One of the great things about this blogging explosion is the amazing information and expertise that is being given away for free. No longer do we have to wait for someone to publish a book to get their benefits of their study and experience. In fact, a few blogs out there have better info than I've seen in some recent animation how-to books. Among the goldmines of useful information, here are a few that have caught my eye recently . . .
Keith Lango has posted on the problems (and some solutions) regarding the typical CG-animated feature pipeline. His recent series of posts are really a "how to" for producers, not individual animators, but it's still great stuff. I enjoyed Keith's posts because he aptly pinpoints a bunch of issues that have frustrated me as an animator again and again. The great thing is that Keith has worked in a variety of supervisory roles, at several studios, and so he has both the perspective and the knowledge to describe the typical pipeline problems, and suggest some great-sounding solutions. Now, if only the folks with power will read those posts. . .
A visit to John K's blog is always thought provoking. While I may not agree 100% with all of John K's points, it's always a stimulating read. His recent posts on color theory are fantastic, and that's only the tip of the iceberg you'll find there.
The blogs of Mark Kennedy (Temple of the Seven Golden Camels) and Hans Perk (A. Film L.A.) both regularly offer graduate level studies in animation theory and technique (where else, for example, are you going to learn animation timing to a beat in this day and age?!?). Ignore these blogs at your own risk.
There are other blogs and websites out there that regularly offer excellent insights and technical expertise, and I apologize for only listing these four. My goal here wasn't to offer a definitive list, just to remind you that some dedicated folks are giving some good stuff away for free. And to say thanks to Keith, John, Mark, and Hans for the selfless service.
Posts
4 comments:
here are a few more in case anyone's interested:
Spline Doctors
http://splinedoctors.blogspot.com/
by Pixar animators, while it's not daily updated, every post has excelent in depth info regarding character animation. make sure you go through the archives.
Hand Drawn Nomad
http://handdrawnnomadzone.blogspot.com/
by Matt williames, great step by step lessons on animating a scene and some other useful wisdom.
The Craft of Making Cartoons
http://www.tallgrassradio.com/craft
these guys have actualy started from ground zero and are teaching animation fundementals, one post at a time!
Great additions! Here are hyperlinks:
Spline Doctors
Hand Drawn Nomad
Craft of Making Cartoons
Also, in case you're interested:
Animation Podcast
Those are all excellent, must-visits...I'd also alert readers to Dave Pimentel's Drawings From a Mexican. It's been largely a sketchbook for Dave, but as he's been teaching story at Calarts this year he's about to post some cool lesson material, things everyone would benefit from. I've seen a preview and it's great stuff.
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