I took some time to quickly render a background. My skills in the area are limited at best, and like a biology test I always seem to choke when I attempt one. However, as a test I am still pretty happy with the results. As I said before these are 70 frames of a 300 frame animation, and even in this stage it is a WIP. This has provided invaluable experience and trial and error knowledge in the process of cleaning up, shadows, and composting which I would not have had had I given the task to someone else.

Funding for my film has died down a bit since its explosion last week, but a good friend of mine Kerry Newill has expressed interest in coming on as a production manager / producer of "My Dad the Giant". Her skills will be most welcome and I am eager to hear some more specifics she has on the matter.


Lastly I have begun work on the "My Dad the Giant" poster to be available to donors of $100 or more on KickStarter. The poster will also be used in festival promotion. The poster will most likely be around a standard 16"x20" and has been heavily inspired by one of my favorite film posters for "The Third Man".

That's it for now, check in soon for further updates on the progress of "My Dad the Giant" and remember you can always donate and earn your place in the credits of my film at my KickStarter page.

Color Help and Flyers

My friend Lee recently told me about a large party coming to Michigan. He and his friends will be hosting and over a thousand people are scheduled to attend. Gift baskets will be handed out and he recommended I create fliers to be placed in the basket at the party. I jumped at the opportunity and have now created some nice and cheap 4x6 fliers and will be printing them at http://www.imaxprinting.com/

My good friend, roomy, and fellow artist Mel Miller was kind enough to donate some of her time and help me with my color design. Seen here is a comparison of my original frame and her adjustments. She's an amazing artist, and everyone should check out her blog at MelMillerArt.blogspot.com

Stay tuned for more updates, including a test render of my scene in full shadow/clean up goodness!

To help "My Dad the Giant" become a reality, check out my KickStarter page or IndieGoGo page for more info!

Help today has come from my friend and fellow CCS'er Kevin Ingrassia (seen above). Two shots in my film require a moving or 3d background for tracing. One shot is a slow dolly in focusing on Emilio as the tension builds, while another is a fast truck back following the shock-wave of Emilio's massive scream!

To do this I require a 3d model of the Atrium in which the film takes place. I will trace the shot and add my characters to each shot. Kevin was kind enough to donate his time, and has already produced a great rendition of my films stage.

Big thanks to him, and added are some screen shots of his work. :)

Shot from the doorside looking up at the large painting Brianelli has been working on

Shot from the painting side looking at the candle sick, record player, and door.

A nice view of some of the extras Kevin has added, like a box filled with paints.

A shot of the left side of the Atrium

A shot of the right side of the Atrium

Stay tuned for more updates and make sure to look for My Dad the Giant on Indiegogo or KickStarter!

KickStarter Page up and running!

View it @ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/308950851/my-dad-the-giant

Production is moving right along, and already I have $11 donated to the "My Dad the Giant" project, via IndieGo-Go and KickStarter. I have less than 5 scenes to go in finishing the animation on my film. While I continue finishing those scenes, I also spend time cleaning up and finishing my 'Proof of Concept' scene. Below is a picture of one of the frames, cleaned up, colored, and given shadows.


Thank you for your continued support, and should you feel the urge to donate to this project, feel free to check out either of my pages:
IndieGogo
KickStarter
..and look up the cool gifts you can get in exchange for donations.

Animated-Buzz and professional critiques!

Things have been on track as I complete a shot a day. Here are the latest shots recently completed.




This shot is currently being in-betweened and was the subject of a professional critique I received at AnimatedBuzz.com. If you haven't heard about this website, then you should go check it out immediately! Calling it the facebook of animators is a pretty accurate term. The site hosts a wall and personal page layout much like facebook, but adds video and portfolio sections for artists to upload content and discuss. But the real shining gem of the website is in its Mentoring program.

Jen Hager is a Disney animator, and artist of which I have admired for some time. Through Aniamted-Buzz I was able to receive a professional critique from Jen for only 23 dollars. I paid the amount, sent in my files and within the week got a well thought out, thorough, and specific critique on my work.

I highly recommend any artist or art enthusiast check out this site!


Not much to see here, only the pot being pelted by the brush Brianelli recently threw during his breakdown.


Last but not least is the finished cloth and hair layer applied to my Emilio animation. This shot is currently in the process of being cleaned-up. The multiple layers approach is proving difficult to slap a final line on, and is the source of many a wrist ache.

Because funds are short, and I have a due date set in stone for this film, I have taken it upon myself to check out sites such as Kick-Starter to try and acquire funding for my film via donations. It's a shot in the dark, but one I hope will hit something. If I can pitch my project well enough, I should be able to acquire the necessary funds to finish this film on time.

Production begins again

Some of you may have been worried that my film might never get produced. Well after a nice hiatus to focus on my portfolio, demo reel, and paying loans off (if only a little bit at a time), I can say that I have regained my barrings and now have an official deadline for my film.

September 9th, 2011 is the deadline to enter my film in the Mitten Movie Project, a local film festival which was shown a trailer of my film by my friend Doug Stratton. Production has already ramped up and is underway to meet this deadline in 9 months. With 80%-90% of my film already animated, these next months will be focusing on finishing up the remaining 10% and rendering the rest. I already have a multitude of names interested in helping me on this project. Frank Paul who is a sound instructor at my school has offered to help me with my sound FX, Steve Stanchfield who is a mentor of mine has agreed to help me finish a few scenes of animation, Don Kilpatrick has proclaimed interest in my project and with his help has also recommended I speak with Keith Newton, a well acclaimed background artist and illustrator. With these names added to my list I can focus on producing a professional film by the beginning of fall.

I also have plans to raise money to help me along with this project. The wonderful website KickStarter.com has a set up where I can request donations of a specific ammount by a set deadline. If I do not reach the amount I was looking for by the deadline, then I do not receive any money. However I am confident that I can make an interesting enough pitch video, show the work I already have done, and help people realize that my film is going to be finished on way or another, but that donations may help me purchase the needed materials without going bankrupt.

Below are various examples of the changes I have made to the film, as well as some effects tests I have recently completed.

January 2011 Lyka Reel


Cloth/Color/Shadow Effects Tests


Below is a rough schedule I am attempting to keep. You will notice that I allow for at least two months of buffer room in case I run into any, inevitable, snags.

January
Animate!:
1. First Shot/Title Shot
2. Candles, both being hit and falling
3. Flames on candle
4. In-between first hand shot with brush
5. Paper when Emilio bounds into the atrium
6. Kid looking back up at door after he has been pushed out
7. Kid balancing and falling with chair
8. Kid getting out from under chair
9. Kid in father's hands
10. Tantrum Scene!
11. Record jump
12. Father backpedaling
13. Kid pulling cloth from eyes
14. Father losing control
15. Smashing Record Player
16. Kid running out of room
17. Bedroom Scene

Total time: 3 weeks (21 days!)

February (4 weeks/28 days)
Cloth/Hair/Effects
1.candle flames
2.brushes in cup
3. Record playing
4. Emilio's Robes
5. Emilio's Hair
6. Brianelli's Robes/Hair
7.Paper flying in the breeze
8. Dust and Debris

March (5 weeks/35 days)
Shadow Modeling
1.Shadow over door in title sequence
2. Make sure shadows are always facing away from candle.
3. Emilio shadows subbtle
4. Brianelli Shadows stark
5. When close to candle, Emilio has rim lighting from the doorway.

67 shots total.

April (5 weeks/35 days)
Clean up/Shadow Edges


May - Color
June -Sound Design
July - Backgrounds
Aug - Editing/Buffer
Sept - Editing/Buffer

Thank you for being patient over my break, I will do my best to keep you guys up to date on each production step. Stay tuned for more updates.

Chuggin along

It's been about a month, and I admit to taking a few weeks off. Things are getting back into the groove as I begin animating a shot a day. At this speed I should have everything animated by August. Tyler Scarlet has picked up the pencil once more after a showing at Comic-Con and our very own Tubman Center. We'll be talking every Tuesday and Thursday over the phone, and should be getting back on track right quick! Below are some examples of what both Tyler and Myself are working on, I've spared you the perspective templates as I doubt they would make much sense to anyone looking in on the project.