April progress thread

This month I am going to post lots of updates as I work. From planning to polish I really want to document the steps that I take to complete this piece. It's not because I think people care what I'm doing, it's because if I make myself post regular updates then it forces me to take the proper steps rather than skipping over some of them. So, below is the link to the thread that I have started on the 11 Second Club's website.
My thread

What I learned this month

So this month I completed an entry into the 11 Second Club for the first time in almost a year. It took me almost 60 hrs and in the end, it still didn't turn out as I originally planned. However, I have learned from it and I hope to improve.
The biggest thing I came to understand is that acting choices are key. You can have the best animation in the world but if your poses and acting don't fit the audio, it won't matter much at all. This is where proper planning, a good storyboard and strong blocking comes in. This month I allowed myself to veer away from my original blocking. As a result my piece felt disjointed.
I also came to realize that I still have a lot to learn when it comes to moving on from the blocking stage. I have yet to develop a good workflow to help me push on and improve the work. Instead, I seem to get lost and end up stumbling through my frames from pose to pose until it's done. I am getting stronger at body mechanics, but still need to learn a lot to produce good pieces of acting.
With all of that being said, I have decided to once again enter the 11 Second Club in April. I have purchased a 3 hour lecture/demo by Ken Fountain that I intend to watch right now. I am going to get new cables for my camcorder so that I can get video reference this time. I will plan my shot in 2D and then and only then will I dive into Maya. Hopefully with a solid base to work from I can cut down my time spent in Maya and produce a piece much stronger than the one I did in March.
More to come soon!

11 Second Club entry

This is my entry for March 2012. It took me approximately 60 hours to complete! In other words, I need to get quicker lol. If I did have more time there are several things I would change or improve, but these are lessons learned for the future.

March blocking WIP

This is my first pass at the blocking stage for this months 11 Second Club entry. I am currently working on tweaking some of the poses, adding some more inbetweens and finishing the lip sync.

Sample Render

This is just a sample image from the new acting piece that I am working on. I have 17 days left to complete this piece in order to enter it into this months 11second club competition. I will be posting a WIP later tonight.

Demo Reel for iAnimate

Amazing animated short films

Here is a link to a site containing some amazing animated short films. There are many famous, and many not-so-famous works to be found on this site. The 2012 Oscar winning animated short is amongst them and you can find dozens of other lesser known, but equally brilliant shorts. Enjoy watching!
Animated short films

Pixar: How to create a Demo Reel

A message to all aspiring animators, or currently employed animators seeking a different job, here is a template from the best out there. Pixar compiled a list of what to include and what to omit from your demo reel. Of course not every job you apply for will require you to include all of these things, but it's good to know what the best want to see!
How to create a demo reel according to Pixar

New Blog!

I can't believe I only just discovered the possibility of creating a free online blogging space that updates your posts for you, organizes them and can embed video and images as well! This will be my new home for all of my future blogging. Most of my posts will be concerning animation and my daily, or weekly, progress. You will find links to my work as well as documentaries of experiences I have within the industry. I can't wait to get blogging!