The First Project

Last week was the introductory phase of the class. We've all been there. The teacher talks a bit about what work they've done and swapped stories about their journey. Then we dive into animation history. I will say this now: if I can't get a job in the animation field, I would LOVE to teach animation history. There's so much more to this beautiful art form than just Disney/Pixar. Will (Kim) has also been sharing short films each class. Some are from big name people in the industry (Chuck Jones, Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney) and some are from his time at CalArts. It's amazing to see the creativity and broad spectrum of what the word animation can mean. It's not cut and dry; and honestly, the word animation doesn't define what an animation CAN BE. It can literally be anything: abstract shapes, cartoony robots, a jazz singer's biggest fan, or a singing/morphing face. I use the word a lot but it truly is inspirational to see what can be achieved with some imagination and gumption.

The second half of the class is the students working on projects. In all animation classes I've taken, the format is generally the same: you learn your principles which correlates with an exercise like the bouncing ball or the pendulum swing. This class is no different BUT I did find it interesting that the first project to turn in was a flip book that could be ANYTHING. That's exactly what the teacher said. Make it ANYTHING. He was more interested in seeing what your mind came up with and less interested in you following the rules. It was terribly freeing! I chose to do a morphing droplet, an idea I had toyed with at the Animation Academy at Disney's California Adventure. Today was the turn in date in which we shot our flip book pages. I have to say, I was quite pleased with how it came out. I didn't use a lightbox in drawing the shapes and forms but instead employed the paper roll method. I was very happy to see my arcs were pretty much all spot on. I shall post it here as soon as I can. MOTIVATION!

Round 2

My last post was in 2013 and I cannot believe it's been that long! It feels like only yesterday I was toiling away in class 6, trying to make something of a useable reel. I will admit that I had burnt myself out by graduation time. The reel I had wasn't great but it was "good enough" and I think that's hurt me in the long run. I've applied here and there but haven't gone full throttle and now I sit here wishing but knowing the only thing stopping me is me.

So the scoop: I decided to go back to RCC and start/finish the animation program they have. There is finally a solid certificate program in place and I'm very excited to be going back to the drawing board (literally!). The instructor is Will Kim  and it looks like he's a fan of mixed media which is AWESOME because it means getting to dabble in more than just maya and makes you/your work/your reel that much stronger.

Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come! I can't wait to get started.