...No More Teaching...(for now)

(maintaining a students perspective) I have taught two terms at iAnimate and I have to say the experience has been very enlightening.  Teaching your process and going through it over and over again, you find out a lot of things especially about yourself as an animator.  This piece of knowledge has led me to the decision of taking a break from teaching for a bit.  I plan on focusing even more on my animation and acting.  Extreme focus on acting which will include reading more books on the subject, workshops, and personal study.  I am not going to pretend I know everything about what I do for a living, so I will continue to learn, refine, and add to the little I do know.  Hopefully the young guys who were in my class benefited from the information I gave them.  There are many goals I have not achieved in this field that I really want to reach....so with that being said, I am off to work on the next project.  "..I feel inspired by the challenge that I stand eye to eye with, to move like a wise warrior and not a coward..."

life long student of this.....

-JB

"..iLLs.." Rough Pencil Test

So...I finally got another animation desk and I vowed not to do any 3D animation at the house for a while.  I have been working on some character designs and I wanted to see if the designs held up.  This is a quick movement test, but I will have to do some more advanced ones before moving forward with the design.  I feel rejuvenated flipping the paper again!

...too many to scan at the moment....

 

...its been a while since I posted but I am always doing something.  I have many drawings I wanted to post on the site but my scanner is not hooked up at the moment.  Here is the wall behind me in my workspace at Dreamworks.  I am trying to fill up the whole wall...I am sure it will be filled but ...not sure if they will move me from this space...

-keep grindin'  

JB

"...from Planning to Polish...": Promotional Teaser

"...from Planning to Polish..." is a 3 hour, 3 part video that takes a shot from planning to final presentation. Using 8 steps, the videos demonstrates one of the workflows I use when I am working. 

Trailer edited by: Larry Vasquez

Maximus from Tangled: Short Idea

...So while I was on Tangled I had the opportunity to pitch 3 short ideas based on parts of the movie. I was spending a few hours at home writing and drawing and came up with some ideas. I sat with directors Nathan Greno, Byron Howard, an the producer Roy Conly. It was a pretty cool and laid back meeting. At the end, the conclusion was if I came up with a good idea using Maximus that would be great. I started posting images on a board outside of my office and asked people to put up drawings that could possibly get some juices going....I guess we got pretty busy on Tangled so not much got posted.... These images were a part of an idea I threw around with fellow animator Patrick Osborne.  Patrick did a few illustrations in Photoshop that looked great! 

Oh well it was a good try. Funny thing... There is a Tangled short in production starring none other than...Maximus.

Curious to see what it's about.

 

 

 

 

keep grinding 

-jamaal

"...from Planning to Polish..." is NOW AVAILABLE

I have been working on this video for a while now.  This slowed up a bit transitioning from Disney to Dreamworks, but I kept pushing forward.  This is a 3hour video demonstration in 3 parts.  I go through one of my workflows with a character animation shot.  You can read more about the video by clicking the image and that will also take you to the store. 

This can be a great resource if you are learning about animation, considering becoming one, or just curious about the process, "...from Planning to Polish..." could be something to interest you!

-jamaal

...rhthym in poses...

 


an image I use in one of my class discussions

...European Twist...

"...draw draw draw.... draw until I leave this place.. hopefully what I draw will put a smile on someones face.."

-jbradley

I saw this cool looking guy and his stance look like a GQ pose.  They style was definitely European but I am not sure of his nationality.  Man I love drawing.  There is something really rewarding about messing around with a pencil and creating anything that comes to your mind.  I usually draw people and faces...as most people who probably draw.  There has to be some deep psychological meaning behind why we create and re-create ourselves in various forms...hmm I think I will go look it up again. 

all the best people

Jamaal

The Death of Mother Gothel.

Now that I am teaching my students are really developing their process and overall approach. I have spoken a lot to them about working in a fashion where they refine their poses. Stepped mode (this is where the software plays your animation back jumping from one pose to the next.) is the method I usually work in; not to be confused with pose to pose animation, but a way to create overall appeal to the work. The biggest part of this animation where Mother Gothel is running towards the mirror and goes crazy was done almost straight ahead. I planned out the poses I wanted to hit, but I felt to capture the energy I had to work through the physical aspects as quick as she was performing them.

This shot was really fun to animate and preparing for it was a good challenge. I had no representation for the cloth she was going to grab so I had to feel where her hands would be and keep them close as if they were holding that fabric...pretending it had some give as well as a bit of elasticity .

Keep grinding as usual guys!

-Jamaal

...Emotional Beats...

Every shot and sequence in a movie has emotional tones that bring the audience closer to the characters (pretty basic in terms of character development). The emotions may change in an instant but for the most part they carry through from a good portion of time. This drawing was the main emotional beat I used for one of my shots in Tangled. I created many different poses but this was the one that really gave me the feeling of confusion and naivety. Rapunzel was a smart girl but was manipulated by Gothel to the ways of the world outside of the tower. I thought this emotion was captured in this drawing.

...create anything...Mashugana

...more drawings with more ideas behind them. I had an idea for a kid named Mashugana which is a Yiddish word for 'crazy person'. There is a cool idea behind it but you never know who is reading your blog...so I will keep it under wraps even though it may never see the light of day. Thats probably why all artists are Mashugana's...

keep creating anyway.

...iAnimate & so can you!...

So the time has come to give back just a bit more...

I have wanted to teach for a while and I decided that the time is here. Jason Ryan and I have been speaking for a while and his passion for animation is everything that I expected. Being able to work with someone who loves their job just as much as you means a lot. This made my decision even easier. Starting January of 2011 I will be teaching with one of the newest animation schools...iAnimate! Not only will I be teaching, I will be offering a downloadable shot walkthrough that goes step by step from planning to polishing your shot. iAnimate (this link will take you to pricing) also offers a nice range of options for those who are on a budget and want to learn how to animate from professionals who are working in the industry. I love that this option exists because I know that a lot of people have a hard time with paying for school.....there are options! This is going to be a fun ride for me and I am sure you are going to be seeing some cool things coming out of the school. Click the links, go to the site, and see if you want to learn how to maybe get into a fun career.

all the best

Jamaal

Being An Animator: A Small Perspective

Imitating life! I spend most of my life imitating it. As humans we mimic what is around us a lot. The clothes we wear, the hairstyles we get, movies we create, the stories we write, and many people imitate people they know or heard of. So being an animator I watch everything around me and analyze it even more. We create motions and give performances that people can relate to. Interesting that we would want to see more and more of what we witness all the time in our daily lives. Magic or extraordinary events are used a lot in stories to break you from reality but for the most part you get a decent chunk of what you already know. Does that make our perspective small or is it just that we need the familiar. The familiar makes us feel safe even in animation.

I don't think the outlook on what you can do is small, I feel it is just this on going curiosity with who we are. Why we do the things we do and can we become better. Even with that being said, being a better person is relative to the individual. So does being more familiar with what's around you make you a better animator and how do you measure your worth on this planet if you all you do is mimic it?

...maybe too deep....?

...characters and gesture drawning @ Disney...

Last week I actually had time to go and enjoy some gesture drawing. It was a real good feeling for the soul. I love animating and doing hand drawn animation is a great feeling because your doing both; creating life and drawing. I guess that is why I love working on my thumbnails before I touch the computer. Anyway... getting back at it.

...more process & sketching...

These first set of thumbnails are for a test I am doing at work using the Prep & Landing characters that is not production related. I am just getting used to working the the characters and rig. I finished up my work on the short and wanted to continue some acting exploration. We will be hitting the ground running on something new in January. It has not been announced yet so I cant really say anything about it.

Again my process always begins with thumbnails. I like to start with drawings since I can play with things a little bit faster. It is kind of like shooting reference because I get up and act out to the dialogue but without the camera rolling. I hit body postures and then exaggerate them on paper. I then shoot reference to look for interesting nuances that I can add within my performance. I am currently working on something that will hopefully be helpful to aspiring animators that gives a good sense on how feature quality animation is created from various perspectives.





These are just some sketches I did while waiting for Maya to do its thing.

2 NEW Trailers for Disney's Tangled

...US version...

International Version

...so many stories but just animating all the time...

I found these drawings in a sketch pad then the light went off as I slowly remembered the story I was developing (not digging the poses of the arms too much, bad comp). One of the things I really enjoyed about Art school was being able to explore all aspects of my creativity. Today it still helps me with my animation because I can try and dig deep into the characters head, I think of think of drawing and sculpture when I pose the character, I think of drawing appealing shapes when I pose the mouth and eyes, I think of character design and gesture drawing as I move the character (personality and different defining traits that you get from life). All of these aspects of art school are not necessary to learn to be an animator, but I look at it like this...

...if make tires for a living and don't understand how all of the other parts of the car affect the tires, then you may be making a mediocre tire...

...things happen from hard work...

Man I remember sitting in Georgia in this room with roaches climbing up the wall and just working away trying to be an animator. I would sleep for a few hours wake up and continue going (this was after I quit my job as a manager at the Gap trying to pay for grad school). I was still doing both 2D and 3D animation. Going back and forth from my homemade pencil test machine back to Maya which was running slow as hell on my crappy computer that I purchased from so 'good 'ol boys' computer store in the sticks. I dont know how many times I watch that Tarzan extra disk with Glen and Bruce talking about animating their characters. There are so many people in the world who have the same story. "To watch and learn from these amazing artists, only to end up working with them" Walking in the Disney hallways means more than just making it to the Mouse House. It meant being where discoveries were made, being where this amazing rebirth of animation started, the place that gave birth to Dreamworks and Pixar, and being next to people who love the art of animation as much as you do. I never NEVER would have guess that I was going to get to work with Glen during my career and be right down the hall from Bruce Smith. They both inspired me while I was struggling and have given me even more drive as an animator. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to work with them and still have the chance to learn more from them both. I am even more grateful for my mother sacrificing things so that I could pursue my dreams.

Grateful for the shots I received on Tangled and thanks to the Directors for making it an enjoyable experience.

...Tangeled Animation comes to an end..kinda...

Its been a while since I posted....

Since November of 2009 we have been going hard and it was definitely the smallest crew that I have worked with. Everyone gave over 100 percent and we are hoping that the film does well. The name change has been beatin' down by people and the studio has been talked about in all kinds of ways; positive and negative.

My opinion is this:

a studio is a place that houses artist to create products for a consumer. The product has to make money to keep the house functioning as well as put money in the hands of the creators. You can only control what is in front of you and let your voice be heard where it can make an impact. If you are making a positive role for yourself in any workplace, you will eventually be seen and heard. If you care about your peers than help them by lifting them up. If you point out something negative than back it with something positive. Your energy spills over to everything around you and then spreads from there. I have heard negative guys and people that just talk too damn much at all the studios I have been at and they all have the same personalities, the same tendencies, and always seem to find people who will listen to their rants. You don't have to listen and you don't have to associate with them... pretty simple concept huh. It may make your career that much more enjoyable.


With all that being said the guys who animated on Tangled have worked hard. HARD! The negative talk in and outside of the studio has not affected the drive and passion of the people who worked on the movie. If the words have done anything, I would have to say that it has inspired us to continue being better at what we do no matter where we work. Some people will enjoy the movie and some will not. All we can ask is that the fans of animation support the people who help create the film and have a good time with your families.


hungry as every... jamaalb.

...Entertainment...

When I got to Disney I had a few sit downs with Glen and i asked him about his earlier moments at the studio. I was curious about when he was learning early on from some of the remaining 9 Old Men. Studying under Ollie Johnston was one of the most eye opening experiences for him he told me. He told me a story about doing test animations and how he had some nice movements down, but some of his peers had the movement and just a little something more that he wasn't getting right away. He couldn't put his finger on it and when he went to speak with Ollie about the tests he was doing, the thing he learned to add to his animation was ENTERTAINMENT. Ollie told him that he wants to be entertained when he watches animation and that Glen should strive to put that in his work. This was a small but big gem that he gave me my first month in at the studio. "Dont forget to entertain when you are digging into the emotions of the character". There is a way to get the thoughts of the character across and entertain the audience at the same time. Entertainment will not always be showy and wacky animation, but also things the audience can relate to.

So I basically added the understanding that when people go to the theater to watch our work...they are screaming out....

ENTERTAIN ME!