Freelancing at Conventions

I've only been to two conventions that dealt with animation and they were simply amazing. I volunteered at both so I could actually get some experience without having to pay so much. I first volunteered at Wondercon last spring and it lasted two days. Those two days were spent gawking at the interior of the convention center in Anaheim and clicking a button to count how many people went into a room. My favorite part was seeing everyone cosplaying characters. I would often see a lot of reoccurring characters like the Gravity Falls characters, Star Wars, Marvel/DC characters, etc. It was like a smaller Comic Con. (One day I shall volunteer there *shakes fist*). I even attended a few panels, but not the ones I really wanted to go to unfortunately.
I volunteered just last month at CTNX, which is a networking convention for animators and illustrators. I loved Wondercon, but CTNX was by far my favorite. No cosplayers but a lot of business cards were handed out to me as I explored the hundreds of tables set up for every individual artist. I made a few friends who also volunteered with me and I even got to see a few panels I wanted to see. A lot of the panels consisted of different animated industries like DreamWorks and Nickelodeon. How I heard about Nickelodeon's new show, Harvey Beaks, was through one of their panels. My favorite panel that I attended was on my last day and it was one I really wanted to go to. Remember when I talked about Daron Nefcy in my last post? Well, her and some people who worked on Star vs. the Forces of Evil were doing a panel. I felt ecstatic when they showed us an entire episode animatic for their upcoming season 2. So, conventions of these kinds are really popular and fun to go to if you're a fan of animation, films, or art in general. I'm hoping to volunteer again for Wondercon next year.
Most of everyone promoting their art at CTNX were freelance illustrators or artists, which means that they work independently from a company like Disney or Cartoon Network. I love freelance artists, they can do what I can't; work alone. The image above is directed to one of my favorite YouTube freelance animators, Egoraptor. He does some really hilarious stuff and his animation is actually really good. Another animator I watch is Harry Partridge, who's animation is something I really admire. He did some online lessons and they really helped me out. These freelance artists know how to promote themselves through either online media like YouTube or they go to conventions where they hand out their business cards while selling their artwork. I've got like a whole stack of cards where I'll be checking out their art.
Knowing how to promote yourself is so important in the animation business. It's about getting your foot in the door that's important. Knowing how to be social and friendly is something that every person looks for. Also, having self-confidence is just as important. I've learned the hard way that lowering your self-esteem and comparing yourself to other's artwork is not the way to go. It'll only bite you in the ass later on so have fun and just do what you love!
Next topic is something I haven't figured out yet but it will be coming soon! :)

Rosie the Riveter Picked Up A Pencil

Why, yes, I am a woman. Just figured I'd get that out of the way for those who were curious. It's strange. I never thought about gender in animation because the animators and artists were all hidden behind cartoon characters. People never think about who drew what when watching a show or film; they simply enjoy the characters as they are, which is what it really is all about. I began hearing about gender in animation a few years ago when I started out.
The group of women pictured above all work on the animated show on Disney XD called Star vs. the Forces of Evil. The woman in the center is the creator, Daron Nefcy. When I first heard about the show and saw the name of the creator, I thought it was a guy because of the name. To my surprise, it turned out to be her! She's a very whimsical painter and I really enjoy her style. I'm mentioning her because she is one of the first women to create an animated television show. Rebecca Sugar is another creator for the show Steven Universe and she created her show before Daron so I have a lot of respect for her as well. I always get really excited when I find a show that's been created by a female because it just means that there's hope for me to be in their position one day.
Let's face it. Animation has always been a boys club. The majority of animators in the early to mid twentieth century were male. Unfortunately women back then weren't viewed ideally as creative or talented and there weren't a lot of women who wanted to go into animation. Walt Disney did have some women artists working on his films. They usually did background art or painting some of the characters, but none of them really did the actual animating part of it. I'm glad to see that women are becoming more involved with it and gaining recognition for their talent.
Still, the factor of inequality remains in the business. It's not just animation, too, but entertainment in general. There are still some men out there who classify women as inferior and don't think they belong in the entertainment business. It's ridiculous. I'm not an extremist when it comes to feminist rights, but sexism needs to stop altogether because it makes things way more difficult than it needs to be. Thankfully, more women are being hired in the animation industry and I heard that a lot of industries are taking in women because there just isn't enough.
I'm hoping to become a storyboard artist for TV animation, but I recently heard that not a lot of women are going into storyboarding because it's an intimidating field to go into and a lot are more comfortable with illustrating for concept or backgrounds and working with color. This is something I don't want to do. I want to work with characters and being able to visualize the set up in my head to later put it down on paper seems more enjoyable. Now they're starting to hire more women storyboard artists so I'm pretty glad for that.
Women weren't very much involved with animation back then or recognized. Now the tables are turning and women are displaying their joy and talent with animation. Props for those girls out there who are rising up and using their visions to create amazing shows and movies. You go, girls! Next topic: Expos and free lance!

Issue No. 1

Yeah, bet I was gunna pick an image that everyone could relate to like Marvel, huh? No. No, this was planned since the beginning. This is the one I'm going to start with because I am currently loving every second this show puts out. One Punch Man started as a web comic and then moved to what you see here, an incredible manga series that you can also read online. They just started animating the series in October and it's freaking amazing. By this point I'm pretty much promoting it. My sister hates anime so I can't convince everyone to watch it. It is hilarious and beautifully animated so check it out sometime, especially if you're looking for another anime to watch. I usually don't watch anime and even I find it to be totally kickass.
Back to the actual discussion at hand. I was never a comic collector but I do know of some comics that were converted into an animated show and vice versa. The first comics I ever got into were by an artist named Jhonen Vasquez and was titled Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Sounds innocent enough, no? It really isn't. I got into them after I began watching Invader Zim and since they are both the same creator I really wanted to check them out. The comics are interesting. Crude and dark, but I was a pretty dark person back in high school so I indulged in them. Comics that obtain a lot of attention from its viewers are likely to undergo a decision whether it should be animated.
Marvel and DC comics have actually gone in both directions for live action and animation. Many of the characters that animation focused on are really popular figures like Batman and Robin. The only show I ever really got into that focused on these comics was Teen Titans and I really only recognized Robin. They do a really awesome job, though, at bringing these drawings to life. I really enjoyed that show and it was fun getting in touch with all the characters, Beast Boy being my favorite.
There's a lot of manga that became anime later on. I know for a fact Sailor Moon was one of them and, of course, One Punch Man being another, but there's a whole lot more. I'm not a huge anime lover, but I really like the style and would probably watch more if I wasn't focused on other shows at the moment. I'm not sure if there's been anime that has later turned into manga, but there could be. Speaking of which, I do happen to know a few shows that have been converted into a comic.
I'm gunna go ahead and bring up Jhonen Vasquez again and say that after Invader Zim was canceled in 2002, a lot of fans went nuts and wouldn't stop bugging the guy. Frustrated that he wasn't able to blow up people's heads with his mind, he decided to make the comic thirteen years later. I'll say this right now, it's exactly as I hoped it would be. I've been ordering issues non stop since it came out over the summer. If you guys are a fan of the show, I definitely recommend the comic. Pure comedy gold right there. It also makes up for that empty hole since the cancelation of the show.
Rick and Morty also began working on a comic, though the creators aren't involved with it. I get those issues as well, but I believe it's a comic for fun and while its fans will be waiting for the next season to come out in who knows how long, it's a nice comic to read in the meantime. Some of these comics have short story arcs and then there are some that don't. I personally love the ones with a story arc because then I become excited for the next issue to come out.
Comics have really had a big influence over animation, that's for sure. A lot of artists who work in animation either have worked on comic books before or have created their own comics. I tried out comics once in high school, but it didn't stick for long. I may go back into it, though, when I have enough free time. For now, unfortunately, I really have got to study for finals. Later in today's thrilling adventure: Women in Animation!

Film and TV Animation Industries

Sure, I could have easily chosen a movie that was later made into a cartoon series, but my loyalties lie with animated shows being made into a movie. Most of the movies who later turn into animated TV shows like a lot of DreamWorks' movies don't really appeal to me all that much. The way they computer animate them end up looking very cheap and the storylines don't interest me. Still, that doesn't mean I respect them any less. They gotta work hard to get that money rolling in. Aha. Anyway, I decided to let The Simpsons shine seeing as though they are the longest running animated show currently and their movie was freaking hilarious.
Again, I'm not posting to say which is better, TV or film animation, for I love both equally. I will talk a bit about the different industries producing these pictures and their progressions...and maybe start gushing about some of these shows and movies. I'll start with the film industries.
There are so many industries that do animated movies out there that I'm not even sure if I can name them all. So I'll just start with the ones on the top of my head. Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, Sony Pictures, Blue Sky, Warner Bros., Ghibli Studios, Fox... and that's all I can think of at the moment. The top three are ones that I'm more familiar with and have seen the most of (maybe also Ghibli Studios). All of these industries have made a lot of progress in animation and, as they say, practice makes perfect. Out of all of them, however, I'd say that Pixar and DreamWorks are the top studios who have made the most change. Disney has, too, of course, but I want to focus on the computer animated industries first.
I used to be terrified of the movie Antz when I first saw it, and when I gained the courage to watch it again a few years ago, I was shocked by how different the animation was compared to their newer movies. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't all too appealing to the eye. Their traditionally animated movies were fantastic, The Road to El Dorado and The Prince of Egypt. Yet, you could tell that computer animation was not their forte. Now they're a wiz at it and it's because they continue to make more films. Pixar is another story. I always found their style very beautiful since Toy Story and even so their detail has gotten a lot better. Brave is a great example of this. Their storylines continue to leave me in awe with each movie.
TV animation is something that I really want to go into. I would love to work with movies as well, but my main focus is to get a job in TV animation. The only reason is because I would want to be in a team that helps develop a story that lasts many seasons. It'd be kind of like working on an extended movie. Here's the main companies I can think of: Nickelodeon, Disney (XD), Cartoon Network, TBS, Fox, Comedy Central, and Adult Swim. I've always been going through phases where I have a 'small' obsession over a show until another catches my interest. Call me childish but I really only watch cartoon shows now no matter if it's for adults or not.
Nickelodeon was my go to as a kid with SpongeBob Squarepants, Hey Arnold!, Rugrats, CatDog, Invader Zim, Danny Phantom, you name it. I don't watch shows on there anymore because their shows aren't really to my interest, but I did recently become interested in a new show they have on there called Harvey Beaks. There's just way too many shows on Cartoon Network I got into, but I also don't watch their new shows for the same reason. What's funny is I never got into Disney shows other than Kim Possible as a kid and I still don't, but Disney XD came out with a lot of really amazing shows like Gravity Falls (which used to be on Disney), Star vs. the Forces of Evil, and Wander Over Yonder. Disney has struck it big with their audience for the past few years and it continues to grow. I'm not surprised, Disney always gets back on their feet.
I love both movies and TV and every single one of them has had their ups and downs, but that's a big part of working in animation. There's gunna be good and bad movies/shows, but the experience makes it worth it in the end. Next topic: Comics and animation!

From 2D to 3D

I grew up with both traditional and computer animation. I don't prefer one or the other. They are both beautiful in their own ways. They have different qualities that I find endearing and though I do wish that they still made traditionally animated movies, I respect the fact that they are continuing with computer animation. I'm not gunna make this a 'which one is better' post. I'm just gunna talk about what characteristics they possess and why they are both equally appealing.
The picture I posted above is one of my favorite Disney shorts ever. I'm sure a lot of you remember this. It came out with the movie Frozen and I found it to be a masterpiece. I was totally captivated by it (even more so than the movie) and was determined more than ever to continue majoring in animation. The short is called Get A Horse! and it has the perfect blend of both 2D and 3D animation. I used to love watching the black and white Mickey Mouse shorts as a kid and watching this got me really excited. I just loved how they were able to blend both types of animation together into a phenomenal piece of work.
I could rave more on this short, but time is a bit against me at the moment. The animation industry began switching from traditional animation to computer when Pixar began their company. DreamWorks had begun to make their own 3D animated movies not too long after Toy Story released. This form of animation was revolutionary to a lot of industries and it wasn't long until more attention was given to its dimensionality than 2D. While computer animation is wicked cool, traditional, in my opinion, has a beauty to it that cannot be replicated through 3D. Hand drawn animation has a more personal feel to it than computer.
Computer animation has gotten a lot better throughout the years though. Pixar's films can be just as beautiful to look at as Disney's. I remember my dad telling me that the first time he saw Toy Story he hated it for how it looked. He wasn't at all used to this 3D effect it had and being a computer guy himself, he was baffled by it. Still, it was something to be admired and turned out to be a huge success in the end. While it may seem that computer animation takes less effort to make than a traditionally animated film, the fact is that both take an enormous amount of effort to make in different ways.
Traditional has to deal with singular drawings of thousands of frames by artists and 3D has to deal with the dimensionalities of the characters in the animation. This means modeling and how to make it actually look three-dimensional. It's not easy. I haven't even started on that yet and I'm already intimidated. Both styles have a charm to them that speak clearly and know how to capture their audience well. They're both successful styles.
I know a lot of artists who prefer one or the other but, really, I'm just glad that we have both to appreciate in the long run. Yes, traditional animation is not as reoccurring now as it was before, but that doesn't mean it's dead forever. Artists and animators out there still contribute to animating traditionally and all animators out there need to know how to animate traditionally before moving onto 3D. Okay, next subject then is: TV shows vs movies!

 

A Thousand Drawings

Before I knew anything about animation other than it contained of silly cartoon characters on a screen, I would have never guessed that so much effort and time went into it. It wasn't until later in high school did I figure out just how much time and effort.
I created a very short animated video for my English class my senior year of high school. It's seventeen seconds long and the most frustrated seventeen seconds I've ever had to create in my life. I just about pulled my hair out by the end of it. It consisted of 347 frames (not all animated) and I spent an entire weekend on it. This is basically child's play for any professional animator, but for someone who had never done anything like it, I was subjected to nearly giving up. However, my only motivation was the outcome of how it would look. I felt extremely accomplished and proud of myself by the end of it even if it wasn't anything as smooth as a Disney film. There was a point where I practically bawled because a good chunk of my animation was deleted without me saving it, but thank god my dad was able to recover it. I learned that saving your work at every chance is a life savor for those who animate on the computer.
In short, animating is downright HARD. Nevertheless, the outcome is why animators continue to do it. Animation is so beautiful and it's an art form that continues to be perfected by passionate artists. The image above is a series of frames put together to demonstrate a walk cycle. Most animators start with walk cycles and the classic ball bounce to get the hang of how animation works. Still, there's still so many things added in that makes the figure look alive.
What's so crazy is that there are literally hundreds of frames/pages of drawings used to create only a few seconds of animation. The drawing I posted looks like a jumbled mess of body parts, but when captured on film, it creates an illusion to the eye that the picture is moving. I'm not going to go into the whole history of animation, but know that speed and light is what captures that illusion. To break it down, animators will draw up certain prominent poses of a figure to get the gist of the movement they are about to make; a character will move from point A to point B. Then something called in-betweens are used to create that fluidity of the action so that it doesn't look all jerky and robotic. In-betweens are those extra drawings added between the prominent poses. That's why there is so many poses in the drawing above. Whether it's through flash animation on a computer or with a flipbook, every single frame is accounted for and recorded together.
There are a lot of techniques animators use to amplify the movement of the characters. I'll just talk about one of those techniques for today. Squash and stretch is one if not the most important principle of animation. Squash and stretch are very exaggerated drawings from the in-betweens of a figure. It conveys the shape of that figure in action. If an old man is shaking his head back and forth, his jowls may be stretched out during a shake and brought back across his face so as to emphasize the movement. A bouncing ball is a great example of this. When a ball is bouncing, the shape stretches as it soars upward, remains it's circular form at the peak of it's height, and squashes down nearly flat when it hits the ground. This demonstrates the different forms that partake in fast paced movements. These are shapes that very much exist in the real world, but are difficult to see due to the momentum that carries it.
Wow, I've only scratched the surface of how animating is done, but I'm going to go ahead and stop here. I'm glad that a lot of animators are becoming recognized and people are taking a lot more interest in it nowadays than before. Up next: Traditional vs. computer animation!  

 

Animatics

Please enjoy this short animatic from one of my favorite shows Rick and Morty! Yes, it is rather crude, but I really enjoy the creativity put into this show. It's hilarious and I'm a fan of science fiction so that's really adding icing to the cake. (Why, yes, I really am hungry right now). Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon really got something good going on here. Can't wait for season 3!
Back to the topic on hand. An animatic is an animated storyboard. Well, isn't that what the show or film is as a product of the storyboards? Not quite. Animatics are a pre-visualization of what the show or movie will be like. It lets the crew see how the film comes together before actually animating the final product. They need to be able to edit anything that needs improvement and will help the film out in the end. It's sort of like the rough draft of an essay before writing it and turning it in. They need to be able to see how it's progressing.
Dialogue and sound effects is added to an animatic unlike storyboards. Also, it allows the cast to see how the pacing is and if it looks like it's going to fast for their liking, they'll find a way to slow down that scene a bit. They'll add or subtract whatever they can to get the scene right. There are different mediums of software that is used to create animatics. Adobe is a common one that is used (I've used it myself quite a few times) and it works effectively. The scenes aren't fully animated, as you can tell from the Rick and Morty animatic, but rather certain main frames are chosen and put together to create a sense of movement. It's basically all the boards recreated but there is no inbetweening in the frames so a lack of smooth movement is absent. It doesn't matter, however, because it lets everyone know the general sense of how the characters are gunna move.
I'll be explaining inbetweening in a bit, but for now that is all there really is to animatics. If you go online and look up a few that are from certain films or shows they are actually really interesting and fun to watch. Next to storyboarding, I have a strong interest in it because it basically has both storyboarding and animation to it and I love both so seems like a pretty kickass thing to get into. To quote Rick, "And that's the waaaaayyyyy the news goes!" Coming up next is what we've all been waiting for: Animating!

Storyboarding!

Honestly, the hardest part was choosing which storyboard to post on here. There are so many fantastic storyboards out there and I decided to do one on a television show but most were either of bad quality or too small to see. Anyway, Hey Arnold! is one of my favorite childhood shows and Helga Pataki is my all time favorite TV animated character EVER. She's so dynamic and I always enjoy episodes with her in them. But I digress! Storyboards. That's what we need to talk about here and not just about the image above.
Storyboarding is the process of taking a script for a film or show and drawing it out visually. A particular scene from the script is given to a storyboard artist and they must produce a bunch of illustrated frames that they imagine it would look like for that scene. Of course, they're constantly getting feedback and input from their director. Sometimes the director will have a particular vision for that scene that they want added in and other directors let their storyboard artists work freely off their imagination.
I love this part of animation. It's like reading a comic version of the film or show and they're not all done the same way. It varies on the type of artist obviously. Some, like the storyboard artist above, draw very cleanly. Others have more of a rough sketch to them, but it still conveys the movements and message of the scene. There are some storyboard artists who like to break down the scenes in a detailed manor and other artists can break it down in less frames if they're really good at getting the message through.
There's usually a special layout for storyboards such as the picture above. Each drawing exists in a thumbnail and each frame will correspond with the next. Artists will capture the dominant pose in a movement and follow it with another prominent pose they want to see. Films and older television shows mainly use this type of format where each drawing is traditionally drawn in each template, but new shows and some films now storyboard digitally through Photoshop or any other illustrated program. Through this technology they create their own templates, but it's still similar to the template that is traditionally used. Although, I've now heard that there are shows out there that actually use sticky notes to storyboard (Adventure Time).
Some storyboards include dialogue in their boards and others rely simply on the actions of the scene to fill in for the dialogue. There's a bunch of acronyms used in boards such as BG (background), SA (same action), OS (on/off screen), VO (voice over), etc. I don't know all of them but I do know that those are the most reoccurring ones that I see. Storyboard artists also need to have a good understanding of camera angles and composition. They must figure out how the scene would be appealing to the eye so it's quite hard to do.
Storyboarding is a very popular field to go into with animation so I've got some competition ahead of me. Guess I'll have to see how it plays through! Well, I'd say I've said a mouthful on this subject and even still I don't feel like I've told enough, but I'm going to go ahead and move to the next subject: Animatic!

 

Lights! Color! Action!

Yes, I definitely did post another Pixar reference because you know what? I really, really, love this movie and how well it was made. Also, it displays a perfect example of what I'm going to be talking about. Lighting and color is a whole different monste--uh, subject in animation. It's an extremely important one nonetheless even if it doesn't get a whole lot of recognition. It's also something I'm not very well informed about, but I do know some of the general aspects to it.
Color and lighting deals with contrast, hues, tones, and color palettes to enhance scenes in the movie. It's all about emotional appeal. Depending on the genre of the scene, these techniques are used to make it come to life in the eyes of the viewer. It makes it look more naturalistic. If the scene is more dramatic then there is a lot of contrast with both colors and lighting; the light could darken until bright eyes are the only thing seen in the background. If it's a comedy scene then brighter colors are used and a natural light bright enough to capture the scene is used. Again, it depends on the genre of the scene and setting it to that mood.  
In animated movies, a color script is used throughout the entire movie and a schema coincides with emotional beats and to the story arc. I've seen several color scripts from Pixar to DreamWorks and it's very impressive how they know which colors to use and what kind of lighting sets the attitude. I saw a documentary on the making of Finding Nemo and the way they charted the lighting and colors for underwater is phenomenal. They did a LOT of studying for this film. I can't imagine it being easy to try to make the underwater world look as realistic as possible. They went scuba diving in the ocean in order to chart how the light filters through the water and how underwater looks during the day, evening, and at night. I recommend watching the process on YouTube because it was freaking amazing how they did it.
For TV shows, I am actually not quite sure if they use color scripts, but I imagine they use something like it in order for them to set moods and everything. A lot of shows do a really good job on this, too. The art director for the TV show, Gravity Falls, does an excellent job conveying color schemes of the forest and how the light filters in through the trees. I'll be talking more about that show later, for sure. All you really need to know is that the colors and lighting for movies and shows are there to convey the mood of each scene and to capture the attention of the audience. It's just more ice cream on top of that delicious apple pie. I apologize, I always get hungry around this time.
Next topic is finally the one I've been waiting for and can't wait to talk about: Storyboarding!

Creating the Scene

Here's one thing I most likely won't ever be doing in the animation business. Designing backgrounds is not really my forte, which is depressing because I admire the art that comes out of it. I mean, look at the image above for example. It's gorgeous! There's so much to say about it that you don't even need the characters inserted to tell a story. The background tells a story of its own. The cobblestone, the awning, the wooden signs hanging above entrances, and the baskets stacked together is enough to let me know what could take place here. I actually imagine a chase happening through this scene or perhaps a horse and carriage making its way down the narrow street.
People who are skilled in background design are people who really know how to succeed in the business. Backgrounds are hard enough on their own and a talented background artist is someone that animation studios will want to have. I don't know a lot of artists who specialize in backgrounds so they may be hard to come by. I could be wrong, but I'm just magnifying how hard it is to do the job since I have so much difficulty doing it myself.
Those who actually do know how to draw backgrounds have to have a clear understanding of perspective. Perspective can be a pain in the ass if someone didn't know how to use it properly. Knowing how to make objects appear closer or farther away in a scene is really essential in background designing. The drawing needs to look alive so that the characters can fit in more properly to the background. TV animation backgrounds can go from simple to complex depending on the show. Each show has a different style so the background style will be different with each show. Movie backgrounds, traditional or computer animated, are a lot more intricate because having a detailed background allows the audience to be dragged further into the film. Also because they're pouring their heart and souls into it and want it to look impressive.
I have a lot of respect for these guys and hope to actually become mediocre in it. Aha. Yeah, I'm actually terrible with backgrounds. Next topic: Lighting and Color!

Layouts

Much like concept art, I don't know a lot about artists who work with layouts. To break it down simply, layouts are rendered scenes based off of storyboards. Specific backgrounds and character posing is added to the scene. I think the most important feature to the layouts is setting up the camera shots. Storyboards focus on camera angles as well, but layout artists focus more on how it'll look on screen. It's a process I never even knew existed not too long ago but you learn as you go along so it's pretty cool.
I went with Miyazaki's film Spirited Away for today's image because I really liked the layout for this scene. It's a great scene in the movie and is always drawn beautifully. Any Miyazaki movie is done stupendously. Sorry, I'm kind of rambling on great films, but, like I said, I don't have too much information on layouts. I never really considered going into it, but I could always surprise myself by being pretty good at it. It's not too far off from storyboarding.
Actually, a few days ago I visited Nickelodeon studios and toured around it with a group I was with. It was so freaking awesome. I would recommend interning there if you're wanting somewhere to intern. I heard they slime you at some point. Anyway, we got to talk to the art director for SpongeBob Squarepants and what's interesting is that that show and another show are the only two shows in Nickelodeon who paints their backgrounds non digitally. Spongbob's keeping it classy and sticking to their original painting style. Respect. Well, the art director paints the layouts he's given. These layouts are actually really big drawings. A lot bigger than I thought they would be, but it makes sense if someone was going to paint on it.
So I suppose layouts vary in size depending if someone was going to hand paint it or if they were  going to digitally paint it, which is still a great art form. I'd prefer digital over using my shaking hands to dab on paint to the image. These painters are what's going to be discussed for our next topic: Background Design!



Concept

Okay, I apologize. I know I said I was going to be discussing the topic of storyboarding, but I'm gunna hold that off a little longer because what I really want to focus on right now is the illustration part of animation. Illustration covers a lot in the business so I'll go ahead and start with concept art. Concept art was something I never looked into before I came to college, but it's a very beautiful profession not only in the film industry but video games, comic books, etc. A friend of mine is an illustration major and wants to go into concept art; her artwork is amazing so I have no doubt she'll make it there.
What does a concept artist do? Well, they create designs for specific things that do not exist yet. These things could be characters, props, or places. When the industry needs something added in the film, such as weapons for an upcoming scene, they turn to the concept designers to create the look. If, say, they were designing the weapons for a battle in outer space, then they would draw up a few cool looking space guns and show it to the director. If they were pleased with the look, then the concept artist would color, shade, and render the drawing to their pleasing and once again show it to the director. As soon as everything was set then they would send the drawing off to the modelers or animators.
A lot of concept artists use digital paint to draw up their imaginative image. A concept artists has to be very creative and imaginative to take on a job like this because they're not drawing something off of the director's specific ideas, but are drawing specific looks off a director's non descriptive words. The director could say, "We need props in this scene." What kind of props? Doesn't matter. The concept artist will create many different props that may fit into that scene until everyone is satisfied with the outcome. The same thing goes for background characters and settings.
Since I'm not focusing in illustration, I don't know much about concept artists. However, I do know is that they have to be quick on their feet and have extreme creativity. Hopefully I'll be seeing them in action soon enough. Anyone seen The Good Dinosaur yet? I haven't, but I heard it was good! I'm gunna try seeing it this weekend. Next topic: Layout!

Designing the Look

Ben Balistreri is an amazing character designer (his work is pictured above) and has worked on countless TV animated shows such as Danny Phantom, Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends, Wander Over Yonder, etc. He's also worked on a few Disney movies such as Brother Bear 2. Character designers like him have a lot of talent for creating characters. I'm hoping to gain some kind of character designing skills while here at school, but for now I'll be focusing on finals (pray for me). Character designers bring a lot to the table in animation.
Their designs is what most of the crew refers to for whatever they're working on. Storyboard artists are shown these designs and insert these characters into their panels. Layout artists add in these characters as well. Most importantly, the animators are able to animate them after seeing all angles of the character. This position is pretty self explanatory, but it really is an important feature for the production of a movie/TV show.
When they're not designing their own original characters, they're using the direction from those who wrote the movie/TV show. They'll describe the character in detail (or maybe leave the detail to the character designers) before giving them the responsibility to design the character. Of course, the first designs they come up with aren't always the ones they go with but they're given freedom to share and later revise. Many character designs are gone through before picking a satisfying look. Sometimes they'll add or take away some details of the character later on.
A lot of illustrators will use different methods to designing characters. Some are influenced by real life people they know that maybe relate to the character. They'll use outside figures as a guide when developing the look. Some actually will maybe take original characters they've designed in the past and make them look similar. Mainly, though, a lot of it has to do with the influence from the writers describing the character. Symbols are used and obvious traits from previous characters. If the character is written as shy and reserved, they may make this person look small and curled in on itself all the time. It honestly depends on the character designer.
They're awesome at what they do and I'm hoping to start creating characters of my own that will maybe end up somewhere where people can enjoy it. Next topic is what I'll hopefully be going into so get ready for me to start gushing over this: Storyboarding!

Coming to Life

It's easy to draw cartoon characters as they are seen. It's harder to draw the character AS that character. What I mean is that there is more than just the physical look of the characters. There's their mannerisms, personality traits, and a personal story about them. Animators focus on who their characters are and what makes them special. Life drawing helps with becoming familiar of the human anatomy and how each body part functions. Life drawing is one thing, but adding animation into that is something completely different.
Life drawing was very hard for me. I've gotten a lot better, but making one part look exactly as I see it was challenging and made me want to chew my fingers off. When I was finally became comfortable enough drawing models and duplicate what I see, I had it all flushed down the toilet once I entered my current Life Drawing for Animation class. I had to stop thinking about drawing nouns and instead begin drawing verbs (Walt Stanchfield's book really opened my eyes to this). Each drawing had to look as if it were still in movement, which was a whole another challenge to overcome. Still, I really enjoyed loosely sketching figures and adding a story to them by having them bend and twist to a more cartoonish style.
These angular bends and twists really separate life drawing from animation. Knowing the anatomy of a figure is very important for knowing how your character is going to move and express itself. These movements are then exaggerated to where it becomes a more cartoony feel. Animators want their characters to have a living quality to them and not like a stiff cardboard. The drawing has to feel real or else the audience won't connect with either the characters or the story. I'm really interested in character development and animation so getting to learn all of this really makes me excited.
You can't animate without knowing what you're animating. Figure and gesture drawing really helps with placing down different personalities for each figure. Getting the movements down for a character that explains the specific type of person that character is will make animating it a success and worth it in the long run.
The next topic will link with this in more ways than one: Character Designing!

Fade In...

There is some serious skill that goes into writing a screenplay. I could barely manage writing a dialogue script for a class I was taking and that was only a few pages long. In this sense, voice actors and actresses are practically skipping through a field of meadows compared to the people who write scripts for a TV show or a film. They actually have to provide the story. Scripts aren't something that takes a second to write. No, no. Years are put into this. And, of course, stories are constantly being revised or rewritten to their taste. I can't think of any movie where there weren't multiple screenwriters collaborating and helping one another out.  There may be some out there, but in animation I can't recall anyone working solo on the script.
Animated movies are always working on the premise of their next movie during the production of another. It's a cycle where the writers will come up with more movie ideas to work on in the future as one of their movies is being made. I would have never thought of it like this, but there's no way they would just work on a movie for a few years without writing new ideas for another. As far as the scriptwriters are concerned, they simply take that premise and write out a hundred page script with the help of each other. Movies that are based off of novels are probably easier to write considering it's based off of a script that has already been written and elongated into three books. Still, there's the matter of what parts to put in, what to take out, and which to rewrite.
TV shows are constantly writing scripts. General ideas for the next episode are placed and then are written up. Depending on how long each episode is (11 minute or 22 minute), there can be a lot of script taken out and revised if it turns out to be too long. A challenge for screenwriters is that they must figure out a way to scrunch down the entire script into something that is more time manageable. With TV, not every cartoon show is script driven (but that's another story to tell for later), but I've seen interviews where they have complained from taking a thirty page script and shrinking it down half that size. I mean, wow! Can you imagine how many scenes were cut out from those episodes? At least we're able to know about deleted scenes.
Writing a screenplay is really only the beginning phase to a lot of hard work that follows. Visual storyboards can be just as challenging as writing a script. Next up: Life Drawing in Animation!

The Voices We Love

I'm very excited to be discussing this next topic with you. Why? A few years ago I had a strong interest with voice actors and what they do. Hardly anyone stops to think and wonder about the effort put into voice acting. It may seem like an easy job (and I'm sure in some ways it is), but it does take a lot of hard work. This man pictured above is someone that every single professional voice actor or actress would know. He is the epitome of voice acting and also known as the Man Of 1,000 Voices. He makes up ninety percent (if not a hundred) of all the voices you've ever heard in a Loony Tunes cartoon. This man is Mel Blanc. This guy seriously made voice acting a thing. For real, watch him in an interview and you'll see why. He is the idol for a lot of voice actors and actresses out there and an inspiration for cartoon figures.
Mel isn't with us anymore unfortunately, but more talented voice artists have made their way in and are now becoming more recognizable. There's a documentary on Netflix titled I Know That Voice. If you love the idea of these guys then this film is something you should see. Very entertaining and fascinating by how many voices can come out of a pair of vocal chords. I know more than a dozen voice actors because I have a habit of looking up the voices behind the characters and knowing what other characters they've done.
In the world of animation, the characters are often drawn up first before a voice is added. Auditions are set up and several are gone through before one is selected for that character. There are other times in movies or TV shows where there is already a voice actor/actress in mind and they are asked to voice the character. I think it's always interesting when they model the character to look like the said voice actor/actress. For example, in the movie Monsters vs. Aliens, the President of the U.S. was designed to look like Stephen Colbert who voiced him.
Before I knew anything about this profession, I thought that the script was read in order from start to finish. This is not the case at all. Different scenes are recorded variously and it really is up to the director for which scenes to work on first. There are multiple ways these voices are recorded. Some have the voice actors/actresses voice alone in a booth with only the director and producers to feed them lines. Other studios prefer to have multiple voice artists read lines together in a room so as to feed off of one another. Either way is successful and their voices do the job wonderfully.  
I can honestly go on and on about this subject, but the main thing to know is that these guys are really important to the industry. I mean, these guys are so great at what they do. They have to portray their emotions through their voice. A lot of them act out while recording their voice since it helps, but it's still a difficult process. I'm really hoping to voice my own character one day.
Shout out to Billy West, Roger Bumpass, Dee Bradley Baker, Tara Strong, Grey Delisle, Tom Kenny, Jim Cummings, John DiMaggio, Rob Paulsen, Nancy Cartwright, Mel Blanc, and all of those amazing voice actors and actresses out there. You guys are awesome.  
Next topic: Screenwriting!

Deadlines

This mainly applies to TV cartoon shows due to how many episodes they have to make, but movies also have to meet deadlines. On average, animated films take about five years to make depending on the film. When it comes to the different industries such as DreamWorks and Blue Sky, I have no idea what their methods are for setting deadlines during production. Nevertheless, deadlines are set (even if they are general) and every crew member must meet it one way or another. Managing time in animation is another important key factor to take account of when it comes to reaching a goal. This is also the thing I fear the most since I'm one of the biggest procrastinators I know.
I know more about TV deadlines than I do for movies. Not that I've personally worked for an animated TV show, but I do have the knowledge given to me through interviews and tours. Every show is different with their deadlines. For some shows, each episode premiers weekly because they are able to have the episode done for that time. Most of the episodes for the season is done during the time given between seasons. On average, a year is given between each season, but some move faster than that. Again, it really all depends on what kind of episodes they are creating. I will discuss more on this when it comes to the actual animating part of it.
Animated movies take a lot longer to make than live action, that's for sure. It also makes a lot of sense when you think about it. Let me get back to the actual management part of it all. Different members of that team have a specific job they must handle and the director will give them deadlines of when they need to complete it. Sometimes animators may request a couple of days more to work on their scene, but they still are expected to manage their time in a way to where they meet that deadline. It's all about creating goals and motivation; something I REALLY need to work on.
Procrastination has to be able to pay off in the end so it's a bit risky to do it in the first place. But a lot of artists work better under pressure so some do this on purpose.
I'm working on managing my time more so that hopefully I don't completely botch it in the near future. Coming up will be the topic: Voice Actors and Recording!

Tasting the Music

I don't care what anyone says, animation without music is like cereal without milk. (Get used to these food analogies, I'm really hungry right now). It's tasteless. It doesn't have that spark to it that draws in the audience. If I wasn't majoring in animation, I would have probably majored in music (or theater). It doesn't even have to be music that fits with what's going on, it still gives it some spice. Movies often have orchestras that play music written for the film, which is pretty much every single animated film out there. (Though there may be a few I can't think of right now in which the music isn't original). As for TV shows... I assume they also have some sort of orchestra (or band) that plays their type of background music. I can't say for sure yet.
Most Disney movies have musical numbers where characters sing and Pixar movies stick with orchestrated pieces to play in the background. A little something about myself for a moment, my favorite all time Pixar soundtrack is from Finding Nemo. I could honestly listen to that all day. Pixar is amazing at creating emotional depth through their music. Not a lot of animated industries out there do what Disney does in terms of writing songs for their characters to sing, but they're still able to portray what they want for their characters.
Though I love music in animation, I don't have much more to tell you guys other than to gush about certain pieces of music I adore and all that good stuff. I just want to mention it because it's something that some people overlook and don't think too much into it. One of my favorite composers is Danny Elfman. Man, can that guy write music like butter on toast. Mm... toast...
You guys have any favorite soundtracks or composers? Next topic: Time Management.

Humor Me If You Will...

I am a sucker for comedies; especially animated comedies. If I watch a movie or television show that makes me laugh to no end or cry like a little school girl, then it's a movie I will never regret watching. I added crying in there because I also enjoy movies that make me experience sadness since it doesn't make me feel like I'm an emotionless droid. While we're on the topic of sorrow, the saddest animated movie I have ever seen in my entire life is a Japanese anime film called Grave of the Fireflies. I've never cried so hard in a movie before; beautiful work of art and worth seeing. Anyway, back to the funny stuff!
Animation and humor go hand in hand like milk and cookies. The milk is animation and the cookie is humor. Animation absorbs humor and molds it in any way shape or form. (I bet you're loving this analogy right now. It's making me hungry, too). Humor is expressed in a lot of ways depending on the film or show. Physical comedy has always been a favorite of mine, especially from watching Loony Tunes. Why did I choose an image of DreamWorks for this topic? This is solely my opinion, but out of every animated industry out there, this is my go to for comedy. DreamWorks freaking nails it with their humor, this is the primary emotion I feel whenever I watch their movies.
There's a thin line between a kids show and an adult cartoon. I say thin because there have been kid shows where subtle contents of adult humor are seeped into it and completely go over the heads of kids. Movies, too. I have no problem with this. I actually fully admire it because it's great to get the jokes later on. I love every type of humor except maybe extremely cheesy one liners.
Humor isn't the only thing animators go for, but it's actually really important to have some sort of humor when going into the animation business because it's such a loose and free environment to work in. Funny ideas adds that extra layer of cake (or onion in Shrek's case) that everyone looks for.
Too many pastry references. I'm gunna go eat grapes.
Thanks for reading! Next topic will be on a personal favorite of mine: Music in animation!

It Starts With An Idea

First, let me just point out that ideas come to people in every way shape or form. I honestly don't know anyone who comes up with ideas in the same way that someone else does, but that's the beauty of it. Every single person out there has ideas even if they don't peg you as the creative type. I've known technicians and medical doctors who have bested me with amazingly creative ideas. I will say this, coming up with ideas is not an easy feat. I actually have to sit down and gather every ounce of my creative juices to come up with something. Much like Calvin up above, stress and full blown panic to a deadline will usually do the trick.
What's so wonderful about the animation industry is that every worker involved has input to add to the story even if they didn't write the script. (They could be a background artist for crying out loud). These ideas may be small changes here and there, but nevertheless these changes add some spice to the movie or episode. Of course, not all ideas are put into effect, but what's awesome is that you can save that idea for later or perhaps enhance it with help from someone else. COLLABORATION IS EVERYTHING IN ANIMATION. Oh man, I can't even stress how important that is. I mean, I'm not even in the business yet and even I know that you'd be screwed if you worked by yourself in the industry.
To put simply, the animation process first starts with an idea and expands from there into either a 90 minute award winning animated film or a multiple seasoned TV show with ten to twenty episodes a season. Some stories are specific and complex (Wreck-It Ralph) and some are simple with a general premise to it (The Simpsons), but all stories are wonderful and everyone gets a connection with these stories.
Let your ideas out! Collaborate! Create something amazing, guys! That's your homework for tonight... due midnight. Yeesh, talk about pressure. Okay, my next topic will be on something that I obviously lack at the moment: Humor.