Class Hours: 9:40 – 2:05
Mr. Cronin
Mr. Bohmann
Notes
- Welcome to yet another Tumultuous Tuesday! Schedules changed accordingly.
- While we start working with our characters today, I want you to start thinking of our Character Animation prompt: “The Challenge“. What type of animation could your character take part in with this prompt?
9:40 Attendance and Article/Video
9:45 Origin / Backstory for Character

Let’s try this again!
We are going to look at the .psd I have supplied you. We will retain this shape and overview. We will talk about:
- Installing the Raleway Font
- Hiding / Showing Guides
- Setting up mask for character wider than narrow – think Carl’s Crab.
- In Blender – rendering at a high resolution to bring into this character sheet.
Once we understand the technical specifics, then move onto the creative aspect of this project.
On the right hand side I want you to fill out the information requested, mainly:
- Type of character
- Environment
- Characteristics
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Origin story
Save your file as “(lastname)Character.jpg” and upload to your “week_14” folder.
10:45 Break (15 Minutes)

11:00 Morning Character Animation Practice: Neutral Animation

This morning we will start working with our characters, getting some practice with different animation types.
The first will be a “Neutral Animation”. When your character is standing on a street corner, when it is just existing waiting to be talked to, when it is watching a fight – it isn’t static. It is going to have some sort of animated elements to make it feel alive, even if they are subtle. Take your character and create some sort of looping “neutral animation”. Some examples:
- Breathing, chest rising.
- Kicking the ground, moving from one foot to the left.
- Swaying
- Looking around left to right then back to the center.
- Etc.
At 11:20 we are going to do a Gallery Walk where we get to see all our characters doing this “neutral animation”. Remember it must be looping, and the camera isn’t to move.
11:20 Gallery Walk for Neutral Animation
11:25 Morning Character Animation Practice: Happy Greeting

In this second animation I want you to create a happy greeting just as we did with Andy. Your character should move toward the camera and give us a “happy greeting”. Let’s say that regardless of the look and feel of the character, that all characters for this project will have the energy and feeling of a happy puppy dog.
Remember that in animation we need to push the idea of Exaggeration. This is one of the “12 Principles of Animation” that we covered. Exaggerate the motions more than you think you need to, then back it off as needed.
At 11:45 we are going to do a Gallery Walk where we get to see all our characters doing this “neutral animation”. Remember it must be looping, and the camera isn’t to move.
11:50 Lunch (30 Minutes)

12:20 Attendance and Article
12:25 Silent Site Maintenance

- Check grades / see if Homework Club for you is required tomorrow
- Explore and create
- Start thinking about “The Challenge” animation with your character. We are going to storyboard your story tomorrow morning.
12:40 Speed Design

1:10 Intro to Adobe Illustrator

Today we get an intro to Illustrator, what is is best suited for, create some art, and get some hands on experience with this tool.
2:00 Dailies
