2013 - Sheridan College (Animation and Illustration) Hopefuls

[8bee]

ok hope this works...im giving up if it doesnt

[Dunnstar]

8bee: Hey, welcome. Glad you got it to work. After 10 posts you should be able to post links and stuff without it being deleted.
As for your hand, well other than the loose quality of the lines. Something is off with the first ones thumb, it might be too high in the palm. For that pose, i'd even suggest just making it a closed fist completely. Also, though the fingers curl into each other, they aren't so uniform, the pinky will receed into the palm abit different than the pointer. Your second picture Looks alot like mine, Jermma gave a great critique for that, so go back to pages 5 or 6 and you should contrast and compare.


I want to see the new character designs too! I don't mind a screenshot. Uh, you press print!screen on keyboard above the arrow buttons. and then open paint and click paste. That should render results! Thanks in advance.

[kamikazel33t]

I took a screen shot as well as tweaked it in Photoshop to show the construction lines better. The Guy is named John and the Woman is named Jane, sorta like a John doe and Jane doe.

[kamikazel33t]

Hey guys I think you might find it useful for the storyboarding when it comes to keeping the character on model. I found some of Peter Emslie's(The Guy who made the storyboard characters) video demos of how he constructs cartoons. Learning how he constructs his characters will show you guys how to use the construction lines better.

I have embeded the second part as I feel the 3rd head resembles Jane(one of the storyboard characters) quite closely. I will link the first part of his video and his blog if you guys are interested.



The first part of the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=epJfMCARtkE
his blog which contains some useful information on character design if you are willing to dig through it:
http://cartooncave.blogspot.com/

[8bee]

welp looks like this years characters are more detailed. Maybe because the program is becoming (more) competitive

[Dunnstar]

Much more interesting though. Thanks Kamil. Welp. time to get to work.

[kamikazel33t]

Well actually if you watch the video, you'll see that the basic construction itself is rather simple. It is just the superficial details which is more in abundance, there for as long as we get our construction in the storyboard right then everything will fall into place. One issue I am trying to figure out is that the construction lines for the arms are almost non existant, so i am still trying to figure out how to construct em.

[OfficialLamp]

I like these options so much better! Though, the people who draw animals better will be disappointed.

Anyways, I'm rethinking the character I want to use. I might go with this guy:

I think that I'm much better with spindly thin characters. Any opinions?

[kamikazel33t]

@OfficialLamp Anything that suits you is a pretty good choice but I just wanted to ask what did you find wrong or what did you dislike about your previous character?

I am posting a couple of hand studies I did, I was mostly aiming at trying to do structure hopefully I did not fail too much >_<. Please rip it apart with critiques if you can!

[OfficialLamp]

My other character was just too difficult to move. I enjoyed working with the shapes, but her hips were giving me trouble with action poses. This guy's raindrop construction is much easier in those regards and I think he's just more appealing.

For these sets of hands it's good to see more construction, but you can push it more. Try breaking them up into more blocks just to get a feel for the masses. Some of the finger tips are getting too thin and pointy.

[Jipai]

@OfficialLamp If you can show the structure underneath well (its more important than the design), then I really like how that character looks!

[Dunnstar]

I see alot of new people trying to post. Here's the thing, your first 10-20 posts can't include links or 'too much' words or it gets marked as spam. It's some very inept spam protection so all of new accounts get the middle finger. Your best chance is to post something without links (or try attachments)

[DeerHooves]

Hi guys! Kamikaze invited me over to share the struggles and stresses of applying to damn Sheridan. I hope you have room for one more~

A quick intro! I tried for their BAA Animation program last year and failed miserably Cx This year, I feel like I'm much more prepared to tackle it, but I still don't have enough strong pieces so I highly doubt I'm getting in xD I'll try again next year, I suppose, but for now, it'd be nice to be involved in this little group!

I'm currently studying as a student of the APW - a program of which I'm sure many of you have heard. So I can offer whatever input I can, but it seems like there are much more experienced/skilled artists than me on this thread xD Regardless, I hope I can make valuable suggestions and contributions.

Portfolio submissions are so terrifyingly close, and I have to balance it with school! Ahhhh.

Anyways, let's make the best of it! I hope I can get to know every single one of you guys, and best of luck getting into animation this year. The characters this year are hellishly difficult.

[Dunnstar]

Hi guys! Kamikaze invited me over to share the struggles and stresses of applying to damn Sheridan. I hope you have room for one more~

A quick intro! I tried for their BAA Animation program last year and failed miserably Cx This year, I feel like I'm much more prepared to tackle it, but I still don't have enough strong pieces so I highly doubt I'm getting in xD I'll try again next year, I suppose, but for now, it'd be nice to be involved in this little group!

I'm currently studying as a student of the APW - a program of which I'm sure many of you have heard. So I can offer whatever input I can, but it seems like there are much more experienced/skilled artists than me on this thread xD Regardless, I hope I can make valuable suggestions and contributions.

Portfolio submissions are so terrifyingly close, and I have to balance it with school! Ahhhh.

Anyways, let's make the best of it! I hope I can get to know every single one of you guys, and best of luck getting into animation this year. The characters this year are hellishly difficult.

Welcome, fellow brony! It's nearing the turn of the year, I'm hoping everyone is getting some peices finished. I would love to hear how APW is going for you. and what you've gotten finished.

oh and offical that character looks much much better.

Kamil I'll have some detailed critiques but it'll have to wait till a later in the evening. Keep drawing!

[floppybutts]

I see alot of new people trying to post. Here's the thing, your first 10-20 posts can't include links or 'too much' words or it gets marked as spam. It's some very inept spam protection so all of new accounts get the middle finger. Your best chance is to post something without links (or try attachments)

if only I knew this sooner, I thought the forum just hates me haha. here's the character I'm planning to use for the portfolio, just getting a feel for how he'll look for now. if you guys have any tips or suggestions that'd be much appreciated. hopefully I'll be able to post back every now and then. :p

[kamikazel33t]

Hey official looking at your new character again, I just wanted to ask if you were inspired by Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory because I am starting to see the resemblance .

@floppybutts Nice to have you with us on the forums! I am not as experienced as other artists in the group in fact I probably might be worse than you but from what I can see is that I find it to be a little complex though will have to see if you are able to rotate it. I am not too sure about this critique either but from what I can see the clothing hides the form of your character way too much and may flatten it's form. I also think there might be an issue with how you connected the arm forms together. I also suggest you move over to traditional mediums if you are using digital.

[floppybutts]

Hey official looking at your new character again, I just wanted to ask if you were inspired by Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory because I am starting to see the resemblance .

@floppybutts Nice to have you with us on the forums! I am not as experienced as other artists in the group in fact I probably might be worse than you but from what I can see is that I find it to be a little complex though will have to see if you are able to rotate it. I am not too sure about this critique either but from what I can see the clothing hides the form of your character way too much and may flatten it's form. I also think there might be an issue with how you connected the arm forms together. I also suggest you move over to traditional mediums if you are using digital.

hey, experienced or not by whose standards? you have a fresh perspective and that's pretty much way more valuable to your fellow improving artists! :B I'm not too great at rotations yeah but I've been trying to model him in 3ds max to get a better feel for how he should look. not the best side view and definitely far from final but I think it'll be kinda like this. the scarf is gonna be a pain in the ass to curve around so I'll definitely be relying on a 3d program to help out with that.. also the arm is pretty lazily done here but oh well, thanks for the tips!

[Star Eater]

The built in site security is giving floppybutts a hard time.
I have approved your posts here. I would suggest you upload a smaller version of that pic though...

[floppybutts]

The built in site security is giving floppybutts a hard time.
I have approved your posts here. I would suggest you upload a smaller version of that pic though...

thanks a bunch star but it looks like when I tried to edit it the post disappeared all together. weeeeeell I guess that's one way to derail a thread, sorry guys.

[emily g]

floppybutts, your post was sent into moderation again. I've re-approved it, so it should show up now.

[Dunnstar]

Guys, the new systems nukes most new members posts, its a very crappy system. Floppy we'll need about 20 or 10 posts before he's free of it.


Floppy: I would definitely listen to Kamil and try do it traditional. Maybe put the wrench at the side or the back. feel, abit strange at the front, with it banging against the knee when your character walks. (and good luck with that scarf, LOL) I like the design though, feels fresh.


Kamil: Sorry, been busy all week. I'll just give my thoughts on your hand drawings, the first is your strongest by far, the thumb however is too long in most of them and feel disjointed. Plus i notice in your structure you're use flat squares for the structure of the tips of the fingers. I mean, I can't say theres anything wrong with it, but it doesn't seem the most efficient shape for that part of the finger. try something a bit more rounded. (see if that works better, if not, stick with what works) One final thing for foreshortening, keep the curve of the base of the hand and the base of the fingers similar, if the fingers were also just extending, they'd be similar too.

[Dunnstar]

One last thing, by the end of the month I'll be posting up my "finished" portfolio. Aka, if the submission was Janurary 1st, what I would be sendng. I'll use the jan, feb and march months for refining. but i finished alot of the rough, conceptual work, just gotta spit shine and redraw.

I'm sharing this so I feel obligated to push. My personal art probably wont be done (too much pony crap as of late)

[kamikazel33t]

@Dunnstar thanks a lot for your input mate!

I have a couple of questions to ask, How may I send transcripts over to OCAS or Sheridan >_< as well as for the animal drawing section, can I draw the same animal for both drawings or do I have to draw two completely different animals? I am also wondering about the life drawings, should I take a picture of it or do I scan and piece it together? For personal artwork, I noticed the only score is creativity so does that mean that technicality does not really matter because I've got some drawings on deviantart(old stuff) which I think have some good ideas.

I was also wondering how much you guys erase in your hand drawings and whether or not you guys do it extensively(e.g a lot of misplaced or messily placed construction lines which are not useful), because mine look like a mess if I don't erase! D:

[OfficialLamp]

I really hope you guys are busy working, because I haven't been able to get much done at all.

@floppybutts - There's some neat details on the character I like such as the arms and hands, but the scarf at the neck and the side view of the head needs work (the face in relation to the rest of the head seems too small).

@kamikazel33t - I wasn't actually thinking of Dexter, rather, my inspiration came from watching Dr.Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
It would be better to draw two different animals, for sure, but as long as the poses are completely different it may not be a big deal. For the life drawings, just make them as presentable as possible. Last year I photographed them because they were very large, but scanning and stitching might get better results.
You still want your personal work part to be nice. Focus on these last, but don't slap just any scrap in there. Erasing is fine, just don't muck up the paper too much.

@Dunnstar - Keep pushing! You getting stuff done pushes me to get stuff done!

[kamikazel33t]

I am posting roughs of my character rotation and expression sheet because right now I am mostly focused on the idea as well as just improving. Unfortunately for me my deadline is a lot earlier 22nd Feb(even earlier because shipping takes days or possibly even a week >_<). I am planning to focus on getting a rough idea of everything I need to do (still have room drawing, storyboards and nail down my character for good) and then really start spam drawing everything constantly until I nail it down by February 10th.

[Jonny Dark]

Hey guys.

If you're going to go all in for animation, then you're going to have to spend some time getting up to speed on how it's done professionally. Right now you guys have the passion, but little in the way of real solid understanding of what true drawing for animation is all about.

Here is what I'm talking about:


If you're willing to spend $40 000 on an animation education you should first spend
$8.95 and copy every single drawing in this book:

http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0929261...1W0649DTNS6002

And then this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Animators-Surv...s+survival+kit



In your examples i don't see anything in the way of figure drawing. That is like, 50% of what you do in Animation. If you REALLY want this, you're going to have to draw humans A LOT even before you apply.

My suggestion is, if you guys haven't yet already (Sorry i didn't read every post here) is to take Art Fundamentals. It will give you the idea of what student life is like. You'll have teachers for an entire year helping you get into animation or illustration. You'll have people to guide you.

If you don't take art fundies find a local life drawing group and read some good books like "The human Machine" by Bridgman

http://www.amazon.com/Machine-MACHIN...chine+bridgman

And if you really want to get into this sort of industry... Take a look at this book:

"Figure Drawing, Design and Invention"

http://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing...figure+drawing



I'm not being a dick here... I'm giving you a big hint as to where you should go next. If you have the passion, drive and some luck you'll do great.

[kamikazel33t]

Thanks for the advice, a lot of us I believe already understand the principles it is mostly that we need the practice. I am not sure if you noticed but if you check any of our sketchbooks or blogs you would notice that we do a lot of life drawing and gesture drawings but don't share them often. As you said you have probably not read all the posts but I did actually share some of my life drawings(from photo though because life drawing is actually considered illegal or at least against the law here due to cultural reasons xD) http://conceptart.org/forums/showthr...Hopefuls/page4. You have some really good suggestions here but the only book I have not looked through is animation 1. I feel that form studies along with drawing from life take more precedence, at least for me anyway, because even with the mass amounts of anatomy knowledge you won't be able to express them without good foundations on the basic forms which actually make up the anatomical structures. I guess my best bet is to draw from life using basic shaped objects(eggs, books, cups etc.) and try to learn perspective and form by drawing constantly trying to achieve natural intuition for form and feel of perspective.

[Dunnstar]

I just found this thread while looking up more info on Sheridan Portfolios for 2013 (I'm busting my butt on it). I would really love to join this endeavour with deadlines and get feedback from others. I've been jumping all over the place with mine and constantly redrawing things, but I think a second opinion would really help.

Oh and I know the professor you are talking about Dunstarr. He was my Imaging Systems teachers in Art Fundamentals last year. He also teaches first year animation. I am really kicking myself for missing portfolio day.

Anyways, here is one hand drawing so far. I tend to have a weak spot in line quality and proportion. This one is a clean up version of the first draft.

Holy CRAP!

Sorry, I missed your post empire, it seems to have just showed up. Welcome, welcome! (a month later)


here is my lookover of your hand



now, as you can see, this is a just a rough appropriation of what I would change. The angle of the remote suggests, we should see some of the side of the hand.(just abit) The finger base also shouldn't
slope as low as you have them, and when your drawing the fingers picture a set of stairs climbing
up.
The bunching up of thumb should be behind the palm, I don't know if you're remote was longer or
thicker than mine, but that pose looks more comfortable with the thumb bunching up behind the remote.

and if you're still playing with the pose, try leaning the remote on the thumb, much more comfortable and 'easier to draw'. Last, if you're right handed, draw left hands, so its as little as guesswork as possible.

Cheers, deadline information in the following post.

[Dunnstar]

Hey everyone! I was hoping we can restart deadlines the beginning of January. The exams should be cleared, the work hours shouldn't be as a hectic and we all should have a wee bit more time on our hands!

Looking over our past deadlines, we missed Life Drawings and animals. while hand drawing was the most successful (probably because it was the easiest). Just let me know if jan deadlines are good for you guys.

[kamikazel33t]

Totally up for it, I might as well even post up some stuff during the winter break because I have a lot of free time as today is my last day of exams. I also have to say I don't work because manual labor and small time jobs are normally taken by outsourced labor. Pretty much part-time jobs don't exist here so I've got tons of time to blow. I just managed to take myself to another level by just practicing perspective! (who knew it'd actually work?) . Right know from what I am getting is that if you learn forms and the basic foundations and if your able to to draw ellipses, boxes, and general primitives with good perspective you already almost there. I JUST NEED TO DRAW MOAR!!!!! RAWR :3