Squash & Stretch and Walk Cycles

The Squash and Stretch technique is to help make a piece seem more natural, more life-like. The technique basically applys simple physics to the animation piece, it gives it volume and dimensions to a flat piece of work. Taking the classic example of a bouncing ball if we never applied the squash & stretch motion to the bounce of the ball then the movement would seem rigid and unnatural. However when we stretch the ball as it lands, squash it while it hits ground and stretch it as it takes off again then we can clearly see a more natural, fluid movement of the ball.

Walk cycles need to be done right so to create a decent animation piece. Observe someone how they walk, they don't stay rigid, heads staying in the same place. As a person walks the entire body is moving; arms swing back and forth, the legs(obviously) moving and the torso and head are constantly slinking up and down. If all these matters are addressed then there is no doubt your walk cycle should look realistic. The image to the left shows a basic but accurate take on the walk cycle. Below is a first attempt of walk cycles i tried about a year back. I looks ok, the body seems to be like jelly but atleadt there isn't the idea that he is simply gliding across the screen.

2D v 3D Animation

Looking at the two style of animations it is hard for me to choose what i prefer. I got into animation through 3D work i did on a Computer Game Development course i took a few years back. I never enjoyed computer programming but creating such 3D animated pieces (including a moving Bender character from Futurama) in XSI modelling package really opened my eyes to what i wanted to do. Since then i have really only dabbled in 3D work in both the Lightwave & Maya packages. All these are similar packages to the one i was used to they still took a bit of time to get used to due to the subtle differences in short cuts and so on. From what i did i was happy with the packages and llog forward to pick them up again next year.

2D animation on the other hand is all i have really developed my skills in in the last year and a half. Using programmes such as Toon Boom Studio & Macromedia Flash i really have began to get a taste for it. Especially in Toon Boom which i use regulary even if it is just to quickly plan out a short animation. Even though my drawing skills are average at best i have still managed to create some decent work with the packages. It is easy to use and gives a whole range of options for you to do.

In terms of looks all my favourite animations are really 2D for the likes of Futurama, Family Guy and The Simpsons. That really shows 2D animation at the top scale along with the likes on anime. As for 3D i am constantly amazed how Pixar somehow continue to better themselves with each film. In terms of plot Toy Story is still my favourite Pixar piece but in terms of look Ratatouille really has raised the bar, well until their next venture, Wall E, hits cinema.

I still appreciate both forms of animation, 2D really has grips on the TV world due to its easier production cost and shorter timescales. 3D is firmly the norm for an animated film nowadays. The real front runner is obviously Pixar but others are trying and in the likes of Ice Age they have succeeded. For me i would prefer to work in probably 3D work. It offers so much more in terms of results and was the original inspiration for me to take this course. I really just like the way on how i can go off and keep tweaking at a model design until i am completly happy with it from all angles.

Toon Boom Studio 4

To help us get to grips with the new version of toonboom we were giving a simple exercise where we had to animate atulip moving then include it in a scene with a bug and so on. I created the tulip but never got past that stage as i felt comfortable with the programme anyway. At first i was not happy with the layout of the new version, i seemed to try and cram everything you needed onto the one page. I still find it a bother have to shrink things so i can get a bigger working area or so i can access a menu but after recently going back to use the old toonboom i am happy with these changes. In the previous version i kept losing certain menu so i was constantly have to set everything back to there original positions to simply change a colour. Toon Boom Version 4 wuill take some getting used to but i feel i will benifit greatly with it. Anyway here's the tulip.

Title Animation

This piece was only going to be a poster idea for my piece till my firend suggested i should maybe switch the letters back and forth to create an animation of them moving. I liked the idea and took it beyond just moving the letters by introducing 2 killing sequences. I wanted it to look as though this is the sketch pad of the killer and every little bit is his sick, twisted ideas of murder. I've been told these are very dark and twisted but there only stickmen!

The Descent into Madness

As i was drawing the character on toonboom i had an idea of a short animation i could do using the head of my main character. The piece is just to show how my character has dropped into madness and i drew similarities between classic Hitchcock films and the old Batman series.

School Emblem

Just another quick sketch done on toonboom. This was an alternative title for the piece and was an idea for a title poster also.

Character Developments

These are two quick sketches of the main character in toonboom.

Main Character

Name- Clarence Mann

Occupation- History Teacher at Rosebourg Academy

Age- 42

Appearance- At school he is a very professionally dressed individual. His hair combed neatly into a side shed and is always seen dressed in well worn but respectable suits. His face shows it age with wrinkles and bags under the eyes. His eyes are hidden behind squared rimmed spec but show no emotion at all. Medium height and slim built. His insane alter ego dresses similar, only wearing a blue technical overall to protect his suit from the blood. After a struggle with his victim his hair is usually left in a mess. He is also usually covered from head to toe in blood after such acts.

Rules- He cannot kill any children, despite his resentment towards them. There is no rational explanation to why he is doing this, he is just a psychopath. He has an unstable mental status. He believes himself to be a criminal genius and that he cannot be caught. He becomes irrationally violent when his world collapses around him. Sweats badly under pressure.

Minor Characters

First Victim

Name- Jeremy Katz

Occupation-Homeless

Age-23

Appearance- Scruffy. Living on the street has left him in stained rags. He has grown a grubby beard and his hair is greasy and wild. He has a few scars and nicks on his face. Is tall and skinny character.

Rules- Does not question Clarence's motives for taking him in. Is desperate for warm food and shelter.

Headmaster

Name-Kris Peterson

Occupation- Headmaster at Rosebourg Academy.

Age- 56

Appearance- Balding man with a large, round face. Is a short portly character. Always dresses smartly.

Rules- Is oblivious to the change in Clarence. Is the person who finally points Clarence out to the police.

Police Officer 1

Name- Joe Fitzgerald

Occupation- Sergeant in the police force.

Age- 39

Appearance- Tall, well built character. Buzz cut hair cut. Dressed in the full police uniform complete with truncheon, pepper spray, hand-cuffs and gun.

Rules- Is the one who eventually "takes Clarence down". He will get shot. He will survive.

Police Officer 2

Name- Mike martin

Occupation- Trainee officer in the police force

Age- 21

Appearance- Medium height with a little bit of mussel on him. Medium length mop hair style. Dressed in the same style as Joe minus the gun.

Rules- Does not carry a gun. Panics when everything kicks off. Tends to his wounded partner.

Developed Story

The story revolves around the character of Clarence Mann, an overworked and miserable History teacher who has grown tired of his tedious lifestyle. His daily routine leads him from his lousy one bedroom apartment to an unappreciative job that he hates. He really has nothing in his life and is searching for a purpose.

One day in class he sets his class a test to waste away the class time. Sitting back in his chair with his sketch pad he begins thinking about the purpose of life, more importantly the purpose of his life. Looking around his dreary classroom filled with lazy kids he notices the war posters clinging onto the wall with the last pieces of hardened blue tack. It then hits him, an epiphany on how to make his life worthwhile, killing. The sole purpose of life in his eyes is to live a good life and those who ruin it do not deserve it. He picks up his pen and soon begins scribbling notes and small sketches of his plan.

Later on his way home he begins trailing the backstreets looking for a plausible victim. While driving past an burned out shop he notices a curled up red sleeping bag. Calling into the darkness a strange homeless man pokes his head out. Clarence offers the man warm food, a wash and a decent sleep for the night. The man had been sleeping rough for so long that he did not give a second thought to the mans motives. Bringing the homeless man back to his home Clarence begins making the man a bowl of soup. Before serving it though he slips in a few sleeping pills he had purchased before the beginning of the night. Clarence walks in to find the homeless man admiring an ancient axe mounted to the wall that Clarence acquired years before hand. As the man sits down to enjoy his soup Clarence prepares himself. Pulling on a hair-net and taking off his good school jacket Clarence makes his way top the axe. By now the homeless man is in a delirium having consumed so many sleeping pills. As the homeless man drops off so does the axe drop putting the man into a deep sleep that he is never going to wake from.

Next morning Clarence gets up early and drags 2 heavy black bin bags out to the back of his car. He takes a different route to school this day, via the woods to ditch the two bin bags. At school both teachers and pupils notice a change in his attitude. He seems more free and relaxed. Before finishing for the day he borrows a hammer and apron from the technical class saying he has some DIY work to be done at his house but these items become more tools to pull off his sick crimes. Once again on the way home he passes through all the back streets looking for his next victim.

Weeks pass and Clarence has notched up 6 victims and is growing ever in confidence. However his work has not gone unnoticed, the first victim was found only a couple of days after the grizzly act and the others followed the same path. The police has even managed to put out a description of the car but this does not phase Clarence as he has become more arrogant and confident. His next victim would have to wait though because he had a parent/teacher night tonight. There was nothing he detested more than parents night, whats worse than hearing parents complain that he is not teaching their little brats well enough. His rage grew but simmers back down as he thinks of his next plan. As parent after parent comes he puts on the usual straight faced show until he notices out of the classroom door two large policemen talking to the headmaster. The headmaster is pointing towards Clarance's class. Panic stricken Clarence rises to his feet. The bewildered parents stare up at Clarence, who has now began sweating. Just as the parents open their mouths to ask what is going on Clarence pulls his newly acquired gun from under the desk. The police draw their guns immediately but Clarence has already taken 1 out and is in the process of firing at the other. As the school hallway erupts into chaos Clarence begins freaking out. He swings back and forth telling everyone to stay calm and still but his shouts go unheard over the school bell. The bell further confuses Clarence who is now so panic-stricken that he does not notice the wounded cop firing his gun in his direction.

BANG

The classroom door bangs open as the lunchtime bell rings. Its that first day where he decided to turn to a life of crime. As the kids file out of the class the test papers are blown to the floor and trampled but this does not even register with Clarence. He is sweating in his chair and has his notepad firmly in his sweaty grip. Looking at the pad he sees a number of the murders he had acted out in his dream. Wiping the forehead dry he contemplates for a moment. In his dream he had got so far and only his ignorance exposed him. If he was careful he could rectify this problem. He rips out the sketches page and begins scribbling away once again.

THE END

Title Sketches

As i showed in an earlier blog i have already designed a title page for the piece. Here is the original sketch along with another idea that i have later turned into a short animated title sequence.

Sketches

Here are a few of the original sketches planned out for my animation. The first image is of the teacher in his sane, everyday teacher look. He is holding his pointer and ofcourse has leather patches on his elbow. In the next image we have his deranged alter ego. This neat casual teacher has transferred into a psychopath complete with blood stained overall(from tech class) and axe. On the bottom left we have his weapons of choice. His replica axe he owns as he is a history teacher, a hammer he has stolen from a technical class along with the apron and a gun he acquires in the story. The final image is a quick skecth of the possible school emblem.

School's Out

When reading the scenarios given to us in the booklet in week 4 i began looking at developing 1 of them into a decent story. The previous blog describes a number of ideas i was thinking about at the time but i decided on this story on the end. I have been developing it for the past 2 weeks but just never got round to putting it up onto my blog.

Scenario- The theme of the story is psychological caper and should entail a misguided teacher. The major event that must take place in this story is a crime of some nature.

Preliminary Story- My story takes a great deal of inspiration from the "American Psycho" film starring Christian Bale. I plan to have a well respected but bored teacher begin to plot and act out a number of gruesome murders. Each attack grows more daring as his confidence grows but in the end his confidence is his downfall. As the police begin snooping around the school he soon goes into a paranoid state which eventually comes to a head on a parent teacher conference. I hope to further develop the story and have already created a quick poster for the piece which i am calling "School's Out"

More Ideas

With last weeks note we were given a number of different scenarios that we could have developed into full stories. Looking at these scenarios i began thinking of ways on how to further develop them into full stories.

Scenario 1- The main points of this story was it was to begin with research and end in a revelation. It is to be a dark thriller and should include a intimidating military leader & emplacement soldier.

Idea 1- In a Nevada desert secret Base a military leader pushes his team of scientists to create a biological virus that could easily wipe out any enemy that stands in his way. A mercenary who has been fired from the company vows revenge by stealing and unleashing the virus on the Vegas strip. Upon completion of the virus the mercenary takes his attack and breaks in and steals all remnants of the virus. It is now a race against time for the military leader now to hunt down and regain control of the virus before the scorned mercenary unleashes its abilities on Vegas. As the story builds the question asked to the viewer is who really is the bad guy, the military leader for creating this virus or the mercenary who who plans to realise this virus closer to home.

Idea 2- As the computer age grows the next step to conquer is the robotics field. A major breakthrough has been made in the robotics world and the first robotic killing machine is about to be unleashed. The problem is that the machine has fallen into the hands of a deranged scientists who holds a grudge against the world for having his work shunned for years. Using the machine he has managed to infiltrate some of the most secure facilities; Fort Knox, The National Reserve & Top Secret Military Silo's. Now with access to a reserve of nuclear warheads the only people who can stop him is the original military scientist who helped design the robot and a scorned mercenary who has a great deal of mistrust with robots and machinery in general.

Scenario 2- The main theme is an epic slice-of-life. The story is to contain a withdrawn secret agent & an overworked martial artist. A dream must play a major part in this.

Idea 1- After returning from his latest mission secret agent Kit Parker has really lost everything he holds dear, his wife. He soon begins holing himself up in his house, shunning the entire world around him. To make matters worse is that a deadly female assassin Alexa Banks ,who specialises in martial arts, has been sent after him to finish of the job that took his wife. Upon coming face to face with the shell of the man she plans to kill she breaks down. Her work has consumed her life and upon looking at a man who was once like her she realises how empty her life is. The two find comfort in each other and soon find love together. Kit feels happier than he ever has been but soon wakes to find his wife in bed next to him. His life with Alexa was all a dream but he doesn't know now if he is truly happy with his wife.

Scenario 3- The main them of this scenario is a tragic conspiracy. There has to be an element of betrayal in in the story and it revolves around an unethical rat-catcher.

Idea 1- Rufus Gribble is a simple rat catcher who really has nothing in his life apart from his job and his small cottage. He catches rats in the most humane method so not to harm the rodents, despite the protest of his clients who want these filthy beasts killed. The truth is because Rufus enjoys keeping these rats as company. He treats all these rodents well and has gathered a large amount. One day when returning from another job with yet another rat he finds that the rats have escaped. He begins to panic as a rat drops onto his face and begins gnawing at his eyes. Rufus stumbles back, tripping over a table and banging his head in the process of falling. In his unconscious state the rats emerge from every dark corner of the room and begin to feast on the body of Rufus. Rufus wakes to find himself a mere mockery of the man he was as the rats have ate a great deal of his face. Despite how well he treated the he cannot believe the betrayal of the rats.