Summer is Dangerous! 3 Seasons of Avatar later and I have yet to start thinking about my thesis. It's been tough trying to get back into the swing of focusing on it again. The NYC trip that I went on really got me thinking, really inspired me to want to start NEW projects. The process of finishing this Thesis film has really weighed heavy on my motivation.
Goes to show that you should LOVE an idea from the BEGINNING to start production on it. This thesis idea was a great concept, but overall I think I've know my heart just isn't with the story. It's weak and pathetic and frustrating to try and fix all the flaws it has. I'm very greatful for Noah working on it so hard and I know he's going to do well wherever he goes, but as for me, I know that filmmaking probably isn't my strong suit. It could be, but I'm too hard on myself and I feel that my stories aren't the difference makers that I try so hard for them to be.
So summer is here. It's hot. I just moved in with my girlfriend and her family for the summer. She has cats. I'm allerigic, but the rent is free, so a few sinus headaches for a couple monthes is worth the 1050 I'll be saving by not having to pay rent. I'll be graduating in the fall, with the assumption that i'll have finished my thesis, but I still just don't feel ready to go into the work environment with everything I've learned thus far. I guess all I can do is hope that i get into Texas A&M university and there i will learn even more valuable things towards my craft(assuming i can determine exactly what it is i want to do).
Things I'm excited for this summer:
1. I'll be working on doing some music for Molly Agnew. She's got a great story for her grad thesis, and I'm very glad she's asked me to try and help her out. Now to get the old pro-tools together and start working on that.
2. For Heather and Sench's wedding they've asked me to do some recording for them. It's probably a secret but no one reads this blog anyways! So it doesn't really matter what I put! :-) I'm excited to be doing that for them.
3. I've decided to try and submit one of my films to a film festival in Arizona. It's a Christian Film Festival that my parents found and recommended to me. I would be interested to see how my films does. I've heard horror stories from different people about the responses they've gotten to submitting their films. And while the film is not something I'm especially proud of, I've gotten some really nice feedback about how people enjoyed being a part of the experience. I just want to add some music to the peice and it should be all set. I'll keep people updated.
4. I'm really excited to finish my thesis. Mostly the finish part. Not the thesis part...lol...
5. I brought my trumpet back with me from CT. I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but I'm a little excited to try and start practicing that again....
6. I love playing guitar, and this summer i hope to get back into playing it more. If I write anything cool I'll be sure to post it.
7. For some strange reason i've wanted to do a nice model of Calvin and Hobbes. Just a little something from my childhood that could look pretty cool on a demo reel. I like to try in in Modo so that I can remember how to use the program.
So yea. That's what's going on corporately for Chris Potter. A lot of different projects. Feel free to email me if you want to know whats going down spiritually or socially...lol...
Cya next post,
CPot
Thesis in Motion! 76% complete
So I'm really starting to get rather nervous. My thesis is due in 3 weeks time (2 weeks from this coming friday!) Right now i'm working on finishing the coloring for my characters so i can start rendering, assuming that the render farm is actually WORKING. Anyways here a couple screen shots of 2 of my characters:
These two characters will be sitting next to each other on the train, just waiting for the hobo to stead away their precious soda. It's pretty epic... I wanted to play with colors and have their clothing be opposite each others skin tone. it working out rather strangely and i don't know if i'm going to change it, but i liked the idea...oh well.
Anyways, speaking of changes I would have liked to make, I'm really beginning to see alot of things that I would have liked to change about my stay at RIT. I'm really discovering that I would have done things a lot differently had I not been a stupid freshman with an ego and a close minded attitude towards animation and my career in general. I have established a list of things I would like to call "The List of Stuff to Help you Succeed"
1. Drawing is Important
Even if you are a 3d animator, like i considered myself freshman year, you still need to learn how to animate in 2d. It helps with your timing, and your composition and your posing. Buy Richard Williams book and love that thing until it falls apart! DO IT. I don't care what you think you need.
2. Make Friends
This seems like an easy thing to do, but freshman year I was very caught up in my own thing with my own clubs. A lot of the kids who are good friends now met each other in a special interest house on campus. They have made friends with a lot of talented artists. They will succeed because they're all good friends now who will look out for each other in the workplace. (to a certain extent) Dave Levy has been teaching us time and time again that your networking starts NOW. Your classmates may just be your foot in the door to a job. The kids who made connections and built relationships with the kids from Art House have invaluable connections to other artists. Which leads me to another point
3. You are an Artist
No matter how much you want to fight it, you are an artist. Freshman year, I fought the idea that I was supposed to create. I wanted to be plugged into a system and do a job that would benefit a greater project. I had no interest expressing myself. I have come to appreciate this however. (though my thesis is very, very frustrating) When you consider yourself an artist you will open yourself up to other artists. This was a big problem that i felt i had while here at RIT. I didn't consider myself an artist, so i didn't open up to the artist community. I distanced myself from them because i didn't think i belonged. My friends from the Art House have made lasting friendships with other artists, who who beautiful matte paintings and give invaluable design advice that is really making their films look gorgeous. Never underestimate the importance of connections and never back down from an opportunity to make friends with other people.
3-1. You are not a professional yet.
Though you should strive for professional quality, you are still a student. So enjoy being a student. You're growing and you're learning, and your films are not going to be Student Academy Awards winnings, unless you're a freaking prodigy. As much as I would love to be a prodigy, I'm not. So I need to take my films where they are at, realize what i can learn from them, and move on to better myself. Animation is a growing skill that you hone and become better at. It's not something, no matter how much you want to be, that you will wake up and be amazing at. Sure you can be an amazing drawer, or an amazing animator, but there will ALWAYS be someone better, and if you feel like you're creating your best work in school, then where does that leave you to grow and become an even better artist.
4. Take classes for the content, not the grade.
This is something that I can actually say I did. I was very happy with my class choice, though I wish i had more time to take MORE classes than when I'm taking now! But if you go to RIT, be sure to take ALL the classes you can. The cinematography courses and the live action courses are more useful to an animator than you think. The importance of storytelling at SOFA is a very useful thing. As an animator you will understand the most important actions to make, as a designer you will understand the importance of color and mood to influence a viewer. Take stop motion classes and 2d classes and flash classes. Take illustration classes and painting classes and DEFINITELY drawing classes. If you can't take a drawing class then go to a figure drawing session as much as you can. The more comfortable you are with a pencil, the easier it will be to make test animations before even trying anything in Maya.
5. Storyboarding is important
Just do it. I used to hate everything at SOFA that wasn't 3d animating or 3d related, but I'm starting to find that I'm starting to enjoy storyboarding and the planning stages of animation.
6. LOVE ANIMATION
The most important thing by far is, you need to love animation. You need to love it even when you hate it, because it's worth it. Animation will not always be fun. It will not always love you back, but you need to stay loyal. As frustrated as I find myself with animation, and as hopeless as I feel like my career will be, I won't give up, because I believe in the power of storytelling and the positive effect it can have. And I love animation.
That was rather scatterbrained, but I think I made some good points. Don't leave college with any regrets. I wish I made stronger connections with the people here at school. That is the most important advice I can give. Make friends and keep them, because they're not just your friends, they're your future job opportunities (and buddies to hang out with when you're bored)
These two characters will be sitting next to each other on the train, just waiting for the hobo to stead away their precious soda. It's pretty epic... I wanted to play with colors and have their clothing be opposite each others skin tone. it working out rather strangely and i don't know if i'm going to change it, but i liked the idea...oh well.
Anyways, speaking of changes I would have liked to make, I'm really beginning to see alot of things that I would have liked to change about my stay at RIT. I'm really discovering that I would have done things a lot differently had I not been a stupid freshman with an ego and a close minded attitude towards animation and my career in general. I have established a list of things I would like to call "The List of Stuff to Help you Succeed"
1. Drawing is Important
Even if you are a 3d animator, like i considered myself freshman year, you still need to learn how to animate in 2d. It helps with your timing, and your composition and your posing. Buy Richard Williams book and love that thing until it falls apart! DO IT. I don't care what you think you need.
2. Make Friends
This seems like an easy thing to do, but freshman year I was very caught up in my own thing with my own clubs. A lot of the kids who are good friends now met each other in a special interest house on campus. They have made friends with a lot of talented artists. They will succeed because they're all good friends now who will look out for each other in the workplace. (to a certain extent) Dave Levy has been teaching us time and time again that your networking starts NOW. Your classmates may just be your foot in the door to a job. The kids who made connections and built relationships with the kids from Art House have invaluable connections to other artists. Which leads me to another point
3. You are an Artist
No matter how much you want to fight it, you are an artist. Freshman year, I fought the idea that I was supposed to create. I wanted to be plugged into a system and do a job that would benefit a greater project. I had no interest expressing myself. I have come to appreciate this however. (though my thesis is very, very frustrating) When you consider yourself an artist you will open yourself up to other artists. This was a big problem that i felt i had while here at RIT. I didn't consider myself an artist, so i didn't open up to the artist community. I distanced myself from them because i didn't think i belonged. My friends from the Art House have made lasting friendships with other artists, who who beautiful matte paintings and give invaluable design advice that is really making their films look gorgeous. Never underestimate the importance of connections and never back down from an opportunity to make friends with other people.
3-1. You are not a professional yet.
Though you should strive for professional quality, you are still a student. So enjoy being a student. You're growing and you're learning, and your films are not going to be Student Academy Awards winnings, unless you're a freaking prodigy. As much as I would love to be a prodigy, I'm not. So I need to take my films where they are at, realize what i can learn from them, and move on to better myself. Animation is a growing skill that you hone and become better at. It's not something, no matter how much you want to be, that you will wake up and be amazing at. Sure you can be an amazing drawer, or an amazing animator, but there will ALWAYS be someone better, and if you feel like you're creating your best work in school, then where does that leave you to grow and become an even better artist.
4. Take classes for the content, not the grade.
This is something that I can actually say I did. I was very happy with my class choice, though I wish i had more time to take MORE classes than when I'm taking now! But if you go to RIT, be sure to take ALL the classes you can. The cinematography courses and the live action courses are more useful to an animator than you think. The importance of storytelling at SOFA is a very useful thing. As an animator you will understand the most important actions to make, as a designer you will understand the importance of color and mood to influence a viewer. Take stop motion classes and 2d classes and flash classes. Take illustration classes and painting classes and DEFINITELY drawing classes. If you can't take a drawing class then go to a figure drawing session as much as you can. The more comfortable you are with a pencil, the easier it will be to make test animations before even trying anything in Maya.
5. Storyboarding is important
Just do it. I used to hate everything at SOFA that wasn't 3d animating or 3d related, but I'm starting to find that I'm starting to enjoy storyboarding and the planning stages of animation.
6. LOVE ANIMATION
The most important thing by far is, you need to love animation. You need to love it even when you hate it, because it's worth it. Animation will not always be fun. It will not always love you back, but you need to stay loyal. As frustrated as I find myself with animation, and as hopeless as I feel like my career will be, I won't give up, because I believe in the power of storytelling and the positive effect it can have. And I love animation.
That was rather scatterbrained, but I think I made some good points. Don't leave college with any regrets. I wish I made stronger connections with the people here at school. That is the most important advice I can give. Make friends and keep them, because they're not just your friends, they're your future job opportunities (and buddies to hang out with when you're bored)
New York City- Thesis 75% complete
So for the past 7 weeks I have been in class with Tom Gasek in New York City. Life has been hectic with Thesis stuff and life in general! I'm really pleased to be taking classes with Dave Levy as well! (http://animondays.blogspot.com/) He's really inspired me, making me feel a LITTLE better about probably going into the workplace.
Perhaps I should practice blogging as to my Thesis status has gone up from 2% to 25% and i haven't posted in like...years. I think Dave has the right idea as to posting every Monday. Mondays work out for me. I think i'll start doing that! Thanks for the idea! Cya monday.
Thanks for reading my 2 followers. (IF you even read :-P)
Perhaps I should practice blogging as to my Thesis status has gone up from 2% to 25% and i haven't posted in like...years. I think Dave has the right idea as to posting every Monday. Mondays work out for me. I think i'll start doing that! Thanks for the idea! Cya monday.
Thanks for reading my 2 followers. (IF you even read :-P)
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