Cel Action training course...

CelAction training course starts at UCLAN in January. There are lots of UK productions starting using this software so if you want to update your skills ready for 2014 please contact Sarah Ann Kennedy: SAKennedy@uclan.ac.uk. Course is supported by skillset and CelAction.

Mandy.com for job postings...

Mandy.com has paid and low to deferred paid job postings for short and long-term contracts across the UK and the world.

The deferred jobs can be a great way to gain experience fast from a runner, animator to storyboard artist.

Mandy.com

Freelance contract sample

A reference for all freelance artists. This contract can be amended to suit you and your clients needs prior to starting a project.

Contrarctor to Client Contract

MOSI Museum Manchester: Creating the Illusion - Animation in the North West

Running until the 3rd November 2013 at MOSI, Manchester - Creating the Illusion: Animation in the North West. The exhibit chronicles the history of animation in the North West throughout the years, with pieces from Cosgrove Hall, Mackinnon Saunders and Chapman Enterprises. It is free entrance and a great insight into the studios past and present in the area.

MOSI Museum
Liverpool Road
Manchester M3 4FP

Hours: 10am - 5pm

Tel: 0161 832 2244

Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog...

Karen J Lloyd is Canadian Storyboard artist having worked in the industry for years as well as the Storyboard Instructor at the Vancouver Film School. Her online blog is a great resource for hints and tips on the boarding process as well as interviews with some the big names in the industry. You can download Storyboard templates, software resources and Karen gives career advice and also portfolio/board critiques if you submit your work. Well worth a look for all Storyboarders! Get Scribblin'!

Karen J Lloyd Storyboard Blog

Storyboarding the Simpsons Way

Great resource for Storyboard techniques created by Brad Bird (The Simpsons, The Incredibles): Storyboarding The Simpsons Way

A must for all boarders!

Storyboarding and Caricature resources!

Since our second years are about to begin their Desert Island Discs projects, it seemed like a good time to post up some resources!

Here is our very own Storyboard template, in all its glory. The overall shape is consistent with the HD 1920x1080 industry standard resolution, and the white sections bordered with grey indicate the 'safe' area. Make sure that you keep all text and other important elements within this space!

Now, onto the fun stuff!

Have a look at Rodney Pike for some really superb caricatures!

rwpike.blogspot.co.uk

Artist Interview: Michael Doig

Artist Interview : Michael Doig

___________________________________________________________________

Concept Artist and Illustrator

What first drew you to a future in the arts? 

Truthfully, I had not considered developing a career as an artist until late into high school. I wanted to make games, and set myself down an academic path of math, physics and computing believing this would be my route into becoming a proficient games developer. A consequence of picking these at advanced higher left me with a great deal of free time during my 6th year timetable, and I spent those free periods in the schools’ art department. I learned of a games development competition known as Dare to be Digital which involved creating a game prototype hosted at the Universtyof Abertay, Dundee where they taught a BSc (Hons) in Games Technology so applied for an open day to visit the campus. During this visit I stumbled into the room set up to show past work by Computer Arts students and found it way more exciting. In the end I applied for both courses, and subsequently chose my path in Computer Arts.


What is the single most useful practice that you think aspiring artists should focus on to improve their skills?

Enjoy drawing every day. Develop your sense of adventure, and your willingness to explore new things. Be this in life or in art. Challenge yourself to try things you hadn’t considered, and keep pushing when you hit a difficult task. If everything you are attempting feels easy then you have hit a plateau and you are not challenging yourself enough. Work Hard. Spend some time every day to draw. Think of all the things you can’t do art wise, and do them. Put your work out there, I recently attended a workshop in London where portfolio reviews from professionals were sought and encouraged. There is a humbling awe attained by handing over your folio to a number of great artists, each step and review you’re carrying with you the knowledge of all the flaws, and weaknesses they’ve revealed to you, and forcing yourself to hand it over again like a broken thing. Listen to the advice from people you trust, and question the source.

What is the difference between working 'regular' hours in house and working freelance?

During office hours you’re expected to work for extended periods of time on single or multiple tasks but the time is compacted into a working day. Freelance offers the flexibility to allow you to spread this time in a way which is more beneficial to your personal needs. Quantity of hours can vary in both circumstances. A great part of the decision to be a freelancer for me was the freedom that came with this of not being tied to a geographical location where the office becomes an anchor point for the work you do. Owning my own laptop allows me to work from anywhere I can carry a satchel to... that has an available power supply. I can work from home, or I can travel to work remotely for anyone, anywhere.


What should students leaving college expect from the arts industry? 

It is important to first recognise that there is no singular arts industry, and each industry involving art has its own practices, principles and people. The cultures vary, the work varies and the expectations fluctuate. Everything is in constant motion as new technologies influence present and future projects and you must be able to adapt to these changes with as much ease as possible. The difference between the approach to work in film, games and animation is staggering, but there are core fundamental skills/knowledge which transcends all of them, and they will best aid you in your versatility. Life drawing, drawing from observation and the use of light, colour, value, form, perspective, anatomy, edges, and visual design .I highly recommend browsing Gurney journey, a blog by Dinotopian artist James Gurney, as it is a treasure trove of art fundamentals and art history. Expect to show your work constantly, make it presentable as soon as possible and be able to communicate the creative choices you’ve made.


Have you ever had to work for any difficult clients?

Yes. Often this involved me working voluntarily and there’s a certain wariness involved in committing your time to a project where your value is not immediately clear or evident to the client. A clients’ background or skillset will influence how they will interact with you, so learning who and what they are is as important as learning what it is they are looking for, as with experience you can learn to deliver what your client needs, over what they think they need. Trust in your own experience, you have been hired for your knowledge, and often a clients’ opinion will override their sense. You need to manage their expectations against your own creativity and negotiate this with them. I once had to paint textures for an environment before the environment itself had been modelled, and had barely been visualised. It felt a lot like shooting in the dark, but I learned a great deal about hand painting textures, and communicating with a client.


If there was one piece of advice that you could go back and give yourself at the start of your career, what would it be? 

Don’t be afraid to finish a piece, and walk away. Often I would abandon works in progress for fear that if I kept rendering, I would lose the initial flurry of energy in the first strokes. Strike the balance for visual clarity, and learn to finish. One of the upsides of working digitally is that a piece can survive in its many incarnations along the path of its creation, with multiple layers and files which allows more freedom. I’d also recommend experimenting more with traditional media and colour earlier, and this is something I aim to learn this year is painting with acrylic and oils. I’d like to be more bold and take the risks that come with the removal of the undo key.

Is there a tip you’ve discovered that has made a difference to your work or workflow? Eg, a particular PS brush, plug in, or even just a way of using your pencil differently to attain a particular effect? 

Lots, I find watching livestreams online by my peers an amazing insight into techniques or approaches I had never considered. Find the tools which resonate with you, the answer to this question is your own unique artistic journey. I can share with you my own tools, but you are the key ingredient required to learn to use them. I can tell you what to look for though. Look for tools which increase your efficiency, which allow you to bridge the gap between your vision and the paint itself, so you can think less about the tools and more about their application. I work primarily in photoshop, and an example I learned abou Tool Presets from a livestream hosted by Anthony Jones. This dropdown list contains a list of my favourite go to brushes and the window is ever present beside my canvas. These are collection of brush templates + the additional brush settings applied to them, this way you can mix and match on the go.


What is art to you? 

Art is an ability to tell stories visually. Art serves purpose, whether that is to entertain, to educate or some semblance of both. Art is a way of processing the world, and delivering back your taste of it. Art is a way of life.


What is the most useful piece of equipment/software that you own?

My sense of adventure and my laptop/Wacom, they are a symbiotic pair, as one would not be useful without the other. I like to keep my equipment portable, so I can eagerly explore and travel with my art.


What is the worst piece of advice that you have ever been given?

‘You’re only here for the money, if you weren’t being paid, you’d be at home drawing what you’d want to be drawing.’ Money isn’t the motivator, it’s the catalyst, an enabler for you to do what it is you truly want to do. Why would I remember the bad advice? I don’t have enough room in my mind to store useless information, and why would that be of any use to you? ;3 If you’re looking for horror stories I’m sure I could dig up some.


Which of your pieces is your favourite and why?

I honestly don’t know. I know which pieces have resonated with others and could therefore be seen as successful, but I like pieces where I feel a sense of accomplishment. I painted an anthropomorphic raven playing a bone flute, and it’s an example of pushing one of my paintings to a more finished state. I recently learned this one piece tipped my life onto its current path, gaining me new work so I figure this one is pretty favored.

Which other artist inspires you the most? 

I couldn’t possibly pin this down to one artist - if I had to I would say one then this year I’ve taken a ton of inspiration from concept artist, Anthony Jones. His kickstarter for his art book Heaven’s Hell has been fantastic and I am eager to get my hands on a copy. His kickstarter livestream launched a lot of communities on facebook which I’m glad to have been a part of.


Do you listen to media while you work? If so, what kind? 

A great deal of the time I will listen to music which evokes in me the kind of feeling or passion that I want to instil in my work. This is often soundtracks from films/games/television. It is best to set up these playlists in advance otherwise when I song ends into silence, it may pull you from your creative state in order to find the next track and this is a distraction best avoided. I also listen to livestreams that have been recorded or broadcast live from varying peers as I find it incredibly useful to learn about the artist behind the work, and experience what makes them tick. In addition to this google hangouts have become a great way of interacting with multiple artists as they are working, I’m especially fond of the Crimson Daggers hangout.

(http://crimsondaggers.com/)

How often do you use reference material in your work?

Not as often as I should and you can see this immediately in my imagined heads/faces or stiffer looking poses. I’m working to incorporate more reference and studies into my daily routines. I try to break down the use of referenced studies as a problem solving exercise, where I am capturing the nature of the subject in the least amount of strokes. This analysis and breaking down what I am seeing into simpler forms allows me to better understand what I am looking at. Don’t rush though, the aim is not to work fast, but efficiently.

Can you Draw the Dinosaur? 

____________________________________________________________________

You can find more of Michael Doig's art at:

michaeldoigart.blogspot.co.uk

facebook.com/michaeldoigartist

twitter.com/michaeldoigart

Post Exhibition Document Drop!

After a fantastic night on Friday the 17th, where our second and third years displayed their body of work at the Williamson Gallery and Museum (where many great pieces of work were mused over by the public and much wine was drunk by all), this term is beginning to wind down.

However, for all you students who just can't resist the heady allure of more work, here are some of the tip sheets and documents from the past few months for you to look over.

_______________________________________________________



 

Shopping lists - suggested items for you to purchase in preperation for your final year of study.

 

A few simple tricks to stay economic with your animation and to get more flexibility into your work.

And here are some suggestions for some simple animations that you can add to motion comics, and a continued reiteration in of the 'whip' cycle.

Have a 'productive' break!
--India



Focusing on the Future

So, as this term draws to a close, and our second years prepare

for a little well deserved rest and relaxation, lets take a few minutes to focus on what it is that we want for our future.

A career in art is a wonderful thing. If you are passionate about your discipline, it's only natural to want a career in it. Spend the rest of my life being paid to do what I love? Don't mind if I do.

However, the term 'art' is incredibly broad, and it's worth considering what you want to do specifically before barelling ahead with only a general idea.

So, while you sip iced tea and relax in our famous English tropical climate, consider what you want to be your focus.

Do you want to do band poster art to be pasted on a wall, or paint canvasses to be hung in a gallery?

Would you rather Animate 2D jet booster effects for Anime, or in-game walk cycles for realistic next gen RPGs?

These decisions will affect not only what you choose as a learning objective for your third year with us, but also what software you should learn and use, which artists are best to take inspiration from, and most importantly, how you go about making these aspirations a reality once you leave College and begin applying for your first job.

With this in mind, take a look over these sheets, which aim to give you a few questions to bear in mind and try and help you think more deeply about exactly what part of animation or illustration YOU find the most inspirational.

When you return to meet with Nick and I after half term, please have a rough idea of what you'd like to pursue going forward so we can tailor the course to be the most relevant for you.

--India

Music in your Animations

Here are some links to sites that legitematly offer music for free use in non-commercial projects or with low fees for non-commercial use:

http://creativecommons.org/legalmusicforvideos

http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/

http://www.audionetwork.com/

http://www.unippm.co.uk/

http://www.productionmusiconline.com/

http://www.pond5.com/

http://www.premiumbeat.com/

Animation Video Reference

Video reference is an essential part of any modern animators toolkit. Often students seem to be under the incorrect impression that it is somehow 'cheating' or being 'lazy' to reference video while they are animating... Not at all!

Using reference simply helps you get the basic beats figgured out faster and let you get to the real meat of animating, which are all of the judgements you make to go beyond that reference and the reality of a movement.

It's also great for those times where you have to animate a behaviour or action you have not encountered before, how do you expect to be able to create somthing you dont even have a memory reference to call upon... answer: you go find some footage, or better yet, grab a camera and film your own - that way you get to feel the movement and personality too!

Here are two great video reference resource sites, courtesy of an ex-student. Thanks Matthew!

https://vimeo.com/groups/aniref

http://www.referencereference.com/

Animex animation & games festival

A quick note to remind everyone that the Animex festival is coming up in February (18th - 22nd). If you can make your way up to Teesside Uni, it's very much worth the visit. Tickets are on sale now.

http://animex.tees.ac.uk

Speakers List

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David Au
Storyboard Artist/Assistant Director, Rough Draft Studios

Speaking at Animex Talk

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Eric Baldwin
Lead animator, Naughty Dog

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Murray Barber
VFX Supervisor, The Mill (London)

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Will Becher
Character Lead Animator, Aardman

Speaking at Animex Talk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Doug Braithwaite
Artist

Speaking at Animex Comics

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jennifer Clixby
Producer, Lionhead Studios

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ferran Domenech
Animation supervisor, MPC

Speaking at Animex Talk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rob Dressel
Layout Supervisor, Walt Disney Animation Studios

Speaking at Animex Talk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Richard Franke
Creative Director, Open World Designer

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rex Hancox
Director/Progammer, Jet Stone Studios

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ed Hooks
Acting Instructor and Author

Speaking at Animex Talk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wyeth Johnson
Art Director, Epic

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gabrielle Kent
Festival Director

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Janus Kirkegaard
Senior Environment Artist,, IO Interactive

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alastair McIlwain
Managing Director/Animator, Straandlooper

Speaking at Animex Talk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ben Morris
Director/Progammer, Jet Stone Studios

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ethan Nicolle
Artist

Speaking at Animex Comics

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matthew Oakley
Artist, Ubisoft Reflections

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rhianna Pratchett
Writer

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bay Raitt
Artist and Designer, Valve

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hans Rijpkema
Rhythm & Hues Studios

Speaking at Animex Talk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cris Robson
3D Artist, Founder www.3d-palace.com

Speaking at Animex Workshop

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ella Romanos
CEO, Remode

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Satish Shewhorak
Co-host, Animex Game

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shaun Spalding
Ubisoft Refelctions

Speaking at Animex Workshops

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stuart Sumida
Professor of Biology, California State University San Bernardino

Speaking at Animex Talk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bryan Talbot

Speaking at Animex Comics

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mary Talbot

Speaking at Animex Comics

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alex Trowers
Designer, Boss Alien

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Andrew Walker

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul Wells
Director of the Animation Academy, Loughborough University

Speaking at Animex Talk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mike West
Lead Designer

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Andrew Whitehurst
VFX supervisor, Double Negative

Speaking at Animex Talk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Andrew Willans
Ubisoft Reflections

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chris Williams
Host, Animex Talk

Speaking at Animex Talk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Austin Wintory
Composer, Musician

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marv Wolfman
Writer

Speaking at Animex Comics

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ken Wong
Freelance artist and designer

Speaking at Animex Game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chris Wyatt
Animex Screen

Speaking at Animex Screen

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Jim Zubkavich
Writer, Project Manager, Udon Entertainment

Speaking at Animex Comics

Short Bites - Stuff vs Stuff

This series is from a coupple of years ago now, but they still make you chuckle.

A little violent stop-motion fun for the whole family...

Great Scott! That's an advert?!

Those who don't press skip too quickly on the pre-roll adverts on YouTube videos this January might come accross this little gem.

A Coca-Cola ad. directed by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Alien, Prometheus etc.) and lasting a cool 7 minutes. Take a look and lap up the stunning work which has gone into this production.