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...

...Goth Girl...

...thinking hard with Color...

...sketching girl designs...

-just playing with some ideas that were running around in my head. Drawing is still a good release for the mind.  If I was a concept artist I am sure animating would be the mental rest from the daily pencil grind.  Let me see if I can throw out some more.

-jb

...Dreamworks India...

-So I recently returned from the Dreamworks side of production in India.  There are some great things coming and I am really excited for the new endeavors on the horizon.  The group of animators there are very hungry and the energy is pretty infectious.  I remember feeling that energy as a lead animator at a small game studio when I first moved to California.  Keeping that energy as an animator has been my goal since starting down this path and I have always wanted to work with people who believed in that same thing.  

-I have seen people explode with talent, some complain a lot, others stagnate, and many have their will broken.  A large part of my happiness comes from 'animation'.  The reason being is that animation has given me a giant opportunity to provide for my family, give me something to be proud of, and break the cycle of living the life of the streets.  Many people around me have heard me say "make your next move your best move".....  We have only so much time on this planet and  I know that I am in a position to leave a mark that will hopefully inspire the next kid to make a fantastic decision.

-Only make moves if your heart's in it, and live the phrase "Skies the Limit"
  'Biggie'

Odd Couple: Dinner Party Part 1

*note:  I use this kind of material for my own growth and use it to help others (if I can). I try to constantly look at good acting, staging, and life around me to be a better animator/performer.

-This clip from the Odd Couple starring Jack Lemmon(Felix) and Walter Matthau(Oscar) is a great example of contrasting characters, clear staging, and great acting off of one another.  I like this first scene because it shows basic principles of characters done in a fun manner.  I think it should be used in a lot of schools for Acting in Animation 101..kind of class. Basics of timing, staging, and posing are all here.  Felix (Jack Lemmon) body shows a still aggravated patience.  It is very easy to go towards a cliché state of what we thing aggravation means in acting when we work out a scene.  Obviously if the show dictates you do that kind of acting where the aggravation and anger is explosive than that’s what must take place in your work.  I like showing these clips in a class because this first part gives you a great sense of how we can keep a character almost still, use minimal gestures, and still convey the right emotion.  Movements like adjusting the ladle over and over again in his hand as he waits for the right to moment speak These things don’t feel planned….it feels right because that is something we all probably can relate to.

-Jack Lemmon shows anger in a subtle way at the beginning of the sequence. The audience can feel the tension because of Felix’s eyes, small mouth movements, and minimal body motion compared to Oscars slightly broader gestures.  There are also physical and visual attributes that help with the overall feeling.  If you notice the opposing postures you will see that Felix slouched down with his head pushing forward in some shots(image A).

 


 It feels like he is trying to push himself down in the chair before he pops out of the chair and explodes. Felix is also clean, shirt tucked, tie done and everything pressed.  If you look at Oscar it’s totally opposite.  He is straight up and down, a complete mess (not really a complete mess but in contrast to Felix..yes), and at ease with himself (image B).

 
 (Of course Jamaal, that’s why the film is called the Odd Couple)

-Another thing about how Felix is staged we get some nice expressions based on the directions he has to look.  Being that he has to sit, his gaze up gives us this great feeling of anger without pushing the eyebrows into what we know as “angry brows” (image C).

 

 His brows are completely straight as he looks up Oscar (Walter Matthau). These are hard but not difficult things to achieve in animation and that is one of the reasons I love the level of detail we can get with CG now.  There is a great turning point in the acting once Felix states that Oscar should have called him.  The abrupt pause by Oscar is a slight comedic beat because we are cued into Felix acting like a wife even more than we were expecting me to be.  We read that Oscar is thrown by this just by him stopping an action (putting a tie on) that we would normally never pause in.  This stop creates a fantastic abstract pose that really draws our attention (image D).

 

-I won’t over analyze the sequence because it is pretty self explanatory.   Subtle contrasting against Broad… we see this all the time in our everyday lives as well.  It makes for interesting characters, but it has to be executed correctly and with a certain appeal that can carry through many shots; long or short form.   

Progression of an Animated Shot: Gothel & Rapunzel Disney's Tangled

Progression of an Animated Shot: Gothel & Rapunzel Disney's Tangled from Jamaal Bradley on Vimeo.

...Black Dynamite...

 

My boy Lesean Thomas has been grinding away on the Black Dynamite TV show that is going to air on Adult Swim this summer.  I just felt like drawing the character.  The show should be pretty hilarious... the pilot was.

This is my version of Black Dynamite

...Release the Excess: 2012...

I decided to change my top image on the site.  Release the Excess is still what this blog is about.  Letting out the garbage in my head. Some of the content is fun, some useful, some weird, and some things are just ridiculous.  I am hoping my daughter can one day look at this site and get an idea of some of the extra things that were going on in my head

Anyway, here is the blue rough I am working on.  I blew up the thumbnail to the size I wanted, then started to got to town.

...just keep going...

While I was teaching and after, my students and a few other people asked the same question a lot.

" ...Does it take a long time to break into the business and what are the steps..."?

-There is no one answer to that question.  Obviously hard work and dedication are going to take you a long way, but there is going to be other factors that come in to play. Timing is a big part of the equation and you have to know what jobs to take and how to utilize every minute while you are there.  I knew I wanted to work in features but I never neglected my duties as an animator at the game studios.  I tried to apply the same level of work to the game studios as I do in feature.  Believe me, there are animators that can animate circles around a lot of guys in feature film.  I worked at the office and when I got home, because I wanted to be better.  There are many people still doing this.

The big thing for me is not forgetting that.  If you busted your hump in work and after work, keep doing the same.  Granted the hours you spend working at home may be considerably less, but that is the thing that got you to where you are.  Take some time to continue working on your craft.  Teachers still go to lectures and workshops to improve on their skills, singers still practice so that their voice is always in good condition, and even good mechanics learn how to work on the latest engines so they are always on top of their game.

If you remember to do the things that got you to where you need to be, you will be successful for a while.

Remember to balance it!!

...Focus Forward & Teachng...

..breath..

...Focus Forward...

I have never made a New Years resolution and I won't start now. Each year is an extension of the last for me. I began last year talking about more focus and taking a break from teaching. It has paid off because I am less stressed and I have been highly productive at work. While I was teaching I wanted it to reflect my outlook on animation and the things you can achieve. Teaching was an extension of who I am as an animator. Preparing lessons, prepping material, ensuring I give helpful feedback to EVERY STUDENT, and being available is important to me. How do you work as a full time animator, full time husband, full time dad and part time teacher? Sounds ridiculous to me. In the balance of our lives, something will have to give and something or someone will lose out. I am trying figure out how to return to teaching but it will take a bit to figure out the balance and harmony. A good teacher is invaluable. My wife, Mother, Aunt, and a few cousins ( here is one Sara Ferguson: click the name) are all teachers. How I teach reflects on them so I have to make sure I give future students what they deserve.

Thanks to all the students I have had so far who have given me much positive feedback.

Focus Forward

-Jamaal

Sergio Pablos Part 1: Acting, Entertainment, & Variation

I decided to make another animation video for 2012. I played with the idea of a live webinar series, bit I think there would be more benefit to having a downloadable turorial. I sent out an email asking the people who purchased the first video and I received some great feedback. The name of the video currently is: "Acting, Entertainment, & Variation"...but keep this one as an option ("Acting, Performance, & Entertainment"). My last video focused on workflow and not the thoughts behind the acting. I touched a little on some of the aspects of it but I will dive deep into acting on this installment. Not only will I be talking about it, I will be talking with inspiring veterans. So far I will be talking to James Baxter, Sergio Pablos, & Kristof Serrand. 

-This is very exciting

...drawings on a lazy day...

 ... I am always drawing but its just a matter of scanning and posting.  I wish there was an instant scan or something attached to a drawing pad.  The new Wacom toy looks nice but I will wait for the version that can read a larger drawing surface.  Any way..here are a few that I did on a Saturday at home.  When Croods is over I will post some of my thumbnails and pose studies for my shots.. who knows maybe some will get into "The Art of Croods"   .....that would be cool...

Acting,Entertainment, & Variation: Video Flowchart/ Work in Progress

I decided to create the next video much differently than the first.  I asked for a lot of feedback from the people who picked it up and I got some great ideas.  There were things people liked and other parts that could be enhanced.  I really appreciate all of the great information I have been writing things out and planning accordingly.  This flow chart is apart of the layout of how the video will be created.  The red blocks represent major areas of discussion and the topics/details are underneath.  Its pretty simple in concept but will make a better user experience.  I will continue to refine this as I move forward and the chart will get a little bigger as well

thanks again guys

-jamaal

CTN EXPO: Live Animation

I will be at the CTN EXPO this year animating live at the iAnimate Booth.  If you are there, you can ask me questions of any kind while I work away on a shot.  This should be a fun event as always!  I like getting to see the people I havent worked with in a while as well as seeing all of the goodies the artists have to offer.  I will be animating for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday.  Jason Ryan will be at the booth as well as a few other instructors from the iAnimate school. 

Hope to see you there!