Zlogspot - animationandvideo

Work on my Infinite Monkey Theorem, animated short has mostly stalled in the last few weeks. Readers of my other blog will know I've been struggling with a neck injury (sometimes referred to as 'Computer Neck') that has made doing any kind of lengthy computer work a literal pain in the neck. I'm getting through it but, if you spend a lot of time in front of a computer, I highly recommend you take five minute breaks, at least every 30 minutes, to walk around and do some neck stretching exercises. Anyway, to get this project back on track, I'm trying something a little new to create my video diary of my latest work. Recently I purchased a new Logitech HD webcam (my old webcam was a pre HD relic) which I've teamed with OBS studio , a free application staple, used by live streamers everywhere. OBS Studio allows you to not just stream but also record to a single video file, multiple video/audio sources into a single production. Kind of like a TV studio recording a ...

Cloud Animator is a new, cloud based, animated explainer/presentation, video creation studio by Reallusion , who are better known for their flagship products iClone , CrazyTalk , and CrazyTalk Animator . The best I can describe a Cloud Animator Video Presentation  is that it is kind of a cross between a Power Point Presentation, Animated Explainer Video, and a HTML5 application. As someone who creates animated business explainer videos for a living, I've been a little perplexed as to what Cloud Animator is trying to be, and where I would use the videos created with it most effectively? Now that I've taken a deeper dive into what it can do, by actually producing a sample presentation myself, I'm starting to understand the benefits of adding interactivity to a video presentation. If you are familiar with Youtube's clickable, end card links, and in-video link cards, then Cloud Animator gives you a more advanced and feature packed version of that, without any of the limita...

Top Down Typewriter Prop by TET. As far as my Infinite Monkey Theorem animated short goes, I think I'm just going to have to stop stating what I hope to complete by the next post and just be happy with the fact that I've completed something, and that the project is progressing. Last post I was hoping to have the entire final draft of my polished storyboard finished this week but instead, all I've managed is to create a top down view of my typewriter prop. Not that the prop is a straight forward drawing of a typewriter. It has been created in layers so that various parts can be easily animated in the final short - but still, I thought I'd manage more. There's not much to explain. It's a similar process to how I created the character for scene one of the storyboard so sit back and watch the short video below if you really want to see the creation of this prop from start to finish. Note that this typewriter prop may end up in my Reallusion Market Place store once...

Partial Image from 'Character' by Nigel Ng. Nigel Ng's animation, Character, is different to the animation I usually feature in this blog in that it is a more conceptual style of animation and story telling. Designed to elicit an emotional response, it uses music to set the tone, and juxtaposes short animations to create a narrative. Animators tend to move towards this kind of sophisticated, conceptual storytelling later in their careers, so I was surprised to learn that Nigel has only been animating around 4 months. Watch the animation, Character, below, and then read on for more information about Nigel and the inspiration behind this work. Nigel is based in Ontario, Canada, and is currently studying biomedical sciences at university. He animates on the side and hopes to eventually be animating and making videos for a living. Although he's only been animating for about 4 months, Nigel says he's always loved art and drawing since he was a child, and thought he would...

Final character art, scene one. Continuing to work on my Infinite Monkey Theorem animated short , I had hoped to have finished the entire final draft storyboard by now. However the holiday season being what it is, I didn't get as much time to work on it as I had hoped. Despite that I can show you the entire process of me taking the character (loosely based on myself) in the opening panel of the storyboard, from rough sketch to the final artwork that I'll use in the animation. Obviously the main image at the top of this post shows the final character so, just to remind you of how the character started out, below is the rough sketch version. The original rough sketch. The basic steps I followed to create the final version was: Import the rough sketch into Clip Studio Paint. Sketch a more refined version of the character. Trace the outlines onto a vector layer for easier line work editing. Break up the body parts into their own layers. Add raster layers to add all the coloring. Po...

Infinite Monkey Theorem. Back in my last Project Update post I mentioned my Infinite Monkey Theorem, Animated Short that I had begun working on that was designed to showcase, Reddy, my first color monkey character for CrazyTalk Animator 3. Up until recently I had been working a little bit on the project every weekday, however the project fell by the wayside in an effort to get my Mar-Rey Sue, Desert Scavenger finished by the end of November. Now that character is finished, I think it's time to get this animated short back into my work schedule. As mentioned in the previous project update the animated short is a simple joke based around Infinite Monkey Theorem - the idea that, if you placed an infinite number of monkeys in a room, with an infinite number of typewriters, they would eventually produce the complete works of Shakespeare. The project has been fully storyboarded for some time. When I put the project on hold I was in the middle of refining the storyboard from rough sket...

Mar-Rey Sue - Ideal for your next 'Force Awakens/Last Jedi' parody. Desert Scavenger, Mar-Rey Sue, is now available to buy in my Reallusion Marketplace store for your next CrazyTalk Animator 3 Star Wars parody (or any desert based animation really). The character is a single side angle, G3 character that comes with a range of options and accessories. Features include: Two Face Sprites - Remove Mar-Rey's goggles and head scarf to reveal her hair.   Robe Accessory (Optional) - Add Mar-Rey's free flowing lower robe to your animation for extra impressive animated detail (entirely optional. She still looks great if you don't include her robes). This accessory is a six boned spine actor that works well with 'waving in the wind' motions for spine actors - or manually key frame its animation yourself. Link the robe to the character's upper thigh bone and it will move with her automatically. All you have to do is animate how it reacts to her movement.   Quarter ...