3D in Animation

There are so many good animation commercials out there that it's just really hard to choose which ones to share. So, here are a couple to give you a few laughs. The first is for something I've never heard of, but the second is for Power Rangers - everyone's heard of them!

  

Rotoscoping

This week's homework is on Rotoscoping. I found this to be extremely tedious, but the end results were worth it. Personally I can't imagine spending everyday doing something like this, but, it wouldn't be bad to do on occasion.

I found this Awesome compilation video on YouTube and just had to share it with you. This is the Rotoscoping Reel 2013 for the company called RotoFactory. "RotoFactory is a visual effects company located in Northern California. RotoFactory has an extremely innovative and competent artistic team and the reputation of providing the best 2D digital paint and roto anywhere. With quick turnarounds, RotoFactory has always delivered shows on time."

Masking in After Effects

This week's homework was about masking in After Effects. We had done a little of this in class, but the homework went into it a little bit more. I found this interesting because it was a lot like masks in Photoshop. Of course, I needed to find out a little bit more. 

I found this tutorial on YouTube that actually shows how to morph between mask shapes. This could give you a really cool result in some instances. 

Title Sequence Helps

I was researching tutorials on creating title sequences for my next project and across a couple of good ones.

The first one I'm including is by Brendan Riel and has some good basics that can add a little polish to your sequence.

The second one is very Saul Bass—in fact they even say so in their description. "A retro title sequence in the style of Saul Bass, pioneer of title sequences. Whether you've a Hitchcock style detective film noir or a more up beat Spielberg, Catch Me if You Can, production -- maybe even a horror film -- this sequence is abstract enough to cater for most movie genres." It is actually a template, which I didn't know they make, and can be purchased at Envato. 

I never even thought about designing motion graphics to sell. This opens up new ideas to me. Imagine designing really cool sequences, or things like it, and then possibly selling them "en mass". That's a completely different market.

Great TV Title Sequences

I have to share some really good title sequences that are on, of all places, TV. These are just some of the ones that I have found to be really well done that also fit the shows perfectly.

This first one is from Mad Men and is just awesome!



Then we have Dexter! I love this show and the opening credits are perfect for it!
 



Then I have Game of Thrones...enough said, right!

Animating Text

This week's homework was on animating text. It was pretty informative and I know that I will be using some of the things that I learned. This, of course, led me to look for more things to do to animate text, which took me to none other than YouTube.

I came across quite a few tutorials by Evan Abrams that I found to be helpful. Here is his YouTube bio:

"Here you'll find "quality" Adobe After Effects tutorials. And by quality I mean things I would have found useful when I was starting out in motion graphics. I've been using After Effects since 1995, which is longer than the average YouTube viewer has been alive so... I'm kind of an expert. And now I'm sharing that knowledge with you, but you have to pay the tole of listening to my bad jokes.
New tutorials come out on the Weekend, and if you ever have troubles just ask me a question in the comments or on my twitter @ECAbrams. Oh and if learning isn't your jam and you just want me to make something for you send business inquiries to info@evanabrams.com, I'm usually available... except when I'm not."

Top 10 New Features of Hype 2

I was searching for information on Hype 2, before purchasing for my own use at home, and ran across this video by Tumult on YouTube. Below is the information that I found about the video, along with a link to their website.

Published on Aug 20, 2013

Tumult Hype is the HTML5 animation builder for OS X. Explore the top 10 new features of Tumult Hype 2.0 in 10 minutes and learn about Hype Reflect, a brand new companion app for iOS.

1. Instant Preview to iOS 0:29
2. Audio Actions 1:19
3. Curved Motion Paths 2:48
4. Web Fonts 3:42
5. Swipe and Touch Events 4:44
6. Mobile Options 6:31
7. Enhanced Preview Toolbar Button 7:03
8. Search Engine Visibility 7:28
9. Shapes 7:48
10. OS X Technology 8:07

For more information:
http://tumult.com/hype/