This week the PWTM is spoiled for choice. There is so much genuinely exciting work percolating through at the moment, it's a struggle to stay topical, so this is going to be a 'bumper issue' and will be out-of-date and behind the times even as I click 'Publish'
It's no secret that everyone is feeling a bit tired and tetchy right now; the clocks have gone back, Christmas is still weeks away, the work is mounting up and 'creative differences' are igniting sparks. This is the hard slog bit, the 'keep calm and carry on' phase - but just take a look at all you've accomplished so far - and take heart. You're doing amazing stuff.
3rd year, Matt is just moments away from taking his toy-derived vehicle designs into Maya. His vehicles are era-specific (50s/80s respectively), hybrids of iconic toys assembled to compete against each other in Robot Wars-inspired gameplay.
After many weeks of discussion, feedback and constructive criticism from classmates, tutors and each other, Leo and JJ are signing off their drawings and moving into production, where new challenges await them, but also the prospect of seeing their wolves and their world come at last to life.
Sam and Rich at Green Octopus are likewise done with designing their fusion frontier town - a pipeline beginning with delightful, illustrative thumbnails, developed further via digitally painted concept art from which models were then built in Maya, and arriving now at the pre-viz stage.
Elsewhere, following on from his more speculative abstractions using Alchemy, Bob gets to grips with Yuki-Onna's body in readiness for modelling...
... and in this, his latest workflow instalment, Elly unpacks his creative methodology, which this week sees him refashioning a selection of bug parts into some pretty formidable-looking sci-fi weaponry.
There is an irony that Atom Pancakes' animated short about a writer struggling to finish his novel should itself have proven so challenging for its trio of filmmakers. Creative differences are inevitable when talented types seek to collaborate, but Ruben, Ethan and Jordan have transcended their difficulties and conquered their qualms and are making great progress - with an engaging animatic (more revisions pending, I suspect!), and production of props, environment and character well under way.
Ethan Clements is further refining his Expressionism-inspired vision of Hamelin, with design sheets, a new animatic, and some zesty vocal performances from professional voice-over artists (my favourite is featured below)...
... while, in an admirable display of pre-production verismilitude, Simon Watts is going back to basics (and back again) in his quest to ensure the design for his robotic humanoid obeys the principles of anatomy.
Meanwhile, CGAA year 2 are in the 'belly of the beast' - their Retrofest studio projects are ramping up, with their interim crit done and dusted and intense production schedules on the agenda, and their character design projects are moving, revision-by-revision, toward the week 10 deadline. A selection from the many, many character designs...
Sam's Evil Sultan
Justin's Evil Sultan
Dom's Pirate Hero vs Evil Neptune
Jono's Evil Merlin & Heroic Arthur
Ryan's Hero, Sidekick & Villain development
Alex's Robot Pharaoh
Molly's heroine, Inari
Dayle's hero, Grabade
The Year 2 Retro-Fest studio projects are notorious for kicking up more of those 'creative differences', as students learn (sometimes painfully), the fine art of compromise, delegation, leadership and grace under fire. Post-interim crit, a turning point has been reached, with the creative teams consolidating their individual perspectives into coherent filmic visions. Rule 1 of Retrofest - 'No one is bigger than the team', or as musician Mike Rutherford once said, "what you lose in compromise, you gain by collaboration."
Retrofest 2011 boasts a mouth-water miscellany of giant bugs, rocket-ships, ghosts, mad scientists and grizzled detectives. Underlord Studios is riffing happily on every 'big bug on the rampage' narrative, with Chris's giant centipede usurping a certain gorilla...
Another primate now - meet Bubbles, 'space chimp' - courtesy of Max - from First Light Studio's up-and-coming feature, Destination Mars...
... which features some nicely illustrative concept art by Justin...
... and this production drawing by Sasha, which in its knowing nod to the famous ending of the original Planet of the Apes, should probably be classed as a 'spoiler'.
Kay and Sam at Ink Slinger Studios get it together to combine character and environment design to striking effect, as seen in this production drawing for their noir ghost-story, The Room At The Hotel Del Coronardo, and Mike preps an early pre-viz...
In another imagining of the noir universe, Centrifugal Studios is creating some delightful production art, with Jono following Lyn-Dae's lead, as he seeks to synch his environments to the line art aesthetic of Lyn-Dae's character designs for Dorian and Mave.
Studio Crawler's animatic for Attack of the Robot-Spiders impresses with some slick editing and a nice line in trailer-isms, and Dayle's trio of character designs look set to make the jump from 2d into 3d.
Glass Key Studio's high-concept The Skeleton Key On Broadway is pushing for a bold graphical art-style, as expressed by Ryan's thumbnails for their detective's office...
... and if you want a great example of what it means to collaborate, of the crackle of ideas colliding, changing, and transforming then go here for a brilliant comment thread, in which the team at Glass Key Studios thrash out refinements for their animatic...
The second years need our support, so if you're not doing so already, please follow their Retrofest 2011 studio blogs and offer up feedback when moved to do so. This is of particular importance to the CGAA first years as this will be you in a year's time, so take note, observe and in so doing glean some insider knowledge on the true challenge of working collaboratively.
'Anatomy' is already ancient history to CGAA year 1, who are already exploring the extraordinary fictional spaces dreamed up by the likes of Jules Verne and Lovecraft for Unit 2, but a few weeks back it was all about metamorphosis and a selection of their final portraits is showcased here.
The Spectacular Science Collaboration between the University for the Creative Arts & the University of Kent is nigh on complete. Simon and Pol are adding finishing touches to their animations, while Tom and Seb's films are done and dusted and delighting internet audiences everywhere.
Tom's Lifecycle of a
Mushroom animation has gone 'viral', with his animation being shared and
embedded on multiple sites - indeed, it's springing up everywhere like - well,
like mushrooms. If you needed further persuasion in regard to the
importance of building a professional online presence via your
blogspot, Vimeo and Youtube accounts - Tom's experience should be it. A
selection of sites now featuring Tom's Spectacular Science animation are
featured below...
- http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/274870/detail/
- http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2011/11/02/spectacular-science-the-lifecycle-of-a-mushroom-video/
- http://www.neatorama.com/2011/11/03/the-lifecycle-of-a-mushroom/
- http://www.kuriositas.com/2011/10/lifecycle-of-mushroom.html
- http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/the_lifecycle_of_a_mushroom_inspired_by_1920s_animation/
- http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/science-and-not/if-disney-animated-mushrooms.html
This comment from the Dangerous
Minds site about Tom's work pretty much sums up the point of the
collaboration between UCA & UoK - or rather the blend between
art and science subjects:
"Nov 03, 2011 Iolanda says:
Projects like this should be done about many subjects and be
projected in elementary schools. Kids would go from mischievous to angelic in 2
minutes and 15 seconds.
Love it"
So, yes, it's week eight of the
semester, you're tired, tetchy, and your respective 'to do' lists are long -
and getting longer. But take some encouragement from the overnight
success of Tom's Amanita Muscaria. Rest assured, the world knows
good work when it sees it; the world loves an originality of vision and style
and applauds technical skill. It's worth it, ladies and gentlemen - the
heartache and the stress. It's worth it. Onwards. Onwards and
upwards!
The final word(s)...
"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them."
"Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there." Josh Billings.
Wow! So much good 'stuff'
ReplyDelete'Wow', indeed :D
ReplyDeleteThis post makes me happy! Look how much the course has achieved. We are definitely amazing guys! :D
ReplyDeleteAgreed! :D
ReplyDeleteWell done people, you're all 'rockin' the CG world!
ReplyDeleteWOW this is awesome :)
ReplyDeleteWow amazing stuff here!! YAY!! I is on the post!! ^_^
ReplyDelete