1. Greasy, unwashed hair
2. Bloodshot eyes (that see DOUBLE!)
3. Pencil behind ear
4. Gaunt, sunken-in, mis-fed, pasty-white cheeks
5. Glasses
6. Hunched back
7. Same clothes for the past 2+ days
8. BLANKET
9. Carpal-Tunnel-inflicted hand (quivering with animation)
This is a drawing I made on the wall across from my cube. So much is to be learned in the Character Animation department! And watch out, those Animators suuure look like zombies!
On a side note, I should mention that I’m back to school– watch out, Semester 2! Looks like I’ll be at about 19 units this semester (which still has a possibility of changing, depending on homework loads). I’ve got two films boarded out and timed in Flash animatics (those of you animators who don’t know how to use Flash, FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF! They’ll have a few workshops soon, it sounds like– go to these, and then think of the ways that you can use Flash to board out your films! In fact, I may even make a post dedicated to that because it’s been extremely efficient for me). Don’t expect me to go uploading these full animatics to this website– you won’t get to see anything until the finish product is submitted for the Producer’s Show (deadline = April 20th)! I’ve still got some quirks to work out about these films, and I’m now starting to think that I may completely focus on one and then work on the other with whatever free time I may have. (“Fail fast, fail offten”– words of wisdom from Don Hahn; I plan on working as fast and efficiently on my film(s) to get the best product in the end)!
Anyway, it’s good to be back at school. The dorms still smell the same, though I swear that the dorm water got grosser over break (morning tea would be the primary indicator of that). Thankfully, the work order to fix Niagara Falls went through, as the shower isn’t leaking anymore. So far, no one’s been stupid enough to open those @#$%^& refrigerators in the cubes!!! (They haven’t been plugged into a wall… in… I’m going to guess, over a year. And there’s food in them. One second of open Cube refrigerator = half an hour of Lysol and crying olfactory senses).
Good luck to all the kids that submitted their portfolios for 2013– may I suggest that you start NOW on stocking up sleep (and eating delicious home-made food and taking showers in the privacy of your own bathroom). And stock up on your sanity too, you’ll need lots of it when you get to CalArts 😛
*has submitted for 2009-2013*
I want to be that…
hey good luck on your app 😀
Don’t worry, it doesn’t take long to “get in shape” (according the the afore-stated animator appearance). 😛
ROTFL @ carpal tunnel inflicted hand! Where I work, there are diagrams about ergonomics and exercises you can do to minimize OOS (occupational overuse syndrome) – do animators have anything like that – like a “how to hold your pencil so your pinky doesn’t end up hurting?”
Well actually we all hold our pencils differently, so there’s no “one right way to hold a drawing utensil”– in fact, I’ve seen some really REALLY unusual pencil grips here! But I think the #1 thing we’re told is to relax your grip, loosen up and draw from your shoulder (or get a pencil and a stress relief ball, poke the pencil through the stress-relief ball and then hold the ball and draw with that, so you’re not cramped up around a little pencil). Personally, I find the Wacom tablet pens to be way more painful than slim pens and pencils; the Wacom tablets are really thick and after a couple of hours… you feel it. (vs a ballpoint, which I could prolly draw with a whole night and not feel the effects).
Now then… Xacto knives? THOSE are REAL killers!
But when it comes down to resting, the most important thing is to save your eyes by looking at a surface a lot further than 10″ in front of your nose (hehe) and then for our hands, we stretch them out, put our palms flat against the wall, stretch out our arm and then put pressure going in the opposite direction to counter out the whole cringing-around-a-pencil thing.
Hey if you have any tips on avoiding OOS/CTS…….. I’m sure the whole department would be happy to hear them 😀