SPAM MUSUBI & RUFIO

Todays Animator: Tony Fucile

2011-12-15T04:29:00.002+01:00

This is an article from the "50mostinfluentialdisneyanimators" wordpress blog. For inspirational purposes.

Tony Fucile

In a scene in an animated film communication of the story is essential. An animator must find the key drawing(s) that clearly show the feeling and thought process of the character in that particular sequence. These poses are called storytelling drawings because through a pose they tell the audience in the clearest possible way the story and the character. One of the best animators ever at storytelling drawings is this week’s honoree, Tony Fucile.

Tony Fucile was born around 1964 and grew up inCalifornia. At a young age he was exposed to great cartoons through a local TV cartoon host. Among the cartoons these hosts showed were some of the best Looney Tunes directed by geniuses such as Bob Clampett, Tex Avery, and Chuck Jones. Ray Harryhausen monster movies, stop-motion films, and seeing Pinocchio for the first time also helped inspire Fucile to become interested in animation and inspired to draw. After graduating from high school he went on to the character animation program at the California Institute of Arts. Among his classmates were Pixar director Andrew Stanton, Simpsons directors Richard Moore and David Silverman, and future Disney colleagues Broose Johnson and Russ Edmonds. Fucile also learned a lot from his teachers, former Disney animators Hal Ambro and Bob McCrea. In 1986 Tony was hired by Brad Bird to work on the Family Dog episode of Amazing Stories, where he first worked with future Disney giant Duncan Marjoribanks. A year later he went over to Disney where he worked under the great Glen Keane on Oliver and Company. Tony Fucile’s animation still has many elements of Keane’s including the mentor’s strong draftsmanship and bold gestures. After Oliver Tony again worked under his mentor on the animation of Ariel in the Little Mermaid. One of the key scenes he animated was the scenes of Ariel and Eric together in the Kiss the Girl sequence. After Mermaid Tony Fucile left Disney for two years to animate on various projects including Box Office Bunny, Ferngully, and Tom and Jerry: the Movie. However when work began on Ron & John’s feature, Aladdin he raced back to the studio and worked again under Glen Keane on the animation of the title character. In the film he animated the first kiss between Aladdin and Jasmine after they return from the magic carpet ride. After Aladdin Tony was one of the first supervising animators picked to work on the Lion King. His character was Mufasa, Simba’s majestic father who gets killed midway through the movie. Fucile also did the pencil test for the Mufasa ghost sequence, although visual effects are put over it to make the scene more powerful. This was followed by him supervising Esmeralda, the Gypsy girl, in the Hunchback of Notre Dame. On this he worked closely with the young but talented supervising animator James Baxter, who supervised Quasimodo. Unfortunately during the production of Hunchback the atmosphere at the studio was starting to become intense and the Disney Renaissance had ended when Jeffry Katzenberg left the studio in 1994. Fucile stayed after this through the production of Hunchback but left for Warner Brothers after the film was completed. Now Tony worked as the head of animation on Brad Bird’s film the Iron Giant at Warner Brothers. This was followed by employment at Pixar where he most notably worked on Bird’s two films the Incredibles (character designer, supervising animator) and Ratatouille (animator of the end credits.) After Ratatouille Tony Fucile decided to end his animation career and now writes as well as illustrates children’s books. He now lives with his wife and two kids in Sonoma,California.

Like I mentioned earlier one of Fucile’s biggest assets is his ability to make one drawing that has great essence and works as a storytelling drawing. He is a master at character design and animating by using strong key poses that have great strength and clarity. Like his mentor Glen Keane Tony is great at dynamic drawings and communicating a powerful gesture. Great examples of this include the scene where Mufasa is talking to Simba after the elephant graveyard incident and the scenes of Esmeralda singing in the cathedral. In the Mufasa sequence his facial expressions are very strong and show you the concern he is feeling inside. The lip-sync is also very well done and the movement of the mass in the checks is an excellent addition of a secondary action. These secondary actions work because the communication is so strong and they are completely in line with the intent behind the scene. In the Esmeralda scene you can read through her powerful gestures the pain and discrimination she feels. Her eyes too are very clear and boldly expressive. Eyebrows are a refinement oftentimes used strongly in a Tony Fucile drawing. Another great Fucile scene to study frame by frame when you’re learning about using gestures and storytelling drawings is the scene in Mermaid where Eric is guessing Ariel’s name and her expression of joy when he finally gets it right. I know that Dan Jeup’s phenomenal animation of Sebastian and the beautiful backgrounds in the scene are good distractions but try to pay attention to the ways Tony communicates the emotions of the two characters and how the posture defines their character. Eric is a lively, nice guy who is rather caring so he moves in a way that shows his liveliness and cool but has an essence in his facial expressions that show that he is honest and has feelings for the girl. Ariel, who can’t talk in this point in the movie, is a passionate teenage girl who is crazy about this guy. With this in his mind Fucile shows this by having her expressions more energetic and extreme. The girl is so excited about the fact this guy can love her and so she nods and smiles very widely when Eric guesses correct. This type of acting and poses make a good animator a great animator, which Tony Fucile most definitely is.

Tony Fucile’s impact comes in the fact he was crucial in bringing back strong storytelling drawings to Disney and reestablishing the great animator AND great character designer combination. For quite some time it had gotten to the point where you were either a great animator or good character designer or you were a good animator and great character designer. The glory days of draftsman such as Bill Tytla, Milt Kahl, and Marc Davis where long over. However as people such as Fucile, Glen Keane, Andreas Deja, and James Baxter emerged this great coordination between the two positions returned. Also Tony was one of the first animators mentored by people in the second generation to emerge as a top animator. Even animators just a few years before him were mentored by the old timers such as Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, and Eric Larson. Also speaking of this I’ve got to point out Glen Keane really is the master of all time at making animators become better and preparing them to become supervisors. Probably half of the successful supervising animators over the past 20 years were trained under him. Even Mark Henn first started out as an inbetweener to Glen.

To me Tony Fucile is a very inspiring animator because of his bold draftsmanship and strong storytelling drawings. One of the first things covered in Eric Goldberg’s Character Animation Crash course is the importance of storytelling drawings. They really are the best way to communicate the emotion, acting, and intent in a scene. They also make everything else much easier. Recently I used pose to pose animation in a flip book for the first time and believe me it’s much easier and better if you do it that way. This is especially true when you use strong storytelling drawings like Fucile’s. Instead of worrying to much about the movement and the perspective as well as losing control, in this type of environment your priorities are well put in shape and the organization makes it very easy. When you go back and do the inbetweens it’s just a piece of cake because you have the hard, important stuff already figured out. Also I love his drawing style and his use of gestures. They make a scene feel so real and very focused. Thank you Tony Fucile for being an inspiration to me along with many other people and for your incredible animation.

Fucile’s Work

Oliver Company- Animator on Sykes, Fagin, and Georgette

Little Mermaid- Animator on Ariel and Eric

Aladdin- Animator on Aladdin and Additional Animation(uncredited) on Jasmine

Lion King- Supervising Animator on Mufassa and Mufassa’s Ghost

Hunchback of Notre Dame- Supervising Animator on Esmerelda

STEPH DAVIS

2011-10-31T18:07:00.004+01:00

BEING ELMO, the Movie

2011-10-13T19:01:00.003+02:00

This movie I feel will be an extraordinary treat for all animators. And, I feel this is really about the essence of why we do what we do. I can't wait!

Ghost Power!

2011-09-30T10:48:00.003+02:00

Girl and a Robot

2011-08-26T23:26:00.001+02:00

Every 3D Animators worst nightmare

2011-08-21T22:17:00.005+02:00

I hate it when the words "FATAL ERROR" pops up and then Maya dies on me. Inside, I'm like "ARRRGGGHHH!!!!". And, why does it always happen during crunch time?

Animator Interview: Travis Howe - Advice to New Parents

2011-08-21T21:05:00.000+02:00

I just thought this was very inspiring and very practical and useful.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: Voice Actors, Making of & Deleted Scenes in Storyboards

2011-08-21T20:58:00.003+02:00

The thing I like most about Dreamworks Studios is their versatility. Every film they make, when you see them separately, seems as if they were made from completely different studios. For example, Shrek is totally different from Kungfu Panda and Kungfu Panda is completely different from How to Train Your Dragon and so on and so forth. And I know it's easy to stick to what works and is comfortable, especially when you are a public company/studio, so I have respect for what they do. So here are some AWESOME VIDEOS I found for inspirational purposes just like the Tangled post before. Check it out~!

As always Voice Actors give you soooooo much inspiration as an animator, because they are the heart and soul behind the characters and they give you soooo much with their gestures and poses and subtle, unique habits.

This is the Making of Video I found, this is actually the second half of the video. You can find the first half of it on youtube, but I thought this was the more interesting part and better quality. Enjoy!

Here is a deleted scene from the movie. It is an animatic version and I was very interested in seeing how they made their storyboards. I was a bit surprised, because there weren't many expression changes drawn into the storyboards as the characters were talking, which made me think maybe they made this before the voice actors recorded or maybe it was because they wanted the animators to be creative on their own.

Tangled: Voice Actors and Hair Trouble and Extended Animation Bits

2011-08-15T02:51:00.009+02:00

I love Disney voice actors, ever since Ariel in The Little Mermaid, because when they sing it sounds like you when you're singing by yourself in the shower or in your room. They have a sense of vulnerability that is genuine and in many ways imperfect which makes it sound more real. The actors here show the same kind of Disney magic just with their voices and it is simply amazing! Puffy cheeks, lip movement and shapes, hand gestures, head tilts, eyes bulging in and out emphasizing specific words, there are so much juicy bits and pieces for animators to use in this clip in terms of acting choices. Great reference!

I think this is why Tangled was such a success. Genuine workmanship and dedication to getting it right.

I put these two videos up because I like to see un-rendered versions of the animation. I think you learn more from watching these. Enjoy!

Rise of the Planet of the Apes Making Of Behind the Scenes

2011-08-15T01:30:00.010+02:00

I love this trailer.
Weta Digital did an astounding job on this one.

Leading the sound team is supervising sound editor and sound designer Chuck Michael and co-supervisor John Larsen with the talents of first assistant sound editor Smokey Cloud and sound re-recording mixers Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett.

Chimp Haven serves as The National Chimpanzee Sanctuary. They are an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide lifetime care for chimpanzees who have been retired from medical research, the entertainment industry or no longer wanted as pets. For more information visit:
chimphaven.org

For more exclusive videos check out SoundWorksCollection.com

L'AMOUR

2011-08-12T20:58:00.003+02:00

Super Saiyans Unite!

2011-08-06T15:10:00.008+02:00

My homage to Dragon Ball. Thank you Akira Toriyama san for creating the best manga ever~! Osu!!

My Demo Reel for 2011

2011-08-04T01:24:00.003+02:00

If it's not working click here. http://www.vimeo.com/21692550

www.youngsoojang.com (You can find much more of my works here)

Link to Resume

Responsible for all animation, lighting, compositing.

Rigs courtesy of GOBELINS l'école de l'image, Animation Mentor, Peter Starostin (Max) and Chad Vernon (Nico). Additional props from Turbo Squid.

Software used : Autodesk Maya, Adobe After Effects

Thanks to SupaFred, Mathilde Le Moal, Bart Boirot, Odile Perrin, Michel Raimbault, Cristele Jolens, Eric Riewer and last but not least Animation Mentor.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Type Noire

2011-07-30T01:15:00.001+02:00

Just some doodles I did. I always love to take classics, but put a twist on them. This time, I tried to draw TMNT characters, but with "Silent Hill" like influences. Basically, I tried to make them as messed up as I could. But, after I drew "Yoshi"(a character that I made up), I had to get up, goto the restroom, look at the mirror and stare at myself for awhile, like "What.......is wrong with you, man?"

P.S. Leonardo.......coming soon.

Ahhh....the French

2011-07-27T08:34:00.000+02:00

I saw this guy while I was going to work. I swear this is what he was doing with the same kind of attitude. Ahhhh.....the French. lol.

Death Bunnies

2011-07-24T00:54:00.002+02:00

Four different ways bunnies react to death. Just some doodles~

Mommy POWER!!!

2011-07-17T22:31:00.006+02:00

I always thought that Moms never get enough credit for what they do for the family. But I think nothing can be greater than that of the love for their children coming from mothers. It really is amazing what women will put up with for their children. This is dedicated to all the great Moms out there. Including mine. ^^

My first little short film

2011-05-22T13:06:00.004+02:00

I am very happy to say that my first little short film from Gobelins will be finished and uploaded on my website(youngsoojang.com) soon. Right now, the music is being composed and baked as we speak. It's a simple story with two character balls entitled "C'est la vie" and the story is that the road to the top is hard and not everyone who you think might get there get there at the end. Sometimes, the person you least expect, make it to the top.

http://youngsoojang.com/Short_Film_01_Cest_la_Vie.html

A revised version of my lipysnc

2011-05-18T17:50:00.018+02:00

I got some great critiques from FMX, so I thought I would put them to good use and start re-polishing my demo reel. My "Cut your Throat" lip-sync was first on the list. Gotta love the villains/people with complicated childhoods. Here are the corrections made.

1. Improving the subtleties of matching up the lips more with the voice
and working on facial muscles to move with the lips

2. Enhancing hand poses.
3. Working on more natural body movement

4. Delivery of the timing on the fist at the end
(Also added movement on the phone reacting to the slamming of the fist)

2011-05-14T15:18:00.007+02:00

From Annecy France to Stuttgart Germany. I went to FMX 2011, the 16th Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Interactive Media with my classmates from Gobelins l'école de l'image and it was like a breath of fresh air from working all hunched up in front of my desk all the time working on the same animation for weeks on end. I was especially inspired by presentations from Clay Kaytis (Supervising Animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios) about how they made Tangled and it was just amazing watching rough test shots of Rapunzel getting into character and jaw dropping to see Glen Keane critiquing their work in dallies. I was sooooooo jealous. lol. And they also showed lots and lots of rough sketches of Glen Keane's Rapunzel and it was like a visual oasis. Just drawing after drawing, pure ecstasy. They also showed a very rough animation of Maximus the lead horse in the movie and it was the funniest thing that I had seen a horse do. I was very thankful to Clay for sharing all these goodies with the public. It was very inspiring to say the least.

I also very much enjoyed the making of presentation of Pierre Coffin(Director) for Despicable Me. He showed us the original character designs of Gru and it was interesting to see the evolution of Gru and why he changed the way he did. Of course when Pierre showed rough playblasts of Gru's test animation I was gawking at the simplicity of the awesome poses that the animator had chosen to do the various acting test shots. It really made me re-think about the essence of acting in animation.

Bobby Beck did a supreme job with his presentation for Animation Mentor. He went over film scenes from Midnight Cowboy, Lemony Snicket and Forest Gump and just really did a fine job of explaining great acting references for animators and stuff you can use to make your performance that much more authentic just by using strong poses and eye movement. To try and think outside the box and be original in terms of acting choices. It was also interesting to note that he was not happy with the style that Animation Mentor Demoreels seem to be cornering themselves into and he strongly suggested for all AM students to rise above and challenge each other to be different.

Those were just a few of the things that I had experienced while at FMX, there were many other things I learned, mainly about how hard it is to make it into this industry especially if your a character animator, but it definitely helped me get some tips and tricks to make the bumpy road a bit smoother. I would advise everyone who wants to get into this industry to participate in conferences like this in the near future such as Annecy Film Festival and Siggraph 2011 which will be held in Vancouver this year if you can.

Sometimes...

2011-05-08T15:11:00.006+02:00

I found these funny pictures of suicide bunnies through a friend and I wanted to share them. Originally from "The Book of Bunny Suicides: Little Fluffy Rabbits Who Just Don't Want to Live Any More", by Andy Riley, there was one picture that stuck with me more than others. As an animator, sometimes you can't help but feel like this, especially when you are working through crunch time or when you're going through a motivational slump. But, it's pictures like this that make me laugh and kinda shake off the weight that is pushing me down. Hope it does the same for you. Enjoy~

Bike for KAM: The Fight for AWARENESS

2011-04-21T22:53:00.019+02:00

Imagine going to bed every night knowing that you will wake up a bit more paralyzed than you were the day before. That everyday is a constant reminder of what you have and what you will lose. Normally I post things that are related to animation, but today it's different. Today it's more important than that. Meet Kam, she has a rare genetic disorder that's called HIBM(Hereditary inclusion body myopathy). But, don't feel sorry for her. She has accomplished more things than many other people have and is living an incredibly fruitful life driven by her passion and dedication to raise awareness about this disorder. She is a fighter. Here is a promotional video about her fundraiser trip from San Francisco to LA. Spread the word if you can and raise awareness cause it's not about the money. It's about someone who is desperately trying to reach out to you. And all you need to do is reach out your hand.

Here is a Wiki link about HIBM

Click here to share this on facebook ㄱ

Inspiration, Motivation, A Reason for Treason from the "OLD" you.

2011-04-17T03:35:00.007+02:00

I always believe that inspiration comes in many different forms. As an animator.........as an artist, I'm sure most of you will agree that this is what feeds our creativity and we constantly go on search for something that is mind blowing to shake our train of thought and make us view the world in a different perspective. Well, today I found that in a series of Yahoo videos called, "Second Act: Real stories celebrating life, passion and reinvention". I was blown away by some of the people here and how they live or(shall I say) re-live their lives. Here are some of the videos I saw.

Click here to check out Yahoo's other "Second Act" videos

Who is Your Character and What is His State of Mind?

2011-04-16T14:38:00.000+02:00

Here is a great tip about bringing your character animation up to the next level by guest blogger Jean-Denis Haas.

I frequently remind animation students to always think about these questions when animating a character. It is really important to know who your character is when working on a shot and to know what happened before and what is going to happen afterwards. The character's current situation and state of mind will determine what choices your character will make and therefore dictate to some extent what your acting choices should be. By that, I mean you have to think beyond the mechanics and physics of your animation. Of course, as you start learning the principles of animation, you're more concerned about making your animation look right, to avoid any pops or floaty movements, and that's understandable. But hopefully you will also start to think about WHY your character is doing something, and not just HOW.

I remember watching an episode of Inside the Actor's Studio and the guest mentioned something very interesting that stuck with me ever since. Imagine these two situations: one, you're coming home and you're going to bed. Two, you're going to a hotel and you're going to bed. Technically both objectives are the same. But at home you're familiar with the surrounding, you know where what is and you've done this procedure many times. At the hotel you enter your room for the first time and you need to figure out where what is and you're generally thinking more about your actions. So, to be specific, you enter your house and throw your keys onto the same table as always. Since you've done this many times before, you don't even have look at where you throw the keys. You're mentally one step ahead, so your movements are fluid, casual, etc. At the hotel, you might look around first in order to figure out where you'll put the keys down and do the same in order to get undressed and to brush your teeth. Your movements will be more hesitant and distinct. That approach was really interesting to me and made total sense once I thought about it.

Now on top of that, throw a specific state of mind in there. Is your character tired after a trip, or grumpy, happy to be home, drunk, or is he/she a fugitive, hurrying, etc.? The way a character feels will influence your acting choices and the same goes for his/her surrounding.

So when you have a thief robbing a museum as a shot for instance, is the thief super confident or nervous, does he have to hurry? And so on. It's much more interesting to come up with acting choices once you're thinking a bit more about who your character is and why he's doing what he's doing.

Click here for original post on Animation Tips & Tricks

"Tipsy" - Sonoma International Film Festival 2011

2011-04-15T16:16:00.010+02:00

Meet Tipsy, a puppeteered wine bottle character enhanced with photo real animation that sings about the film festival in Sonoma. He loves film. He loves good food. And he loves to drink – a little too much.

Agency: ICA
Production Company: Psyop
Music Company: Changeling Music
Composer: Jamie Saxe
Lyrics by Jennie Chamberlain & Gabriel Lichstein
Sound Mix Company: Lime Studios

My work desk at Gobelins, l'école de l'image

2011-04-15T16:11:00.004+02:00

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

2011-02-12T02:14:00.015+01:00

I know there are only so much Michael Moore movies you can watch before you feel "righteoused" out. And you might think one man can't change the world and there is only so much you can do, but sometimes there are times when change is more of a necessity than an activity and I believe this film is about one of them. I was shocked to see this film actually. I didn't know our food industry was this bad, to be honest and this corrupt in a way that I feel that congress is more than less responsible for. It's also as much our faults as well. This is more about our rights to know about the things that can effect us in astronomic proportions. Like the food we eat.

Take a look behind the veil that is our food industry.

And go here to find out how you can make a change in your own way. After all, you are what you eat.

http://www.takepart.com/foodinc

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE BURNT OUT?!

2011-01-28T11:55:00.009+01:00

What do you do when you have no motivation left? (Animating 10 ~ 12 hours a day) When you are on the brink of insanity and the computer feels like the devil? When monkeys start attacking babies out on the streets. How do you find peace of mind? Paper Toys. There is just something about quietly cutting paper that feels almost meditative. And, you get a neat looking toy at the end so it's perfect for animators!

The 2D Short Film "Thought of You" & The Making of

2011-01-27T14:51:00.010+01:00

Animation in itself is an amazingly beautiful and hard artform. It takes alot of time, effort and practice and you really need to have a willingness to sacrifice yourself to give into to the film because it is such a team effort occupation. One of the perks of this process is that you get to interact and connect with other forms of art. Like dance! It is truly a humbling and spiritual experience as you can see in the making of this beautiful 2D short film.

Thought of You from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.

Thought of You - Behind the Scenes Preview - ROUGH CUT from Cambell Christensen on Vimeo.

HOW SHOULD YOU RUN AN ANIMATION STUDIO?

2011-01-27T13:01:00.004+01:00

Here is an article I found at www.mckinseyquarterly.com

APRIL 2008 • Hayagreeva Rao, Robert Sutton, and Allen P. Webb

Innovation lessons from Pixar: An interview with Oscar-winning director Brad Bird

If there’s one thing successful innovators have shown over the years, it’s that great ideas come from unexpected places. Who could have predicted that bicycle mechanics would develop the airplane or that the US Department of Defense would give rise to a freewheeling communications platform like the Internet?
Senior executives looking for ideas about how to make their companies more innovative can also seek inspiration in surprising sources. Exhibit One: Brad Bird, Pixar’s two-time Oscar-winning director. Bird’s hands-on approach to fostering creativity among animators holds powerful lessons for any executive hoping to nurture innovation in teams and organizations.
Bird joined Pixar in 2000, when the company was riding high following its release of the world’s first computer-animated feature film, Toy Story, and the subsequent hits A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2. Concerned about complacency, senior executives Steve Jobs, Ed Catmull, and John Lasseter asked Bird, whose body of work included The Iron Giant and The Simpsons, to join the company and shake things up. The veteran of Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, and FOX delivered—winning Academy Awards (best animated feature) for two groundbreaking movies, The Incredibles and Ratatouille.

Brad Bird makes his living fostering creativity. Academy Award-winning director (The Incredibles and Ratatouille) talks about the importance, in his work, of pushing teams beyond their comfort zones, encouraging dissent, and building morale. He also explained the value of “black sheep”—restless contributors with unconventional ideas.

Steve Jobs hired him, says Bird, because after three successes (Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, and Toy Story 2) he was worried Pixar might struggle to stay innovative. Jobs told him: “The only thing we’re afraid of is complacency—feeling like we have it all figured out,” Bird quotes his boss as saying “…We want you to come shake things up.” Bird explains to McKinsey how he did it — and why, for “imagination-based companies to succeed in the long run, making money can’t be the focus.”

The piece is behind McKinsey’s pay wall, but we extract its 9 key lessons below.

Lesson One: Herd Your Black Sheep

The Quarterly: How did your first project at Pixar—The Incredibles—shake things up?

Brad Bird: I said, “Give us the black sheep. I want artists who are frustrated. I want the ones who have another way of doing things that nobody’s listening to. Give us all the guys who are probably headed out the door.” A lot of them were malcontents because they saw different ways of doing things, but there was little opportunity to try them, since the established way was working very, very well. We gave the black sheep a chance to prove their theories, and we changed the way a number of things are done here.

Lesson Two: Perfect is the Enemy of Innovation

The Quarterly: What sorts of things did you do differently?

Brad Bird: I had to shake the purist out of them—essentially frighten them into realizing I was ready to use quick and dirty “cheats” to get something on screen… I’d say, “Look, I don’t have to do the water through a computer simulation program… I’m perfectly content to film a splash in a swimming pool and just composite the water in.” I never did film the pool splash [but] talking this way helped everyone understand that we didn’t have to make something that would work from every angle. Not all shots are created equal. Certain shots need to be perfect, others need to be very good, and there are some that only need to be good enough to not break the spell.

Lesson Three: Look for Intensity

The Quarterly: Do angry people—malcontents, in your words—make for better innovation?

Brad Bird: Involved people make for better innovation… Involved people can be quiet, loud, or anything in-between—what they have in common is a restless, probing nature: “I want to get to the problem. There’s something I want to do.” If you had thermal glasses, you could see heat coming off them.

Lesson Four: Innovation Doesn’t happen in a Vacuum

The Quarterly: How do you build and lead a team?

Brad Bird: I got everybody in a room. This was different from what the previous guy had done; he had reviewed the work in private, generated notes, and sent them to the person… I said, “Look, this is a young team. As individual animators, we all have different strengths and weaknesses, but if we can interconnect all our strengths, we are collectively the greatest animator on earth. So I want you guys to speak up and drop your drawers. We’re going to look at your scenes in front of everybody. Everyone will get humiliated and encouraged together…

Lesson Five: High Morale Makes Creativity Cheap

The Quarterly: It sounds like you spend a fair amount of time thinking about the morale of your teams.

Brad Bird: In my experience, the thing that has the most significant impact on a movie’s budget—but never shows up in a budget—is morale. [what’s true for a movie is true for a startup!] If you have low morale, for every $1 you spend, you get about 25 cents of value. If you have high morale, for every $1 you spend, you get about $3 of value. Companies should pay much more attention to morale.

Lesson Six: Dont Try To “Protect your success”

The Quarterly: Engagement, morale—what else is critical for stimulating innovative thinking?

Brad Bird: The first step in achieving the impossible is believing that the impossible can be achieved. … “You don’t play it safe—you do something that scares you, that’s at the edge of your capabilities, where you might fail. That’s what gets you up in the morning.”

Lesson Six: Steve Jobs Says ‘Interaction = Innovation’

The Quarterly: What does Pixar do to stimulate a creative culture?

Brad Bird: If you walk around downstairs in the animation area, you’ll see that it is unhinged. People are allowed to create whatever front to their office they want. One guy might build a front that’s like a Western town. Someone else might do something that looks like Hawaii…John [Lasseter] believes that if you have a loose, free kind of atmosphere, it helps creativity.

Then there’s our building. Steve Jobs basically designed this building. In the center, he created this big atrium area, which seems initially like a waste of space. The reason he did it was that everybody goes off and works in their individual areas. People who work on software code are here, people who animate are there, and people who do designs are over there. Steve put the mailboxes, the meetings rooms, the cafeteria, and, most insidiously and brilliantly, the bathrooms in the center—which initially drove us crazy—so that you run into everybody during the course of a day. [Jobs] realized that when people run into each other, when they make eye contact, things happen. So he made it impossible for you not to run into the rest of the company.

Lesson Seven: Encourage Inter-disciplinary Learning

The Quarterly: Is there anything else you’d highlight that contributes to creativity around here?

Brad Bird: One thing Pixar does [is] “PU,” or Pixar University. If you work in lighting but you want to learn how to animate, there’s a class to show you animation. There are classes in story structure, in Photoshop, even in Krav Maga, the Israeli self-defense system. Pixar basically encourages people to learn outside of their areas, which makes them more complete. [and more creative].

Lesson Eight: Get Rid of Weak Links

The Quarterly: What undermines Innovation?

Brad Bird: Passive-aggressive people—people who don’t show their colors in the group but then get behind the scenes and peck away—are poisonous. I can usually spot those people fairly soon and I weed them out.

Lesson Nine: Making $$ Can’t Be Your Focus

The Quarterly: How would you compare the Disney of your early career with Pixar today?

Brad Bird: When I entered Disney, it was like a classic Cadillac Phaeton that had been left out in the rain… The company’s thought process was not, “We have all this amazing machinery—how do we use it to make exciting things? We could go to Mars in this rocket ship!” It was, “We don’t understand Walt Disney at all. We don’t understand what he did. Let’s not screw it up. Let’s just preserve this rocket ship; going somewhere new in it might damage it.”

Walt Disney’s mantra was, “I don’t make movies to make money—I make money to make movies.” That’s a good way to sum up the difference between Disney at its height and Disney when it was lost. It’s also true of Pixar and a lot of other companies. It seems counterintuitive, but for imagination-based companies to succeed in the long run, making money can’t be the focus.

KINDNESS?!!

2011-01-24T18:36:00.007+01:00

Here is my new dialog animation in progress. I am almost finished with the left character and now I need to work on the right character.
Productive critiques are always welcome!

O2: The Making Of 'Niggles and Narks' - The Mill Visual Effects Studio

2011-01-24T15:18:00.004+01:00

How to make a great 3D short film?

This will give you a good grasp of the idea.

Tim Johnson talks about How to Train your Dragon sequel and TV series

2011-01-24T14:57:00.009+01:00

Dreamworks Animation SKG, Inc. talks about dragons and their process in making films.

The Art of Teknique (TAT) Krumpin Freestyle to "Step On Stage"

2011-01-24T12:58:00.008+01:00

I have always loved the style of Krump Dancing and these kids are amazing at it!

Some Doodles

2011-01-18T01:04:00.001+01:00

Theme : Becoming a Viking is Hard!

New Animation Mentor Semester!

2011-01-18T00:45:00.002+01:00

New stuff I am currently working on.

Theme : Tired => Angry

Rough Thumbnail Sketches

Storyboards

Video Reference

Blocking

The Black Ivy: Young, Gifted and Black

2010-12-16T01:18:00.005+01:00

Inspiration comes in many forms. Style, sophistication, poetics. Rarely all together. Here is the black ivy.

The Black Ivy from Street Etiquette on Vimeo.

The BKc, Style Reinnovated

2010-12-16T01:15:00.004+01:00

My favorite brand. Like an ice cold beer straight off from the tap, their style is fresh with swagger and quality.

http://thebkcircus.com/bkc/

Quote of the rest of the year

2010-12-05T13:52:00.003+01:00

Be not a slave of your own past, plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far. So you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience and overlook the old”. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

What's the Difference Between Follow Through and Overlapping Animation?

2010-11-04T11:46:00.003+01:00

I was having trouble with this and it was gnawing on my brain, but have no fear! Shaun from Animation Mentor is here. I read this and it helped me out alot. Thanks Shaun!

What's the Exact Difference Between Overlap and Follow-through?

This question comes from Adrien Annesley. Thanks for the great question, Adrien!

This is something that I was confused about for a long time, actually, and I used to use these terms interchangeably. However, this question really got me rethinking it, and I decided to pick the brain of some great animators at work about it to see what they thought. Kevin Martel, one of our senior animators, had some great points and set me straight on this stuff:

Follow-through is basically the "end" of the action after the main force of the action has been exerted. For example, if you slammed a sledgehammer against a wall, the rest of your body is going to continue moving for a few frames after the hammer is stopped, right? Your spine is going to go through some "successive breaking of joints" and kind of whip forward, pulling your head along with it last. The last thing that will happen in that chain of events is the head will move forward and probably rotate the chin down towards the chest. This motion would be called "follow-through."

However, if a few frames before the hammer hit, the character lifted a foot to take a step forward in order to start into a motion to reposition the body for the next hit, this movement would be called "overlapping action." It's a separate but related action that isn't necessarily being completely caused by the first action, and the timing of this action is offset, in which case it is "overlapping" the first action.

The purpose of this is to create more organic and believable actions, as well as adding entertainment to the overall complexity of the scene.

Kevin found a great quote from Walt Disney on this:
"It is not necessary for an animator to take a character to one point, complete that action completely, and then turn to the following action as if he had never given it a thought until after completing the first action. When a character knows what he is going to do he doesn't have to stop before each individual action and think to do it. He has it planned in advance in his mind."

Hope that's helpful, Adrien! Thanks for the help, Kev, and thanks also to Velislava Nikolova for the reminder! :)

Shawn :)

For more tips and tricks about animation goto his blog here. It is amazing how helpful it is.

http://www.animationtipsandtricks.com/2008/11/whats-exact-difference-between-overlap.html

Photorealism VS Stylization (and the Uncanny Valley)

2010-11-02T22:58:00.002+01:00

What is the Uncanny Valley and what does it have to do with animation? Find out here.

My Present to U

2010-10-29T01:39:00.002+02:00

I've decided to upload raw images of my work, sketches, dabbles, etc. I know us sketch geeks love that kinda stuff, so this is my small gift to you for finding the time to visit my blog. Please use for inspirational purposes only and don't perjurize or misuse them in anyway. Common sense and courtesy will be much obliged.

2010-10-29T01:27:00.006+02:00

5 years ago

4 years ago

3 years ago

3 months ago

I found some old drawings and decided to compare them with some of my newer drawings. Now I can tell that my anatomy classes really paid off. I was obsessed with anatomy during my school days. I took them over and over again. I couldn't understand it all in one class, but man did I love taking them. It was like learning to build architecture or a car.....the secrets of making figures come to life in your drawings.

If you are trying to improve on your figure drawings I strongly recommend ANATOMY CLASSES even if you've taken a few classes a couple more will make you even better.

The Secret of Wet Dogs Shake-Drying Discovered

2010-10-22T11:01:00.008+02:00

This is excellent reference for animating a dog drying off. Check it out.

Click Here

What is a DESK?

2010-10-15T02:47:00.016+02:00

What is a desk? What does your desk mean to you and how much does it define you? Have you ever thought about it? Is it important? CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO BELOW TO FIND OUT and you might just re-think about how you organize your desk from then on.

Desk - Music and Sound Design from Aaron Trinder Film:Motion:Music on

Vimeo.

For my profession, as an animator/illustrator, my desk is like a mother's womb. I surround it with things that inspire me and make me feel comfortable. Whether it be books, post cards, toys, stickers, posters on the wall or even christmas lights. It does bring comfort and to a certain extent gives me a sense of identity as an artist about who I am and what my influences are. Without my desk I feel lost sometimes. Like an animator staring at a blank piece of paper, the same goes for an empty desk. I create my desk, therefore I am. lol.

TEAM 10

2010-10-11T23:24:00.009+02:00

Today's subject is about "IMAGINARY FRIENDS". Whether it's Ally Mcbeal or more recently Ryan Reynolds in the movie "Paper Man", the subject about imaginary friends has always interested me and this home made film deserves more notice. It is a great short film and I was surprised to find it accidentally rather than by suggestion.

"REACH", a short film by Luke Randall

2010-10-11T22:54:00.009+02:00

MY JAWS DROPPED!!! WHEN I FIRST SAW THIS.

A friend of mine showed this to me and I thought it was one the best demo reels a person can make. Weight, walk cycles, squash and stretch, anticipation, overlap, ease ins, ease outs, character walk cycles, personality, and most importantly a solid story that gives people impact. Here is more info.

Director: Luke Randall
Running Time: 3'50
Country: Australia
Category: Comedy

A tiny robot is given the gift of life with only one limitation, the length of his power cable. When a curious bird appears at the workshop window, the robot feels a lust to live outside of his reach that may be his demise.

Originally from the island of Tasmania, Luke Randall is a director/animator currently based in Melbourne, Australia. Luke has been fortunate enough to work on CG TV series, video game cinematic and animated feature films over the past couple of years and has received several awards for his work.

Pushing Through Your Inner Garbage as Artists

2010-07-26T12:03:00.012+02:00

Ira Glass, host and producer of the radio and television show This American Life, talks about struggling through the hard times of becoming "Great" and how to get past that annoying stage as artists.

The Mission Statement of SPAM MUSUBI & RUFIO

2010-07-26T09:33:00.015+02:00

With the internet media exploding with mundane personalized personifications tending to the needs of our inner Narcissus, I detested on the idea of becoming just another "zombie", making yet again another pointless time consuming art form of freeform blogging. But as I grow into the shell of becoming a full time animator and more importantly an artist, I realized that with the right intentions, a blog can actually become something.....with purpose. And that is the word we are striving for here.......is "Purpose". I hope this becomes a blog that means something not just to me but to you as well. Like a Leo Tolstoy novel, I hope this blog will reflect upon life as an art and all it's wonders, instead of trying to teach you how to live your life like those annoying cable commercials that come on every 5 mins late at night......but that's another topic. Let's begin.

Fill the VOID. KNOW ur RANK. KEEP IT REAL. SPAM MUSUBI and RUFIO.

What makes Pixar.....Pixar?

2010-07-26T09:11:00.012+02:00

The delicate art of managing a quality company like Pixar is revealed in this video.

SPAM MUSUBI !!!!!!!!!

2010-05-26T00:57:00.005+02:00

What can I say about these delicious juicy scrumptious bites of heaven? The salty after taste of perfectly cooked spam or the fillingness of good old white rice! It’s an amazing food that deserves more attention. Forget greasy hamburgers and hotdogs and try yourself a nice toasty SPAM MUSUBI next time.

You can never go wrong with these babies!