Proudly! I say, "I am caught up on my reading!"

It may be a struggle for me... but I am current now with my reading schedule. And hopefully it will stay this way (crossing my fingers, *grin*)
I started off reading The Illusion of Life. What an awesome read... I've been taking some handwritten notes from my reading in hopes of 'hammering-in' the details into my brain.

The book not only outlines, in detailed information, the 12 principals of animation... but it also, so far, has offered up some other lists that were used by some of the other animators there at Disney as well. For instance, Fred Moore had a list with 14 points on it, and Bill Tytla had a list of points to remember as well. In a broad generalization, I suppose you could say that Fred Moore's list was strong towards the idea of 'staging' and that Bill Tytla's list was geared strongly towards the idea of the character possessing inner feelings and showing strong emotions.

There was a mention in the book about things being 'plastic'... as they use the term...it means 'pliable'. I don't know about y'all but I had to stop and think about that word for a moment. In the modern since of the word, I don't think of 'pliable'... I actually think of the opposite. I think of plastic surgery... and folks like Joan Rivers... and how they have shot up with so much Botox that they don't have any movement in their face anymore.

On a side note, one of the reasons why I began to fall behind on my reading a little bit was because I got to go to a one day seminar on Photoshop. It was given by the very awesome!... master of Photoshop... Bert Monroy
He's got some great video tutorials up on the web at http://www.revision3.com/pixelperfect

Till the next Post... Cheers!
~Net

My Self Imposed Reading Schedule

Wow! Who would have thought that I would end up having trouble keeping up with my reading schedule, with only 10 pages of required reading a day!... Well, me actually... he,he,he... after all, that's why I made the lite daily schedule for myself to follow *grin* My problem isn't that they material is boring... far from it!... but I am terrible about getting off track sometimes. I am often plain guilty of trying to fit too many tasks into one day and not having enough time to finish everything. I really need to work on this issue of time management now though... before classes even actually start. I will have to accept the fact that sometimes the need to prioritize my day will have to outweigh my incredibly strong desire to compulsively work on projects that are of greater fascination to me at a given moment in time.

If I think about a given subject for a while... it pumps up my excitement... and I want to work incessantly on it till I drop (aka get too sleepy to function) I'm not sure that in the long run that this is a good way to work... but I'm not sure that it's a terrible way to work either...It's nice to work while the excitement is blazing... it's not nice to keep procrastinating important tasks...It's nice to be filled with so much energy and excitement that you can't go to sleep... it's not nice to drag yourself down in the long run because you aren't getting enough sleep(my mind can grow foggy... and I make poor decisions... at least after a while of getting very little sleep)

Balance... I think it's a very important thing to have... for all animated characters... including myself, he he he!~

Thinking about the Future

I've been thinking lately... Especially after seeing the latest AM reel...
about what I'd like for my short to maybe be like, and about all of the assignments along the way.

I know from previous experience at SCAD how easy it is to get caught up working on the wrong things when you are working on a project...getting caught up in making too many props, scenery and lighting such that you loose valuable time that you really need to spend animating.

I've noticed that with AM's new reel, just about every shot has a very finished/polished look to it. There are props, and backdrops, and fabulous lighting... it really does make it tempting to want to put the 'pazzaz' of all the 'extras' into ones shots.

And even regardless of all the pretty polish of the lighting and props... the animation, it's awesome... and the clever story ideas... not just for the shorts but for the assignments too... WOW!

It all makes me feel a little competitive, a little nervous... but I don't want to be either of these... I don't think it's a good idea to dwell to much on comparing oneself to others...

I need to stay focused... stay focused on what I can do... and how I can grow... and appreciate what progress I can make... Breathe Netty! Breathe!

AM's Student Showcase: Fall 2007

Completely Awesome work!

Have you noticed that with each new Showcase reel that AM produces the 'awesome' bar gets set higher and higher!

What an inspiration...

I hope I do well too...crossing my fingers, and my toes... and my ears... :P

Reading Up on Animation!

So I have decided to get a jump on things and read these two books that AnimationMentor.com will be requiring that I read starting in January.

Actually I've had the books already but never had the time to really sit down and read them. I've used "The Animator's Survival Kit" as a reference book before, but I'll definitely be getting more out of it now that I can sit down and really absorb the material.

I haven't really been planning on posting a lot of stuff until classes start in January. Although I am now pondering posting comments based on my reading. It would be a good way for me to review the material... and I've got some notes in Googles Notebook that I've set aside for reading up before January also.

I read my first 10 pages from my book reading schedule last night... :))
10 pages a night of books and at least 2 of my saved internet notes a week... and I'll be ready for January classes!

Cheers! and Good Luck with Life! Till the next post...

~Net