Beach life
- At February 15, 2019
- By Adam
- In animation
0
I’ve been working on this short film on and off for AGES now and finally took the time to focus and get it finished. I realised that I was procrastinating, swerving off to follow other shiny ideas and generally doing the artist thing of being afraid to put myself out there, creatively. The fact is, I really enjoy telling stories and animating, it’s just I’ve kind of censored myself over the past decade. I think this is due to a number of reasons, but the commercial side of appearing perfect to fit into the next studio role is one of them. It’s hammered into you as a student and seems to be the dominating factor when producing something that is very personal.
I definitely chose a more commercially viable route when I left university and picked projects. This is not to say I didn’t enjoy the work I found from this kind of pursuit, I did! But if you’re not careful, you forget what it is YOU actually like to draw/make/do. This project was part learning curve and part ‘break the rust off the gears’ and start telling stories again. Although at points I felt like quitting as I didn’t like the story, felt the animation wasn’t up to scratch, designs were rubbish, etc (insert endless list of self depreciating thoughts here!) I reached the finish line and feel GREAT that I stuck with it. Having a film festival submission as a deadline and working with a composer for original music were good tricks that helped keep the momentum and drive the finished touches over the line and this side of the decade 😉 It’s only a short film, but it’s amazing how these things can get put on a back burner for years and yet you always feel ‘busy’.
A little GIF snippet from the film, when all seems to be going swimmingly for one character.
I have to say a massive THANK YOU to my new fiancée (we are engaged as of 3 days ago!) for her continued support and guidance. She often saw clarity when I was considering my life choices and made some BRILLIANT creative calls when I just couldn’t choose. Thank you Josie x
The film will be out very soon! Just a couple of days 🙂
Snow storm animation
- At February 03, 2019
- By Adam
- In animation
- 0
Here’s a sample of a snow storm animation I’ve put together in Toon Boom Harmony. I’m using particle effects so it’s all composited in the software. It’s a simple scene and there is A LOT you can do with the node library and effects modules. There’s many I’d like to explore to their full potential…see what they can do! Toon Boom is crying out for a special effects and compositing book or guide (hint hint watch this space). For now, enjoy the snow gif. It’s funny creating these when it is ACTUALLY snowing outside 😛
New year, new animation course
It’s finally out into the wild…my brand new online course Animation in Toon Boom Harmony 16Â is open for sign ups!
Many, many hours of planning, research and preparation have gone into this, so I hope it’s useful to lots of people. It will be run through my online training business, Toon Boom Trainer and takes place over 5 weeks, part time.
It’s packed with all the great features of the previous courses: HD video lessons, easy-to-follow exercises, handy worksheets, 7 day a week support and our one-to-one, live tutorials. And the killer feature? A FREE copy of Toon Boom Harmony Premium for every participant!
Here’s a short video explaining all, filmed and edited by yours truly whilst trying to keep warm in this chilly English winter! If anyone is looking to improve their character animation skills whilst learning this fantastic software package, or even just want to read more (full curriculum on the website), head to toonboomtrainer.com
Toon Boom Camp London
- At July 04, 2018
- By Adam
- In animation, Training
- 0
Last weekend I was down in London for another sunny few days of Toon Boom’s Career Camps series. It’s two days of seminars and workshops on all aspects of the software, allowing those who are interested to get some hands-on experience before making the switch.
I was there taking the cut-out animation sessions (the same as I did in Dublin). We had a big group! And it was warm. Very warm. So hats off to all those who attended and managed to keep their concentration instead of running to the nearest lido 🙂
It’s always really inspiring to go to these events. The talks by Adam Shaw of Blue Zoo and Will Studd of Aardman were a huge motivator, giving a solid grounding to why everyone was there (in the long run!) Personally I’m excited to get back into training development again and working on more animation projects in the near future, especially in Toon Boom!
London on the rise
London has some really brilliant plans for Toon Boom Harmony and it’s integration into the studios down there. That, along with the great work going on in Bristol is helping bring the ‘long form production king’ to the South! Let us not forget the mighty Manchester, with its very own Brown Bag Films where I used to work. Those guys have been doing amazing stuff with Harmony since 2015. I think they were the first U.K studio to adopt the software on such a large scale. When I joined they were around 40 people there, now they’re heading towards 140…immense! So with all these places gradually expanding and increasing their knowledge level and talent pool, I have high hopes for a ‘platinum age’ of animation in the U.K. And yes, all these inverted commas are me trying to coin phrases before they’re a thing! Maybe one day I’ll be noted as the first to use the phrase in some publication. Oh the fame!
Toon Boom Shortcuts Cheat Sheet
Oh and for those who took my class and would like my personal Harmony shortcuts sheet, you can download the PDF here:Â https://www.toonboomtrainer.com/resources/shortcuts.pdf
