Animation Progress

READ THIS PART IF You struggle with yourself as an artist sometimes!

First of all: Hello everyone, I want to motivate you by showing you my animation progression!

I don't even like most of these animations anymore. I see all the faults and what I could have done better. But hey?! This is it!  It is a journey and the progress we make. The Rookies are not an art gallery portraying pretty pictures. So, be brave and show your work, and after months or years, you can look back and see your progression.

I put myself under a lot of pressure, and I want to prove that I am going to make it! Often I was worried about what other people may think about me and my projects. I tell you something. Maybe it is obvious. For me, it was not. I realized that I am the only person who puts myself under pressure, not the others: Only me.

That was a lightbulb moment.

It is only about you and your dreams. Don't try to reach their goals: Build and reach your own! Try to find out what your goals are and then push yourself to get there. It does not matter if it takes longer or shorter. Life is not only about work. It is about passion in each of its dimensions. Dealing with that pressure is not always easy. I still try to find a way to handle it better day by day. But already, that realization helped me to become more self-confident. 

Believing in yourself is a crucial element: It enables you to reach everything you want!

There will be ups and downs: Never give up!

It is NOT about being the next Shawn Kelly or Glen Keane: Be the best version of yourself!

I hope you enjoy my entry!
Best wishes,
Nina

With the horse project, I dived the first time into a layered animation approach. The run cycle started with animating the hips to the chest and from that, I worked my way out to all other body parts. Here I used animation layers the first time. I used them to adjust some movements and to add further behavior. After I rendered it I learned that horses also tend to move their ears a lot more! So keep that in mind, when you animate! Study your reference - As always!

Down below you can watch an animatic I did for one of my Demo Shots. I love dinosaurs and I had a great passion for that project! The animatic became a short movie where two raptors are pursued by a helicopter. One of them gets shot and the other one returns to stay with his buddy. I wanted to show how they interact but also are emotive: Living and loving creatures. But I had no idea how slow I animate. Here I learned a lot about time management and I was only able to animate the first shot of it.

There are some pops and other faults. Especially the tails overlap needs quite more love! Don't get me wrong. I learn a ton with every project and I am proud of what I managed to animate at that time. 

Why do I show you that crappy tiger animation?

I animated that tiger at the very end of March 2019. I spend around four days on it. At that time I wanted to become a modeling/ sculpting artist. My first Rookies Entry was a Mercedes Typewriter. At another group project, I was responsible for animation and it blew my mind. Half of our education was over and It was time to choose what we are going to focus on.

In March 2019, I already worked on two modeling demo projects. Instead of finishing them, I decided to become an animator instead, and I never regretted my decision! Within 6 months, I build my first animation Demo Reel.

I animated the lions around five months later and spent about three weeks on the shot. I did not work on it fulltime, because I had to finish other Demo projects as well. Yes, they are pops, it is not cleaned up, the tails are crashing in the floor, and the camera is not animated...and, and, and but, compared to the tiger animation above, this is the progress I can show you!! 

This animation has a special meaning to me. I animated it as a surprise for my mentor, who worked on the lion king, and I showed it to him after I finished the Demo for PIXL VISN.

What makes me even prouder is that this animation was the reason I got my first internship as an animation trainee at a german VFX company, which started in April 2020.

After graduation in October 2019, I took a time off. At the beginning of 2020, I collaborated with some students and I had the chance to be part of some fantastic projects! Maybe you find my name at some other Rookie Entrys attached! 

Feel free to check my FIRST animation Demo Reel from October 2019. There you find some feature animation as well. I decided to share my Demo projects because they are not perfect and in the meanwhile, I would animate a lot differently! It is about progress and constant learning!

Cheers and Happy Animating!