Epipheo Quick Hack

I recently completed an animation test for Epipheo. It's called Quick Hack. They provided me the script, and I went to town with the motion, editing, and voice over. Yup, that's me voicing this video! :D

Take a look, and enjoy! :)

Hayao Miyazaki on CNN

Watching Hayao Miyazaki talk about his work and his company's business is very inspiring. It's inspiring me to want to create my own animation studio, creating animations for clients and for audiences alike. :)

Patrick Stewart on Animation

I was able to see this on CNN.com Video today, and I really appreciated what Patrick Stewart had to say. I couldn't have agreed more with his thoughts.

Animation has always been an interest of mine, in every aspect of filmmaking. Drawing, music, writing, characters, direction, editing, acting. All of it. It's a huge challenge, very time consuming, and a lot of work. But it's amazing when it comes to full circle of the time spent on the projects. :)

I'll be there soon, animating, directing, writing, drawing, and acting. :) Editing too if need be (I'll leave the music to the better people lol).

Sketchbook

It's been a full month since leaving Georgia to find a start up here in the North. A full month where I did not have a sketchbook on hand for drawing different objects. Until now:

Trying to get better at drawing females, I never seem to get it right off the bat. Anyhoo, I also got Character Animation Crash Course by Eric Goldberg, the amazing animator that overlooked famous Disney characters (Genie from Aladdin, Phil from Hercules). I'm going to push my understanding of animation while I'm up here, and learn what's it like to be an animator. I'm more of a cartoonist than anything, but I'm gonna take the chance to become an animator. :)

Motion Reel_Tres Swygert

I created a motion reel for the animation/motion design projects I've been involved with. Whether it was client based, learning, or even having fun, I want to showcase to clients, collaborators, and colleagues of what I've done so far. And yes, where it will lead into as I work towards being an animator/motion designer.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think! :)

Facial Expression

I did a little facial expression animation. Just a start for me, to get into animation and push my understanding for timing and use of software. I drew all the facial expressions in Illustrator with my tablet, and composited all the artwork in After Effects.

A little different than doing all the animation in Flash, but it's challenging never the less. I'm excited, and I will continue to push my understanding. :)

Recent After Effects Projects

In the past few months, I was able to work on some After Effects projects for clients and for a competition. Each were unique in problem solving and meeting the needs of the project. I enjoyed working on each of them. :)

Created a demo reel for voiceover talent Doug Turkel, using kinetic type to showcase his work. It was a great challenge to keep each video unique, but keep it in a consistent flow from one clip to the next. I also wanted it to represent the projects he was voicing over (wanted it to feel like it was Discovery Channel for example). Doug has worked on projects that not only shocked me, but also inspired me. He's great at what he does!

I was asked to be a compositor for Kathy Lea's demo reel, determining how to structure the demo to be at least 3 minutes. Some of the problems were to keep it within the 3 minute mark, as well as transitioning from one video to the next. Working on this project, I learned more about frames, and how they make up the seconds for a video clip. She's a wonderful animator, as she worked on projects for Disney and DreamWorks. She's also a great friend too! :)

This was created for the "48 Hour Repack" Competition. I was invited to join with fellow designers Charles Gary and Michael Manisa to enter as a group. We wanted to show why our package is perfect to for use in this green environment campaign. We wanted to explain our reasons for using this kind of package in comparison of the light bulb packages of right now. I really had a great time collaborating on this video with them, and hopefully we'll do some more collaboration in the future.

Hope you enjoy!

Waking Sleeping Beauty

The one of the wonderful gifts I received this Christmas weekend is a documentary on Disney Animation, where they were facing a dilemma. The documentary is called Waking Sleeping Beauty, and features the main players of the CEOs and animation artists, telling stories on how power, egos, and passion drove this company we know as Disney.

It's a wonderful told documentary, showing insight of the people who played roles in bringing the animation movies we know back when we were kids: The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and the Lion King. Get yourself a copy of this film, it's really worth getting for your artist collection.

And no you may not borrow mine - I'm still watching the special features as we speak. :D

HTC Surround Commercial

I enjoy this commercial. Not just for the clean look of the background and how the phone is being displayed. I enjoy the characters a lot. Especially the blue. The character designs are well thought out. :)

Something That I Want - Disney

They just had way too much fun with this video! And what a way to celebrate the completion of a film too! :) Enjoy, and enjoy your holiday break!

Glen Keane - Truly Inspiring

Glen Keane is a veteran animator at Disney Animation, and truly his draftsmanship is an inspiration and a joy to watch. If you ask any animation admirer about Glen, they'll light up for sure.

He's been involved with many Disney movies, including the recent movie Tangled. It would be nice to see him get more hand drawn movies produced at Disney Animation Studios. I would love to see that happening.

What makes Glen so great is that he enjoys what he does, and he brings that passion out in his works. It really shows. It really does show.

Here's Glen giving a lecture while he's animating. Watching him handle both graphite and paper is just aspiring. I want to have control on how I construct lines, and have it strong. Just like Glen.

Innovation For People Logo Animation

Innovation For People Logo Animation from Tres Swygert on Vimeo.

Here's my logo animation for Innovation for People. I wanted to test and make sure the link works, as well as on vimeo. Looks very clean and nice. :)

Project - the First iPad Magazine App

I know that it was a possibility to have magazines appear through the iPad...but I would not imagine the possibility of taking motion graphics and make it the cover image! Or even animation for the imagery in the contents page!

There is so much possibilities with this, along with it being affordable for the app. I really have to tip my hat to Mr. Branson, he really came up with a great idea, and it is looking gorgeous! If nothing else, this really inspired me to want an iPad. Yes, the iPad finally has a purpose now.

Just imagine all those Computer Arts magazines with video tutorials inside the app! Or video interviews and some extras....So inspiring. :)

To My Friend Charles

I Have PSD from Hyperakt on Vimeo.

To my friend Charles, who cannot go a day without using Photoshop in his projects and in life. :) Keep on using your mad skills to inspire us bro! :)

For Sock's Sake

An animation student from Cal Arts, Carlo Vogele, created this beautiful story about a sock captured. The stop motion was wonderful done, very fluid and smooth.

And the best part? He shares behind the scene photos of this amazing composition. Green screen, camera, and After Effects. :) So awesome. Hope this inspires you to go outside of your comfort zone for your passion and craft.

So What If (as Stan Would Say)

This typography animation was first shown to me during my introductory year for graphic design (givin' a shoutout to Paige for the hookup!), and it was always fascinating to me how wonderful this story was through typography. Not kinetic type, but using the characters of a typeface to construct a story along with the music, and having a well conceptual direction for what the story detailed. After having experience with After Effects, I start to see how it was constructed, and grabbing an idea how it conveyed the message through editing and camera use.

So what if there was a story told through type with no dialogue, but just made up of characters of that typeface? Where would the story go? How would you keep people interested? Is there a message to the story? I see a lot of kinetic typography pieces, but barely any projects that showcase a typeface as the main star of its' own production. Something to think about, not just for myself, but for others who are interested. :)

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World on DVD!!!

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is out on DVD! Today! :D So happy, I'm gettin' my copy for sure!

Also, if you weren't able to see it on Facebook, there will be a showing of Scott Pilgrim at Cinefest this Thursday at 7PM. Some of the juniors are planning on going, so it would be awesome to go as a group and hang out. Hope to see you there this Thursday! :D

Truly Amazed on the Consistency

(during the 90's and before the recent one)

(recent version)

I'm truly amazed how Disney was able to keep the theme of dreams, hope, and life into their movie intro when they upgraded it. Not only did they keep the theme consistent, but they also pushed emotion element even more, and allowing us to remember back when we first watched a Disney film.

I know that they didn't do this recently per se, but for some dumb reason this morning I had it stuck in my head. It's a magical sense of wonder, that's for sure. :)

5000 - Mission Accomplished

Today, marks my 5,000th view on YouTube. It was a goal of mine to reach 5,000 views within a year for this video, and I'm pleased to see that the goal was met. :)

Thanks to everyone who viewed the video and let others know about it, I appreciate the support!

SXSW Title Design Competition

I'm very interested in participating with this competition. Though I would like to create another title sequence compared to my first one.

If anyone else is interested, you can go to here. It's only $10 and the deadline is December 9. Plenty of time, affordable, and tons of fun! :)