Massive Black's Creating Dyamic Poses for Art and Animation with Chris Hatala

[Jason Manley]

Poses by Chris Hatala.



Lecture Title: Creating Dynamic Poses, Gestures and Communicating Body Language for Concept Art, Illustration and Animation.
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2009, 10am-1pm (PST)
Brief: An In-Depth Presentation on the Art of Posing from Imagination
Prerequisites: No previous art or animation experience required to attend.
Duration: 2 hr Presentation + 1 hr Q&A
How Much??: Tuition is 75 USD and will be available by clicking the SHOP button in the top toolbar of the site here.
OR BY CLICKING THE DIRECT LINK HERE:
http://store.conceptartstore.com/angaandfipa1.html





Biography:
Christopher Hatala began his career at Tippett Studio in Berkeley, California where he animated on two films, Cats & Dogs (2001) and Evolution (2001). Late 2001, he moved to Wellington, New Zealand to animate with Weta Digital on the feature films: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), I, Robot (2004), and King Kong (2005). Since 2005, Chris has been living in San Francisco working as Animation Director / Co-Founder of Massive Black Inc and has been working on some of the biggest games and projects in the business.



Presentation Overview:
This lecture is geared for all audiences, regardless of your drawing, painting, or animation knowledge and skill set. Chris will be sharing his knowledge from creating some of the most well known shots in film and games. Posing your characters in your work is a key challenge we all face as artists, whether we are drawing, painting or, posing 3d or animating. Communication of body language, emotion, and expression will be covered as well as capturing moments of drama and acting pose principles. Your work and knowledge will improve with this information in hand.

Selected demo reel animation shots from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and King Kong will be shown and discussed. Also, the demo reel shots to be discussed in this lecture have been keyframe animated by Chris. He gives very thorough presentations and you will find it entertaining and informative.

Along with the presentation, Chris will also be discussing his work on some of the following shots in Academy Award winning films.



Shot 1:
Shelob Cocoons Frodo – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Animated Elements: CG Spider (Shelob), CG digital double (Frodo)




Shot 2:
Kong attacked by bats – King Kong.
Animated Elements: CG Gorilla (King Kong), CG bats (15+)




Shot 3:
Felbeast grasps Gondorians – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Animated Elements: CG Flying Creature (Felbest), CG digital double
(Ring Wraith, Gondorian Soldiers 5+)



Shot 4:
Bats crawling/hanging in cave – King Kong
Animated Elements: CG Hero bat, CG background bats (12+)




Shot 5:
Cave Troll Walk Cycle/Muscle Test – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Animated Elements: CG Creature (Cave Troll)




Shot 6:
Kong protects his new toy – King Kong
Animated Elements: CG Gorilla (King Kong), CG digital double (Ann’s
legs)



As usual, conceptart.org proceeds are going directly to the community including helping to pay for the 25,000 dollars in servers we just had to buy for this year, as well as the upcoming major tech additions to the site. Thank you all for the support and thanks to Chris too!!!

See you soon!

[hatala]

Hey everyone,

Not many of you know me, but my name is Chris Hatala and I am a Co-Founder and also Animation Director here at Massive Black, Inc. You may have caught one of my presentations at the MassiveBlack/ConceptArt.org Workshops. If so, I hope you dug it!

I'd first like to say that I'm really happy to have an opportunity to support the Community and teach too! It's my job to convince you that your dreams can be a reality! (as long as you work hard to achieve them =)

This lecture covers the ideas and theories animators use to put characters, creatures, and monsters in lifelike and believable poses. I have tailored this course to directly apply to concept artists, illustrators, fine artists, and animators simultaneously. I've used these techniques constantly, from my work on Lord of the Rings and King Kong, to the other projects I put my life and time into. I gave a similar, 2-day lecture, at Paris GDC and it went over really well in the master classes. I have rounded it out for easy, entertaining digestion, so I hope it can help you!

Here are a couple images of characters I posed for marketing renders, which hopefully shows you that this topic applies to both 2d and 3d work at the same time.

Bioshock 2


TombRaider Underworld


That said, I would be happy to take suggestions and input on what else you might like to see covered during this talk. I am here to help. I can do live animation and posing demos, talk more about gestures and body language, show more film shots and discuss animation, or outline creative problem solving techniques that span all media. I want to give you the info you want most. So, all comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks everybody and I look forward to the lecture!

[space-sprayer]

OMG, this looks SO good...

[rinjii]

OMFG now i know i have to bear witness to this- this would help me massively! especially when finding models is borderline impossible and i gotta go with my imagination.. any chance you can cover how to do that effectively?

[Jason Manley]

That is exactly the point. Chris understands how to create any kinds of poses from the most subtle and beautiful to dynamic and intense from imagination. He will share his ideas on that in the presentation.


J

[hatala]

space-sprayer: thanks! i hope you'll be able to stop by.

rinjii: you can be sure I'll try my very best! By talking through some of my shots, the plan is to give you more options, ideas, and ammunition for when a model isn't available. =)

[sony]

wuaoo, Chris your poses are really dynamic and great.

[BigglesB]

I'm so there for this one.

[Nateman742]

Oh wow! Time to mow some lawns for that $75!

I must ask, are there any plans for a DVD? If so, consider it bought in triplicate.

[hatala]

Nateman742: no plans yet for a dvd, so this is pretty much a live only presentation. this presentation will likely only be given through conceptArt.org or through one of the massive black/conceptArt.org workshops. on a side note though, i have been creating a bunch of downloadable animation tutorials that should be available early November. they range from beginner to advanced, although the focus of those is mainly animation. the live presentation is structured to hopefully be helpful to all artists, regardless of medium. thanks for the interest!!

[rinjii]

thanks SOOOOO much hatala!! i seriously can't wait for it!

[Nateman742]

Originally Posted by hatala

Nateman742: no plans yet for a dvd, so this is pretty much a live only presentation. this presentation will likely only be given through conceptArt.org or through one of the massive black/conceptArt.org workshops. on a side note though, i have been creating a bunch of downloadable animation tutorials that should be available early November. they range from beginner to advanced, although the focus of those is mainly animation. the live presentation is structured to hopefully be helpful to all artists, regardless of medium. thanks for the interest!!

Guess I'll have to pony up then I'll keep an eye out for those animations, as well!

[Jason Manley]

You all are the best. Tanks!! Tanks much!!

This is a good one. I think you will find the info you need in Chris. He is one of the best animators on earth and knows posing masterfully. He is a very good teacher and is open with his ideas, perspectives, and theories. Learned a lot from this guy over the years.


Jason

[Eimajine]

Alright!!!! All signed up and ready to go.

Great idea to post on CGSociety and hopefully the word spreads fast. I'm really pumped to see some Animation love on the CA forums .

Thanks!

CGSociety
Jayweb

CA
Eimajine

[hatala]

Eimajine: No, not that early! I wouldn't do something cruel like that to the Eastcoasters! =D I think it's more like 12:45 PM EST, since the presentation will start at 1 PM EST (10 AM PST).

[Eimajine]

Woops, I read the .txt file incorrectly. That's good to hear then.

[hatala]

whew! i would have felt horrible if you had woken up that early. now you can sleep in! =))

[BlightedArt]

I've seen Hatala at the Marama workshop, and learned a helluva lot from him, I totally recommend this presentation to all. (btw Chris, I was that ugly mug that asked about 2D animation if that rings any bells hehe)

[hatala]

BlightedArt: thanks so much, i'm stoked you got something out of my Marama workshop presentation! and of course i remember you, it's not everyday someone asks about 2D animation. in a world of computers, it's good to know there are still animators out there that enjoy drawing. also, everything you learn in 2D animation can be directly applied to 3D if you decide to go that direction, so no worries mate! thanks for posting!

[Roselyn]

Hi!

Fisrt; i'm still a newbie and if this is not the place to ask, forgive me! I'm still nervous around ^^;

Will this be sownloadable for some time, like other workshops? Because of timezone differences, i may not be able to get home on time so, i was wondering maybe i'd be able to get it later.

[hatala]

Roselyn: No reason to be nervous, we're all friends here =)) After the actual live presentation is over, it will be available 'On Demand' for a limited time (at least 2 or 3 weeks). So, the answer is yes!! Although you won't be able to partake in the live Q&A, you will still have the opportunity to purchase and view the presentation in its entirety after Saturday.

[Cranberry]

Thanks for this Jason & Chris! Looking good! Won't be making it though, so many other stuff to catch up on and school is about to start

Keep the classes coming I'd say! Would make hell of a great christmas gift

[riotorange]

OMFG OMFG OMFG OMFG!!!! chris hatala!!! i haven't even stopped talkin about you at Reverie to my friends yet. You ROCK!!!
if i get money magically in a day I'm FREAKING THERE!!!
w000000000T!!!!!

[riotorange]

ha got so excited i hit post twice. LOL

[Linkenlog]

I'm so excited for this! I've been so busy with college but I'm making time for this. I met Chris earlier this year and he inspired me to step up my work so much. Don't know if he remembers me, but I was the girl with glasses and the hat on the Disney Cruise/Microsoft conference. I've gotten a ton more serious with my art just by talking with him, so I can't wait to see what a real lecture does.

[Roselyn]

Thank you =)

Now i calcutated again and i might be able to come on time! Now need to get myself some sweet money to purchase. . . meow T.T

[hatala]

Cranberry: It's definitely our pleasure! Keep an eye out, there's lots of good stuff still to come!

riotorange: Wow, you rock! Thanks for the props, I really appreciate the support!

Linkenlog: If I remember correctly, I even ran back to my room to get a Massive Black Book to show you right? Or maybe I had it on hand, I do remember you flipping through it though. =) There's only one way to begin bettering your art, and it is to get serious about it. So, it's really great to hear you're more on your way!

Only 2 days left to register! Thanks everyone, you guys are just too awesome. I'm excited and really looking forward to Saturday. I have some great stuff lined up (even more than listed above), so I'm packing in the info to give you guys even more than what's expected!

[Linkenlog]

Originally Posted by hatala

Linkenlog: If I remember correctly, I even ran back to my room to get a Massive Black Book to show you right? Or maybe I had it on hand, I do remember you flipping through it though. =) There's only one way to begin bettering your art, and it is to get serious about it. So, it's really great to hear you're more on your way!

Yeah, I was surprised that you ran back to get it but I'm glad you did! It was so awesome meeting you since I'd been lurking here since the beginning of the year and I was on the fence about getting serious about my art. That was the push I needed! I've been working hard everyday to get as good as the people in your book.

Can't wait for your class, anyway. I have to get through all the basic drawing classes to get to the animation ones in my college and I'm getting impatient with not learning anything useful.

[jfitt]

Can't wait for this class!! See you guys Saturday! =D

[hatala]

jfitt: Sweet! I'll see you there!

Here are a few more of the static, marketing poses/renders that we will also be going over (along with the animations and images already listed):

Golden Axe


TombRaider Underworld


The Saboteur