PROJECT #1 AN OLYMPIC ACTION, due week 2, must be 8 seconds of animation. Submit on Canvas
Using ONE of the rigs below, create a character animation that incorporates a SPORTING or OLYMPIC event in some way. Look for action in the event that presents CLEAR, STRONG poses. What can be even more interesting are moments that causes the character to fall off balance and regain balance. You may choose LAYERED animation or POSE to POSE, technique. Begin by blocking in your poses, keep a clean graph editor, and focus on QUALITY over quantity. Look for video reference on the Internet, or ACT OUT yourself or video tape yourself. Take only one part of the action that is most interesting in terms of clear poses.
DUE at the beginning of class, NEXT WEEK Playblasts are acceptable but must be HD in size and all controls and grid must be hidden. You may use/build simple props if you wish. USE VIDEO REFERENCE: Motion references are essential! Look of samples above, then find or create your own reference. Flat front and side angles are most helpful! you can record video your own on your phone! you don't have to be an expert! IMPORTANT:Be prepared to receive criticism on the strength/weaknesses of your animation in terms of weight, timing, silhouette, posing, and staging. These are basic concepts of locomotion that should have been mastered in the prerequisite class ART4940. We will quickly move into advanced and nuanced animation assignments, including acting. If you are not up to speed with this assignment, you need to spend extra time outside of class on tutorials. You will be working approximately 8 hours outside of class per week, This first assignment is due next week. After that, a project is due generally every TWO weeks, except for project 7 which you will have extra weeks. You will graded at TWO major times: at MIDTERM COMPILATION and FINAL COMPILATION. These compilations are your completed projects edited together in one video. However, each individual project is due as listed on this syllabus, and considered late or not acceptable if not uploaded before class on its due date. On each and every project due date, we will host a critique so you will have useful feedback to make improvements toward your compilations.	The idea is not that you will produce masterpieces for your demo reel, but that you can work professionally, creatively per deadline to jumpstart growth in your advanced animation skills. The class structure demands this. At the end of this class, You may, for your own demo reel, choose one project to polish over many months. This is indeed what is needed to be competitive in the actual animation world! Putting class assignments on your professional demo reel is not competitive. You still may be even years away from having good enough work for that. You must understand the level of time and commitment is immense. Know that it is possible to work MONTHS on just 20 seconds of character animation. In this class, we will have a much faster pace. We will be using "PRE-RIGGED" characters so that we may focus every minute of available time dedicated to animating. This is an understandable compromise because the anatomy of a rig essentially influences its movement and expressive potential. Moreover, I can only evaluate your work based on the success of the ANIMATION, and not the properties, nor the engineering, look, or design of a rig or a particular character. This why it is important to use a good quality rig, or if you find something new, show it to me first before I allow you to use it for your animation. The rigs featured in this website are student quality and good for university animation courses. You are also expected TO CONTRIBUTE in critiques. Adding constructive criticism. Failure to verbally or otherwise contribute in critiques will greatly impact your participation grade.

for AN OLYMPIC ACTION use FLOUR SACK (if you want to use a different rig, check with me first)

		DOWNLOAD PAGE
		An assortment of other rigs includes: Blake, Caroline, Mery, Ray, Sack, Squirrel, Stewart, and Zombie, and more... FIRST, log into your CSULA account. THEN, click on the link above to download.
		how to use see sack in action see past student work (log-in to your csula account first)