Computer Animation Arts

On Friday 29th November, animator Meg Bisineer and CGAA year one concluded their Term 1 animation workshops with our 'back-to-basics' zoetrope show.  24 sequential images on a long strip of paper + Victorian technology = moments of charm, transformation and magic, as one-by-one, our students put their animations to the test in our over-sized zoetrope and smiled in childlike pleasure as their individual images came to fluid, flickering life!  Joyful!

At times, the many challenging technological processes standing between the student of animation and 'animation' itself can obscure the simple innate joy of 'making things move'.  Not so on Wednesday morning, when animation lecturer Meg Bisineer and CGAA year one took to the stage of lecture theatre 1 to celebrate the culmination of their animation classes thus far.  In what can only be described as a technological mash-up, our students viewed their festive-themed animation loops via zoetrope, ipad and projector.  The resulting animations will feature on the group blog soon, but until then, enjoy the photographs of our first CGAA Zoetrope Show as taken by our Artist-in-Residence, Tom Beg and our GTA, Jordan Buckner . When I first saw these images, I experienced an honest-to-God rush of happiness.  Moments of sheer magic are captured here!  Indeed, some of these images remind me of the paintings of Joseph Wright of Derby , in which enchanted faces ar...

Congratulations to CGAA sessional animation lecturer, Meg Bisineer , who has just been awarded the 2012 David Gluck Memorial Bursary !  Well done, Meg - beautiful, evocative work :) Dog from Meghana Bisineer on Vimeo .

If you're in need of a pick-me-up in between your inbetweens, then spend some time with our very own Meg Bisineer's 2012 showreel.   How magical are those 2 divers and all those soft flocks of birds!  Read about Meg's residency at the Saison Poetry Library (and more about those 2 divers) here . Meg Bisineer Showreel 2012 from Meghana Bisineer on Vimeo .

HOMEWORK ! (to be uploaded onto your blogs by thursday 17th ) Bouncy Ball animation (atleast 2 bounces in the frame) Bowling Ball animation (dropped from a height) 3 frame storyboard of your 1 min film CAN I ALSO SAY .. You guys are a very bright bunch (yes!), BUT never underestimate the time animation takes.. it ALWAYS takes longer than you imagine. Draw draw draw everyday... I promise it will make a HUGE difference to your work. I know you all have animation reference books BUT please dont use them before you try animating by imagining/ acting out/ observing/ remembering. Learn from experience.. refer to the book later if youre REALLY REALLY stuck! Looking forward to seeing you again next week. Happy animating! Meg

Brilliant work from both the morning and afternoon groups yesterday. Here's a recap of the films we saw: Humourous Phases of Funny Faces (J. Stuart Blackton) Jim Le Fevre's amazing Zoetrope (scroll down his site to some other very interesting films based on cinema toys) Bill Brands Maastransiscope subway art Moray Mc Laren's 'We Got Time' Interesting adverts using 'morphs': Sony Bravia and The Landrover Freelander ad. Things we discussed yesterday: Brief history of drawn animation: cinema toys- persistence of vision- early drawn animation films Animating Loops Morphs: class exercise animating a giant morph portrait chain Unit of time in Animation Animating on 2's/ Animating on 1's Bouncing Ball exercise Practical things to remember (keeping a reference aspect ratio frame, numbering drawings, using the right pencils) This is a reminder of what we looked at yesterday.. for reference and for anyone who missed the class.

No - you're not going mad and this isn't a mistake. Unit 5/Animation is a way off yet, but in preparation for this unit, there are a number of essential items you might want to add to your Christmas present list... As part of Unit 5, you will participate in a weekly series of 2D animation workshops with Meg Bisineer - who comes to us from the Royal College of Art. This is a great opportunity to experience the fundamental principles of animation and Meg has asked you to equip yourselves with an 'animator's kit'. Meg recommends you purchase the following: Economy grade 60gsm A4 punched (1000 sheets – pre-punched) 3-Pin Plastic Pegbar Pre-punched paper and pegbars are necessary for the effective registration of the individual drawings or frames that comprise an animation. And if you haven't got your hands on these yet, you'll need to add them to your Santa wishlist: The Animator's Survival Kit : A manual of methods, principle and formulas for classical...