Hey Guys!

This blog is going to pretty much die after this post, so if you like what you see here, please check out Lady Garland's Blog for more updates!

Thank you so much everyone for your support!

IT'S DONE!

Well...sort of.

There's still a lot of tweaking that needs to be done, but I'll save that for a later time. I also need to go on an epic quest to find proper background music for this short. Let the springtime adventure begin!

I'm going on my third day without a proper night's sleep, so bear with me if I start to ramble. Or pass out. I'm actually trying really hard not to nod off now, but I'm feeling a little dizzy and my hands feel all floaty. That's not very normal is it?

Anyway, I'm supposed to be writing about my process. There's not much to it, though. Think of an epic scheme. Think of a bajillion ways to make it ridiculously complicated. Then work like a dog for the next few months and cry a little inside at 3am when you realize the film isn't going to be completed exactly how you imagine. Call parents. Complain to friends. Then suck it up and animate the rest of that shiz the night before it's due and make excuses the next day for a lack of sound.

That's about it. I'm super tired. I still need to waste twenty dollars at Kinkos for a Creative Writing portfolio that I'll never see or use again. I want to watch Pocahantas so that I can give it back to Sean, finally.

Err...that's about it. This class was tons of fun. I'm trying to upload the video on youtube so everyone can watch it in better quality...but that's taking awhile.

How long do videos take to load anyway!?

Gah, I give up on making the youtube upload. Blogger compresses like woah, so I'm sorry for the terrible quality. If I can ever manage to upload a nicer quality, you all will be the first to know.




Any good ideas for sound? I was thinking something adorable. With piano and chocolate. Yum.

I'm Breaking Dishes Up in Here

ALL NIGHT.

Alright, so I finished the giant cake pan this weekend, and managed to get the first kiss looking somewhat decent. It's not as nicely animated as the frame by frame I had originally, but as of right now I don't have enough time to ink and color that thing the way I want it to.

Perhaps in another class, another time, another world...

I really like working in flash. If ever I have the time, I want to experiment more with it, to try out different styles and stories and what not.

Oh!


**IDEA**

Flash story books! (Adorable pop-up style of course!)

I'm working my way back to you babe...

Still chucking along. Like a woodchuck could chuck wood.

...

Anyway, I'm working on the giant cake pan right now. It's about halfway done so that's pretty nice. Still, I've got a ton of animating to do before finals week comes along, and not just for this class.

**CURSE YOU HERCULES WHY ARE YOU SO HARD TO MOVE AROUND?!?!**

No pictures today. Nothing's finished yet.

I'm In Heaven When You Kiss Me...

Alright, so this weekend I've been slowly making some progress!


Here are some production shots so you can see my whole working method.



Originally, I was animating the entire film frame by frame...because I'm crazy. But then, after talking to my Prof., I decided to do puppet animation instead. I sketch out the keys that I need in red and then go over the lines with a new, cleaner turquoise layer named "sketch 2". Later on, I'll add an "ink" layer on top of that, where I'll finalize the image entirely.

Once the "ink" layer is finished, I then break down each of the images into individual puppet parts. (Head, hands, torso, etc.) It's a lot of layers, but it definitely helps save time when you're doing some subtle animation. The bride and the groom's heads here, for instance, are actually adjusted puppet heads, so I can easily add some squash and stretch without having to draw a completely new frame.



This is the scene I'm working on currently, which explains the jumbled mess. I've finished animating the bride for the most part, but I'm still tweaking the groom. (I don't like his face here...ha ha!) As you can see, I later delete the initial sketch layer and just work with "sketch 2" and "ink" in order to make sure I'm still on the right track. Oh, and the little image in the corner is a color test I did last week. I always import it into the scene I'm working on, so that I can guarantee my colors will remain consistent.



So there! Here's the source of my lack of sleep!

YOU BETTER ENJOY.

Monday Blues

Looking back at all the work I have to do, and looking upon what little work I have done so far...kind of kills me inside. The kiss is proving to be a lot harder than I thought, and because of this, I'm even more behind schedule wise. The schedule is an absolute fail.

I still need to put shiza together for the career fair too. DX

Why can't companies just take my my word that I'm an awesomely hard worker?!?!?!

I want to rip my nose off and drown it in a jar...

This cold is just not letting up. Super special lame times.

Haven't really achieved much since Monday...I've been working on my 2D Char II assignment which I've completely restarted. I was able to get a lot finished last night with very few hours of sleep in hand. Now it's just a matter of plowing through until the end of the week.

I'm still working on the first kissing scene. Key frames are sloppily done and I'm slowly muddling through the in-betweens.

Note to self: Save yourself a headache, and animate the bride and groom on separate levels, yo.

Oh yes, and Happy Early V-day everyone! I probably won't be participating in any of the usual chocolaty festivities due to the rather large chain connecting me to this cintique.

Already Behind!

Gah, first weekend of my schedule was an absolute FAIL. Leave it to me to arrange for the hardest scene to animate during the one weekend I choose to be practically bedridden. I rarely get sick to begin with, so that was an extra burn.

Nonetheless, I did manage to finish my animatic. Something I never even considered scheduling in the first place, so that's something I happened to accomplish right? RIGHT?

I'm sick because I was stressed and now I'm stressed because I'm sick.




Hey...don't these crappy drawings look familiar? Why, it's a cheap rendition of my storyboards! O m O;;

Schedule of Doom

Alright, so for some reason, I can't transfer the table I made on Word to blogger...so I'm just going to list this out the old fashion way.

While creating this schedule, I've realized that completing the video exactly the way that I have imagined is going to leave me very VERY pressed for time. Naturally, I'm a little worried about this because I have two extra classes and club events to plan...not to mention eating a sleeping.

To remedy this, I've created a "PLAN B" schedule, which encompasses my entire film. For right now, I'm going to cut off the short when the groom glares at the bride after realizing that she bit off his mouth. She giggles, and the credits role. If, for some strange reason, I'm able to complete these scenes at a faster pace, then I will refer to my PLAN B, which has plenty of extra animation for me to complete.

In this way, I'll be able to finish the scenes that are necessary for my short first...and hopefully, be able to add on more depending on how the remaining of the term turns out.

Wish me luck!

WEDDING SCHEDULE

Thursday February 5-Sunday February 8:

1. Research Kisses
2. Animate "First Kiss"
3. Rough Backgrounds
4. Key "pull apart"

PLAN B:

1. Animate "pull apart".
2. Key "shrug and laugh".

Monday February 9-Sunday February 15:

1. Animate "pull apart".
2. Key "shrug and laugh".

PLAN B:

1. Animate "shrug and laugh".
2. Key close ups of "bite" and "kiss".

Monday February 16-Sunday February 22:

1. Animate "shrug and laugh".
2. Key close ups of "bites" and "kiss".

PLAN B:

1. Animate close ups.
2. Finish rough animation.
3. Begin clean up.

Monday February 23-Sunday March 1:

1. Finish animating close-ups.
   
2. Start cleaning up and coloring.

PLAN B:

1. Finish clean up.
   
2. Start color.
3. Rough in "second kiss".

Monday March 2-Sunday March 8:

1. Finish cleaning up and coloring.
2. Add sound.

PLAN B:

1. Finish color.
2. Rough in "tap" and "close up".
3. Ink extra scenes.

Monday March 9-Wednesday March 11:

1. Finish tweaking and what not.
2. Export last minute then die from exhaustion.

PLAN B:

1. Color extra scenes.
2. Finish Tweaking.
3. Add sound.
4. Export last minute then die from exhaustion.
   

Storyboards

More like really shoddy thumbnails, but here we go! Let me know what you think or if you can even make out what's going on...

Class Post

It's exactly 8:08 am, it's cold as hell outside, there are no eggs to make an omelet bagel, and I'm about to pass out on this cintique.

Oh yes, and like a drunkard who can't remember what catastrophic events occurred the night before, I'm looking back at the drawings I posted last night/this morning and my soul dies a little inside.

THE END

Groom Turn Around

This bloke doesn't have a name either! So far, my friend Brittany and I came up with "Bob and/or John, the poor dude who gets his face bitten off."

....

Yeah...you try coming up with a decent name at 1am!


For some reason, I've been in some kind of drawing "funk" all day. It took forever before I could find some decent poses for this guy! Nonetheless, I'm still happy how the overall thing turned out! Notice how the comparison in size was "recycled" from the bridal character sheet! I'm still not sure if I want to keep her so short, or if I want cut off the groom's feet so they could at least reach each other for a kiss. Ha ha!

Speaking of kisses and horrible drawings, behold the awkwardness! The idea of her standing on a stool was also concocted by Brittany and I during the wee hours of Wednesday morning. We thought it would be cute if she had to jump up and grab his collar in order to kiss him...but now it really does look like she's eating his face.

Gah.

Note to self: Research A LOT of kissing scenes before attempting to draw the darn thing on your own, let alone at 1am...

Bridal Turn Around

Here it is! The Bride doesn't really have a name yet, so let me know if you have any suggestions!

Note to self: Never try to ink anything out on Photoshop when you are crunched for time. I could've saved hours if I had just inked everything in by hand....which I eventually did. Ha ha!

The groom will be following soon...I still need to work out a few kinks in his design, so the goober you see in this character sheet is very very liable to change!

Script

This is very liable to change. I just figured I'd post the earliest version of it now, to check off another point of the list our class needs to finish before I can start animating. Actually, this isn't really much of a script...the formatted table required would not transfer to blogger for some reason.

The Wedding Toppers

A Short Film By:
Chrystin Adia Garland

1. SPEAKER: None
SOUND EFFECT: Wedding Bells
ACTION: Shot of bottom of wedding cake. Title Credits.

2. SPEAKER: None
SOUND EFFECT: Oldie, but Goodie Love Song
ACTION: Camera pans vertically up, revealing the different topsy turvy tiers with different colors and patterns. Bride and Groom are ultimately revealed at the very top, holding hands in the “traditional” pose.

3. SPEAKER: None
SOUND EFFECT: Song is still playing.
ACTION: M/S of Bride and Groom staring into each other’s eyes lovingly. They lean in for a kiss.

4. SPEAKER: None
SOUND EFFECT: Song is still playing. Sucking Face noise.
ACTION: Bride and Groom are making out.

5. SPEAKER: None
SOUND EFFECT: Song stops Abruptly. Record Scratching Noise. Popping Noise. Small, Male, Yelp.
ACTION: Groom pulls away from Bride with a little yelp.

6. SPEAKER: None
SOUND EFFECT: None
ACTION: C/U of Groom’s face. His lips have been bitten off by the Bride, and there is a big chocolaty hole where his mouth should be.

7. SPEAKER: None
SOUND EFFECT: None
ACTION: M/S of Groom looking at Bride accusingly. Bride shrinks back.

8. SPEAKER: None
SOUND EFFECT: None
ACTION: C/U of Bride looking “sorry” and embarrassed, while she licks the chocolate off her lips.

9. SPEAKER: None
SOUND EFFECT: None
ACTION: C/U of Groom raising an eyebrow thoughtfully.

10. SPEAKER: None
SOUND EFFECT: None
ACTION: Both the Bride and the Groom look at each other for a bit, and then give a wicked smile.

11. SPEAKER: None
SOUND EFFECT: Music plays again.
ACTION: Bride and Groom then attack each other in another face-eating make out session.

12. SPEAKER: None
SOUND EFFECT: Music playing.
ACTION: Camera pans upward for End Credits.

Premise

Alright, it officially here! I swear! No changing from this point forward!

Basically, the scene takes place on top of a wedding cake. The bride and groom toppers are standing together and looking lovey-dovey as usual. They lean in for a kiss and a piece of lace covers the screen, casting them in silhouette. Everything seems adorable, but then the groom lets out a small scream and leans back in surprise. His "wife" has bitten off his mouth, leaving a big, gaping, chocolately smile. There's an awkward pause, as they both stare at each other...but then they decide to just start making out again, because hey, love conquers hunger right?

It sounds really creepy, I know...but in my head it looks absolutely adorable! Just trust me...


Here are some sketches for the two lovelies...if all goes well, I'll beable to tie down the character designs this weekend and get started on storyboarding. Wish me luck!

Dialogue

This project was a complete pain in the butt! Even so, I've completely bonded with my character on some strange level. I drew her completely on a whim. She is supposed to be very VERY loosely based on what's-her-face from Beetlejuice (Because that is where the quote is from) , but I was too lazy to look up a proper reference. Nonetheless, the randomness of her design has kind of grown on me. For now, anyway...




Blogger's compression is making this lag in strange places. It looked fine just as a normal avi...gah. I better figure out how to upload a decent movie or else my final is going to look like a complete load of shiza.

For the record, absolutely hate the switching mouths process. Maybe I was going about it the wrong way...but it all looks very "poppy" to me. A part of me died a little inside while doing this dialogue, because the method is completely different from traditional or even proper 3D animation. If I were to do this project again, I'd probably add some more "in between" mouth shapes so the animation would look more fluid? There's got to be a way to make flash look like a smooth, proper animation! There's just got to be...

Walk Cycle and Ghosting?

Hey, look! Two posts in one day!

I just wanted to upload my walk cycle so everyone can view the spectacular craptacular. For some reason, I keep getting these strange "ghosting" images behind the little guy, and I'm not sure why that's happening. I spoke with my Prof., and he said it may be an optical allusion? All I know is, I've tried messing with the frame rate, but I'm still getting the same result. Maybe I'll try to fix/trash-and-redo this project at another time *yeahright* and try to fix the glitches.

Leave it to me to discover yet another unsolvable problem. It's Mr. Acordian Arms all over again...




As you can see, this is my sad sad attempt at Princes et Princesses style. Think of him as the jittery, streaking cousin twice removed that the whole family would rather forget about. I know I will.

Frustration

So...flash and I aren't really getting along. I really want to explore and experiment with different kinds of animating styles, but I just feel as if I'm getting no where fast.

I've been working on my walk cycle for the past few days, and so far, the thing looks absolutely atrocious. It's as if I've given birth to the antichrist of animations. Not fun.

Anyway, not to be completely negative...I'll upload another cool video.



I love silhouette animation! Princess et Princesses is so incredibly beautiful, it's a shame we don't see more of this in America. It's like animating lace. I'm sure these puppets were a pain in the arse to create and animate, but the end result is amazing! If I could, I would live in a world like this. Ha!

Rotoscope

This assignment was fairly easy...There's not really I can say about it, other than my back hurts from hunching over the cintique's for so long.




If you can't see the following figure properly, I apologize. The video seems clear when I view it on my computer, so I'm not sure why Blogger is acting this way...





For some reason, when I exported the movie, I kept getting these strange glitches in my animation! I'm not really sure how to get rid of it...so enjoy the awkwardness.

Alright, so it was about...2-3am when I created the reference for this next exercise. I could say that I was tired and wasn't in my right state of mind, but we all know that's a lie. This is really how I act in the privacy of my own home.

...

I'm such a goober.

Tick Tock

Though the quarter has barely begun, I feel as if time is already slipping through my fingers on these projects. I'm starting to realize that my initial ideas may be too long and complicated for the final flash animation. However, how does one keep something simple and short, yet exciting and fun? Is it possible to edit down my ideas without butchering them completely?

How the heck do you save a Quicktime video without purchasing the "pro" program??

All of these questions will be answered in time, I suppose.

While I muddle about with my own thoughts, feel free to check out this week's fairytale!

Also, after speaking with my friend, Zane, I need to have more stories with villains...which I admit, is a bit of a problem for me, since I apparently live in a land of rainbows and gumdrops. So, dear readers, I am enlisting your help! Who is your favorite villain and why is he/she so wickedly awesome?

I look forward to hearing about their dastardly deeds soon!

Jumping Puppet

Alright kids, it's time for another flash exercise post! This time around, we had to create a "puppet" with a tiff image that the Prof. provided us with. The character was ugly as sin, but I dealt with it for the sake of the project.




I didn't even bother using motion paths on this one. Some of my other classmates were, and the whole process seemed more of a headache than needed. Instead, I just continued adding keys to the piece until I liked the result. Nothing special.




The next jump I had a little too much fun with. At first, I wasn't even sure of what kind of character I was going to use, but then I was struck with an idea at 4am! Cotton Candy Sheep. It's just crazy enough to work! Ha ha!

I spent more time than necessary on the background, and I still don't really like it, but I'm very happy with my candy sheep. He lives in a land of wonder and goodness, next to the springs of everlasting joy and the beyond the valley of awesome. He was animated practically the same way as the ugly clown...aand that's where the similarities end. If I ever re-animated this (which I most likely won't)...I'd give the poor thing spine, neck, and knee joints...he was really awkward to work with without them.

Inspiration Take 3

Alright, so I still don't exactly have a premise yet...but that's mostly because I keep getting inspired by new and different things/artists/storytellers!! Too many ideas are rolling around in my head now, and I'm afraid that by the time I settle on just one, it'll be too late to complete it the way I want to! If only this class lasted for two entire quarters instead of one, I would feel a little more comfortable.

So, Alphonse Mucha, right? Of course! His style is so incredibly amazing and his line work is so detailed, it was only a matter of time before I became obsessed with his art.

While I was browsing through his work, my classmate and friend, Jen, and I were talking about how intricate all of the borders looked. Then, I was struck by yet another idea! Stained glass windows! What if, I did an animation about characters who lived in stained glass windows?! I would be able to add all the details I wanted around the borders, but the characters themselves could be simplified enough so that I don't kill myself while animating!

I'm so incredibly excited now, it's ridiculous!



The character designs for Sleeping Beauty always reminded me of stained glass. I really like how everything was very angular, yet very soft at the same time.



And of course, the prologue from Beauty and the Beast is an excellent resource for the stained glass theme! I think I'll give myself a mini Disney marathon this weekend for research. And by research, I mean over indulging in childhood fantasies.


So, I think it's about time that I come up with a premise? This is probably liable to change, but for right now I'm definitely leaning towards:

1.) Bride and Groom wedding cake decorations. For some reason the bride gets pissed off at the groom, and tosses him off his own cake.

2.) Stained Glass window lovers. (Insert incredibly awesome and witty idea here.)


I promise I'll tie down my premise by the end of this weekend! No joke! Just give me a little more time to sort out all of my wild ideas...there are just too many bats in the cave right now.

Four Day Weekend

My friends and I went to Disneyworld a few days ago, and it was A-mazing! I was laughing and screaming and crying so hard, by the time I returned to Savannah, my throat was completely sore from all the adventuring!

Though, I was sick in bed and wasn't able to do much animating, I did manage to think of a few ideas for our final film!

Let me know what you think:

1.) A bride and groom doll having a food fight on top of a wedding cake.

2.) An old woman pours some tea to find a "steam spirit" rising within her cup.

3.) A little girl and boy are playing a game (chess or checkers?), the sun starts to set, and the boy turns into some kind of monster and upsets the table.

4.) A toy maker's apprentice gets kicked out of his toy shop, and to get revenge, lures all the toys away with his magic flute.

5.) A woman is trying to comfort her lover who is huddled in a dark corner of the house. When she tries to kiss him, she is turned into some form of metal or stone.

6.) A girl visits her beau in a dessert shop as a surprise. They talk for awhile, and then it begins to rain. The beau dissolves into sugar.


I would really enjoy animating each of these concepts, however, I'm pretty sure some are too extravagant to complete in such a short amount of time. Perhaps I'll use one for my senior project? If you readers have any suggestions, feel free to comment!

Oh! And I'm also very interested in attaching really delicate, lacy patterns to my overall design. How I'm going to accomplish this without flattening out my characters to oblivion or giving myself an extra large headache...I have no idea. It'll take a lot of research and experimentation that's for sure. A LOT.

Bouncing Balls!

An animation classic! Just so you know, the second video was done with the "Custom Ease" graph.

Wow, this actually wasn't as difficult as I thought and I actually had a good time making these! Could it be that I'm starting to get the hang of things?! Such a cliffhanger! Ha ha!

Inspiration Take 2

A very short list of a few artist's who inspire me...


Kay Nielson:

Animation Archive.

Julie Dillon

Rogner5th
Fashion also inspires me a lot too, so I figured I would post some designers and models I like.

Mother



Raquel Reed

LookBook

I also like checking out Lookbook for all the latest in fashions from around the world! These kids are amazing!

Dita Von Teese

The Bride Wore Purple

Dances of Vice

Street Performers: Living Statues

Inspiration

I love dark fairytales. Absolutely. I feel it's the perfect foil to my usual bubbly self. Although some of this isn't 2D Animation, I thought I'd post the videos anyway to illuminate the darker side of my moon.

Shockheaded Peter


Alright, this one is pretty disturbing, not to mention long. The beginning is a montage of the entire stage production, which is contains very vivid imagery, creepy music, and amazing stage and costume design. I really love this show because of it's texture...it really looks like concept art come to life! The puppetry is also nothing to sniff at.

If you don't have a lot of time, I suggest skipping forward to 3:14 to view a preview of the actual show. Shockheaded Peter is a stage adaption of a series of German folk tales called Der Struwwellpeter. Believe it or not, these stories were actually written for children! Not your typical "Hansel and Grettel", Shockheaded Peter isn't afraid to show what becomes of bad little boys and girls!

Paprika

I adore this movie! It's very whimsical and surrealistic I think. Definetly not as dark as some of the other videos, but I think it's a great film for some incredible animation and storytelling!


Coraline

I'm sure everyone and their mothers' have seen this trailer already, but I'll post it anyway. I love the transitions between Coraline's normal life and the new one behind the door. Though I don't know much about the story, I'm very excited to see this film! Amazing color schemes, character animation, and plot! It definetly draws the audience in...

Fantasia 2000: Steadfast Tin Soldier

I'm a huge fan of Hans Christian Anderson's works! The Steadfast Tin Soldier is one of my favorite stories, and although Disney didn't keep the sad ending, I still fairly enjoy this video. I want to say that it's a mixture between 2D and 3D? Either way, who doesn't love toys?

Howl's Moving Castle

Whenever I'm feeling melancholy or nostalgic, I watch this movie with a cup of hot tea in hand. Another whimsical fantasy, I really admire the character animation, color, and growth of both Howl and Sophie. I want to make empowering films like this one day.

Shirley Bassey: Get This Party Started

Alright, so it's not an animation, but it is inspiration nonetheless! I've always found mirrors very creepy and mysterious as a child. They continue to fascinate me to this very day! In fact, I have severall stories written about mirrors on my other blog, if anyone is interested.

If you don't know Shirley Bassey...you should. Although she's doing a rendition of Pink's Get the Party Started, Bassey is an amazing singer! Heard of James Bond? She's sung most of the classic themes!

Little Nemo

An oldie, but a goodie! This movie terrified me as a child, but I absolutely adore it now! It has a lot in common with Howl's I think, in terms of color and design...or maybe it's just the circus theme? Ha ha!

The Thief and the Cobbler: Re cobbled Cut

Though I don't like the actual "musical" film that's on sale now, this "recobbled" addition is very nice. I just love how smooth and detailed all of the animation is! It's absolutely ridiculous!

Wow! A lot of these didn't turn out to be so dark after all! Maybe I just can't hide my colorful candied insides after all...just like a pinata.

All About Me

So what can I say about myself that won't sound completely boring and trite?

I'm super woman. Oh yes...I wouldn't lie to you.

When I'm not saving the world, I tend to pose as a third year college student at Savannah College of Art and Design, majoring in animation. I've taken a few 3D classes in the past, but seeing as I tend to crash Maya more often than not...I've pretty much decided to stick to 2D. Which, by the way, is really exciting for me because my ultimate dream is to one day own my very own animation studio and produce 2D animated films based off of my stories.

Oh yes, that's another thing about me. I love to write stories. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that I like to dream of stories. I'm pretty much notorious for being a day dreamer. Whether I'm sitting on the bus, walking to class, or even just chatting with friends, all of these strange ideas continue to pop in my head. For the past couple of years, I've jotted them down in a variety of different notebooks, but never really attempted to develop these strange thoughts anymore. I hope that my blogging will put a stop to this.

Shameless, I know...but if you'd like to check out any of my stories, feel free to check out my other blog. There, you'll get to follow my Fairytale 100 project. My goal is to write one fairytale per week, no matter how rough or silly it may be, dealing with a certain prompt. If I'm feeling extremely festive, I may also add some sketches for each tale! You never know!

In the meantime, I hope all of you readers will enjoy following my journey through this strange and exciting world called Flash...or is it Toon Boom's Digital Pro? I haven't decided between the red pill and the blue pill yet.

Either way, I'm sure it will be an adventure.