Thursday, March 31, 2011

Ink Drawings

Lately I've been busier than I'd like to be but I've managed to find a bit of time to keep working with my pen & ink.  I haven't been in a great mood either & that generally comes through in my drawings... maybe next time they'll be smiley-er.




Monday, March 28, 2011

The Adventures of Prince Achmed


This is considered to be the oldest feature-length animated movie to still be in existence today and it's available RIGHT NOW on Netflix streaming.  I watched it last Friday night and was completely blown away by the craft that went into creating each frame of this film.  Even the story is engaging and each character has a sense of purpose; not just to be seen & never heard from again.  Just because it's from 1926 doesn't mean it lacks sophistication, and while the animation itself may be a bit rough I can't help but wonder how it looked back when it was initially released.  I can't recommend it enough to someone who loves the art of animation.

From Wikipedia: 
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (GermanDie Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed) is a 1926 German animated fairytale film by Lotte Reiniger. It is the oldest surviving animated feature film; two earlier ones were made in Argentina by Quirino Cristiani, but they are considered lost.[1] The Adventures of Prince Achmed features a silhouette animation technique Reiniger had invented which involved manipulated cutouts made from cardboard and thin sheets of lead under a camera. The technique she used for the camera is similar to Wayang shadow puppets, though hers were animated frame by frame, not manipulated in live action. The original prints featured color tinting.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Bounty: The Raw Footage Part 2

Here are more animation clips from the Bounty project.



Fun with magic paper towels.



This was actually my favorite shot from the whole project.  Our assignment for this animation was to have them flying through the air rockin' out and then end with a wave at the camera.  Luke animated the bald dude and I had a little too much fun animating the other scientist doing the robot.  We were a bit ahead of schedule at this point so we had fun the frame with random things that would eventually be cut out.  There was no sound to work off of for this one so you'll have to use your imagination.



I had a lot of fun with this shot as well.  This is basically what happens when you feed an animator enough beer to convince himself that it'd be a good idea to make one of the characters get tired of holding his arm up while freeze-framed.  Needless to say, it was cut from the final project.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Bounty: The Raw Footage Part I

Here is what the animation looked like for the Bounty project before any visual effects were applied to the footage.  Today I'm posting mostly shots involving the scientists driving in their car.  To give you some idea of the rig we built quick for it, here are some pictures:




... and now onto the videos:





This was the first stuff we shot of the scientists in the car.  The funny thing is we both wore white that day and it wasn't until a few seconds into the animation that we realized it was affecting the lighting.

Lesson Learned: Your personal wardrobe can affect post-production in stop motion.




This shot was pretty basic.  Just some singin' and PT pullin'.


This was a fun shot because we got to finally try out the rig we built for the car.  The script called for the car flying through the air & the storyboards I had drawn up called for spinning cameras and such, so we needed something that would be flexible but would also offer precision.  Also, fist bumps.


This shot was fun because not only did we have to animate the characters, we had to have the car tilting lengthwise as well as do a 180-degree spin mid-shot.


I had a lot of fun with this shot. The tiger rig wasn't super flexible to work with but I think I got some good action out of it.

... and if you're wondering, that's an MMA fighter coming out of his mouth.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Bidding Adieu to the Old MarkedAnimation Site

IT'S OFFICIAL.


Within the next 48 hours my original website will be switching over to a brand-new, much more user-friendly design powered by Cargo Collective.  The URL will continue to be www.markedanimation.com, but gone will be the days of my foray into basic (some would say too basic) web design consisting of cut up photoshop documents.  I can't tell you how tedious & difficult it was to keep that thing updated, which is why I eventually migrated over to this blog to keep new work coming.  My new site will be updated much more frequently, with easy navigation, fast-loading Vimeo video & all the other bare necessities.  Check back for an update shortly when it's live!


UPDATE: The new site is live: www.markedanimation.com


I beat her to it, Joe!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Marked Animation 2011 Reel: UPDATE


Check that out!  I have a Vimeo account now.  That's what they refer to as the moxie.  Also -- if you happen to be interested and wish to contact me in regards to a shot breakdown please do not hesitate to do so.


UPDATE:  Shot breakdown is now available in PDF form here (file is approx. 2MB).

Friday, March 11, 2011

Lost & Foundish: "Love You Too" 2009 Compositing Test

If you knew me or followed this blog over the course of 2009, you'd know that I was very heavily involved with a follow-up video to my 2007 "All Over Again" video for the band Locksley.  There were costumes, a big handmade diorama with a marble river, two days of shooting... and so much more that I can't list in detail here.
Despite all the fun & hard work, an ending to the video was never officially decided upon by the band and has been on permanent hiatus since.  I'd like to thank everyone who donated their time (Pastor, Genn, Karen, et al.) and efforts to this project, I know there were a lot of favors done for it & nothing more to show at this time than the clip below.  It's a compositing test I did shortly after we shot the footage.


There were elements that we shot that we were going to add in later: cardboard butterflies, spinning flowers, etc...  if I ever get two weeks off and don't have access to videogames and have no other projects going on, maybe it will see the light of day yet.  Just don't hold your breath.   

Monday, March 7, 2011

Marked Animation: The Spring 2011 Demo Reel... COMING SOON

I enjoy compositing my face onto others' for the sake of a good demo reel.
That's right!  For the first time in two years I've actually managed to update my demo reel and believe you me (mostly me), it's like night and day between the two.  I'm not even going to provide a link to my last reel in this post for you to easily find out of curiosity.  You're going to have to dig for that pile of subpar Markness.  Unfortunately I can't post it publicly just yet as I'm still waiting for a few of the clips to clear, but maybe if you ask me nice and can keep a secret I might consider giving you a peak outside of the blogosphere...

UPDATE:  I'll be posting it to this blog from my brand-new Vimeo account tomorrow.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

"Ci'iy Life" Music Video to be released Fall 2011: UPDATE


If you've been following this blog for some time, you'll know that I worked on & finished a video for one of my favorite hip-hop producers, Oddisee.  I've been super anxious to finally get the chance to show it off, but the other day he informed me via Twitter that he'll be shelving it until this coming fall when the weather starts to get a bit cold again, among other reasons.  I agree, it's definitely a winter video... but I'm sorry I couldn't share it with y'all sooner!  I did manage to submit it to a few film festivals though, so we'll see if that works out.
In the meantime hopefully I'll have something to show for myself in other endeavors!


UPDATE:  Nevermind.  Look for it soon!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Character Designs in Need of a Home

I whipped up these character designs for a paint-on-glass animation for work that never got off the ground. I like them quite a bit though, especially since I managed to combine two cat butts into the top of a head.

click to enlarge
I've been doing more and more illustration work in Flash lately and playing with a few different styles; if I can post more I will soon! 

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

I bought my first pen & inkwell yesterday.

Why it took me this long to drawing in this medium, I have no idea.  I love it.  What was I wasting my time with all of these years?

Bieberesque™ 
I think my linework needs a lot more work.  Going to work on that!  Work.  Also, I've been working on a lot of other things which I'll hopefully be able to post soon.  We'll work it out.  Stay... swooned.