ON THE SET: Bold Moves...

WOW... talk about BOLD MOVES... I had my butt in India for almost 2 years Supervising Animation on Penguins of Madagascar.  It was a tough road because my family wasn't there with me. Yes they came to visit but for the most part I was alone.  There was one good thing that came out of it and it was the extra time I had a lone made me work hard on some personal things!!! its hopefully a COOL "THING"

I hope to share this special "THING" with you in the near future but for now I have to work on it in my tiny itsy bitsy hours I get after coming home from work or the weekends.  And even that is hard because I still do work at home for Dreamworks.

I am back working with some of my favorite people in Animation: James Baxter, Kirk DeMicco, and Chris Sanders!  What else could I ask for as a fan and devoted craftsman of animation.  I will try to keep this blog updated more now that I am back in the states and will have some COOL things to share very soon.

OH!  This is a video done for Black Tree TV and Toyota to help promote Black Artists in Hollywood making bold moves.

Thanks for the fun interview Black Tree! Please stay hungry if you are wanting to do this for a living and you can always reach out if you want to talk here:

http://www.jamaalbradley.com/about/

...Acting Out My Life...

...ACTING OUT MY LIFE…

Since I have been in India I stay in touch with our country through various forms of media.  The more I watch what is going on in the US, I ask myself why I love it so much.  The race issue is never ending in America and it just becomes more frustrating over time.  The opportunities that my ancestors fought for and the life that I am able to have and give back to my child means everything to me.  So when I think about race, my mind immediately goes to her.  My daughter will face many issues growing up as a bi-racial child, but I plan to give her the tools to be prepared and overcome the obstacles that she will face.  

 What is the image about?  Hmmm…  With the discussion of race being so prominent in America at the moment, I feel its only right to show that a black man has performed as all of these faces of various races (rhymes pretty good!).  I think it says something that we are the same when we get to the core of our being.  My background is different than probably 95 percent of the actors that I have created performances for, but somehow these projects have connected to people around the world.  I am “Acting Out My Life”…  meaning my life is partly built around the performances I create.  It provides a home for my family, food on the table, and piece of mind for my life in general… 

…yes I am acting out my life. but we are all acting in some way or another.  We are all connected so we need to start ACTING LIKE IT...

MR HUBLOT... WINS THE OSCAR...

LOOOONG Ago I posted on my blog about this short... amazing... won the Oscar.

You never touch the art in the hunt for an award... you touch it because you love the craft and what you do.  The Zeilt team put every ounce of love they have for the art form into this short.  CONGRATS!

I was getting coffee when the Oscars were on.... I turned to see Laurent going up to accept the Oscar. Laurent Witz and I met because I was a fan of Stephane Halleux's artwork.  I was still at Valve at that time.  A few months later it was announced that there was going to be a short in production based on Stephane's work.  Anyway... after many emails I used my weekends helped out on the short after finishing up on Croods.  YES.. I ANIMATED FOR FREE!!!!  For me it was more about the appreciation I had for Stephane's work and knowing that Laurent had the same feel for it.

Congrats to  Zeilt Productions and All the guys who worked on it.

"The Croods": Animation Reel 2013

Its been a while since I have posted animation on my site, but here is the last bit of work that hit the big screen.  I am still trying to push myself as an animator and the Penguins of Madagascar have proven to be a big challenge.  Anyway... as I am sure I have said before, Croods was a lot of fun to work on and I am grateful to have the chance to work with some well known artists and animators.  Its always the journey that is the most memorable thing about doing this work... so hopefully I am adding to some more good memories with my current team members...  

-keep grinding

"...Slappy..." brainstorming

In India where Penguins now Exist…

It feels like I have been here forever, but it has only been a few months.  I must say that the Penguins are so simple in what they do, but are probably some of the most difficult characters I have had to animate in my career.

-keep grinding

...still drawing...

Its been a while since I posted drawings but I have a bunch of things that I have been testing out.  Luckily I brought my art supplies with me here in India (not everything though).  I plugged my electric pencil sharpener into the wall and the voltage just blew the motor up.  Yeah yeah.. I know, but I thought I could get away with just a real quick zip on the pencil.  Most of the time I spend creatively outside of work has been writing, but I make sure to always give my fingers a workout.  Anyway.. here are a few things that I have been playing with.

...looking good Mr. Hublot...

I looooooong while back I posted a link to the teaser of Mr Hublot that is being created by the talented people at Zeilt Productions.  This is one of the latest renders from the short that will be coming out soon.  I was fortunate enough to work on the film and I think its going to be something really cool.  I am a big fan and follower of the sculptor Stephane Halleux's (check him out if your not familiar) work who the character and world are based from.  This was kinda how I found that the short was being created...  If this image is a taste of how the film is going to look, it should be some nice eye candy.

-jb

Brothers In Animation: Brainstorming Lunch

  

This is only a few of the Brothers working in animation today, but the numbers are slowly growing.  Its not enough in my opinion so we are disucssing ways to bring more the information about "Careers in Animation" to more Black Youth... Stay Tuned

"Lets Talk About Games".... quick interview

Whats Next?... "Penguins of Madagascar: Movie"

 

So.. Croods has finished up and I have been moving forward on the next project which is the "Penguins of Madagascar" Movie.  Its crazy how popular the characters have become so it seemed like an easy decision for Dreamworks to make a film starring the whacky 'foursome'.

The thing that I am finding out is that the Penguins are fun and challenging at same time.  They move in a  cartoony manner but much of the movement is wildly creative and unexpected.  Their body and facial changes make them pretty interesting to watch in the Madagascar world.  I am sure this is one of the biggest contributing factors to there overall appeal.

Not only will the animation prove to be a challenge, but also trying retain the essence of characters that are well known and loved by millions.  The fans understand who the characters are and have a connection to them in a much different way than the animators.  As animators we will have to bring the audience the Penguins they know as well as reveal new things about them. The end result should be a greater appreciation and an overall enjoyable experience.

I have heard so many people bash our studio for making sequels or spin offs, but in the grand scheme the general public loves the characters we create.  I remember when I was a kid.... I was devastated when Optimus Prime died in Transformers the movie.  My point is that I wanted more and more spin offs because I loved the characters beyond what adults may understand. I guess its hard for some of us to remember that as we get older.  The memories of childhood leave many of us, but some try to retain it as much as we can.

"If you make memorable characters, they will live forever"

Animation Ends on "The Croods" and it was a good time!

 

Me, James Baxter, & Sean Sexton

Well... thats another film in the bag and I have to say that Croods and Surfs Up were my favorite films to work on so far.  I am completely grateful that I got to work with James Baxter and Chris Sanders.  Its still pretty crazy to me.  As you are learning animation, you find those few guys that help push yourself, inspire, and help define where you want to take your animation. James is definitely one of those guys for me.

I will cherish my experience and hopefully we will work together again on another project

On to the Next One....

I NEED YOUR VOTE "...from Planning to Polish..." on Steam!!!

Hey guys,

My friends at Valve have set up a new way for content to be placed on the web.  Steam Greenlight is the exciting new platform that allows independent developers get voted into the Steam service.  I love this idea I am looking for your support.  You need a Steam account to vote so if you dont have one.... its a great time to get it regardless because Valve has placed some great games and other downloadable content at your finger tips. (read more below)

If you click the image, it will take you directly to my Steam Greenlight page.  I want to thank you in advance and I looking forward to adding more content to Steam if this goes well

all the best & keep grinding'

Jamaal B

Horse Blocking Anim: Older Test

 

 

Once I found out there was a horse in Tangled I began studying them after I got the offer to work on the project. A lot of videos, books, drawings, and anatomy and movement studies to prepare. I tried to get the four forward motions in to the test (Walk,Cantor, Gallop, & Run), but I think I only got 3. Anyway...after all the study I did one shot with Maximus where he pretty much does nothing...hahaha. I am sure I will have to animate a horse at some point in my career.

Quincy Harker: Art for Marvel Universe Reduxe Edition

 

- This is an illustration I did for The Marvel Universe Reduxe Edition. You can see the site here: http://ohotmuredux.blogspot.com/2012/10/quincy-harker-by-jamaal-bradley.html Had fun! Thanks Jon...

...Puss in Boots... (Animation Test)

This is my first dive into Dreamworks' animation software; EMO. I did this test between taking classes about the various things we do at DW to make our work get into the films. The actual shot in the film was NOT done by me... this was just the piece of dialogue I selected to try things out

-JB

I did this interview for iAnimate with Larry Vasquez after I finished up on Tangled. The interview went more into how lifes experiences affected my movement through the world of animation. A lot of 'real talk' and no fluff...

-thanks Larry

...What is... #AnimationChat...?

- I get a lot of emails from people asking me questions, advice, opinions, & things to pic my brain.  I remember when I was trying to break into the business and days I tried to get into contact with professional animators.  This was a hard thing and I found out that a lot of the people were basically..... how should I say..... a.holes.

- I told myself that if I ever made it that I would be open to guys trying to make their way (one of the reasons I wanted to teach).  It doesn't take that much to extend yourself a tiny bit because everyone has a dream and they are trying to reach it.  Animators are not famous people, so why not try to help if you can.  Granted that there are some emails that come across the wrong way.  "hey..can you look at my Demo Reel!"  No lead up, No hello...just beginning with a question.  I don't ignore these emails, instead I try to help them send the right emails so they can get the response they want.  If you never learned any kind of business etiquette, then how would you know the right and wrong things to do.  This applies to sending anyone a letter, email, or thank you to someone who works in ANY professional environment.

- With that being said, one of the things I try to tell young guys is that you should build a relationship with the person before bombarding them with questions and advice.  This is one of the reasons I wanted to try and do these AnimationChat's.  It is a nice open way to talk and be yourself with a group of peers who are all interested in the same thing.

- #AnimationChat is a place to talk shop and make some new friends!  Look for the updates on Twitter (twitter is basically the fastest and easiest way to get the word out there)

Hope to see you there

Jamaal B

...Marvel Universe Reduxe WIP...

 This is a character from the Marvel Universe: Book of the Dead...  Quincy Harker.  I did a recreation of this character for the website Marvel Universe: Reduxe.

 The site is run by Jon Morris and  I think it is a pretty cool idea and I had to ask him to let me participate.  There werent that many characters to choose from but I thought Mr Harker had a pretty interesting back story...weird but interesting.

 You can see how I work sometimes on a character.  I usually get busy with red or blue pretty rough, but I try to get most of the proportions correct.  I rough in details and then look at images to see how the look in real life (such as the wheel chair and shotgun).  From that point  go in and lay in the pencil... and more pencil.

"...it's over there..."

...I started on this between animating... again releasing the excess out of my mind.  draw..draw...draw...