'DRAWING FOR ANIMATION'
A 12-week course of instruction and drawing to help animators 'see', 'interpret' and 'create' like a Master Animator. Based on the book 'The Animator's Sketchbook' by award-winning animator, Tony White. Hosted by and at the AIE-Seattle. campus, starting on March 8th, 2017. The objective of the course is that through class work and additional work outside of class, each student will have completed all the assignments required within 'The Animator's Sketchbook', providing them with a focused and animation-dedicated sketchbook which will be both a valuable reference document and an impressive presentation document for job interview situations. |
CATCH-UP MATERIAL:
The following material is offered solely for students who are signed up for the above course, but are unable to attend a particular class for one reason or another.
The 2-hour class is structured as follows . . .
i) 15-minute warm-up exercise.
ii) 30-minute presentation on a core principle of animation technique.
iii) 5-minute break.
iv) 70-minutes of gesture drawing, focusing on the exercises within 'The Animator's Sketchbook'.
The 2-hour class is structured as follows . . .
i) 15-minute warm-up exercise.
ii) 30-minute presentation on a core principle of animation technique.
iii) 5-minute break.
iv) 70-minutes of gesture drawing, focusing on the exercises within 'The Animator's Sketchbook'.
WEEK 01:
Students were welcomed, then introduced to 'The Animator's Sketchbook'. It was explained how the Sketchbook worked and then it was demonstrated how gesture drawings can be approached. It was also emphasized that we need to 'draw what we see' not 'what we think we see'! Students were finally advised to read the introductory pages before the next class.
The first 15-minute warm-up drawing assignment was based on the following image . . .
The first 15-minute warm-up drawing assignment was based on the following image . . .
Tony White then talked about the principle of 'anticipation' in animation and next screened the following (mute) video that demonstrates various examples of anticipation in action. . .
Students next started to work through the opening gesture drawing exercises in the Sketchbook . . .
Exercise 1 : required that they draw 3 quick poses, as directed in the book, showing the weightlifter 'anticipation' action from the previous video . (Click on image to enlarge it for drawing.)
Students were then advised to add 3 more 'anticipation' sequences as homework, to complete the book requirement.
Exercise 2: Students were required to observe 4 'coffee drinker' poses and and sketch them out in their books. (i.e. How everyone actually drinks coffee differently.) The following were the poses provided ~ although students are free to use their own poses (ideally drawn from real life) instead of these if they wish . . .
Exercise 2: Students were required to observe 4 'coffee drinker' poses and and sketch them out in their books. (i.e. How everyone actually drinks coffee differently.) The following were the poses provided ~ although students are free to use their own poses (ideally drawn from real life) instead of these if they wish . . .
Exercise 3: Required students to study and draw 4 gesture drawings of people involved in physical exercise . . .
Excerise 4: This required students to draw 4 gesture drawings of people involved with sporting activities . . .
Exercise 5: Required students to draw a sequential series of 4 gesture drawings, based on a person involved in an action sequence. The following image was the one provided but students are free to use one of their own choice if they wish to . . .
Exercise 6: There was no time to do this one in class time, so it was assigned as a homework assignment. The requirement was for students to create 4 separate gesture drawings of 2 people involved in an activity of some kind. The following example sequence was provided for one of the actions but students can choose their own if they choose to . . .
WEEK 02
Warm-up drawing: For anyone not able to complete their 'Exercise 6' homework, the following warm-up drawing was suggested of one of the 4 gesture drawings required. Emphasis here (as always) was made on accurate angles, volumes and proportions. 'Photographic drawing' is to be discouraged but construction lines are encouraged . . .
Lecture: This week's lecture was on the important of 'Pose' and 'Silhouette'. The following images were used to explain the principles being communicated . . .
'Gesture Drawing': Students were asked to keep all of the above in mind and do their own online research to find suitable images that would allow them to create the required drawings for exercises '7 thru 10' in the book. Any unfinished drawings should be completed as a homework assignment.
(Note: It was explained that homework didn't necessarily have to be completed by the next week's class. The purpose of this course is for students to leave at the end of 12 weeks with a comprehensive sketchbook of animation-focused drawings. Therefore as long as the homework is caught up upon by the end of the course, each student will reach that objective.)