Animation Critique on 11SecondClub.com

Last month I had the honor of recording a video critique for the winner of the 11 Second Club's March 2012 competition.  The winning clip was by Flavio Santana do Nascimento of Brazil, which you can see here, and you can see my critique of his very entertaining clip here:

Footage Loose

Dreamworks Animators, I feel your pain. Your delicious, dance-tastic pain.

Ralph McQuarrie, 1929-2012

This past Sunday, one of my personal icons passed away.  Ralph McQuarrie was a fantastic artist, and among other things, he was a concept artist and matte painter on the original Star Wars trilogy.  Of course I loved these films as a kid, but even more so, I loved the Art of Star Wars books and the Star Wars Sketchbooks, among which his art was featured heavily.  He and Joe Johnston really defined the look of the Star Wars universe.  His designs and rendering were hugely influential on my own work as well, and he fired my imagination like no one else.  He had fantastic design sensibilities, great composition and color, and his work always had a real sense of "place", of existing somehow.  I spent hours staring into the worlds he created, and was inspired to copy them and try to build on his vision.  I'm deeply saddened at this loss, and I would have loved to have met him in person, if only to thank him for him impact on my life and career.  I still have my old Star Wars portfolio (somewhere), and the cover features what is probably my favorite of his paintings.

 

 

Thank you, Ralph.

The Story of Animation

Just in case you were wondering how we do this stuff, check out this cute new video from former Pixarian, Dave Tart:

 

This just kills me!

 "It's funny 'cause it's true."

UPDATE: looks like the link to YouTube is down, so check out the clip "Playground" on the BirdBox Studio site.

New Brave footage online

...And just like that, here's a new trailer for Brave, just like I mentioned in yesterday's post.  Actually, it's not so much a trailer, as it is a sequence from the film, edited down a bit to fit into 2:30.  And how about this sweet new poster?!

Gingers, Rejoice!

Brave web site is go!

Check out the official web site for Pixar's Brave, coming June 22:

More trailers to come soon...

Everything is a Remix

Check out part 4 of this enlightening series about the nature of creativity:

Everything is a Remix Part 4 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

This ties in nicely to the recent debate about SOPA/PIPA. I highly recommend that you check out the 3 earlier installments as well.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Whoops, new template I guess

I inadvertently upgraded my Blogger template and it blew away the old custom design I had.  I've tried to put in place a temporary layout that is not too offensive.  On the upside, this should force me to put some serious thought and time into redesigning (and updating) my blog.  Those of you who read your blogs through an RSS reader (like me) have probably not noticed anything different.  Keep calm, carry on.

The explanation I've seen of SOPA/PIPA, and Why You Should Care

If you're wondering what all the controversy is about these bills then check out this quick TED video:



Here is a link to an online petition you can sign, and here is a link that will provide you with the contact information of your senators so you can call them and urge them to oppose these bills.

Lego WALL-E Meets a Vacuum

Day 3: Meets a Vacuum, a photo by lk.lkaz on Flickr.

A friend just sent this to me. It's based on a promo scene I did for WALL-E back in the day, and I love the simplicity of the Lego design!   Here's the clip it references:

My Cars 2 reel

At long last, here is my Cars 2 reel.  This contains most of the production shots I did for the film, but unfortunately none of the prepro tests (which I find the most interesting and fun to do).

This was my first feature film as a Directing Animator, alongside Michal Makarewicz, so I had a lot of other responsibilities besides animating.  Director Animators are responsible for supporting their fellow animators creatively and technically, as well as representing animation in other departments' reviews.  For example, we would often visit animators at their desks to give feedback between Director reviews, and I was responsible for training many of the animators who had never worked in the Cars world before.  I would also attend reviews for FX, Crowds, and other downstream departments in case there was a question or note for animation.  Supervising Animators (the highest ranking animators) drive the animation production, and are responsible for casting shots, budgeting time, giving feedback to animators, and working with the director and producer, as well as the leads from other departments.  Usually Supervising and Directing Animators don't get to do a lot of actual animation footage on a film because they're so busy attending meetings and helping the animators.  However, on Cars 2 the department was able to produce record-breaking amounts of footage every week, because the rigs are so simple.  This allowed me and the other leads to contribute more footage to the show than would normally be possible.

Being a lead on a film is (obviously) much different than being an animator.  You have a lot more responsibilities and you don't spend a lot of time at your desk.  On the upside, I really enjoy having a larger influence on the film and getting to interact with so many people inside and outside my department, including the Director.  On the downside, I often miss the zen focus of just sitting at my desk and losing myself in the process of animation.  Cars 2 afforded me both opportunities, and I don't expect that will come again.  I also don't know if we'll ever see John Lasseter direct again, so it was a wonderful chance to work with him again.  John is a great boss, as you can imagine, and he really invites his team to bring their own creative ideas and solutions to the film.  On Cars 2 in particular, because the production timeline was so short and his availability so limited, he really relied on us to take initiative and solve problems on the show in his absence.  This gave the team a greater sense of investment in the film, and made for a more enjoyable experience (even if it is more hectic and stressful at times).

Interview on Animated Views

Here's an interview I did for Animated Views a few months back, which has just been posted.  Thanks Jeremie!  Now that the Cars 2 DVD is out I'll try to put together my reel for the show and post it here soon...

Brave trailer online!

Our trailer debuts online today at 9:00 am PST at disney.com/brave and apple.com/trailers/brave.

It will likely be attached to a family film opening this weekend...

I'm doing a brief tour of duty on Brave right now in between preproduction on future films. I'm having a great time animating these characters, but this movie has been extremely challenging for the entire company, both creatively and technically. It's been a loooong time in the making. But just like hard weather produces the best grapes for wine, I'm confident that all our hard work will pay off, just like with Toy Story 2 and Ratatouille.

Cars 2: Getting Behind the Wheel

Here's a sneak preview of one of the supplemental documentaries from the upcoming Cars 2 Bluray.  This one features interviews with myself, Supervising Animator Dave Mullins and Co-Director Brad Lewis, talking about the "research" we did at Infineon Raceway.  Don't know if it helped our animation much, but it sure was fun!

Goodbye Steve

I haven't felt compelled to post anything on my blog for a while, but with the passing of Steve Jobs I feel like I have to say something, because he has had a direct and positive influence on my life.  Not just because of all the cool gadgets, but because he created Pixar, a place where an artist like me could work with hundreds of other like-minded artists on films that we love, and that touch audiences around the world.  He created a safe-haven for us, away from Hollywood, and I still scratch my head that a studio like this can even exist, much less persevere and thrive.  I was there when Steve used to walk the halls, and while I never had a real conversation with him, I was always glad to see him around, and I'll admit I was starstruck as well.  He used to lead the company meetings and was always very straightforward and honest.  I always felt that with such smart guys as him, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter running the company, we couldn't go wrong.  When Disney bought us in 2005 he stopped coming around as much, for various reasons, including his health, I'm sure.  Then I only got to see him a few times a year, like the rest of the world, in those keynote addresses for Apple.

Now that he's gone I feel like there's a little less magic in the world, but I'm proud to be a part of one of his greatest creations, which will live on like so many of his others.

Thanks, Steve.

Animation Collaborative

If you follow animation blogs like mine then you may have heard about the Animation Collaborative, which is a new workshop for animators and artists.  It's conveniently located right across the street from Pixar.  I will be teaching there starting in the Fall, so if you're interested in joining me for a class then check the availability on there web site.  No, I'm not leaving AnimationMentor.com, I'm just mixing it up a little bit.

AnimC (as we call it for short) is having an open house tonight at 6pm, so if you're in the neighborhood swing by, check out the space, and meet some cool people!

A Day in the Life of John Lasseter

What a life! Check it out:

If you watch closely you might see me in animation dailies...

Animation Insiders book is back online - for FREE!

A few of you have contacted me about getting a copy of the Animation Insiders book by Patrick Beaulieu, which features interviews and workflows of many working animators, including myself.  It was released in print last year, then as an eBook, and then it disappeared.  Now it's back, and Patrick is making it available as a free PDF download.  Here's a link to the download site.


Thanks for your generosity, Patrick!

UPDATE:  Link seems to be working again!

Some thoughts about my remarks at the CTNX panel...

Hi All,
I made some snide remarks about the Character Riggers at Pixar in this panel, and I want to say that I didn't mean it seriously!  Those guys are great and they enable the animators to do what they do.  We've developed a great relationship between Animation and Rigging over the years, and I don't want to upset that.  To be honest, we had been drinking a bit before the panel, so I was a little more flippant than usual; I know that's not an excuse, but I sincerely respect those guys and hope that no one in the rigging community takes offense at my remarks.  Here's to you, Chars TD's!