My Guilty Little Secret, and something I think a few ppl on here can identify with

[maggies_lens]

I promise there will be random Thailand photos at some stage very soon. In the mean time I need to admit something. I need to clear the air. It's taken me a few weeks to come to terms with this, so please don't judge too harshly...I....I'm a My Little Pony Friendship is Magic fan. There. I said it. I like this cartoon and I like the stories and I like the animation style. I am also mildly alarmed and amused that the cartoon ponies I have been drawing in my exercise books etc for years look a hell of a lot like the new MLP's. What the HELL? When I get home and have access to HB pencils and an eraser, I will be teaching myself how to draw them. I think my two fav ponies are Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. I know it's been around, what, 3 years or so? But I never watched it until the flight over here. The movies were boring, they had an episode available to watch so It ought ah what the hell. Now I really, really like it :)
I am 35 years old.
How freaking depressing is THIS?!?!?!? Anyone else suffer this?
Anyway, I was feeling silly yesterday and created my own pony. I personally think she's kind of cute.


I can see the legs are going to be the hardest to draw, I always have issues with getting the level of cute-chunky right. Will have to experiment a little bit with guide-line points and joint references. I have to say I def prefer the new animation style to the old one, this one is going to be a lot easier to draw. I can draw the old style but it's very limiting.

Anyway, now you know my filthy, dirty, nasty little secret :) And hey I saw this, sums me up pretty well, and made me think of a couple of you.




heheheheheee, yeah :)

Comments

[slobberpuppy.livejournal.com]

You've got it - adding a few more frames would smooth out the movement. Anticipation is used before an action is taken, and it is the opposite of whatever movement is about to be made: a character will lean back for a few frames before moving forwards for instance. Anticipation can be subtle or extreme, and it is not a natural inclination for general movement, but it is part of what makes animation work. Overlap is when the actions don't all land on the same key - for instance, if a character is pointing at something, the arm will lead, followed by the hand, followed by the fingers. Like the opposite of anticipation, ending movements should have some overshoot before settling into a pose. Snappy animation has all of these qualities in a condensed amount of frames, and is my favourite of all animation styles. Poppy animation is snappy animation without the bells and whistles of anticipation and overlap. Floaty/natural animation uses moving holds, and can been seen in the classic Disney films.

MLP definitely uses computer animation - most likely it's done on Harmony, which is the main software used for 2D projects. The characters and props are drawings, but the animation is done by posing the rigged models, so once they are drawn and rigged-up, no new drawings are needed. Stuff like walks, runs, flight, etc... are done with cycles, you build the cycle and then can just plug it in where it's needed. You are bang-on regarding Spike's animation, he looks VERY computer generated. I'm not sure why it stands out more on him than on the ponies, mind.

I think it'd be super-fun to work on this show! Most series in North America are completed anywhere between 8 - 3 weeks for a 22 minute episode, and I have no idea where this one falls, but with the economized animation (not a bad thing, I actually applaud that decision being made so people don't have to work around the clock to meet their deadlines) I imagine they are cranking it out faster than the 8 week schedule.

Anyhow, it's cute, and the design is clever, and I agree that is is MUCH improved over the old MLP that I used to watch as a kid (I still have my old-skool ponies from the 80's - Peachy and Moondancer!)... The design is my main reason for watching the show, the aesthetics are very appealing, and have certainly hooked my attention enough to bring me back to watching it even tho I'm not the biggest fan of the writing.

[maggies-lens.livejournal.com]

OK now I want to play with this Harmony program. I can't draw terribly well but I bet you I'd have some fun. I'm so jealous you get to be an animator, what type of things do you get to work on? I did a short animated film back in the old high school days, took me about a month to do a 30 second clip of a dog chasing after a ball. I so wish I could have kept it all but everything had to be handed in for assessment and I never got any of it back. I LOVED doing it tho.
I think it stands out of Spike so much because of his colour, actually. He seems to POP out of the background so much more than even the craziest coloured pony, and it's like the lines used for his outline and esp his eyes are...too think? It's def something about his frame and the way he moves which distracts me. It could also be his eyes are slitted like a lizards' rater than the iris being a circle like the ponies. I know in one of the early eps in season one Applejack has a dog help her round up bunny rabbits and the dog also looked EXTREMELY computerised (as does Fluttershy's bunny now that I think about it). Maybe they drew the ponies extremely carefully and have them sort of pre-programmed in so it looks...more natural? While the sort of incidental so not as much work goes into them. Doesn't make sense with a main character like Spike tho.

[slobberpuppy.livejournal.com]

I'm actually working as an event producer at the moment since we moved out of the city. I was needing a break from animation - like every industry these days, the rate of return was diminishing. I also developed carpal tunnel in the last 2 years I was animating, so I wanted to get away from being on a computer for 40+ hours week.

The last three series I worked were Nickelodeon's Backyardigans, BBC's Guess With Jess, Team TO's The Adventures of Bababar and Badou, and Guru's Justin Time. I was lead animator on BY, and animation supervisor on GWJ and B&B. JT I was helping out for a few shows as an animator. My full roster of shows can be found here (and I just noticed the fuct-up and listed me as lead animator on some of the Babar listings, going to have to correct that.)

Before those three shows I mentioned above, I was working in digital 2D for about a year and a half, and then stop-motion with puppets for 5 years. The 2D show was in ToonBoom, the predecessor to Harmony. In order of what I like to work in best, I'd say stop-mo, digital 2D and then digital 3D. It's all fun, but stop-motion is the best medium of all.

I don't agree with the undercutting and condensed schedules that are the norm these days, so I'm happy to not be involved with the industry at this time. I do miss the teamwork and camaraderie, but I don't miss the stress, long hours, and toll it took on my right arm. Above all else, I advise folks to make sure the workspace is set-up properly so that people don't injuring themselves! I feel fortunate that I was able to heal, and now I am super-aware of my health when working on a computer.

Anyways, if you are interested in trying it out, most software has watermarked free trials you can muck about with. ToonBoom/Harmony (2D) and Maya (3D) are the most popular, and like all things that involve amazing and cutting-edge animation, both were developed in Canada (just like me!)

It's a neat media and can be really fun when you have enough time to get your work done. I may go back to it all someday, I've stepped back from animation before when I needed a break. It's not like you ever lose your skills. Once you know how to animate, it's all just a matter of learning whatever platform you'll be working with, whether that be a computer, a puppet, or a pencil.