SYLLABUS

SPRING 2008

ART 380 (2D Computer Graphics Animation)

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LOS ANGELES

Professor Jim Ovelmen

jim@jimovelmen.com

Jim.Ovelmen@calstatela.edu

LAB HOURS FOR THIS CLASS: PLEASE SEE SCHEDULE POSTED OUTSIDE THE DOOR FA-225

*Please make an Appointment in the Art Office

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course introduces students to basic priciples of llifelike, exaggerated, stylized, limited and experimental 2D animation via the use digital animation tools, namely Toom Boom Studio. Through increasingly challenging class assignments, students will first learn fundamental concepts and practices in creating basic character through both drawing and cut-out animation, which will prepare them for future courses, assignments, or positions requiring this as an expected skill.

The key ingredient in lifelike animation lies in weight and timing. This concept has many relatives including: exaggeration, anticipation, overlapping action, etc. These items will be focused upon throughout all weeks of instruction.

Students will learn how to create animated content which may be used for the web, broadcast, short subject, or as well as an introduction to the feature animated pipeline.

Students are also encouraged to experiment in their final project with different sources of 2D content including importing scanned flat-art from a variety of sources.

PREREQUISITES

Art180, Introduction to Computer Graphics

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

Class lectures, in-class assignments, and project related demonstrations will be provided from original or researched content. Supplemental homework assignments, specific tutorials from published sources may be given. Most of these assignments are, of course, to be done exclusively outside the hours of class time.

The expecation is 3 to 6 hours per week working outside of class on project assignments and homework. Lab hours will be posted.

There are literally thousands of books and online tutorials on animation. I have listed recommendations of texts and URLs for specific study into relavant topics. I will also distribute or web publish, images, and other reference materials to supplement your studies.

TEXTBOOK (s)

Assignments may be given out of these selected texts

-Timing for Animation, by Harold Whitaker and John Halas, Focal Press ISBN 0-240-51714-8

-The Illusion of Life, Disney Animation Walt Disney Productions ISBN 0-7868-6070-7

-The Animator’s Reference Book , Les Pardew & Ross WolfleyThompson Course Technology, USBN 1-59200-675-2

-The Animators Survival Kit, by Richard Williams, Faber, ISBN 0-571-20228-4

-Cartoon Animation, by Preston Blair, Walter Foster, ISBN 1-56010-084-2

-Understanding Comics, Scott McCould, ISBN 0-06-097625-X

OTHER SOURCES

click for text list (Word file)

EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES

upon completing this course the student should be able to:

-Demonstrate knowledge and proficiency at timing, weight, and locomotion of an lifelike animated content.

-Have a proficiency of the Drawing and Sceneplanning tools in Toon Boom studio, with the ability to design, create and animated characters and/or elements in an animated scene(s)

-Create a high-quality, expressive, short animated film, ready for broadcast, the web or short presentation.

-Obtain an understanding of 2D planning of the animated production, including the workflow of staging scenes, templates, and framing the story.

-Have a deep understanding of essential animation concepts and appreciation of the underpinnings of the craft and artform through exposure to historical and contemporary examples; which will broaden their experience, thus, approach to the animated form.

PHYSICAL SUPPLIES

-USB Flash Drive (1 GIG recommended)

-Large sketchbook, graph paper, Pencils, markers, and other drawing materials

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- PERSONAL INTROS (Professor then Students) -instructor demo and student interview

- INTRO TO CLASS, SYLLABUS and EMBARKING ON @D ANIMATION: Intro to classic 2D animation logic and its preservation in the Digital World. Highlight the continuity of technology and cultural use and purpose of animation.

- HISTORY OF ANIMATION: in a succinct timeline: click here:

-EARLY ANIMATION & VICTORIAN CURIOS:

· Magic Lantern 1671, Zoetrope 1832 , Phenakistascope 1933, flipbook 1868

· Muybridge's Zoopraxisope 1879, and...animals

· Gertie the Dinosaur 1914, and more

·1920's Otto Messmer, Felix, to Steamboat Willie and out of the Silent Era

·1930's Fleischer Betty Boop. Koko (rotoscoping)

-EARLIEST COMMERCIAL FEATURE LEGNTH ANIMATION

· (full) feature animation, Snow White 1937, (limited, Japan) Momotaro's DSW1944

-TV ANIMATION (ECONOMY) INTO THE 50's

· Waner Bros. Looney Tunes 1930-1969, Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, and remarkable TV animators.

· limited animation: 1950's (nonrealistic), UPA Gerald McBoingBoing,

· JAPAN, anime and TV : SR, SRj, Astroy boy, Gigantor, C.C.

HISTORY of ABSTRACTION & EXPERIMENT in 2D ANIMATION

commercial:

·pshychadelic animation: 1960's, TV, Yellow Submarine G. Dunning '68,

The Dot and the Line C. Jones '65,

independent:

back to Lotte Reiniger:, Adventures of Prince Achmed 1926, SPOTLIGHT on Reiniger

-James/John Whitney Arabesque 1975, Catalogue 1961, Lapis 1966, Permutations 1966, shdkjhf

-Osar Fischinger, Composition in Blue 1935, Norman McLaren Synchromy 1970, Dots, 1940, Mary Ellen Butte/McLaren Spook Sport, 1940, Len Lye A Color Box, 1935; Free Radicals 1958

-Harry Everett Smith, Early Abstractions 1946-57,

CONTEMPORARY INDEPEDENT ANIMATION:

· jump to contemporary, autuer/independent animation:

Bill Plympton how to kiss,

Don Hertzfeldt rejected, David Shrigley: what happens..., who I am...

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· Intro to 2D digital animation and design concepts

· INTRO TO TOON BOOM STUDIO 4.0, vector explanation. Navigating in Drawing View: Z/X zooming, Spacebar tracking.

· Creating basic shapes and manipulating lines, drawing, and color.

· Practice drawing in the Camera View: Practice at the Brush Tool/Center-line Tools

· study of basic timing of inanimate objects

· Exporting short movies as QTs (or AVI's) and/or exporting to Flash (.swf)

· Creating Color Swatches, create and color a character.

· More explanation of the X-sheeet and managing keys/exposures

· Learning keyboard shortcuts

IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENT:

-Squash and Stretch bouncing ball animation: utilizing two techniques: Straight Ahead Animation & Pose-to-Pose (or Key-to-Key) Animation

HOMEWORK:

-download the TB Tutorial (below) and read the Introduction:

Intro Toon Boom Tutorial

BOUNCING BALLS and the ESSENCE OF TIMING

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INRO to TOON BOOM DRAWING MODE, drawing tools, x-sheet; copy, moving, adding removing exposures. working in Elements. Priciples of layering/Exposure, Auto-Light and Onion-skinning. Exporting Movie, x-sheet.

· Learning keyboard shortcuts

Essential Properties and Tools of Animation:

· two approaches to drawn animation: STRAIGHT-AHEAD and POSE-to-POSE

field size, x-sheet, ball-bounce full, Bowling ball down, ball-bounce Part1, ball-bounce Part2, ball compare, inanimate object nature, anything a ball, parabolas, water balloon, weight and force, fast action antic

Apply these concepts in TOON BOOM:

· Creating elements: drawing, image. make a background, understand exposure, layering, navigation and TB's x-sheet

HOMEWORK:

1) animate a ball bouncing; one with the "straight ahead" method, and then one with the "pose-to-pose" method

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· introduce concept of pegs for attaching camera and for elements, and the upcoming choice between pose-to-pose animation (individual drawings, and tweened animation via animated pegs.

· Creating a SQUASH-and-STRETCH animation (Bouncing Ball)

· can also copy and paste same ball into exposures, but must PASTE OBJECT if you want to see placement change. (you must also click once again in the Drawing View)

· convenient hotkeys: a=PrevExp, s=NextExp, r=AddExp, e=RemExp, R=AddBlank, E=RemBlank....to see more: keyboard shortcuts

HOMEWORK:

1) making drawings in the X-SHEET, creating animation with a variety of weights: BOWLING BALL, BALLOON, SOCCER BALL, and/or WATER BALLOON.

2) Finish Drawing/Painting Assignment "Character and Background"

3) Read ToonBoom tutorial:"Drawing and Painting. (click on link below)

Drawing & Painting in Toon Boom Tutorial

CUT-OUT ANIMATION versus POSE to POSE

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both historical and contemporary cut-out animated films:

Anthony Lucas: Holding Your Breath, The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello

Lotte Reiniger, the Little Chimney Sweep, Secret of the Marquise, Hansel and Gretel, Prince Achmed,

Walter Ruttman

American History South Park,

back to Toon Boom: Sceneplanning Mode:

· Show sceneplanning and the timeline

· Show pegs, explain and create peg animation

HOMEWORK:

1) Using your painted "Character and Background" from last week, put the background on one Motion Path, and your character on another animated peg. Add some flair to the peg's motion path (you can go back in space to make it look like the character's coming from the distance to the foreground)

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· Understanding layering, and different Play>Previews: use a character and BG for tests.

· In X-Sheet: L is Top, R is bottom; in Timeline: Top to Bottom. Ctrl-clickDrag to change postion of Element. This is the same as changing layer order in Timeline. Doing one effects the other as well.

· Animating drawings/Animating Pegs

· Different Steps for attaching a figure to a Peg, "zero out", and instant parent-peg.

· Add new cameras, and study natures of each, how to render differents cams. (the black dot)

· studying a cut-out character and peg hierachies

· tricky differences between drawing and sceneplanning modes (esp. timeline)

· Sceneplanning Tools: select, transform, rotate, scale and motion. Pegs can only be seen in Sceneplanning mode.

· description and understanding of pegs and moving/animating/attaching pegs, reminder about adding exposures R and E, adding blank cells shift+R, shift+E,

· discuss creating of Final Project (short)

· creating a cutout character, building pegs and hierachies.

· Demo a cut-out character (in 4.0) and/or recreate a very simple peg/character hierachy

FIRST PROJECT [15 points] cut-out, jumping character, ASSIGNED today, DUE: 2nd class of WEEK 4

1) Create/prepare a simple character for cutout animation. Each moving part of your character must be drawn on a different Element. Build a hierarchy of Pegs in Sceneplanning FIRST. Then attach all your cutout parts to the logical components of your hierachy. Make sure to move the rotation pivots where they need to be. Test your character to make sure it moves properly and limited "gapping". (this is called the RIGGING process).

2) Animation your character doing a simple JUMP. limbs and head can overlap animate to fling in the air, then settle, landing back on the ground, some sense of wieght, overlap, anticipation and timing shound be displayed.

3)Put this jumping character also on a Peg which is animated (ie: West to East), so that the figure appears to jump in a parabolic arc.

4) create a simple background/environment your character is jumping within.

EXPORT THE RESULT TO A MOVIE

(due second class of next week)

BODY MECHANICS and CHARACTER DESIGN

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TIMING PRICIPLES:

anticipation explained, antic grab, antic cartoon, follow through, flag_cycle, stick_and_string, force,

body mechanics and anatomy:

Human Anatomy, joints, pelvis, rib cage, arcs, arcs_movie, spine, shoulders, skull and jaw,

CHARACTER CONCEPTS:

character design concepts,

Character Exercise (lift)

animating a lift,

WALK CYCLE CONCEPTS:

walk description, walk description_2, walk mechanics,

WALK CYCLES:

basic walk, even more walks, more walks, overlap,vibration, walk moods, norman walk,

STYLIZED WALK CYCLES:

hick cycle, pirate simple,

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· FIRST PROJECT DUE (cut-out jumping Character) at the beginning of class, review student work.

-Human Locomotion Animations:

dive, lift_2D, lift_3D, pull, push,

-Walk Cycle Animation:

basic walk, angry walk, cool walk, depressed walk, dreamy walk, happy walk, macho walk, run, run_away, run_toward, skip, sneak, tip toe

-Animal Locomotion Animations:

dog_canter, cartoon_dog, dog_gallop, dog_trot, horse_gallop, horse_trot, horse_walk, panto_horse, cat_walk, cow_walk

IN CLASS ASSIGNMENT:

-Create Another cut out character, this time draw it in a SIDE VIEW.

-animate your character lifting a heavy object, see: animating a lift

if you finish this, with-in class time, then move on to...

-animate your character in a basic walk cycle, see: basic walk

MUTI-PLANE & DEPTH

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-look over "animated lift" (in-class assignment)

Demo on Motion Paths, creating a later, creating a simple Mulit-Plane (putting the camera on the peg)

· ToonBoom MOTION POINTS in Motion Paths: adding a CONTROL POINT (green), (shift-click), as apposed to an KEYFRAME (red) (alt/Option-click) on your Motion Path.

-turn a CONTROL POINT into a KEYFRAME (click "Lock in Time" in Properties)

-you can make a character flip or "turn a corner" by adding a "-1" in scale on the Key.-show FUNCTION EDITOR: (can drag blue line in function editor to move): you can change the shape of a motion path (Motion), and you can teak the velocity down the path (Velocity). In Velocity, you can't move the first and last points, and each point has a limitatio: (only up-and-down, and limited in height, always sum to100)

-ADD a function point, by moving the blue line in Function Editor, or Subtract. This will NOT add or subtract Keys from the timeline. It will only puts points on the Function Curve.

-Look at the FRAME MARKS, as Velocity INCREASES, there are LESS marks. · More on Locomotion and Timing: Anticipation, Overlapping Animation,

· Walk Cycle, drawing man, woman, or animal walking, and animating background· Observation of Nature, weight and locomotion everywhere: motivation and acting

MIDTERM PROJECT [25 Points] "Walk Cycle in a MultiPlane" Assigned today; DUE: beginning of 2d class of Week 6

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· discuss story ideas and storyboarding process for Midterm and Final Projects.

· multi-planing, and controling scene and composition

·Creating multiplane Scenery, recyling imagery using "clone element"

· Creating multiple Scenes, (Window>Scene Manager)

-Creating cycles in Drawing, Drawn in Exposure Sheet, select drawing>Elements>Cell>Cycle (this cycles "drawings" bitmaps only)

-Creating Cycles on Cutout Characters: slelect ALL layers of elements in TIMELINE, copy, then go to the last/next open frame, and paste. The animation/elements are duplicated.

·Create a timeline for Final Project with weekly deadlines

·Working with the Library

-Creating a template, pick element or layer in timeline>drag to Library

ACTING & OBSERVING

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Lecture on Acting:

BillieJean, FandB, see Pixar examples saved to Intructor HD.

Secondary and Tertiary Animation, Getting in and out of Poses.

(go over specific question and solutions for assigned projects)

CLASS TIME WOKRING ON MIDTERM PROJECT, Q & A of any technical or conceptual problemns

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-FIELD OBSERVATION! if its not raining, go outside (out on campus) find a corner or comfortable spot where you can observe people walking, or if not easy or appropriate, other kinds of nature (birds, wind moving leaves). BUT look for CYCLICAL movements and rhythms...

Take notes while making sketches of the rhythms at which living things move in cycles. You can easily count to yourself: "ONEonethousand, TWOonethousand" Make inferences about the timing of a walk. ie:How long does it take to take from stride pose to stride pose? how different is that from person to person. Make rough sketches of key poses that you think you might use if you needed to animate them. Make at least SIX observations on the rythmic cycles of living these and report you findings in you notebook back in class.

· MIDTERM PROJECT is DUE (beginning of 2d class of Week 6)

FINAL PROJECT COMMENCEMENT & SOUND

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BELOW IS THE CRITERIA FOR THE Final Project (film)

1)The standard and quality of animation must be very high (matching the most rigorous evaluation grading cirteria (in blue below)

2)The film should reflect a SINCERE ATTEMP BY THE STUDENT TO COMMUNICATE something of personal, or social importance. It does not have to be heavy or hit the viewer over the head with import. It also can use humor to lead the viewer to the message, or can be poetic or deep as well.

3)The piece MUST have something to say to specific audience, group, or general audience.

4)The film must be AT LEAST ONE MINUTE LONG, without title.

4b) Project FRAME RATE of the Exported Movie should have 30fps (or the same rate you play back), and have a resolution of 640x480 (set in Animation Properties) check this rendersize chart for reference

5)The must have TITLE and CREDITS.

6)The film must show a DEFINATE STYLE, a graphic or aesthetic strategy used by the artist. (see previous examples in week 1 for just a few historical examples)

7)The film must attempt to master a technique or use: ie :cut-out animation, pose-to-pose, scanned drawings, etc; and have a unique aethetic (drawing style or look)

8)The film must should have some element of sound. The sound may come from a sound library or be recorded by you. It does NOT have to be lipsynch or synched sound. This is optional.

9)The film should contain camera moves. If the style dictates fewer camera moves, then this must be supported in you storyboard.

10)The film may contain multiple scenes, or contain just one scene, depending again on style and desgin of the story and animation.

11)You must turn in your 640x480 rendered video as a Quicktime or AVI, and also turn in the original ToonBoom file, in the same folder with your name, ie: YourName_Final

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SOUND & LIPSYNCHING in ToonBoom

ROUGH STORYBOARDS for the FINAL PROJECT due beginning of class

· introduction to sound and how lipsych is used in Toon Boom, (phonemes)

· lipsyching tutorial

· importing your own sound and lipsynch in ToonBoom

· using the automatic lipsynch tool in Toon Boom

Final Project Production

Staging and Storyboarding

FINAL STORYBOARDS for the FINAL PROJECT due beginning of class

Final Project Production

Final Project Produciton

Completion and Presentation of Final Project

Homework assignments will be given points based on accurate completion of assigned readings, assignments and tutorials.

Projects 1, 2 and the Final project will graded based on these criteria:

*Quality and Technical Competency the Animation: (timing of each element)

*Quality and Effectiveness in the overall Pacing of the Animation

*Staging and Strength of the Overall Design

*Appeal and Treatment of the Story and sucess of its Communication

*Originality, Creativity and Uniqueness of the Content and/or techniques

SEE GRADING RUBRICs below to see how I grade on each item

Each given an equal weight of 20%, to compose your grade for each project

It is, of course, the responsibility of each to ensure his/her work in completed an handed in on due dates (see below)

Critical review of your work will provide the source most assessments. Participation grade includes the extent and quality of the participation in the critiques, presentation of projects and positive interaction with classmates and professional approach toward the class. Students requiring any kind of special assistance should speak with the instructor at their earliest convenience.

Attendance: % 10 (click to see rubric)

Class Participation: % 5 (click to see rubric)

Homework & In-Class Assignments %5 (click to see rubric)

First Project %15 (click to see rubric)

Midterm Project %25 (click to see rubric)

Final Project %40 (click to see rubric)

GRADE SCALE: A 90%-100%B 80%-89%C 70%-79%D 60%-69%F Below 60%

Class attendance is also part of your class participation grade. Arriving on time is equally important. You will be considered absent one class period for every three tardies. (more than five minutes late)

Expect to spend from three to six hours a week on your working outside of class. Lab hours will be available and posted by the end of the first week.

Students are responsible for any material missed due to tardiness or absence. Readings, and assignments, and projects are expected at the beginning of class on their due dates.

Late submissions will be lowered one grade per class day late.

Late assignments, or absences due only to emergency or illness may be granted leniency only per the instructor's discretion.

Extra Credit:

Students may be able to re-submit any assignment for an improvement points as long as that assignment was turned in the original due date. The policies are specific to each assignment. Check specific project descriptions for more details.

Other opportunities for extra credit are possible involving visiting realted exhibits, films, museums, specific research, attending relevant shows or conferences, or related study, etc. Such points are limited and per the instructor's discretion