Friday, September 17, 2010

New Banner!!

So as you can probably see I made a new banner/header, whatever you want to call it, haha! I think it really captures me with my literal bayleaf and melting pot of all my interests. A few of the things that really represent me are found within that pot: Squirt (my first character), my Wacom tablet, an American flag, music notes, a film reel, a paintbrush and pencil, and even a tube of chapstick. These are just hints of bayleef...

As we end week 2, here at RIT it's time to really get in the swing of homework, projects, and story planning especially for those of us working on our 2-quarters. I've had a number of ideas, but am really focusing in on two at the moment and shaping them up to see which I would rather go with. It's interesting as my friend Dave says, "see what happens when you let your mind wander...", you end up with ideas you're really proud of and those of which you can relate to. I can't wait to get more into the process of pre-production and make this film something to experiment with and be proud of... :)

I guess that is it for now...see when I see ya

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Time to start fresh

I feel like I've neglected this poor blog all summer...well I don't feel, I know I have. The summer hasn't been one of the great productivity I had hoped for but at the same time, it definitely has been a good one and one that has flown by; considering I'm moving back to school this coming Saturday.

With a relaxing family trip to Tennessee that happened in July, as well as the return to my job at the local Dunkin' Donuts, came a few ideas for inspiration for the 2-quarter film I will be making upon the return to school. This time, it will be my first 3D (rather CG) production which I have to admit I'm a little nervous for; considering all of my films have been the traditional hand-drawn (because in my eyes, I can control that a lot more). It's hard with this film not only for coming up with an idea but it will be my first venture working with someone else which can prove to be a bit difficult if you're not on the same page from the very beginning. The other issue I have is deciding what type of product I want to make; do I want to focus on character animation and let the story suffer? Do I want to focus on special effects? And it goes on and on from there...

The advice I've gotten even in the previous films I've made is to make a self-contained story that isn't too complex and that expresses what you really want to express, in this case character animation and modeling; as those are the two areas in 3D I would like to focus my attention. It's amazing how difficult it can be to make a film with one character who shows a character change as well as a story which isn't too simple. Needless to say, for someone who struggles with stories, it's not the easiest thing. However I've really been challenging myself to think out of the box with this film and I've actually come up with some good ideas; some of which if they're not produced into a film, they can definitely be used as exercises.

It's hard to believe it's almost school time again but I'm so looking forward to it like I always do and this time without the "in-person" help of some of my best friends who have graduated, it is up to me to make a fantastic film and be the mentor to the new kids. It's an interesting feeling, and one that I hope to be successful at.

Monday, May 24, 2010

It's all over...

The 2009-2010 year at RIT is officially over and I am half way through my college career, which is a scary thought. The ending of this year however was one that was bittersweet; I couldn't wait to come home, sleep in my own bed, and relax but I also didn't want to leave as this year I was there from the very beginning because of working with Orientation and it was awesome. Plus I also didn't want to leave because some of my best friends were graduating and I didn't want to accept that fact. Maybe it is so hard to see them go because I've learned so much from them and I always wanted them to be there but I began to realize they always will be there, now just in a different way. I didn't cry like I thought I would but as reality sets in, I feel like I should and I have that weird knot in my throat. I know by no means that this is an end, it's only a beginning, especially for them as they begin taking their places in the "real world". It's definitely a weird feeling knowing they won't be there next year but I know I now have to be what they were/are for me to some new kids coming in to school. I know that we will continue to talk and keep in touch and that thought makes me happy...

As the quarter came to a close, I had my final screening of "Sky High", wrote 2 papers, and spent as much time with my friends as I possibly could and had an amazing time with them, some I will never forget. My 1-quarter came out well, and my critique also went well; with the only thing being said that I should push my expressions a little more and hold some areas where his actions seem to go too fast. But I also did get "that is the cutest turtle I have ever seen!!" which also made me happy...it was definitely a great learning experience and as I begin to think of ideas for my next film, I will take every bit of critique from this film and apply it.

So here it is my 1-quarter film, "Sky High":

Sky High from Baylee A. Richards on Vimeo.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

The Final Days...Crunch Time!

So the last week, rather the last few days have been like a blur trying to finish all my work and give all of it the attention it deserves. It's been crazy to say the least!! The past weekend, even though it was crazy, I got a lot accomplished and was officially done drawing as of Saturday as well as scanning every one of my drawings. It was a bittersweet feeling, knowing that this will probably be one of my last bigger hand-drawn productions. So Sunday, was all about compositing; I'm using Adobe After Effects to put everything together and I've got a nice little system going.

I can't even describe the feeling once you see more than one of your shots in a sequence, it's amazing to see your drawings move and have them officially become an animation. As of this moment in time, I have only one shot left to composite and then my sound work and all of this is due Thursday morning and it will be done. Right now it's up to about 1 min 52 secs but may become a bit shorter...but I'm really happy with that. I feel that I'm finally starting to understand timing a bit better as this is all starting to come together.

It's funny, I feel in many ways this 1-quarter has taught me a lot about myself and how much I am able to take on, but on the other hand I wish I had more time to develop it even further, like adding color. Because 10 weeks is definitely not enough time to make a film...but either way, I did my best and that's all I can ask for. I hope others will like it just as much as I do. :)

p.s.: I won't be putting anything more up until after it is finished and up on my vimeo account...

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Weird Timing...

I think the saying, "time flies when you're having fun" is a pretty accurate statement, that or when you're stressed and need to get things done. I feel like this quarter is flying by and as I'm fighting with myself to continue to do well in all my classes and make this 1-quarter animation something I can be proud of, timing has become a huge issue...literally.

As I have of course started the inbetweening process of my film and have half of my shots done, I've had to go back and re-inbetween some areas as they move too fast. Timing is probably one of the hardest things in animation, at least to master and be comfortable with..."how long should this shot be?" "should my character move faster in this instance and if he does will it be readable?" I totally understand that my understanding of timing will (hopefully) become better as I continue to make animations, but this is definitely one of the things that's bringing my confidence level down, particularly with this 1-quarter animation. I ask for advice constantly on how to fix things and where to add/take away frames, and it definitely seems to be helping.

I love this experience of making this animation about my sea turtle who wants to fly, but I definitely wish it were an experience that lasted a bit longer than 10 weeks. Things I would like to get done including full color may not happen due to me running out of time. However I had decided in the beginning that the execution of animation was more important to me than full color. The full color will probably be done in the summer, when I can devote even more time to this.

Something my friend James said to me at the beginning of this quarter during our storyboards class, has really stuck with me in the making of this production; "our stories always tend to tell a little bit about ourselves, even if not intentionally when creating an idea". This to me really is true. With my turtle, Sunny, who hatches on the beach, sees a bird and then tries his hardest to fly like that bird, but in the end figures out how to fly in his own way, it really expresses who I am...I see my friends who are about to graduate who are amazing animators, story artists, modelers, etc and I want to be just like them. But just like Sunny, I have to find my own way of "flying" and succeed in my own way.

I have learned so much from them and even though they are graduating, I expect I will continue to learn from them, but I truly have to thank them so much for not only being great mentors, but amazing friends.

So, enough of the sadness and life revelations...here are a few shots from the film:

This first one will have a few more holds, and one or two loops added to it to let the audience breathe with his reactions, but for now these are just my frames in sequential order:



This second one is Sunny's roll over from being on his back when he tips his egg over; this needs a few frames pulled:



If you would like, feel free to comment...I would love to hear some more feedback!
Also my friend James who I mentioned before also has a blog if you feel like checking it out:
http://jamespgibsonportfolio.blogspot.com/
he's an awesome story artist and his storyboards rock!

so i guess that is all for now... :)

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Feeling Better...

So maybe it's just me but you know that feeling when you feel like you're behind and you start to panic...yeah that's kind of the feelings I'm having right now. However even though I may say this, I'm probably on track but who knows, "just gotta keep swimming"... :)

I do feel a ton better though, after having my friend John look at my progress thus far on my 1-quarter (tentatively entitled "Sky High"). He gave me a lot of pointers and things that I could definitely consider changing/fixing to make this film a success and learning process. He made the point that even though I may not have time to fix every flat camera shot, etc., the point of this film is to be that learning process and that I should take everything good and bad into account. That's basically the philosophy I had from last year when I made my first ever animation in my Digital Production class.

I think that is all for now. I was taking a dinner break from drawing and I figured I'd talk a little bit about stuff. :)...I'll post again soon and hopefully have more progress to show (scratch that, I will have more progress to show)...

p.s: changing the horizon in a shot makes a HUGE difference :D

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

My First Post

So since everyone else seems to be doing it, I decided to make a blog too; well everyone meaning many of my animation friends here at RIT...it seems like a good idea.

Let me introduce myself, the name's Baylee. The girl that is probably known most for being a huge history person (as some say, I have an obsession with Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War...ok maybe that's true, hahaha), a Disney freak, and the girl with the crazy short, spikey or "poofy" hair. But then again that's me...oh and plus I'm an animator and have always wanted to be since I was 8 years old; it's nice to say i'm finally beginning to live my dream. Also I'm from Niagara Falls, NY, one of the biggest tourist destinations in the country.

I'm in my 2nd year at RIT (or the Rochester Institute of Technology, to be all techincal about it) in the School of Film and Animation. Currently I'm working on what's called my 1-quarter, which is a film made in 10 weeks. Mine is about a character I created named Sunny, who is a turtle who wants to fly after he sees a bird do so. I'm not as far as I would like to be on it at this point since it is already the middle of week 6, but then again I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist and may over exaggerate when I say I'm "behind".

Another thing I had been doing was working on my friend Noelle's senior thesis, inbetweening a few shots here and there for her. I have to say it really helped me to get a handle on how the whole animation process works and it made me feel awesome to help her. I really think I have improved in animating and I can't thank her enough.

I'm friends with alot of the animation seniors here and it's going to be really upsetting when they graduate in a few weeks but I would like to think that everything they have taught me will be put into my future animations and passed onto the underclassmen I will begin to mentor....but let's not talk about graduation, it'll begin to make me sad and I don't want that...

Oh and by the way, the reason for the "Bayleef" name of the blog is that it comes from those seniors; Bayleef tends to be my nickname in the lab where we all work, hahaha...and honestly I wouldn't have it any other way.

So the blog is basically going to be my "website" and show all of you out there, the stuff I like to do and work on; particularly this 1-quarter of mine. Below is actually my progress so far, I'm really proud of it; it's most of my key frames timed out...they probably need a bit more tweaking but all thats left after I finish keys is inbetweens...


So I think that's all for now for this post...I'll keep ya posted...stay tuned :)