DECEMBER 2018 CHALLENGE

"XMAS DOUBLE-HEADER"  (Part 02)

This month's challenge is part two of a double-header. In November, Sketchclub members were asked to submit drawn ideas for a crazy Santa walk. This next month they were required to animate these ideas in time for Christmas. We got some terrific entries and I'm delighted to say that Andrew Sharp was a clear winner this month, due to him entering two separate and wonderful Santa walks! So "bravo" to Andrew, and "bravo" to everyone else who entered some excellent work this time around.

Now have a well deserved Christmas break everyone. . . and check back here for the next drawing challenge that will be announced on the 1st of the New Year!  :)

NOVEMBER 2018 CHALLENGE

"XMAS DOUBLE-HEADER"  (Part 01)

The November challenge was part one of a two-parter. This month, Sketchclub members have been required to submit their drawn ideas for a crazy Santa walk and/or sequence of action - then next month they will be required to execute and submit their final animation in time for Christmas. For the November challenge, I agreed to mentor the best three drawn submissions entered as a prize, so that successful members can have the benefit of experienced feedback that should enhance the quality of their December entries. This doesn't guarantee that the three November winners will automatically be adjudged the best December ones however! But it does give them the opportunity of receiving high-level, experienced animation mentoring from a very experienced professional.

So, after much consideration of this month's entries, I'm delighted to announce that the following three submissions were my favorites So congratulations go to Andrew Sharp (1st), Edwin Gomez (2nd) and Anthony Corrigan (3rd) respectively. My sincere thanks go out to all those other artists who entered however, as I would say that every one of you had great ideas and could will be in the running for consideration of the December prize!

CHANGE OF PLANS!

As a thanks to everyone who submitted an entry this month, I have decided to change the original plan and open up my offer of assistance to everyone who entered a drawn concept this month. So ALL November Sketchclub competitors will enter the December animation challenge with an equal opportunity of obtaining feedback. The winning three entries will get continual feedback if they want it, but all December submission ideas will get one critique from me at the beginning, if they so choose.

It will work like this . . .

When animating anything most professional animators will block out their key frames first and film them with the proposed timing. In other words, they will create their key frames and shoot them to the correct proposed timings - yet without the inbetweens being there. The key drawings therefore will be held on the screen to cover their own number of frames, plus all the frames of the missing inbetweens. This is called a "pose test" (or "key frame animatic").

So with this proposal, all qualifying November entries will be allowed to submit to the group (via the Facebook page, as normal) their initial pose test animatic and I will publicly respond to it as is necessary. (Please identify it as a "pose test animatic", so I don't mistake it for a final entry!) I do strongly advise you to get your pose test animatic in to me asap. That way you will have enough time to make any necessary changes, as well as add your inbetweens for your final submission by the closing deadline. (Note: If you choose not to do this, then that is OK and you won't be penalized for not doing so.) However if you do it, it will give anyone from the November entries access to my knowledge, to help you maximize the effectiveness of your animation.

For the three November finalists, I am more than happy to go beyond the pose test offer and give you feedback at any stage of your work process, as long as you don't miss the final deadline. That way you will still received the benefit of being in the top three.

So "good luck" everyone! I'm looking forward to seeing your crazy Santa animation soon!  :)


OCTOBER 2018 CHALLENGE

"DOUBLE BOUNCE"

Competing with "#Inktopber" is always a daunting task during this month of the year, so the lack of entries on this particular challenge is pretty understandable. That said, I believe the winner this month has created an excellent example of a "double bounce" walk, as requested. So "congratulations" therefore go out (once again) to Anthony Corrigan. He really is a master of the challenge! . . .
In general, I believe all the entries this month showed a great deal of visual imagination and more than a little degree of ingenuity. However, I do think that a tutorial on how to do a perfect double bounce walk might be valuable at some stage in the future! I'll let you know if I get a chance to do this everyone.

That said, I am confident that Anthony checks all the boxes when it comes to how a double bounce walk is done technically. So, hats off to him for such a great example - and an equally imaginative way of expressing it.

Thank you at the same time to everyone who contributed, even those of you who missed the deadline! Your commitment to the challenge is greatly appreciated, especially during the month of "#Inktober"!


SEPTEMBER 2018 CHALLENGE

"MASH-UP"

Although there were too few entries this month for my liking, I have to say that the ones that were entered were really great fun to view! I always believe that its great to mash up two diverse styles or concepts and the results are often quite surprising. This month was no exception! I believe all of the entries were really well executed and although "color" is not usually anything that sways my decision, I note that this month three of my top four were indeed in color. The final decision ultimately went to George Keita however, as I loved the dramatic light and staging he employed with his artwork. So "bravo" George for such an exceptional piece . . .
That established, I do also want to congratulate everyone who submitted to the challenge this month. There were no weak links anywhere as far as I could see. I do want to also feature the 3 runners up that caught my eye too, as I believe it is only right we encourage fine work when individuals have taken the time and the effort to be part of this. So "bravo" you three - and everyone else who excelled with their work this month . . .
Can't wait to see what you guys come up with next month!  :)

AUGUST 2018 CHALLENGE

"FEAR"

This month's challenge was all about "FEAR". As a kind of cathartic and healing process, contributors were asked to animate their own personal fears. To be honest, there was a disappointing number of entries this month - indicating that perhaps not everyone is ready to confront their fears just yet, or if they are, then they're reluctant to share those fears with everyone else! Even so the entries that were posted were good and somewhat difficult to separate in terms of judging. In the end I split my decision of top film, between the animation of George Keita and Anthony Corrigan. So we have two winners this month! Their films were very different approaches from one another. Yet each in their own way gave a sense of fear in their approach. So congratulations to George and Anthony.

In general I would say that all the entries had great content and ideas but pretty much everyone would benefit from tighter editing. What I mean by this is that, when approaching a storytelling narrative, its very important to consider the timing of your cuts between action and your holds within the action. Most of the films held their poses, or scenes, too long - interrupting the dynamic flow that most of the ideas required to be fully impactful. That said, this is all part of the learning process of animated filmmaking and simply by doing what you do, and taking note of honest criticism, your work can do nothing but improve in the future. I thank you for taking these comments in the positive and supportive spirit they are given.

Joint winnner: George Keita
Joint winner: Anthony Corrigan
Finally, I would have to say that although I liked pretty much all the entries this month, I need to give a special call out of support to Diego Diaz. Each month Diego makes a huge effort with his challenge work - and this month was no exception. So "bravo" to Diego for putting so much effort in. Its wonderful to see your work improve with each and every challenge effort!
Special commendation: Diego Diaz

JULY 2018 CHALLENGE

"KICK OFF"

In celebration of the 2018 World Cup (congrats to France by the way!) the July challenge was to create an observational drawing sequence of a character kicking a football. Design was somewhat important but the main thing to be looked for is a feel of believable flow and action throughout the sequential drawings. There were sadly not too many entries this month - a combination of folks being away on vacation I guess, or they are just not interested in soccer. However, in the end it came down to three clear finalists. The especially outstanding winner drawing was created by Minh Thuan and the two runners up were Anthony Corrigan and George Keita...

1st: Minh Thuan.

2nd: Anthony Corrigan.

3rd: George Keita.

Finally, a big thanks to everyone who submitted their action drawings.

Start training yourself up now for our next August "animation" challenge!  : )


JUNE 2018 CHALLENGE

"LUNATICS"

The June challenge was to create animation with a "Moon" theme to it. There were some fun entries but I have to give it to Anthony Corrigan for the sheer expertise of his animation. Bravo! . . .
All the entries were fun this month to be honest. But here are a few that also caught my eye . . .
Thanks to everyone who made such a great effort to participate this month. July's challenge is a DRAWING one, so you can all take a little bit of a rest for this month!  :)


MAY 2018 CHALLENGE


'ME, MYSELF & I'

This May challenge was to create 3 images that represented three different aspects of the submitter's personality. It was meant as a fun exercise but also one that made us all look at ourselves more carefully and express what we saw!

There were a number of very different submissions for this challenge, as you might expect. However, in the end, I narrowed it down to 4 that really caught my attention. Normally in that situation I find it very hard to decide a winner. However, in this case, there was one that stood out for me from all the others. So, for its originality and excellence of execution, I congratulate George Keita this month for the following excellent solution . . .
I suspect that we can all identify with this one, huh everyone?  :)

The 3 runners-up I believe are also worthy of mention however, as each in their own way made a great statement. So congratulations to Anthony Corrigan, Chris Stefanova and Emily Escott for their wonderful contributions this month! . . .
Thank you to everyone who entered their drawings this month ~ and apologies if you didn't make it into the final selection. Although all of the featured finalists happen to be finished in color, I really don't want anyone to feel that coloring your artwork will give you a better chance of succeeding in the final selection. This is not true at all. As long as your idea is original and catches my eye as being bang on point with the requirement, I will accept black and white stick figures if it deserves to be featured! Originality wins out every time with me.

Just one last thing: As this month's challenge was a 'drawing' challenge, the one to follow will be an 'animation one'. So watch this space for the June announcement very soon now!

Thanks again to everyone who submitted for revealing a little more about yourselves!  :)

APRIL 2018 CHALLENGE

'POLE VAULT'

This April's challenge was an animation one. The challenge was to animate a pole vaulting character, based on the reference supplied.

Although not a huge number of films were entered ~ not surprising really as animation takes a long, long time to do! ~ there were some terrific ones nevertheless. Everyone had something significant to offer and it ended up like judging so many apples with so many oranges.

However, I had to go with one winner in the end, so I gave first place to Anthony Corrigan. For me, what separated Anthony's entry from everyone else's was the fact that he checked all the necessary boxes for me . . . that is 'draftsmanship', 'consistency of character', 'timing', 'weight', 'original storytelling', etc., etc. He's definitely a worthy winner this month! Bravo Anthony . . .
All that said, I was so impressed with all the entries ~ each having their own voice and point of view ~ that I think it worth placing them all in the runner-up position equally. So bravo to all you folks too! . . .
Now watch out for the April 2018 challenge folks. Its a DRAWING CHALLENGE, so many more people have a shot at it.  :)


March 2018 CHALLENGE

'ACTION DRAWINGS'

Some wonderful entries this month folks... 'bravo' one and all!

The challenge was to take 4 action photographs that were supplied and create 4 dynamic action pose drawings with a character, or characters, of your own choice. It seemed many people loved this challenge and it really showed in the submitted work. Indeed, I found it very hard to separate the best from the rest - and in fact, I think you ALL did exceptionally well this month - whether you won, were placed or not placed. In the end however I had to choose a winner, so this month's winner was Andrew Sharp. I not only liked the dynamic poses he created, but I also loved the character selection and the colorful, graphic way the drawings were presented. So a special bravo to Andrew for his great work this month!
As I say, it was very difficult to separate any of the entries this week, as I think everyone - without exception - submitted some wonderful work. Thank you all for putting in so much effort. I am only sorry that not all of you could be featured here. In the end though I did find 5 honorable runners up to add to Andrew's winning entry. They are as follows . .
Finally, I would add that if you really want to be an animator, this is precisely the kind of exercise you need to do on a regular basis in order to train your eye and hand in researching the actions you are trying to create. This is essential if you want to be a character or action animator in any form of animation out there. . .  i.e. '2D', '3D', 'Stop-frame', 'Claymation', 'Cut-out', etc., etc. To help you with this I created 'The Animator's Sketchbook', which is a real sketchbook containing 66 important lessons that will help you master animation, regardless of style. Even if you don't buy my Sketchbook, you should keep one of your own anyway, so that you can quickly sketch down any poses or actions you see in your daily life. You never know when your reference sketches will be valuable in the years ahead!

Note too that if you want to learn the principles of animation with me, one-on-one, I do offer online classes through the TakeLessons website. We can work through 'The Animator's Sketchbook' work together or I can help you with any animation you want to learn or polish. (Note however that I don't teach software - just the core underlying principles of movement and observation that make up great animation - in whatever approach you will ultimately end up using.)

Congrats again to all the entries this month. It was a joy to view and judge!

Tony.  :)

FEBRUARY 2018 CHALLENGE

'BASIC WALK'

This month's challenge was all about creating a generic walk with a character of the animator's own choice. The entries we some of the best (and largest number of) submissions we have had, so it was hard making a final decision. In most cases it was like comparing apples to oranges, which made the choice even harder. Ultimately, I felt it was choosing the best emotion connection to the action that won me over. So I congratulate Cesar Ce for creating this charming walking action. Although short, yet very smoothly animated, it was the calm emotion of the character, its pose and its action that won my heart...
That said, I genuinely want to acknowledge my respect for the runners up. Although very different in nature they also have a strong voice in their own particular right. I therefore congratulate the creators of them too. So, in order of appearance, I honor the walks of Firas Alikaj, Stephen Beddow, Ruben Cabenda, Anthony Corrigan, Pepijn Claus, Charles-Jean Boucher and Brahma Mamoun. Well done, one and all...
Finally, there were many more entries this month that nearly made the 'honored finalist' cut - and even with all those those that didn't there was a great deal of solid work put into them. So I thank everyone who contributed their time and effort into making this an exceptional month of entries. If there were one comment I would share with a number of animators this month, is to say there to make a good walk convincing there needs to be a certain amount of 'up and down' movement to the action. This is done by ensuring that on the 'Passing Position' (i.e. the midway pose between each stride) the leg is virtually straight under the body and therefore the torso is forced upward, giving that overall 'up and down' movement to each stride. If you did not have this with your walk, do go back and rework it with the above suggestion. I think you will notice how effective the difference is.

A final 'bravo' to one and all!  :)

Tony.

Note: Its now possible to study animation online with Tony White, via the TakeLessons website. Although TakeLessons require that you book a minimum of 5 lessons as a basic commitment, Tony will arrange for Sketchclub members to use each of those lessons for personal critique & mentoring, following their challenge work, over 5 consecutive months.

Book your teaching sessions with Tony HERE!


January 2018 CHALLENGE


'AND THE WINNER IS..."

As we're right in the middle of the film awards season right now, this month's challenge was to create a drawing or animation that represents an award you would like to see given in any animation category. I doubt we will influence the Academy of Motion Pictures hierarchy, but it was fun to see what awards you would like to see given anyway. I have to admit to a great deal of favoritism towards traditional 2D animation in general. So I just had to give our award this month to George Keita, for his great '2D Animation Award' drawing. Bravo George!

However, let's not neglect our acclaimed runners-up for this month either . . .

Andrew Sharp
Anthony Corrigan & Millie Young
...or anyone else who entered the challenge. Everyone's ideas were great fun - so much so that I'll set a similar challenge to this in the future I think. In the meantime, members should get themselves ready for the next 'February 2018' challenge that's just around the corner!

Keep those pencils sharpened folks!  :)


DECember 2017 CHALLENGE


'GHOSTS OF ANIMATION'S PAST'

Bravo to everyone contributing to our spooky voices from animation's past competition. It was good to see such a great mix of both drawings and animation for these seasonal entries! Ultimately I awarded 1st place to one that was (by the creator's own admission) quite crudely drawing and containing no animation whatsoever! However, the intention behind it, and the storytelling in it, grabbed my attention - being that it was such an original take on the idea. (Would love to see it animated, although the creator would need a commercial budget and schedule to do it!) So congrats to कलाकार जंतु anyway. (Sorry, I don't know how to write your name in English!) It was such an imaginative animatic . . .
But also, there were some fine (and highly commended) runners-up. So congrats also go to . . .
George Keita
Andrew Sharp
Diego Diaz
Anthony Corrigan & Millie Young
I do wish to add that it was great seeing ALL the entries this month however - whether they were placed above or not. It shows to me that there's so much talent and imagination out there - as well as a huge respect for the giants of the past, on who's shoulders we stand!

So 'bravo' one and all.  I for one can't wait to see what next month's challenge brings!


september 2017 CHALLENGE

'THROW'
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I'm afraid with got a little behind in announcing the winners for this month's challenge folks. However. . . better late than never!

We had some very imaginative ideas based on the 'Throw' assignment this month and I'm delighted to say that Anthony Corrigan was deemed with winner of the September 2017 challenge. It was a very tight thing as there was clearly a lot of innovative work and effort put into a fair number of the entries. However, Anthony's action seemed to work best from a technical 'throw' perspective, especially as his final outcome added a neat twist to the original theme...
The winner of the drawing challenge this month was Millie Young, who's excellent analysis of a throwing action is clear to see. Great work Millie! . . .
As indicated above there's no doubt that this month's entries were the most imaginative yet. Indeed I have to compliment the following artists for taking their work to the next level. Bravo Ty Smith, Louise Rosney and Andrew Sharp respectively! . . .
In terms of an overall critique of the entries, . .

​I would say that 'timing' was the big issue for pretty much everyone. The feeling from everyone's animation was that most were too fast moving and also needed some variation in pace. For any action to be truly convincing it has to have some sense of plausibility, even though we are essentially dealing with an implausible medium. (Meaning, in animation you can technically do pretty much what you want in a fantasy way.) My suggestion is that where things look too fast and rushed you need to bite the bullet and put more inbetweens in to slow things down a little. In most cases this would help the action, as although the key positions everyone chose were pretty strong, linking them with too few inbetweens meant that the power of the action was lost. Indeed, they all tended to feel pretty weightless in the main.

Variation in timing is critical too. When the arm comes back in anticipation of releasing the throw, try to slow-in your drawings towards the end of the anticipation moment. Indeed, you might even hold the anticipation pose for a few frames before it comes forward for the release. This will give the throw so much more impact when it happens.

On this topic, its noted that there's a tendency for animators these days to do the poses, put in an equal amount of inbetweens (often too few) and leave it at that. This does not help the action for the purist. (Or for the audience on an unconscious level!) Therefore consider your timing always. If you were to approach your animation like the masters of old did, you would test and re-test your action repeatedly - adding or taking away inbetweens to perfect the flow. (Although you are of course up against a tight deadline in the case of these challenges it has to be admitted.)

One final observation. . .

In a couple of the entries the pull back/anticipation pose is nowhere nearly as extreme as it could be. The result of this is that there's no real contrasting impact in the release. Consequently, when you are dealing with a high impact action like a throwing action you really need to push your poses in an extreme way. As the late, great Disney animator, Art Babbit, often told me. . . "You need to push your pose as far as you dare - then double it!"

AUGUST 2017 CHALLENGE
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'front run'

Wonderful to see so many submissions this month . . . so 'bravo' to all those who contributed! And I have to say it was hard for me to choose a winner this month as there were many worthy runs to choose from. In the end I decided on two joint winners, for very different reasons. It was because they were so different that it was hard to choose between them, like apples versus oranges. So congratulations to Anthony Corrigan and Kertin Welther for these great runs . . .
For the record, I liked Anthony's as there was a terrific sense of 'weight' to the bear, whereas it was the opposite for the rabbit. There's some nice overlapping action on the capes too, although it would have been nice to see a little overlapping on the rabbit's ears too. But that's just a nitpick. Suffice it to say, there are some very good things happening here with two very different characters. And while we're speaking of 'contrasts', I believe the charm of Kertin's run is that is is SO minimal and SO simplistic, with a very flat character design. It has a great sense of energy - even rotation, in a strange way - that's very visible here. Indeed, it has a charm all of its own and for that I felt it was on par with Anthony's animation.

Beyond our winners I would congratulation some excellent runners-up too. I have not included the video's of the runners up here but hopefully these still images will remind members of their great animated action on our Facebook group page . . .
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Finally, my overall thoughts with regards all the entries we received this month is that there could have been a little more 'up and down' action on the body in many cases. Some of the entries also looked like they were either traced from live action or other animation, so I couldn't really consider these as original works. Others needed to push their 'perspective' more - meaning that if something is coming closer to you, you increase its size significantly, whereas if something is moving further away it is diminished in size significantly. All that said, I was delighted by everyone's entry and really do congratulate you on putting in the hours to do this assignment. It really doesn't matter whether you're a winner or a loser in the competition when it comes right down to it. What's important is that you made the effort and in doing so learned a great deal about your animation I'm sure? So again, 'bravo' one and all for making this a good month for the Sketchclub!  :) 
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JULY 2017 CHALLENGE
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'WALK'

Congrats to all the animation entries this month, each seeking to master the art of 'Walk' animation. Its always hard to decide on any winning entry as often its clearly a case of apples versus oranges. However, on this occasion Andrew Sharp was awarded 1st place - although the decision was tight, due to the eccentric quality of Ruben Cabenda's animation. . .
Convincing walking action is one of the hardest things to execute in animation, so congratulations again to everyone for making such great efforts at it! I'm sure you will have learned great things, simply by attempting it, as well as seeing what came out with your own and other people's effort.

'Bravo' one and all!

JUNE 2017 CHALLENGE

'EXERCISE'

Congratulations to El Cococlot for being the animation winner of this month's challenge. There were several fine entries this month but this one seemed to be just that bit more imaginative and quirky. (Although I would hate to go to the gym where El works out!)  :)
Our drawing challenge this month was Diego Diaz. There was a low number of drawing entries this month, no doubt due to the arrival of summer and the warm weather. However, Diego is a regular contributor to the drawing challenge - often being the very first to enter! So its great to see that this young member's enthusiasm has been rewarded at last. Bravo Diego for your fine commitment and persistence!

Remember folks that you can enter our monthly challenge by positing EITHER a drawing or animation. All are welcome, with each challenge designed to home your skills as an animator. Click on our 'Challenge' page to discover the current one. But don't forget to note the deadline as we can't accept late entries I'm afraid.

'Well done' again to this month's winners!  :)

MAY 2017 CHALLENGE

'WEIGHT'.
Congratulations to Tatiana Sunti Fedotova and Ruben Cabenda for being the winners of this month's drawing and animation challenge respectively.
Tatiana's drawing contains all the core elements that suggest the lifting of something heavy. The most important thing with weight posing is 'balance'. If there's not a sense that the center of gravity of the combined body and object weight is not located somewhere over the points of contact with the ground (i.e. the 'feet') then the pose will not communicate that weight is being encountered. Tatiana's drawings communicate this very well I believe.

Then, when it comes to movement, its vitally important that the balance element is present in all the key poses. However, the timing is paramount too, if a sense of weight being moved is to be convincing. Many animation entries this month were failing in this I'm afraid. Heavy objects were just being moved too fast, giving the impression that they were more like balloons than weighty objects! In the main, Ruben's did reflect the best timing, although I would say the toss away at the end was not as convincing as the earlier movement - due to the ease and speed of that particular action. It needed a bigger anticipation down before it was then pushed away.

All animators need to remember that heavy objects are slow to move, to pick up and to put down if the putting down has to be carefully done. Try it yourself. Pick up an empty cardboard box and see (or feel) how quick and easy that is to do. Now pack that box with books and try the action again. You'll find that its harder to pick up, (Even simply getting your fingers under it to pick up is a challenge, if its really heavy!) Its also hard to get a lifting momentum going, quite apart from continuing that momentum once you've done so! Then when you put it down again, you have to be extra careful to stop it crashing to the ground, damaging the box and its content accordingly.

Animation-wise this means that you really have to add inbetweens to ensure whatever the weight action is, its convincing to the viewer, who should be able to identify with that reality. Also, in picking up or moving forward a heavy load, there has to be a process of 'slowing-out' employed with the inbetween placement. (I.e. you have to add even more in-betweens at the beginning, so that the action starts slow and begins to accelerate somewhat.) Similarly, if putting a weighty object down without damaging it, you'll have to break its downward trajectory by somehow applying a 'slowing-in' action the the end. (That is, adding more inbetweens to the final part before it comes to rest - which of course is not necessary if you're throwing the weight down and allowing gravity to take its place.)

Anyway, 'bravo' everyone for submitting your work this month. I'm delighted that so many people want to contribute animation to the challenge, as opposed to drawing it. Both are really important to me, although the movement aspect of the animation gives me more to sink my teeth into with regards the critique. And don't forget, if you want private, personal coaching or mentoring, my 'Animator's Friend' online service is up and running at www.theanimatorsfriend.com. (Thank you to those who took advantage of my Sketchclub discount this time around by the way!)

I'm now lpoking forward to seeing what you come up with for the 'June 2017' challenge folks! Good luck!
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APRIL 2017 CHALLENGE

'EMOTION TRANSITION POSES'.
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Congratulations to Andrew Dodd for being the winner of this month's challenge - with additional 'congrats' to all the other members who contributed this month too! It was a good one to judge!

​In the end (as I always do) I judged the winners on the poses I most felt lent themselves as close as possible to animation keys that I would like to work with . Viewed in this way therefore, I believe Andrew's key transitional drawing were the ones I would most like to animate . Bravo Andrew!
OUR WINNER: ANDREW DODD

OUR RUNNERS-UP . . .

Our 3 close runners-up: Theresa Minnelli, Elisabeth Vahle Janerka and Amy Shainev - all of which had a great sense of emotion in the key positions too. Well done folks...
It was really exciting to see everyone's transition pose ideas. Transitional poses are, of course, the core ingredient when anyone attempts animation and I believe that everyone pulled it off very well this month, regardless of becoming a finalist or not.

​Finally, I've always wanted to move the ANIMATOR'S SKETCHCLUB monthly assignments towards full animation challenges but have held back because I knew many group members do not have the ability to create animation in their home environment. However, all members WILL now be able to take the challenge at whatever level they are able to from May onwards! This means there will be the option of doing either a drawing challenge or an animation one - with 'PRO' members even being able to get a personal critique of their animation work from me for a small fee. But more of that in a few days, when I launch the MAY Challenge next Monday.

In the meantime . . . 'BRAVO' again to all those who entered the April challenge. I sincerely look forward to seeing and judging everyone's drawn and/or animated challenge work next month!
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JANUARY 2017 CHALLENGE

'NEW YEAR BABY'.

It has to be said that the start of 2017 has been more than eventful, especially here in the USA! 

Our January challenge therefore was in anticipation of such 'new beginnings', We asked members to study the video provided, of a real life baby going throught the early stages of learning to walk for the first time and then create 4 animation key poses that represented the action seen, It proved a fun exercise for those who took the challenge on - and even produced one radical entry by Millie Young that someone reflected certain political events in the month we could hardly ignore. . . .
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However, in the context of the challenge, which was primarily about balance and the observation of specific poses that could help as animation reference, our winner and finalists this month were as follows. . . .

1st PLACE: Theresa Finnelli

Runners-up:
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'Congratulations' to our winner and runners-up for their first baby-step successes into 2017. We hope you'll all return again to dazzle us with your art & observation skills. And to everyone else who competed. . .  

I thank you all for working so hard and showing your bravery in submitting your work to public scrutiny. I genuinely appreciate the efforts that everyone makes and although you may not have been placed this time around, I hope you will each keep on trying to do so. The reality is that winning this event does not necessarily make you a better animator. However, doing this kind of reference sketching will most definitely help you with your animation poses and your greater understanding of the principles of movement, based on your observation of the real world and the work you put in to represent that through your drawings!

So, prepare yourself well for the February 2017 challenge one and all. It too will prove a big help in your understanding the principles of animation better!  :)


december 16 CHALLENGE
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'TREE DECORATIONS'

BRAVO to everyone who contributed a drawn decoration to hang onto our Christmas Tree! It was wonderful to receive everyone's ideas and set the standard for the Christmas to come. I hope everyone had a great Christmas in their own right, - and even if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you were at least inspired and uplifted by the way everyone freely contributed to our last monthly challenge of 2016? I can only say it again... BRAVO one and all!  

Of course its always difficult to separate the spirit of the challenge from its content - that is, in terms of judging a winner and runners up. In my mind you are all winners, simply by contributing something that you cared about and wanted to share with everyone else. However, in the spirit of the challenge (and to at least give the folks at Pencils.com someone to send their generous sponsor prizes too) I considered that the prizes should go to the following contributors. First and foremost I placed in mind the fact that this was a 'Christmas' challenge first and foremost - and therefore my biggest sympathy went out to Andrew Sharp, who's fine artwork really topped the tree for me (in every sense). So bravo Andrew!
For the runners up I turned to the 'animation' theme of the challenge and for this I went to 4 entries that I felt each had a great sense of animated motion connected to them. So congratulations to Brendon Miel, Jane War, Theresa Finnelli and Shashank Mani for your fine contributions...
​

Note: If all 5 of you could Private Message me on Facebook with your email addresses I will forward them on to Pencils.com to arrange the prizes being sent to you. I will send your digital winner's certificate directly to you Andrew!

Lastly, I want to again thank all of you who kindly submitted an tree decoration to this months challenge. It was wonderful to see all our fabulous efforts up there and glowing - making me proud that you were all able to willingly get into our spirit of Christmas challenge one more time. I hope now to see your work as part of our January 2017 challenge - starting our New Year as we mean to go on!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!


​

NOVEMBER 2016 CHALLENGE

'
​JAVELIN Challenge:

​The November challenge was to study reference photographs of a javelin thrower and create a throwing action with a character design and prop of your own choice.
 
As it turned out it was easier for me to arrive at a winner this time around as although the finalists were all very much neck-and-neck in terms of observational skills and artistic execution, I found that the amusing, out-of-the-box, visual twist that the winner put into her submission was crying-out for additional recognition. Hilarious! Consequently, my ‘congratulations’ go out to Jane War for becoming our November winner. I congratulate also our runners-up, who pushed her very close in every other aspect of their work.

​WINNER: JANE WAR
RUNNERS UP:
I thank everyone who has contributed to the Challenge this month. The entries were fewer than normal but each was very welcome.. I would say too that each of you who did enter observed and interpreted the reference material very well – a process which will help each one of you significantly as you prepare for your future animation projects. Studying reality and then extending that reality into an animated world is the perfect foundation upon which all great animation is achieved. The more you do of this of course, beyond our challenges, the more your animation will improve.
 
I now very much look forward to seeing the results of our next December challenge, the subject of which I will post tomorrow, on December 1st.
 
‘Good luck’ to one and all!

Tony.  :)


​OCTOBER 2016 CHALLENGE
​

'HALLOWEEN' Challenge:

This month members were asked to come up with a strong 'pose' drawing that defines Halloween. There was a good response and many contributors clearly put a great deal of work into their challenge drawings. However, based on the notion of pose (and pose alone) the following were the top placed entries. So 'congratulations' to to Tina and everyone else - with a special additional 'thanks' to everyone who made the effort to enter this month. Every drawing was a pleasure to judge and every one brought the spirit of Hallowing to our group I firmly believe!  :)
​

1st Place: TINA BRUN


RUNNERS UP:


I suspect that some members might perhaps have different favorite to the ones I have chosen. However I would emphasize that what I was looking for is a good 'pose' from an animation point of view. There were many very beautiful and decorative entries this month - and funny ones too. However, in the end I had to judge it from the perspective of an animation director looking for strong gesture drawings from their animation team. The above selection I believe best offered what I was looking for and so this will perhaps make my decisions clearer? At the same time I do wish to thank again everyone who contributed this month as I could see you all put a lot of thought and hard work into your entries. With another slant on the challenge request these finalist selections could well have gone to other entires. Yet in terms of 'pose' I think they are all strong.

'Happy Halloween' everyone!  November's challenge will be posted very soon now.

Tony.  :)


​SEPTEMBER 2016 CHALLENGE

'SPLIT PERSONALITY'

The September 2016 challenge was to create a design that could be split into three sections - and those sections rotate randomly with all the other designs to create a 'split personality' video. The idea was a good one and so many of the designs were wonderful. However, I fear the filming part of the idea did not turn out (filmily) as well as I had hoped...
That said, I have to say that there were some wonderful designs submitted this month. Thanks folks! I must admit too that the winning design caught my eye the minute it was submitted and although it was pushed close by the others it still remained the best in my eyes throughout. So, a big congratulations to Jane War for such a wonderful character and concept...
1st PLACE:

That said, I do congratulate our runners-up for some wonderful designs too...
​
RUNNERS UP:
Lastly, thanks to everyone who contributed to this month's challenge. It was a bit of an experiment from the video point of view and I'm afraid I didn't quite nail it well enough for all you committed submitters. However, I do think the idea is worth pursuing. So I'm sure we'll return to it at some stage in the future. In the meantime, look out for the next October 2016 challenge as I think it will be a spookily enjoyable for one and all!

Thanks again for all your hard work folks!


AUGUST 2016 CHALLENGE

'LIP SYNC'

I have to say that the August challenge has been much tougher that usual to judge this month, as I have found that many of the top entries were equally good and therefore difficult to separate! If I were making a film of this dialogue piece I would be happy in using any of the pose ideas that have been presented to me!
 
The challenge this month was to create 3 key dialogue poses, based on an audio track that I supplied. In the end I adjudged Andrew Dodd as the winner of this month’s challenge - simply because I believe he offered a great acting interpretation of the dialogue, utilizing a relationship with a secondary character that really worked for me. His imaginative interaction between the two characters – a kind of teacher/pupil relationship - was excellent and original in my opinion. It was that which swayed me in the final analysis from the other top placed entries, all of which I also thought were excellent.
 
In the final analysis '1st position' could really have gone to any one of the top 5 finalists in the end as far as I was concerned – so close was the quality of the ideas and presentation of these submissions. Consequently, I’ve given equal 2nd place to four runners up behind Andrew - as I thought all were equally excellent. So ‘bravo’ top 5 contributors -  and congratulations to everyone else who entered, as it was a good submission month all round in my humble opinion!

Here is the winning submission by Andrew Dodd…
And here are our 4 excellent runners up...
I do thank everyone however for taking the time to contribute to this month's challenge! What ultimately separated the top from the bottom was the fact that all the top poses told a story in themselves – rather than they being just good character poses that happened to go with spoken words. We do need to remember that with ‘dialogue’ it is essential to feel an unfolding visual story taking the audio content one step further, not just mimicking it. If we can read ‘beyond’ the words with our interpretation then we bring in a whole new level of storytelling to a piece that was not necessarily in the original recording. I think Andrew did that particularly well on this occasion. That said I did pretty much like everything that was submitted this month – from the highs to the lows. I just felt especially though that the top entries tended to have that ‘beginning’, ‘middle’ and ‘end’ storytelling element to their conception that I was really looking for.
 
We will definitely come back to a dialogue challenge in the future, as I do believe it valuable for everyone to work with sound at some point or other in his or her animation journey. In the meantime, I’ll cook up a new - and hopefully original - challenge for the month of September. ‘Watch this space’ for that announcement at any time now!
 
Thanks again to everyone who contributed such good work this month!  J


JULY 2016 CHALLENGE

'Pas de Deux'
 
The June 2016 Challenge was for members of the ANIMATOR’S SKETCHCLUB to study the video provided and draw a definitive pose that the two dynamic dancers made during the sequence. As ever, we had some fabulous work submitted and separating them all was quite difficult for me. However, here's the way I eventually judged this month's contributions, even though it was a very close run thing in the final analysis . . .
The 3 other finalists worthy of mention here were...
I have to briefly add that I was very  impressed by the full process shown by pretty much all the entries this month! In other words, so many of you indicated the way you arrived at your final poses, or indicated the dynamic lines of action through the poses you drew. This is all essential work when animating dynamic action. We only learn by observing (and drawing) life - then reinterpreting what we see by what we add with our own flourishes or techniques to the final piece. I think so many of you reflected this and I'm sure you all learned something as a result? This is certainly the objective of these challenges.

Bravo one and all!  :)

Tony.


JUNE 2016 CHALLENGE

Welcome to our animated ‘4th JULY PARADE’ folks!
 
The June 2016 Challenge was for members of the ANIMATOR’S SKETCHCLUB to create 4 walking positions for a character of their own design – two ‘stride’ positions and two ‘passing positions’ – to be included in our animated ‘4th JULY PARADE’ video . . .


A few people didn’t quite get the positions provided correctly but nevertheless I think the pose-test ‘parade’ exercise has been a great success. There are some fine characters here folks - and with a significant amount of diversity throughout! It’s a pity more people were not able to contribute to the challenge in June – although to be honest, what I had took me a full 2 days to put everything together as you see it now!
 
That said, I give out a loud ‘THANKS’ to everyone who did ‘join our parade’ and made our 4th July celebration just that little bit distinctive. It was especially exciting to receive entries from all around the world, not just the USA – making it a true ‘Independence Day’ for traditional 2D animators everywhere!
 
This month’s winner:
 
As ever, it was extremely difficult to single out an individual winner this month, as everyone contributed some really fun and engaging walk drawings. It was hard to separate many drawings on the ‘drawing’ level alone. However, in putting the walk sequence together and seeing the ‘design’, ‘drawing execution’ and ‘final simulation of a walk’ elements together in the final video, I have to say my favorite and most imaginative entry was the one done by NOEL CLARK…


Bravo Noel for your fine contribution this month - and to everyone else who contributed too! I really enjoyed seeing everyone’s work and believe the final video version does us all proud. I hope every ANIMATOR’S SKETCHCLUB member – or indeed anyone looking at our unique ‘4th July’/June 2016 Challenge video – will have a fabulous 4th July, regardless of where you are in the world. I hope too that you will also be fully inspired to enter our Sketchclub Challenge for ‘July 2016’ - to be found HERE.
 
And here is Noel's winner certificate . . .


(Note: A digital winner’s certificate will be sent to Noel Clark by PM on Facebook.)
 
The ANIMATOR’S SKETCHCLUB is a proud supporter of independent, traditional 2D animation in the USA . . .



MAY 2016 CHALLENGE

This month group members were asked to study a dance video and select three poses that defined that dance. As it turned out this month’s challenge was yet another really difficult one for me to judge. There were some very good – albeit quite different – entries to consider. In the end I arrived at 3 ‘top-placed finishers’ and 3 ‘commended finalists’. However, in considering the top 3 finishers this month I was unable to separate the top two, hence we have a tied winner. My decisions – and reasons for them - are as follows...

BEX ARNOLD (=1st):
I was clearly very torn between this entry and the one from Jane War as both were extremely well observed, well communicated and well executed. I would say that on one level the entry of Bex appeals to me most from a color, light & shade viewpoint. But that should not undermine the entry of Jane in any way, as I love here entry as much, although for very different reasons.

JANE WAR (=1st):
Although I love the aesthetic of the Bex entry a great deal, I equally applaud Jane for her clear qualities of observation, execution and a clear understanding of dynamic line and balance in her poses. These are all important elements for accomplished animators to possess and clearly Jan’s work here is exemplary. Jane also went that extra yard in offering up THREE challenge offerings this month - not just the one.
 
But in all honesty, I do find it hard to separate the two, despite these different appreciations. These are characters I would very much love to personally animate, if the opportunity ever made this possible!

TATIANA SUNTI (3rd):
Whereas I don’t think Tatiana’s entry and execution quite reach the levels displayed by both Bex or Jane, I do believe her gesture drawings – especially ‘1’ and ‘3’ – display a true ‘animator’s eye’. Through these two poses is very clear that she pushed her poses further much further than the film footage action revealed, and for that reason I believe she is deserving of a 3rd place finish. (Note: Tatiana did also submit a page of much looser reference sketches with this entry. But I can see through the gestures displayed on this sheet that she learned a great deal from her research sketching.)
 
Commended Runners-up:
 
‘Bravos’ go out also to our three ‘Commended Finalists’ - presented here in no order of preference...
 
ANDREW SHARP:
Andrew is always there, or thereabouts, in terms of the monthly top-placed finishers. He clearly has an eye for animation poses and although I don’t think this is his strongest submission in terms of style, balance and consistency of size & form, his drawing is still clearly very accomplished (and insightful) from an animation perspective.
 
JULI SHVETS:
Juli’s execution is superb! I love the character and I love her treatment of the subject matter. She loses a little as she only submitted 2 poses instead of the required 3. But clearly here is an artist of great style and control. From an animation point of view I would say there could be a little more dynamic flow and correct balance attached to the actual poses - although these are qualities that only come from further animation or gesture-drawing work it has to be said. Nevertheless, this is a very pleasing entry to look at and very much admire it from an illustration point of view, needless to say!
 
TERESA GARCIA:
Lastly I would repeat to Teresa everything I sad to Juli. You have a very pleasant and enjoyable illustration style to look at but you need to work a little more on pose and dynamic flow of gesture to make it a more fluid animation-style piece. That said it’s a pleasure to look at your illustration style nevertheless.
 
Overall comments:
 
I genuinely applaud everyone who has the commitment to take on this month’s assignment – and then the courage to publicly submit their drawings via our private Facebook group page. This latter action alone deserves all our congratulations and I am sure that you – win or lose - have benefited in no small way by doing this. Bravo!
 
That said, I would add that what separated many of the more successful entries from the non-successful ones was not only in the final execution but by the degree the character drawings were pushed further into more fluid and balanced poses. This is the very essence of animation – traditional or digital. As if your key poses are not good then your animation never will be.
 
Clearly a few of you have issues in terms of drawing ability. This is not to be condemned at all, as in essence you can achieve everything that is necessary in most of these monthly challenges by not being able to draw comprehensively at all! Ultimately ‘good’ drawing come from the volume of it you do – not whether you are a ‘good drawer’ or not. It really is true that the more you draw the better you will be at it.
 
Keep it in mind always that the ANIMATOR’S SKETCHCLUB is not a drawing competition - it is more a ‘seeing’ challenge. Even if you use little more than stick figures to represent the poses you see, then you will benefit significantly as an animator and as an artist. Our challenges are not at all about finding the next Leonardo da Vinci or Rembrandt. They are much more about you ‘seeing’ a character position in front of you and understanding the dynamic flow of how it is. Thus done, you can then communicate what you see by way of a quick gesture drawing - whether that drawing is a stick figure or a fully colored and rendered illustration. That is why some of this month’s finalists are all about the poses sketched in pencil and not the final illustrated execution. (Although good execution can often win over the a judge if they are confronted with a 50/50 decision I have to admit!)
 
In conclusion I would reiterate again that these monthly challenges are really not a competitive at all when it comes down to the final analysis. (That is just the ‘cherry on the cake’ if that’s what’s important to you?) What it is really all about is you ‘learning’ by executing the drawing exercises I put in front of you. These may not even show up in the drawings you submit each month. But they will become apparent in the animation work you create in the future – as long as you work at them. So don’t give up if at first (you feel that) you don’t succeed. Your rewards will most assuredly await you in heaven – or at least in the next scene you will be asked to animate!
 
Keep on keeping on folks!
 
Tony.
Note: If you really do struggle with drawing human figures, create a very easy character of your own to work with! This is the 'Arnie' character I created for my 2D animation students to work with - and me also to be honest! (I use him when I'm analyzing body poses of an existing video action, prior to me animating that action with another character!) So feel free to use him - or something like him - for future challenges here if you like.


APRIL 2016 CHALLENGE

This month was an exceptional month. The drawing challenge was tied up with the DRAWTASTIC '2D OR NOT 2D Animation Festival' event in Seattle ~ with a 'Golden Pencil Award' being presented to the winner.
The judging was also unique, being undertaken by the public audiences at the event. The 40 entered drawings were numbered and exhibited on the festival's gallery walk, with visitors being asked to mark their top '1', '2', '3' on the special voting form supplied.

Eventually, the following top 4 were arrived at, with Phil Wohlrab being the clear winner....

1st Place: PHIL VOHLRAB ~ 41 votes.
CONGRATULATIONS one and all ~ as well as to everyone else who entered this month's unique event.

Now take a breath folks as the May Challenge will be announced soon!

MARCH 2016 CHALLENGE

I do acknowledge that the March challenge was a tough one for all concerned. I gave away very little information. In reality I just pointed a stick in a general direction ~ i.e. ‘17 century England’, with a few personality guidelines thrown in ~ and then asked everyone to come up with a character design that I could animate for my new film! It was not really fair. Yet I was still impressed with what came back. So I share a big 'thank you' to everyone who contributed.

In all honesty I didn't find precisely what I was looking for with regards my film but I was mightily impressed by the efforts put in by many of you nevertheless! For me there was a strong 'cartoon' influence to many of the designs, which I was trying to avoid. Nevertheless, I respect greatly much of what was done, despite this. (I guess I should have added in the challenge description that there was an air of seriousness and darkness to my film - effectively my main character is to be seen in his deathbed, review certain moments of his quite controversial life!)

All that said, for the competitive aspects of this challenge if nothing else, I had to go with designs that I would like to animate anyway - or those that were close to (or could be adapted to) what I had in mind. I will release more details of what I'm doing with the film very shortly. But for the time being I congratulate our 'Top 4', our 'Finalists' - and indeed everyone else who took the time to take up this challenge. So this is how it all turned out...

TOP 4

5 RUNNERS UP

The overall critique I have with regards many of the other, unplaced entries is...

When designing for animation you have to be aware that for most of the time a character will be turning away from the single 2D plane. its originally seen in Therefore, although some of the designs looked wonderful from the perspective they are seen, or even the design technique they use, they would be incredibly difficult to animate fully when trying to get a full and natural performance out of them. That is why with many illustrators' work out there – which I might well love as a particular piece of art, design or technique in its own right - it would be impossible to animate anything in that style.

The other comment I have in relation to 'animation design' is that many of the designs lacked a foundational skill in terms of basic anatomy drawing and form. That is why I strongly advise anyone who wants to pursue a career as an animator, or animation designer – whether at the top of the bottom of the ladder - to draw figures and/or forms in a sketchbook on an almost daily basis. It is only by continuous ‘looking’, ‘seeing’, ‘understanding’, ‘interpreting’ and then ultimately ‘drawing’ that you will ever be able to design with confidence in the animation arena. (Whatever form of animation that arena may be in for you?)

This is precisely why I have created my 'Animator's Sketchbook' - to be published in the summer of this year by Focal Press. It will take you through all the necessary assignments that will give you a strong foundation from an informational drawing perspective.

All that said, I shout out a strong 'bravo' again to everyone who contributed to this month's challenge. I do believe that you will have learned something from tackling the challenge - good or bad. (Which will only ultimately be a good thing for your creative journey in the fullness of time.) Well done everyone!

Tony.  :)


FEBRUARY 2016 CHALLENGE

The February 2016 challenge required Animator's Sketchclub members to draw 3 defining animation key positions from a selection of Bustor Keaton action clips provided.

As ever it has been hard to separate so many of the entries this month. I do believe that (in my mind at least) there is a clear winner – Brendon Miel – as his interpretation of the 3 key Buster Keaton poses was both beautifully and dynamically drawn. In second place I placed Bex Arnold, as I was impressive that they took a creative chance and minimally represented their three poses aesthetically and graphically. In third place I gave it to Tatiana Sunti Fedotova, for her illustrative approach, laced with an excellent sense of good balance in her poses. Then in fourth place, Andrew Sharp, who approached it with a definite ‘director’s storyboard’ feel to it – including a very nice caricature of Keaton in the bottom left-hand corner. Beyond these I have assigned 10 other submissions as ‘Respected runners-up’, for the often imaginative and well-observed drawings they submitted.

TOP 4

10 RUNNERS UP

From an overall perspective I would say that there was an interesting mix of innovation and interpretation of the poses this month. Pretty much everyone had an honest attempt at the 3 key poses of their choice - and in many cases it was only drawing technique that held them down, rather than any lack of observation ability. Too see what I mean by ‘drawing technique’ do study Brendon Miel’s drawings and you’ll see a ‘top of the totem pole’ example of figure drawing expertise.

That said, ‘innovation’ is really appreciated, which meant I was hard pressed to separate many of the entries, one from the other. It was clear to me that many of the submitting members were very committed to adding those few extra touches that take their work from simple drawings to accomplished illustration – and I believe the top selections reflected this. However, don’t let this deter the non-placed contributors from submitting their drawings next time. To those who struggle with their drawing, I can only repeat again that the more you draw the better your work will become! So if you are struggling with any of these challenges, do please still have a go - as the process of ‘doing’ it will move you forward. (And there’s always the chance that your fellow members in the group will give you positive advice, which will certainly help too!)
 
Next month’s challenge - to be announced on March 1st - is an especially interesting one for those who complete it. I won’t give the game away here but suffice it to say that there is a small additional reward waiting for the top placed artists. So tune back into this website on the 1st of the month to see what that is all about!
 
In the meantime... ‘well done’ to everyone who entered this time around. To those who didn’t enter I can only ask... ‘Why not?’ You’re missing a great opportunity to learn and grow! Maybe next month huh?
 
Tony.  :)
 

JANUARY 2016 CHALLENGE
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Thanks for such a terrific turnout for our January 'anticipation' challenge folks! We had some quite amazing entries, with all being so varied that it was extremely hard to decide on whom to place ahead of others in the final analysis. However, as ever, it came down to a personal, subjective opinion - which perhaps many of you may disagree with, when you see my decision. However, I can only suggest to you what appeals to me most, even though many of them impressed me significantly. Published winners aside ALL submissions were a great effort as far as I am concerned. Some pulled the challenge off wonderfully and others clearly struggled. (But that's OK too as in struggling you will always learn from everyone else about the principles involved.) Essentially ‘anticipation’ is a movement made from a starting pose that links – and is opposite to - the direction, or action, defined by a subsequent pose. So, if a character is standing and then attempts to throw a ball, the middle 'anticipation' pose will have that character pulling the ball back in an opposite direction to that in which it ends up being thrown. All the finalists below indicate that - with the top 4 indicating it (in my humble opinion) best of all. But congrats to EVERYONE taking part though. Simply by taking part you will be receiving rewards that are not always relevant to those on this page!

the top 4


runners up (in no particular order):

Again a big ‘congratulations’ to our top 4 and runners up. If you other members didn't make this page however, please do not give up as in making the effort of participating you have already learned something. By viewing much of the amazing work presented here you can only learn more. And remember - no success is ever achieved without failure first, as doing things for the first time is really hard for all of us! (Myself included!) Hopefully you will still be enthused to have a crack at the next challenge that will be set on February 1st 2016. It really is by constant repetition that you will learn and grow anyway. So why not make your best efforts in a supportive and nurturing place like the ANIMATOR'S SKETCHCLUB! See you next month!  :)

DECEMBER 2015 CHALLENGE

December was a tough month for challenges, especially with the limited amount of time everyone had to do anything. So our submission numbers were significantly down on last month's amazing figures I'm afraid. That said we had some really good entries in December when all is said and done. From my point of view there was actually not much in it as far as the top entries were concerned and so it was hard for me to make a final decision. Ultimately I decided to go with the designs I would most like to animate if given the opportunity. Consequently, this month's 'Top 3' and the 'Runner Up Finalists' are as follows...

top 3:

runners up (in no particular order):

Hopefully everyone enjoyed this particular assignment - and had an even better holiday break? I'm sure many of you are still recovering from our mammoth November challenge? That said, thanks to everyone who contributed this month. I know its been hard to get anything done for many of our members.

My primary comment on the submissions I received is that ALL of you made a great effort to achieve what you did but some of you can afford to consider pushing your poses a little further in their expression. I am reminded of the time at the beginning of my career when I was learning from the great classic-era Disney legend, Art Babbit. Art would say to me that I should constantly push my animation key poses further and further than I was. Then he would add - 'When you can push them no more - double it!" With this in mind I do think that some of you can do the same. A few of the drawings are a little static, with the contrast between the 'happy' and 'sad' pose not being extreme enough. So please do learn from this and next time push your drawing extremes as far as you can - then double them!  :)

Next month's assignment, the first of the New Year, will give you a good opportunity to do that. So please do return to this site on the January 1st, 2016 to learn what I have in store for you. In the meantime, I sincerely thank you for being part of this fabulous group and I wish everyone a very happy and successful New Year! For me, 2015 was an amazingly successful year in terms of our group - with us rapidly approaching 3,300 members already! Bravo!

So, see you next year - and in terms of the Animator's Sketchclub and 2015... "That's all folks!"

Tony.  :)

November 2015 challenge ~ you're all winners!

November was such a special challenge. I gave everyone a specific frame of a generic walking action and they gave me the frame back, completed with their own style and coloring. I then reassembled these into the following animated walk sequence. This was truly incredible work by one and all. I have to say that you're ALL winners this month!

This was clearly a very adventurous challenge and I believe we all learned something from putting it together! The biggest challenge when putting all the completed frames together was the fact that with so many varied images and color values following one after the other in the sequence, the fluidity of the walk was obliterated by the extreme flashing that was going on. The solution was for me to hand-draw a % matte around the characters - frame-by-frame - to reduce the intensity of all the backgrounds. I experimented with both dark and light reductions over the backgrounds but in the end I found that by superimposing a white % matte over them all the walking action was stronger. I varied the % matte in accordance with the strength and/or darkness of the original background. I also found that by holding each frame for 4 frames each I achieved the best walking fluidity possible. It was however very emotionally hard to reduce some of the incredible work that everyone put into their background art, so I have decided that everyone's original frames should be shown to the world in their own right. So below is a gallery presentation of all the frames that were submitted, without backgrounds treated. I think you will see the amazing work that was submitted to this unique project! So 'bravo' everyone! I'm so proud and grateful for the fabulous work you all put into this month's challenge. As I said, there are no individual winners this month ~ you are ALL winners!  :)


october 2015 CHALLENGE ~ OUR WINNERS!

WINNER: ANDREW SHARP


the equally-placed RUNNERS UP...

October 2015 has been yet another month of terrific entries. The have been marginally the most received so far - from the largest number of group members ever! Bravo one and all! I’m delighted that so many of you find this Sketchclub opportunity so valuable in expanding your animation capabilities further.

As ever, the final decision this month was hard to make. With so many of the membership putting in so much effort - and with so many styles and approaches being submitted to define the required emotions – there’s certainly been a great deal of thought going into my final decision-making I can assure you. However, as ever, all I can ultimately do is recognize the ones that affected me most and use that as my final yardstick in making a decision. So I congratulate Andrew Sharp on coming up with the winning designs this month - so closely followed by fellow members Brendon Miel, Caroline King and Marc Hendry. Wonderful work all of you! I think too that the most successful drawings - therefore the ones with the most successful ‘poses’ from an animation point of view - are the ones that best tell a story. Each one of these finalists’ drawings does that, which is why they were selected in the final analysis. Other member submissions told stories too in many cases but these four consistently told a different story for every single emotion portrayed I feel.

Clearly many of you other members struggle with your drawing skills. However, this is not a criticism – so don't let this deter you from doing more in the future. Its actually only by doing more drawing that you will get better it after all! You already have great commitment and courage to submit your work here - and that is of more value than you can imagine. What is of the most value however is that you are striving, through drawing, to form your ideas into specific, posed images that define something tangible. This is the essence of animation - drawn or rendered in a CG world. Indeed, it is only through accurate key poses that your animation will become entertaining, plausible and/or impactful. In fact, without a doubt, the better your poses are the better your animation will be. The best poses of all are always created from observation, interpretation and then exaggeration through the pose positions. In other words, you need to see the real world that is all around you first, then express what you see through your extended or caricatured animation poses. The perfect preparation for this of course is ‘drawing from life’ – and this is why a practice of drawing is so important to an animator or everything persuasion. It actually matters very little if you're good at drawing or not - just that you look, analyze and express what you see though the vehicle of drawing. It’s the process of doing it that will teach you the most, not just the tangible outcome from when you have done it. That’s why you should never fear contributing to this challenge as there are more ways of ‘winning’ than just winning it!

So I do hope that the competitive element to our monthly challenges continues to motivate you into doing the work? As I say, in reality you don't really need the drawing recognition to become a better animator - for as long as you observe and draw what you observe you will learn as you go along, regardless of submission. That said, its always useful to judge your work against that of your peers - which is why I believe the monthly challenge is valuable and therefore why I do it.
 
My overall comment on the work submitted this month is that so many of the ideas are good but the execution of the work can be improved. And by 'improved' I just don't mean drawn better, as explained above. What I mean is that once you have an idea; don't settle for the first thing you come up with. If you draw a pose, push it and push it further until it evolves into something you would never have dreamed of creating in the first place. Even look at similar poses or positions taken by people in the real world and use that as reference material to move your thoughts (and drawings) onward. One of my fabulous mentors at the beginning of my career - the late, great Disney ‘master’ from the classic era, Art Babbit - used to say to me that I should... 'Push your poses as far as you dare. Then when you've done that - double them'! I have always found this incredibly valuable advice for my own work, as when I've literally copied what I've seen in real life with my animation, things get stilted and wooden in their action. Yet it is only by pushing the poses and actions further and further that the animation really comes to life. So that's what I ask you to do with these monthly gesture drawing challenges - push them further and further with your drawing approaches - so that they too will be come more alive and more dynamic. Just like our winners this month.

FYI: November's challenge will be a little different from the usual ones we do. I think it will be real fun and will bring us all together as a group through the form of drawn movement. But more of this on November 1st!

In the meantime, enjoy the work of the winners and don’t ever stop drawing.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with next time!

Tony.  :)


SEPTEMBER 2015 CHALLENGE ~ OUR WINNERS!

WINNER:  ALI ROUMANI

2ND PLACE:  CHRIS SOBIENIAK

3RD PLACE:  SEZHIYAN RS


Thanks to everyone who submitted their work to this months’ challenge. I respect your commitment to improving your animation abilities and your courage for facing the fear of laying your work out for the gaze of the world. Bravo! To those Sketchclub members who did not submit their drawings – or have never submitted their drawings – I would just say that you are missing a great opportunity for learning and progression. Now our membership is reaching almost 1,500 as I write this, I think it is time for us to rightly anticipate more submissions over the next month or so. If you feel motivated to do so, check out the October 1015 challenge HERE – I’m sure it offers great opportunities to all those who have a passion for animation and/or visual storytelling. Now to our winners for September...

As ever it is a really difficult task to sort through so many submissions and cut it all down to just 3 finalists. I’m sure we will all differ in our choices but I can only say that what I chose I chose for reasons that appeal to my seasoned animator’s eye. This month was difficult though as there were many excellent entries – and some members truly did excel themselves compared with some of their previous work. Others didn’t quite live up to some of the work they had produced before. (No naming of names here I’m afraid!) Suffice it to say, my final judgments this month boiled down to ‘storytelling’. When committing pencil to paper (or digital pen to tablet) I would suggest that it’s not just a matter of making a drawing of what you’re looking at. As an animator and (perhaps?) a filmmaker, you are looking for the story that is being told by what you’re looking at. Consequently, our top three submissions this month are all excellent ‘storytelling’ drawings in one way or another.
 
1st Place: I essentially awarded 1st place to Ali Roumani this month as not only do his poses all tell a particular visual story that we can all identify with – but it is also the consistency of drawing, from pose to pose, that deserves recognition. I don’t always award drawings just because they are ‘drawn well’ - as opposed to observed well. But I do feel that special commendation of Ali’s work is worth making here because of both. Bravo Ali!
 
2nd Place: By comparison, Chris Sobieniak’s simplicity of pose and line here is a real gem. This also tells a story but it does son in such an elegant and minimalistic way that I was actually pulled in two directions here with regards the top placing. Although I finally ended up in awarding Chris the runner-up position – marginally – I have to say I love his drawing and would happily hang it on the wall of my studio, as a reminder that good poses and good storytelling is not all about detail and intensity of treatment. It somewhat reminds me of the drawing technique of master animation from the golden era at the Richard Williams’ studio in London – Russell Hall – who I think is my all-time favorite artist/animator. Bravo Chris!
 
3rd Place: My choice here is all about the storytelling pose – two actually. Sezhiyan RS provided several character drawings on this sheet. But it was, first and foremost, the central 'pouring' character pose that grabbed me – with the seated pose to the left of it - swinging a final decision. That one pouring pose in the middle - although pretty minimalistic - perfectly communicates the process of pouring. (So much so that I can almost see and smell the original scene that Sezhiyan drew from.) This is so much an ‘animator’s pose’, with an excellent dynamic to the active upper arm and the more passive, receptive lower arm. I would be inspired to animate the rest of this if I had received this drawing as a starting point on a production! Bravo Sezhiyan!
 
The runners-up drawings too are to be congratulated also, as among them there is some excellent work. I hope that each and every member who drew and contributed to this month’s challenge learned something from the exercise – even the ones that weren’t brave enough to submit their work! (As I know some of you aren’t!) Please overcome your fears, as it is only by participating fully that you will gain the kind of confidence and experience that being a Master Animator requires.
 
Tony.  :)

THE OCTOBER RUNNERS-UP:

Now... the October Challenge is HERE.  Be brave, be imaginative and most importantly of all... be there!


August 2015 challenge ~ our winners!

winner: INDIA SWIFT

runners up

commended

I think that this month's Challenge - i.e. observing a selected video and identifying ‘key frames’ defining a 'weighted throw' - was somewhat challenging for those who struggle with drawing. That said I don't want this to be a disincentive for anyone to continue contributing - as its not so much the competitive aspect of this challenge that is important. Instead it is the observation and then expressing what you see that matters. This is where the real learning occurs for every individual, regardless of drawing skill. Therefore do not be depressed, or even undermined, by the fact that you may not be in the winning group this time around. You have actually already won by simply drawing and taking part! I have no doubts whatsoever that in doing this - and the more of it you do – the higher the level of your personal work will rise.

My overall observation of the submissions as a whole this month (and for the second month running we had the most ever submitted by the way – bravo!) was that its clearly very challenging for many people to observe the subtleties of what is happening in the video and/or to communicate those observations through dynamic, drawn and exaggerated poses. The real skill of the animator is not just in the drawing. Indeed, quite often some of the best drawers are not the best animators - whereas even bad drawers can animate very well!

Always remember that success in animation is mostly about being able to 'see', 'interpret' and then 'express what is being seen' - though the use of ‘dynamic pose’ and ‘timing’. I suspect though that those who contributed this month will know by now just how hard this is to do. Yes? However, once that is realized great improvement can be made. The really constructive response has to be not to give up because you're not 'getting it' yet. You actually have to look your shortcomings in the face and do more and more of what challenges you until it becomes so much easier. I always say that the only way you can get real experience is to fail many times - as it is through the failure (i.e. not giving up and keeping on, keeping on working at it) that you actually acquire that experience!

Naturally some of you were very successful this month's and so I was ultimately able to whittle it down to my final ‘Top 3 Finalists’ - plus one other 'Esteemed runner-up'. I actually felt that all four individuals captured the challenge extremely well - both from a dynamic interpretation point of view and an observation point of view.

In the end I went for the winner - India Swift - as I felt that their drawings not only superbly captured the presence of a weighted lift but they added an original, charming twist to the proceedings.

2nd place this month went to Marc Hendry. Marc also put a twist to the challenge and made it a very close-run thing in the end. However I went the way I did as I felt that India had a touch more originality than Marc's classical cartoon approach. Yet both were superb needless to say!

In third place was Brendon Miel. Brendon didn't put a visual twist to his piece yet I felt he sincerely drew as he saw and what he drew was both strong and powerful. If I were researching an action prior to animating something I would definitely do my speed sketching in the same way myself.

The 'Esteemed runner-up' - Tudor Masaiar - was ultimately not in the 'Finalist' category as their drawings strayed a little from the story of the challenge as presented in the video. I mainly loved the dynamic, yet minimalistic, simplicity to the drawings though - which had a real animator's quality to them. So well done Tudor!

Lastly, a sincere 'bravo' to everyone else too - for making the effort of drawing in the first place and then being brave enough to put their work out there and online. I'm sure you all learned something from the exercise regardless and - based on many of the comments I have received this month - you all seem to have greatly enjoyed what you were doing! This all makes me very happy! 

Tony.  :)

And 'good luck' to everyone for the next Challenge - to be announced on September 1st!

July 2015 challenge ~ our winners!

This month's challenge was to design characters from the 'Harry Potter' movies in the style of 'The Simpsons'. I have to admit that I've been extremely torn by the submissions this month - as although this is a 'Sketchclub' challenge, and therefore the expectation is that we're judging drawings, I have to say that the top-3 winners this month just happen to be three entries that were colored too. Now I don't want this to mean that I will be expecting color from now on - it most definitely is NOT that! But it just so happens that the top three this month are colored. So 'congratulations' to our winner - and also to the other top-3 submissions. However, congratulations do actually go out also to everyone else who entered. I never tire from seeing what everyone comes up with - from the master drawers to the ones that struggle - all have my great respect for committing to the challenge, spending precious time working on them and then having the courage to put them out there! In that sense you are ALL WINNERS! I finally have to say in conclusion that I found it very hard to separate the top-3 entries in the end. Yet I had to give it to Marc Hendry in the final analysis as I think you most captured your character (as well as the fact that Snape is my personal favorite Harry Potter character of the three anyway)! But in all honesty they were so, so close that I do commend each one of you for some exceptional work. 'Bravo' one and all! I found this a very enjoyable challenge to judge and look forward to setting the new (and very different) challenge soon for August!  :)

WINNER

Marc Hendry

esteemed runners-up

notable mentions

My final comment to everyone is that you should always maintain a drawing habit with everything you do. Even if you are a 3D/CG animator you will find that a familiarity with drawing will benefit you so much. This doesn't mean that you have to be able to draw like Leonardo da Vince or Rembrandt. It just means that through progressive and familiar drawing practice you will raise your game in learning to 'see' what is all about you and being able to 'communicate' what you see with others. Regardless of what the popular media tells you, computers don't do everything for you! When it comes to seeking a job, employers will be far keener to hire those individuals with both computer skills and a degree of classical art skills too. So keep a sketchbook with you at all times - and even have it tucked away with you when you go for job interviews. A well-worked sketchbook can often tip the scales when it comes to 50/50 hiring decisions. So... keep on drawing folks!  :)

JUNE 2015 ChalLenge ~ our WINNERS!

It was really tough arriving at an overall winner this time as, from my point of view, it was neck-and-neck with the top three. Each had different qualities that I admired and so I was torn in deciding who to award the signed flipbook to.  In the end it came down to the entries from Millie Young,  Светлана Кожевникова and Rafael Vera Rodriguez. Millie's had an elegance that I liked a lot and Rafael's had a pencil-drawn charm that very much appeals to me. But in the end I felt I had to give the top award to Светлана for the unique beauty of the design. So congratulations to Светлана and a very sincere thank you and appreciation to not only the runners-up but also to everyone who competed. Great submissions one and all! (And Светлана - if you private message me on Facebook with your address I will mail a signed copy of my "Arnie's Flipbook Fun" to you immediately.)

WINNER:
Picture
Светлана Кожевникова
ESTEEMED RUNNERS-UP:
SELECTED FINALISTS:
Finally, as an overall comment to everyone. I want to state that I was very impressed in the main by the quality, accuracy of observational nature of most submissions. You very much observed and respected the key poses required for a successful generic walk and if you apply these to your own animation - be it 2D, 3D or any other form of movement - I'm sure you'll achieve a successful outcome with whatever it is you are attempting. Remember however that this is a 'generic' approach and that most animated walks require additional personality, mood or other modification to make them more that just generic.

Two common faults I found in many of the entries is that at certain points in the action you have your character leaning back and/or out of balance at times. Remember that for momentum in a walk the character needs to lean forward slightly at all times to gain that forward momentum. Vertical or backwards balance in the action tends to take away from its authenticity.  Leaning backwards also means that the center of gravity in the body is behind the point of contact with the ground (i.e. the foot) - so if anything, leaning back suggests a reverse walk, not a forward one. Most people in the audience will not understand this intellectually but they will 'feel' it subconsciously - reducing the effectiveness of your animation.

The other comment I would make is that in 'position 2' of the 5, the rear leg and foot is extended, implying a push-off from the ground. So on that position just make sure that you do indeed extend the leg and toe position on the ground as much as is resonable to obtain that sense of pushing forward.

Other than that folks, 'bravo' one and all! I look forward to seeing all your JULY 2015 submissions soon!

Tony White.

MAY 2015 ChalLenge ~ our WINNERS!

This Challenge was probably the hardest yet, so I want to congratulate all 28 artist/animators who submitted this month. This is the largest entry so far (bravo everyone!) and being the hardest of all I want to express to everyone who did submit my gratitude and respect for doing so. It was also very difficult to separate many of you on this one in terms of judging - as there were many worthy entries that deserved reward for all the effort put into them! In the end I couldn’t separate the top two winners as they both had differing qualities of approach that I admired. Then, in addition to the Top 3 (well 4, due to the tie!) entries, I have also indicated a category of ‘Notable Finalists’. Even beyond these there were many valiant attempts that are worthy of mention but time and space prevents me from doing so here I’m afraid. Nevertheless I genuinely mean it when I say ‘bravo’ to all those who attempted this. You ALL have my respect! That said, here are our top placed entries and notable follow-up entries for the May Challenge - followed by a few comments on things I note, or suggest, having reviewed everything…

winners:

notable finalists:

I noted that a couple of you did indeed animate your rotating drawings. I think you will now appreciate how exciting it gets when you add the element of movement to your drawings! This is why I always recommend you should test any drawn animation sequence you create in the future - if you can. I know this is very difficult for many of you but if you can possibly find a way to do this I can assure you that you’ll be thrilled to see your drawings come to animated life. Now a tip for those who did film their drawings…

I note that you rotated your drawings in the center of the screen. This works fine but your will find it all the more pleasing to have a moving center with the placement of each drawing position. What I mean by this is that if you first assess where the center of gravity point is within each of your head drawings, then adjust this center point that frame-by-frame, you will be in control of the central movement of the action. This is not as confusing as it sounds…

Effectively the center points of the face looking straight at us and the one looking straight away from us would be exactly in the middle of the screen. However, on the other hand the profile drawings  looking to the left or to the right of the screen, would have their center points moved slightly to either the left or the right, depending on their direction. This means that the center of the profile drawing looking to the left of screen should be moved more to the left a little - and the center of the profile drawing looking to the right should be moved a little to the right. The three-quarter drawings should be ‘inbetweened’ accordingly - meaning that the centers of the left-looking three-quarter views (both forward and back) would be half way between the center positions of the front and left-profile views. The centers of the right-looking three-quarter views would be inbetweened accordingly between those of the front views and the profile view to the right. This will result in a slight rotation of the centers of the turning head – meaning that instead of it rotating precisely around a single center point, the center points of each drawing will themselves be rotating in a slightly circular movement. (As they are on an old vinyl record turntable as it rotates.) This will give it all a more elegant action overall. (Note: Don’t make the variation of the center points of the head too extreme as we’ll all get very dizzy looking at it flying around and around! Subtle is best in this case!)

In terms of the drawing exercise alone, I was pleased to see many of the final drawing lines included the rough construction lines beneath them. This really shows the thinking process and should be encouraged always - especially when you’re drawing for research and understanding of a character or object. For those who are uncertain of this, I would explain that if you break the shapes you are drawing into simple overlapping geometric shapes first you will find the more detailed parts of your drawing much easier to implement later. For example, with this month’s ‘Cooper’ design you could really break his head shape down into two basic spheres – a large one for the main upper head and a smaller one for the jaw and mouth areas sweeping out from it. When you have defined how you would draw these, draw all your separate rotating positions as just the sphere shapes alone - ensuring you are keeping shape, size and form consistent throughout the entire turning action. When you’ve completed this you will find that you have a solid foundation of structure to build the details of eyes, nose, mouth, ears, etc. to. Drawing for animation is all about ‘exploration’, so if you break a Challenge of this nature down into these two stages of approach you will find your drawings will become easier to do and more accurately structured throughout.

Hope this helps everyone?

Next challenge coming up very soon!  :)

MARCH 2015 Challenge 


The 'Top-5' submissions: 
Let me say, first and foremost, that I am genuinely proud of everyone who has entered into this inaugural Challenge. You have indeed made history! Of course, selecting a winner - when you are all winners - is incredibly difficult. I think everyone has already learned (and hopefully grown as evolving animators) by doing this first of many exercises. In the end I could only arrive at my personal favorite 5. But I stress that in doing so it it entirely a subjective decision, for another pair of eyes will almost certainly have a different opinion. So the 5 winning entries below are the ones I untimely felt most comfortably with - and the ones that I think are closest to what I had in mind from the outset. That said, please don't let this deflect everyone one from this unfolding journey of discovery. Ultimately everyone contributing to the Challenges to come will grow and improve as time goes by. So, sincere congratulations to the winners this time around - and bravo to everyone for putting their work, hearts and passion on the line. See y'all again on April 1st when I'll set the next Challenge!

ALL submitted entries. (Further comments on selective submissions will appear here soon!)