First Rough Pass

Well hello there!  Yea, that was a bit of a hiatus in posts.  Been busy with work, but I'm back and my goal is to be consistent in the next couple of weeks.  Motivate me to get this shot done.


Just another update.  Essentially my first spline pass with some texturing.  No updates with the guy, just working on the acting beats of the women.  I've got plenty to do, but it's getting there.  I'll have something new for you guys next week.

Blocking Plused

Oh Yeaaaa!  We're on a roll!

As promised (a little late, but better late then never) an update.



My main focus was the acting beats and the eye direction for the female character (Hannah), but at the same time still trying to keep it simple and acting within the poses.  It's coming along, but so much to do.  Next step: THE DREADED SPLINGING PASS!!!  Stay tuned

It's Alive..... IT'S ALLIIIIVVVVVEEEEE!!! (for now)

Hey Everyone!

It's been pretty crazy at the o'l R&H for quite sometime.  Finished up on my marketing work for Hop and went on to some DVD extra's which will most likely appear on a later post, but for now.........

                                               Personal Work!!!



It's just the first pass of blocking, so there's not much going on right now.  My main focus is to keep the poses simple and clear.

This shot has been quite a challenge so far.  I've gone through three blocking passes to get to this point, but I have learned a butt load doing it.  I'll hopefully post on a regular basis (once a week) and bring this blog back to life.  Stay tuned to your local broadcasting...

Class 5: That's a wrap!

Stick a fork in Class 5... it's Done! Surprisingly quick too. I want to say Thank you to my Mentor, Morgan Kelly, for showing us some awesome tips on acting and subtlety. That class was a great learning experience.

As for my shot, I still have a some polishing here and there, but it's just about done. I think the one major thing I've learned from this class is the importance of micro-expressions and the little subtle acting choices that make your shot stand out from the crowd. I see it as the icing on the cake, the cherry on top or the olive oil on the hummus... it just makes it so much more tastier then the average shot.

Anyway, this is a double header of a post since I've been falling behind. First, my class 4 progress reel:



And! the class 5 progress reel:



I can't tell you how much I've learned in the past two classes. And I can't wait to find out what next on the horizon for class 6. So very excited!!!

Time to Start the Polish

Hey Guys,

Here's the next pass of my shot. I'm kind of on a wave pattern right now. The first shot has moved onto polishing. The last shot is in the refining phase and the middle shot is somewhere in limbo. I think I have a pretty good grasp on things, but I say that now with only two weeks left before the "final" is due. Bring on the stress!!! Anyway, I will hopefully have a next pass up by Sunday. Thanks for stopping by!

Still Refining

Here is the next pass of my sequence. It's a week late, but at least I'm posting something. I refined the first shot a little more and pulled the seconded shot out of blocking. I found out that the hardest part of shot two was locking down the weight in the walk. I knew that I couldn't move on until I had the mechanics locked down. It's getting there... I'll try to post something up by the middle of this week. Thanks for stopping by!

"Feelin' Funny" Blocking/Refining

Here is another pass at my two person dialogue shot. The way they have us approach the assignment is by splitting up the sequence and treating each cut like it's own shot. It's an interesting and intense strategy, but it is a great learning experience. I worked the first shot of the sequence to a refined-ish pass. I still have a load to do, but it's getting there:



And! the final facial pose for class 5:



I'll have more to show by the beginning of next week. Enjoy!

A new adventure begins

Well, here is the start of my two character shot. I'm going for another subtle piece of animation, so I can really focus on the face. This one is going to be a difficult sequence, but I think I can handle it.... I think.

First, for your amusement, some reference:



Next, the blocking:


Finally, another facial pose:



If you have any feedback, I'm all ears. Thanks!

So close!

Almost there! I still have a hand full of fixes I need to adjust on my shot, but that's what polishing is for.



Also, a couple more face poses.





Sorry for the late post. I was at Comic-con last week and that was a blast!

Also, I will probably be late this week because I'll be attending Siggraph (LA) and then! the Animation Mentor BBQ the following weekend up in San Francisco. It's going to be fun!!!

Facial Refining Pass

And here is the next pass at the face. I added some asymmetry to the mouth, cleaned up to the eyebrows, refined the phonemes and pushed the contrast between the major vowels. Still have PLENTY to do, but one more week and then it's on to the two person dialogue!



Also, they have us work on a couple face poses a week. Enjoy!

First Face Pass

Updates, Updates! The first pass at my facial animation. So much that goes into it, it's ridiculous. All I've done so far was block in the mouth and eyebrow shapes. Lots to do and only two weeks left. Enjoy.

Another Polishing Pass

Hey Guys,

Here's another polishing pass of my shot. We had a break last week, but I felt that I'd get a bit of a head start and polish up my shot some more. I added the jaw movement, added/changed the eye animnation and I changed up a few things to simplify and clarify. I feel that it's working better.

Now that the summer quarter has begun, I can start animating the face! I'm really excited to get started. Speaking of the new quarter, I have a new mentor Morgan Kelly. I hope to get a lot out of this class since he has a tone of industry experience and he is also an instructor for Cal Arts. I'm looking forward to this quarter.

Second Splining Pass

Note to self... Acting is HARD! Here is the second pass of my monologue shot. If you can tell, I've changed up the beginning a bit. I've also made a more refined pass of the eye's and hands, which surprisingly are fun to animate. I still have a good amount to work on and... some pretty big changes. "So much time and so little to do."



Also, the final hand pose for the term.

Surprised:

First Spline Pass... uuuuugh

Here is the first spline pass of my monologue shot. As you can see, I know how to make mashed potatoes! because this looks like mush :) Granted, I only had about three days to push this out since I was having an AWESOME time in San Francisco, but no excuses. Hopefully next week I will have a tighter pass... let's hope.



And just for the heck of it, Hand poses. (Along side our animation, we need to do hand poses demonstrating certain emotions.)

Anger:


Relaxed:

ReBlock

Next pass at my monologue shot. I changed up the camera a bit to frame the bug a little better. Also added a few more breakdowns and tweaked some poses. Next pass... I'm hoping... is going to be splined out. We will see.

You aren't Privy... Blocking

Well, it wasn't easy, but I made my decision on what dialog clip I'm going to animate to. I should of known which one I was going to go with since it was the funnest clip to shoot reference for. So much fun, I'm posting it on my blog.... how embarrassing.

Warning: If your offended by foul language... then go away!



It was a blast and it was the last dialog clip I shot reference for... go figure.

Translating it to animation was just as fun. This is my first blocking pass.



I still have a long ways to go, but it's getting there.

Final! For Now!

Well, here is the final for "It's Alive!!!" I've learned a tone from this one assignment and I feel that I've jumped leaps and bounds from my last shot. The whole goal was to explore more subtle and naturalistic acting and I feel I'm moving in the right direction. It's not perfect and there is plenty for me to work on, (which I will probably be doing on and off) but it's approved by Mentor, for now. Time for Dialog!

It's Alive!!! from Chris Silva on Vimeo.

Side Note: Got to give props to my buddy James O'Neill for hooking me up with this sweet render. Thanks Dude!

Almost there!

Here is the next pass of my shot. I would call it refining/polishing. I still have a lot of work to do (tracking my arcs, cleaning up the keys, tweaking the timing, adding all the nuances until I can't take it anymore.) But, I'm almost there...I think.

Class 3... finished?

Hey Everyone!

How's it going? It's been awhile. And I've been hard at work, at least I would like to say so. Class 3 is Done! and it was a blast. My Professor was Kevin O'Hara and it was a pleasure having him as a mentor. He knew a ton and even better, he studied under James Baxter! (geek moment) He shared with us helpful notes James Baxter would tell him, little pieces of gold, and he would show us clips that motivated and inspired him. It was just great.

As far as the class goes, I felt that I learned a lot. My assignments on the other hand didn't accede my expectations. I had fun with them, but I didn't achieve what I was going for and I'm kind of disappointed with myself, but it's all in the learning process and I'm really thankful for that. Not only did I learn more about how the body works, but I also learned were I should push myself when moving on to class 4: acting. I also learned that it's good to explore your ideas, but when you have one, stick with it. DON'T CHANGE YOUR MIND AT THE LAST MINUTE! I believe that hurt me in the long run. That being said, I feel these were just another part of my animation mileage and I've learned a great deal from them. Anyway, I've rambled on enough. I hope you guys enjoy! :)

Animation Mentor Class3 Pregress Reel from Chris Silva on Vimeo.

Scarmbled Escapes

Hey Guys and Gals,

This is the final assignment for Class 2. It was a whole lot of fun and a pretty good challenge. The arms were a pain in the butt at times, but over all I think it is the strongest peace of the quarter. It's funny to see the jumps from blocking to final, a huge difference.

Sketches:


Timing and Posing Pass:


Blocking Pass:


Refining Pass:


Polishing Pass:


Final Pass:


There she is. I hope you enjoyed it. In the next couple of days I will have a compilation of my class 2 assignments. Thanks for stopping by and I will talk to you soon.