Howdy From the Big Bear

So here is my attempt at duplicating the the rough rotoscope job but with symbols. You can really tell where the symbols separate at the feet. I'm not concerned with how clean this is until I get it right. I think I'm doing okay for a first time 4 legged walk, but I still don't quite get what body parts need to do what and when.

In retrospect, this feels kind of pointless, or maybe I'm just in a bad mood today.

Fake Web Series Promo

Well, I'm glad I got that out of my system. 

It would be nice if I could do my own web series some day, but if I did my time would be better spent on original characters. That's the only way they'll ever get animated. Unfortunately, my characters are harder to draw in Flash. The Sega characters' round heads and bodies and noodle arms and legs make them more user friendly.

Double D

This was a commission for disneypsycho at deviant art, her character from the Darkwing/Ducktales universe. I also did another Tiny Kong. I originally did it in pink, but since refs of the character were in these colors, though not a skating outfit, I posted it in blue and showed her the pink version too. I'm putting a hold on commissions so I can concentrate on the new job and moving. Work at the old job is slow, few hours. I've got one more week and after four years I'll finally be out of that dump. I spent less time in college than at that store.

Speaking of deviant art, I got a Daily Deviation yesterday for this character image. Who would have thought?

She also appears in my Xmas Special video in picture form as a mail order bride.

Book It

The other day I received Preston Blair's Cartoon Animation book in the mail. You know those commissions? That paid for that...and some other stuff, which is beside the point.

I already had the Animator's Survival Kit, which assisted me in this 12 frame run cycle (at the bottom of page 177 yet). I said I wouldn't work on this anymore, but I'm a dirty liar.

I've also started the non-rotoscoped bear animation. I'm taking it one limb at a time. The little bit that's done looks pretty decent, IMO. It's a lot more frames and boy does it feel tedious. My biggest fear is that because I put it in flash it will turn out soulless and flat/stiff. I could add in some squash and stretch to the symbols but it's not the same. Nothing beats a good old fashioned pencil test.

Learn By Example

I thought that if I did a rough rotoscoping of a bear walking it would help me to better understand a bear walking, at least the arm and leg part. I'd converted my ref to a wmv into flash and it was fuzzy. I think some of those front arm curves are off, and I have no idea what's going on with the head. It's about 40 frames total, but every other one is white more or less, so 20, but it plays at 30 fps. I was surprised that even copying the image, it was easier to do the bear by key frames than one frame after the other. It was harder to make out what exactly was happening, but jumping back and forth helped.

I think the exercise helped a little, not as much as I hoped. I'm ready to try a more defined non-rotoscoped cycle now though. I actually think flash would help me with this. I'm used to breaking things into lots of pieces and keyframing parts that can't be motion tweened. I would sketch my bear and the key poses, build it in flash, work on the movement there and then apply it to pencil and paper. I really want a good understanding of this.