Happy Birthday, Milt Kahl!

I'd hardly know it without Andreas Deja's exhaustive blog, but still.  Here's an affectionate poke at one of the greatest animators who ever lived.

Kirby 64: Cartooning with computers

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is a twelve-year-old video game in which you play as Kirby, an absurdly cute and graphic character that jumps around a lot.  It crossed my mind because the story scenes in it are charming and entertaining.  Even though the animation is flawed, it really gets to the point.  It is CG made on clunky, outdated software that still feels fresh and cartoony today.

In the clip below, King Dedede, the sour-faced penguinesque character, gets possessed by a gooey black spirit who wants him to fight Kirby.

In the next clip, the evil spirit loses the fight, and Dedede returns to his snooty self.  Waddle Dee, the little red guy, invites him on their quest.

In the last clip I selected, everyone happily skips stones while they wait for the portal to the next world to open.  Kirby's enthusiasm frightens them.

From my experience, taking the simplest possible approach to necessary, everyday bits of animation -- walks, entrances, exits -- frees an animator to act and brings the animation closer to cartooning at the same time.  Cartooning is mostly humor and instinct.  You never question the physics of Lucy kicking Charlie Brown in the butt in a Peanuts strip.  It just feels right.

Obviously, there are times and even whole films for complexity, but it doesn't suit characters like Kirby and company.  Therefore, Kirby 64's story scenes use a lot of cartoony shortcuts.  That's not a bad thing, because the economy and appeal of the animation is quite exceptional for a video game.

Notice how the attitude in this scene comes first and the walk is an afterthought.  Dedede is focused on the crystal, so a soft landing that doesn't interrupt his waddle or his hungry stare is quite appropriate.

Here's another cartoony animation principle that Kirby 64 honors:  "Just get the character out of there!"

And that principle's brother: "Just get the character in there!"  The sooner and more abstractly a character enters, the more time you have to establish his attitude, as possessed Dedede demonstrates.  (Also note the spooky underlighting that one of the artists applied to Dedede and nothing else in the scene.  Nice touch!)

Alas, the flaw I mentioned is a crusher -- the lack of proper squash and stretch in some scenes.  When Adeleine, the kid in the beret, anticipates for a take, her model compresses in one direction.  I still wanted to post this scene for its entertainment value, and to show the eye-bugging that happens on Dedede and Waddle Dee.  The less perfect the model, the more easily you can break it!

All technical (and cheat-related) analysis aside, the acting is terrific, despite the characters' limited expressions.  Moments like Dedede pushing back Kirby's face and turning to inspect the crystal more closely establish character types in a heartbeat.

Even the game's best-animated scenes are not the best animation I've seen, but they are all charming and direct, and they feel very spontaneous when you consider the typically painstaking CG process.  I always loved HAL Laboratory's games for being some of the most whimsical to grace Nintendo's systems, and now my appreciation goes a bit deeper.

RANGO!

Just spreading the word here:

See RANGO when you get the chance. It's a risky animated film that succeeds -- shrewd, silly, gritty, and charming, all at once. Hats off to Gore Verbinski for jumping into animation with such enthusiasm, to James Ward Byrkit and the story team for following him up, and to ILM -- who is pretty much "the studio" -- for the incredible, unconventionally appealing visuals, with photorealistic textures that actually work in their favor.

(Just one caution -- don't bring anyone under nine or maybe ten. This is a bit of a "hard PG.")

Storytime!

It's true, I'm insane. That is how I am able to keep drawing for myself while the rigors of school confront me at every turn. Enjoy a short storyboard of sorts, which illustrates part of a larger yarn I'd like to spin some beautiful day.

Plus a pinup or two.

Yeah, it happens, but at least I am more in the groove for gags than I have been for a year and a half. That's progress!

Spotlight on Will Finn's blog (yeah, yeah)

I've heard Will Finn talk now and then about the homogenization of style in the animation industry, and last night he explored it more deeply. But his outlook is hopeful. "The notion of the Influence Map," says he, "may hold the keys, both to the problem and the solution..."

I've been looking plenty to animation's past and not enough to the present -- that is, to the artists AROUND me. I see so many of my dA and Blogger buddies regularly at school, while others are a measly few clicks away on the Internet. I explore with rabid enthusiasm. Then I leave the sites and go back to working from the professional talent I was already inspired by. Not for lack of respect, mind, but for being too easily distracted by the hype surrounding "the greats."

There are so many young, individualistic greats I see every day that I have yet to acknowledge in my own work, but they would be healthy influences indeed. Let me start by saying, thanks for bringing your art to the world and working to make animation and comics that much more inspiring.

P.S. If I don't successfully shoot out a cutesy cartoon by the end of the day, Happy Valentine's Day to all. May we all be with someone we love, sooner rather than later.

Drawing myself off a cliff!

Mmm, not quite so bad as all that.  I loosened up tremendously while watching Ignacio sketch a few nights ago.  No stories come of it (though who knows? there's new characters in the bunch), but some fresh gags did.  Thanks, dude.

Here's one final sketch at full page size, taken to color and lighting.  I wonder if I would have saved myself a buttload of time by doing cleanup.  Why not test that on the next one-off (someday)?

It took forever to scan these and I've still got animation to do.  But, man, does it ever feel good to share.

Peace of mind?

I've been lounging on DeviantArt 'cos I likes getting feedback from, and giving feedback to, fellow nerdy students. So, there's not much in the way of new drawings, but I thought I'd post what I little I had up here for continuity's sake.

Big Fat Edit, 1/31/11: Optimism and stuff! On to the senior film!!!

Progress?

No doodles today, but the animatic for my senior film is 99.9% complete (some dialogue needs to be swapped out) and I have gotten the go-ahead to start animating. Enjoy a storyboard drawing, kids!

Meanwhile, I rediscover what is likely the most unapologetically appealing Disney feature of the post-Walt era. It's clear that the new wave of Disney talent in the '80s was huge into Milt Kahl and Frank Thomas and all those guys, but for funny characters especially, they brought their own discoveries, like Tex Avery's vivid takes and Chuck Jones' strategically applied moving holds, to the table. Contemporary animators have consistently told me this and I am beginning to finally notice it.

So, to rewatch The Great Mouse Detective, a movie chock full of funny characters all drawn by animators exploring these influences with childlike glee, including an exceptionally gleeful Glen Keane drawing the villain...leaves me breathless.

(C) Disney, but I wish it was mine.

If you forgot this frame was in the movie, chances are you need to watch it again.

Last burst of sketchy decadence...

...before careening headlong into my senior film. But it'll be a pleasant careen. I think.

One thing I learned: Next time I make oaths that I'll have more stories in the can and amp up my draftsmanship to the maxxxxx, make sure nothin' else is on my plate first. The above doodles weren't exactly "on my plate," and I'm that much closer to not yet finishing my boards as a result.

BUT... do you like 'em?

Full-color critter

Goodbye for now, frothy, problematic attempts at Milt Kahl mimicry. Hello, draftsmanship, basic appeal, tonal studies, and confidence!

(I apologize, however, if anyone finds this fox/bobcat's spacey expression creepy. Let's pretend she's in rapture to make it more interesting.)

Sitting in on Marshall's Visual Storytelling final on Wednesday was a rush 'cause there were so many great pitches from fun-loving animation students with no apparent pretensions. Thank you to the wonderful class of Fall 2010! I plan to work on stories after the weekend, once I've cleaned my squalorous apartment. Honest!

Noirtoons

Had so much freakin' fun drawing these, and taught myself how to draw square, dimensional skulls in the process.

We are recovering.

Words of inspiration from the Coyote, channeling Winston Churchill...and drawn in pencil, no less.

The Coyote is copyright the ghost Warner Bros. in the sky.

The pen is mightier...

God knows why, but I am having a hell of a time comfortably doing a pencil sketch these days. The piece below, which was of course done over hastily in Photoshop, is all right.

These designs are better.

This graphite drawing is nice.

This pen sketch is much more interesting.

Here are some more designs I was able to concoct off the cuff with a gel pen, while with a Col-Erase I'd be drawing a bland spherical skull for two whole seconds and groping aimlessly for a pose afterwards. I didn't use to hate the process of drawing so much. What happened?

This kid looks like he's ready to party!