The Last Trimester of my FEATURE adventure.

Hey Guys!

here is another cut in from the fight scene. This is Right after the first trip as flea has rushed Dober. I left some of the pauses longer to allow some editing room later.

In LAIKA news-

Allmost Holloween -Laika Created Pumpkin

and I am just a few months from returning to L.A.....Jeez Time has flown by!!

I am One shot from finishing my second BIG sequence on the film......It feels very amazing to think I have come so far from my first days here. The Sequences were just storyboard animatics when I first got here....and Now they are living breathing animations....ready for the BIG SCREEN.

I am SUPER comfortable at work now.....and do not feel much stress anymore other than my feet hurting and sometimes not living up to my personal expectations.

.......Monday will put the lid on my second finished sequence.......

and next week will be my Transition to my most exciting and Challenging animations yet.

What I am Calling -MY THESIS-

Putting all I have learned and all the experience gained from my time here into This Last Piece of the Film before I return home.

I am working with a Bully character in the film.....and will be creating some very Original movements to illustrate his actions and shots.

This will be the very Heaviest responsibility to the film I have felt.

My first 2 sequences are very cool and action packed....but this latest sequence is a Crowd favorite....and I am still in disbelief that I was assigned to it.

When we have had LAIKA screenings of the film people always laugh and REALLY enjoy the comedy in this bit......so I am starting to study certain movements

....and really How I am going to translate it to the characters personality.

HOMEWORK- I am cracking out the pencil -MAYA-Youtube- and My own Body in order to be as prepared as possible for the animations ahead.

I Get an awesome new set to work with....and have been watching it in the halls come together....with excitement....Under construction.

One of my other cool bit of news and secret desires on the film was to do a shot with The Hero on his bike......I am happy that my sequence has 2 cool shots with just that. Wooo Hooo!!!

Something about kids on Bikes is very cool to me......It reminds me of many of my own adventures as a kid running free through all the neighborhoods with my trusty Bike.

Goonie's adventures galore.

School Time-

I took note of some things I have been learning recently.....as my work gets cleaner and cleaner.....I am realizing that I am starting to get a softer hand in my work.

I notice that alot of the other animators keep their armatures very Loose. I have always preferred mine TIGHT....Especially in the legs and ankles. I want the puppet to stay where I put them.....

I am realizing that when they do have the looser armatures they are able to do Incredibly subtle movements....but when I have them loose I tend to Bump them out of place or am unable to GRAB the puppets like I have always done .

These guys animate with such a soft hand it seems like they are just Guiding the puppets into poses instead of PUTing them there...I am trying to incorporate more of this into my work.

It kind of like when I first was animating the puppets with clothing. Your clothes will chatter all over the place......so you have to be very smart about your contact points and How much deforming you do within a pose.

I can say one thing about My HARD handed style of animating

.......I get BIG shape changes In my puppets and what some of the guys call...BREAKING the puppet. I get them to really use all of the body like in real life...It has worked great for me so far in my action shots....and I hope to work in both ways as I get more experience down the line.

Over and Out!!

Jriggity