background sketches anyone???

[MacFish_Ac]

kindly post here and share the same experience if you dont mind???

[egerie]

there's a strange request. but here goes : http://www.cam.org/~arale/as/mags/gallery/2D/19bigFULL.jpg
(c) Vivatoon

This isn't exactly a background per-se but an overlay transition between two scenes.. the jumble of vegetation is on purpose :)

[AttackCat]

Nice! i like the 'jungle transition', would really like to see a colored version, possibly inked???
:thumbsup:

[Feinder]

Egerie are you an animator or layout artist?

[egerie]

AttackCat : Well for layouts such as this we don't "ink" our stuff only hand out a clean version done with lead pencils. Unfortunately, I don't have any coloured version as this was sent halfway accross the world to get coloures. And they chopped half of it to cut down some work ! The director on the first screening was NOT happy. I thought he would jump on the first plane and bitchslap whoever was in charge of the colouring team. :D Thanks a lot by the way ! Most of the credit should go to all the fantastic artists I've been working with on this production. It was great to swim in so many wonderful pieces that you didn't have a choice but to learn from it :)

Feinder : I use to be one, then the other, then prop designer and now I'm a pixel pushing monkey in the gaming industry ! Yay !... How about you ?

[AttackCat]

Wow, that's quite interesting, those business aspects of which you speak. Lately i've been inking many drawings i guess as a quick way to finish them and have some peace of mind, but you say that is not how things typically work huh? So generally its best to finish the pencils, maybe go over them with a clean pencil line and be done? At least when the picture is going to be colored? Leave all the shading and lighting to the colorists? Good biznass advice, thanks.

[Feinder]

egerie : I am currently studying animation at Algonquin College and your work looks like some hot animation. Do you animate in the game industry, how is the transition?
We keep on hearing about how there are hardly any jobs left.

[Sumrow]

Thats some damn tasty stuff there egerie

[egerie]

MacFish_Ac : Didn't meant to highjack your thread like that sorry in advance..

AttackCat: Well in the animation industry, no. At least not for TV series. If you screw up a line or have to change something, it's a lot easyer to do so with a lead pencil than an ink pencil wouldn't you agree ? :)
Most of the time, we first do is a quick thumbnail sketch of the scene we want. If it's for a layout piece, you need to stick to the storyboard. If it's not then you're free to create the space.
Secondly when all the shapes are in place, it's dynamic, etc, we make a large scale sketch of the background with blue col-erases. The paper size ranges from a field 12 to a 11"x18" sheets, sometimes more. For example this layout was a long animation paper sheet which is the equivalent of 3 or 4 standard animation sheets wide.
Thirdly when all seems to be all and well, we put another sheet of paper on top and clean with a lead pencil (3B to HB depending of the artist).
As for the shading and lighting, yes. We sometimes put a light source reference tho. A 3D red arrow in perspective that gives the colourists a general idea of what mood/time of day and location of the light source.

Feinder : Well thank you ! Like I said, the work of the people I was working with was wicked. Unfortunately, when it went trough the big machine of animation most of it was mauled and ended up with a lower standard :( This layout was used in the opening sequence of "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's LOST WORLD".
As for the gaming industry, I don't animate often. It is perhaps linked to the studio I'm working for at the moment, but I don't know. Altho when something needs to be animated (especially 2D), they pounce me. The transition is pretty smooth but can easely turn into an artistic suicide :/ I'm talking for the hardcore 2D artist here since I'm a beginner at 3D animation. I'm *dying* to learn that as a matter of fact.
There always are scary tales of jobs running out in every industry and I don't beleive in them AT ALL. If you got the potential, you'll find something. Most of the time it's also a question of being at the right time at the right place. Or if you prefer, sending your reel/portfolio at the right time.. There's no way of knowing that beforehand but networking and keeping your ears open helps ! Especially since a few months where it seems the studios are in effervescence. So don't fret and don't pay attention to those rumours. Just work your ass off and you shall be rewarded !! :chug: </oracle mode>

Sumrow : Yummy yum ! :o

damnit.. got carried away in technicalities. sorry !

[AttackCat]

egerie- thanks for the quick rundown... very helpful advice. I'm assuming you use the longer animation sheet for the background so that you can move the camera across it for a longer transition right? Or, if it was a main background piece you might have the characters moving along it? I really have not done much animation yet, but i'm getting me feet wet in a few classes right now. Always good advice, thanks.