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Introduction, Hw 2 learn animation?

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Introduction, Hw 2 learn animation?

Hi every1,
this is my first post out here...and i am very very new in dis field comparing 2 all the super talent ppl out of here with bags full of ammo : experience.

am working in a studio, joined as an animator but got 2 do everything from animation, lighting, blend shapes, rendering, etc etc....due to the type of work our studio was doing and accordingly the skilled ppl were re-located in the work which had 2 b completed FAST!!!

nw i want 2 knw...is it worth staying in dis studio where im doing everything and not getting focussed on my main interest : animation..... i knw getting in2 dis field is d biggest worry of every new comer..and so leaving in an impluse and not wat i want 2 do..bt still ur comments will help me think better.....

i want 2 go in2 animation full time and i want 2 start at home itself practicising..bt i dunno from wher2 start....i thot of making some basic animations like walk, run , etc bt for that i need a fully rigged model...so plz lemme know any site from where i can download rigged model for MAYA 5.

any other suggestion on gaining my knowledge pertaining to animation will be gladly appreciated...

hoping 2 get lots of help from highly experienced ppl out there...

thanks a million!!!

Hello

Hello.

Welcome to the forum.

Not being an ECHO BOOMER like yourself- I never leanred those strange abbreviations you use in your post..I will give your question a shot...

If you work in a place where they already do animation- then you are already in the door. Ask some the animators there for small exercises to get started. You will find most folks are compassionate - having been there at one time themselves.

Be persistent!

Thanks.

Hello Again

Hi there,
thnx for ur reply...bt im not aware wat exactly do u mean by "echo boomer" and wat strange abbreviations did i use....

ur rite saying that im already on the door.....it cleared my thoughts a bit... so now wats next... my main question is still in d the dark... how can i self grow myself in animation?

eagerly waiting for a reply...

chao, thnx

Spell check couldn't even figure out what the heck you were trying to say but here is how someone who uses proper spelling would of written you last post.

Hi there,

Thanks for your reply...but I’m not aware what exactly do you mean by "echo boomer" and what strange abbreviations did I use....

Your right saying that I’m already on the door.....it cleared my thoughts a bit... so now what’s next... my main question is still in the dark... how can I self grow myself in animation?

Eagerly waiting for a reply...

Wow I didn't have to work to decipher anything as I read it that time, how nice is that! But it's true it would have taken you an extra 2 or 3 seconds to type in all those other letters.

Department of Computer Animation
Ringling College of Art and Design
Sarasota Florida

"i want 2 go in2 animation full time and i want 2 start at home itself practicising..bt i dunno from wher2 start....i thot of making some basic animations like walk, run , etc bt for that i need a fully rigged model...so plz lemme know any site from where i can download rigged model for MAYA 5. "

If you learn what it takes to do a basic walk cycle, you wouldn't need a rigged model. You could make your own. There are no shortcuts.

Can you draw? That's my first question. You don't need a 3d model to make a walk cycle. You can even do it with stick people. If you can't do it on paper, you won't be able to do it convincingly with 3d on the computer.

Pat

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

You can down load a character model rig here. http://www.andrewsilke.com/generi_rig/generi_rig.html
A lot of people use this one, and they say it is a very well done rig, but I have no clue, since I don't know 3D yet.

Aloha,
The Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

Thnx

hey ed gavin..thnx for ur involvement in d post....bt i dont understand wats there in spell check as long people can understand the post....

hey phacker.... 2 make my own model for walk cycle....i need 2 b gud in modelling, rigging for making a good rig model......wich im nt..and for some1 whose interests lies solely in animation....y model.... i can save time on modelling and focus more on animatiom....

hey animated ape...thx for the link for the rigged model....its a perfect model for practicing..

i dunno why but this thread is goin more towards attacking me for my spelling, etc instead of solving my core question!!!

thnx all of u for your suggestions/help!!!!

a wise student--

one of the foundations of learning is clear communication.

if the student insists more on being understood than trying to understand,
he will find fewer people helping him, thus learning less.
that is what ed is trying to say.

a wise student learns the language of his master first. (see kill bill vol.2)

Don't worry.  All shall be well.

this kinf of spelling is all over the place!!! Little kids and teenagers also write e-mails and text messages like these in my country... Am I just getting too old?
Here's another lovely rig.... http://www.rigging101.com/

"check it out, you know it makes sense!" http://miaumau.blogspot.com/

a wise student learns the language of his master first. (see kill bill vol.2)

here there are so many masters..it will take time 2 understand wat language each master understands!!!!

thnx for d kill bill 2 quote....will watch it asap!!!!!

LifeofIllusion, got a question for you...

You just want to push other peoples characters around, or you want to create your own worlds?

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

Who cares how he types. Yes I find it alittle annoying, but hey, I can't spell either. We don't get on other peoples cases when they don't speak english well, how is LifeO any different. I just hope you don't type this way when you hand in your resume. LOL.

Not a problem for the rig link. Any time.

Hate to tell you this Phacker, but all the 3D animators at the main studios don't model and rig their own characters. In fact they actually don't animate with a fully textured model, only a wireframe or bounding boxes. I want to learn 3D as well, but have no interest in modeling, textureing or rigging. All I want to do is bring a character to life. If I want to create worlds, thats what I use drawing and my dreams for.

Sorry, but I think someone needed to stick up for Lifeoillusions.

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

I studied 3d about 3 years ago. Back then we had to model, texture, light... the whole ball of wax. You mean now a days an animator only has to move someone else's creation around. Hardly seems like animating, but then what do I know. I like being in control of my own fantasy world.

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

I guess that's the "joy" of being an independent.

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

"here there are so many masters..it will take time 2 understand wat language each master understands!!!!"

I hate to come at this with a bias (I'm an English teacher), but since a good deal of business in the world is done in English, try standard written English. I can read and comprehend your posts with no problem, but the impression it delivers to the reader is that you may be impulsive and don't care to take the time to be sure your message is understood and that you are taken seriously.

One the other hand, impulsive types are often pretty creative, so there's always another side, but likely there is some middle ground. I have no idea where that middle ground is, as I've never been very good at being moderate (or unimpulsive for that matter).

You may find that mastering animation means attempting to master language, physics, math, art, drawing and (in this day and age) computer technology.

Never quit.

Cartoon Thunder
There's a little biker in all of us...

dammit I hate it when I break out the teacher card!

(soap box burns, high horse runs away)

Cartoon Thunder
There's a little biker in all of us...

As well you should be Rupert. Larry is the only one here allowed to put on the teacher hat. And he doesn't do it very often.

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

Hope you take that good naturedly Rupert...that's how it was meant. Just sometimes you teacher types get uppity.

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

Knowledge is Power. I've always found Rupert's posts enjoyable and informative :)

Bird

Me too! Bird16.

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

bless you both and thank you.

Phacker, you gotta work a lot harder than that to hurt my feelings. I appreciate (and expect) an elbow in the ribs regularly. I hate it when I get uppity, too. :D

Now y'all're gunna 'spect me t'write all proper n stuff, thas what gets my breefs in a bunch... If u c me gettin uppity again use this post against me.

Bird, always nice to see you around here.

Cartoon Thunder
There's a little biker in all of us...

Well find yourself a bush and jack your shorts down. Because who knows when someone is going to pull them up on you again.

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

I'm in good company here...

:D :D :D :D

Cartoon Thunder
There's a little biker in all of us...

soooooooooo curious

Rupert, just out of pure morbid curiosity, how does an English teacher end up in animation?
I know that this question has nothing to do with the thread but, I've met all kinds of people that parachuted into animation but, never an English teacher!
By the way, I apologize for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes, but hey, English isn't my first language. :D

"check it out, you know it makes sense!" http://miaumau.blogspot.com/

Yeah, uh... perhaps I've perpetrated myself as something I'm not...

I've always wanted to do something artistic, and I've always loved cartoons, having grown up on Looney Tunes and Disney, but I never let myself persue that direction. I actually wound up completely without direction for a number of years. While in the lost stage I started fantasizing about making biker cartoons featuring scooter tramps and the bikes they ride.

When I got it back together (haha) I got back in college and got a degree in English with the goal of teaching. Which is what I've been doing for the last ten years.

At one point I did some volunteer work where I learned some technical skills around simple audio, lighting, and video work, which helped me land a job teaching video production in a high school. I started messing around with Macromedia Director and animated a guy riding his harley through some scenes.

Fast forward a couple of years... I take a job here in Hollister teaching multimedia and wind up taking a weekend course (which I coveted for several years before the chance came up) with Nataha Lightfoot and realize I can probably do this stuff. I buy a light box from him, along with some books, and I just start trying. I make a short, put up a website, and keep trying.

Then they put me back into teaching English, which turns out to be what I'm best at teaching, and most passionate about. I'm not a bad teacher of writing, and I have a lot of fun.

My current animation goal is to finish a 25 minute short (by 2007) and market it to bikers at the annual rally here in Hollister, take it to Sturgis, Daytona, and other major runs. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't, but I'll have fun in the process. I'd love it if it took me away from the classroom, but teaching is a good gig in the meantime (or forever).

So that's how... truth is, I'm not officially "in" animation, it's this other thing I sort of obsess on. . .

Cartoon Thunder
There's a little biker in all of us...

And by the way, I've never noticed a language or writing barrier for you Fazendinha. Crap, now that I've said something about it, everybody's gonna be apologizing for their writing. Better option: hurl a spitwad my way and put some grafitti on the desk. Life's too short.

Cartoon Thunder
There's a little biker in all of us...

thank you so much for your lovely answer! I like collecting all kinds of stories, especially of people that crashlanded into this weird and wonderful world of animation!
Also...
The language barrier thing was just a little joke, although I'm Portuguese, I actually lived in England for almost 9 years... :D

"check it out, you know it makes sense!" http://miaumau.blogspot.com/

nothing like a little dream

tucked underneath your pillow.

you're an animator, no doubt, monsieur rupert.
animation, after all, is not in the hands but in the heart.

Don't worry.  All shall be well.

Why thank you, Kukut. Very encouraging. What will be will be as that annoying little song my mom and sister sang when I was a kid goes.

Apparently I'm also a bit of a highjacker--didja see what I did with this thread? Totally not intentional, of course. Sometimes I just can't shut up :D

Cartoon Thunder
There's a little biker in all of us...

a question

I'm a new comer here. How can I open up a new topic?
thank you! :)
My MSN is bettergirle@hotmail.com
welcome to add me and chat.

this is so funny..
I was reading this thread just out of curiosity , and, got completely engrossed in the character development going on.
It is not like a book though..it's better.. like a life of it's own starting to grow.

I am not sure anyother forums would do this..
I can only put this on the count of the ceative minds behind these names and avatars...rupert piston, animated ape, phacker, better girl, kut kut, fazendhina, and all the others..
This thread is probably the best example of why I love animation so much..

as one would say.. it's not in the hands, it's in the soul..

coming back to the origin of this thread though.....

When you are in an animation studio, you will eventually learn more stuff than you realise about animation.
Still...unless you formalise this knowledge, it will be hard for you to master it.
By formalising i mean you need to understand what you are learning, and thus, understand what you want to learn and why.

Walk cycles, and other types of animation are a good mechanical start.
But just think about why you want to animate..
do you want to tell stories?
push objects around( this is actually a full art in itself when it's done right!), or do you just like seeing things move on screen..
Where do you want to go with that??

Ok..
i'mtalking too uch..
sorryrupert about all the spelling stuff too.. lol... english ain't my first language either!
lifeO..
good luck..

animated ape..
I'm taking this oportunityto tell you i've always enjoyed your posts a great deal.. as well as your work!!!
And all the others..
My god.. thanks for making this place more than just an exchnage of info, but a true gathering of the passions!

P.

Pascal you're the tops. Yes, I think here at AWN we all give advice from the heart. That's who we are...not all of us are sucessful, but I think we all share the passion of the story....just depends how much you want to tell, or are willing to give up to tell someone else's story. But no matter, the story is the heart of the matter. And I hope what you or anyone is working on is a story that is a good one and worth telling.

Pat

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.