Supporting vs. Confirming : Dayo

I heard so many things about the 2nd Pinoy Animated Feature, Some good and some are really bad. Some questioning the reason and logic behind the animation direction, animation scoring, animation editing, art direction as well as the mounting of the scenes which is basically directed towards the director and storyboard supervisor.

Nonetheless, I do feel that this is not the time for public debates in this case. I have this feeling that we are just hurting ourselves and eliminating the possibilities of future investments and productions in the Philippine Animation Context.

There is definitely a clear line that divides supporting and confirming. I do believe that the said pinoy animated ferature does not define the elegance and functions of what is "Philippine Animation". But, one must never deny the courage of those who are behind the said animation production for giving it a 2nd try with the hope of the doing "big time" in the box office.

As for me, I have seen the said animated movie and with conviction that I must support such action for this is one of those possibilities as we try to capture the imagination of the broad audience through original content animation. Furthermore, I will end this discourse by the act of buying a ticket in order to support the movie with no intention whatsoever of evaluating the said animated movie. This is not the time for evaluations and grand-standing criticisms...

This is the time for encouragements.

Mom and Pop Softwares

If we follow the path of those who are before us, we will be also like them. Unable to break away from their technological addiction. Limiting one's imagination and letting commercial and static technology suppress the development of grass root animation softwares and hardwares that are both viable and practical for the eventual growth of a robust animation industry and market.

Over dependence on the " off the shelf softwares" is like subscribing to "over the counter" medicines in order to achieve a narcotic high that is often temporary and harmful. What motivates software vendors are their desire to increase profit margins by spreading this propaganda oriented perception that if you do not use their software... your animation is inferior. But the funny thing is that the reason why our animation is in the dumps is simply because for the longest time we were and still are using their mom and pop softwares.

For us to achieve animation technological emancipation, we need to shift to Open Sourced Production. This is the utilization of " Techno-Emancipating Softwares For Animation" that challenges us to innovate as well as participate in spreading popular animation softwares for Grass Roots Consumption.

These corporate monsters with their "local bitches" are nothing but parasites that suck us dry. They control us through their technology and limit our ability to be technologically creative in finding "out of the box" solutions by setting up parameters that are pre-conditioned for their commercial benefits.

Spread the word and never let these A-holes tell us what to do. Do not give them the power to make the choice for us. Now you know!

Game Design In The Philippines

What should come first, the technological content or the creative content? For budding Game Design Studios, this is a crucial question to answer. One should survey the whole landscape, in my opinion. Game Design is not just about designing a game, rather, it is about designing a game that sells.

This is a highly competitive market in the global scale. Thus, one must be able to understand the whole dynamics of game design. For example, in East Asia, Korea has schools that develop young talents in terms of game design, development and management . Varying types of games from casual, online up to platform based creations are constantly reviewed and tested with the need to innovate or even set new trends through new games.

Game Development and Management, in this case, is geared towards a unified program. Wherein subjects ranges from artistic content, technological innovation, commercial process and cultural impact more so in terms of contemporary needs and wants of consumers given a well defined stakeholder or set of stakeholders.

We tend to dwell on technology when we talk about game design. This is the usual mistake. We can not put the whole design in a box without considering the bigger picture in terms of industry needs & wants and market's supply and demand cycle. The sad part of the whole scenario is that we are constantly catching up and eventually left with obsolete technology that often mislead us in terms of the direction we want to go.

3D Computer Animation : Dressed Ballet Dancer (Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans), Sep 25, '08 9:00 AM

Unlike 2D Computer Animation Professionals, 3D Computer Animation Professionals should be oriented towards the composition of 3 dimensional sculptures and how such scupltures relate to their "real space". I found this article about Dressed Ballet Dancer (Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans) in the site of National Gallery of Art site. The sculpture is by Edgar Degas (19 July 1834 – 27 September 1917).

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Degas at the Races: Sculpture

Degas' use of mixed media is epitomized by the only sculpture he ever exhibited: Dressed Ballet Dancer, which was in the Sixth Impressionist Exhibition of 1881. Degas was supposed to display the sculpture in the 1880 Paris Salon, the official exhibition of the French arts establishment, but feeling that it wasn't ready, he exhibited only the empty glass case he had made. It was a fascinating way for Degas to build anticipation for his work.

When the Dancer was shown the following year, it received mixed reviews. The majority of critics disliked the piece. They thought it was ugly, that it looked like a museum specimen, in part because Degas exhibited it inside a case. Some considered the head and face grotesque, and they compared her to a little monkey. Degas was thought to have called his dancers the "little rats of the opera." But this girl--who was actually a young dance student named Marie van Goethem--looks like a typical early adolescent, with her protruding belly, flat chest, and practiced ballet pose.

In addition to its forthright portrayal of a youthful body type, Degas' use of mixed media also rocked the art world at the time. Having modeled her in fleshlike tinted wax, Degas gave the Dancer a real cloth skirt, a real silk bodice, a wig of real hair with a green ribbon tied around its long braid, and pink ballet slippers. On one of his many drawings of Marie, Degas had written the address of a dollmaker and dressmaker where he probably purchased the hair and the tiny slippers.

To understand public reaction to this work, it helps to be aware of the debate in artistic circles at the end of the nineteenth century concerning polychrome versus monochrome sculpture. People were used to dark bronzes and white marbles. Degas' wax tinting and his addition of other colorful, nontraditional elements such as the dancer's net skirt, hair, and satin bodice and shoes, presented an array of textures and surface finishes that took people by surprise and would later influence the modern sculpture of cubists, surrealists, and later twentieth-century artists. Despite dissenting opinions on Degas' brash young figure, however, there were also critics who praised the Dancer as the epitome of authenticity.

The largest and most famous of Degas' wax sculpture, Dressed Ballet Dancer was first cast in plaster before it was cast in bronze. The National Gallery is fortunate to have received the plaster as well as a promised gift of the wax. It is believed that plasters were made from the wax in this instance only, possibly because the figure was so large and required a number of mold sections. The plaster was painted faithfully to reproduce the coloration (patina) of the wax, thereby providing the Hébrard Foundry a good record of the sculpture's surface finish to work from when the bronzes were patinated and dressed the same way as the wax sculpture.

Degas' Dancer became one of the most beloved works of sculpture in the history of Western art. Like the wax horses, it is a result of the high degree of technical and artistic experimentation that the modernist Degas employed throughout his career. His innovative strategies to capture the essence of attitude, stance, movement, gesture, and consciousness--a realm beyond realism of appearance--lie at the heart of his contribution to art.

Character Animation is different

http://characterfactory.multiply.com/

There is a big difference. You better wise up or else be an easy target for multimedia schools that will charge you a lot but just gives you the plug in know how. Character design is a function of Design Principles, Basic Organic or Inorganic Form Construction and Composition. Usually, a designer knows two things namely a) Construction on Paper and b) Construction using a Model.

Character Animation is different. It deals with Basic Principles of Motion and Space. It requires a lot of creative analysis and familiarity with the fundamental laws of Physics. Now that you know the basic info, be wise and asks your teacher about these things. Maybe you are spending the right money on the wrong school

Understanding The Volume of Space : 3D Computer Animation

In animation, we often neglect the need to understand the volume of space. Simply put, the need to understand the principles of perspective. In the painting Niccolò Mauruzi da Tolentino at the Battle of San Romano by Paolo Uccello, one can notice Uccello's efficient use of perspective. He was able to allocate the given space within the needs of his composition.

Check out the clear drawn horizon and diagonal lines that creates defined intersections. And if you notice the broken lances and swords, said weapons are within the system of grids the draw our eyes in a layering effect.

In 3D Art, efficient allocation of the space is also important. There is a need to understand the space from which the 3d Art will occupy. Neglecting the need to understand the said space, ultimately the 3d composition will suffer.



Basic principles of perspective is true for 3D animation in general and 3D computer animation in terms of technological appreciation. Take for example this sample 3d created by Eric of Kor-Phil's 3d computer animation program. Notice that there is no reference with regards to the space occupied by the two organic forms. It is difficult to understand the action or the activity. At the same time , because of the lack of reference with regards to the allocation of space, an observer is unable to discern the perspective of the composition.




By adding a defined space of reference, there is an improvement in the composition. Now we know the line of sight of the two forms. We are able to calibrate our eyes 360 degrees and see the activity or the action much more clearly. We can easily identify the rigidity and flexibility of the forms. The contrast is more visible though it could be further augmented. Best of all, we can see a developing perspective wherein there is a faint identifiable relationship between the positive space and the negative space.

This is the reason why it is important to do exercises within the scope of 3D art and animation. The technology, which is 3D computer animation, is only a tool that help us create forms with functions that engage the stakeholders.

Space is not a domain of technology. Rather , space is a principle that governs technology. If, as animation students or professionals, we are not able to imbibe this principle, no matter how cutting edge our technology is, still it won't engage the human emotion.

7th Akira's Nightmare Animation Atelier 2009 April

7th Akira's Nightmare Alternative Animation Basic Animation Material, Outline, Treatment and Script Development and Management is slated for the month of April 2009/ Summer. We thank those who are participating in the ongoing animation workshop (6th Akira). For Registration: Please indicate full name and contact number mobile phone : 09215081060 This new workshop series will focus on four distinct fields namely;

1. Animation Material Development and Management
2. Animation Beat Outline Development and Management
3. Animation Treatment Development and Management
4. Animation Script Development and Management

The newly improved program will aid animation professionals create commercial animation contents that are within the contemporary sense and sensibility of the general population. For students ( UP, La Salle - St. Benilde, UST and Ateneo) who are about to take up their multimedia-animation thesis projects or are preparing for their thesis projects, the workshop will serve as a tutorial aid in order to augment their needs to finish their respective projects. The Animation Scriptwriter : The Creative Process When an animation writer is ask to write a material, he or she starts with the vision. The vision is the abstract form that needs a function. The function is provided by the commercial model when dealing with mainstream animation or by the artistic model when dealing with alternative animation. After constructing the model, the writer proceeds to examine the model and determine the source and the type of idea or ideas. After interpreting, validating and analyzing, the writer will now construct the concept using several parameters. The parameters gives the concept the needed form and function. From the parameters of the concept, the writer will start to construct the premise of the material. The premise is divided into three arcs, the story, the characters and the world. The said arcs will create the Bible of the material. With a tight Bible, the writer begins to construct the material's outline using the animation beat method. From the beat outline, the writer will expand it and from the treatment. And finally, form the treatment a master script will be created. The master script will be transformed into a story board.