See fonts come to life in these amazing kinetic typography animations, including music videos, movie tributes and more.
Kinetic typography can come in all shapes and forms. Whether it's an
homage to a famous movie speech or song or an exploration of the
typography itself, these creations are a feast for the eyes. If you want
to create your own, our selection of free fonts and After Effects tutorials will help you on your way.
Need
a little inspiration? Here, we've picked some brilliant kinetic
typography animations, including music videos, movie tributes and more.
Enjoy!
Ryan Perera's
video based on a sequence from the film Kick-ass uses a hand-drawn
style to reflect the brand's comic book influences. It's a great example
of how drama and emotion can be expressed with moving type.
02. Coconut woman
This lively animation by Motion Surfing uses coconut-shaped type timed with the rhythm of the song to to convey personality and energy.
03. From Paper to Screen
This masterpiece was, unbelievably, a graduation project by graphic designer Thibault de Fournas.
The animation shows the evolution of typography from paper to screen in
serious style. The first half of the video deals with the basic rules
of typesetting, before moving on to the use of typography in cinema,
with impressive effects running throughout – the tribute to Saul Bass
being our favourite.
04. Language
Designer Matthew Rogers
is the man behind this kinetic typography animation of the words of
writer and actor Stephen Fry. A fan of this particular essay on
language, Rogers decided to make it his first kinetic typography project
using a combination of After Effects, Flash and Illustrator.
05. The 10 Commandments
In
just under two minutes, this kinetic typography animation reveals the
10 Commandments in serious style. The man behind the piece is designer Vit Ryznar, who completed the project using After Effects.
06. Shine a Light
Let's
be frank, this J-pop tune by DJ Takuma featuring Angella Guistini is
pretty forgettable, and we imagine the lyrics were sugary nonsense even
before they got translated from Japanese. But the vibrant typographic
video by Bait makes everything better.
07. Childline: First Step
Ad agency YCN Studio recently collaborated with LA-based production company Buck on this powerful animation, which encourages children to talk about and report sexual abuse.
The
video promotes the services of UK-based, confidential, free, 24-hour
counselling service for children, Childline. Following a conversation
between child and advisor, the four-minute animation
uses kinetic typography and abstract art to get its message across.
It's by no means an easy issue, and we think YCN Studio and Buck have
done a sterling job at covering it in a powerful yet sensitive way.
08. Breaking Bad
American
TV show Breaking Bad has won multiple awards since it first aired back
in 2008. Which is hardly surprising when it includes brilliant
monologues like 'I am the danger', in which school
teacher-turned-criminal Walter White convinces his wife that he's a
dangerous man, capable of striking fear into hardened criminals.
Graphic designer, illustrator and animator Paul Cooper decided to pay homage to the infamous scene using kinetic typography.
He visualises the intense scene through a series of black and white
illustrations and text, all cleverly timed to each character's lines.
09. The Hush Sound – Lions Roar
Part of a two man team, designer Mig Reyes
worked on this typographical motion graphic piece to The Hush Sound's
Lions Roar song. Heavily inspired by motion graphics studio MK12, the
duo used After Effects to time the song's lyrics to the brilliant
typography and graphics.
10. Procrastination
This trailer for David McRaney's
international bestselling book You are Not So Smart uses cleverly
animated typography to sum up its contents. Animated, designed and
produced by Plus3
productions, the perfectly timed animation is all about
proscratination, and it'll have you nodding in agreement and smiling all
the way through.
11. The Edge
Hunter S Thompson has influenced a generation of film-makers, writers and designers. This homage to the author by Piotr Kabat combines an array of design disciplines to showcase some of his finest words.
12. Apocalypse Rhyme
This is an amazing piece of work considering it was all done by one person. Oliver Harrison
wrote the poem, composed the music and organised it all into a splendid
animated whole for Channel 4's Random Acts, and his reward was the
'Best Motion Graphics' prize in the British Animation Awards 2014.
13. Bob
Oliver Smith
is a 3D animator and compositor who can turn his hand at many aspects
of the moving image. Inspired by 'Weird Al' Yankovic's Bob Dylan parody
'Bob', the song features Yankovic's signature style and comical lyrics.
Although the amusing tune is the main influence for the video, it's
Oliver's stunning array of graphic titles and typography that really
stand out.
14. Anonymous
This
super-cool infographic kinetic typography animation tells the story of
how online hactivist group Anonymous came together in 2003 and
subsequently went on to stage various protest actions. The 90-second
animation, which uses 3D effects, electronics and text to convey the
message, was created by multimedia designer Savva Tsekmas.
15. Shop Vac
Artist Jarrett Heather made this kinetic typography music video for Jonathan Coulton's
Shop Vac. The humourous animation took Heather somewhere between 500
and 1000 hours to complete. At just under three-and-a-half-minutes long,
the brilliant video features a number of different fonts, all perfectly
suited to the story each tells.
16. Rolling Stones - Doom and Gloom
Celebrating
their 50th anniversary with a series of recent comeback gigs, the
old-time rock 'n' rollers even managed to release a new track that was
pretty darned good. For the accompanying music video, Trunk Animation designed this great splatter style animation, which is reminiscent of Ralph Steadman's typographic artistry.
17. Karloff
Another piece from graphic designer Thibault de Fournas, who has combined modern typefaces Bodoni and Didot
in this beautiful animated video exploring how two extremes could be
combined into a coherent whole. Stylistically, the video is centred
around a series of expanding and disappearing hairlines, with cuts
complementing editorial typographic layouts.
18. Mad as Hell
Peter
Finch's iconic 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this any
more' speech from Network is still relevant 40 years on, and while it
doesn't necessarily need any extra weight lending to it, this kinetic
typography treatment by Aaron Leming makes a pretty good fist of it.
19. Alphabet
This
alphabet in motion video is sublimely smooth. There's no accompanying
soundtrack but the animation is so slick you don't notice. Former
graffiti artist turned motion graphic artist Pavel Pavlov morphs simple but beautiful lines and graphics together to form a unique design for each letter of the alphabet.
20. Conan O'Brien
Working
from one solid artboard, this entertaining kinetic typography video
recreates the dialogue on the final episode of NBC's The Tonight Show
presented by Conan O'Brien. The camera pans between nicely set type,
ending with a shot of the entire piece. The combination of eclectic
typography and modern 3D letterforms achieved in Cinema 4D provides a contrast between old and new.
21. Make it better
Colour and morphing typography are wonderfully combined in this video. Creator Climent Canal and animator Sebastián Baptista's beautiful video brings an inspiring message to vivid life.
22. ALQUIMIA Animated Type
Pavel
Paratov has constructed a mesmerising piece of golden kinetic
typography here. The letterforms reshuffle to the electro beat by
Satoshi Yoshitake integrating abstract shapes into the mix.
23. Back to the Future
If
you're anything like us, you'll already be a huge fan of Back to the
Future. So, what could be better than kinetic typography of this
priceless conversation between Marty McFly and his mother? It's the work
of Canadian graphic designer Melanie Burgess. We love this original offering!
24. Alphagames
This
inventive animation has quickly become one of the most popular kinetic
typography videos on Vimeo. It was created by freelance editor and
animator Evan Seitz,
who has worked on commercials for Coca-Cola and the American Cancer
Society – one of which went on to win a Telly Award at the 32nd Annual
Convention.
25. Fight Club
There's plenty of Fight Club kinetic typography hovering around the World Wide Web but this particular offering from Adrian Moran
is a belter. The visual FX, motion graphics and 3D artist has created
this animation to accompany Brad Pitt's infamous Fight Club rule
listing. We love the colours too!
26. Hello Hola Hallo Bonjour Ciao Ola
This adorable kinetic typography animation was made by Spanish graphic and motion designer Daniel Moreno Cordero. Daniel created his animation using After Effects, Illustrator and some Photoshop, alongside a typeface entitled Granaina Limpia.
27. Ira Glass on Storytelling
The producer and host of This American Life, Ira Glass, discusses what makes up the building blocks of a great story in this animation, made over three days by David Shiyang Lu using Illustrator and After Effects. You can catch the whole Ira Glass talk over on YouTube.
28. Elbow Grease - Habitat Promo
Motion design craftsman Joe Dunlap
created this insightful promo for furniture giant Habitat. Through
creative, kinetic typography and slick, dynamic animations, this short
public service announcement for Habitat for Humanity explains that it's
easy for anyone to achieve something big. It has attracted a lot of love
on Vimeo!
29. RocknRolla
Created by Siddharth Raj,
this kinetic typography animation takes a speech from British action
thriller RocknRolla and brings it to life. We love how Raj has
incorporated various font shapes and sizes to fit perfectly between each
other.
30. Pulp Fiction
Gangster
movie speeches are cropping up a lot in this list – it seems like
they're the perfect accompaniment for great kinetic typography. This
Pulp Fiction number was created by Norweigian motion designer Christian Gjerde. Watch for the particularly clever 'car' moment at the end of the video.
31. Fusion Design
This
animation combines motion graphics with kinetic typography to a
faultless execution. There's not much information on this one by Dusan Tatalovic but we love the way he has managed to almost personify the typography throughout the musical accompaniment.
32. 29 Ways to Stay Creative
Created by Japanese motion graphic design studio TO-FU
the video is by far one of the most popular kinetic typography
animations out there. It's easy to see why with its inventive graphics
and helpful content.
33. Kid President peptalk
Motion designer Taylor English
is the artist behind this fun, animated typography project, who created
it for her time-based typography class while studying at the Savannah
College of Art and Design. The 90-second video is a visual
representation of one of 9-year-old Robby Novak aka Kid President's
motivational speeches.
34. The Alphabet
Designer and animator Alessandro Novelli
captures his love for typography and animation in this 60-second
Alphabet video. The gorgeous animation spells letters A through to Z,
with a different font featured for each. The dancing letterforms are
accompanied by Si Tu N'étais Pas Là by Fréhel, a track used in the movie
Amelie.
35. Husbands: Dream
This music video for Husbands' single Dream sees the lyrics light up as they're sung. To make it, French design duo Cauboyz
created individual boxes with each word placed on the front using
laser-cut and hand-cut stickers. Wires were then attached to each box,
complete with a handy switch to press once the word came up.
36. Coldplay: Atlas
Featured
on the Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack, this video for
Coldplay's latest single 'Atlas'. was created by New York-based agency Blind Pig in collaboration with creative agency Hugo & Marie. The team effort has executed one of the best uses of kinetic typography we've come across in a while.
Directed by Mario Hugo, the illustrations are largely based around the celestial sky map and myth by Micah Lidberg. Animation creative directors Ric Comline and Jonny Bursnell ensured that the video would be a seamless animation sequence, with both agencies providing gorgeous inspiration.
37. The Dead Words
Hypenemious by David McLeod
The Dead Words project was begun by Karen To Nakada
in 2010 as a way to express her love of both words and type. The
graphic designer, illustrator and letterer is driven to promote and
commemorate no-longer-used words before they are forgotten forever.
The
project has generated much interest in the design community with well
over 100 contributions to the project and counting, including everything
from handcrafted to kinetic typography. Here is just one of the
beautiful submissions, with many more to see on the website.
Create the perfect working environment for your needs, using Maya's UI customisation options
Modern software can be hugely powerful and all-encompassing. Maya is
no different, offering a bewildering array to tools, commands and
options to help you reach your desired result. But how do you manage
this?
There are lots of Maya tutorials
around, as well as useful helpers in the form of shelves and focused
menu sets. However it's possible to define your own preferences for your
working environment, showing what you want, where you want it. Over the
next few steps you'll learn how to make the most of the Maya UI and
roll your own UI design to best use your available screen real estate.
Open
Maya and look at the default layout. There's a lot going on and while
much of it is very useful, it often pays to take time to build a
dedicated, task-specific workspace. It's easy to do as well, so let's
get stuck in.
For
this example let's look at building a space for polygon modeling. All
extraneous options can be removed to give us maximum space to
concentrate on our geometry.
Click the Running man/cog icon in
the bottom right to open the Preferences pane, then select the UI
Elements from the options on the left. This shows many things we can
turn on and off. Start by unchecking the Status Line, Time and Range
sliders, and the Command Line. Click Save and close the window. Already
we have a more streamlined feel.
I
would also suggest unchecking the Tool Box options, which are the
selection tools and viewport layouts that run down the left of the
application. However, if you are new to Maya, only do this if you are
comfortable with the keyboard shortcuts for these items. They are some
of the first you should learn, so you should be good to go, but keep in
mind that you might still need quick access to certain commands.
When
it comes to dealing with shelves you have options. You can access the
tools in the shelves from the Space Bar menu, but you may still like to
keep a simpler shelf in view, depending on your preferred way of
working.
If you like the shelf but want less clutter, click the
gear icon to the left of the shelf and choose to hide Shelf Tabs. You
can still access the different shelves by clicking the double line above
the gear.
If
you want quick access to just a few tools but from different shelves,
click the gear again and choose New Shelf, giving it a name when
prompted. To add tools to the shelf ctrl+shift and click the tool as normal. You will find it is now housed in your custom shelf.
This,
combined with the previous step on hiding tabs, makes for a clean
workspace but one that still gives you access to all your most commonly
used tools.
If you want to return to Preferences editor (it's now gone because we've hidden the command line) go to Windows > Settings > Preferences. Head to the Interface section so you can clean up your viewports.
Uncheck
Show menubar in panels, as the icons alone will be enough. As with so
many things in Maya, there are multiple methods of accessing the same
thing. Decide which one you prefer and set your workspace accordingly.
When
modeling it can be particularly useful to see certain details about a
mesh, such as the polygon count or other measures of your project. To
show various elements in your viewport go to Display > Headsup and click the double dotted line to tear off the menu.
Now
you can spend a little time defining what information you would like
constant access to. Of course you can come back and hide things at any
time too.
If you aren't happy with the colours of certain UI elements, go to Windows > Settings > Preferences > Colors,
where you will see a long list of sub-sections. Let's look at our HUD
colours, which we were dealing with in the previous step. Depending on
your viewport, these may be less visible than you like, or stand out too
much.
Find the Heads Up Display tab and click it. There are four
sliders that let you adjust to suit. Once done, you can go through the
other tabs, adapting other colours to suit. That said, the defaults have
had a lot of thought put into them and do work well in most cases.
When
you've created a UI set you're happy with, let's save it. There are
options that let Maya forget or remember workspaces and UI sets, but it
really is best practice to save it as a custom option. This will enable
you to choose it at will, depending on what task you are working on.
To do this is very simple. Just click Windows > Workspaces > Save Workspace, then give it a name. It will now appear in the list of other presets at the top-right of your application.
This step-by-step guide will teach you how to create low-poly, facet-style desktop wallpaper with Cinema 4D and Photoshop
Popularised by the great New York-based art director and illustrator Justin Maller,
the low poly facet-style render is easier that you think in Cinema 4D
and Photoshop. If you're new to the softwares, there are plenty of Cinema 4D tutorials and Photoshop tutorials
to get you started. But for those of you who are ready to go, here's a
simple 12-step guide to creating your very own low-poly facet
wallpaper.
First
off, fire up Cinema 4D and add a platonic shape from the shape menu to
your scene. Select the shape in the objects menu and select the object
tab in the Attribute panel below. Change the type to Bucky.
Next,
select a Displacer object. This lives in the same menu as the Bend
object. Move the Displacer inside your Platonic shape in the Objects
panel to make it a child of the shape.
Once
there, select the Shading tab from the Attributes panel below. Next to
the shader, click the little white arrow button to be able to select
noise. Once selected, click the object tab and alter the height. This
will start to create the kind of shapes we're looking for.
As
well as playing around with the height and noise attributes, you can
also tweak the attributes of the Platonic shape, like its type and
segments. This will give you a more detailed shape. It's worth playing
around until you get one you like.
Next,
we'll need to add another shape to our scene. We'll use this later to
project colour into our Platonic shape. So select a cube and in its
Attributes/Object panel change its X/Y/Z size to 2000cm. This should
surround your Platonic shape and still allow you to see it.
Let's create some materials to apply to our shapes. First, some glass. To do this select Create > New material from the materials panel, bottom left of your screen.
Once
it appears, double-click the material to bring up your Materials
window. On the left-side of the window turn all attribute types off,
other than Transparency. Once selected in the right-hand panel, change
the Refraction setting to 1.2. With the glass created, drag the material
and drop it onto your Platonic shape.
Next,
we'll need to find a photo or image that we'll use to project onto our
shape. I found that darker, high-contrast images seem to work well, as
well as dropping them into Photoshop first and boosting up the
Saturation.
Back
in Cinema 4D, create a new material (as you did previously), but
instead of Transparency, only click the Luminance type. A this point, we
can apply our photo to the material. On the right, click the three-dot
button to the far right of the texture button. Find your image and click
OK.
Cinema 4D might prompt you that it's going to move the image
to the project location. Just click 'Yes' – this will allow C4D to find
it again later. Once applied to the material, alter the Blur offset to
around 15 per cent. Now drag the material onto your cube object.
Now
what we need to do is allow the cube to affect the Platonic shape
without it appearing in the scene. This is simple. All you need to do is
right-click on the cube and select Cinema 4D tags/Compositing. Once it
appears in your Object menu, select it and click the Tag tab in the
Attribute menu below.
There
should be a checkbox called 'Seen by camera'. Untick this. It might not
seem like the cube has disappeared, but when you render, it won't be
there.
Now
for the final render. Click the render setting button (a clapper board
with a clog) to bring up your render settings window. For the render
button select Physical. In your Output menu alter your width and height
to 1960px by 840px, this should high enough resolution for most
desktops. In the Save menu select Format PSD, Depth 16 bit, and click on
the alpha channel box (we'll use this later in Photoshop).
Once
you've altered your resolution you might have to go back to your scene
and move your camera to position your shape how you want it. You can do
this by using 1,2,3 quick key to move rotate and zoom your camera. Then press shift+R to render your final image.
Once
the Picture Viewer has finished rendering, select File/Save as then
open your file in Photoshop. Now for the finishing touches.
In Photoshop open the Channels panel and cmd+click
the extra channel supplied by C4D. With this selection, create a layer
mask in your Layers panel, making your shape sit on a transparent layer.
Next,
create a new layer and set this below your masked shape. With the
Droplet tool, select a highlight colour for rendering for your
foreground, and one of the darkest colours for your background. With
these selected use the Gradient tool set to Radial, and draw on a
background.
To
add some extra shine, duplicate your shape and right-click the layer.
Apply the mask, taking the background away. Once separated, bring up
your Levels panel (cmd+L). Using the three triangles below the histogram, clip the highlights by moving them to the right.
With
this layer modified, select Filter/Blur/Motion Blur and apply an angle
and distance depending on your shape. Next simply apply Screen Mode to
this layer to give you some more contrast and shine.
One final quick tip: If your shape seems to be a bit floaty, try adding a shadow.
For the most part, I'm a 2D artist. But for the past few months I've
been playing in 3D space – and I love it! It turns out that it can be
helpful to have the skills to create a 3D model , even when the spec calls for 2D art.
In
this article, we'll take a look at some of the reasons why you should
learn 3D, and how it can help improve your 2D art. We'll also review a
few software options, and show you where you can go to get help learning
the art of 3D modeling.
The benefits of going 3D
I
wasn't always eager to work in 3D. In fact, I did everything I could to
stay away from it. I mean, really. What's the point in spending time
creating a 3D model when the spec calls for 2D art? As it turns out, there are a lot of good points.
Let's take a look at some of the reasons why you might consider learning and using 3D:
01. Fine-tune your designs
3D modeling can help you ensure accuracy in perspective, lighting and anatomy
When
you're working in 2D space, it's important to design things with the
basic principals in mind. This includes composition, perspective,
lighting, values and tones, color theory, and form. With the aid of 3D
modeling software, achieving these things has never been easier.
02. Work faster
Granted,
if you're just learning 3D there's going to be a bit of a learning
curve. But once you're past that, you'll discover how quickly you can
model things. More importantly, you'll be able to change those things
when needed, without spending a lot of time doing it.
03. Increase your marketability
Quite
possibly the best reason to learn 3D is to improve your position within
the marketplace. The trend is definitely moving towards the 3D world.
As more and more designs take on a photorealistic look, understanding 3D
will give you a competitive edge.
04. Stimulate your mind
There's
something to be said about learning a new skill. When you take the time
to learn something new, a few surprising things begin to happen.
For
one, it helps to stimulate your mind. It also gives you something to
talk about. This may not seem like a big deal, but it actually helps you
build connections within the community.
05. Boost your creativity
I
know this seems like a silly reason, but having fun is important. Even
if you never plan to use your 3D designs, it's a lot of fun to play
around in the 3D space. If nothing else, it helps you to tap into your
creativity.
3D software options
Now that you know why you should learn and use 3D, let's find out what software options are available:
Creative freedom starts with open source software Blender
Blender
is the de facto standard when it comes to free and open source
software. While I wouldn't say the interface is particularly user
friendly or intuitive, it's not too bad once you learn how to get
around.
The flagship of 3D software is Maya –but it doesn't come cheap
The flagship of 3D software is Autodesk's Maya
– but it's not cheap. If you're not a student, Maya will cost you (at a
minimum) $185 per month. If you're looking for a cheaper alternative,
Autodesk offers Maya LT, which is only $30 per month. The good news is that you can download free trials for both of these products.
Out
of the three of these options, Maya LT is my preferred choice for
creating characters and environments – especially for games.
Note:
The list above is not meant to be comprehensive. It's simply a starting
point. I encourage you to look around and find the right tool for you.
Keep in mind, rarely will you have a single tool for every job.
Learning 3D
Master the art of 3D with the Lego Digital Designer
OK, so you've decided to learn 3D, and you selected a few tools. But where do you go to learn the basics?
Chris Language at Day Of The Indie suggests LEGO Digital Designer.
He says, "LDD is a great training tool for anyone wanting to learn the
basics behind the 3D authoring tools available today. LDD is also great
for prototyping. Besides, who doesn't like to play with LEGO?". You can
watch Chris' up-and-coming LDD tutorial at Day Of The Indie.
If you're looking for tutorials specifically on the software mentioned above, Blender has everything you need in its tutorial section. Or you can take a look at this list of 38 brilliant Blender tutorials. For Maya, have a look at 22 mighty Maya tutorials to try today .
Hopefully, you're convinced to give 3D a try!
Those who have used Quixel suite for a long time are used to that
inactive, little green button to the right of dDo. But after a very long
period of 'imminent release' chatter, that button went bright green in
September. It now sends you to the Megascans website: Quixel's latest
offering in its series of excellent tools.
Green is a fitting
colour for Megascans, as it is a website filled with an incredible
amount of biomes, surfaces, 3D scans and atlases – all prepped, scanned,
and ready for use in any renderer or engine, and with a fresh content
delivery rate somewhere between enthusiastic and insane.
In
addition to textures and photogrammetry scans, Megascans also offers the
Megascans Bridge. This is your local downloaded content library viewer,
complete with editable scripts for plugging your downloads into your
renderer or game engine, such as Unity or Unreal.
Megascans
Studio is easy and enjoyable to work with, letting you import, layer
and blend your surface assets to your heart's content
Then
there's Megascans Studio, which is where you bring your content to
life. It's easy and enjoyable to work with, letting you import, layer
and blend your surface assets to your heart's content. It also enables
you to generate complex, multilayered materials using just a few
sliders. You can import your surface(s), add solid or liquid layers, and
then tweak anything from height to opacity, and blend with the
underlying layers.
Finished textures can be exported on a default
or custom/per channel basis, ranging from normal SRGB exports to custom
gloss-containing normals for CRYENGINE and Lumberyard.
The sky
really is the limit when it comes to creative use of Megascans, and
shows Quixel has certainly not been resting on its nDo and dDo laurels.
High quality library
In
order for the Megascans library to work well, Quixel has had to develop
a whole new pipeline for asset scanning and creation. This was no doubt
a huge amount of work, and the resulting content is of very high
quality.
The Megascans library offers beautifully flat surfaces
and atlases for both spec/gloss and metal/rough workflows, as well as
super-honed normals and other maps. This goes for the photogrammetry
models as well: all models have beautifully flat UVs and seamless
textures, and import without a hitch into anything from 3ds Max to Vue.
There
aren't many drawbacks, either. The content library could use even
better sorting, and needs better import and deletion functionality, and
the Bridge UI sometimes hangs. However, considering what you get for
your subscription money and the ease and beauty of the tools themselves,
these are minor issues.
If you've not jumped on the Megascans bandwagon yet, make an effort to do so. It really is that good. This article was originally featured in 3D World issue 215
Pixar directing animator Andrew Gordon has seen a few demo reels in
his time. When he isn’t working on stunning animations at Pixar, he’s
busy sharing industry tips and techniques on his blog, and teaching masterclasses in animation and storytelling (he’s in Rome in May).
Here,
Gordon walks through some stand-out demo reels from the last decade,
explaining why each one won its creator either an internship or a job…
01. Stefan Schumacher: Demo reel 2010
“This
one was done by Stefan Schumacher, who was one of my interns a few
years back,” explains Gordon. “All of the scenes are based on a simple
rig that has been modified to be a character. Also, he put sets in and,
in general, shows really great acting ideas. Especially in the scene at
00:30…”
02. Allison Rutland: 2009 animation demo reel
“Another
reel that I remember being wonderful was this one from Allison Rutland.
It’s a professional reel that showed great potential at the time,”
Gordon explains.
“She didn’t have much feature work on her reel,
but she did two personal tests that got her a job. The last one on the
reel [at 00:50] I think really closed it for her. It’s a great example
of believable acting,” he says. Rutland went on to win an Annie for best
character animation for her work on 2015 animated film, Inside Out.
You can watch her 2017 animation showreel here.
03. Cesar Tafova: Animation reel 2016
“There
are many rigs out there – many are attached to schools that ‘give them
away’ for free as a marketing tool,” says Gordon. “Just know that when
you see the same rig over and over from hundreds and hundreds of
students, it’s very hard to separate yourself from the pack.
“This
example [at 00:17] shows a good use of changing the scene and
character. It has a good hook. It’s the Malclom rig,” he adds. “I see
lot of demo reels with this guy. If you’re going to use a rig from a
school, come up with a really original design and test.
“Look at
the rig as the actor, and you as the director who needs to put him in a
costume. Make the scenery and direct the acting to tell a story.”
04: Carlo Vogele: For Sock’s Sake
“Once
you get past the work from schools that teach animation by using stock
rigs and running you through animation exercises, the stuff that really
stands out is the student films from other schools in the world,” says
Gordon. “When you see a film that’s well-crafted, it means a lot. This
film by Carlo Vogele was one of those you see and, right off the bat,
you say: ‘That’s a great idea – using clothing to animate.”
Don’t fall into the trap of being a shot animator. Try to be a storyteller
“It’s
so important to remember to be a film-maker and not just try to do
exercises that you think will get you into this or that studio –
especially when you’re a student. Now’s your time to make films, because
not many people out there are going to give you the money to make a
film.”
“I was personally hired out of school on a two-minute
Flour Sack test that turned into a little story. I saw another student
get an internship based off his Flour Sack film and go on to Pixar, then
Disney feature animation,” he continues. “You don’t need complex rigs
to get noticed. Just great ideas. Many times it’s the story telling, the
entertainment value, what you bring to the work… Don’t fall into the
trap of being a shot animator. Try to be a storyteller.”
Polybrush is a new, small sculpting tool that lets you sculpt mesh
via sketching or drawing with your mouse or tablet. The brainchild of
Arseniy Korablev, it lets you create new, use defined, or refined
meshes, with a brush containing just one or lots of different elements,
each with their own parameters.
Reminiscent of Groboto in its
heyday, or Sculptris, the software enables you to quickly sculpt and
paint anything from plants to creatures to hands – with some serious
kitbashing options thrown in, provided you take the time to set up your
object files for brush import and painting.
In
addition, it comes with a pretty big set of functionality for such a
small tool: As well as the generic 3D sketching tools, you get
sculpting, lathing and voxel tools, as well as the kind of simple
remesher Sculptris never seems to get around to implementing. Not to
mention the big library of ready to use object files which you can
incorporate in your sculpts. It even comes with deforming, boning and
simple UV tools.
It’s
easy to use, too, once you figure out the UI, which could be a lot
clearer: settings and pickers are on the left, menu and complex options
are on top, and configurable scene items sit on the right, together with
sculpting and creation tools.
Creative fun
You
then proceed to sculpt, paint or add items to your model. One thing I
found a little clunky was having to deal with the plane that comes with
the 3D painting brush, but once you get used to it, it’s par for the
course, and doesn’t detract much from the fact that Polybrush is a super
fun and easy tool to use for tweaking sculpts, generating new ones, or
even creating bones. Polybrush is especially good if you’re on a budget
(for example, when you can’t afford to use ZBrush).
Of course, it
doesn’t sport all the tools of ZBrush, but combined with Sculptris and
Blender, this little tool can garner you some very nice results indeed.
The one thing I loved about Polybrush 1.1 is how it invites you to
explore, create, and simply have fun.
Which is why it’s a pity
that it has a few detractions. First of all, be prepared to spend some
time figuring it out, as Korablev’s videos are very pretty, but not
exactly informative on finer details. It’s also a little unstable on
Windows 10/64, and anti-virus software such as Norton keeps deleting it.
But
if you’re willing to deal with its quirks, and are looking for that
extra, cool little tool for your toolkit, $20 isn’t much for what it can
do, plus the fun you’ll have exploring it.
This article was originally published in 3D World magazine issue 215
