Just before I started, I asked my friend, Bry, to act out the scene from the series of thumbnail sketches (as shown in the previous post) which I would then video for reference.
I took three videos in total. Here are some screenshots taken from specific parts of the reference I used for the final animation.
I started animating on Monday. I completed around 85 frames before Thursday, which is when I took my frames in to linetest. There were a few things I needed to correct, mostly in timing.
-At the second ‘struggle’, I had to add a few more frames to lengthen it, as the action was moving too quickly.
-I changed the timing from twos to ones when Fifi jumps up in the air shaking her hand as on twos the action was too slow.
After the timing was sorted out I then went home and completed another 30 frames to ‘end’ the animation. I completed these last frames in just over 2 hours, and I believe they are the strongest part of the whole animation. (From when she grabs the jar and throws it across the table and sticks her tongue out at it. )
Here is the finished animation on my vimeo account:
http://vimeo.com/16750778
There are a few things I would like to have improved in the piece:
-smoother continuity
-less growing larger+smaller of the character - MUST keep first frame underneath frames at all times!
-a more convincing ‘fall’ and ’roll’ for the jam jar (at the end of the piece)
Inspiration from professional work:
My inspiration for this week was the film “The Illusionist” directed by Sylvain Chomet.
I saw this film a few months ago in London, as I was intrigued by the various released clips I saw online. I haven’t yet seen “The Triplets of Belleville” but I aim to very soon.
The animation in this film is absolutely breath-taking. The weight and solidity of the characters are held beautifully throughout. I adored the backgrounds, colour and character performance of this film. Everything stood out to me and I was really inspired by it.
Usually with 2D animation that is cel-coloured, I much prefer seeing the pencil-line tests, as these I feel, hold far more depth and beauty than when the frames are coloured digitally. However, in this film, I really loved the colours in both characters and background. There was no loss of depth or solidity, and everything flowed so elegantly. It was really beautiful.
This film’s colour scheme and overall “look and feel” has been likened to Disney’s Golden Age films such as “101 Dalmatians” and “The Aristocats”; two films which I absolutely adore for that very reason.
I believe being inspired by “The Illusionist” is relevant to me and my intended direction as an animator. I found myself engrossed in the animation, the spectacle of the world presented. It was so utterly beautiful, I was completely captivated by the incredible animation shown. I would only wish to someday create work which is so detailed, whimsical and beautiful. And this is why I am relating to this film as inspiration for this task.
In reference to my chosen inspirational professional work, I would have to say my animation on this task (Fifi and the Jam Jar) is very far away from the standard set-out by the animation! It is near-impossible for it to be anything near it at all! But I believe that the idea of the setting in which I decided to convey was definitely relatable (in some way) to that of “The Illusionist”, in that, the detail of the foreground and the idea of a lengthened task of opening a crude little jam jar, can relate to the film somewhat. Obviously, the animation of Fifi is nowhere near good enough, and in future tasks I shall focus more intently on keeping the continuity of the character’s design accurate.
On my next task I shall make sure I plan the scene out properly. I will make an accurate storyboard and I will record good video reference. When animating, I shall keep the first frame at the bottom of the stack of papers on the light box and make sure I am always referring to it, as well as character model sheets. All in all, I will try and keep a better outsight of what I am doing; making sure everything is done to the best of my ability.
All Rights Reserved © The Illusionist 2010 Sylvain Chomet
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