Another Animation Test, Another Leap...

Here is another short animation test I've done.
It's still in rough blocking sinch I didn't mean to animate anything tonight, but it looked such a nice rig, I had to try something.
Sure, it ain't perfect... but still ;)

A Short Animation Test

It's been far too long since I've animated anything!
I've found a free Flour Sack rig, which looked nice to play with (If you like, you can download it here).
This is what I came up with...trying to make a quick animation test...

Meet Buck

Up until now I've only catched a few glimps of this short, but now that I've seen it all, it's really cool!
I like the snappy animation, the rythem of it and the extreme poses.


Meet Buck from TeamCerf on Vimeo.

Character Design - Master & Student

Just for kicks, I've participated in a character design for AnimationRigs.com.
The theme was "Master & Student" and it was pretty open regarding the way we'll choose and show our characters.

I've decided to go on the cute/funny genre.

Hope you like it :)

My New Website

I'm back working at a steady job at the Weizmann Institute of Science, as a graphic designer, but still keep on the doing some freelance work.
Now that I finally have the time, I built myself a website which will show some of my recent work, as an illustrator, graphic designer and soon, also my new animation showreel.
You are welcome to check the site on this link here, and I promise I will keep updating and improve it (right now it's only in Hebrew but soon I hope I'll be able to add an English version as well).

SupEr hAndZ

I'm not a big fan of stop motion, but I did like this one.

SupEr hAndZ from [[- charetteprod -]] on Vimeo.

My Daughter's First Steps

My little daughter has just taken her first steps (I'm afraid this post is a few weeks late, but I had no time to post anything before) and It's amazing how funny it looks when they just start walking (actually, it looks like a bad animation).
This is a video I've taken after she only had a few days of practice!
Also, finally I managed to finish an old debt to myself and finish her door sign for her room (she likes lambs :).

Video reference mix

Hey guys!
Here is a really nice mix of edited video reference from several movies I'm sure you won't have any problem to recognize ;)

Enjoy!

Ratatouille Progression Reel

OK, I admit, everyone knows this one, and I've seen this progression reel many times my self, but since I accidentally encountered this clip, it was too good to pass and so inspiring to watch (I miss animating as a full time job).

Here is a clip showing the different stages in the production, from start to the final shot - enjoy!

Guide Your Audience Eyes

At animation, you should consider many things, and while keeping in mind the basic principles is great, sometimes it just wouldn't always suffice.
It is a well known fact that an animator is really an actor (I would like to consider my self as a shy one).
An actor, just like a magician who needs to perform in front of an audience, should maintain the illusion he wishes to portray, and for doing that, sometimes includes to control the audience point of view and visual focus.
He needs to manipulate the audience eyes to look to one place while he's making an "magic trick" he doesn't wish the audience would see in a different place (sometimes it even could be used to conceal a bad animation).
There are many ways to do so, and I'm not going to get much deeper into it, but an animator could use his animation of course to guide the audience eyes by using his animation (such as body language), by a correct staging and composition, by using his props and surroundings in the scene, etc.

I would like to thank Shuki Gamliel which is a great animator and a good friend, who gave us a short lecture about this subject (it was mainly on using a technique called NLP but I felt it also fit well in animation and I've waited too long to write this post).

Here you could find two examples of how easily you can manipulate the human eye.

Walk! A Tutorial About Walks

A good friend of mine (April Peter) had written a serious and thorough tutorial about animating walk cycles.
She has given special attention on how she looks at it from her point of view, what should and shouldn't be done while making a walk cycle (for example - walk cycles in place is a big NO) and it's also really nice to see all the short video samples she made, showing each step to be as clear as it gets.

Read it here!

Dan The Man

This one is really funny and well made, everything is so perfectly understood with out using a word ;)

Shana Tova!

For those of you who celebrate the hebrew holiday - Have a shana tova (happy new year)!
Now is the first time I can really get some rest and maybe give myself a few hours of sleep and quality time with my beloved family :)

Sketchy Ice Creams

This short animation really made me lough (and even at the second time I've watched it).
For those of you who don't have kids, this is why you really MUST NOT take your eyes off them for a second ;)

AM Student Showcase 2010

I just love seeing the new student showcase of Animation Mentor.
Here is this years student showcase of 2010.

(I especially enjoyed the dialogue by Jeffrey Engel ;)

Werewolf Character Design

Lately I've been looking into some character desing tutorials on Youtube when I came across a clip by Joe Vriens showing his way of work to draw this beautiful werewolf.
I thought it could be nice to share this one with you since he has a very simple technique and still gets a really nice resault.



here is a link to his blog if you would like to see more.

Laundry tales

This is a very nice short film done here in Israel (I admit I was touched by it).
The note in the end says "Grandma, Enjoy your new dryer" (more or less).

Old Biker - painting process

Another inspiring work done by the great Deniz Zilber :)

Old Biker - painting process from Denis Zilber on Vimeo.

35 Movies in 2 Minutes

I must admit I couldn't recognize all of them, but I really loved the way they show so much with so little.
I really loved the part they are moving from the Blues Brothers, to Terminator to Star Wars :)

35mm from Pascal Monaco on Vimeo.

Fire Animation

Something cool (or should I say hot?) I thought it would be nice to share with you...

It's been long since my last sketch

This Saturday I had the free time to sit and scribble a quick sketch straight onto my computer. It isn't fancy but at least it was fun!

'Rango' Official Full Trailer

Here is the new official and full trailer of the upcoming film Rango. It looks really good and I would certainly like to see it once it comes out.

Animation Progression Reel - Ice Age 3

Jeff is one of my favorite animators and it's always a pleasure to see his way of planning, editing his video reference in a smooth and convincing way and of course - the final animation.

Watch it here

FLUFFY MC CLOUD

This is a cute short film that put a smile on my face (especially when he tries harder to bring the rain, the face he makes and the noise...)

Enjoy!

FLUFFY MC CLOUD from conorfinnegan on Vimeo.

The Art of Disney Animation

I've found this site with a lot of really cool and inspiring artwork done by the talented disney artists.
The link above is for the art of the new movie Toy Story 3 but you can find many more samples on the site from different movies as well.
Too bad I don't understand french though...

Disney's Tangled Trailer

Looks like this movie is going to be a lot of fun!
The animation looks great and I'm really looking forward to see it already ;)

Camera Footage

Here is a footage recovered from a camera which was found, while exploring deserted old underground tunnels. Check it out...



This was being done by a studio belongs to friends of mine called Argaman Creative. Feel free to check their web site.

Rio

Here's the trailer for the new upcoming feature by Blue sky studio.
It looks sweeeeatt!!!

I'm still here

Sorry I'm super busy at the moment (it's good that I'm having a lot of stuff to do) but for now, I would like to share with you a few short animation clips which I loved, and I hope you will too.

Work from Michael Rianda on Vimeo.

When The Time Is Ripe from Shion Takeuchi on Vimeo.

Make your own video reference ;)

Here's a guy who really knows how to make super cool video references!

Beautiful!

Here's an amazing commercial and also a great video refernece by itself I'm sure you'll love!!!

AM Get Together

Yesterday night we finished working and went to an AM group meeting.
It was a lot of fun to see the old faces and some new ones and I would like to thank Gabi for organizing the meeting.
We also had a great privilege to meet Tim Crawfurd, a former animator at Pixar (1997-2009) and currently a mentor at AM who was kind enough to let us see some of his work which was very inspiring!

Key Lime Pie

I've been told this short film isn't new but I really liked the way it looks and feels, and I would like to share this one with you.

Going Back To Work!

I've really been looking forward to return and work at CREW972, and even though I came to visit several times, it just wasn't the same.
I'm afraid there isn't a lot I can say about it, so I'll just say that I'm thrilled and really happy to come back :)

Have a happy passover!

Ziv

Sex Bomb - WIP

I've been struggeling to find a chance and finish this last drawing (which hopefully would sell nicely as a T-shirt) but finally - it is done!
Here is a short break down of the stages I had to go through, starting as a rough sketch using my Wacom tablet and continue all the way to the final drawing.
Only now I see that somewhere between the rough sketch and the next level, I've lost some of the action of the character... but oh well, it's too late now :)

Sex Bomb from Ziv Ariely on Vimeo.

T-shirt design

During the last week, I've begun to design T-shirts and I hope some of them would sell.
Here are two of the Smilies I did today and I'm pretty happy with.
If you are curious about the rest of the gallery you are welcome to check it here (I'm afraid the site is in Hebrew).

Just wanted to say - Thank you!

I just wanted to thank you all, for visiting my blog. It's a big compliment for me to see how many people reading my blog, seeing my works and leaving comments.
Preety soon I'll be going back to work at a full time job (working at CREW972) but I'll keep posting as much as I can, so for the time being, I just wanted to thank you from all of my heart, and as always, if there is something you like, do feel free to comment and I'll be happy to respond.

-Ziv

The princess and the frog - Pencil Tests

Here are a few pencil tests from Disney's last classic animated film - The princess and the frog.

PFROG Pencil Test 01 from handdrawn on Vimeo.

PFROG Pencil Test 02 from handdrawn on Vimeo.

PFROG Pencil Test 03 from handdrawn on Vimeo.

Elk Hair Caddis

Great short film made by peter smith (love that squash and stretch!)

Elk Hair Caddis from peter smith on Vimeo.

What's New?!

Hi guys!
I'm happy to share with you my "new" blog.
I've decided it is time to move on and to give it a more professional look, now that I'm working in the animation industry. It's not totaly done yet, but it's enough for me to keep on posting and I'll keep my changes as I go.
Before I'll be getting back to work, I've decided to try and expand my fields of experties in animation, and start animating using Flash.

Here are two short samples I've made - it's just for testing so I'm pretty pleased with it.

Father and Daughter

Here's a short and very touching shrot film, I've seen a while ago at work (thanks to April who sent me the link).
I hope you'll love it as I did...

The Princess And The Frog

Ahhhh..... Eric Goldberg is so amazing, truely amazing!
Here's is a short clip showing Eric's way of work and also explaining a little about animating Louis the aligator.
I've been lucky enough to sit next to him about a year ago when he came to give a lecture here in Israel and to speak with him about animation, and he is such a role model for me, he LOVES animation!
I don't think there is a person in the world who isn't familiar with his work (the Gini from Aladdin of course, but he had made so many other characters during his long period at Disney).
This short clip really made me want to sit and start drawing and animating.... did I say he's amazing? ;)

Under Construction

Hey everyone.
As you probably see, I've decided to give my blog a new change of direction - it would still be about everything I'm doing and the animation industry at large, but would have a different header name and design. I'm afraid it might take me some time until I'll reach the point where I'll be pretty happy with the results, so stay tuned, and thanks for all your patience :)

Yellow Cake - A Short Film by Nick Cross

Here's a really nicely made short film, which looks a lot like the Ren & Stimpy cartoon.

Yellow Cake from Nick Cross on Vimeo.

Better Off Undead! A short film by Bobby Pontillas

Here's a really funny and well animated short film made by a student from AM.
I really loved the small detailes he got into it, and I can't wait to see it fully rendered - it looks really promissing :)

Better Off Undead ! from Bobby Pontillas on Vimeo.

How To Warm-Up For Gesture Drawing

While I was working at CREW972, we had sessions in which we made quick sketches (it was a great fun but also helped me to better realize how to show and feel weight).
Here are two clips to get your creative juices flowing... it gave me great inspiration to start sketching.

And the Photoshop version....

I'm glad I have the time to sit infront of my home computer and paint in Photoshop as I love doing.
I've decided the last drawing won't ever look as good as it can be, unless I would make it all over again using Photoshop, and this time I made a few high quality pictures of clothing materials (Jeans, sweders, etc) and applied them to my drawing.
It's a technique I've never used before but it's amazingly fun and gives great resaults, don't you agree?

My first attempt to make a completely vector painting in Illustrator

I always worked on my drawings straight in Photoshop or first a simple pencil sketch and then moved to Photoshop (if you are interested, I've posted a quick tutorial on my blog about a year ago or so).
This is the first time I ever tried to work entirely in Illustrator, mainting a pure vecotr look (which I think resembles the newer cartoons look, such as the power puff girls, johnny bravo, etc).

It's Here!!!

I'm thrilled to share with you, that the drawing I've made for my little baby girl (the animals train) has finally arrived and it came out very nice ;)
I think out of all my painting in my gallery, this is the one I like the most, and you could see my entire drawings gallery here, and of course if you like any of them you are more than welcome to order it, and also choose the size of it, the matter it would be printed on (I printed it on kanvas) and many other options.

Please feel free to let me know what you think of it ;)

Here are a few pictures of my drawing.

Leave your ego at the door

I would like to share with you a few lessons I had learned during the last few months while working in the animation industry (even though it can easily fit into many other fields of experties of course).
I remember I first heard about it while I was still a student at Animation Mentor and it was "burned" into my conscience ever since... EGO (the green monster sitting on your shoulder).

The industry is full of many great people, who are wise and super talented and it is only natural to have a large ego for some of them.
Sometimes you may be working on a shot, and see something you like, or got an idea you want to work on, and it's great (especially if your bosses likes it too), but you would come to realize that it won't always be the case, and you'll have times you would make something you like very much but your peers (director/producer, other animators, etc) may not, and you would like to stand up and fight for what you believe, protecting your idea/work.

At AM we learned something extremely important - leave your ego at the door (or in other words - it's not YOUR movie you are working on, its THEIR movie and THEY are paying you to do what THEY want, so you need to know when to just say OK and do stuff you won't always agree with.

Of course I don't mean not to say anything, but it would be better off for everyone if you'll take their request under consideration and give it a try any way, and you know what? They just might be correct and your shot will shine!

It isn't easy applying this idea, and it would take time to make it a second nature (I struggle with it in many other issues in my life, and that is why I though it would be nice to share my thoughts with you) but in the end - it would make you a more relaxed person, there for it will be easier and more fun to work with and most important - you become more experienced due to the amount of things you have tried (and wouldn't have done otherwise).

Les Dangereux - A Short Film by RedForty

Some animation for a change ;)
A vacationing ninja finds true love, but it's much more than he expected.

Les Dangereux from RedForty on Vimeo.

Nearly forgot the old sketchbook

I nearly forgot to scan the old sketchbook (not all of it of course, only the sketches I liked the most), and I thought it could be nice to share them with you.

Hope you'll like them too!

Now it's time to rest

After working very hard at CREW972 for the last several months, I got the chance of staying at home and rest before coming back (Already I'm waiting to return to work!).
Now is the best time to sit at home, start working on the stuff I wanted to do for so long and never had the time such as new drawings (for print and just sketching for fun purposes), working on my new and updated showreel and most important - spending time with my wife and daughter!

Now that I have finished my studies at AM and became a proffesional animator working in the animation industry, I'm considering to change my blog (sometimes soon), or maybe leave this blog the way it is and start a new one, so people who like to learn animation can still see the journey I took.

I'll be happy to hear from you if you have any suggestions or special requests, so as always, feel free to share your thoughts with me.

Now, to have something more interesting than just plain text, I'v scanned several pencil skethces I had done while making long playblast at work.

Doodles....

The weekend I'm afraid, wasn't very kind to me and as many other people at this time of year, I too got ill and had to rest in bed.
Since today I didn't go to work, and since I'm one of those guys who don't know how to rest (believe me, I tried... it's too difficult!) I sat down and started to doodle for a few minutes just to feel the day isn't going to be a total waste of time.

Here are some of the thing which came out.