We have to show balance for this assignment, and I went ahead and chose the good old "poles". I have really noticed that as an animator, you have to try to pick shots that will entertain you. This will keep that motivation going, and will make sure that you want the BEST for the shot! I sketched my idea that I had first, and made sure that it would work. Once I had done that, I went ahead and shot my Reference:


Sketches and Poses
I drew up the main poses that made the actions. Making notes on the line of action. I know that the line of action will be the KEY to making this shot believable. I am also looking at timing as well. I want to make sure that I don't lose the Texture like I did last time.

A 180 / kick assignment:
My first assignment was for this character to make a 180 degree turn around and/or a kick.
You first start with the idea, what would you like to animate? I got to a point that I caught my-self thinking about this assignment too much: "what should he do", "what would be cool", blah,blah and more blah!

So I decided to just go with it and film myself playing with a small soccer ball. I really wanted the animation to feel natural, and not 'acted out'. SO I went ahead and played with the ball infront of the camera. I hurt my ankle during the process, as you will see I fall... NOTE TO ALL ANIMATORS: You have to feel comfortable making a fool of your-self!

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?"
After I recorded my-self I went ahead and took a real good look at the shot that I chose. For this reference, I was really looking at the poses and timing. You look for the poses that really make this action possible. I paid a very close attention on my feet: what they were doing in contrast to the body, when they were leaving and making contact with the floor, etc. I then went ahead and drew the main poses out.

BLOCKING
I wanted to concentrate on the poses here. I didn't really want to pay attention to the timing yet. I just wanted to make sure my poses read well, and that the silhouette was clear.



SPLINING
Once I felt comfortable with my blocking plus, I then made some last minute tweaks to the timing. Making sure the timing felt right.


TUNNING IT UP!
After I had splined it, I had lost some of the variations of rhythm that my blocking had. I lost the texture and the rhythm. So I went back and changed some of my spacing around.

This is a combination of all my assignments for class 01. My first Reel from AM!
....and more o come!

Hi guys! I am currently attending Animation Mentor, and LOVING IT!

I will post all my progress here, starting from my Planning, all the way through my Blocking to my Polishing! I will also add information on each posting: what I am concentrating on, what I am watching out for, etc.

Hope this helps in any way possible with your planning and work flow in your own animations!