Mintie Splits

For the record, I have no idea why I title posts the way I do, or why they always have to do with some sort of food. I suppose it's so that they're easier to differentiate? Ish.

Animation relation news! This week I saw Brave for the second time, watching this time from the perspective  of an animator-in-training instead of a drooling Pixar fan. I tried my best to analyse the most complex animations, thinking of how I might break that down and replicate it for myself, I caught the tiniest and most careful of movements that most viewers wouldn't care to notice, and I still found myself gawking at the amount of care and detail the animators put into every single movement; from the way fingers curled to the way horses galloped to the way Merida's curls bounced, they thought of absolutely everything (which, of course, is the least you can expect from Pixar).

People criticize Brave for its plot and "unlikeable main character" and whatnot (I, for one, would fist fight to the death defending every aspect of this movie, but that's beside the point), but one thing they certainly cannot criticize is the perfection of the animation. Although the characters are extremely stylized, they move so believably that it's like watching real people interact, and although their interactions are somewhat exaggerated and silly at times, it only adds to the believability (is that a word?) and likability of it all.

And can you seriously believe Pixar took over a year to build a program just for Merida's hair? How's that for dedication to animation (animadication?)

look at that

it's like its own character

jesus christ almighty how

nope

No but then this gif is what really gets me

if you look carefully you can see the way her fingers slightly curl and how the necklace slides ever-so-slightly like it's on actual satin and then it quickly bounces and then while you're looking at her torso you realize you can see her breathing like who even animates breathing in such a simple scene no

I just

ugh

I have a lot of feelings about Brave. Surprisingly, a lot of them have to do with the impeccable animation 

But there are still those feelings that have absolutely nothing to do with animation...... I'll keep those shelved for the time being lest I risk turning this post into a keyboard smashed monstrosity.

Mussel Beach

Yikes, I actually forgot to update this blog during the week of the fourth! I was too busy celebrating freedom, I suppose. That's not a valid excuse at all, but it's pretty much all I've got. :') I'll make up for my missing post by making an extra-long post right now!

This week I fell behind on homework/updating because I've spent the last week in California, where my two best friends and I went to Disneyland and attended San Diego Comic-Con!

I have to admit, at both places, noticing animation-related things was not my top priority, but whenever I saw something I could relate to this class, I took note! The prime example was the Sorcerer's Workshop at Disney California Adventure, aka this place:

We didn't take any of the classes offered there, but we spent a few hours wandering around the exhibits and seeing how the animation worked. The top photo was the main area of the facility, which contained a bunch of 30-foot-tall screens full of concept art from various Disney movies (this photo specifically shows Ratatouille). As an aspiring concept artist, this was probably my favorite part of the facility.

In the middle photo was a really fascinating exhibit in one of the alcoves branched out from the main area: this was a collection of figures from Toy Story, which when spun at high rates and displayed under a strobe light, came to life in animated movement! It's hard to explain, but it was absolutely amazing to see in person: Woody and Bullseye were prouncing around in a circle, Jessie swung her lasso in the air, the green army men parachuted from the top, etc, etc, etc.

In the lowest photo, that was the room where you could create your own animations on slips of paper, spin them in a reel, and watch them in action! I was tempted to use what knowledge I gained in this class to create my own simple animation, but alas, we didn't have the time to spare.

That was the main animation-related highlight of the trip. At Comic-Con, I tried to notice anything that would relate to this class, but I got so distracted by lines and costumes and panels and everything to notice. You can't blame me though: it's hard to keep priorities straight when you're meeting the cast of Doctor Who. :'')