Apologies for the long pause between posts. Life has been…. interesting, these past few weeks. I’ll make up for it by working hard and posting often.

Now, as per the headline, my latest adjustments to the pencil test… In glorious HD.

I’m a visual person, and if I don’t see anything new going on for a while, I get bored. With that in mind, here’s a picture of a work in progress.

I started this before animating the walk cycle, but when I had enough free time, I decided to set it aside while I scratch the animation itch. I’ll continue hitting this up as time allows.

In the meantime, here’s an update on the walk-

Graah! I work too slow!!

-Jesse

The work continues-

Richard Williams says walks are the toughest thing to animate. Now that I’m this deep into this project, I’m inclined to agree. That, and I’m rusty as hell. I’ve been making big mistakes like focusing on the line quality and the final product rather than the performance. Fortunately, I have buddies to keep me in line when I stray too far from the path. Cesar and OG Willie Wilson have been pushing the performance, and I will work hard to do just that.

For those who are interested, I’ve been using Plastic Animation Paper to animate this. It is now free software, so if you’re interested in trying your hand and hand drawn animation, this is a great program if you’re the digital sort.  Of course, you could also try Flash, but I hate vectors!!

-Jesse

Finally- getting back to what I love! Animation!! God I love it so! And I’ve continued to put it off for petty reasons like work and a social life. Balderdash!! Honestly, I have been busy, and when I animate, I like to have large amounts of time set aside, because let’s face it, animating is a long and involved process.

And since I’ve been out of the game for a while, I thought it’d be a good idea to start with something simple- a walk cycle. But of course, I can’t settle for something so trivial. I have to challenge myself!! A walk cycle in perspective!! THE THIRRRRRRD DIMENSION!! I’ve never done one of these before- at least, not hand-drawn. So now’s the perfect time to start.

First- the Keyframes!

Pretty dull, right? Yeah, I agree. These are the budding stages though. A whole lot can go wrong here if you don’t plan out our actions properly. Right now, I’m getting a feel for the posing of the character, as well as the timing.

Now for the first Breakdown Pass!

Ok, adding the pass position’s helping things out a bit! He’s walking a bit faster than planned here. He’s supposed to be mopey, each step should be a 16 frame step, about a third longer than march-time. “Jesse, what the hell are you talking about?” Most people walk in march-time, one half- a second per step. Because this is a mopey walk, he should be walking slower than normal. Since animators time and animate in 24 frames/second increments, half a second would be 12 frames. Thus, each step for Little Wolf here should take at least 16 frames per step. Ok, apologies for the lecture. Besides, you probably know this stuff already!

Second Breakdown Pass!!

Haven’t updated the timing yet, but I’ve broken down the main walk a bit further. One step at a time! (So to speak!!)

Ok, that’s enough for now. More to come in the following days!

-Jesse

Heh, took me long enough. My store is now up. You can locate in the side bar to the right, along with the other site navigation links. All the stuff from Baltimore- the prints and the book, are available online.

THERE!! One more hurdle out of the way! Ah, the trials and tribulations of an independent publisher.

-Jesse

Heh, I hear that question far more often than I like to admit. Baltimore was a big example of that. Yes, Little Wolf looks like Aang, from Avatar: The Last Airbender. And there was a time where such a detail would have caused me to change my design or scrap the story all together.

I can think of multiple occasions where I would try and come up with a story, only to find someone else was doing something very much like it. I nearly stopped in my tracks when my friend Tim found this cover of Animation Magazine. “I’m a hack!” I thought. “I don’t have one original thought in my head!” After calming down a bit, I took some time to reflect. Yes, my character looks like that character. The conclusion I came to was this- who cares? Even if I’m telling the exact same story as Michel Ocelot, it is not the same story. Why? Because the story has never been told by me.

Consider the three of the directors of the recent Batman films- Tim Burton, Joel Schumacher, and Christopher Nolan. Each director told a very different story than the one before him, yet they all told the story of the exact same character, inhabiting the exact same world. One could say the same of the Lord of the Rings adaptations. Rankin Bass, Ralph Bakshi, and Peter Jackson each brought a different vision of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books to the screen, and each had a value and charm of their own.

Now, all that being said, is Little Wolf’s story the same story as Aang’s? Well Joseph Campbell may argue that it is, but I am going to answer “no”.  Aang’s journey was one where he had to cope with his pre-ordained destiny, and didn’t know if he would be able to live up to the world’s expectations. Little Wolf is searching for his purpose, and dealing with his own guilt and shame as he goes. I don’t wish to reveal much more, save that he will soon be leaving the safety of his village, and not necessarily of his own volition.

Thanks for listening! I’m sure there’s enough room in your heart for two bald heroes!

-Jesse