Noclip

- found via @JamaalBradley & @DanOnAnimation


Noclip from Eva Figueroa López on Vimeo.

New How To Train Your Dragon 2 footage and mocap

Wait, they have a mocap stage? I thought Mocap is the devil??

Can't hide my fanboy hat though, I'm so looking forward to Dragons 2!!!

Watch the clip here which shows new footage (I think?) of Dragons 2.

Making of Disney’s Frozen Snow Simulation

Disney's Frozen - A Material Point Method For... by CGMeetup

Quadruped Walk Cycle Tutorial

Basic Quadruped Walk Cycle Tutorial from Chris Sokalofsky on Vimeo.

Quadrupede Walk Cycle Tutorial from SamyOddjob on Vimeo.

Kilian Eng

So good! Head over to Kilian Eng's tumblr for more awesomeness. Found via @BomuBoi

CUBE Showreel 2013-2014

So good!

CUBE SHOWREEL 2013-2014 from Cube Creative on Vimeo.

Art tips by Aaron Blaise

Boxtrolls - New Trailer

Head over to Apple Trailers and watch the new trailer. So crazy to see all the detail and work that goes into it!

Being insecure: Tomáš Jech at TEDxExpressionCollege

Edit:

Honest talk about his insecurities and how he rose above it. My initial comment was about the unfortunate competitive environment at studios. That's my own interpretation of the beginning of the talk talking about his internship.

Stop worshipping animation companies.

Everybody has their own favorite company they want to work for. Each student is different. I see and hear it all the time through my teachings, from AM, to the AAU and in my workshops.

But there is one consistent problem.

As long as you worship your favorite company you won't question teachers who work for that company enough, if at all. You end up being a drone.

Fanboy-ism has always existed and that's fine. I'm guilty of this as well. But there comes a point where it's not helping you. For example. Last week in my class, a student showed me work from another class and I asked what the notes were for his shot. The student recited what he was told to change but when I asked why he had to make those changes, the student didn't know what the reasons were. And that's the problem I see over and over again. Students blindly following what teachers tell them, without asking why.

Is it fear of questioning the wisdom and authority of your teacher? Is it fear that by doing so you might ruin your chances of getting hired at your favorite company that teacher represents?

Teachers don't know everything. They can also be wrong.

Not everything you hear is holy scripture, especially when it comes to performance related advice, since a lot of it is based on a subjective preference. Technical notes you should really follow though. But either way, ask why if you don't understand the notes.

It's okay to question things. How else will you learn? If you don't understand the notes, then the teacher is just animating through you. And the next time you start a similar shot, you will either make the same mistake or ape the notes you were given without understanding the reasons and principles behind it.

As a student you are paying for classes and the teachers are there to help you. Don't just blindly accept every note. That's a waste of time and money.

JD

pic credit

My latest animation: "I'm walking here!"

I'm helping out with a short called "Curpigeon" at the Academy of Art and this clip is a rig test to see what works and what doesn't work with the current rig version. It was a lot of fun though to combine creature work with an audio performance (and it's good to have that on your reel for variety).

I'm walking here! from Jean-Denis Haas on Vimeo.

There's also a youtube and quicktime version as always. And for the technical questions people always ask, the first shot took 8 hours and the second one 9 hours, all in Maya. The audio in the 2nd shot is from "Midnight Cowboy".

Hope you guys like it!

JD

Top 5 Essentials of Animating Creatures

I wrote up a post for the Animation Mentor blog regarding my thoughts on creature animation. In short, the reasons why I think it's important and what you should look out for:

1. Most companies feature creatures in their movies.

2. Diversity in your reel.
3. Root the performance in reality.
4. Get the weight right.
5. Interaction between creatures.

Head over there to read up on all the details. I hope it's helpful!

JD

Get a Horse!

I saw the full thing today and it's great!

Upright walking Gorilla reference

Thanks Taylor!

First World Monster Problems

Thanks Nick!

First World Monster Problems from Bronto House on Vimeo.

Prince de Lu

Found via @JamaalBradley

Prince de Lu - Le Vol du Dragon from Cube Creative on Vimeo.

Capsule Barry 2013 VF from Cube Creative on Vimeo.

Capsule Zig & Zag 2013 VF from Cube Creative on Vimeo.

Capsule Moustachio 2013 VF from Cube Creative on Vimeo.

Capsule Joe 2013 VF from Cube Creative on Vimeo.

Capsule Lily 2013 VF from Cube Creative on Vimeo.

Capsule Rick 2013 VF from Cube Creative on Vimeo.

John Lewis 'The Bear & The Hare' - The Making Of

Holy moly...



John Lewis 'The Bear & The Hare' - The Making Of from Blink on Vimeo.

Ready Steady Bang

Fun shorts for the game "Ready Steady Bang"

Merry Christmas from The Cowboy! from Animade on Vimeo.

Ready Steady Bang from Animade on Vimeo.

More Than Just a Hobby from Animade on Vimeo.

Ready Steady Update from Animade on Vimeo.

Successful Animator

I've only followed Successful Animator for a day or so but the output is crazy. I don't know how much gets repeated and how automated those tweets are but it's very interesting to read through and there are a lot of tips, not just quotes. Worth going through and reading:

- found via Clay Kaytis