New Character Designs

With the latest version of Anime Studio Pro out I really want to get reacquainted with the software (I've forgotten so much). To get the ball rolling I thought I'd design some new characters, something simple to start with. Meet "The Complementaries".

You can't get more simple than some basic shapes. I spent some face time with the surface Pro (something else I've been neglecting of late) and worked up some character sheets, this being the one I felt worth pursuing. I'll still be using Anime Studio Pro 9.5 I guess, there's nothing particularly challenging about any of these characters animation-wise that would necessitate getting version 11 (apart from the discount pricing right now).

I don't know what I'm doing with this variation, over complicating things probably.

Frame by Frame and Plastic Animation Paper.

I'm sure most traditional animators already knew this, but there has been this program around for years that has become free because the developers consider it old and ugly. However it seems pretty cool to me, admittedly I'm not a traditional animator and I've only played with it for about an hour.



I know my example animation is rather shit, I just want to put something up on the blog that looked like F.B.F animation. I think this is a really nice little app to work with and you can even bring in sound files if you need to animate to audio. The developer was trying to crowd fund an upgraded version called Animation Paper but unfortunately they didn't hit their target so I don't know if that'll ever happen. But till then we have this, for free.

Jeans On

I should've mentioned this in the previous post. From 1976, the bouncy jingle for a Brutus jeans commercial proved so popular that the bouncy jingle was re-written to become a massive pop single.



I'm sure there are other examples, however it remains more likely that an established hit be licensed and used for a product campaign than the reverse.

Coke 2015_Nobody Like You.

The latest Coke campaign unveils a classic pop tune hammered together by song writing duo Rock Mafia and newcomer Francesco Yates. The tune serenades Coke, the taste, the bottle and perhaps the singer's girlfriend, so it works both ways. I've listened to the campaign version, infused with Coke-centric sound bites and "fizz pop clink" effects, and listened to the longer straight version that lays less heavy with the references. Both are great, although I think the version with the Coca-Cola sound effects is more honest, given that this is the inspiration behind the tunes actual existence.

Coca-Cola "Nobody Like You" (Agency: Brunner) from S77 on Vimeo.

Another Animation test. The Wingman

Having recently done some corporate work that required character work, it put me in the mood to I do more character stuff in After Effects. I'm using the DUIK script again, in this case it's used for the inverse kinematics (IK) on the arm and that's it. Mostly I just used solids with masks and the Stroke effect to create everything inside After Effects.



I found the audio here. If you download the sample pack, make sure to download that and not the Audio Recording and Editing software on the same page as I can't vouch for that. I really need to get back to using Anime Studio Pro, but I'm enjoying figuring out how to pull off animation in After Effects as well.

Standing Desk solutions

Last year I took time out to build a standing desk, it used adjustable legs to achieve the required height. The end result looked like this and cost about $200 or so.

At the time I was unable to find an affordable solution off the rack, however things have since changed and I have now discovered this.

The prices are quite reasonable and had this been around at the time I would have gone for this. The obviouse advantage is that the height adjustments can be made easily at any time, with my hand made model I have to clear the desk, upturn it and adjust each leg separately.
More information at VARIDESK Australia.

Behold the Beholder HSP - 3 Axis Stabilizer for smart phones

Here's a review for a handheld stabilization rig for your smart phone by Mikey of AE Tutes with Mikey.


More info at teamrebeldesign.com.

Death of Grooveshark

A visit to one of my go to places to find music revealed this;

I guess the problem was that anything we can listen to on our PC's we can record. I'll miss the quick search for various song covers and artist offerings that grooveshark.com afforded me.