Mummy 3 CONCEPT ART

ONLINE DEBUT OF CONCEPT ART

NEW PHOTOS FROM THE SET OF THE FILM

For more Concept check it out Here:

Nervo Shorts for Zune Music Device

I cannot tell if I like the music or the images more...

This set of 6 animations is a small branding package by Nervo for Zune Creative. The animated set will essentially work as interstitials, which the brand will use at events and other situations where other videos need to be accompanied by the Zune brand.

Watch all 6 spots here.

The brief for this project was quite open, which led us to explore different animation techniques and a more subjective concept. The Zune Creative team granted us a lot of freedom from the start, including creating the music and sound effects. Our approach was to connect various abstract associations to music: from relating it with the pleasure of eating candy (Zune Sweets), to the idea of users communicating and sharing music (Zune Hair), to the idea of tranferring music from one place into another, sharing (Zune Boxes) all the way to the idea of change, adaptation and collage of tastes, personalities, preferences / customization (Zune Liquid & Cages).

They have a flickr account with lots of animations and images too!

Nervo is a design and animation studio based in Portland, Pacific Northwest. Led by owner and Creative Director Nando Costa, the diverse collective of digital artists create filmed and animated artwork for a variety of applications. The studio's wide-range of styles and techniques is influenced by their great interest in analog art.

Radiohead House of Cards Video

Behind the Scenes video of "House of Cards" was
made and the various technologies
that were used to capture and render 3D data.


And the Actual Video
All Data Driven...No cameras.

Presto - Pixar Short film

Wowsie Wow.

Coke Zero and Oscar Magnuson Spectacles

I LOVE THE EYEBALL!
The animation is awesome!

Al Dente

Al Dente won the "best Animation and Public Award" at the festival "premier regard" in France.

Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com

Taking
place in a colorful and musical universe, "Al Dente" is a short film
which tells us the story of a little street girl discovering the magic
and the dangers of an ogre's kitchen.

Al
Dente was a student graduation project for Supinfocom, France, and was
directed by Jean-François Barthelemy, Maël François et Carlos Felipe
Leon Ortiz.

Wowsie Wow!

Bolt Trailer vs. American Dog

Talk about a story that has some history...

Originally this was Chris Sander's story (creator of Lilo and Stitch)
called American Dog and it looked more like this in 2005.

The original story in 2005 went like this...

Henry is a popular dog. He stars in his own television series, in which he is a James Bond style secret agent who manages to survive the most wonderful adventures. Henry is the toast of the town, but then one day one of the stunts in his show goes terribly wrong, Henry loses concsiousness, and when he wakes up he finds himself on a train, thousands of miles away from his home. Henry has been a celebrity all his life and does not know how to handle himself in this new situation, but luckily he is able to make some new friends that he convinces to get him back home.

So, here is what Disney/Pixar has come up with after they fire Chris Sanders and reworked both the story and the artwork.

Bolt tells the story a dog who plays a heroic pup in a hit TV show and has some trouble recognising that he is in fact not possessed of extraordinary powers beyond the ability to lick his own nether regions. This becomes something of a hindrance when he is accidentally shipped from Hollywood to New York City. From there he has to make his way home with only the help of a manky old cat and an overweight hamster in a plastic ball. John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman and Mark Walton provide voices.

The Art Change: I honestly am not crazy about the new designs, but then I am really partial to Chris Sander's style and design sense because it is so different than most Disney styles. I feel the new Disney dog looks just like any other dog now - very homogenized, as well as the cat. The hamster character is cute and almost more fun to watch that the lead characters, from what I can tell from the trailer above.

The Story Change: I think the idea Chris had for Henry the Dog - as a celebrity on a train headed for who knows where? is stronger, and offers more of a change in Henry's personality. Chris's story offers an opportunity for Henry to learn about himself by being placed in a world he knows nothing about and with new people who know nothing about him. The whole Jame's Bond angle gives the dog more of a sophistication than the idea of "ohhh I am so hard headed that I think I have super powers like I do on TV?" The premise being he discovers he doesn't need superpowers to be a hero...I just think it's playing down to the audience and makes the lead character seem dense and not someone I would root for.

Watch this little clip from the original movie being made to see how much potential that one moment has where he wales up to discover he is on a train to somewhere far away.

The new Disney story creates almost an idiot savant personality for Bolt because he thinks he has the powers he has on the show. The dog isn't really learning anything about himself or growing, he is just going to realize like there is no Santa Claus and that he has no super powers and then goes back home.

I was REALLY looking forward to American Dog, but I am not sold on the Bolt turnaround just yet.

I welcome any comments.

Pixar Leaked Trailer

From the wizards behind Wall-E.

Funny...

WALK CYCLES

									Walk Cycles are one of the most difficult tasks for an animator. This is because both mechanics of motion and character AND personality must be infused into that walk through your timing, spacing and poses. A solid understand of technical shifts in weight and acting choices are key to making a successful walk cycle.

MECHANICS OF A WALK CYCLE: Walk cycles encapsulate all of the principles of animation. They also deal with complex issues of weight and timing, in order to be convincing. Offsets, Overlap and Follow Through on every joint are what will keep the motion natural and prevent it from looking robotic.

The bouncing ball is what the fundamental motion of a walk cycle and most all natural motion is based on - arcs, spacing, timing, etc. The locomotion of the body is dependant upon the feet catching the bodies momentum before actually falling. In other words, the body catches itself before the arc hits the lowest level. Some call this the "controlled fall" of a walk. The arc of that bouncing ball resides in the arc of the Center of gravity (COG) as the body propels up and down with the compression of the legs.

TIMING AND PACING OF A WALK CYCLE: The timing or pacing of the walk can define the character and personality of the walk. The posing of the body and what part of the body that leads the walk also defines the character. Timing, Weight, Posing and Mechanics of Motion all factor into a good walk cycle and this is why it is a great exercise for learning these principles. To illustrate the difference in timing and pacing think about a mosquito on the surface of a lake flitting across the water. Now think about the timing and poses in an elephant's walk across the sierra. The weight and body construction will define whether or not you could tap the object with your finger to knock it over or if it would take much more effort to do this. Timing and Poses will define the weight and construction of your character and even add elements of character as well. There are plenty of tutorials online and in books on how to create a good walk cycle. There is a comprehensive list of walk cycle explanations at the bottom of this page for you to check out. Since the mechanics of the movement has been covered most everywhere, let's talk about something more difficult to infuse into a walk cycle than the believable mechanics of motion.

CHARACTER, STATE OF MIND, AND PERSONALITY: Character and personality are what make the walk real and make the audience identify with it on an emotional level. Disney always said "the mind is the pilot" and that is where every motion you create must start. Before even drawing a pose, you need to establish in your mind where your character's head is at. The lead is one quick way to establish this through the posing of your walk cycle. Remember this is a very simplified approach is not the "end-all be-all"...only a stepping stone to understanding how to infuse character into your animation. There is one little trick that can help you find your way inside the character. This is just one little trick, there are many other facets to a walk that also contribute to a personality, this is just one suggestion. THE LEAD tells the audience where you character's head is at and how they view themselves and their place in the world. Actor/Actress/Musician/Personality examples below illustrate how the lead in motion can define a character and state of mind. After you familiarize you with the lead of a walk, try walking around the room aware of what part of the body is leading. Observe how this changes your attitude and sense of self.

If your character leads with their head... They tend to be cerebral, thoughtful, shy, meek or even sad. When animating a character like this, think about the roles these actors usually play and part of the body leads their movement. Woody Allen, John Malkovich, Winona Ryder (her geeky younger roles)

If your character leads with their chin...they tend to be royal, regal, conceited, proud or even poised. When animating a character like this, think about the roles these actors usually play and part of the body leads their movement. Anthony Hopkins, Fred Astaire, Kate Winslet, Julia Roberts

If your character leads with their chest...they tend to be strong, confident, secure, happy or even a heroic. When animating a character like this, think about the roles these actors usually play and part of the body leads their movement. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Salma Hyack, George Clooney.

If your character leads with their tummy...they tend to be tubby, overweight, awkward or even pregnant. When animating a character like this, think about the roles these actors usually play and part of the body leads their movement. Rosie O'Donnell, John Goodman, Chris Farley, Roseanne Barr

If your character leads with their hips...they tend to be sexy, shady, sly, sensual or even suggestive. When animating a character like this, think about the roles these actors usually play and part of the body leads their movement. Sharon Stone, Jim Morrison, Marilyn Monroe, Mick Jaggar

If your character leads with their knees... they tend to be a thug, street-wise, a cowboy or even a dominatrix. When animating a character like this, think about the roles these actors usually play and part of the body leads their movement. Steve Buscemi, John Leguizamo, Tim Roth, John Wayne, Jeneane Garafalo

MORE ON WALK CYCLES:
In closing, below is a list of sites that all explain the walk cycle and how to create a good one - step-by-step.
Idleworm Tutorials - How to Animate a Walk
3D Animation Tip: Walking the Walk
Learning to Walk
Animating a walk cycle in Anim8or
Animating a walk cycle for Animals

These site are good for reference of mechanics of motion. Remember these are strictly to understand the actual locomotion of a walk and not adding character.

Big Buck Bunny

Big Buck Bunny

Very Pretty, first shot is amazing.
This is a great little short, it made ma laugh, it made me whimper a bit...

The walk cycles and movement is really well done in this little film. I wrote a little article on the Thinking Animation website about leads in a walk and how it changes the mindset, attitude and personality of your characters. These guys have mastered "the lead" with all of their characters.

Big Buck Bunny tells the story of a giant rabbit with a heart bigger than himself. When one sunny day three rodents rudely harass him, something snaps... and the rabbit ain't no bunny anymore! In the typical cartoon tradition he prepares the nasty rodents a comical revenge.

Congrats to the team!


Big Buck Bunny from Blender Foundation on Vimeo.

How it started

As a follow-up to the successful project Orange’s “Elephants Dream”, the Blender Foundation initiated another open movie project. Again a small team (7) of the best 3D artists and developers in the Blender community have been invited to come together to work in Amsterdam from October 2007 until April 2008 on completing a short 3D animation movie. The team members will get a great studio facility and housing in Amsterdam, all travel costs reimbursed, and a fee sufficient to cover all expenses during the period.

The creative concept of “Peach” was completely different as for “Orange”. This time it is “funny and furry”!

The Blender Foundation and Blender community have been the main financiers for Peach. As for the previous open movie, a pre-sale campaign to purchase the DVD set in advance will be organized.

Additional support from sponsors and subsidy funds has been realized as well.

Peach also was the first Open Project hosted by the new Blender Institute in Amsterdam. This will make the project more independent, without much involvement of production partners, and also will ensure continuity.

Top 25 Animated features - by Moviefone

Moviefone released their list of the
Top 25 Animated Features of all time.

Animated movies can do everything live action movies can do -- make us laugh, make us cry, make us go agape at the sheer wonder of it all. Actually, they can do all those things better than live action movies can, sometimes -- because they're drawn, which makes them that much more, you know, impressive. Check out these 25 awesome animated treats and see if you don't agree.