PLemination

Time for something else

2011-09-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

Sequoia National Park, CA

After finishing on Puss in Boots we decided to get out of L.A. for a bit.

The national parks here in the US are amazing. I would love to visit them all at one point.

Pretty dope stuff

2011-08-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.squeezestudio.com/

reel

and while your there be sure to check out the Animation Insiders book, all free PDF download.

AM Mentor

2011-08-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

Animation Mentor has a new website and some new mentors. I am one of those !!

I started as a campus mentor but now I am a class one, basic foundation mentor.

It is an odd feeling at times having gone through the program as a student to return several years later and try to pass on my knowledge that I have gained to new students. Its a different ball game altogether and hopefully I wont screw any one up :-)

That said the students are super enthusiastic and that gives me allot of energy and drive to becoming a better animator

Sculpting again 2011

2011-06-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

So its been a really long time since ive posted anything and i think its been close to a year since i took Ron Pekar's sculpting class at work. This time he is having us work on 2 sculptures at the same time.. same model just 2 different poses. Also the plan is to get my 1st sculpture bronzed... fingers crossed hope it turns out.

Fellow animator Rodrigo draws stuff and has a blog

2010-10-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

Rodrigo just started a DW drawing blog which i think is a really cool idea. feel free to check it out..

http://dreamworksdrawings.blogspot.com/

Sculpting progress over 2 weeks

2010-08-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

As i have not posted in a few weeks ive done these comparison pictures. A is before B.. B being what I did this week at sculpting. Ive come to the stage where its time to refine and tweak. Also there are more tooth picks keeping it all together.. ive even added one through the feet. Main diference between these two is on the B versions ive extended the lower leg a bit to make them some what longer and ive started to define the feet. Other tweaks are the hair and arms and also adjusted the tilt on the head slightly.

Adding arms to sculpture

2010-08-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

Working on the arms. Both arms contain a toothpick inside that help to give a solid base for the arms. Both tooth picks are broken to allow for bending.

Sculpting classes with Ron Pekar

2010-07-23T17:08:00.001-07:00

Recently i joined the sculpting classes here at Dreamworks which are being taught by Ron Pekar. Its great to have some one who knows their stuff and appreciates art as much as Ron does and i'm finding i'm really enjoying these classes and the proces of creating something out of a ball of clay.. these pics are from the 3rd week in, classes are once a week. Hopefully this will mount into something nice enough to turn into actual bronze

Cats and Dogs 2 my shots are from 0:58 onward

2010-07-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

Heres one of the sequences from Cats and Dogs 2 I worked on while at Tippett Studios in Berkeley CA. I have such fond memories of that place, the people and the work we did on the film especially since it was my first full on feature. I have a small sequence of shots here from about 0:58 seconds onwards where the big cat says 'have fun' to the end of this sequence...

I have a few more shots in the film which are later on and I personally feel its still my best work to date.

migration test

2010-05-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

Just migrated my blog from my ftp to peerlemmers.blogspot.com.

Baboon - pencil on paper and some photoshop

2010-02-22T23:39:00.000-08:00

Another sketch for the Draw a holics blog

pencil on paper, then i had bad lighting with my camera when i took the picture to upload it so started toying with it in photoshop...

Indian ink and brush

2010-02-19T22:45:00.001-08:00

bought some indian ink and brushes a few weeks ago and started playing with it. Have not been drawing as much as i would want to due to work but im still drawing every week which is waaayy better then last year.

Hands

2010-01-28T22:11:00.001-08:00

Ok i'm posting these hands not because they are so good but so i can look back at the end of the year and see if i've improved. This is the first batch i did since posting saying i would draw hands to get started. Today was the first day i did not draw in 2 weeks... i have some kind of weird pinched nerve or someting that makes my leg feel like it is suffering from pins and needles with out the tikling... see how that ends but i thought some rest should help

Zebra

2010-01-28T22:07:00.001-08:00

I joined Draw a holics, our goal is to draw some kind of animal every week. This week... zebra...

Giraffe's first sketch of the year

2010-01-25T00:40:00.000-08:00

Cats and Dogs 2: The revenge of Kitty Galore

2010-01-20T20:08:00.000-08:00

Checked my inbox and got the AWNTV email with the Cats and Dogs trailer in the spotlight. How cool, first feature film work for me! No shots in the trailer but hope they will make it on the big screen to be released this summer.

Working at Tippett Studios was great in so many ways, I look forward to watching the movie and knowing all the story's behind the shots.

Check out the link for the trailer!

http://www.awntv.com/playlist/trailer-hitch-top-ten

Getting in shape... creatively

2010-01-17T20:37:00.000-08:00

Its a new year, new round new chances...

Like most people I try to set a few goals for each year. Last years... read more books watch less TV.. which I did and have refound the joy of reading a book and letting my own imagination take control instead of someone else's when you watch TV or a movie.

This years... get in shape creatively!

It's very easy to come home and kick back and do nothing after a long day at work. I mean I work in a creative industry right, why the need to get in shape for it? Well when I'm at work I work for my employer and the director and the animation supervisors and the production coordinators etc etc.

I am expected to deliver a certain amount of creativity on any given day, which is great I enjoy doing that. However Ive found that the more I am going through production the less I am actually involved in expanding my own creativity, the stuff that makes me as an artist so to say since working creative on demand is just that... as a animator I execute some one else's idea and add my own vision to that. Sometimes successfully sometimes not but if it were a equation or a percentage i would say a animators shot is handed to him with about 60% already decided for him or her by what is needed for the movie, specific scene etc. It comes down to how you execute that idea really.

So with that said I find I feel the urge to do more for myself and re-connect with the basics that got me going in the first place... drawing characters, cartoons and telling a little story once in a while. However my over extensive use of the computer the last 4 years or so that I have entered the 3D animation realm, have left my skills well beyond rusty. I can barely draw stick figures when I do my planning for animation seems.

So this past weekend I bought some pencils and pencil lead fillers and have started sketching again beginning with the basics, hands. Hard as ever but really important for an animator. Hands tell an incredible amount about some ones mood or attitude. Fidgety hands, strong hands, a fist or open palm, relaxed hands and tense hands, it goes on and on.

By starting with this I hope to open up my creative channels even more and regain my old drawing skills. This creativity will inevitably run through to my production work which I hope will make me a better animator, and thus deliver a better product for my boss...

see, every one wins :-)

just rambling

2009-11-02T22:10:00.002-08:00

So, well into the 5th month at DreamWorks. I can say it has been on a whole new level in many ways at work but also outside of work. Were enjoying California as much as we can and now that we have a car we can get around allot better and cruise down to the coast and that sort of goodness. Family life is going great at the moment.

At DW I feel its taken some time to get settled in.. this has to do with the proprietary software they use and me having learned everything in Maya, which I had become extremely comfortable in to the point that I was just animating... no longer thinking or worrying about controls, work flow etc.

Nothing like learning new software while on the job (uhum) and now it seems I have to re invent the way I animate, the DW software is very unforgiving and time consuming which has resulted in me banging my head several times.

The other thing is the big studio environment and having come from Tippett and Rare where there were 200-250 people or so to a campus with 1200 people and tons of departments and other good stuff. One of the things I always enjoyed at smaller studios is the direct contact to the entire pipe line which results in quicker problem fixing etc. In a big studio there seem to be more channels to go through and the result being sometimes you will have to wait a few days for what would be a quick fix at a smaller studio. In that essence I think you have to be more aware and plan up front more at the big studio.

That said I am glad to have gone through all the different types of work and studios that I have as it gives me a better insight to the industry and what all the pro's and cons are to me on a personal level.

DW is an amazing studio full of talent and something is always happening arround campus seems... its is extremely inspire-ring to see all the production work evolve and all the stages the movies go through from up close, this is definitely something I had only seen in games but not for film as in VFX your main job is to animate to the plates given to the studio by another studio and as freelance remote you really just dig in and follow the plan thats laid out for you to get you your work done a.s.a.p.

1 Year since last post!

2009-09-08T21:45:00.004-07:00

Ok, so it's been 1 whole year since i last posted here. I figure better do it before blogger shuts me down.

Allot has happend in one year but i'l try sum it up as quick as I can. Last year (September 2008) I quit my job at Rare in the British midlands and we left for the U.S. where I went to look for animation work. After 4 months staying with my in-laws in Florida I got an offer to go and work at Tippett Studios in Berkeley, CA. On Cats and Dogs 2: The revenge of Kitty Galore due for release 2010. It was an amazing experience and I truly enjoyed my stay there. However as it turned out I was given an opportunity to go work for DreamWorks in L.A. 6 months into the Tippet job... on Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom due for release in 2011.

We moved to L.A. end of June and ive been at DreamWorks now for a bit over two months.

Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise

2008-09-03T02:25:00.002-07:00

So it's finally out there. VP:TiP! its been a great experience and looking back at it makes it even more so. This is my first game credit and I feel its one to be really proud of. I've enjoyed the creative freedom I was given and was lucky enough to get handed the intro to not only animate but also edit, stage, and adjust the initial concept to something short, funny and that would lock in to the game well. I hope I have succeded in this, take a look for yourself! the game is a reall gem!

Thanks VP team and Rare for this oppertunity.

ANIMATION MENTOR SHOWREEL 2008

2008-08-23T01:42:00.002-07:00

Another AM showreel, Its amazing to see the level of animation and acting students are knocking out.. really awesome stuff! And Im proud to say my work is featured on it as well! Really awesome!!

Tourist Class 2008 short film AM

2008-08-01T03:32:00.001-07:00

Kung Fu Panda Video

2008-06-05T02:17:00.002-07:00

time codes 00:13 and 01:23... YEAH BABY!

Pinata game play trailer

2008-05-15T02:01:00.002-07:00

Look at the crab! hehe yes i did the crab!

Inside Rare Video

2008-05-14T01:50:00.001-07:00

Long awaited update.

2008-05-12T03:42:00.004-07:00

Well some time to blog, lots of cool things are happening and have happened. I recently graduated from Animation Mentor and finished my short film Tourist Class. I am now trying to render it all out and hope to be able to throw it out there within a month or so.

Also the game I am working on will be done soon and the press embargo will be lifted tomorrow, so il post some more then. Really cool though it's been a year for me and now I will be getting my first XBOX 360 Game credit. I must say it is looking really impressive and I have learned tons on this project. I also think it is still one of the most original games out there and will do every one proud here at Rare who has worked on it.

My good buddy Robert Barros got himself published in a book so check out his blog, and Jamie Quist is making some seriously cool art and is now attending art school, Jamie has a awesome perspective on life, can’t wait to see more of his work. Mr.Music is kicking it in NY as a freelance animator and so is Mr. Lutha, both worked on Horton here’s a who so the OSG is still going strong.

Also I hope to be bringing out my updated demo reel really soon, I have some cool stuff coming out this year and the freelance work I’ve done for ReelFX for Kung Fu Panda commercials and DVD stuff should add to it rather nicely :-)

Holy Moly

2008-02-22T07:07:00.002-08:00

Its been ages since I published here!

Lots has happend and is happening, my good friend Dan Carey from Rare is creating his blog and has joined Animation Mentor.. so has a odd fellow named Andy Hall.. with whom I am working with on VP2... so now there are 5 of us at Rare who are doing AM since I am back to finish class 6 and my short film. Il be a proud graduate end of March and will also wrap on VP2 by then! So besides being sleep deprived and having two deadlines all is well :-)

Aardman awereness commercials

2007-12-14T02:24:00.000-08:00

Do penguins fly?

2007-10-31T06:09:00.000-07:00

Pinata wedding?

2007-09-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, so a month has passed even though I only was on vacation for one week. It was really nice being back home and seeing old friends and family. Did some sailing on my brothers America's cup yacht and some late night beer drinking and chilling on the beach. Good stuff!

Much has happened in the mean time. I will not be going back to AM class 6 to finish my short sad to say. Moving cross continent has rendered me somewhat broke and do not feel comfortable putting my family under the financial stress again that AM inflicts on my situation.

At work I have been moved from the Art Asset Team to the full time Pinata 2 team. Doesn't change much work wise I have been animating Pinata's now since i arrived at Rare in April. Speaking of... some guy proposed through Pinata 1... check it out :-)

We send them a congrats card from the team, pretty geeky and cool at the same time :-)

Further more Olivier Ladiuex has joined Rare and is coming from London to the midlands... look forward to having another AM'er arround.. it will now be three of us.

Vacation!!

2007-08-26T03:02:00.000-07:00

Woo Hoo! finally some vacation! Its been more then 4 months now here in the UK. And after all the moving, rain and trying to settle in at work etc. it sure is a very welcome break. Going to visit Holland see my mom and brother and his family. Should be good fun and time to recharge those animation battery's.

Demo comment

2007-08-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

Ok so since the AM stuff is at 24 fps and the Reel FX stuff at 30... you tube can't really handle that in one file... Quick Time can though... so you can just hit the quick time link on the right to see it if you have QT that is... h.264 compression. So update if you have not in the last year or so.

I know updating is a pain... but if you really want to experience a updating pain, buy a computer with Vista on it. Guaranteed hardly anything will work other then browsing the internet and emailing. I just had bought a laptop and returned it cause it had Vista... it drove me off the wall. Sometimes you wonder what people think bringing out products that are just not ready.

My new(ish) reel

2007-08-12T12:37:00.001-07:00

Transformers!

2007-07-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I asked permission and got it... and the game is out now any way. Here are some shots I did for the Transformers game cinematic's for Reel FX. It was my first EVER 3D professional experience and I truly loved doing it. The Reel FX guys were really supportive and even though all work was done over the internet, feedback was always there and I felt like part of a team... but then at home in my shorts.. in the Bahamas, cause thats where I was living at the time. Hope you dig 'em!

New short & stuff

2007-07-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

So I have written a new short... I am currently trying to trim it down some and cut off the unnecessary fat. It is not actually a new short, I wrote it during my class 5 but chose a different one instead. One that would be easier to complete within 3 months. However I felt that it was missing certain things that I have become more aware of since January. Either way I will be developing my new idea and then taking a look at both just to be sure I will be making the film that I feel is better. But most importantly the one that has the most acting potential. I will start class 6 in October so I have time to do this.

As for becoming more aware of things, I made a list of all the things I can still polish on my multiple character shot and all the things I see wrong with it now. It has become quite a big list and I am now wondering if I should just keep the shot as is just to remind myself what I was seeing then and what I am seeing now.

When I did some freelance work for Reel FX on the Transformers game my supervisor then had consistently the same notes... being keep it moving! No flat tangents in the GE. I have since then focussed allot on that aspect in my work.. moving holds... eradicating flat tangents, becoming more aware that I am animating in 3D space and should use all the channels as such. Putting this in mind has made my work flow allot faster from the get go... now that I am animating tons of in game animations but also small cut scenes on a day to day basis I feel I am truly building up a more solid foundation in my work. Getting better results quicker.

I am enjoying this aspect of games the most ... the quick turn around on different characters/creatures. It is extremely helpful to just get that solid and quick work flow going.

Mark Travis staging seminar

2007-06-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

This week we (The Rare animators) were invited to attend a staging and directing seminar by our colleagues from Lionhead Stodio's, also a Microsoft Game Studio. I had had some really good info on all this through Animation Mentor but when I Googled the name of Mark Travis... the person giving the seminar, I could do nothing but get really excited. Pixar, Disney are among the tons of studios he has been giving his view on staging and directing. I did not really know what to expect but I was more then happily surprised. He was clear, funny energetic enthusiastic... all the good things that make learning such a awesome experience. We ripped through a scene of American beauty and by the end of it a whole new perspective of film and acting and staging had opened for me. So much so that now I feel I should seriously take another look at my short film for class 6 and revise my multi character shot not only animation wise but most importantly staging wise and the acting choices that I made 6 months ago when I did the shot.

I have two quotes from him that really hit home for me:

1. Make the scene work first through staging. Then add the camera to reveal the situation.
Staging is more then just layout, it is finding the best way to tell the story. And levels of details should be layered in.

2. By saying a line on the move you weaken the line AND the move!

It seems simple enough but when you are still at a stage of being more concerned about overlaps, follow throughs and about another 27 principles of animation... this info doesnt stick right away. Now that the animation is becoming second nature more and more this sort of info is the new gold! Acting, staging... its a whole new universe to explore and I am super glad Mark Travis helped shared his experience and insight to this matter and I am really pleased and thankfull to Lionhead for inviting us and Rare sending us.

http://www.travis-johntz.com

Disturbingly awesome!

2007-06-24T02:27:00.000-07:00

Awesome short by Guy Barely

Damn good animation!!!

2007-06-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

yeah... its good stuff... really good stuff...so go watch these :-) Gobelins... just awesome..

Gesture Drawing for Animation

2007-06-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been reading this book, by Walt Stanchfield. i'ts on gesture drawing for animation. For those of us who are 3D generation just read the word drawing as pose... and this is a certified must read. I cant get enough of how he describes getting to the poses and am trying to implement this stuff into my work. I must say allot of the AM material is based on this same concept but it is always good to get several diferent approuches to anything I feel. So go read and enjoy!

Annika's Art

2007-05-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

My daughter Annika turned 3 this year march... not to long ago. She has always been drawing and painting and watching me do animation. Recently she made a jump in her work.. she now is drawing these amazing figures! Its just crazy :-)

Congrats Barros

2007-05-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

Woot Woot!! my good friend and AM budy Robert Barros got on as an apprentice animator at Rythm & Hues!! Congrats to him, he is always a super positive and dedicated artist and I am sure he will do great!

Really nice to see fellow class mates move on to great things, and Barros is one of the original OSG members from class 1!! and thats 1 1/2 year ago! crazyyyy...

News from the midlands

2007-05-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

Ok so we didnt end up bying a bed... a air matress instead to save some money... we did get a couch, TV, dining table and 4 chairs, a bed for my daughter etc etc... We didnt have anything... just some clothes so its gonna take some time to build it all up again. The bed will have to wait till june.

Things at Rare are coming along, I feel now that we are settling more and more at home my animation is getting better aswel and I am still verry much enjoying it. (go figure :-)

I was hoping to join Animation Mentor for the summer term but unless a bundle of cash magically appears on the door step I will have to wait till the autumn term. Which means I will be finishing end of december this year. Not the best timing, but right now the only way.

James Brown dance lessons

2007-05-22T02:55:00.000-07:00

Ive been a huge James Brown and Funk music fan since..well whenever .. i came across this at youtube and i simply love it. Maybe i'll try animating it some day :-)

Time to write something

2007-04-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, so... time to write something in this blog since its been a solid month! 3 weeks of living in a hotel room with my wife and daughter have past here in the U.K. and my first 2 weeks at Rare have been completed. We finally got a apartment in Tamworth and will be looking for a bed this weekend so we can sleep comfy and do the rest as we go along. Tamworth itself is just a city like any other really but it is strategically located between work and Birmingham with a good train connection and Birmingham Airport nearby. We will stay here for at least 6 months to get settled and take our time to check ot the beautifull country side here in the British Midlands, maybe find a house out in the twigs some day... that be really cool. Lots of castels here aswel that I would like to go see.

I am working on cool little creatures at work with all sorts of legs and wings which is quite a challange but i am finding i am getting more and more comfortable with it and i should be up to full speed soon now that we have a house and all... thats a big relief for sure.

I do mis AM, and the guys and i hope to continue class 6 soon as possible. Although with work we will have to see how much i can put in. However 3 more months and i graduate from the program so that is something to shoot for for sure!

RARE

2007-03-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

WOOT WOOT! awesome stuff happening and I am super proud to say I have accepted a full time postion as 3D Animator at Rare in the UK. ( http://www.rareware.com ) They have done some trully amazing stuf in the game world and for the past 20 years! I look forward to working on anything they throw my way and we are currently looking at how to handle the move over.

Also my good friend Eric Luhta from AM and a skype buddy has landed himself a temp job at Blue Sky! amazing stuff and all thanks to AM for getting us there.

Awesome take on Batman

2007-03-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share this link: http://www.daniel3d.com/pepeland/misc/isaak/Batman_Chapter_01_Help_Me.mov

It is a really nicely done take on Batman, also since starting my own 3D short film production I am gaining more and more respect for those who have done it and do it so wel.

Enjoy!

On the move again

2007-03-05T20:43:00.001-08:00

So it's been a while ofcourse. I am not a weekly blogger seems. Anyhow lots has been going on and one major thing is that we are heading back to Europe. We will be trying our luck there and will leave island live behind us. Its been an interesting and long 20 months here and have discoverd new levels of relaxations. However its time to step up and persue what ive been working on really hard here and that is animating and attending Animation Mentor. I am currently about to finish up on my class 5, short film pre-production and after this I will only have 3 months left in the programm. I am however taking a break since animating the short film and class 6 will be very demanding and at this time I dont have the rest in my life. It will also be nice to enjoy life... since the harder one animates the less they get to go and play outside. So as time goes by I will post more about all this later... for now.. this is what we are leaving behind...

AM for a year

2007-01-29T07:23:00.000-08:00

So ive been attending Animation Mentor for over a year now and am currently in class 5, short film production. Compared to all the other classes, this one starts off pretty slow. We get lots of time to think and ponder upon our story's. I had been animating 6 months straight from class 3 to 4.. we didnt have a break or anything so it was quite welcome. Story is coming along pretty good and i'l post my story boards etc. here when the time time comes.

I'l have to put the character walk on hold for a few weeks, doing some freelance work now and need to spend my hours on that. BUT I will finish it and post the final here aswel.

Creating a walk cycle part 3

2007-01-24T19:49:00.000-08:00

Ok, so by now i have reached the phase i am quite happy with the feet and hips and COG movement. So now i am layering in the rest, i start from the inside out. In this example i have added upper chest rotation, some squash and stretch on the body which makes the neck fat come up and down (cool thing about this rig is its really stretchy) and i added side to side on the head, some up and down on the head and did the lid of the cap as well while i was there. Still in blocking and keeping it all on the same keys, in this case on 3's. I still have to add the arm swaying and the wrist and hands, also some facial expression would be nice before i switch to spline. I prefer to put all the info i need into my poses including thinking about the overlap etc. in advance, that saves me time when i switch to spline and i know i have a solid basis for the principles in there. Down side is.. lots of cleaning to do in the Graph editor.

Creating a walk cycle part 2

2007-01-24T19:45:00.000-08:00

I proceded to block in the thumbnails poses that you can see in part 1, starting with the COG (centre of gravity) and the hips and the legs. In this example i have already started tweaking the way the character moves his legs and hips. The feet are rotated out.. the body wobble. In a vanilla this would not happen so much, a bit bow leg etc.

Important to note here is that i have only done the main driving force (cog) and legs.. thats it. all movement comes from there. The process im working is referd to as layering.

Creating a walk cycle part 1

2007-01-24T19:28:00.000-08:00

OK, so here is the planning i did at Animation Mentor during my first term for a regular plain old basic also known as vanilla walk. I thought it be fun to create a character walk based on this 1 year old planning with the Sergio rig you can find at http://www.strutyourreel.com they will be happy you do so, just give them some credit for it.