Runny DeMilo

Pose-a-day 39

2012-01-29T12:17:00.000-05:00

Pose-a-day 38

2012-01-09T07:57:00.002-05:00

Pose-a-day 37

2012-01-05T11:52:00.003-05:00

Pose-a-day 36

2012-01-03T10:47:00.000-05:00

Stretch poses.

Pose-a-day 35

2011-12-15T15:34:00.002-05:00

Pose-a-day 34

2011-12-13T16:43:00.002-05:00

I know I know, this doesn't count as two.

Pose-a-day 33

2011-12-12T17:49:00.002-05:00

Pose-a-day 32

2011-12-10T12:59:00.000-05:00

Got to find more dynamic reference images.

Pose-a-day 31

2011-12-09T16:25:00.002-05:00

Inspirations: Michael Giacchino

2011-12-08T22:39:00.000-05:00

Before his giant splash into feature film Giacchino scored the very first entry into the Call Of Duty video game series. I fell in love with the score enough to purchase the game a second time upon re-release which included the original soundtrack. The short but powerful "Red Square" remains my favorite from his work.

If you have an hour, here is a great talk into who Michael is and what he does.

Pose-a-day 30

2011-12-08T15:51:00.002-05:00

Pose-a-day 29

2011-12-07T10:55:00.002-05:00

Squash poses

Pose-a-day 28

2011-12-06T10:33:00.000-05:00

Pose-a-day 27

2011-12-05T21:17:00.000-05:00

Pose-a-day 26

2011-12-04T21:04:00.002-05:00

Pose-a-day 25

2011-12-03T15:36:00.000-05:00

I really enjoy starting my day off with these poses.

Pose-a-day 24

2011-12-02T13:26:00.002-05:00

Pose-a-day 23

2011-12-01T14:04:00.000-05:00

Pose-a-day 22

2011-11-30T14:32:00.000-05:00

Balancing/ one legged poses

Pose-a-day 21

2011-10-23T18:42:00.003-04:00

Pose-a-day 20

2011-10-23T18:42:00.000-04:00

Pose-a-day 19

2011-10-21T22:15:00.000-04:00

Pose-a-day 18

2011-10-21T21:34:00.000-04:00

This one was a bitch.

Pose-a-day 17

2011-10-19T02:30:00.002-04:00

Pose-a-day 16

2011-10-17T22:23:00.002-04:00

Pose-a-day 15

2011-10-16T21:07:00.002-04:00

Anticipation poses.

Pose-a-day 14

2011-10-15T23:01:00.001-04:00

Pose-a-day 13

2011-10-14T21:06:00.002-04:00

Pose-a-day 12

2011-10-13T20:34:00.002-04:00

Pose-a-day 11

2011-10-12T00:25:00.002-04:00

Pose-a-day 10

2011-10-11T23:59:00.002-04:00

Pose-a-day 9

2011-10-11T23:25:00.000-04:00

Pose-a-day 8

2011-10-11T22:32:00.002-04:00

The next 7 are mid air poses.

Pose-a-day 7

2011-10-10T23:03:00.003-04:00

Pose-a-day 6

2011-10-10T23:03:00.000-04:00

Pose-a-day 5

2011-10-10T21:22:00.003-04:00

Pose-a-day 4

2011-10-10T21:22:00.000-04:00

Pose-a-day 3

2011-10-10T20:02:00.000-04:00

Pose-a-day 2

2011-10-10T19:02:00.000-04:00

Pose-a-day 1

2011-10-10T15:00:00.000-04:00

So like I mentioned before my mentor gave us optional assignments which were pose related. Each day I take a reference image based on a theme each week and quickly translate the pose in 3d. I don`t spend more than 10mins on each pose.

Class 3 - Week 1

2011-10-10T13:21:00.000-04:00

I`ve started class 3 at AM which is advanced body mechanics. My mentor for this term is Steve Cunningham from Dreamworks. In this class we have the option of picking a theme and have our shots hook up. We were also giving optional assignments this term pertaining to posing. I`m going to try and post daily just to make sure I keep up with it. 70 poses is the mark.

OIAF 2011

2011-10-09T22:33:00.001-04:00

So this was my fifth time attending the festival in Ottawa. Although I enjoyed it as always I hardly was able to get to any screenings, I spent most of my time attending special presentations and panels.

The highlight of the weekend for me was Thurop Van Orman's pitch of his new stop motion project "Black Forest", sadly there isn't anything on the net but the project name. Also since its so early in development it will be a long time until its release.

As every year its always amazing to see the making of's for Disney and Pixar's latest. The John Canemaker's talk gave great insight into who Joe Grant and Joe Ranft were. That book "Two Guys Named Joe" is filled with amazing artwork.

DCUO - F2P

2011-09-19T22:06:00.001-04:00

Just announced today DC Universe Online is switching over to a free to play model. Where the game itself is free and there is no monthly subscription charge. This change takes place next month, I did some animation for the game and if time permits I will check it out again.

Class 2 - Week 12

2011-09-17T18:32:00.000-04:00

Another class down. This class focusing on body mechanics was very important to me. I do feel I've walked away with a stronger understanding. However I did find as the class went on my planning for each assignment was lacking. A lot of it has to do with the assignments overlapping, those weeks really sucked. Apparently the same happens in class 3. To combat this I'm going to try and plan my 3 shots on my break so I can really hit the ground running.

Inspirations - Dr. Dre / Eminem

2011-09-08T11:30:00.001-04:00

Aside from the obvious influence the music has had on me I feel like boxing again every time I watch this. What I love most about this clip is the dialogue believe it or not. I've been obsessed trying to find the right audio to animate to in the future classes. I'm trying to avoid picking the typical favorite movie line and go with something more natural and not scripted. So I've been collecting whatever I can from interviews and podcasts. I can't help but plan the next 12 months of AM.

Truck %#&*$

2011-09-04T19:19:00.000-04:00

There are some suggestions you get for acting you can never follow through on.

Class 2 - Week 09

2011-09-02T07:44:00.000-04:00

I can't believe Class 2 is almost coming to an end. Being as busy as I am I realized that the year I have left in the course is going to go by so quick.

For this last assignment I decided to do the caber toss, but I'm doing it as if a superhero was removing a grounded missile.

Siggraph 2011

2011-08-14T15:27:00.000-04:00

This was the first time I attended Siggraph as well as an Animation Mentor meet up. I met so many talented artists who I am lucky to now call friends. I saw so many great short films (Flamingo Pride, La Luna, Mr. Choc in Love, New Digs, Paths of Hate, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore). The panels, exhibition, job fair, demos of new tech, and so much more has made me want to attend festivals more often.

I can't wait for CTN!

Class 2 - Week 06

2011-08-08T12:03:00.001-04:00

I didn't get to refine everything as I was heading out for Siggraph. But I'm already further along than what I've got here. I'm really pushing myself this week to try and get as far as I can with this shot. It won't be easy being away at a animation festival and having a week where assignments overlap.

Business Card

2011-08-02T22:50:00.000-04:00

The ms paint one won't cut it in Vancouver. I'm waiting for photoshop versions of this to show up with me holding a hot dog and other meats.

Class 2 - Week 05

2011-08-01T11:51:00.003-04:00

So much to do this week, so excited about Siggraph the next week!

Inspirations - Donald Glover / Childish Gambino

2011-07-29T00:23:00.002-04:00

Donald Glover first came on my radar once I heard by 25 he had been writing for 30 Rock. Doing stand up comedy, starring on NBC's Community, I still was surprised to find out he had a rap career that has taken off. He has been putting out free music for 3 years now, with an album due this fall I'm looking forward to paying for his music.

Class 2 - Week 04

2011-07-27T23:47:00.000-04:00

Last week was a bit crazy, assignments began to overlap. So while I'm suppose to be finishing one I'm planning the next. What sucks is I felt I never got to really polish the animation I was working on. I'm working a bit faster and putting more hours each night on the stumble animation I'm blocking out at the moment.

Class 2 - Week 03

2011-07-18T00:47:00.000-04:00

Something clicked in my head this week. All this talk about hips is finally getting to me. I went over my shot again and just zeroed in on the hips. Getting the weight and balance right is really important to me. I'm already moving out of stepped keys and I'm liking what I see (for now).

Class 2 - Week 01

2011-07-06T18:59:00.000-04:00

Well I've started class 2 'psychology of body mechanics'. I'm really excited cause it's one of the reasons I'm taking this program. I feel I never got a good solid understand of body mechanics and most of the time acting seems to be the focus. With a new class comes a new mentor. Ethan Hurd who has basically been everywhere is mentoring me for the next 12 weeks.

My first assignment this class is a back flip. On to the blocking...

Inspirations - Chuck Jones

2011-07-03T17:09:00.005-04:00

I've been wanting to contribute to this blog more. Rather than just posting work from Animation Mentor every couple weeks I'm going to start posting personal work, studio work, and pieces of inspiration. Inspiration is so important to me, it fuels me to work and reminds me of what I want to do and achieve. Usually when I'm out of it I'll just watch some pencil tests from some of my favourite films and I'm back in the groove.

Chuck Jones is probably the first inspiration I've ever had for animation. I can still remember watching the Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show every Sunday when I was a kid. I immediately fell in love with the character of Bugs Bunny. I would be running around my house with a giant carrot acting like a smart ass. The exaggeration in both the ideas and acting of each short I watched only drew me in further. It was probably why while learning animation I was always told to tone things down.

I came across the above prints on Chuck's blog a while back. They were actually made by Eric Goldberg. Here is a link for those interested:

http://blog.chuckjones.com/chuck_redux/2011/03/a-couple-of-fine-lines-debonair-au-contraire.html

Hope you feel inspired!

Class 1 - Week 12

2011-07-03T16:35:00.002-04:00

The last week of every class seems to be a review week. Despite having gone through an animation program already I enjoyed this class. Aside from brushing up on the basics, I feel I have a better understanding of timing and spacing. For the next class I'm going to be focusing on composition and staging.

For anyone who is considering AM, I would recommend it for sure. Just make sure you have the time to put into the school and you're 100% sure you want to study character animation. As far as mentors go, Victor Navone is incredible. Still boggles my mind that he is self taught, but if you have him as a mentor you're in good hands. Be sure to check out his blog, its got plenty of good notes and his own work up on there.

Class 1 - Week 11

2011-06-26T13:59:00.002-04:00

Class 1 - Week 10

2011-06-26T13:49:00.003-04:00

Class 1 - Week 09

2011-06-26T12:45:00.002-04:00

For my Stu pose this week we had to do one that expressed concern. I decided to pay homage to my mentor's short "Alien Song".

Class 1 - Week 08

2011-06-26T11:22:00.001-04:00

I can't count the amount of times I've done a vanilla walk. It's interesting to see different approaches and the results they got. Each assignment from here on is 2 weeks+ so you can block one week then refine the next.

Class 1 - Week 07

2011-06-26T09:50:00.001-04:00

The tailor assignment was one of my favorites. At times when I do an animation I can clearly see it all in my head. When I have those moments I hardly ignore them. So for this one I acted it out with my hands but I still had to push the timing. Despite what I said before I started to make things more difficult with my animations. With these added bits I had in mind I only attempted them once the assignment itself was done, kind of like a reward for myself.

Class 1 - Week 06

2011-05-29T23:40:00.000-04:00

Well my computer is in the shop once again. I was smart enough to set my laptop up with maya and backup all my important files. I'm currently revising the animation for the thumbs above. It only took me 6 weeks into the course to make a dick joke with my work. At least my mentor got a kick out of it.

Class 1 - Week 05

2011-05-17T06:09:00.001-04:00

I'll be posting less and less frequently regarding Animation Mentor as I'm crazy busy. However I will be updating these posts with revised animations, thumbnails, and poses.

I'm currently in week 8 working on the vanilla walk cycle. Things are going good, can't wait to get more stuff up!

Class 1 - Week 04

2011-04-24T16:08:00.002-04:00

I'm trying to keep my animations simple. In the past I've gotten carried away with my ideas. I'm staying focused on the assignment so I actually learn what I'm suppose to. On to the obstacle course.

Class 1 - Week 03

2011-04-17T19:24:00.000-04:00

Starting my week off with a q&a with Shawn Kelly was awesome and inspiring. Even doing the ball bounce after how many years I feel like I'm learning so much more. I'm making sure my habits of planning stick now, making things so much easier in the long run. The posing exercise is harder than it looks, but I always enjoy coming up with the ideas. On to the heavy and light ball bounces.

Class 1 - Week 02

2011-04-10T23:19:00.001-04:00

I did so much drawing this past week, I feel way too rusty. I also didn't push the pose enough when I did it in 3d. Up next is the ball bounce animation. My goal with every animation is to do it in 2d before I start in 3d. This will hopefully make me more aware of my timing and spacing.

Class 1 - Week 01

2011-04-03T22:00:00.001-04:00

Well week one of AM was awesome. Mainly just an intro, but to have Victor Navone as my mentor....damn. One of my goals is to start drawing everyday. Whether it is cafe sketching, thumbs, life drawing, or animating I've got to keep it up. I've developed some bad habits and it ends here. Above are some life drawings I did last week, it wasn't a good night. There is always tomorrow.

Back To The Lab Again...

2011-03-27T17:40:00.000-04:00

Mo Mass

2011-02-11T16:50:00.002-05:00

Launch!

2011-01-11T15:28:00.002-05:00

Massacre

2010-12-09T13:06:00.001-05:00

Chokes and jokes

2010-10-20T20:04:00.000-04:00

Caricutres done in MS Paint with a mouse.

SDCC Trailer

2010-07-25T03:56:00.004-04:00

Diamond On A Landmine

2010-06-23T01:40:00.000-04:00

Got to admit it was kind of fun to get hair and makeup done. Was a long 15 hours of shooting but was fun as always. The guitarist Ian D'Sa studied animation and we actually worked at the same studio, small world.

E3 Trailer 2

2010-06-17T13:36:00.002-04:00

E3 Trailer

2010-06-14T18:01:00.003-04:00

Mass Animator

2010-04-21T00:58:00.000-04:00

Featured profile on http://www.massanimation.com/

GO

2010-03-17T00:29:00.000-04:00

These past few months have been so crazy busy, but I've still managed to keep the drawing going.

ld

2010-02-17T05:13:00.000-05:00

The holiday season left me without life drawing for more than a month. The first session back was rough, sadly the second was my last. At least I'm cafe sketching.

!

2010-02-06T01:55:00.000-05:00

I just raced home to see the finalist chosen for the contest...and I'm glad to say 3 of my shots won!!!

1 Grand Prize Trailer Winner

1 Grand Prize Game Animation Winner

1 First Prize Trailer Winner

I just want to give a big THANK YOU to everyone involved with the contest and those who voted for me!
I'm looking forward to E3 and the game's release.

DCUO Submissions

2010-01-08T01:02:00.011-05:00

The following links are to the submissions I have been making for the animation contest. Any views and votes are appreciated.

update: contest closed

Dug

2010-01-02T16:11:00.004-05:00

DC Universe

2009-12-22T20:02:00.001-05:00

Sony Online Entertainment has teamed up with Mass Animation and Facebook to bring a contest for their upcoming title DC Universe Online. Animate either trailer shots or in game animations to earn cash, your name in the credits, and a copy of the game. I'm hoping to make a submission myself. For more info check out the DCUO facebook page.

ld

2009-12-18T17:37:00.000-05:00

brookie

2009-12-17T04:35:00.000-05:00

ld

2009-12-10T02:23:00.000-05:00

I was a little distracted for the first hour, the guy next to me was drawing the same pair of breast for the entire time. Normally I wouldn't mind but there was a male model, I just hope he finished.

extra

2009-12-03T01:47:00.002-05:00

This year I had the opportunity of being an extra in two music videos for Canadian band Alexisonfire. Both videos are in support of their latest record "Old Crows/Young Cardinals" and have unique settings. The first single "Young Cardinals" takes place aboard the maid of the mist, the boat tour for the Niagara Falls. And the second "Born and Raised" sets itself inside a local Chinese restaurant in Mississauga. Both shoots were a lot of fun and have been better than any concert I've attended. Above are two shots one from each video which I happen to be in, odd as to how both shots are so similar.

Back To Life

2009-11-25T20:26:00.001-05:00

The Spine

2009-11-17T06:39:00.002-05:00

This past weekend the 33rd International Animation Festival: Cinanima '09 was held in Portugal. Academy Award winning director Chris Landreth's new short film "The Spine" was awarded the Grand Prize! I was fortunate enough to have been an animator on the short.

The short is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray, as a part of a 39 short film collection the NFB have released called "Animation Express".

http://films.nfb.ca/the-spine/index.php

Send In The Clowns

2009-11-10T14:36:00.000-05:00