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Acting Animating (2)

Animation Movies (11)

Animation News (19)

Animation Tips and Tricks (7)

Animation Tutorials (1)

Character Animation Ideas (6)

Games (1)

Pixar(2)

Short Films (2)

ABOUT

Utkarsh Vaidya

Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Animating since 2008...

View my complete profile

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 , 2 009

A Demo Reel Primer

Dialog would be a plus

What is a demo reel for?

A demo reel is essentially a sales tool. You are selling yourself and proving,

to an extent, what sort of positive addition you will be to a company. If you

can prove you've got oodles of talent and a creative way of thinking about

things, your demo reel will get you noticed. If it is exceptionally good, it's

your doorway into the industry.

Who is your audience?

Your audience, obviously , is comprised of those people you want to work for.

The thing is, y ou're not alone. Many, many people want and have tried to getthe same job you are applying for. These demo watchers have seen countless

reels and guess what, they're tired of seeing the same things over and over

again. If you think your 3 minute flying logo is going to win you a job, you

better consider it very carefully before putting it on your reel. These people

are not obligated to watch your entire reel. If they're dissatisfied, they will hit

EJECT and move on, possibly missing your Oscar worthy animation later in

the reel.

What to put on a demo reel

SECTION A (general):

Only your best, most amazing work ever. This stuff has to be the best thing

since pizza. If you can do it all (model, render, and animate), do it all! You'll

earn points for this. Companies are looking for people who can wear many

hats and accept many responsibilities. You need to capture their attention

and show them you're more than up to the challenge of working in a creative

(and crazy) environment like theirs. You want to not only show them you're

up to it, you want to show them it'll be a breeze for y ou.

What to put on a demo reel

SECTION B (specific):

You need to get as many strong points across to your audience visually, in as

little time as possible. You need to capture their attention, draw them in, and

make them forget for an instant that they are watching a demo reel. This can

be quite difficult unless you a great deal of vision and a really good story to

tell. Currently a lot of businesses are looking for excellent characteranimators. You need to bring an object to life, give it a voice, an attitude,

"CHARACTER", and have it tell a story. Be fresh, creative, and original (I can't

stress that enough). Also, there is a demand for artists who are good at

creating low polygon count models. If you have specific skills you want to

show off and can, such as adding actual paintings you've created in the real

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world into a 3d environment, then do it. You are trying to earn as many

points as possible. A well rounded artist is always appreciated.

What not to put on a demo reel

SECTION A:

Probably whatever you are most likely to think about putting on your demo

reel first, is the sort of thing you want to stay away from at all costs. Y ou may

think you're being original, but believe it or not, everyone else thinks their

name or company logo looks cool flying around the screen too. How about

spaceships? They're cool, to be sure...but if you're a demo watcher and that's

all you see day in and day out, you're probably dying to see something else.

Also, with whatever objects you include in your animation, make sure they

are decorated (textured) in the best way possible. Most things in the real

world are not shiny and new. Instead they are dented, beat up, scratched, or

flawed in some unusual way. Prove your texturing skills by creating your own

complex custom textures and make your models even more interesting to

look at.

Realize that your audience has seen just about every basic transition and

effect out there. These are the things that are only one click away in whatever

program you're using. You need to be different and your effects need to be

hard won. If it can be done from a simple pull down menu, it's probably not

doing to impress them. You need to stand out from the rest of the pack.

What not to put on a demo reel

SECTION B (exceptions):

Of course there are exceptions to everything in the computer graphics and

animation industry. If the job y ou are applying for is going to require specific

skills, such as flying logos or spaceship battles, then by all means gear your

demo reel in that direction. However, if you are going to be applying to a

wide variety of jobs, it is best to have something that will appeal and look

absolutely amazing to everyone.

How do I create a good demo reel?

Sit, plan, make-up, cross out, plan some more, think, cross out, make up, and

then get to work. A good method is to think about what your strengths areand then think about the most effective and entertaining way possible to get

those strengths across on screen. Then sit and think about every aspect of

what you want to do and storyboard it out. Understand what every scene is

going to involve, how long it's going to take, what sort of resources you'll

need to accomplish it, and if everything you want to do is really possible. And

if it's not possible, how you're going to look that obstacle in the eyes and say

"up yours, I'm doing it anyway".

What does a good demo reel look like?

Many companies have their own reels which you could probably arrange to

get a hold of. Contact these places and see if they will send you one. If these

are places you would like to work for, then pay close attention to the sort of

things they do. Otherwise, I suggest checking out many cool animation tapes

currently on the market. Look for "The Mind's Eye" series by SMV or

"Computer Animation Festival" series also by SMV. Watch the tapes, be

inspired, and then think about how you could have done it better...and then

do something else, since what you're thinking about doing has already been

done. Remember, be original. If you want to do something that's been done

before, do it differently (if that makes sense).

Things to remember!

Put your best stuff first. You want to grab your audience's attention as soon

as possible. Give credit where credit is due. If you didn't do something, say

so. Also, specify the tools you used to create your demo reel.

Posted by Utkarsh Vaidy a at 5:05 AM , 0 comments

Labels: Character Animation Ideas

Character Animation Exercises 4

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What folks in the industry want to see is...charac ter animation. THINKING,

BREATHING CHARACTERS! Do 15-30 seconds of GREAT CHARACTER

ANIMATION with one or two characters which show the following:

WEIGHT - show weight by squashing the feet and in the quads of the upper

legs (on the front side) and in the hips/butt area. In 3D - use a lattice when

structuring y our character. WHEN IN DOUBT EXAGGERATE THE WEIGHT.

Posing with exaggeration

ACTIONS - LEADING AND FOLLOWING actions are easy - example: when a

character land one foot makes contact and then the other...or if you lift the

arms - one arm goes up and then the other.

OVERLAPPING ACTIONS - example the character comes to a halt and her

hair and dress continue to flow and settle into place. To be effective the

overlapping has to use "S" curves to change direction.

DRAG ACTION - is where you show a drag on a form as it moves through

space. This usually occurs at the ends of the form. If a rubber raft is falling,

the middle edge will be intact - the other edges will bend or drag back.

MOTIVATIONAL FORCES - what makes thing move - 80% or more of all

actions happen because of the hips and legs. If a character throws a ball the

action starts with the ex tension (unfolding) of the front leg which rotates the

hips and create toque with the torso and allows the unwinding of the torso to

lead the shoulder and the rest of the arm through a throwing motion.

Another example: a character can't turn unless he pushes off on the outside

foot - then he can change direction.

Thinking time (a character ALWAYS thinks before it does anything).

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY ACTIONS - easy example in a walk - the legs are

the primary action - then arms are the secondary action.

ANTICIPATION - (or ANTIC) In a grab, the hand comes up and backward

before it goes forward.

COMPENSATION - If a character is running and stops - you have to

compensate for the forward momentum (usually by driving the forces up - or

down and then up.)

REVERSALS - try to work as many reversals into the spine as possible (as long

as it makes sense to the action). The spine is curved forward - then curves

back during an antic and then curves forward when the character picks up a

stone. HINT: My next lesson at the Toon Institute will have this information.

A CUSHION OR SETTLE is where you move passed a key frame into an

extreme/extreme and then cushion back into the original key frame.

A MOVING HOLD is a very, very slow slow-out of an action - to where the

movement is coming to a creeping halt.

Staging (how the action is composed within the frame)

Character Design - the ability to caricature a person utilizing good design

skills and have appeal




1. Character on the phone, but not talking, listening to a person on the other

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end talk about something: important, sad, happy and/or "fill in the blank".

Choose the subject matter to really express how the receiver of that

information reacts. The exercise is designed to help people develop a

character's thinking through eye movement, subtle facial expression and

pantomime with body language.

2. Display the feelings a character would experience while waiting for

something or someone. Gender specific reactions can be really revealing

here. How a man would react vs. a woman? This is a good ex ercise because it

demands pure acting outside of dialogue. Much like Tom Hanks for most of

castaway, your character will need to show lots of emotion through

psychological gesture.

3. Create a walk cycle. Now make 4 variations on the same character to

illustrate an emotion. For example: Angry Stomp, Happy Run, Sad Shuffle,

Cocky Strut, Questioning Tiptoe, etc . Be sure to refer to the bouncing ball for

your arcs and paths on this one.

4. Create a walk cycle with a four legged character. Do the same thing as

above, but now illustrate you ability to translate it into four legs or even an

insect and go to six or eight legs. Always refer to real life and then translate

that into your own work. It is great when you can create a connection

between an animal and human nature, but if you keep the integrity of theanimal's basic essence, then the animation will be much richer. Of course a

dog would not have the emotional range of a human, but you still know when

a dog is happy. Think to yourself, not only how a human might react to the

situation, but also how "insert animal/creature here" would react to it also.

5. Character encounters something that he wants to open. Perhaps it has

difficulty opening it. Perhaps it reacts to whatever it opens (but you don't see

what it in it). The character can only use body parts for the first 30 seconds,

but may pursue some other means (i.e. tools and explosives) thereafter. This

one is really open ended and can test your ability to show many storytelling

ideas in the body language and facial expressions, without one line of

dialogue.

6. A similar test to the one above is to have a witch attempt to ride a broom

that keeps bucking her off. Andreas Deja (animated--Jafar in Aladdin, Scar in

Lion King, Gaston in B & B, etc.) spoke of this test at a talk I attended in LA. He

referred to it as what Disney asked him to do before he was officially brought

into the animation department.

7 . Animate two characters sawing a log. The first character is a big, macho

man. Animate him pose-to-pose first holding one side of the saw and cycle his

animation. The second character is a scrawny little guy who gets yanked

around, grabbing onto the saw for dear life. This idea would be even better if

there was some kind of big finish where the little guy gets the best of the big

guy.

8. A character lifts something heavy. This is hard enough to show shifts in

weight throughout the body to get leverage, but if you wanted to make the

test even more complicated you can make the character do something else,

while continuing to hold the heavy object. Great example of weight and

timing. Again, Chapter 3 in The Illusion of Life covers this concept

thoroughly.

9. A character is doing something and needs to get someone's attention. Lots

of eye movement and subtle mouth stuff, as well as body language on an

exercise like this.

10. The flour sack. A great test that forces understanding of the principles inits most basic form. Make a four sack move and react to show emotions and

character. Be sure to remember the volume of the sack and how it would

move between contact with the ground and being airborne. This test is a

favorite among animators, since there is very little character design and

development and you really have to pay attention to what you are trying to

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communicate.




Bouncing ball (rubber, wood, lead, glass, beach, bowling, tennis, cannon,

etc.)Egg dropping/rolling

Brick dropping

Walk, run, jump (show character from one into the next realistic, character,

4-legged)

Lift-carry-put down weight

Climb

Dialogue/monologue where the character starts off feeling one emotion and

changes into another

Different weights of characters/ vary the size and shape of the character

doing above tasks

Four-legged character (cat, dog, etc.) walking, jumping, climbing, stretching,

yawning, scratching, etc.

Juicebox: a juice box enters frame from left has an emotion changethroughout the animation and leaves from right (200 frame limit)

Character jumping over object

Character interaction with a ball

Character interaction with a box (push, pull, lift, etc.)

Bring an inanimate object to life

Leaf falling in arcs and the timing

Egg drop / brick drop

Character pushing a box / picking up box

Ringing bell tower bell

Interaction with a box, interaction with a ball

A short dialogue (very short), putting physical accents on the significant

beats of dialogue

Two character dialogue - introduces more staging and interaction

Standing or sitting, character doing nothing, body language should suggest

thought process without any interaction with an object

A bunch of people waiting for a bus, all with different ages/professions

A character walks to a mailbox, deposits an envelope, and walks away. Now,

how is that action different if the envelope contains (1) a heartfelt love letter,

sent without knowing whether the recipient feels the same way about the

sender, or (2) this year's tax return, which includes a big fat check made

payable to Uncle Sam, or (3) the last mortgage payment on a house, or the

last alimony check to an ex? The basic goals are the same (approach mailbox,

etc), but the motivation behind them and the mood expressed will be

dramatically different for each one.

Character goes to pick up an object they think is light but its heavy, and viceversa

3 legged character - two legs cannot move in unison

First you come up with something very minor - say, a guy picking up a flower.

Now you start developing context...ask yourselves questions and try to come

up with interesting answers

A two legged character walk on all fours

An old man kneeling down to pray, then rising

Pendulum swing (using arcs)

Simple head turn (using arcs)

Water drop falling from a leaf

One-shape character design

Complex character design

Emotional character walk in profile (anticipate - walk two strides and

compensate to a stop)

Flour sack walkcycle

Flour sack falling off a ledge

Character waiting for something

Character sitting on object, interacting with object



6/8

Circus/Sideshow accidents (character walking on a tightrope gets distracted

by a sound off screen, and just loses control; character stuck in a

cannon, trying desperately to get out before the fuse burns out, but of course

doesn't quite make it; carnie tries to impress onlookers with a "talent" but it

goes horribly wrong)

Confrontation between two characters. One is losing but makes a spectacular

comeback, just when you thought all hope was lost. This is that huge fight

between the Boss and the Hero, or the dramatic c lash that has led up to your

dramatic quest

Hero/villain attempts to execute their strange and unfamiliar powers.

Suddenly something goes horribly wrong and their power backfires

Character tr ies to access a bank machine and it misbehaves

Character tr ies to use a restroom and can't

Character takes on a profession as a mover and has to move an awkward

object

Character entering a dark corridor/cave with weapon drawn awaiting a

surprise from the dark

Character finding the one ring and reacting to his discovery

Show a feat of elven dexterity (ie. Legolas jumping on the horse or walking on

snow, etc., but be original)

Character meeting death from an attack

Character thinks they're going to sneeze, then not sneeze and then finally

sneezingCharacter try ing to swat a fly or catch a bug

Character trying to stay awake, finally falls asleep (maybe something really

loud wakes him up at the end its up to you)

Character sneaking up on another character to scare them

Character leaning against the wall, c hewing gum or a toothpick, hands in his

pockets or maybe flipping a coin, waiting for something to happen

Character lifting their leg in front of them (perhaps ballet). Study the balance

of body.




Generally, most exercises will involve either a character's emotions or a

character's physical presence or both. Depending on how complex an

animation you want to work with, characters can be as simple as a bouncing

ball or as complicated as a living thing. It depends on how much time you

have and how much you want to accomplish. Keep in mind that these are

only suggestions to get you thinking.

The following exercises vary quite a bit in complexity. Most of them will

require at least an intermediate understanding of the program you're using,

but you are welcome and encouraged to attempt them no matter what levelyou're at. These exercises are ways in which you can challenge yourself and

improve your animation skills. If you're not being challenged, you're not

really doing yourself any favors. Pick something just above your level of

competency and then try it. Once you've done it effectively, make it more

complex.

When I have time, I will try to rate these exerc ises and put them in some sort

of order. If you know of an exercise that has been particularly useful to you

or just have an interesting idea, please send it and I will add it here.

Exercise suggestions:

1) Try to display the emotions a character might go through while waiting for

a bus that's late. Pay close attention to facial expressions, body language, and

detail.

2) Have a character try to open something (i.e. a present) that refuses to

open. The character can only use body parts for the first minute, but may



7/8

resort to other measures (i.e. tools and explosives) thereafter. Note, the

character will be affected by the tools used (i.e. blast of an explosion). After

you've mastered this, try to do the same thing with a normally inanimate

object (i.e. lamp) as your lead character.

3a) Animate someone riding a pogo stick or some other 'fun' object (i.e. using

a hoola hoop).

3b) Have your character use a weighted object, such as a hammer or a

shovel. Demonstrate how the weight of the object affects the stance and

demeanor of the character using it.

4) Create a walk cycle, then vary it to accommodate different attitudes and

'character'. For example: Angry, happy, sneaky, limping, carrying a heavy

object, sleep walking, etc.

5) Animate two characters sawing a log. The first character is a big, muscular

brute. Animate him pose-to-pose first and cycle his animation. The second

character is a scrawny little guy who gets yanked around, grabbing onto the

saw for dear life.

6) Have a character bend down, pick up something heavy, and throw it. This

exerc ise can help you with timing, emphasizing weight, and anticipation.

7 ) Put a short character in a tall room with one window, one door, one light

(and switch) and a hanging ceiling fan (with hanging switch). The room

contains 3 boxes, a ball, and a board. Imagine the different ways your

character could figure out how to reach the hanging switch and then animate

the most outrageous. Next, subtract two box es and add a skateboard and try

again.



Key Elements of Successful CharacterAnimation Balance Weight - Timing

Balance Weight - Timing

Stage 1: There's nothing about a character's movement that makes you (or

other people if you're not picky enough) sit up and say, "There's something

wrong with the way it moves."

This would include animation that's too stiff, has too few keyframes and looks

like it's occurring under water, moon walking (feet sliding), poses that make

no sense, etc. You must be long past just doing walk cycles and such to get tothat point. Also it would include breaking symmetry, so the exact same

action or facial expression isn't mirrored on the other side of the character.

This just screams "COMPUTER", which is a bad thing.

Stage 2: Characters must act. Show emotion, facial expression that conveys

the internal thinking of the character without the character having to say a

word.

The body language should also be demonstrating a character's state of mind.

Are they lazy, aggressive, do they have a limp, a backache? If they were

trying to be threatening, would another character be threatened? If they do

talk, are they convincing?

Stage 3: The character must have an absolutely unique and identifiable

personality.

Subject the character to the "Twin" or "Brain Switch" test. You have two

identical characters. You should be able to tell if you were looking at the

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good character or the bad character, even in silhouette. Or the smart brother

or dumb brother. Trickier still would be the evil character doing his best to

pose as the good character, and he's *almost* there but just not quite.

The characters in Toy Story would all pass this test. Buzz in Woody's body?

Think you couldn't spot that. Or Woody in Buzz's. Or Rex in Buzz's.

In live action I'll give you an example: in the TV show "Taxi", Andy Kaufman's

character, Latka, had an alter ego called "Vic Ferrari". When he changed

without saying a word, you could tell. When "Vic" was trying to return to

Latka, he tried acting like him, and you could tell he just couldn't quite get it.

Ask yourself, "How often have I seen this in computer animation?"

If you want to really call yourself good, *Stage 3* is the bar you have to

achieve. I would presume it's the bar that the various large traditional

animation studios require you to reach before you can even be called an

"animator".

Posted by Utkarsh Vaidya at 5:01 AM , 0 comments


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