Author Archives: Mike

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Jobs: Background Designer- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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Nickelodeon_logo_new

Nickelodeon is seeking a Background Designer for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Details below.

Description
Summary:
Generates background designs, overlays, underlays, shadow and color guides, floor plans  and any other background-related art that the production may require, ensuring style and quality of show is met.Responsibilities:

  • Review script for backgrounds needed at handout of show.
  • Complete all rough, revised and final designs necessary within assigned deadlines.
  • Resolve design problems with creative supervisors.
  • Ensure all deadlines are met.
  • Communicate progress of work to appropriate production staff.
  • Ensure all artwork is properly backed up and saved appropriately.
  • Ensure all shipping materials are prepared and ready on time.
  • Be available for questions until your department’s shipment is complete.
  • If required, generate multiple views of environment and specific elements within it.

Additional Responsibilities:

  • Assist with special projects.
  • If applicable, make special shadow and color indications.

Basic Qualifications:

  • Must demonstrate proficiency in style of show.
  • Strong background design skills.
  • Relevant drawing experience necessary.
  • Thorough understanding of perspective.
  • Knowledge of or willingness to learn applicable design software and hardware.
  • Strong time-management skills.
  • Work well under pressure.
  • Ability to multitask a plus.

Desired Qualifications:

  • BA in Fine Arts or equivalent work experience highly desired.

HOW TO APPLY
You MUST submit a portfolio in order to be considered for artistic positions!

Online Portfolio Instructions:
Do you have a website/blog you’d like us to review as your portfolio submission? If so, please be sure to upload your resume and website link in the online application process. Please include the website link on your resume. You MUST upload the portfolio release form to your application. You can add additional attachments in the resume section.

To download the form, please go to: http://nas.nick.com/SubmissionReleaseForm.pdf

You can apply here.
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Jobs: Disney seeks Director of Visual Effects

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Disney logo

Job Description

Director, Visual Effects
Job Description Its the magic of immersing yourself in a motion picture masterpiece, or a new track from your favorite band, or the spectacle of a live Broadway show. Its hard to define and even harder to create, but thats what we do at The Walt Disney Studios. Ours is a culture of innovation, collaboration and creativity. We raise the bar, then step over it, blazing trails through the production and distribution of world-class entertainment around the globe. If you want to help tell compelling, enduring stories through movies, music or stage plays, then we want to hear from you.

The Walt Disney Studios encompasses the creation, production, promotion, sales, acquisition and domestic and international distribution of live-action and animated motion pictures, DVD releases, live stage plays, and music and soundtrack recordings.

We have an exciting 18 month Continue reading

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Software: 3d Animation Software Roundup

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3d Animation Software Roundup

By Scott Jenkins

Animation has changed rapidly in the past 25 years, from being exclusively hand drawn to computer programs that can create three dimensional worlds almost indistinguishable from our own. In the late 80s you’d see a technical director working alongside an animator at a workstation that cost much more than the average house. The software was either custom coded, or a combination of Alias for modeling and Softimage for animation at a cost of $30,000 each per seat.

Flash forward to now and you’ll find a different landscape. The computers that you can buy at an office supply store are much more powerful than those old workstations and available for well under $1000, and you can spend anywhere from $8000 all the way down to free (!) to get software that will allow you to make anything from a commercial to a short to a feature film in the privacy of your own home.

The differences between the software packages are many, and your decision on which one to use will depend on much more than just budget.  Where one package may seem to have it all, your pipeline may require it to work with other packages. Also, you may not need all the bells and whistles of an animation package if your job mainly consists of motion graphics or architectural fly-throughs.

So use this guide as a springboard to your own research. Ask yourself what you really need, and look at the various packages to see which one will be the best fit.

Most of these programs have free versions of usually 30 days that you can download and “kick the tires” to see which works best for you, and links to the websites are provided.

Autodesk

Nowadays, any discussion of 3D software begins with the 900 pound gorilla, Autodesk.  Their original software 3D Studio, was a DOS companion to AutoCAD, built to bring architectural CAD drawings into the third dimension. Its advantage was that it could be run on PCs and was quickly adopted by the games market. Soon, those artists began hitting a wall on what they could do, and 3D Studio was given ground up re-write and released as 3DS Max.

Meanwhile, Alias, seeing there was money to be made on the PC (as opposed to Silicon Graphics workstations) released Maya, and a rivalry was begun. Late to the party was Softimage, which was owned for a time by Microsoft, and because of a rewrite that took way too long, never got the traction that Max and Maya had.

However, Autodesk decided to go on a buying spree and bought both Maya and Softimage, eliminating outside competition, and rebranded the packages for different markets. In recent releases, they are all built to work well together (and with other software) in various Entertainment Suite packages, which wind up being both expensive (up to $8000) and a bargain for the software you get.

3DS Max
www.autodesk.com/products/autodesk-3ds-max/overview

3DS Max is great software for a small shop, as it’s “ready to go” for anything out of the box. Strong with its CAD roots, the Max and AutoCAD combination can take you from an architect’s drawings to realistic renders. But it doesn’t stop there: Max has one of the strongest modeling toolsets and a robust character animation system that makes it excellent for working on a range of projects and has been used in games, commercials,  animated television series, and feature films all around the world.

3DS Max has been described as “an Operating System for a very wide range of plug-ins,” and there is a staggering amount of plug-ins and scripts that extend its power, from Fluid Dynamics programs to rendering engines.

3DS Max Features page

http://www.autodesk.com/products/autodesk-3ds-max/features

3DS Max Demo Download – 30 Day free trial.
http://www.autodesk.com/products/autodesk-3ds-max/free-trial

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Maya    
www.autodesk.com/products/autodesk-maya/overview

Maya would seem to be the “go to” software for animation, as it’s used by everyone from Pixar to Dreamworks uses Maya to do their feature animation. However, the strength of Maya is its ability to let you get “under the hood.” If Maya doesn’t let you do exactly what you want it to do, you can open it up and supercharge it, using either MEL or Python scripting, or the extensive Software Development Kit to create your own tools. Maya is great for medium to large shops that are working with a complicated pipeline, where the software needs to be flexible enough to do exactly what you want it to do, and you have the programmers who can handle the job. If you’re a small shop that’s fitting into another organizations pipeline, Maya is also your choice.

Maya, through its HumanIK  also has a strong integration with Motionbuilder (also an Autodesk product) which is the standard for working with motion capture files.  They are sold together in the Entertainment Suites and together make a powerful pair.

Maya also has strong animation tools and an interface built for speed. The available plug-ins aren’t as extensive as those for Max, but there are good ones to be found, especially in the rendering department, where Pixar’s Renderman, and ChaosGroup’s vRay are available for tight integration with Maya.

Maya Features Page

http://www.autodesk.com/products/autodesk-maya/features

Maya Demo Download – 30 Day free trial.

http://www.autodesk.com/products/autodesk-maya/free-trial

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Softimage
www.autodesk.com/products/autodesk-softimage/overview

Softimage seems to have been pushed aside, but as it turns out, is far too powerful a program to completely let go away, especially given two of its components, FaceRobot – an extremely robust facial animation system with soft-tissue dynamics, and controls for lip-synching and emotions; and ICE, a visual programming language that lets you do anything from particle systems to rigging.

As part of the Entertainment Suite, Softimage acts as a standalone plugin package for Maya and Max that is built to interact well with both. On its own, it is a strong modeling and animation package that interacts well with a host of other programs, including Pixologic’s  zBrush (see below).

Softimage Features Page
http://www.autodesk.com/products/autodesk-softimage/features

Softimage Demo Download – 30 Day free trial.

http://www.autodesk.com/products/autodesk-softimage/free-trial

Independents

Lightwave 3D
www.lightwave3d.com

Another of the old guard animation programs, Lightwave 3D began as part of the revolutionary Video Toaster system on the Amiga (!).  A very strong, yet relatively low cost piece of software, Lightwave 3D was widely used on television shows such as Babylon 5, the various Star Trek series, Battlestar Galactica (the new series), and feature films such as Star Wars, Sin City,  300 and Star Trek features.

Lightwave 3D is actually two programs, a separate modeling and animation program that can update in realtime through a Hub program. This maximizes resources for whatever task you have at hand, and once you get used to it, is an excellent way to work.

Lightwave has always had one of the best “out of the box” renderers, and the new version, 11.5 is no exception. It has excellent character animation tools and can easily provide feature quality animation for a reasonable price.

Lightwave 3D Features Page

https://www.lightwave3d.com/new_features/

Lightwave 3D Demo Reel

http://youtu.be/WhHkcCDuATk

Lightwave Demo Download – 30 day free trial

https://www.lightwave3d.com/try/

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Modo              
www.luxology.com/modo/

Modo was built by a group of engineers who mutinied from Lightwave 3D and broke off and formed a new company. Said to be built “by artists, for artists”  it sports one of the industry’s strongest and fastest modelers, with the ability to see your model instantly in a photorealistic, realtime renderer.

Whereas programs such as Max and Maya have a scores of individual specialized tools, Modo has a smaller toolset that is customizable by the artist to create whatever tool is needed. Once you can wrap your head around this concept, it is possible to create top-quality work. ILM uses it as a concept development tool, proving its intuitive creative flow.

The animation tools are also strong, and Modo is used in feature films like John Carter, District 9, and television shows like CSI, Fringe and True Blood, as well as a host of games and commercials you’ve no doubt seen.

A robust Python scripting integration allows you to get even further under the hood, and a C++ Software Developer kit allows programmers to extend the program to meet your needs.

The renderer is gorgeous, CPU based, and takes full advantage of multiple core processors. The more hardware you throw at it, the faster it gets. However, it doesn’t yet have GPU rendering support – currently a good and bad thing – good in that you don’t need to spend thousands on multiple GPUs for single-box rendering as one GPU and a good processor will still give you realtime feedback; bad in that you need to use more workstations for rendering. It becomes a budget consideration that you have to balance, but it’s a solid piece of software.

Luxology Modo Demo Reel
http://youtu.be/K3dGsFNiLEc

Modo Demo Download – 15 Day Free Trial or $25 30 day trial

http://www.luxology.com/trymodo/

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Cinema 4d        
www.maxon.net/

Cinema 4d scored a big hit with its tight integration with After Effects in the current Adobe suite of products. They have a great way of selling the product: you buy what you need. If you’re a motion graphics guy, you most likely don’t need all the character tools to do motion graphics, so Cinema 4d has a Prime Version that’s made for that. Adding on features such as render nodes, realtime rendering, advanced Character Tools, hair, and particles, etc. will take you all the way up to the Studio Version. And you can start off from one version and upgrade to the extra-featured versions as your needs expand.

Cinema 4D Demo Reel
http://youtu.be/oOpOPdh7Ie4

Cinema 4D Demo Download – 42 Day Free Trial.

http://www.maxon.net/products/demo-version/download-form/demoform-nl-add/choose/cinema-4d-demos.html

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Houdini 
www.sidefx.com

Houdini has  a great selection of modeling and animation tools, but it’s true power is that it has the most powerful effects and dynamics systems of any of the 3D packages. It’s used by everyone: Pixar, Weta, ILM, Sony, and others to create the explosions and effect that highlight blockbuster features.

Using a node-based, procedural workflow, Houdini makes complex interactions of objects and particles, easy, intuitive and repeatable. You can build a library of particle and dynamics systems that you can plug into your scenes, allowing you to quickly create magic and still stay within your deadlines and budgets.

Houdini 2012 Demo Reel

http://youtu.be/z6VBHnbMIsk

Houdini Demo Download – Watermarked Free Learning Edition and $99/year Non-Watermarked “Starving Artist” Learning Edition

http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=589&Itemid=221

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Blender
www.blender.org/

Blender is insane. Completely. You get a full 3D software package that includes modeling, animation, rendering, compositing, video editing, and a game engine for free. That’s right. Free. Not a thin dime. Not a sausage.

Blender is Open Source software, overseen by the Blender Foundation in the Netherlands, and developed by a community of programmers and animators all over the world. Because of this, they work fast – features that take time to appear in other packages show up here quickly.

On the other hand, that doesn’t mean that the implementation is necessarily good, or right for your situation. It doesn’t play well with others, in that importing animation from another package is tricky. It hasn’t been tested as much in production as any of the other software packages, so you might be taking a chance on getting your work out.

But. They have created their own productions –  ranging  from animations to games, to VFX demos –  to highlight their work, and heavily documented what and how they did it. And supplied all the files for those works, up to and including 4K (!) renders. And supplied the source code for the program itself, so anyone can go in and see how it was done, and if they can figure out a way to do it better, send it in for a later iteration of the program.

And on the other other hand (back to the first hand?) you get a killer piece of software. A modeling and animation system that works for everything from motion graphics to character animation. A killer renderer that’s blazing fast and runs on as many GPUs as you can throw at it. A particle system for your effects needs. And the ability to put it in front of your artists by clicking the link below.

Blender Demo Reel

http://youtu.be/QbzE8jOO7_0

Blender Open Movie – Sintel

http://youtu.be/eRsGyueVLvQ

Blender Download Full Program.

http://www.blender.org/download/get-blender/

 

Scott Jenkins has been animating on the computer since 1988 and has worked as a freelancer  in games, television, and Location Based Entertainment. He has professionally used most of the software listed in this article and has used the rest in hobby work.

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Software: 2D Animation

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Flash

Since the dawn of the digital 2D revolution, there’s been much heated debate on which software is more user friendly, produces better quality work, and has a better price.  While some brands offer more functions and features, they come a pretty high cost and you might not use all of the application’s resources.  Then there are some brands that offer a very intuitive experience while chiming in at a very low price tag.
Let’s take a look at a few:
 

1. Toon Boom Animate Pro is currently the most popular app with endorsements by Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney Toon Studio and FOX.  Hailed by independent animators like Nick Cross, John K and Adam Phillips; Animate Pro offers a total production and post production package for the indie filmmaker.  Though drawing is somewhat pleasant and the rotary function smart, the interface is cumbersome, you’re constantly in preview mode (unless you have Harmony), and the backwards compatibility is not friendly with users who have different versions.  Price sets at $1,199 per seat. (https://www.toonboom.com/products/animate-pro)
2. Adobe Flash (previously Macromedia Flash and formerly Future Splash Animator) is/was the leader of the digital 2D revolution.  Flash is still used in many of today’s television and film productions by studios large and small worldwide.  In its newest form (CS6), the interface and pre-set tools are straightforward and user-friendly, but also suffers from being non-backwards compatible.  You can create custom Command triggers that’ll help increase speed and productivity, and because of the straightforwardness of the app, you can manipulate each frame as needed.  There are also many plugins to help speed up your workflow and expand Flash’s capabilities. You can buy CS6 and earlier versions starting at $700 or $50 through a Creative Cloud subscription.  (http://www.adobe.com/products/flash.html)
3. Toon Boom Studio is another all-in-one animation package geared towards animation fans, students, teachers and hobbyists.  At $190 per seat, you’ll get access to tech support and other “member” features, which makes it a pretty good entry level piece of software. 
4. Toon Boom Animate is the watered down version of Animate Pro.  Again, the drawing aspect and rotary disk functions are pretty smooth but the difference between Animate Pro and Animate are hardly noticeable other than the word “Pro.”  For $499 you can’t really complain much for this all-in-one. (https://www.toonboom.com/products/animate)
5. TV Paint Professional is an exceptionally well tailored suit on the 2D scene.  The interface is a bit bloated, but straightforward and customizable.  TVP’s drawing tools work with both vector AND bitmap and the entire program feels as if it was created by artists for artists in this all-in-one package priced at $650 USD.  Per seat of course. (http://www.tvpaint.com)
6. Adobe After Effects.  Now, while you can’t exactly draw in the program itself, After Effects is a serious animation tool aside from being a standard-bearer for post production.  A superior 3D camera, a militant bone rigging setup, and you can work with just about ANY style of artwork you can imagine, After Effects is top notch when it comes to “puppet” style animation.  It’s priced around the $600 range, but again that may differ with a Creative Cloud subscription.  (http://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects.html)
7. Anime Studio Pro.  I haven’t had a chance to use this personally, but from some of the work I’ve seen being produced with it; I’d say it’s one app that shouldn’t be overlooked.  The interface is structured off of Manga Studio and a little bit of Flash but handles symbol animation pretty crudely.  At $299 per seat, it’s a fairly priced piece of software.  (http://anime.smithmicro.com/)
8. Pencil is a free bitmap animation tool.  It has a simplified interface similar to Flash but its drawing aspect is a little rough around the edges.  If you’re a hobbyist or fan of animation and just want to get your feet wet, this is a great introductory app that doesn’t affect your wallet.  (http://www.pencil-animation.org/)
9. Vectorian, Flash’s doppelgänger if there ever was one.  The interface and usability is almost as intuitive as Flash minus the action scripting, though most animators hardly use AS unless its site and app building.  For being a free app, it’s mostly geared towards motion graphics rather than traditional 2D animation.  It can handle it, but its a bit on the slow side.  (http://vectorian.com/)
10. Adobe Photoshop.  That’s right.  Before the Creative Suite era, you would scan in your animation frames and prep them for clean up or coloring, then you’d bring it to After Effects or whichever app you were going to animate in.  CS introduced the Animation Timeline which then allowed you to create complete animated works in just Photoshop alone.  You can snag older versions of it online for around $350 while the newest version CS6 goes for $670 online or for $50 per month through Creative Cloud. (http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html)
11. Retas Studio. With the growing trend of all-in-one apps, CelSYS introduced Retas Studio as a self-contained animation package.  For those of you unfamiliar with Retas!; it’s the standard tool of use by some of the most famous Japanese and Korean studios and dominates the Eastern animation scene.  The interface is pretty complicated but its incredibly powerful tool.  The cost comes in at $980 USD. (http://www.retasstudio.net/)
12. Toonz is the long time software of choice by Studio Ghibli and maybe a few smaller studios throughout the globe.  From what’s available online, it’s user interface lives in the same cumbersome space as Toon Boom only a simpler and easier on the eyes.  It offers an abundance a feature called “scripts,” that are similar to Flash’s Commands and Photoshop Actions, where with a push of a key will take care of repetitive tasks like applying a similar effect on several scenes, etc.  Without being able to buy the program out-right, it’s hard to really say how useful this app is.  And then there’s the mystery price; it’s not listed on their website.  You have to contact them and get a quote. (http://www.toonz.com/)

Although some of these apps have some big names behind them, that doesn’t always mean that it’s the right tool for you.  The phrase; “TV show and Feature Films are made with them…” is really just a marketing ploy to get artists and animators to break out the plastic.  
What does a good tool feel like?  Well, it depends.  Personally speaking, I like using software that allows me to focus on what’s in front of me without having to constantly reach for a hotkey or move a bunch of panels around just to get some more screen real estate.  Even though many applications say their an all-in-one, you have to raise the question on whether you really need all those features and how often are you going to use them.  In a studio setting, you’ll only be using the app for one purpose and the rest gets sent to another person or department.  
The pros know that having good tools will help you produce good work, but they won’t do the work for you.  
For your consideration: The software and hardware you buy for your business is an investment which should pay itself off.  Now, that doesn’t give you a license to spend carelessly.  You really need to consider if the amount of work you’re bringing in can justify the hefty spending on name-endorsed products.  If you can, go for it.  But if you can’t, try to see if you can make do without for a while.  Most clients don’t care what you do the work in so long as the work is done and you keep them happy.

Esteban Valdez is the founder of Echo Bridge Pictures, a 2D animation production company, in St Petersburg, Florida.  @echobridge

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News: The Jim Henson Company debuts Jim Henson’s Chatter Zoo at licensing show 2013

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ChatterZooBabies

THE JIM HENSON COMPANY DEBUTS

JIM HENSON’S CHATTER ZOO AT LICENSING SHOW 2013

 

Multi-Platform Property Debuts as Appisode This Summer

Sassy, Inc. on Board to Develop Innovative Infant Development Toys

 

Los Angeles, CA (June 13, 2013) The Jim Henson Company continues its reputation as an innovator in content and brand development with the upcoming debut of its latest property, JIM HENSON’S CHATTER ZOO, at Licensing Expo 2013.  CHATTER ZOO will premiere to consumers this summer with the launch of an “appisode” – a mobile entertainment and learning application for kids – produced by Mindshapes. Also, The Jim Henson Company is collaborating with Sassy Inc., the lead partner for infant developmental toys and plush, for products in those categories. The announcement was made today by Melissa Segal, Executive Vice President, Global Consumer Products, The Jim Henson Company. Continue reading

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News: Relativity Media announced Free Brids

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FREE BIRDS

 

Relativity Media, has just shared the first look images from their upcoming animated film, FREE BIRDS. Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson star as a pair of feathered friends who travel back in time to change the course of history – in hopes of getting turkey off the holiday menu for good.

The film also stars Amy Poehler, and the just announced  Eddie ‘Piolin’ Sotelo (Ice Age: Continental Drift), Danny Carey (drummer for the world-renowned rock band Tool) and Josh Lawson (The Campaign).  FREE BIRDS will be released in 2D and 3D formats on November 1st – just in time for Thanksgiving!

Release: 

November 1, 2013
Director: 
Jimmy Hayward
Cast: 
Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson, Amy Poehler, Dan Fogler, Lesley Nicol, George Takei, Colm Meaney, Keith David, Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo
Writers: 
Screenplay by David I. Stern and John Strauss with a rewrite from Craig Mazin
Producers: 
Scott Mosier, Craig Mazin, John Strauss, David I. Stern
Executive Producers:
Aron Warner
In this hilarious, adventurous buddy comedy for audiences of all ages, directed by Jimmy Hayward (Horton Hears a Who!), two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history – and get turkey off the Thanksgiving menu for good.
Also, be sure to follow FREE BIRDS on:

FREE BIRDS