LOL Reindeer

Hats off to those who manage to chronicle the production of their own animated short, cuz that's what I intended to do on this blog and, well, I didn't.  But here it is the end result anyway, just in time for Christmas.

So the story is that several years ago my daughters Rachel and Alana asked me to video them singing Rudolph the Red-nose Reindeer together.  I had a feeling the recording would have a future use, so I had them sing it a second time.  Since then I had been trying to come up with a side animation project that would mix animation mediums and techniques, and the Rudolph recording came to mind.  The idea was to try my hand at different forms of animation, including hand-drawn, cutouts, and AfterEffects, while still ending up with a video others might actually want to watch.  The end result is something of an animated Christmas card.

A goal of the project was to get through production without spending much money.  This resulted in the creative use of existing props and materials as well as hardware and software that may not have been the ideal choice.  For example, I colored the hand-drawn frames in Photoshop even though something like ToonBoom would probably have been better.  And certainly a DSLR would be the best camera for stop motion, but the best I could do was an HD camcorder.  I patched in a standard-def signal into the computer in order to use Dragonframe while shooting, but captured the frames to an SD card to edit later in AfterEffects.

This took fourteen months to make, but there were stretches of time I didn't have the opportunity to work on it so it's hard to say how long it actually took.  It mainly involved being creative with available time.  I did most of the CG animation while commuting to work on Bart and buses.  Unemployment provided chunks of time, though I could still get in some work in the evenings while working full-time.  I can see spending months more polishing and redoing parts, but it's almost Christmas, and it's time to move on.

And since I don't have a lot of experience in modeling and rigging CG characters, I want to give a special thank you to the 11-Second Club team that created the rig used for the main singer, as well as the creators of "Andy," the rig I used for the elves.

Rudolph WIP: Animating Cookie Dough

Have started in on the stop motion bits for the Rudolph Music Video.  This is using a ball-and-socket armature from a kit, a foam/cotton batting body with doll clothes, and clay.

Ray Harryhausen: Always an Inspiration

This is a very nice documentary about the life and work of Ray Harryhousen.

Rudolph WIP: Like Monopoly

I'm trying different mediums in the Rudolph music video, and this is my first try at animating 2-D characters in After Effects.  The technique is based entirely on this tutorial by Dan Stever.  I drew the separate body parts, scanned them, "cut them out" in PhotoShop, and imported them into After Effects.

Rudolph WIP: Yippy!

Animation gets underway with this clip a girl jumping through Christmas presents.  It will be finished in crayon to look like a child's drawing.

Something for Christmas

This is an animation project I'm working on this year, hopefully finishing in time for Christmas.  I took a recording of my kids singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and am making an animated music video out of it.  All segments are in progress, be it blocking, pencil test, pop-through, or layout.  The idea is to utilized many different animation mediums including CG, stop motion/clay animation, After Effects, hand drawn, and cutouts.

I'm seeing if I can do this on a budget of next to nothing, utilizing what I have on hand from previous projects.  For example, the lightbox I am using for hand-drawn animation is an old Light-Brite with a plastic picture frame glued on the top and a peg board taped on.  It's actually working.  I suspect others have to work like this, so perhaps I will be able to pass on some tips and tricks as I go along.

My plan is to post individual shots as I move forward with them, and providing what I hope will be some useful insights into how they were created.  I would appreciate any feedback, critiques and better ideas at any stage.

Let's see if this can really get done by Christmas.

A Startup Guide

Getting back to basics this time. This tutorial gets you started with the right camera, software, and tools. But from the very beginning you can go further than just making things move around by exploring the principles of timing in animation.

Montrial Stop Motion Film Festival

There is still time to submit your work for this year's edition of the Montreal Stop Motion Film Festival. The submission deadline is September 21st, and the festival itself will run on October 19th - 21st. 

Special guest Laika's Mark Shapiro will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Paranorman.  More special guests and judges will be announced later this month.

Visit their website for more information.

Stop Motion Tutorial: Facial Animation

Okay, more like clay animation, but the techniques and principles apply to a stop motion rig.  This tutorial is about getting the illusion of life into the face through subtle movement when possible, and believable timing.

Puppet Making Tutorial

Foam latex is generally the material of choice for a flexible stop-motion puppet, but some of us can’t go and bake toxic chemicals in the kitchen stove.  Rubber latex isn’t as flexible, but it is an expectable alternative.  This tutorial covers the steps for creating a stop motion puppet with a rubber latex head.

Here is the list of tools and materials, excluding what is needed for the armature, eyes, and costume:

Tools

Sculpting tools

Assorted brushes

Hot glue gun

Hair dryer

Bowls

Stir stick

Fan

Scissors

Screw driver

Materials

Plastalina or Roma Clay

Sculpey 

Floral tape

Aluminum foil

Rubbing Alcohol

Hot glue

Wood board

Foam board

Mold release

Petroleum jelly

Hydrocal plaster

Water

Rubber latex

PaintAluminum armature wire

Plumber’s epoxy putty

An Armature We Can All Afford

Of course a ball-and-socket armature is ideal for a stop-motion puppet, and there are some nice kits out there.  But a wire armature is an effective low-budget alternative, and can be a good option for secondary characters as well.  This tutorial goes through every step of creating a wire armature.  It is a method I taught at the Academy of Art, and observed some common mistakes made by beginners.  So as a bonus, here are some additional tips:

• Make your puppet as light-weight as possible.  Choose light-weight material.  If the puppet is going to walk, it needs to stand up on one foot.
• Clay puppets must not be top-heavy.  Design must take this into account.  The head and chest can have a lighter material at the core.
• Clay puppets will also stand better if they have big feet.
• Shop for the right stuff.  Especially the armature wire.
• Have wipes or a wash cloth standing by while working with epoxy putty.
• The wire will eventually break.  Greater space between bones will spread out the bending point and reduce breakage.
• Practice fitting the bolt into the bottom of the foot through the platform before animating.  It’s tricky.

A Motion Blur Trick

Okay, so adding motion blur to bad animation won't make it better, and plenty of great stop motion animation is produced without it, but I think it's a fun effect.  It's a way of smoothing out fast moves, and can be done in a subtle way so it doesn't draw attention to itself.

And not to suggest that this is the only way to do it.  If you have a different way of accomplishing motion blur, please share it in the comments below.

Getting a Little Animation Done

So there I was, poised and ready to get a new stop motion tutorial out there after an epic first semester teaching at the Academy of Art, when the 11 Second Club puts up an irresistible audio clip for the January competition.  The idea of animating dialogue I didn't understand was intriguing.  So I spent a chunk of semester break creating the above animation.  Finished second place.

I plan to have a new tutorial up on the subject of motion blur within the next couple of days.

Animating Backwards

Animating a complex metamorphosis effect in clay can be an epic task. Try animating it backwards and reversing it in post production. Start with your final sculpture and animate it transforming into a blob or simple shape. Then export your frames in reverse or flip your animation in editing. This method will give you greater control over the final appearance of the character, and will go a whole lot faster than forming a detailed character one frame at a time.  Lots more details in the above tutorial.

Experimental Animation

This semester I will be teaching experimental animation at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. While researching examples of found-object animation I came upon this collection of creative projects.

Hallmark Announces Stop Motion Special "Jingle All the Way"

Okay, I'm plugging this because I'm on the animation crew...

In the tradition of TV’s best-loved animated Christmas classics, Hallmark Channel announces the World Premiere of “Jingle All the Way,” a Hallmark Channel Original Animated Special, starring one of Hallmark’s most lovable characters, Jingle the Husky Pup™, which premieres exclusively on the network, Friday, November 25 (8 p.m. ET/PT, 7C).

In “Jingle All the Way,” a spirited Husky puppy looking for a home at a Christmas tree farm instantly bonds with a young boy visiting with his parents. As the boy rides away, unable to keep him, the pup escapes and embarks on a snowy journey to find his friend again. Guided by a wise cardinal and the sound of jingling bells, he eventually receives the help he needs from a big man in a red suit just in time for Christmas morning.

The animated special offers the first-ever opportunity for viewers to activate the Jingle Interactive Storybook and Story Buddy™ while watching original program content based on the book.

“Jingle All the Way” is a Bent Image Lab Production. Chad Harris, Jodi Schade, Diana Stuart, Shawn McClaren and Ray Di Carlo are Executive Producers. Tsui Ling Toomer is Producer. Chel White directs from a teleplay by Allan Neuwirth.

Stop Motion Tutorial: Lip Sync

Animating a dialogue scene in CG has the advantage of being able to refine the smallest of details until the very end. But with stop motion and clay animation, A desired change in the timing of the lip sync can call for a complete reshoot. How can you avoid those reshoots and fully prepare for well-timed lip sync? Here is an in-depth look at preparing for and shooting lip sync for a clay animation character. I've includes methods of reading tracks, principles of working with dialogue, and techniques of stop motion and clay animation.

Side Note: This week I started work at Bent Image Lab in Portland Oregon on a stop motion project. It's one of those hush-hush projects so I can't get into details or share pictures. It is, however, already proving to be an epic learning experience as I step back into a stop motion studio after being away for fifteen years. So I will at least be able to pass on learned techniques in future tutorials.

The 2011 Montreal Stop-Motion Film Festival

This was just handed to me:

Hot on the heels of the hugely successful second edition of the Montreal Stop Motion Film Festival, we are officially opening the Call for Entries for 2011.

To enter your film in the festival, download a submission form, fill it out, and send it in, along with your film.

Deadline for film submissions is: September 26, 2011.

Please refer to the entries section on our website for answers to any questions you might have concerning eligibility, dates, accepted formats, and new rules.

This year, the professional segment has been updated with a new category for films-commercials less than 1 minute in running time and we will have more guest appearance during this week-end long event that promises to be super cool!

The festival will be held in Montreal, from the 21st to the 23rd of October 2011.

How to Stretch an Ear

A skilled CG modeler and rigger could create a character that can stretch an ear to arms length, but I know I can't. There are some animation tricks that just work better in clay animation, and this sort of squash and stretch is one of them. After completing the short Make a Face, I created this tutorial to explore the effect.

The second short, Make a Friend, went online last week. From that one, what would you like to see examined in a video tutorial?

Clay Animation Quick Start Guide

I am also a guest writer on the 11-Second Club blog. Here is my entry on getting started in clay animation.