Monday, June 30, 2008

Silly Facebook Updates

In a way to pander to my crowd and hopefully get some more views on this here blog of mine and have a snicker. I present to you a list of silly Facebook Status:

-(name) wonders who is right? The Beatles with "All You Need is Love" or Nine Inch Nails with "Love Is Not Enough"
-(name) wonders why "abbreviated" such a long word?
-(name) can't seem to throw away his garbage can.
-(name) is being spontaneous... tomorrow.
-(name) knows there's 10 types of people: people who understand binary and people who don't.
-(name) is all that.
-(name) is saving a ton of money on his car insurance by fleeing the scene of the accident!
-(name) saw a report that says 1 in 4 people are crazy and he's not it...
-(name) doesn't repeat himself, so listen carefully because he's not going to repeat himself.
-(name) still believes in Santa Claus to get the presents.
-(name) can't turn down the suck in your profile.
-(name) wants to live forever, so far so good.
-(name) got shoes for a dollar down at the bowling alley. What a steal!
-(name) is tragically hip.
-(name) is has a 7 figure salary! Sadly, there's a decimal point involved.
-(name) is bringing sexy back!
-(name) is herpes-free... today.
-(name) is going back to the drawing board.
-(name) is reading your facebook status updates in a priority order. Approximate wait time is 15 minutes.
-(name) knows money is the root of all evil. Send him $50 for more information.
-(name) found an incredible shrinking device! It's called his closet!-
-(name) is going around telling people that you're really 51.
-(name) wants to be your "it's complicated"

Feel free to use them!

Friday, June 27, 2008

Rabbit Walk Cycle

What a busy month it's been. 2 sisters graduating, Father's Day, work, summer heat and more. I've been busy tweaking The New Guy (who still doesn't have a name yet, keep suggesting). I've also been busy with preproduction with the short he's going to be in. I got a little tired of modelling yesterday and decided to do some animation and whipped out my mutant rabbit rig and did a walk cycle. Enjoy.

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Art School Survival: Movies

This is the second in a series of articles that will help you, the reader, fit in at an art school. By the time you're done reading this you'll be able to blend comfortably into a crowd at an art school, just a little bit more.

Your Favorite Movie

If you're favorite movie is ”Meet The Spartans” or some family friendly film that isn’t animated (there will be a complete Survival Guide on animation in the future) then you've just failed right now. You'll be laughed at and ridiculed. They're ok as guilty pleasures...
The top choices are: The Godfather, The original Star Wars trilogy, Fight Club, Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, Children of Men , Lord of the Rings trilogy, Pi, The Maltese Falcon, The Wizard of Oz, Citizen Kane, The Seven Samurai, Monty Python and the Holy Grail or The Meaning of Life and a few others.

Other Movies to Know Of

In art school you’ll be exposed to many different movements and a lot of work and chat in your classes will involve talk about movies. As a basic rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to brush up on Internet Movie Database’s (IMDb.com ) top 250 list and past Oscar winners for movies to see.

Movie Gods

In movies, there’s filmmakers that are considered to be universally good. The following are some directors you should know a few things about:
Francis Ford Coppola, Fritz Lang , George Lucus, Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick,, Michel Gondry, Spike Jones, Quentin Tarantino(There’s a love/hate relationship), Federico Fellini, David Lynch, David Cronenberg, just to name a few.

Movies to Avoid or Be Careful With

As mentioned before, IMDB.com can be your friend. If you like any film there that has a lower then 5.0 rating might cast a shadow of uncoolness. But the saying goes, “You can learn more from a bad movie then a good movie.” You can see the mistakes they made and as you progress with your courses you’ll know how to avoid certain problems.
Needless to say, be careful on how you bring up movies. For an example, a guy wearing a Spider-man shirt might be interested in seeing the latest Marvel movie, maybe DC movie as well. But the snobby film student who watches nothing but German Expressionism might not share the same enthusiasm for it.

Prepare For Spoilers

In art school you’re almost bound to have a lesson on “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” by Joseph Campbell. Once you know about the books subject you won’t be able to watch a movie the same way. Also, depending on the course you’re taking, you’ll also learn the secrets of film making and know how they pull of many of the shots and you won’t be able to watch a movie without a little distraction. Some people can turn it off, some, like myself, can’t.

Other Suggestions

It's very important to know how techniques came to pass. Needless to say people didn’t always have bullet time or know how to use sharp angles and dramatic lighting. So it is always a good idea to look at the older movies that broke the mode. These movies are usually recognized by critics and at the Oscars, but keep your eyes open for Top X lists.
Since you are attending an art school it would be a good idea to see what other students are creating and their direction as well as what other local film makers are doing. Much like music, local talent can be a little hit or miss, but do keep an ear out for film screenings and festivals. You can also do a YouTube search for your city and see what comes up.
One other suggestion is to keep track of what you thought of a movie you just saw, IMDB, Flickster (has a very good Facebook app, share it your friends and family, compare) and several other sites allow you to rate and keep track of the movies you’ve seen. Makes movie watching a little more organized.



Just remember, this is just a tiny little guide and the real choices are up to you. But do remember to be open to new movies and classics and you’ll soon realize how far film has come.

For Part One: Music, Click HERE!

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Digimill.net Dump 3 - Principles of Design

Looks like the website known as Digimill that strive to become a one stop shop for 3D news, discussion and help has fallen off the face of the Internet along with my posts for the site. I've been uploading a few of the important posts from the website.

My tutorial about the Principles of Design can be found HERE, it talks about Contrast, Balance, Scale and Proportion, Repetition and Rhythm, Unity and Variety, Directional Forces, Emphasis and Subordination and contains a few photos from myself. It's an easy read but you can learn a lot from it. It was written about March 2007.

You can view it HERE



What do you think of these tutorials? Are they helpful? Leave a comment and tell me.