Assignments 12/14/17

Hello Students,

I am out today for a professional development session with other FADA teachers. Please see instructions below for your assignments.

Animation 1 - Periods 1, 2, 4, and 6:

Complete your the frog exercise today. Please have another student watch your work at the beginning of class and listen to their feedback. If you have time ask a second person look at it. The most common problem that occurs is that there is no slow in and slow out as the frog reaches the apex. It should be the same as a bouncing ball.

I'd like you to also think about the timing in your project. Make sure the speed of the frog feels natural. This means you should also pay attention to pauses in the action. There should be a pause at the end of the anticipation movement, before the jump starts.

Animation 2 - Period 3:

Please continue to work on character model sheets and revising storyboards. I want to start working on animatics next week! Use your time wisely.

FADA T-Shirts!!!

If you are in the animation pathway you can receive a free T-shirt. Click on the link below to select your size and complete the order:

T-shirt order

Assignments 11-2-17

I will be out sick again on Thursday. Please read the entire post before you begin working today:

Animation 1 students:

Today is the last day to work on the poster that you have designed in Photoshop. Remember I'm looking for clean cutouts and clear text. Have someone look at your poster and give some feedback. Think about how you transition between different elements in the image. Make sure the font theme matches the imagery.

If you are just starting your poster today you want to make sure you pick a very simple design like the "Join Animation" poster from the beginning of Unit 2. If you keep the concept simple you can finish in one class period. Your poster can be a fan made movie poster, an ad for a product, a poster for a band or event or a desktop background. 

Everyone needs to turn their poster into the drop box at the end of the class period.

Animation 2 students:

Please start working on a short action animation of your own design. I would like you to work in Flash using a stick figure character. The character can jump, swing, run, lift or pull something. Take a look at these examples below. You can skip to the end to see the finished animation. Don't watch the tutorial from the beginning. The action should only take a few seconds (3-8 seconds total.)

Julien, Anton, Audrey and Oliver: Your Pixar mentor will be coming to Tech on Monday morning for your first class. Be in the classroom no later than 8:45 am. I will notify your teachers that you are with me during first period.

Assignments 11-1-17

I will not be in class on Wednesday. Please complete assignments below. If you are already done, please work on homework from another class.

Animation 1:

If the career expo poster is done, please work on your original poster design. The subject of the poster can be whatever you like as long as its appropriate for school.

Animation 2:

 

Assignments 10/30/17

I will not be in class on Monday. Please see video links below:

Animation 1:

Animation 2:

Sketchbook Pro - Units 03 and 04

Natural Perspective Worksheet

Emotions Worksheet 01

Emotions Worksheet 02

Sketchbook Pro - Unit 02 Assignments

These exercises can be done in Sketchbook Pro or on paper if you are working at home without a computer. If working on paper you will need a ruler and pencil.

Sketchbook Pro - Unit 01 Assignments

These are the exercises from Unit 1 in Sketchbook Pro. You should spend about 40 minutes on each exercise. This is just practice. The shapes do not need to be perfect!

Assignment 4/19/17

I will be out today for a site visit to Berkeley High. Please work to the best of your ability. If you have questions ask someone sitting nearby if they can help you.

Animation 1:

There are newer versions of these exercises on the shared folder on your computer.  Check that folder for the 2015 videos.

Rotate Tool.

Scale Tool.

Creating objects.

Assignment 3/6 and 3/7/17

Hello students. I am in Sacramento at the California Partnership Academy conference. I will be gone on Monday and Tuesday. Please follow the instructions that correspond with your class.

ANIMATION 1:

Please work on your Frog vs. Fly project. See the post with all the details here.

ANIMATION 2:

Please work on the Jump Kick in 3D or the Exaggeration assignment in 2D.

ANIMATION 3:

You can continue to revise the outline or:

Here is a list of things that need to be designed for the lego movie:

1. Loki

2. Lego Bricks

3. Paddle with ball

4. Rubics cube

5. Thanos' chair

6. TV and remote

7. Design background

Here are some reference images for legos. Model a 1x1 let plate and then you can duplicate and modify to create other types of bricks.

Assignment 2/27/17

I am in the quick lunch room today conducting academy interviews. I will be back in class tomorrow. Please refer to the section that corresponds to your class.

For students that need additional time to complete assignments I will be available after school today.

Animation 1:

Please complete the animatic exercise that we started on Friday. If you are already done, please see the posting about the Frog vs. Fly Project.

Animation 2:

Please continue working on the jump kick.

Animation 3:

Please revise your outlines as we discussed on Friday. Henok and Max: you guys revise Sam's outline. We'll all look at the revisions on Tuesday.

Frog vs. Fly Project

In this project you will create a simple story about a frog and a fly. Watch the video below to get a sense of the production style:

The goal is to make a micro length film using simple drawings. No need for a detailed background. The fly is just a dot on the screen. The drawing of the frog uses a minimal amount of lines, just enough detail to recognize what it is.

There is only one rule when developing the story for this project: you have to think of a twist in the plot. If the frog simply eats the fly, it would be boring. That's what the audience is expecting. If the fly buzzes from one side of the screen to the other while the frog does nothing that would also be boring. There needs to be a conflict and there needs to be a surprise.

You have all the training you need to animate the frog. Pay close attention to anticipation and follow through in the performance. To learn a very easy and fast way to animate the fly refer to this video tutorial:

Your project settings: 

24 fps

1920x1080

Length: 5-10 seconds (approximately)

Here is a student example from a few years ago:

Good luck on your first film!

Assignment 2/21/17

Hello students,

I've come down with a cold and will not be at school today. Please follow the instructions below:

ANIMATION 1

I would like you to revise one of your comics from earlier in the year or create a new concept for an animated gif. In the next couple of weeks we will be starting the final project. The more ideas you have the better. If you've done the homonym, imitation, and no dialog comic consider doing something action oriented. Here is an example:

Look at the bottom left corner of the above image. I have a simple drawing of a guy skateboarding. If you were to turn it into an animated gif it might look something like this (below image). You might think that this project is too short but it would take a student about 20 hours to make this. You'll have a month to do the project which translates to about 20 hours.

So draw something that you could imagine being animated. Try out different ideas. The drawings do not need to be polished. A simple sketch is fine. Just make sure the idea is clear.

ANIMATION 2

Please work on the throw or jump kick assignments.

ANIMATION 3

I've read all the story outlines that everyone wrote on Friday. Very nice work! You guys are really getting the hang of the writing process. We'll talk more about the outlines when I get back. For now I'd like you to design another lego character. Almost all the stories submitted had a second character other than Thanos. Go ahead and create a concept for a minion, Ronin, or Loki or whomever is in your story. Use the template below. Don't forget to set the outline layer to MULTIPLY.

Assignment 2/15/17

I will be attending the academy fair today. Please work on the assignment to the best of your ability. If you have questions try and get help from a classmate.

ANIMATION 1:

ANIMATION 2:

ANIMATION 3:

I'd like animation 3 students to continue working on the Thanos story from Tuesday. The group turned in an outline with 9 beats. Let's see if you can get up to 18 beats in the story. If you run out of ideas start working on a new story outline. Remember you need a beginning, middle, and end.

Assignment 2/9/17

I will be working on FADA academy planning and presentations today. I will be on campus but won't be in class. Please do the assignment to the best of your ability. If you need help please ask one of your peers.

Animation 1 students:

Today you will work on the exaggeration tutorial. The only thing that you may have trouble with is the flame at the end of the fuse. If you can't get it to loop don't worry. Just finish the assignment anyway.

Animation 2 students:

Please continue working on either the walk on the stairs or the run and jump assignment.

Animation 3 students:

In Sketchbook Pro or Photoshop I want you to create a design for Lego Thanos or Lego Mario and Luigi. Please don't copy other people's lego designs. Create your own using the original material as reference. So that means you will look at images of Thanos from the movie or comic book and then create a design within the framework of a lego character. Same with Mario. Look at pictures of Mario from the games. Don't look at other Mario lego designs that have already been created. I am providing a template for the basic lego character. Here is an example where I took the character of Kevin Arnold from Wonder Years and created a lego character:

Fall Semester Final Exam

Fall Semester Final Exam Study Guide:

1. Define Animation and live action. Define frames per second.

2. Define major categories in animation and give examples of films. Traditional cel animation, stop motion (cutout, clay, puppet, pixilation), 2d and 3d computer animation.

3. Match technological advances in animation with the correct year - from the invention of the cel to the present. 

4. Define the four major story elements of a short animated film discussed in class. Conflict, orchestration of characters, premise, and twist.

5. Draw boxes in 1 point and 2 point perspective. Label horizon line and vanishing point(s). Outline boxes in thicker pencil lines.

6. Create a postcard in Photoshop. I will give specific dimensions. The project has to have the correct print resolution. I will give you the theme and you will search for the images on google. Images need to be the correct size. If images are pixelated or blown up I will take points off. If you need to review this subject, please refer the to the tutorial that was given in class. It is also available on the youtube channel.


Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/user/misterh3d