A step backward.
We have made some progress. I have set up a cafe press site, a Vimeo site and did a header . Settled on a frame rate. (12)Things are moving along ... I even found a program to make kaledioscopes. This should help on not only my De Fine Nations cartoons, but my Old Joe Clark. The step back in a major moonwalk is the loss of my backup drive with all the finished drawings for my cartoon. It went crashing to floor ... and that was the end of that. Tried taking it to Best Buy but no luck. I still have some the paper drawings.
Back to ... well ... square 2.
Guess I need to back up the back up!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Sweatbox001
A sweatbox in animation terms was a projection room where the director and animators would review and cirtique the dailies and pencil tests.
Friday, January 1, 2010
THE LAST HOORAH!!!
Okay ... today is New Year's Day ... the time to make those yearly resolutions. I have to draw in my horns and stop spending. Today was my last ... for a awhile.
Even though my degree is in Fine Arts specializing in Cinematography, further specializing in Animation, I felt ill equipt to do my Dulci-Toons cartoons. So I've made a major splurge of books, DVDs and supplies. Yoko thinks I don't need these things. And maybe I don't need everything. She thinks I could teach the class. And maybe that's the problem. I did. When I was in college, I did a 6 minute cartoon using a friend's character. Cannibas Cat was a bell bottom wearing 30s styled character. I used this character in the hopes that when Walt saw his character up on the screen ... he would get off his duff and do what I knew was in him. It didn't work. But I did. I can remember all the work. I spent days. I would get up eat breakfast and go back to my dorm room work until lunch ... go back work until dinner and after dinner work untill bed time. I was doing double frames or 12 drawings a second. Then I went back and inked them in. After that was done it took an 18 hour day to film it.
When I think about it I am amazed that I was able to do this. I animated straight ahead. I didn't see any pencil tests. Hell I was lucky to have a camera to do my project. I had to check out a camera ... a 16mm Bolex. The technology was circa 1912. I used paper and the cut and slash system. When my peers at college saw this work, I became a big fish in a little pond. Shortly after this I attended an animation course ... the only one that USF offered. I require a filp book and to watch cartoons. When there was a question it was directed to me and not the grad student teaching the course. I didn't learn anything.
And that was 30 years ago. Technology has advance. I remember as I was leaving they were getting something called a video camera. Now days I can do everything I need with a computer. The scanner is my camera and I don't even have to wait for the film to be process. Back then the Preston Foster book was it. Today I have 2 great animator's books. The DVDs will give me access to some of the greatest cartoons ever made. I can watch them frame by frame. I finally have an animation table rather than my Father's tracing box the use to write lesson plans on acetate rolls.
My education is finally about to begin.
I have made one more purchase. .. sort of ... I am trying ... if I can get the credit card company to co-operate ... I am buying the master class series of Richard Williams.
http://www.theanimatorssurvivalkit.com/index.html
Light a candle for me please.
Even though my degree is in Fine Arts specializing in Cinematography, further specializing in Animation, I felt ill equipt to do my Dulci-Toons cartoons. So I've made a major splurge of books, DVDs and supplies. Yoko thinks I don't need these things. And maybe I don't need everything. She thinks I could teach the class. And maybe that's the problem. I did. When I was in college, I did a 6 minute cartoon using a friend's character. Cannibas Cat was a bell bottom wearing 30s styled character. I used this character in the hopes that when Walt saw his character up on the screen ... he would get off his duff and do what I knew was in him. It didn't work. But I did. I can remember all the work. I spent days. I would get up eat breakfast and go back to my dorm room work until lunch ... go back work until dinner and after dinner work untill bed time. I was doing double frames or 12 drawings a second. Then I went back and inked them in. After that was done it took an 18 hour day to film it.
When I think about it I am amazed that I was able to do this. I animated straight ahead. I didn't see any pencil tests. Hell I was lucky to have a camera to do my project. I had to check out a camera ... a 16mm Bolex. The technology was circa 1912. I used paper and the cut and slash system. When my peers at college saw this work, I became a big fish in a little pond. Shortly after this I attended an animation course ... the only one that USF offered. I require a filp book and to watch cartoons. When there was a question it was directed to me and not the grad student teaching the course. I didn't learn anything.
And that was 30 years ago. Technology has advance. I remember as I was leaving they were getting something called a video camera. Now days I can do everything I need with a computer. The scanner is my camera and I don't even have to wait for the film to be process. Back then the Preston Foster book was it. Today I have 2 great animator's books. The DVDs will give me access to some of the greatest cartoons ever made. I can watch them frame by frame. I finally have an animation table rather than my Father's tracing box the use to write lesson plans on acetate rolls.
My education is finally about to begin.
I have made one more purchase. .. sort of ... I am trying ... if I can get the credit card company to co-operate ... I am buying the master class series of Richard Williams.
http://www.theanimatorssurvivalkit.com/index.html
Light a candle for me please.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Christmas Card
Okay ... got my Christmas card done. Not exactly the way I planned it. But it ran better than last year's. Got it done with 2 weeks to spare. Got a whopping 35 views even though I posted it on Everything Dulcimer and Facebook. Oh well. Think I'll maybe start in July next year. Got three ideas to choose from. Will try and plug in on Friends of the Dulcimer too next year. Also i think this is a case of a need to do a timing sheet. Gotta stop doing things on the fly.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving!
Here I sit full of food and thought. I have been lucky enough to have found some real good books on animation. I hve been reading Tony White's books and have Richard William's tome waiting in line. They have offered some thoughts, direction and hope. I am looking at taking the plunge in buying some equipmentdown the line. An animation light box and paper and such. There are a few programs to check out as well. Have picked up a few animation DVDs too. Things are looking up.
I just need the confidence to do.
Here I sit full of food and thought. I have been lucky enough to have found some real good books on animation. I hve been reading Tony White's books and have Richard William's tome waiting in line. They have offered some thoughts, direction and hope. I am looking at taking the plunge in buying some equipmentdown the line. An animation light box and paper and such. There are a few programs to check out as well. Have picked up a few animation DVDs too. Things are looking up.
I just need the confidence to do.
Monday, October 26, 2009
A HAPPY CAMPER
Okay so ... it's been awhile.
Health issuses overflow. And it's led to some reavaluations. This is the second day of my vacation week. Yoko has been sick with the flu and I got a late start today. Neither of us got much sleep last night. I had planned to work on my first Dulci-Toon and hopefully complete it. That has been put on hold. I have 2 freelance projects to get under way. Yoko reminded me that last year's disaster of a Christmas card and my promise to get an earlier start.
Every year for 5 years, I have done an audio/visual Christmas card ... all with a dulcimer theme. Last year, I tried Flash using found images of angels ... primarily statues ... with the tune "Angels We Have Heard on High." I was using the paramiters given me in the book "How to Cheat in Flash." (540x720) This is larger than the largest standard size offered by the program. That and other factors created a monster of a file size that would barely load. Not good.
So this year I am doing a version of "Thank You Santa Claus." I have already done the title piece for Nothing But Coal Productions. Will start the drawings this week. The sound track I've already figured out on the dulcimer but want to see if I can lift it from the movie "Miracle on 34th Street." You may remember it. Santa sings a song with a foriegn orphan girl. Will have to see what key it is. in.
Also I have picked up some reference material ... got a lot of it today ... hence the happy camper. Got a new program that is supose to be better than Flash. It s called Anime. If the program is anything like the help file ... it sucks. Got the official guide today this might help. Also got documentaries on Chuck Jones and Walt Disney. Earlier I got some silent Felix cartoons to study and a really good book. Character Animation Crash Course was written by Eric Goldberg. Dynamite book! Disney animator who also worked for Richard Williams. Has given material to test and things to consider. Also compled a wish list of more resources ... Richard Williams' Animation Survival Guide, the Preston Blair book and a book on timing. Will make a concerted effort to get up to speed.
I'm thinking of getting a tattoo ... Tweety Bird with a skull as a head with the words "Animation aint easy!"
Health issuses overflow. And it's led to some reavaluations. This is the second day of my vacation week. Yoko has been sick with the flu and I got a late start today. Neither of us got much sleep last night. I had planned to work on my first Dulci-Toon and hopefully complete it. That has been put on hold. I have 2 freelance projects to get under way. Yoko reminded me that last year's disaster of a Christmas card and my promise to get an earlier start.
Every year for 5 years, I have done an audio/visual Christmas card ... all with a dulcimer theme. Last year, I tried Flash using found images of angels ... primarily statues ... with the tune "Angels We Have Heard on High." I was using the paramiters given me in the book "How to Cheat in Flash." (540x720) This is larger than the largest standard size offered by the program. That and other factors created a monster of a file size that would barely load. Not good.
So this year I am doing a version of "Thank You Santa Claus." I have already done the title piece for Nothing But Coal Productions. Will start the drawings this week. The sound track I've already figured out on the dulcimer but want to see if I can lift it from the movie "Miracle on 34th Street." You may remember it. Santa sings a song with a foriegn orphan girl. Will have to see what key it is. in.
Also I have picked up some reference material ... got a lot of it today ... hence the happy camper. Got a new program that is supose to be better than Flash. It s called Anime. If the program is anything like the help file ... it sucks. Got the official guide today this might help. Also got documentaries on Chuck Jones and Walt Disney. Earlier I got some silent Felix cartoons to study and a really good book. Character Animation Crash Course was written by Eric Goldberg. Dynamite book! Disney animator who also worked for Richard Williams. Has given material to test and things to consider. Also compled a wish list of more resources ... Richard Williams' Animation Survival Guide, the Preston Blair book and a book on timing. Will make a concerted effort to get up to speed.
I'm thinking of getting a tattoo ... Tweety Bird with a skull as a head with the words "Animation aint easy!"
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