L Rossi Art.

Cadeaux - X2

2011-12-22T17:41:00.019+01:00

(This post was updated with the last sketches of 2011)

Hey, I know I said I wouldn't.... but it is Christmas after all ;)

...and plus, I don't have the energy to do a card this year :S... so I hope these 3D bits, along with some choice words, will suffice in conveying my Best Wishes to you all this holiday season :)

Back home in the UK now, and very tired (and a little bit poorly). I had planned to do some work (lol yeah I KNOW!!) But honestly, it's time for me to Chill Out!! I need it....
But before the end of the school year I WILL fix the things I didn't have time to in these exercises, and correct things based on the feedback I got from the tutors... just not now :P

A couple of weeks before leaving we began working on our Film de Fin d'Etudes! I have the absolute pleasure of being in a team with Joel, Bung, Thomas and Bernard. Ils sont ARCHI fort! Mais nous aurons du travail a faire, c'est sur...
We have our story, and now it's all about storyboard, research, design etc.
If you want to know what the story's about.... come back in 6 months!! :P
Yeah yeah... Scrooge, I know u.u

So wherever you are this Christmas, have an enjoyable time with friends and family, and I wish you a Very Happy and Healthy 2012!

'Till the Next,
L

P.S Crêpe au Fromages de chèvre, Jambon et Miel.... Allez-y!!!
P.P.S As much as it's weird to hear English accents again... I do like the English countryside :)

Everything will be alright in the end. If it's not alright…. it's not the end.

2011-11-12T16:25:00.023+01:00

Before my updates, maybe some sketches? :)

Some of these date back to the end of September..... The images of people enjoying the sunshine were from the 1st Oct if you can believe it!

So, I moved out of my old flat at the start of September - but more importantly couldn't find a new one to move into….. I started work on a short film to try and earn some extra dough…. and I started at Gobelins….. ALL at the same time!
Couch surfing with all my gear scattered around various friend's places, trying to Storyboard/Character Design for deadlines, ringing adds and visiting flats to no avail, and attending the course I longed to do for a long time, was a typical day during this period....

Was I stressed? No….. I was just tired (mainly of Parisian Landlords and their absurd requirements)…. but kept going none the less….
Anyway! Skip forward a couple of months, and I finally have a place to call my own, the short film is finished despite an unexpected turn of events :S, and I have the first two 3D Animation exercises under my belt with only one more to go!
It wasn't the end :)

Speaking of the short film, here are some stills and a couple of designs. The whole thing was made in 2months - from storyboard to final edit. I was involved in Storyboard, Character Design and Compositing. Unfortunately there was one major spanner in the works, which meant it doesn't look as good as it COULD have, but considering this and the fact that most people were working on it in the evenings(!), I think it looks not half-bad :P

There have been Life Drawing sessions running at the school once a week, but because of my workload, I've always been unable to go. At last this week I went along :)
A lot of the first years are already producing great drawings… but embarrassingly, some of them knew who I was through this blog, "You're Laurent Rossi!?", and I'm thinking, "really!? You like what I do!? when you do awesome stuff like THAT already!!?"…. :'D Salut si vous êtes dans 1ère année :P

I'm not going to post my Animation exercises…. I'll wait 'till the end of the year when the new Reel is ready. But just as a teaser!

We did the 'Marche et Poids', the 'Marche Quadrupède', and have just started the 'Lipsync' (so the last image is only an early render test).

Final Year films start next month, so I can relax a bit…. Oh wait…. (!)

'Till the Next, (whenever that may be!)
L

P.S Apologies to all bloggers for my sporadic visiting habits…. can you find it in your hearts to forgive me?

L4Draw Presents "Project_Gouken"

2011-08-19T20:27:00.045+02:00

UPDATE:

TV
NoLife
The folks at NoLife (A French VideoGame Channel) featured the short at the end of their latest show..... pretty cool! You can see the episode by clicking on the link, and Gouken comes in at 9.40 (beforehand is Nelson Boles' latest short, which if you haven't seen yet, you should check it out!)

Websites
Catsuka.com
Gameblog.fr
Shoryuken.com
HitCombo.com
EventHubs.com
ColdHardFlash.com
Arteyanimacion.es
Deculture.es
Awesome-Robo.com

Thanks guys! :')

Youtube Honors
#41 – Most Discussed (This Month) – Film & Animation – France
#10 – Top Favorited (This Month) – Film & Animation – France
#11 – Top Rated (This Month) – Film & Animation – France
#37 – Most Viewed (This Month) – Film & Animation – France
_______________

Bet you thought it would never be finished, didn't you? ;)

Well first off, a MASSIVE "Thank You" to Mr Matt Timms who's work ethic and approach to the project was fantastic, and who's FX animation not only came out amazing but was also extremely appreciated. It was a pleasure working with you and I look forward to when we may work together again :) (He hasn't seen the final product yet so I hope he likes how it turned out! Surprise! :D)
And I'd also like to point out that I was lucky to get Matt involved when I did, as he's just landed a new gig as an FX animator for Cartoon Network! So Congratulations to him!

The actual project kind of went through a few stylistic changes.... I was originally thinking of having something based around 'paper and texture', but it was also kind of a shortcut from having to do colour and backgrounds, and I felt it was really coming across as such - it seemed lack luster. So I regrouped, bit the bullet and finally forced myself to work on colour and digital painting.....
I made the noob mistake of making my colours too dark and de-saturated :S .... (PLEASE UP THE BRIGHTNESS ON YOUR MONITORS!).... and I won't be doing anymore backgrounds again anytime soon!!

But hey - this was the point of the project! For me, it was all about the learning experience - trying stuff out in animation, getting more used to Flash, painting backgrounds for the first time, being able to look at After Effects and say, "You don't scare me!"...
all things which should hopefully put me in good stead for the next year...

And the sound effects(!) Man that was A LOT of work! :D But super fun and satisfying at the same time to add all these tiny sounds like clothes rustles, landings & impacts etc.... It just gave it a lil' extra umpfff....

Anyways! I hope you enjoy each and every of the 13 seconds - Don't blink please :P

This will be my last post before I start at Gobelins.... and probably the last for a while..... sooo I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you who stop by this blog and leave your two cents worth... It's been a pleasure sharing my work with you and I will OF COURSE continue to check up on you all ;)

And so as always...
'Till the Next,
L

p.s Two posts in one day! How lucky are you! :D
So I think tomorrow I can have a well deserved day off.... good thing too.... considering it's my birthday ;)

Life Drawing Session 11: The End

2011-08-19T19:51:00.023+02:00

They say all good things come to an end. And in this case, a reeeally good thing has come to an end. But I've had a great run! I started Life Drawing back up in March when I returned to Paris, and averaged maybe 1 session every two weeks…. going to sessions hosted by Scott & Tom (whom I offer many thanks!) and those at La Grande Chaumière.
Not only has it been a delight to draw the figure in this way again, but also great to meet so many other people with a similar passion, from all walks of life.

The last couple of sessions from La Grande Chaumière have been accompanied by somewhat interesting tales; those of 'the nut grabbing man', 'the real-life moving hold'…… but this last session was a little uneventful.
I suppose I could talk about the tiny chihuahua pottering around peoples feet, barking (or yelping would be a better word) at anyone who looked at it funny, piercing the silent room and thus adding a little quiver in the lines of people's drawings.
I suppose I could talk about the 130 (or thereabouts) year old woman and her captivating approach to drawing the model; eyes NEVER looking at her A1 paper, using an array of coloured chunky oil pastels that would make a rainbow jealous, all the while twisting and flicking her wrist as each line finished it's journey in a somewhat conductorial manner.
….But I won't bore you with that ;)

I will look forward to starting all over again…. again(!)

And a couple of sketches that didn't make it into the last post.....

'Till the Next
L

P.S I would also like to wish ToriCat a speedy recovery from her big op - Get well soon! :)

JULY

2011-08-01T00:43:00.007+02:00

One month. One sketchbook. Two burnt feet.

If you look at my observational work from the past year, I predominantly used Pen - the idea being that, "If I want to be an animator, I have to do quick, gestural drawings ".... and Pen was the medium that I found suited this train of thought. But there were times when it wasn't the medium for what I wanted to draw, but I used it none the less and got frustrated with the results... even more so of late.

(Just for fun - I would've liked to have gone into this properly... but Gouken was like, "what about meeeee!?")

......

I spent a few days away with some friends (who also happen to be very talented artists), and it was during this time away that I was lent a 5B pencil. Unlike an HB, it was sooo refreshing to sketch with - I couldn't stop using it - drawing anything, anywhere, anytime.... Sketching suddenly became new again and it was no longer about the results I thought an animator should get, it was just about enjoying drawing, capturing the moment I was in, and discovering the world around me....

...So thank you.

Since then, I went into a Virgin Store (in France they have lots of stationary), and I couldn't see where the individual pencils were, so I asked an assistant if they had 5Bs..... he said there was no such thing - that they didn't exist 0_0 "err, yes they exist" I replied in a, 'you gotta be trolling me' manner. He very seriously took me to the pencils and showed me they had 2B, 4B and 6B, but never had they seen/stocked a 3, 5 or higher than 6..... 0_0
So I bought a 4 and 6 in a compromise :D

Next post - PROJECT_GOUKEN!!

And a word of advice - don't forget to apply suncream to your feet if wearing flip-flops... Red V's on your feet are NOT cool, contrary to what anyone says.

'Till the Next,
L

p.s EVO2K11 SSFIVAE Poongko Vs Daigo = HYPE

Life Drawing Session 10 - The Moving Hold

2011-07-07T16:54:00.033+02:00

Another visit to La Grande Chaumière, and another awesome session!
Firstly, this was an evening session, and so when the sunlight started to die down, on came the stage lights and BAM, high contrasting shadows appeared over the model's forms - I find it so much easier to 'see' when there are big variations in tone...it encourages me to use the tone to create the forms in my drawings, as opposed to using line, which is what so often happens when the lighting's really flat...

Secondly, the model brought her own interpretation of the 'moving hold' :)
At the start of each pose, she would slowly start moving - arms gracefully extending out, then around and back... head tilting one way, then the other..... hips rotating....
It was if she was 'discovering' the pose, waiting for that moment for something to 'click', like a burglar breaking into a safe.
Everyone had their medium's poised over their papers, sweat beads slowly traveling down their brows, anticipating the first mark. When she appeared to have stopped, pencils touched down..But...oh wait... she hasn't found it yet! lol

The poses themselves were great (when they eventually established themselves), and the degree of difficulty in holding them was pretty high, which actually meant that they never finished exactly how they started ;)
I had no objections to this - being used to drawing people out and about on the street where nobody stands still for even a second, her movement seemed non-existent.
For one disgruntled fellow next to us it was too much however. Even with my headphones on, I heard him slam is sketchbook shut, pack up his belongings as noisily as possible, huffing and puffing.... and he stormed out with maybe 45min left, "Elle bouge tout le temps!"
I would much rather have an interesting pose that moves slightly, than draw a perfectly held, bog-standard seated or standing pose...

And the last thing; I ran out of my usual paper, so I took along a load of 15 field animation paper. Jokingly before the session started, we said how I could animate the model, "ho ho"... 0_0
Maybe next time, I'll take my peg bar! :P

And some Place Des Vosges Sketches thrown in for good measure :) Keep checking Adrian Maganza's blog to see if he puts up his sketches from our little sketch sesh - they were AWESOME! (No pressure Dude! :P)

'Till the Next
L

Minutes: 20, then 5s

Life Drawing Session 09 - Dude was Nuts!

2011-06-24T22:59:00.035+02:00

In terms of poses, this was possibly the session I enjoyed the most since I started Life Drawing back up a few months ago (apart from maybe Session 06). It also happened to be the first male model I've drawn since restarting!
Very lean guy - his bones and muscles were really visible - and after the fairly standard long poses (bizarrely at this new place I haven't been before, they work from long - 45min - down to short - 5min - poses), his short poses were full of energy and twisting and writhing'ness'....
So bones + muscles + writhing = WIN.

Minutes: 25, then 5s

HOWEVER! Dude was indeed, all kinds of nuts. Making all sorts of noises (at one point he just screamed), saying uncomfortable things to the class, falling asleep.... I tried my hardest not to catch his gaze as I was drawing his face but I swear he kept looking at me.. smiling..... errrr.... 'shudders'

And to top it off, he did a pose which I'm sooo sorry I wasn't able to capture adequately enough for you dear people....but I shall attempt to describe it best I can.
Whilst using the prop of the walking stick slung over his shoulder, and taking a power stance wider than Van Halen could ever muster... he grabbed his 'meat and two veg' with his free hand like he was trying to detach them from his body.
Now, in a Life Drawing class, you kind of get in the habit of drawing whatever's in front of you... and as such, I just drew away.... but then I thought, "Hold up. I'm drawing a dude waving his nuts in my face....." :S
Dude was indeed, all kinds of nuts.

'Till the Next!
L

On a side note, in these last two sessions I've kinda reverted back to 'old ways', after having started to become a bit more experimental.... So next time, I'll definitely try to get back on the right track.

Fête de la Musique & Life Drawing Session 08

2011-06-23T21:20:00.050+02:00

So for Fête de la Musique I went along to the Jardin de Luxembourg where there was a little concert featuring various acts. 'Te Hina O Motu Haka' were my favourite of the day!

Minutes: 25, 2s, 20

After struggling with my 2nd attempt at watercolour in Jardin De Lux (my first being a day trip to the zoo...... the fact there are no images in this post tells you how THAT went :/), at least my spirits were lifted by the progression of Project_Gouken!
It's all been cleaned up now, with the timing strengthened, and as I type (well maybe not right now... maybe he's having dinner), Fx Maestro, Matt Timms, is animating the special effects for it - So that's to say all the smoke, explosions, impacts, fire, energy waves, rainbows..... I can't wait! :D

'Till the Next,
L

PROJECT_GOUKEN Ends........For Now.....

2011-06-09T22:55:00.016+02:00

Animation=Done :)

Having worked on the Dofus Teaser (which hopefully some of you may have had the chance to see this week at Annecy), it really gave me the urge to try something really fast paced and action packed! I learned a lot from working on it, especially about how you can really push the spacing. I remember seeing one shot that had a character flying around, and I didn't understand how that when he jumped, it wasn't liked the 'bouncing ball' type spacing, it really felt like he was getting sucked into the ground on descent. I asked an animator about it and he said, "Do you think it looks good?", I replied, "Yeah, it looks awesome".... "So there you go! It's animation - you can do what you want!" He then proceeded to draw a conventionally spaced chart, followed by a chart with all the frames pushed to either end and nothing in the middle, "Sometimes, you can do this".....

So, when something moves REALLY fast, the audience doesn't need to see it.... Just FEEL it. When we see the before and after, our brains fill in the rest.

So I tried to run with this idea and I had a blast doing it! It was a really fun approach to tackle using Flash, as Flash can be a really cool tool for animation (if you can put up with all it's faults!) - playing with the timing and spacing on the fly.

There's a lot more I would like to do to this - layouts, clean up, colour, compositing ..... I'd also like to go over Akuma (the other character) as he's a bit generic in terms of design - as you can tell, I didn't do a model sheet or turnaround for him! Whether or not I can do all that though is another matter....

So for now, I hope you like my little test!
'Till the Next,
L

Outside St. Eustache

2011-06-09T22:39:00.014+02:00

My sketchbook has been filled up for sometime - there's no space left anywhere! But rather than being sensible and getting a new one, I've been putting wads of Post-Its in there (you know I love Post-Its!). It's pretty cool - once the book starts getting too fat to close properly, I just peel them out and put fresh ones in and hey presto, a new sketch book... almost :)

'Till the Next (in like 5mins!),
L

PROJECT_GOUKEN Begins.....

2011-06-01T23:38:00.013+02:00

Just to start off, I took screen grabs from the game of poses I liked and changed the design of the model by shortening the legs, decreasing the size of the feet, increasing the size of the shoulders and arms (all to make him more stocky/powerful), and of course by re-designing the face to be more in line with the animation style I will aim for.
Then taking the re-design of his standing pose, I animated the following Turnaround...

(Don't forget to FULLSCREEN!)

... Not perfect by any means! It was quite hard to rotate the pose as it's not a typical symmetrical/standing straight kinda pose. And the spacing aint exactly even :D
But Hey! On with Storyboarding...

'Till the Next,
L

Life Drawing Session 07, Evening Observations & Bonus!

2011-05-30T20:05:00.025+02:00

Minutes: 2,20,10,1s

These made me smile :)

'Till the Next,
L

Life Drawing Session 06

2011-05-26T21:16:00.012+02:00

I'd like to maybe try and pursue something a bit more in this direction - creating the volume from the negative space, mixing media, perhaps focusing on just one area in detail and simplifying the rest.... I'll let you know how it goes ;)

Minutes: 10,2,2,2,20

'Till the Next,
L

Life Drawing Sessions 04 & 05 : Jours Avec et Jours Sans

2011-05-23T22:03:00.032+02:00

So the 4th session I thought went ok - I mainly stuck with Charcoal and felt I was beginning to get used to the medium (or at least a way of using it I was comfortable with!). This, coupled with the nice poses from the model made me feel this was 'un jour avec'.... a good day!

UPDATE 26.05.11: Had a little play in Photoshop with the one above :)

Minutes: 15,20,10,10,20,2,2

Then a few days later was session 5, to which I took acrylics to try something new. I had my little palette prepared with all the paints mixed... the only thing that was missing was the model! I later found out she was poorly, but at the time, everyone was a bit miffed and in the end, we took turns to model 2-5 min poses. It completely threw me off and I just couldn't for the life of me get 'in the zone' of using the acrylics for clothed models! So I reverted back to the norm. Below is roughly 20 minutes worth of drawing out of like 2.5 hrs! This was 'un jour sans'.... a bad day!

I know it's a bad thing to have in the back of the mind, but unfortunately I'm thinking that I HAVE to get drawings out of these sessions because I'm paying for them - If I get nothing then it's a waste of money. But it kind of holds me back from just messing around and experimenting. I'll try my best next time to just let go. Those of you at college who get Life Drawing for free, enjoy it while it lasts! And while you're at it, try attending all the sessions available, even if they're not your own specific class! Gate Crash! Do as much as possible!

I haven't been able to start anything other than some early models for my 'Project_Gouken', so until I've got something MEATY to post, I'll leave you with just a little teaser :)

'Till the Next,
L

UPDATE: In response to James' question...

The blank page on the right is A4 :)

Life Drawing 03 : Start Again....Again(!)

2011-05-09T21:10:00.012+02:00

I could just copy and paste the text from my Life Drawing Posts from March 6th/20th - It all applies again! :D

Minutes: 20,20,5,5

On a side note, those of you lucky enough to be going to Annecy Animation Festival this year (Unfortunately, I don't count myself among you), make sure to head over to the MIFA where 'Ankama' (the company I have been working for the last couple of months), will have an uber display with upcoming projects, one of which being 'Dofus'. Try and watch the trailer and let me know what it's like ;)

'Till the Next,
L

UPDATE 17/05/2011 : Just seen a nearly completed version of the Teaser..... WOW! :D

Geek Out

2011-05-08T22:59:00.006+02:00

When the world of 'Harry Potter' meets 'Street Fighter'.....
ha, what a Geek! :D

This was a drawing I did last year and never did anything with. So I worked back into it and gave it a new lease of life!
(Props to anyone who actually gets this! lol)

'Till the Next,
L

Go Go Gouken!

2011-05-04T20:57:00.018+02:00

So, something I've got planned for when freetime rejoins me, involving Gouken - could be cool - if it works(!) It may never see the light of day (or light of blog, even), but I'll give it a good go :P

And while I'm here, a big thank you to everyone who left a comment on the previous post - I really appreciate your support :)

'Till the Next,
L

I ACTUALLY did it!!

2011-04-22T01:29:00.031+02:00

So first, some random bits and bobs!

^ This kid made me laugh! He was about 4 or 5 with a plaster on his forehead, fishing a skanky plastic bottle and coke can out of some dirty shallow canal type thing, transferring the water from one container to the other. When his Dad caught up with him, he wasn't too happy :D

And finally some good news! I haven't posted for a while as I have been busy at work, but also busy with some extra curricular activities!

It's been a very long and hard process, culminating in 2 days of tests in 2D traditional animation, Maya and After Effects, and an interview..... but I am happy to say that come September, I will have the chance to fulfill an ambition that I've had ever since I saw 'Pyrats' at Annecy 2006 - I will be doing the Animation 3rd year at an Art School in Paris you may have heard of, in the hope of improving my skills and to broaden my horizons for the future :D

(If you haven't been exposed to their work yet, the school is called, GOBELINS - l'école de l'image) :)

'Till the Next,
L

Not so long to wait after all!

2011-04-08T22:43:00.009+02:00

I forgot I made this a while ago and was meant to post it once the film had come out - well that time has come :)
Don't Forget to Fullscreen!

So this is a sample of the work I did on the newly released (in France), 'Titeuf Le Film'!

The rough drawings are done by various talented animators, and the Clean ones are the ones I did. Rather than linetests, or complete scenes, these are just a few frames to give the impression of flipping between the rough and clean drawing, so as to see the difference between each clearly.

So what does an assistant actually do?
The aim of the assistant is to take the rough animation and put the characters on model, making sure the volumes all move correctly and also making VERY sure that the intention of the animation is still maintained even with these changes (e.g an arm swings, but it is too short for the model, so it is lengthened but the arc of the swing has to be consistent. Obviously it can get more complicated than that but you get the idea!).
Some of these drawings are then cleaned up with the nice final line, and these become 'Spot Keys', which Clean-Up Artists would then follow and apply to the other keys (and possibly Breakdowns) in the scene. Then it would go to the Inbetweeners to finish off the job!

In some cases because of time and budget and all other lovely production related things, we just did the 'Spot Keys', so only a handful of drawings would have been put on model (usually the poses with the biggest variation in the scene, so as to give as much information to the people who would have to apply those changes to the other keys). This meant though that there had to be some leniency with the model, because if we changed it too drastically, it would have been harder for other studios to make the changes to the other drawings and maintain the animation within the small timeframe.

It may take a few views to see the subtle changes made (and yes, it was the design to have the eyes 'cross eyed' and to have the pupils slightly overlapping the line of the eye ball! :P).

With regards to the film itself, I saw it at the Cast and Crew Screening and really enjoyed it! It certainly isn't going to be in the running for any Best Animation EVER Awards, but aside from a few dodgy scenes, it looked lovely.
The big controversy though was the fact it was a 2D film in 3D! I say controversy because a lot of people in animation were against it, "They just want to make more money!", "Why draw something 2D to look volumous, to then convert it to look flat?" and other stuff along these lines.
It may come as surprise but generally, companies DO want to make money. Now I understand that that shouldn't be the reason driving what should be an artistic decision, but pushing that to one side, from a visual stand point, I thought the 3D worked very well!
Imagine the Multiplane Effect, with a bit more ooomf! It certainly wasn't over done. There were just a couple of shots it didn't work - one being a 360 pan around the characters (felt weird!) and the other was where the character ran off in the 'Z' direction (didn't give the right impression of depth). Was it THAT much better for being in 3D? No.... But I enjoyed the experience none the less!

That's enough for now!
'Till the Next,
L

Sketchtravel

2011-04-01T23:56:00.008+02:00

Nothing to post as of late, which of course can only mean that i'm chained to a lightbox somewhere on a production.... :)
Buuut, I thought I would share this video as I found it very interesting and inspiring. If you haven't heard of Sketchtravel, it's a simple idea that has seen one sketchbook travel across the world, being passed from one incredible artist to the next (each having to act as the delivery guy/gal), it's pages being filled by said artists.
I remember Gerald talking about it at Annecy '08 and it's amazing to see how it has finally come together. (Official Blog)

One Book – 70 Artists – No Boundaries from Creative Talent Network on Vimeo.

I can only imagine how scary it was to work in this book, especially, as they said, when it started getting filled up with invaluable pieces of art! :/
Not sure when I'll be back on the blog, so until then, enjoy the arrival of spring and the lighter evenings, take it easy and..
'Till the Next,
L

Life Drawing Session 02

2011-03-20T20:24:00.021+01:00

Very happy to have gone to Life Drawing again :D
The last time I went, I played it quite safe - staying in my comfort zone of Brown/White Pencil and brown paper. Yesterday I went out and got some acrylics and Charcoal with the intention of letting loose a bit more - I started with the charcoal.... and found that hard enough, so I stayed fairly safe yet again.......acrylics will have to wait! :/

In the session (and I guess most Life Drawing classes in general) we start with quick 2 mins, then move up to 5, 10, and then 20. I really understand that you need to warm up - my first drawings are horrible - so by the time I kind of get into the swing of things, I'm perhaps at the 10-20min poses..... and this got me thinking. Maybe it would be good to 'warm down' with quick poses. I might split my final 20min poses up so that it's an 18 and 2, that way I might get a quick sketch that isn't a disastrous warm up exercise, but one that I can do when I'm already warmed up and in the flow. If that makes sense!?

Minutes: 5,20,20,10,10

(I hate taking photos of work - I'll see if I can get a cheap scanner...)

'Till the Next,
L

(I've also just noticed that the 2nd 20 min pose in this post is the same as one of the poses from last time - luckily from a different angle!)
Update 02/05/2011 - replaced photos with scans for first 3 images

Have some more Titeuf Instead

2011-03-14T21:23:00.009+01:00

There wasn't any life drawing this week :( So much for getting back into it! Hopefully next week!
So in the meantime here is a video that recently went up - It has a very quick look around the animation studio and speaks to some of the creators behind 'Titeuf Le Film', and don't blink..... when the video sets off to some funky music (around 2min50), you'll see me hard at work (with a shockingly bad posture)! Oh and it's in French.....

The official website also went up (nothing particularly impressive, but there are some clips - which aren't particularly the best either!) Click Here
Click 'C'est Parti' and then you have to click really fast for a while on the paper - Don't ask me why! :/

'Till the Next,
L

Life Drawing Session 01

2011-03-06T19:56:00.017+01:00

So I'm going to try my best to get back into a solid Life Drawing routine.......
I need to whip those 'Life Drawing Muscles' back into shape, because just like going back to the gym after a long absence, you notice how weak you've gotten and things you used to do aren't that easy! Cue Rocky theme song and epic video montage!
(These are just photos but hopefully i'll get the chance to scan them in properly at some point).
Minutes: 10,20,2,10,20
'Till the Next,
L
Update 02/05/2011 - Replaced photo with scan of 1st image.

Congratulations!

2011-02-25T10:40:00.009+01:00

Make sure to enjoy in FULLSCREEN!

Congratulations to Tim and Wes, and all who worked on their short film, Drawing Inspiration, as it is now DONE!
YAAAAAY!!!
I had the pleasure of animating for a couple of months on it, and as we in animation discover, the thing that keeps us going is seeing the end result - and I am happy to say that I think this has turned out really, really well! :)

There is a link on the side to the production blog where you can see the process these guys went through, accompanied by a very nice Making Of.

Well done once again,
'Till the Next,
L

UPDATE 28/02/11: Front page of Vimeo and front page of CATSUKA......... mm mm mmmmm!

End of an Era.

2011-02-17T21:59:00.009+01:00

So here is my Showreel for 2011!
Why is it an end of an era? Because this is my first showreel since graduating in 2007 that doesn't contain any of my work from college!

When I think, three and half years, it seems a long time to have been using school work..... but that's a common problem I think for artists in this industry. The problem being that people will often be working on projects under NDAs (Non Disclosure Agreements), such as on films, games or shows where you are not allowed to show anything until after the project in question has been released. So if you work on a project for a few years, or the film isn't released for a long time, it can be hard to keep your reel/portfolio up to date. And EVEN then, by the time it does come out, you could have improved to a point where what you did two years ago is no longer representative of what you're capable of!!

So in any downtime it's crucial to work on personal works to keep it all fresh and up to date. The first 4 shots in this reel, I've done in the last couple of months! Sounds funny.... but i'm looking forward to getting my next gig, just so I can have a rest! ;)

Hope this finds everyone well,
'Till the Next,
L

Done

2011-02-14T00:03:00.003+01:00

Old Habits Die Hard...

2011-02-13T01:59:00.017+01:00

So it turns out the last piece of traditional 2D animation I did was about one and a half years ago..... hmm....that really isn't good! Even though i've been working ON/IN traditional animation as an assistant, it's not the same thing, and in fact it actually kind of hindered me with this! I told myself before I started, "C'mon now Rossi, remember, you gotta work rough - keep it loose", and after a few frames in i'm already tying down stuff! So it seems this is my habit when i'm sat in front of a lightbox and it's one I've really gotta shake off If I'm going to improve my animation...
I know some animators who do animate clean, and they do great stuff, but it's not the way I want to do it :/

(Don't forget to FULLSCREEN!)

That said, I'm happy with how it turned out all things considered. I think my only gripe is I should have slowed things down in places.
UPDATE: I changed the timing slightly and gave a bit more room to breathe during the withdrawal section, and before she kicks the door shut for a bit more anticipation. I'm not going to upload it, I'll just put it in the reel.

On another note, who's excited about Titeuf?!
...
You know.... Titeuf......the little Fren...... Oh never mind!

I'm excited :) As far as I know it's the first 2D film in to be shown in 3D, and though I was dubious at first, I am intrigued to see the pop-up book effect!

If anyone was getting used to me posting animation tests then I'm sorry to say that I probably won't be posting anymore for a while (aside from posting a 2011 Showreel). My next endeavour is to get acquainted with After Effects....... i'll let you know how that goes :)

'Till the Next,
L

It's Been Sometime...

2011-01-30T21:07:00.009+01:00

...since I spent a solid amount of time sketching. I think the cold doesn't invite us to stay out too long - and one thing I noticed in the freezing Gare du Nord, was that my left hand (holding the book) was considerably colder than my drawing hand...... Now, I find it hard to believe that drawing in an A5 sketchbook can generate heat, but maybe just that tiny bit more blood flow required to hold the pen and move the hand around made all the difference :D Anybody else notice that?

These are from various stations, cafes and shopping centres;

One small thing I thought i'd share with you is something I might try....
When drawing people quickly, I have a habit of drawing from top to bottom (or the torso first), but they are always gone before I can get a good look at the legs! And so, often, I ruin a sketch because the legs weren't as observed and are just these dangly things, floating. I thought maybe I would spend less time on the upper body and focus on the legs. That way, hopefully, i'll get good enough at doing legs that even if the subject moves off, I would still know how to do 'em! :)

(The Previous Post has now been updated)
'Till the Next,
L

Apple Store World Tour(!) UPDATE

2011-01-29T00:20:00.013+01:00

There is a long story to this, but the short one is that I went away, forgetting my laptop charger, and needed to finish this scene before my Maya trial version ran out - ended up working at the Apple store at The Louvre, Paris, and the store at Oxford Circus, London (I wasn't going to buy a charger for a couple days). I was stood in both stores, animating, plugged into the display units' chargers, whilst all the commotion that is the Apple Store swarmed around me! :/ (I am thankful they let me use the facilities though!) Will be heading back home tomorrow.

A rendered version will come soon.... Thanks for all your help Paul!!
'Till the Next,
L
UPDATE: Rendered version has been added 31.01.2011

Captain Guile (and Friend)

2011-01-24T22:14:00.006+01:00

An old re-discovered Post-It drawing and another finger paint.
'Till the Next,
L

Aaaargh..... My Eyes!

2011-01-17T19:01:00.012+01:00

Hey! So i've been working on this for maybe 3 weeks now and i'm looking forward to having a break from the screen! You know when your eyelids uncontrollably flicker..... yeah, I got to that point pretty quickly!

It should be in HD, but if not, Full Screen and click at the bottom...
UPDATE: There's a frame missing when his arm drops, so it skips :/

So as you know, I wasn't always a CG man... "CG Sucks" is an easter egg in the opening shot of my grad film (if you can find it!)... but I always liked watching good CG, and pretty quickly discovered that I felt it didn't matter what medium I did it in, just so long as one day, I got the chance to be a fully fledged animator!

Anyway this isn't "that old 2D/3D discussion", it was just a little background on my ambition:) But having not learnt this stuff properly, i'm a bit dubious about the process and how you 'should' go about doing a scene ...... If any 3D guys can spy something I did wrong, or could go about in a better, more efficient way, i'd love to know! 'Cos at times I was at a loss!

I'm gonna give my eyes a break and maybe even venture outside and see the sunshine (or clouds :D), but i've already got something planned for my next animation exploit! Sorry eyes!

'Till the Next,
L

On Recommence....

2011-01-08T01:01:00.005+01:00

'Till the Next,
L

Finger Painting

2011-01-02T00:49:00.001+01:00

I've found It's quite relaxing to Fingerpaint! Just a basic Free App off iTunes and your away!
'Till the Next,
L

Mr. Masters

2010-12-29T01:39:00.003+01:00

I was in the midst of doing some CG animation when the Rig started playing up. So in the time it took for a kind '11 Second Club' member to get back to my plea on the forum, I started this piece. Will get back to the animation tomorrow. If it's not up before the New Year..... All the best to everyone for 2011! May it see you through happy and healthy!

'Till the Next,
L

Santa's Summer 2010

2010-12-21T01:59:00.002+01:00

Merry Christmas to all! Joyeux Noel a tous!
'Till the Next,
L

'Titeuf Le Film' Teaser Trailer

2010-12-20T16:03:00.001+01:00

Ahhh, Titeuf............... The French love this guy! I don't think it will have a release outside of French speaking countries, but oh well.... if you're into animation it should still be worth a look!

'Till the Next,
L

Don't try this at Home.....

2010-12-12T23:41:00.001+01:00

....Or just don't try it, period!

MAKE SURE TO WATCH IN HD & FULLSCREEN!

With a need to try and animate something, and a lack of animation paper or a computer, I reached for the trusty 'post-it' pad and attempted animating a dialogue......

Looking back, it wasn't the best idea! Pages peeling off and curling (I needed to flatten it under 'heavy'ness' every night), the small size, the problem of barely being able to see through the paper, and just the fact you can't actually roll as you would do animation paper! ("mutters profanity under breath"...)

With these 3 best takes, I've had to speed up sections just because I found it was impossible to flip in 'Real Time'... which I had originally planned to do....LOL, yeah right!

'Till the Next,
L

(If anyone is interested, here is a 'highlight video' of a basketball match with the team I play for in Paris.... Im no.5!)

Glen Keane Masterclass with Subtitles!

2010-12-03T15:20:00.002+01:00

So as promised, I have uploaded a highlight video from the talk Glen Keane gave at Fnac, Paris, in November.

Some things you have probably heard before, but I could listen to him talk about animation over and over just because he speaks with such passion and conviction (which still come through when he's speaking in French!). The 'Tangled' (Raiponce) stuff you wouldn't have seen before!

Subtitles courtesy of yours truly! ;) And thanks to TC for the extra video clips!!

'Till the Next,

L

How to survive on 'The Illusionist'

2010-12-02T19:59:00.001+01:00

Now 'The Illusionist' has been released (and is soon to be released in the States), I thought I'd share some fond memories with everyone!

Basically, everyday I would get the bus to work and take a copy of the 'Metro' newspaper to read, and towards the 3/4 mark of production I started to do something i'm sure everyone use to do when they were younger (and maybe still do!) - draw on the photos in the newspaper. But as opposed to turning politicians into vampires and celebrities into wart-infested hags, I found it more fun to try and turn them into the characters from the film (yeah, I know .... as If I couldn't get enough of drawing them!).

This arose to some funny images being put on the wall, culminating in the entire wall being covered in a barrage of defaced newspaper cuttings. Below is a selection (deemed appropriate for viewing!)

Shout out to the Olympians!

Back in the U.K now and looking forward to the festive period, with hopefully a few more posts to come!
'Till the Next,
L

Glen Keane Exhibition

2010-11-10T00:29:00.002+01:00

Well, well, well....... where to begin!
This evening begin with a 'masterclass' from none other than Glen Keane, who was visiting Paris in conjunction with the imminent release of 'Tangled' (Raiponce) and the opening of his exhibition at Galerie Arludik .

The 'masterclass' was held in a conference room in the French equivalent of an HMV and was in fact an hour long talk/summary of his career, leading towards some design/research drawings/tests from 'Tangled' being shown (Video to Follow!). What was really impressive was that he did it all in French! (and yes, the term 'Sculptural Drawing' was used!)

He slipped away straight after the talk and we then went over to the gallery where he was to be found hidden amongst the throng of the opening night. It's not really my thing, thrust myself upon a 'celeb' in an environment where it's impossible to properly 'meet' them and get to know them as a person, but it was Glen Keane after all, so I pounced upon him for a very quick chat and a photo! :/

The work will be on display until January I think, and includes original Disney frames (not for sale) and a collection of his own personal studies and life drawing (which are for sale if you happen to have €1900).

Tomorrow will be my last day on 'Titeuf' so just thought i'd give a quick word of thanks to the team at Neomis and Moonscoop, especially Bruno, Greg and Nicolas..... Merci pour tous que vous avez m'apprendre!

'Till the Next,
L

Merci Stef!

2010-10-28T20:24:00.001+02:00

With animation for 'Titeuf Le Film' done and dusted and the Assistants set to finish in the coming week or so, I was lucky enough to receive this drawing from Stéphane Sainte-Foi, the supervising Animator on the film. As well as having been an animator on Hunchback, Tarzan and Hercules (main characters), he was the Supervising Animator of Nani from 'Lilo and Stitch'.
Thanks Stef!

On another note, I have really felt the need for a rant! There have been a few things that have REALLY annoyed me over the last few weeks - they're teeny tiny things, but .....grrrr

1. The main one....... Animators who put drawing number 1 on the top.

WHY? It is so frustrating not to be able to rifle through the animation to check, and when it's a fat scene, i'm not going to re-order it all! Damn you!

2. Charts

Not a biggie, but worth noting! One animator had a system I hadn't seen before - for example, Frame 1 would have no chart, then the next Key, say 9, had the chart with 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, then the next key, say 15, had 9, 11, 13, 15 etc.
Now this is quite bizarre, and can get quite confusing, as the chart usually goes from the 1st (bottom) drawing to the top. Hmmm....

3. Reinforce for the others!
When doing a clean drawing that following stages will be flipping for cleaning other Keys and Inbetweening, always put reinforcers on because yes, at the first stage, the peg holes might still be intact, but further down the line that hole will get very big (yes it sounds rude!), and when Inbetweeners have many drawings between 2 keys that don't move, it's not fun!

Anyways! Thats me done!
'Till the Next,
L

Art Of........

2010-10-15T19:10:00.001+02:00

Everyone working on the film was asked to do their version of Titeuf - which could have been interpreted in many ways - so I decided to do me, in the "style of" 'Titeuf le Film' ( I whacked the crazy hair on the top for good measure!)
The film is coming along nicely and what i've seen of the final comped shots, it looks pretty sweet!
Hope everyone's OK!
'Till the Next,
L

Crunch Time

2010-09-24T20:31:00.002+02:00

What is Happening Dudes!

This has been the longest pause in posting since I came to Paris.... and it is indeed beacause things are getting heavier with the work!
I have worked the last 3 of 4 Saturdays, and our quota has been increased... funny thing is, I think I've gotten better over this period ( but I'm rather tired though!).

And yet here I am posting the little bits I have done over the last month (N.B the difference in quantity of post-it drawings from a couple of posts ago!)

Hope this finds everyone well,

'Till the Next,

L

No name

2010-08-27T13:35:00.001+02:00

I've put that painting back up of the girl on the bike....I can't decide if I like it or not!

Meh...

2010-08-17T20:46:00.001+02:00

More Sketches.....there was a painting but I wasn't feeling it... :(

View Through the Window Part 2 : POST - IT!

2010-08-03T19:39:00.001+02:00

Salut tout le monde!
At work I sit right by a window, just like I used to back in Dundee, and it's a great place to watch/observe/spy(!) on the people who go outside for a fag break, as the smoker's 'hotspot' is just across the road from me.

I like using my post-it pad because it's always to hand, and because they are so ... disposable I guess... I'm not scared to do a crappy scribble, as I can always peel it off!

'Till the Next,
L

Encore!

2010-07-19T19:55:00.002+02:00

Hey guys - just a few more sketches from Paris!
Hope everyone's well!
'Till the Next,
L

Cette post est Énorme!

2010-07-02T18:16:00.005+02:00

Big Post of what I've been up to in Paris so far. It's been about 5 weeks and i'm loving the work (see further down), and heading out and absorbing the Parisian culture.

Place Des Vosges is a lovely Park in the heart of le Marais. It has a few fountains which drew my attention as kids often played around, and in them!

Pere Lachaise is a huge cemetery with the graves and tombs of many famous (and wealthy) French people. It's very impressive to see these huge and elaborate tombs, which can be pretty much buildings and in some cases, towers, dedicated to the memory of the deceased. Worn iron doors and eroded sculptures really characterise this 'city-like' place. I loved the way the light was falling over these structures...

Le Jardin de Luxembourg has been my haven since I have been here. My first flat was right opposite this and so most evenings and weekends were spent drawing the many people chilling out. There are Chess players, people playing Tennis on the many courts - there is also a basketball court so I was challenging the residents!
If you come to Paris, you have to visit this place.

So the film i'm working on at the minute is based on the French comic book, 'Titeuf'. (This is an image from the comic - for the film, the characters have obviously been 'featurised').
The line is really clean so it has taken a while to get used to it after The Illusionist, but i'm learning! There are many artists assisting at Neomis who have worked on lots of features, like Prince of Egypt and all the Disney films that were done at the Disney Paris Studio (which, when it closed down, became Neomis - speaking of which, someone said I was working at Glen Keane's old desk, but somehow I don't think so!), and so I am trying to learn from them. It's pretty hard though!

I've been trying to speak to the Animators also and the other day, Antoine Antin and I were looking through each others sketchbooks(!) Needless to say, I was blown away - I think looking through someones book eliminates any kind of editing or selection process that you get with a blog or folio - all drawings are on display - and there weren't any of his that I wouldn't add to a folio!
I think he noticed my awe, so he tore out some pages and gave them to me..... aiite!

The Illusionist came out here and it was a pretty big thing with posters everywhere and write-ups in magazines. I saw it and really liked it - Congrats to the team for all their hard work!!

For the Professor....

2010-06-19T13:57:00.001+02:00

A drawing in recognition of the vast talent and teaching ability of Peter Parr, who is about to retire from his post as the Head of Animation at The Arts Institute at Bournemouth.

Coming Soon...

2010-06-19T13:51:00.001+02:00

Animation Tests from an upcoming Short Film, done in Flash, earlier in the year.

The Illusionist - Trailer - UPDATE

2010-04-18T19:43:00.001+02:00

Not much to post lately as have been busy with work - but looking forward to finally seeing the finished version of this!

Through the fires of Hell

2010-02-26T11:28:00.000+01:00

Was back home for the weekend and had time to bust this out in a day. Taking inspiration from the Animation Mentor classes, I thought anything they can do, I can do....almost as good...maybe! Didn't have time to put the celebratory ending in I wanted.

Push me

2010-02-13T13:05:00.001+01:00

This will be my last CG animation test for a while, as I am off to work on a Digital 2D short film with the talented Tori, Wes and director Tim.
Tried to get a bit of weight going on in this one - departing from a dialogue piece, I thought some full body action was needed!

Where was IK when I needed it!

2010-02-03T16:56:00.001+01:00

So here we are again. Another piece of CG dialogue, this time a bit longer than the last.

I only found out about IK/FK after I had just finished this, and so that would have saved me a lot of time had I had known - counter animating the arms on the table to the body was not fun...... But we live and learn for the next time!

Max is Mad

2010-01-18T16:24:00.000+01:00

So after Lieutenant Dan (the little ball with legs), I decided to up the stakes with something meatier! Though for my next acting piece, i'll plan it out and decide what i'm doing beforehand, rather than winging it - too much time is lost faffing over a pose that doesen't work in the first place.

I'm much happier working with Maya - finding stuff out as I go - though there are times when the simplest actions seem to be a gigantic problem!
For instance, even though I changed the image dimensions in the render settings, it still comes out square rather than widescreen. Hmmm..... Answers on a postcard to.....well, just leave a comment - that'd be easier.

On with the next - More CG to come!

2009 Homestretch!

2009-12-31T00:07:00.000+01:00

Maya experimentation begins! (again)

Fresh Flakes.......

2009-12-07T23:49:00.001+01:00

Inspired by the AIB Jumble's Fortnightly Theme. This time round, it was SNOW.

Candy Cakes, Covent Garden

2009-11-04T02:01:00.001+01:00

A bit annoyed with how Blogger has made the colours look......You hear other people moan about it and you think they're being funny, then you spend ages on a picture for it to happen to you, and then it's not so funny!

LROSSIPORTRAITS.com Online!

2009-10-23T12:56:00.002+02:00

Portraits

2009-10-14T19:41:00.000+02:00

Sunny with strong winds at Broughty Ferry

2009-09-30T15:12:00.000+02:00

L's Digital'Ness'

2009-09-14T20:01:00.003+02:00

11....er....5 second club

2009-09-07T13:07:00.000+02:00

This is the only time I tested this piece of animation: as I am without a decent set up at the moment for testing, this took a couple of hours worth of scanning and adjusting levels.... something I didn't want to do again! So although there are lots of bits i would change and bits I still needed to add, i'm going to leave it for now!

There's Wilberforce...Bathsheba...Elvendork...

2009-08-15T13:24:00.001+02:00

View Through the Window

2009-07-19T19:59:00.000+02:00

'Moment' Rough Animation

2009-05-18T09:34:00.000+02:00

Finally finished the rough piece of animation i've been doing in my lunch breaks......

Dundee Folk

2009-02-16T17:27:00.000+01:00

World Warriors

2008-10-05T02:50:00.000+02:00

2009?!

2008-09-06T00:23:00.001+02:00

Downtime...

2008-09-06T00:17:00.000+02:00

Good Luck to the Adelaide Thunderbirds!

2008-07-17T15:55:00.000+02:00

Life Drawing

2008-07-06T01:40:00.000+02:00

Observational

2008-07-05T19:38:00.000+02:00

Favelados - Student Film

2008-07-05T19:29:00.001+02:00

Click the 'HQ' button to watch in the true 'Widescreen Format'

Click the adjacent button to watch FULL SCREEN

-NO.1 YOUTUBE 'Featured' video and 'Film and Animation' video in;
U.K, U.S, Brazil, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Hong Kong, with over 640,000 views.
-Featured in COMPUTER ARTS MAGAZINE Graduation Showcase 08

Bits

2008-07-05T18:35:00.000+02:00

Animation Showreel 2007

2008-07-05T18:19:00.001+02:00