Quick sketch

Did this for work today… couldn’t find a scanner though… otherwise the scene would have been bigger. Oh well, here it is anyway.

The subject was, “A viking warlord at the edge of a cliff.”

Thoughts on My Neighbors the Yamadas

My friend let me borrow a his copy of this film. It is the Japanese region DVD so I’ve only seen it in it’s original language with subs.

When I first started watching this film I wanted to cry. It is absolutely beautiful to watch. Some, I’ve heard, find it’s simplicity distracting or even boring… that makes me sad. This may be what I’m going through right now, but I’ve been feeling a pull away from visual realism and toward… I don’t want to say “stylization”… more like essences. Lately, for me, it’s the details in animated movies that distract me visually. Go check out Keith Lango’s thoughts on the subject. Link’s on the right.

One of the best examples I can think of at the moment is when Takashi yells out of his car window and when he gets his head back in the car proceeds to roll his window up. Now we don’t see a door, a window, an outline of either… but there he is rolling up the window. I love that! You know what? Screw the door and window. I know what he’s doing and now I can focus on him, the action, the story telling…

Well, I can’t say enough how much I love this movie. The look is amazing, the animation is amazing, the stories are distinctly Japanese and very engaging if you can put aside your American predispositions. I think this might be the hardest part for people who aren’t used to Japanese culture in movies. Well, let me be more specific: the stories are really cross cultural. The storytelling is distinctly Japanese.

Worth watching, studying, watching again, studying again and owning.

My three cents.

Almost Done

I think I have one or two more passes before I close up shop on this one.

First polish pass…

Here we go…

Also, I took down a few videos to help page load time. If you want to see more vids they’re still up on google video.

Bob and Doug got HOSED!

Here’s a full first pass at the new animation. Jeff Pidgeon reminded me of Bob and Doug AND he’s doing some great vamps on his beaver character. They are awesome… go check it out!

And now, le animacion… if that’s even a word.

***UPDATE***

Oh and I forgot to link the creator of the rig. That would be Rodri Torres. Thanks for makin’ Alfred! It’s a nice little rig.

New animation… Bob and Doug!!!

So I went over to Jeff Pidgeon’s blog and was inspired by his Canadian Beaver.

I have everything blocked in, but here’s a first pass at the first 3 of 11 seconds. I’m working on the next chunk today.

Enjoy!

Busy, busy… bouncing ball

Things are getting busy at work and I haven’t been feeling well. That equals not posting or having anything to post. But tonight I took ten minutes before I go to bed to do a quick bouncing ball. Not much, but it’s something.

Enjoy.

Back from Whistler

I’m back. Had a great time in Whistler! Got to go up the mountain, eat great food, go swimming and hang out with family. Tons O’ fun.

Check more pics on my Flickr page… link’s on the right sidebar.

Off to Whistler

So I’ll be up in beautiful British Columbia having a wonderful time in Whistler. I won’t be back until next Friday so I’ll see ya then.

DeMercer OUT!

Sword in the Stone Inspiration

I couldn’t not post these.

I’ve got more sketches to post… just have to scan them…

Enjoy!

Capoiera animation

So I finished off that old Plastic Animation Paper kick I made a while back. Took about 15 minutes at lunch to make it not stop so abruptly.

Enjoy

Stayed a little late at work to mess around a little more:

Another quick walk cycle

Here’s another walk cycle I did tonight. Just a couple hours spent on it so, again, it ain’t perfect, but again, I thought I’d share. Far too many commas.

Enjoy,

Quick walk cycle

Took a break from the sound clip to bust out a walk cycle. Not perfect, but thought I’d post it.

Thanks to Tim Oberlander for the rig!

Blocking

Here’s the first half of my blocking to a sound clip from A Night At The Museum. I LOVE Ricky Gervais!!!

Comedic Timing

This is a great little example of timing. Speaking, cutting each other off, reacting. For me the great parts are when the woman says “oh my God” and when the guy tries to put his arm around her and says “she’ll be fine”. Really funny. Thought I’d share.