Oh! Mighty renderer, how I hate thee!

I'm currently rendering out some shots. I'm using an IBL, and a 90 frame shot has taken 5 hours to get half way! Ouch! Why, oh why, did I decide to use an IBL?

I've been to a couple of meetings with animation studios, and things are looking promising. I've been given some great feedback from the directors, and am currently in the process of adjusting my reel, according to their critique. Hence, my reignited relationship with the mighty renderer.

Hopefully over the next couple of days, I'll have my reworked reel ready to send back to them. It was really nice to hear positive things from professionals in the industry, who aren't my tutors or classmates. Happy face!

Oh, Happy Halloween by the way. Here's the article with my screen shot of my animation from the musical Wicked (bottom right, in the article).

And so, here's a reminder of the work in progress shot I did (in its rough form)...y'know, as it's Halloween and everything :)

Animation Updates

Hi there, remember me? I know, I know, it's been a while since I last blogged but don't worry I'm still here.

In between applying for entry level positions in studios across the land, I've moved house and relocated, been on Jury service, been working, been animating, lost 2 stone...and amongst all the excitement of getting my latest Showreel onto my website and sorting through boxes that I haven't gone through since I was at school...I came across this book!

This was my very first animation book I got when I was about 10. I'm not sure of the exact age, but I was at Primary school - I remember having it at my desk in year4, so I may have been younger than 10. Aaaanyway...it reminded me about why I'm doing what I'm doing, and why I'm applying for animation roles. It's strange how my career choices have gone full circle. From wanting to animate, to wanting to work in theatre, to wanting to be an artist, to wanting to work in the corporate rat race...to wanting to fuse together theatre and art to return to my career choice: Animation.

Whilst you breathe a sigh of sweet nostalgia with me, take a peek at my latest showreel, it's pretty cool, even if I do say so myself: www.marcgodfrey.com/

Showreel #1 - Done!

I've done it! I've finally finished my first showreel. I'm really pleased, and relieved. It's taken a year to get to this stage...

To see it, check out my website: www.marcgodfrey.com

I would really love to know what you think.

I'm in the process of getting my 2 other showreels completed too. I've done my Animal and Creatures, I still need to complete a Games and Character reel...I'll keep you updated :)

The Art of the Title!

I've recently been working on a titles for my showreel. At first glance, it seems like not a big deal, but when you get down to it, you're creating something that makes a first impression - yikes! This means it's got to be good.

Here are my first attempts:

 

I then simplified to get this:

 

  

The feedback about this was about keeping it simple, and drawing inspiration from a title sequence that I like. After trawling the internet and various title websites, I found this intro, and the actual title part of the intro was appealing. It looked simple, classy and bold. What do you think?:

  

...and so from that, I created this...which so far, is what I'm sticking with.

Let me know what you think - it would be good to get as much feedback as I can :)

Thanks

Marc

How to Animate a Car...

Well, I'm not expert to assume that I can teach someone how to animate a vehicle...but I did a car this week...it's not bad.

The toughest part for me, was to work out where to put the squash the stretch. Although it's a solid object, you still need to add performance elements to give the overall piece some flow.

The car rig is a nice little piece of kit - it came with a good squash functionality, as well as being able to lift up the bonnet and boot...very nice touches!

I used reference from the gazillion clips that are on youtube, of cars screeching doing stunts and 180 slide turns.

There are still a few tweeks here and there that I want to do to it...but for now, it's not that bad. What do you think?

Horsey Horsey

On the Animation Apprentice course we're learning about Horse locomotion. At first, fear careered through my body, it looked REALLY fiddly and complicated, but I'm pleased to report...Tweren't at all bad, twas it not!

Once I got my head around the rig and understood the controls, it was really about making sure all the curves looked good and the cycle was working smoothly.

Here's my Walking Horse. What do you think?

My mind is constantly drifting to the dreaded question: How am I going to get a job? The end of the course with Animation Apprentice looms, which means I need to get my showreel up to scratch and good enough to show to a studio, and prove why they should take me on. Lots to do. CV and Linkedin profiles to sharpen!

And above all else...I need to come up with an idea to cohesively put a showreel together. Watch this space!

Getting an Animation job!

I'm not yet at the stage where I'm job hunting. I still have a lot of work to do on my showreel. I'm very excited about what the future holds though.

Escape studios posted a blog by HaZ Dulull, offering his advice about getting work, in what is, a very competitive arena. You can get to the pearls of wisdom through the Escape link, or through here: Part 1: The Showreel, Part 2: Finding the right approach and lastly Part 3: Networking

An excellent read - jammed packed with really useful tips and advice. Big thumbs up!

I love this Show Reel!

Whilst browsing show reels online, I came across this gem by animator, Erica Pinto. It was really the first scene that caught my attention, as I'm a massive fan of TV show, 30Rock. I think Erica has captured the characters beautifully - I love the attention to detail, such as the little glasses bounce.

One day, I hope to be as gifted as Erica. Check out more of her work here.