Chad Bailey WILL animate

Finally I finished the work that I started a little less than a year ago. A Demo Reel exemplifying my current animation skill. This reel shows what I can do, at this point in time. Although it's far from "complete", and it will always be a work in progress, I am proud of how far I have come & even prouder still of the amount of effort and personal sacrifice it has taken me to put together this body of work. It is testament to the lack of social life I have had this year. The amount of times I have had to say "no" to outings & events--  ESPECIALLY this summer. No Barbecues, no pool parties, no beach, no Holiday celebrations. To sum it up- No Days Off.

The amazing thing is, in having done all this work, and seeing the completed project- it only makes me realize how much MORE work I have to do, and that this is just the beginning.

MY MOST RECENT SHOT (in progress) This is the shot I have been working on for a little over a month now. My goal was to make it the best one yet... and I did. But after getting some tough, honest feedback (although it was accurate & much appreciated by me) from a professional animator friend of mine who is working in the field I want to be in, I realized I still have a long ways to go. I had hopes of finishing this shot, adding it to my small (but hard-worked) reel & applying for jobs this month. So although this is by far my best shot it has come to my attention the audio is not easily understand at all and it was recommended I start from scratch. Also after reading the feedback I feel I may have to throw out ALL my reel shots and start anew-- thereby pushing back my deadline & keeping me that much longer/farther from my goals. It is VERY disheartening...

My new Mouth shapes drawn...

The 1st pic are my ORIGINAL mouth shapes, that I was actually going to move forward with on my shot?! 

The other 4 pictures after, show my improved mouth shapes. And after seeing them, it's obvious that I did NOT spend enough time trying to find appealing well shaped mouth forms. Clean lines, smooth shapes. I forgot one of the basic animatic rules: If it makes an appealing drawing, it will make an appealing pose/shape/form on the screen.

It's been a LONG time since I've posted anything on my animation blog. And I apologize. But take solace in knowing that, that does not mean I HAVEN'T been animating. I've actually been animating ALL year! On my own personal shots & animation tests. I've actually animated MORE in the last 6 months, than I have in the last 6 years since I graduated college! (Wow, I know.) I am finishing up a long hard journey of trying to prepare myself and get my work up to a level I deem fit to start applying at animation studios for work. Right now, I am trying to finish one last, small, shot I want to add to my portfolio (aka Demo Reel) before I spend the rest of the summer job hunting like a maniac! Besides this last small shot adding some padding to my Demo Reel, I am also attempting to take my skills to their next level- getting them one step closer to feature film & production quality standards. So I thought I should get blogging again & share the steps I learn as I finish this next shot.

Today I am working on drawing the mouth shapes I will need to lip-sync my character with the audio dialogue clip. This is a step I have done for all my speaking shots, but I definitely noticed something new today. I have been watching (& re-watching) the trailer for Disney's newest animated feature Wreck-It Ralph (releasing Nov. 2012) & I am blown away at the simple beautiful mouth-shapes the main character, Wreck-It Ralph makes! Specifically in the first scene of him in the "Bad guys Support group"!

Aight, here's my FIRST entry ever for the 11 Second Club. Its OK... but I will do a much better job on this months!

So I was watching the movie Star Trek (the 2009 movie, not one of the old school ones) for like the 4th time, the other day--- And noticed something I may have missed before (or just forgotten about).

Simon Pegg's character (the guy behind the glass at about :44 seconds) gives the FUNNIEST limited reaction I've seen in a movie in quite some time. His comedic timing is just on point!

But after seeing a post from my friend & Disney animator Bobby Pontillas just the day before, I decided to break down for myself, why I thought Pegg's reaction was so perfect.

For a quick background on whats going on in this scene, the two characters that kiss work together on the space ship. Both of them very professional. both never showing publicly any affection for the other. So its quite a surprising, awkward moment for everyone else on the ship to witness them kiss for the first time so tenderly out in the open.

I've been blocking on & off for a week (10 days) now. Just the opening walk really. I've lost a little too much of my consistency as far as animating, and I need to get back on the ball BIG TIME!

I would love to have all my blocking done by time I leave for London. That way I can just focus on "mindless" splining while I'm there.

I finished my thumbnailing today.

(Well at least my 1st pass.)

It's funny how difficult the planning process has been. Not because of the complexity of the shot, or sequencing of ideas. It's more about the limbo I feel I am in, not having everything set & planned, therefore not being able to go straight to the computer and start animating. Which would make me feel productive, and keep me in my groove.

I've been spending these last 2 weeks almost, occasionally shooting video reference, and drawing thumbs. If I could just wake up and sit in front of the computer and just continually plow away, I would feel SO much more productive than I've felt recently.

It's like, just sketching & thinking, I don't feel as thought I am accomplishing anything. I don't feel like I am working toward becoming a better animator, unless I am physically in front of a computer. So this whole "planning process" has been a bit un-nerving.

But, I know it is VERY necessary. And I know, it would be absolutely foolish to move a step forward without it.

So I carry on. Make sure I have it all right. THEN, and only then, will I start to get to work once again, on the computer.

They say if you do anything for 21 Days, it becomes routine.

Welcome to Day 22 of straight thinking about animating/ animating/ or planning for animation!!!!

YAY!! --Funny enough, it DOES actually feel routine. If it goes to long into a day without me doing something productive towards animation, I actually do begin to feel uneasy. And restless. Until I do some sort of work.

And honestly thats EXACTLY how I wanna be. How I need to be!

I woke up this morning again at 7 AM. Shot some reference. And realized that the beginning walk the character will have as he enters my shot will be SUPER important. As far as 1) setting up the chracter's personality off the bat. But also 2) grabbing the audience's attention from frame 1 & hopefully also setting a high standard of animation that they can expect throughout the entire shot.

So I spent a little time thumbnailing some poses that will be in the walk, tonight (Not as much as I should have). But I will double my efforts tomorrow at 6AM.

YEA you heard right, its going from 7AMs to 6AMs now! I'm starting a new schedule at work, getting there earlier, so I can leave earlier ...and talk to a special someone over seas before their bedtime.