Here Goes Nothing

I do not intend on attempting this.

I don't know anything about animation, but I do know that I like it and I'm excited to learn about it. Movies, shorts, title sequences, whatever it is I'm always amazed at how animated pieces are put together. I enjoy watching animated movies and then going back and learning from the 'behind-the-scenes' videos or 'the making of' videos. I have no previous experience with this stuff except for maybe the drawing classes I took when I was 10 (does that count?). I started using photoshop over winter break to learn about masking, layering, and some other basic techniques, but After Effects is on a whole other level.

But that's okay. I went to Cinemapolis with some friends a few nights ago and saw Anomalisa--now that looked like it was very, very difficult to make. In other words, I'm thankful that a lot of stuff we're going to be doing will be on a computer with a least a few presets, and that we're not creating sculptures that have to be manipulated to create every single frame of a film.

I know that I need to work on my drawing skills this semester. Before I create good 3D animation, I have to be proficient in 2D animation, which means I have to get better at drawing. I plan on getting my colored pencils this weekend and then starting from there. Arturo showed my Fiction Field 2 class last semester a video where this comic book artist talks about drawing as a skill, not a talent: something that anyone, with enough practice, can get good at. Of course I can't find the video now, but maybe he'll show us in class next week. I'm not exactly sure what to look for as I collect source material for my name animation, but I presume I'll figure that out shortly.