Going In For The Kill...

Hey guys! I've been promising for a week that I would post my progress and elements of the project I'm working on, so here it is! The exported video so far is too big to upload, and wouldn't make much sense because it's a rough of certain layers, but I'll post what does make sense, and hopefully you guys can get an idea of what I'm going for! Enjoy!

First of all, this was all inspired simply by a "So You Think You Can Dance" piece choreographed by Sonya Tajeh. Now, even if you're not super into dance, it's great reference material for acting choreography, artistic interpretation, and the movement in the figure. The choreography in and of itself is an art, not to mention the talented dancers that allow them to push their creativity every season. Here is the video I'm using as a template.

I wanted to go more literal and with this piece, so I'm literally drawing over the video. It's to aid my handicap in drawing and also so I can learn with this project about movement, anatomy, and perspective. That's usually how I learn best anyways... by taking something that is accurate (what could be more accurate than the figure itself?) and breaking it down backwards to fully understand it. My layers, so far, include triangles that represent the silhouette of the girl, action lines to define the extremes of the movement, and I am now beginning the box forms of her chest, pelvis, and limbs. It may be a bit overkill since none of that will literally be seen in the silhouette, but I think it will definitely help make the piece more dynamic. Here are some examples:

<--Drawn by Jenny Kong

<--Taken from Google Images

I'm taking my box form studies from Glenn Vilppu who has classes in Burbank for artists and animators regarding figure, basic, and anatomy drawing.

So, to give you an idea of the piece, after watching the video, it will make more sense. There is a lot of fluid movement with very staccato moments (the dance style is jazz). Where it's fluid, I want to take the basics of the silhouette and push it to be a very dynamic and push the figure past realism, yet keep a simple form like the one below. I would like to thank Jenny Kong for helping me with defining this style. The knees, elbows, hands, and feet will only be drawn when absolutely essential. Otherwise it will just be the core.

<--Drawn by Jenny Kong

So when the movement is fluid, it's the same form constrained to just the silhouette. When she hits a pose and throws her body into the beat for that jazz staccato movement, however, it's going to be a bit different. I haven't fully defined the transition yet, but she is going to throw paint up against the "canvas" (screen) and with each time this happens, it adds on the paint to the time before. Imagine her painting a picture. This is what she's doing. Whenever she swipes her leg or her arms, it's going to smear the paint and create a clearer picture. Eventually, when the piece is over, she will have painted a picture of a skull, and I'm going to fade on the paint dripping down the canvas. Here are some snapshots of what I have so far (with a few smears as tests):

<--Taken from Google Images

Now, mind you, it's difficult to paint a picture all at once because it has to make sense with her movement. Much of what I have right now is thanks to a diagram I created- an instance, really- that represents the location of where she "throws" the paint.

As you can see, there are areas where the skull should be defined, and it totally is lacking in paint, so I'm going to go in and find minute movements that she does that could potentially add paint on in those areas, or smear it into the correct form it needs to be. So far, she has smeared the bridges of the eyes. I have considered the concept of her smearing AWAY the paint to kind of create more identifiable attributes of negative space, like the teeth and the nose cavity. The diagram was mostly necessary due to the fact that I didn't know TV Paint Pro takes PSDs and puts everything nicely into layers, so now I can paint it all in real time. Although, I need to make some new brushes for paint splatter and translate them to TV Paint >_<



Here are some problems/concerns/questions I'm running into that maybe you could help me with:

-The video was edited, so the figures are cut and reappear in different parts of the canvas, get smaller and bigger with the zooming in/out, etc. So I'm thinking a simple fade effect with the silhouette (to take it more literally with the video) will do the trick.

-Negative space. The figure isn't very big, and I need to consider maybe some sort of a backdrop to fill the space. Maybe once the "canvas" is established, the anticipation of seeing what she's painting will be enough?

-The man. As gorgeous as he is, he is a support, in my opinion, for this piece. She's "going in for the kill" and he's there to support her and "not let go of [her] hand". I don't think he should be ignored, so Jenny and I discussed the possibility of him being some sort of a shadow. Interpreting him not only as a support, but a looming figure over her, sort of egging her on to be this evil side. I'll draw him sort of as a black cloud that moves literally as he does in the video, but when he is closer to her, he feeds off her and becomes stronger (also symbolizing a literal shadow, which is more crisp when closer to the object casting it). This would also solve the next problem.

-Transitions. From silhouette to her throwing the paint, there needs to be some sort of an emphasis on her when this happens (almost like an Adam West Batman episode with the comic violence stars BIFF! BOOM! OOOF!). I came up with the idea that it could be her turning into a skeleton, almost like she gets hit with lightning, the whole canvas goes black, and you get a glimpse of her white, glowing bones. Almost like a light is shining on her and you see her true intentions, she's transparent, there's nothing about her motives that can be hidden. Still deciding on if it should be a literal skeleton or a graphical one (the silhouette isn't literal, so I'm leaning toward graphical). But, I'm wondering if the skeleton is too much and I should just go for a white-on-black silhouette instead. To solve this, since the canvas turns to black, I was thinking the shadow would sort of consume her, bleed into making the canvas black, and then fade back into his form when the moment is through.

-The canvas. How much of the overall picture should the audience be seeing when she throws the paint? All of it? Only the paint? Only the section of the canvas where she is occupying? I want the audience to get that she's painting a picture early to peak curiosity, but I don't want them to see it until she is done. So maybe only the section she's painting would be the best idea. Leave the rest a mystery?



Anyways, I'm glad you took the time to read through this (and I thank you in advance if you comment or send feedback!). I'll be posting a few more updates before I upload it to YouTube for the world to see. I'm kind of excited that Sonya and I share the same name. I'm crossing my fingers that it makes its way to her and she can see what she has inspired :)

Career Change. Yeah...

Hey guys! I've massaged out my tension for this city... just a little, but it's kind of growing on me. I think one needs to be financially fortunate in order to truly appreciate what LA has to offer, but I'm on my way to a more forgiving attitude with the more industry experience I get.

I find myself consistently looking to the future and forgetting to enjoy the present. I suppose this is in my nature, but I can't help but overlook the fact that I am just not happy with who I am right now. I keep telling my parents "I can't wait for this confusing and frustrating part of my life to be over" and they keep reassuring me that this part of your life is one of the toughest since you haven't quite paved the path to your career and haven't quite left the "student" road. They are right. But I'm doing everything in my power to make sure that it happens sooner, rather than later.

To cut to the chase, I recently had a very moving experience. It wasn't any moment that was easily recognizable by anyone but me (if you passed me within 5 minutes of this realization, you would have hardly noticed). However, it did happen, and I'm very thankful for it. It started about a month ago, while I was reading Sir Ken Robinson's "The Element" (I highly recommend this book to everyone, btw). I was doing a very tedious task while at work, and I kept going over and over in my head "Sonya, yes, you love animating. But why are you kidding yourself? Can you really sit down and animate for 8+ hours a day? If you wanted to be an artist and it was in your blood to be one, it would have happened already. Stop fighting it. Do what you're good at."

I looked up from the cutter board. "Do what you're good at." Simple, yet powerful. I stared at the wall, realizing I was fighting who I was because I went through school with the only image in my head of being in the industry was being an animator. I had never really considered combining what I was good at with what I was passionate about. BOOM.

I need to be a project manager.

Without any hesitation whatsoever, I packed up my bags (I had been thinking so hard, I didn't realize it was time to go home) and I went home to call my parents. "Yeah, we were worried about you trying to be an animator when you weren't as experienced as the other artists." Thanks, Mom! Why couldn't you have admitted this sooner???

In any case, the last couple weeks I have been emailing people and asking them questions of how one would go about this sort of position, looking up websites for certification (and inquiring as to whether it's necessary), consulting current coworkers about my position in the company with my newfound goal, etc. I have to say, this option is less daunting than becoming an animator. I felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders and there was nothing standing in my way of being successful. Once I wrote up my resume, I found myself struggling to CUT OUT qualifications, whereas before I was struggling to find the phrases that sort of showed that I was qualified enough. I found myself changing my website and listing off projects that were 100% relevant rather than ones that I sort of could make a case for. In addition to this, I concluded more and more often that this was right for me, and the best part is, I still get to be around the same group of animated (tehe) people and I still get to be a part of the most fascinating art I have encountered. WIN.

So, my current goals right now are to pursue an animation/film studio that I am comfortable with that I can settle in as a Digital Coordinator/ Project Manager/ Whatchamacallit. I think I would be the happiest there and I can't wait!

If any of you are still struggling with what you want to be in the industry, or in general, consider these delightful questions I was consistently asking myself and didn't have the answers to until now:

-When you are emerged in a project, what seems to be the most appealing to you? Have you tried it? If not, you should. If you find yourself wanting to do something else, it's probably too late and you've already lost interest. Also consider the lesser-known options and explore those. Not everyone is fit to be an animator, but if you find that aspect appealing, consider rigging/scripting or even producing.

-What is it about that task that is the most appealing to you? Is it the math of it? Is it the art? Movement? Your ability to take charge? When you get this answer, this will point you toward what portions of the task you should focus on. There are Technical Animators for the more physics/math/programming oriented people. There is environmental modeling for the less organic designer. There is pre-visualization for the 3D cinematographer and story-teller. Storyboarding for the 2D cinematographer and story-teller.

-When you are working on something that you supposedly want to pursue in a career, does the time go by fast? If you are constantly checking the clock or switching to Facebook, you may be in the wrong place... If this "something" is playing games in general and you are actively engaged in analyzing how the design/assets/strategy fit together while you play, consider being a playtester/QA (yes, that is an option).

-Lastly, if people are constantly suggesting a certain career path for you, it might be a good indication that you are good at something. Listen.

Just remember. There are THOUSANDS of people that have been in the industry before you. And they have all gone through this same process of knowing what they generally love, and finding their place in this business. There are roles that need to be fulfilled, and plenty of people that suit those roles. Ask around. Research. Look at the credits of movies and research what those unknown titles are...

You may just be surprised as to how right you are for something you've never really considered...