Untitled

• Learned

 Sometimes, some people will be better than you. I can't be jealous, because it won't do me any good. All I can do is my best.

• Want to learn

 How to draw human beings more effectively.

• Frustrated you

 As deadlines approach I can't help but feel a sense of dread.

That and I've been fighting with some close friends of mine :(

• Made you happy

 My boyfriend
Borderlands 2 for the PC

• Link of interest

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M9ONL6BcbU

 You're going to die

Dark Sauce (Dark Souls)

A funny parody. I've kind of been into Dark Souls recently. This video has lip syncing and stuff. It's pretty funny too. Check it out and beware, we wouldn't want you to go hollow.

Inexpensive Garage Studio Tricks

Fast Facts:

• Protect your external hard drives. They are your best friends. Invest in fireproof safes to keep them safe from harm.
• Use ankle weights to keep your stuff in place. This is a pretty creative and useful idea actually.
• Utilize the thrift store for cords. Search for cords that can be used such as bendable or right angle end cords

Cool bits:

• Useful. Cost effective. Makes the most use out of every asset.
•  Great for anyone starting out or anyone who wants to keep their space small

 Question:

• Where does one come up with these tricks? Is it something one learns from experience?

Another Tips Blog

yay...

Fast facts:

• Break down your rigs to make them easier to work with. Dividing each leg or appendage into separate colors can be used to make animating much easier.
• Show off your goods while they are still works in progress. Don't let your pride get the best of you. And besides, if there is a major error, it will be easier to catch and correct in its earlier stages that near completion.
• Animators are only actors with pencils. Go out and live life so that you can take that life and shove it into an animation to make it feel more real. So basically, live life for your character.

Cool Bits:

• Another tip blog. Not that they aren't useful, but they're getting a little repetitive...
• Useful tips that I hadn't really thought of before. Color coding is genius

Question:

•  I think tip number 8 is a little unclear. What does "block" mean in this situation?

Normal Human!!

I apologize in advance for my lack of things to say today. I'm in a bit of a funk, or perhaps a slow period where not much is happening. It's pretty much work work work from this point on.

• Learned

 Ponytail equation? Well, I guess I learned the equation and what variables need to be found to solve the ponytail equation, but it's all calculus and I'm only in pre-calculus, so I don't entirely understand the equation as a whole. I'm working on it though.

• Want to learn

 I want to figure out the ponytail equation mostly

• Frustrated you

 Ponytail equation... It's so dang difficult. Even my friends who are in calculus told me that it is crazy that I even considered trying to figure it out. In a way, it is, but I don't care. Maybe I'm just crazy like that.

Also, when I was trying to make arrangements to get to my oldest sister's honor society induction ceremony, I kind of re-sparked an ongoing feud between my two older sisters. It got to the point where my older sister absolutely refused to go to her induction ceremony because she was so angry with our oldest sister and I feel terrible because I kind of feel like it was my fault. Everyone says it wasn't my fault, but I can't help but feel at least a little guilty.

• Made you happy

 Octodad- Dadliest Catch. It's hilarious! And of course my boyfriend. It will be our 4 year anniversary on Friday, April 4th. I don't have anything planned though. :( Hopefully we will figure something out.... but probably not...

• Link of interest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aErI0pTCUoU

Another lip syncing tutorial! Because we haven't had enough of lip syncing... yay.... (Well, I personally enjoy lip syncing, but in my own way. I redraw my phonemes and sometimes copy and paste, but I don't have a library filled with specific phonemes)

I love the work of this animator and I was thrilled that they had a lip syncing tutorial for their work. Hopefully they will be of use to anyone who happens to stumble upon this blog entry.

Human Eyes and Cameras

Fast Facts:

•  Eyes can't really be compared to video cameras (or at least, they make for a poor comparison). They function in different ways and process images differently and store data by different means, making them difficult to compare.
• Eyes make for extremely crappy cameras. So many flaws and obstructions of view, blind spots and blurs, and all that jazz. If our eyes were cameras, we would return them.
• To many frames per second can actually give you a headache. This is why, when something is moving to fast for your eyes to see, your eyes add in a motion blur. Without this motion blur, the eyes would get confused and your noggin will start aching.

Thoughts and Opinions:

•  I never realized that eyes produced such a crappy quality "image"
• Another point for technology for surpassing human limitations

Question:
Why is it that, at the point of optimal vision, fewer "megapixels" can be perceived than outside of that point? If the optimal point is compared to 7 megapixels, shouldn't the points outside of this be compared to 6 or less, since it isn't quite as clear? And does that take into consideration the blind spot where no visual data can be drawn from?

Miyazaki's Tips For Better Movies

Just thought you should know:

• Make movies that don't distract from humanity or everyday life, but create movies that inspire thought. For example, Princess Mononoke made us think about our use and abuse of power against the forces of nature. It really makes you think.
• Teamwork is incredibly important. Your associates are there to help and to share or relieve the burdens of film making tasks. Don't try to do it all on your own.
• Don't rely to heavily on one type of media. Try to find the happy medium between old and new to produce the best quality film that you can.

 My thoughts:

• I think these are tips that we all should know, but oddly don't. None of this is all that shocking or unexpected, but it reminds us of what was right in front of us all along. Everybody needs a refresher every now and again.
• Exactly the kind of tips one might expect from Hayao Miyazaki (not that this is a bad thing, but all of these are clearly put on display in his movies). He is a man who can take his own advise and it shows, which is something that can be appreciated and respected.

Question:
 How does one mix old and new media? One might assume that all (or perhaps most) of the art is hand drawn on paper (or some material), but where does the "new" technology come into play?

Weekly Journal Blawg Thingy

• Learned

Hm, this week has mostly been a work week, though I did learn how to make titles in Premiere.  Not so sure I've learned any personal lessons or anything. I don't know.

• Want to learn

Credits in Premiere. I don't think I really learned how to do that. Also, I want to learn how to make my own sound effects. I have been wanting to make a sound of a ball of Playdough  hitting a baseball to simulate Goo smacking into a baseball. Also, I wanted the sound of a baseball rolling though the grass.

• Frustrated you

Sound effects always grind my gears. I can never find any that I am happy with and usually end up sticking in anything I can find that may or may not fit.

• Made you happy

 Getting to spend some quality time with my boyfriend is always nice. Yesterday we played Cards Against Humanity. Though our senses of humor clashed, we had a good time.
Also, I've been keeping a journal. I figured I should keep track of my thoughts, because... REASONS!!!

• Link of interest

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmiCMZ9uFiQ

 A Game Theory episode on sound which covers a topic we have heard before: Infrasound. Warning: Blood, Mortal Combat characters (so there are some pretty "interestingly" dressed ladies.