Right around the 2:50 mark, Layout Director (and really funny guy) Rob Cardone walks through the process of how an animated film comes together; from storyboard- to layout- to animation! These were my only Scrat and Scratte shots, but man was I happy to get them! I animated the shots at the 3:40 mark where Scratte grabs Scrat's hand and then the very next shot where she pulls him and jumps off the rock and Scrat screams when he realizes what she just did. They go by really fast, but I'm so excited to finally see them lit and rendered. Anyway, I thought I would share. One month to go!!!

MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 2 E3'09 TRAILER

2009-05-31T19:33:00.012-04:00

In case you missed the premiere, here is the new trailer for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. Literally one week after we wrapped with Ice Age 3 I moved to Albany, NY and started work on this game. I was hired on to the In-Game Cinematics team and literally jumped at the chance to work with some of my most beloved comic book heroes....and villains! This game is shaping up to be really awesome and I'd be getting it even if I weren't animating on it. It will be coming out in September. Excelsior!!!

THIS ONE TIME...

2009-05-11T17:27:00.005-04:00

Holy crap! This is so amazing. I just wanted to post this because I love it, love it, love it! This was done by CalArts student Nelson Boles. Animation gold I say!

PIXAR TO OPEN NEW ANIMATION STUDIO IN VANCOUVER

2009-05-08T09:30:00.006-04:00

Wow, this is interesting news! Pixar is opening a new studio in Vancouver. The purpose of the Canada-based studio is to produce computer animated short films, which usually run anywhere from three to six minutes in length, and take 6 to 8 months to produce. Feature Films, all stereoscopic 3D work, and Post-Production will still continue to be done at the company’s main studio in Northern California. Hit the link for more info.

ICE AGE 3: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS FULL TRAILER!

2009-03-27T11:56:00.019-04:00

HOW PIXAR HIRES

2009-03-12T11:29:00.007-04:00

This is something Nick Bruno sent out to the animation department today and I liked it so much I decided to share it here. It gives some insight to the hiring philosophy at Pixar and with ideas like these, it's easy to see why they are considered "the best." As a fan of animation I try not to limit myself to only looking to Pixar for inspiration, but these ideas (shared by Randy Nelson, head of the in-house Pixar University) explain what makes working in this industry so great. Technology will come and go. It's the people you work with day to day that make the difference. As my time here at Blue Sky is quickly coming to an end with just a few weeks left to go, I am grateful to have worked with so many "interested" people. This has been an amazingly wonderful experience. Wherever I go or whatever I do from here, I can only hope the sum of the parts will always be greater than the whole.

THIS IS OLD NEWS, BUT NEWS NONETHELESS

2009-02-26T09:06:00.004-05:00

This happened a while back (about a month ago) but I decided I should post it anyway. At the beginning of the year, Blue Sky Studios moved from White Plains, New York to Greenwich, Connecticut. It's only about a 20 minute shuttle ride away. I actually enjoy the shuttle quite a bit. Before we moved we had to walk to work in rain, snow, sleet, all at the same time, uphill and barefoot and we liked it. Alot! This new studio is WAY better than the old one. Pete Paquette's comment about "digital puppets" got him alot of attention at the studio. I don't think there was a single person here that didn't make fun of him for it.

**I'll Edit this post later with pics of the studio**

SCARY MOVIE NIGHTS AT KORMAN

2009-02-24T22:05:00.008-05:00

This weekend Teresa Nord hosted the first Scary Movie Saturday Nights at AKA Korman Communities where Blue Sky keeps us nice and warm during these chilly wintry nights. Thanks to the organizational skills of Tab Burton; Tyler Phillips, my wife Cirila, and myself enjoyed a fun filled night stuffing our faces with popcorn and assorted left over Valentine's Day chocolates as we drank ourselves silly with Diet Dr. Pepper and V8 Fusion. Yeah, we really know how to have a big time. The highlight of the night was easily the film we watched entitled Rogue. I liked it because it started the same way as The Lion King and starred an evil giant Australian Crocodile. If you're ever bored out of your mind and you happen to be in Target, give it a try. According to the back of the DVD, "Rogue delivers brutal action and breathless suspense as it speeds towards one of the most intense final showdowns ever filmed." Trust me. You have to see it to believe it!

I'VE BEEN BUSY

2009-02-07T21:53:00.002-05:00

Wow! It's been way too long since my last post. I never intended to go this long without saying....something! So much has happened since I arrived to White Plains, NY a little more than 3 months ago. This certainly has been a humbling experience. I have learned a tremendous amount about the industry and how a movie gets made, and everything I thought I knew about animation got ripped apart the first couple of weeks I was here. This being my first film and all, there was a time at the beginning when I began to doubt my ability to contribute to this film. My first shot kicked my butt! I mean it got ripped apart!!! I never thought I'd get it approved, but when it finally did, I could hardly believe it. It's a pretty sweet feeling getting a shot approved. For about 8 seconds you feel like a total rock star. Since getting past that first shot, it's definitely gotten much better.

The people here are AMAZING! I just wanted to say that quickly now, but I'll elaborate on it more later.

We have about 6 weeks left in production in animation. We're overtime freaks! It's a crazy race to the finish. In an effort to help boost morale, director Carlos Saldanha called the animation department to a meeting in the Blue Sky Theater. He surprised us with about 8 minutes of the film that was complete, or close to final lighting and rendering. I don't even know how to write it without sounding like I'm tooting my own horn, or being completely biased, but I can't help it. This movie looks FREAKING AWESOME!!! I had some questions of how it would look when it all came together, but not anymore. IT'S UNBELIEVABLE! I can''t wait to see it in stereo 3D, and I hope audiences feel the same way when it comes out this summer.

Stay tuned. More to come later...I promise!

I SEE SKIES OF BLUE

2008-10-14T00:30:00.001-04:00

It's kinda hard to believe, but my lifelong dream to work as an animator on an animated feature film has finally come true!!! It will be hard to say goodbye to all the fantastic faculty and students I have grown to love at the Art Institute of California- San Diego over the last year and a half, but this is an opportunity I HAVE to take. If I didn't, I know I would regret it for the rest of my life. I will be flying out to White Plains, New York November 1st and my first day working on Ice Age 3 will be on the 3rd. I will try to keep up on sharing all of my experineces but in the meantime I just wanted to say thank you to all my family and friends who have supported me over the years, my parents for always believing in me, and my wonderful wife for her continued support and love. I would have never made it this far without all of you!

It takes a while, but dreams can come true if you keep holding on. Never ever give up.

DEMO REEL- SUMMER 2008

2008-08-15T17:20:00.002-04:00

SIGGRAPH LOS ANGELES, CA 2008

2008-08-15T16:32:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was my day off, so I made it up to Los Angeles for the 35th Annual Siggraph Exhibition. It definitely seems to be getting smaller and smaller each year, but I still had a great time getting away for the day. I got to meet up with a few old friends , I saw some familiar faces from school, and made some amazing new contacts. It' pretty freakin' awesome when you get to actually meet your heroes!

Despite this year's size, there's still quite a bit to see and do. I always come back wishing I had taken more pictures (this year was no different) but here are a few that capture some of the things I saw.

MEATLOAF

2008-08-02T02:54:00.002-04:00

Finally, my latest animation creation is complete! This was just a really fun animation exercise to do and I really got into the character. This audio clip is of Will Ferrell from the movie Wedding Crashers and it's probably my favorite scene in the whole movie. The hardest part in the planning on this one was disassociating myself from Will Ferrell's performance while trying to put my own spin on his dialogue. It only took listening to the audio clip about 14 million times before I was able to come up with the idea of this bratty kid at his birthday party, with only one other guest that showed up. Once I had that, everything else fell into place.

The fact that they are eating meatloaf only adds to how absurd this character is. The meatloaf is irrelevant. It's the fact that someone has finally agreed to have some of what he wanted that he feels justified in screaming and yelling for what he wants. After all, that's what he's done all of his life.

I wrestled with the idea of showing the guy who speaks first, but I felt in the end, it would take away from what I wanted to get across with the birthday boy. This guy is a grown up and he's still having these kinds of birthday parties. Who does that? I imagine all of the invitations were sent out but only this one friend decided to show up out of sympathy. He probably feels pretty awkward being the only one there so he's probably thinking, "I better hurry up and eat this meatloaf so I can get the heck out of here!" It's the only hope of saving the birthday party and as soon as his guest agrees to eat some, the devastated birthday boy immediately goes back to his old ways. He hasn't changed a bit.

I had a lot of fun with this one and I hope you enjoy it!

ANOTHER ANIMATED LIP SYNC PERFORMANCE

2008-06-11T15:32:00.002-04:00

This is kind of my process when it comes to planning for animation. Obviously I didn't come up with this method. I can't say I got it from one specific source. It kind of just formed out of reading blogs and listening to other animators talk about how they approach a shot. I listen because their work is awesome.

The first thing I do with any shot is try to get on paper as quick as I can what I am seeing in my mind's eye. It can be a lot more difficult than you think. The audio clip (especially this one) tends to zip by so listening to it over and over and over again is imperative to find the key moments in the voice of the performer. Here are some of my thumbnails sketches based on where I wanted to go with the shot.

Once I had those ideas on paper where I could see them and study them, the next thing I did was act it out. Again, this is not my technique, rather I'm just using someone else's proven method. Anyway, not only will I record myself, but I take it one step further and add a time frame stamp and then go even one step further and import the video clip into Flash (or any similar 2D app.) and literally make visual notes on my own performance. Now some may say this is a little overkill, but for me, it helps a ton. Very quickly I have resolved many of the issues in my character's performance such as the timing, the posing, and the spacing that I could waste hours trying to figure out on my own. Again, if I'm the animator I have to become the character. I'm not cheating by using reference video, I'm becoming the character!

Finally, the animation basically reflects my performance. While I used thumbnail drawings and reference video to get me started, you can clearly see that I only used it as a guide. To me the most fun part in animating is trying to find those little moments where you can exaggerate the character beyond anything you could do in reality. That's really the magic of the whole process for me. Anyway, I hope someone out there can take these ideas (again, that I have borrowed) and use them to make their own animation even better!

This definitely was a fun animation to do and I'm really glad I was able to finish it; especially since I animated this character to the voice of one of my favorite characters of all time...Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane!!!

THE ART OF KUNG-FU PANDA

2008-05-28T12:05:00.001-04:00

Yesterday my wife and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary and she surprised me with this freakin' awesome book on the Art of Kung-Fu Panda. DreamWorks does a great job promoting their animated films, but some of their movies I feel have failed to deliver. Regardless, I have crazy high hopes for this film. I absolutely love the character design and art direction and from what I've seen in the previews the animation looks sweet! I'm definitely going to see this at the IMAX when it comes out. I just hope the film is as awesome as this book. Thanks Sweets!

*UPDATE* This book is even sweeter now because Kung-Fu Panda is easily my favorite animated film of the year! I even got to see it in IMAX!!! Skdooosh!

PRESTO!

2008-05-27T19:18:00.002-04:00

Pixar's new animated short film Presto is inspired by Warner Bros. and Tom and Jerry slapstick, so you already know how awesome this is going to be. Doug Sweetland's directorial debut and these two pics have me super hyped!!! Can't wait!

*UPDATE* Best. Pixar. Short. Ever. Period. I am so inspired! Very rarely do you get to witness an instant classic. I'm not ashamed to say I enjoyed this short 100 times more than the film that followed.

BLINKING IS NOT JUST SOME RANDOM OCCURRENCE

2008-05-01T18:39:00.002-04:00

Okay, okay... so the Suns and the Mavs lost in the first round of the playoffs and what Steve Nash and Jason Kidd are saying here seems pretty irrelevant at this point, but that has nothing to do with why I am posting this. After seeing these commercials a few times I began to notice something. Not only are the two players saying the same words at the same time, they are also blinking at the same time! It doesn't happen just on this one. There are a series of these commercials and as far as I can tell it happens in all of them regardless of which two players are speaking. You can check them out here.

Alot of times as an animator, you never stop to think about when your characters should blink so you randomly throw them in. Shawn Kelly calls this "Randomblinkitis." What's the cure? Well he says it's observation. We blink for a lot of reasons but according to Shawn the most important ones to remember when animating are:
1. When we shift our thought process
2. to show or hide our emotion
3. in the middle of a fast head turn

If anything these commercials have only reinforced what I have learned. Blinking is not just some random occurrence.

IF YOU LOVE PIXAR ANIMATION, GET THIS BOOK

2008-03-28T13:11:00.002-04:00

Last week I turned 29. Sort of a scary thought considering how close that number is to 30. Anyway, I received birthday money from my family (which I gladly accepted) and with it one of the things I bought was this book "To Infinity and Beyond! The Story of Pixar Animation Studios."

If you are pursuing a career in animation or maybe you are just a fan of Pixar, I highly recommend you buy this book. I'm in the middle of reading it but what I've read so far has been inspiring. It's an encouraging thought to know even Pixar never gets it right the first time. They never settle for a good idea. They keep pressing on for the best idea and a common theme you'll notice in this book is "The best idea wins."

Most of the time your first idea isn't your best. In actuality it's probably the most familiar. So take on the challenge; if you don't get it right the first time don't give up. Keep at it! See James 1:12.

Go get this book!

BEST MONTH EVER!

2008-03-27T19:46:00.001-04:00

What a month! Winning the 11 Second Club contest for February has been one of the most exciting things that's ever happened to me. On top of that I won an eCritque with Dave Burgess!!!

If you don't know who Dave Burgess is you probably know his work. He's been around quite awhile. Some of the films he's worked on are Aladdin, The Lion King, Tarzan, Shrek 2, Madagascar, Over the Hedge, Bee Movie and he is currently working at DreamWorks on Monsters vs. Aliens due out next year. With that kind of experience you can understand why I was thrilled to be critiqued by him. He was thorough in his assessment of my entry and I am so appreciative of the time he spent examining nearly ever frame. It was amazing and his words of encouragement meant everything.

And if that weren't enough, I was given the opportunity to voice my thoughts and techniques on animation with the first ever 11 Second Club winner interview! What an honor!

You can go check out the eCritique with Dave Burgess here and if you get a chance, you can read my interview here.

11SECONDCLUB,COM ENTRY '08

2008-02-28T19:50:00.002-05:00

This is my first entry to the 11secondclub.com. I've never entered an animation competition before but this experience has been both challenging and rewarding. Even if I don't win, seeing my work next to others has given me a better sense of where I need to grow but it also shows me just how far I've come.

*UPDATE* Holy Crap!!! I won! I am so honored to have won this month's competition. There were so many great entries. What a great experience.

DIVING BOARD ANIMATION

2007-12-04T12:34:00.002-05:00

This is a fun little animation I did this weekend. I really wanted to get the character to feel like it had a good sense of timing and weight. My wife is responsible for coming up with most of this idea, but the most genius of all is the light refracting off the water onto the diving board. That was her idea too. It might be hard to notice on such a small render, but trust me, it's there!

A BRAND NEW "HOW TO" GOOFY CARTOON!

2007-11-17T05:27:00.001-05:00

Disney is reinvigorating it's legacy! What a time to live! It better be funny. Click here for a clip.

WALL-E POSTER

2007-11-17T02:45:00.001-05:00

I can't wait for this film! Andrew Stanton seems like the coolest and I am pissed that I wasn't at Comic-Con this year to hear him speak. Looks like this film will have a lot of heart. Click here to watch the trailer.

WALK CYCLES

2007-11-17T02:23:00.001-05:00

One of the early trials of any character animator is animating a convincing walk. Here's a great diagram I found to get started on blocking it out. Notice the CONTACT pose is the extreme key. If this is off, good luck with the rest of your animation. Even though this shows a traditional 2D walk, the same principles apply in 3D. I like to get my poses locked down and check them by rendering them in the side viewport in Maya and turning on the Alpha in the Render View. This is the best way to make sure the silhouette is reading and the character is balanced.

I'M BACK!

2007-11-13T16:41:00.001-05:00

*UPDATE* I've recently had a few students ask if they could see some of my previous animations from when I worked at IGT. So in an effort to meet the demands of the people I chose to post them here... right at the time when I left IGT to teach at the Art Institute of California- San Diego.

This is an animation from Top Secret Spins. The freakin' awesome character designs and models were created by Marc Mierau. He's the coolest! Lots of laughs shared coming up with these gags.

This here is another animation from Top Secret Spins. There were so many complications with like the rig, and of course, some plug-in for Lightwave. Duhhh, NewTek! Anyway, I liked the way it turned out.

About a year earlier I worked on this game called Jackpot Hunter. Apparently the idea is: A bunch of lil' Aussie animals have stolen and hidden the jackpot and it's your job to hunt these endangered little critters down and reclaim what's rightfully yours! (End annoying obnoxious Australian accent here). I animated all the characters for this game. There was this platypus, a crocodile, a koala, a kangaroo, and a shark. Crikey!!! Anyway, this is an Intro for one of the bonuses.

And this is the Outro. Way to go mate! You really got'em that time!!!

There are plenty more, but this is the last one I decided to post. This was one of the very first animations I did at IGT, all the way back in November 2004, and I was fortunate enough to work with Megan Schlegel. She was so much fun to work with and boy did she love to run for fun! One of the best of the best. This was an intro to the Sixth Bonus Level on the Mystery Progressive Party Time.

It's been a while. I recently moved from Reno, NV to San Diego, CA to take a Full Time position as a Character Animation Instructor at the Art Institute of California- San Diego. It's been a crazy summer and it's hard for me to believe it's almost Thanksgiving already.
Anyway, I'm back with a new look, and an renewed excitement for character animation. Hopefully I will be posting more and more.

TOEKNEE & ARMSTRONG

2007-04-16T14:37:00.001-04:00

This is my first successful animated short ever. I had the idea of two handicapped basketball players back in high school when I used to play basketball every single day of my life. The idea of watching a guy with no arms trying to score made me laugh and the idea stuck with me all the way through graduate school. I had other classes to worry about so this animation took about 8 months to complete. It was finished June 2004, and it helped me get my first real job as a character animator. It's hard for me to watch it now knowing how far my skills have grown since then but at the time, it was a huge accomplishment. I just wish I had made it funnier.