hmmmm

wait multimedia art? that's a course I've considered taking 😭 i heard it's very heavy on 3d stuff tho. id love to hear about your experience

Multimedia Art! I studied in University of Fine Arts of Lisbon (or as it's called here; FBAUL) My experience there, alongside everyone in my year, was very unique since the curriculum changed mid course and a good chunk of our final semester was spent in quarantine.

A good summary of my college exp was building the ability to do projects from start to finish. Photography, animation, comics, games, audio and video editing, drawing, etc. Alongside the mandatory classes, I've had optional ones. Mandatory classes didn't required me to do 3D work. You could pick optionals that focuses on it, however. So in my experience, it was not heavy on 3D unless someone seeked it out.

I'm gonna be honest, college was gruesome for me (maybe the daily 3 hours of traveling in 3 different types of transportation sunk me in) but I really cherish the things and experience I got within in.

Here goes advices to have an easier experience in college

Learn from everything

Every class has something to learn from and apply to your work. We had drawing classes in which we had to draw a massive pile of random projects set in the center of the room. I've seen some people question as to WHY we are doing something so random. Who will ever need to draw a pile of random stuff? However, it's not about the pile. In that class I reinforced my skills of composition, scale between elements, how to accurately represent man-made items with the dynamic of an illustration. Enjoy and soak in, even seemingly random assignments can have a purpose.

It was also in that drawing class that I learned one of my fave advices ever. I had discarded a drawing and said that I ruined it when the teacher asked why. He replied ''If it's already ruined, then ruin it further''. That loss of high expectations allowed for more freedom, and the result made was much better than anticipated. It happens A LOT when I do ink art. I ruin things, and in an attempt to fix or 'go with the flow', the result turns out much better than the initial plan.

Note: Model drawing class (censored cuz idk how tumblr would react) and statue drawing. The graphite work I did that year made me so bold with shading, both irl and digitally.

Not your magnum opus

None of the projects that you make need to be done at the highest of your skill. I've ALWAYS said to my classmates that we are there to learn the step-by-steps of projects, and try to make a solid one ourselves. Just a solid one, not a perfect one. That being because I've seen it often that projects would start out hyper-detailed and incredibly worked...only for the deadline to approach, and suddenly things aren't as of quality as they were in the start, and the student feels like a failiure over it, and their motivation sinks, and they likely will never attempt it again outside of college. Don't fall for it! You're there to learn what it takes to create a project, and then attempt it at your highest quality in another context.

My example with this were comics. I made comics, animations, games, photos from start to finish. Were they amazing? No. BUT I now know what is needed to make them at full skill outside of college.

Note: Comic class! First one was made based on a sentence prompt (the dialogue). Second one was a re-draw of Pop Team Epic. Made my teacher say ''shut the f*ck up and die'' out loud hsjdhask, she was so hesitant)

Know your limits (and use them for your advantage)

My biggest advantage in college was making my lack of skill seem like a stylistic choice rather than....lack of skill, haha. A massive example of that was my animation project. I didn't have the time to learn software skills nor the time to polish them into smooth, colorful animation. Knowing that I'm unable to do beautiful animation, I decided to use my low skill for full advantage. Now the colorless characters with shaky linework and animation were an aestethic, rather than a flaw. Settle your goals in clever ways that make you look like you're in control. That will also push you out of your own style and reveal some really interesting results.

Note: I animated a short vocaloid MV (Panda Hero by Gumi, with the english translation by vgperson on youtube) A nod to my advice above aswell; this looks messy but it was made from start to finish, and allowed me to learn what it takes to make a MV. I had planned doing another, outside college, but the idea faded.

A GREATER example of this would be the things that made me most popular online; my character design. We were told to design characters based on chess pieces for our weekly Concept Art assignment. I wanted to do fully rendered, beautiful work, but time and SKILL limitations pushed me to settle for ink AND to shade it in a fitting, inky style. I didn't plan on posting it online, but did out of random impulse and it changed my art career forever.

Remember, one of your biggest limits is also the deadline. Don't leave your work for last minute. Unlike high school, the stress of late college works is much, much worse...

That is all, for now. Thank you so much for reading this far.

As a final note, please take care of your health. College is difficult and strains some more than others. Be kind to yourself and to your work.

Aggretsuko Cheats

Aggretsuko Guide

Aggretsuko manual is a guide for warm new recreation. Pick a topic for every ground in the office in line with the wide variety of stars that you earn. With each successive stage comes a callous boss and brutal co-employees to create hindrance in retsuko's course. As you pass levels with flying colors you stand a risk to view the animated episodes. Are not you going gaga already? Such a exceptional and captivating tale now in a puzzle recreation. Comprising of surprising gameplay, you shall never understand what is subsequent in shop for you. Whilst the captivating animal characters drink, all of them get a rosy-cheeked glow. Personal karaoke rooms full of tasty bites and beer are the norm. Giving objects to any other character is performed with palms. All of those cultural details are unremarkable to the japanese, but make the viewing experience that tons richer for american audiences. That's why, notwithstanding the talk over dubbed or subtitles, "Aggretsuko" need to still be considered in its unique language. The cutesy tone and inflections used by jap ladies simply can not be mimicked in english. Livedata also mechanically eliminates the observer whilst the fragment's ondestroy() method is called. We also did not upload any logic to address configuration adjustments, together with the person rotating the tool's screen. The userprofileviewmodel is mechanically restored when the configuration adjustments, in order quickly as the brand new fragment is created, it gets the same example of viewmodel, and the callback is invoked immediately the usage of the current statistics. Given that viewmodel gadgets are meant to out live the corresponding view items that they update, you shouldn't include direct references to view items inside your implementation of viewmodel. Starring retsuko, a pink panda man or woman developed from the same enterprise that masterminded good day kitty, "Aggretsuko" (a portmanteau of "aggressive" and "retsuko") depicts the existence of the 25-yr-antique accounting clerk by way of day who deals with administrative center frustrations and injustices through growling dying metallic at her local karaoke joint at night time. Extra than just escapist fare, netflix's anime series manages to fit in a tremendous quantity of insight about society within 10 short, 15-minute episodes. The injustices visible at retsuko's administrative center are usual: her overly worrying boss director ton who literally is a pig just practices his golf swing all day, the fawning brown-noser tsunoda gets unique treatment, and the workplace busybody does not appear to have whatever to do besides unfold uninformed gossip. Please enter your username or email address. You'll acquire a link to create a new password thru email. Hive co formally launched the puzzle-solving cell game based totally off the famous sanrio's franchise aggresive retsuko (アグレッシブ烈子) titled Aggretsuko the short timer strikes returned. The franchise follows the tale of retsuko, a purple panda who works inside the accounting branch for the organisation carrier man buying and selling co.,ltd. Retsuko dreamed of being capable of revel in the life of a glamorous profession lady running at a industrial organisation, but in reality, her bosses bombard her with tasks and her coworkers push her round. This remained unchanged for five long years and he or she decided to relax with someone, but that simply delivered fuel to the already existing fire in her existence. Her tale teaches us that lifestyles would not work consistent with our needs rather we work as life instructions us to. The authentic characters from the lively collection are actually going to work as in keeping with your command. Each person has its personal precise competencies. So be strategic and choose the right candidate to satisfy the assigned assignment. Now not pigs in the feel that they rolled around in mud or did not bathtub (or hello, maybe that too), but more within the sense that their conduct turned into abhorrent, and worth of landing them a nickname similar to "swine". Director ton - as he's acknowledged - or "retsuko's boss," is the laziest, most ungrateful, chauvinistic pig (i suggest literally, he's a pig) you may ever stumble upon in an workplace putting. He does his very first-class to make retsuko's work-lifestyles (and not directly, her non-public life) a residing hell, as we see. ), we adore it! Whilst season 3 ought to be released on august 27th, this cellular puzzle game of the candy weigh down kind may be a very good way to attend until then. You will be able to find your favored characters and popular clips to unencumber. Aggretsuko: quick timer strikes backs has already arrived on cell. It should not be too hard to locate it in apple or android stores, specifically if you use the brand new design filters. After some technical problems on the day of its launch, july twenty seventh, the whole thing appears to be returned to ordinary due to the fact that then. Ouch! In this kind of lifestyle rampant with sexism, wherein ladies are anticipated(!) To be kawaii and demure and submissive, input our pink panda heroine retsuko! Sidenote: Aggretsuko is a playful aggregate of the title of the series of one hundred lively shorts released back in 2016-17 underneath the name competitive retsuko. To be honest, before retsuko, sanrio had produced the character of gudetama — a genderless, lazy and hilariously zeal-less egg yolk in a perpetual kingdom of ennui. It changed into such an unusual addition to the japanese understanding of kawaii that there's now a subcategory to explain the unconventional kawaii nature of some thing like gudetama: kimo-kawaii or guro-kawaii (that which is peculiar, and gruesome-lovely). It is precise exercise to separate the ui action from the actual information due to the fact the statistics might be up to date for diverse motives. For instance, if we fetched a list of buddies, the equal consumer is probably fetched again programmatically, triggering a livedata replace. From the ui's attitude, the truth that there is a request in flight is just some other data point, much like every other piece of information in the user item itself. We are able to use one of the following strategies to display a regular records-updating status in the ui, regardless of wherein the request to update the information came from: inside the separation of worries section, we cited that one key gain of following this principle is testability. If hearing the words "insightful" and "sanrio" in the same sentence made no sense to you, you're sorely behind on the atypically-cute characters as well as the delightfully perceptive and acutely observational animated shorts that the company has been churning out for the past few years. Sanrio, japan's mascot design giant, which was (until recently) most famous for making adults annually buy into $7 billion worth of merchandise featuring a somewhat-anthropomorphic little cat that was originally aimed at preadolescent females, has somehow managed to redefine and subvert kawaii culture, which is a huge part of japanese popular culture and society. 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Everyone’s Peggy: Threats to Seeing.

This space is static. There is little to no movement. The movement that does occur is directly related to mobile phone usage. Eye contact between patients is kept minimal. Heads are locked onto their phones or on the television screen; fixations are controlled by artificial movement. The only desirable eye contact is between the patient and the nurse that beckons them into the next room. The twiddling of thumbs, texting messages to family or friends, accompanied by an obligatory glance towards the phone’s housing; whether it be pant packet, hoodie pouch, or carry-on bag. Outside of that codependency, the occasional side-ways glance is done in secret. That was my way in.

Animals that Saw Me, a photobook by Ed Panar, is one of the biggest references I could draw off of after completing this activity. In the book, Panar creates a visual narrative discussing the fleeting, face-to-face interactions that people have with animals. I make the comparison, between staring at animals and staring at other people, because I think that it touches on the animalistic inclinations that humans retain. The fight or flight instinct, for example, uses staring as a way of preparation. The person or animal takes in the immediate threat through visual context and acts accordingly. Staring, in this context, is as a natural, animalistic instinct. An archaic inclination passed on from human ancestors. 

While not all of the images could address the concept of staring, I do believe it to be an interesting gesture on how the staree and starer can be swapped. This addresses aspects of the power dynamic, but in this case you’re never quite sure who instigates (starer) the action and who submits (staree) to it. Of the many observations I had while sitting in a waiting room and performing the act of staring, the power dynamic between the two characters was the most obvious. To me, staring is violating and is used only to manipulate the staree into a submissive status. Garland Thompson reflects on the aspects of intensity associated with staring on page 14. 

“We speak of “staring daggers,” “penetrating looks,” “piercing eyes,” “riveting glances,” and “looking somebody up and down.” Such phrases reflect the intensity of being on either side of a staring encounter” (Garland, p. 14).

My observations substantiate Garland-Thompon’s discussion of staring because they exemplify many of the key points outlined in the reading. There are two or more characters being activated in this position. Me, as the starer, have observed the power dynamic at play and the responsibilities that are enacted from that position. After hesitantly establishing an visual confrontation, outside of any consideration for the staree’s comfort or vulnerabilities, I attempted to tame the world with my eyes; jumping innocuously from one waiting room to the next. Of course, this interaction isn’t complete without certain fulfillments. The staree must submit or acknowledge the starers advances through some sort of reactionary impulse. This could be a hand shooting up to cover their face, a surprised jitter, a reluctant smile, or a hostile glare. No matter the outcome, this ballet performs until climax or ceases to provide stimuli. This is where the starer’s role intensifies and his/her duties to the staree become paramount. What goals are going to be met through this? What did I want them to see from me? What did I want them to know from me? How best to communicate this through eye contact alone? The patience of waiting for the right person to sit down and motivating them to talk, none of this should seem foreign to anyone. However, remembering the goals for each conversation once the line has been cast, is both the most difficult part of this conversation and the part with the biggest responsibility.     

The context specific prohibition against looking that I had intended to explore, was photographing in a private office space, but I found myself fighting against the compulsion to stare. So, instead of trading one for the other, I did both; staring and photographing. There are a number of power relationships at play while staring in a health clinic. In the waiting room environment, there is an all-too-often overlooked, but very much so present overseer in the form of surveillance footage. The hierarchy of surveillance is a  prevalent, pervasive threat to the staree and starer. This outlier interferes with the accessibility that a communal stare indoctrinates. The other prohibition, in this context, is the HIPPA agreement made between patients and healthcare providers. HIPPA is a United States legislation that provides data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding medical information. This safeguards against, but is not limited to data breaches, restrictions on access, broadened security measures, and patient interactions within the facility. I was unaware that photography interferes with those measures at the time. 

 What is disturbing about this interaction is that it is one sided, invasive, and mostly unsolicited. After two hours in the waiting room, hearing the names being called into the next room, listening to the medical procedures the television played on repeat, I successfully talked to 3 people about this area. John, April, and Emilio. The fourth and final person I talked to was the one who escorted me out of the building, but not before asking me to delete the photographs on my camera and requesting my full name for their records. Her alias was Peggy, but her actual name, after gathering further information on her immigration, was Ndidi. 

April was the first person I began to have a visual conversation with. She’s a bold, middle-aged women. She wore pink leopard print, unicorn slippers, and had pinkish-purplish semi-permanent hair colorization. She entered and sat at the furthest end of the waiting room, which looked more like a hallway with chairs. April was figgety, so establishing prolonged eye-contact with her wasn’t easy. 

As I stared, I noticed more and more of April’s features. Her skin was a deep tan, almost leathery texture with countless freckles. I took her picture in secret without asking for her permission. Soon after, I asked from across the room,

“What’re ya in for,” this question startled her out of her trance, looking up towards me with an almost lifeless reaction. Her face scrunched up and she replied with a loud and  puzzled,

“Huuhhhh?!”

I repeated my question from across the room. Her response was a waving of her dainty hand and a rolling of her head round in a clockwise direction. She replied, 

“I been comin’ here for months, lady. They ain’t found nothin’ on me yet worth talkin’ bout,” she continued looking downward, “it’s--been a long road, hah.” She chuckled to herself and half-smiled looking back up at me. 

“I’m Alyssa--er, Al for short.” I chortled waving at her with, what I would consider, a long distance handshake. 

“Oh, we’re givin’ names now,” she quipped questioningly. 

“I’m April--don’t ‘ave any nicknames, but I like the one you got. Sounds funky and for a girl with green ‘air, I’m sure that’s was your--ahaha--goin’ for.” She laughed and then I accompanied her. We conversed in segments. I told her about the picture I had taken of her and she laughed again, saying that she would have never noticed. I asked how this made her feel and she said ‘ain’t no harm if I didn’ see no foul’. John walked in about 8 minutes after April. 

John is a middle-age man, but with more seasoning than April. He wore a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and black nikes. He had in airpods and didn’t look like the type of person who enjoyed casual conversation. *note* I’m not making these judgements in real time, I’m only including this information to better visualize the character John made little to no eye-contact outside of his phone’s screen. Occasionally, he would glance upward at the television or around at the faculty when they would meander around the sides of the waiting room hallway. I continued to stare at him, without reciprocated fixation, until one of his wandering glances met mine. Then, another latched on to me without lingering for much longer than the first. Frustrated, I took out my camera and took a picture of him looking back down on his screen. Unhappy with the angle of the image on my LCD screen preview, I took another image. John looked up, but not in time to see my camera angled towards him. Enthused by his reaction, I took another exposure and he looked up to meet my stare as the camera pulled away from my face. He pulled out his airpods without looking away from me as I continued to stare back. Once out, he blinked and the corners of his mouth curled up into a smile; the kind of smile you don’t expect to receive from someone who looks and acts so unamused or bored in a public environment. As he smiled, he laughed quietly, and half-whispered,

“Whaaat--are--you doing, aha,” his shoulders drooped over while he leaned toward my direction anticipating an answer of some sort. If the charisma in his voice didn’t prompt me into talking, his body language did. He sat legs open, arms on his lap, and his face jutting out towards me in some comical fashion. 

“I was just--uh--staring at you, but you--well it’s for an assignment in my class, but, uh, you didn’t respond to that. Sooo--”, I replied scatter-brained and eager to get him to talk to me, “I took your picture instead while you were looking around to get your attention. I hope it wasn’t rude or anything. I just, wanted to see what you had to say about everything.” Everything? Really, Al?

John smiled, his head twirled upwards with his eyes as he shook it there. When his eyes came back to mine, he continued. 

“Man, I thought I came into the psych ward or something for a sec. You had me scared!” Me and him both laughed, then I asked him why he felt like he was in a psych ward, how the staring made him feel, and why he averted it so much. He said that staring made him feel paranoid or uncomfortable. He said that he wasn’t equipped to handle that type of conversation on this day and that his brain was more so acting to get him ready for his doctor’s appointment. He was overcompensating and he hated doctor’s visits.

Here, we could begin to discuss some of the points outlined in Daniel Segal’s Can You Tell a Jew When You See One?. Here, Segal substitutes the word stereotypes for typifications, which was originally coined by Alfred Schutz. In the essay, he elaborates on problems relating to prejudice, stereotyping or typifications, and how their social construction delegitimizes sensory perception. Sensory perception cannot be the reason for issuing a typification. Social jurisdiction operates to define the terms that we then give onto people from other cultural background or descent because it operates like a machine; giving titles, descriptions, and names to people, places, and things. To exercise what was learned from this essay, I’m taking precautions not to undermine John’s character.  Now, John is not like me. His skin is olive toned and he is male. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s from African descent nor that his descent effects his character, but his physical makeup does characterize visible attributes. The segment of the essay that I am referring to most directly is on page 238, paragraph three. 

“Take the case of whether a person is or is not “African American.”[...] the facts about this matter of identity, independent of a person’s ‘looks,’ are located in ancestry[...] Consider, in other words, the possible outcomes of discrepancies or incongruities between visual signs of identity and a person’s knowable ancestry.[...] Thus, by social conjuring trick--one that alters who it is who is known to have African-American ancestors-the incongruity of white-looking African-Americas is removed from the world that appears before our eyes. The Statistical correlation is tightened, in this cay by exploiting the instability of the supposedly fixed facts about whether someone is or is not ‘African-American’” (Segal, pg. 238).

As I entered into the facilitation of this assignment, I’ve taken precautions to understand typifications, how they operate and how to avoid them in descriptive narratives. That being said, John was comfortable enough to discuss stereotypes with me. He said that he and his family have felt the effects, but that they’ve been subdued by political correctness, informative outreach programs, and efforts in diversity and inclusion. When asked about micromanagement over the situation--in communities, schools, etc.--he said that perseverance is above all else the most paramount.

 Emilio was received in the waiting room, along with his grandparents and mother, while John and I were talking. 

Proud of my accomplishments thus far, I grew more confident and actively starred at Emilio. I glanced towards his family occasionally, but kept persistent contact on the child. The mother, persuaded by my eye contact, beckoned me over to sit with the family. I asked her about her son. Her heavy, latin accent generated a language barrier, but she still allowed me to interact with the child. He looked to be about 7. Everytime I starred, he unabashingly returned my glances with an assumed childish demeanor. I got his name after many attempts at explaining and gesturing to myself to receive an answer. 

Why are children open to acts of starring more so than adults? Is this exception related to childhood development and the absence of socially constructed expectations? Presumably, the answer relies on the age of the child and their experiences with public or social media environments. 

I was called into the doctor’s office for my scheduled appointment shortly after talking with Emilio and his family. The visit was conducted as usual. My blood results came back normal. The lumbar puncture confirmed that I had an inflammatory disease which would require medication and future consultations. During our intermissions, where the doctor or nurse would leave the room, I would photograph the room. After I received my prescriptions, I was told that I could leave.

The confrontation with Peggy occurred while I was making my escape from the clinic. Peggy found me attempting to make my way out of the labyrinth of halls that made up the facility. Deliberately walking up to me, she told me that the exit was in the opposite direction. 

“Ma’am, the exit is this way,” she said as she pointed in the opposite direction. 

“Oh,” I replied, “thank you, I’m sorr--” she interrupted my apology mid sentence.

“I haff been meaning to ask you where did you get dat camera and what are you doing in this place wit it?” She interrogated me in a foreign accent while pointing at my camera and the surrounding walls. 

“I am a patient here and I was just taking pictures to check my camera’s settings, y’know? Staying loose, that’s all,” I replied trying to sound as genuine as possible. She wasn’t amused by my response at all. 

“Noooooo! You cannot do dat ‘ere. This is a medical facility. That is wrong, very wrong. You cannot do dat ‘ere with other patients privacy. We have people who come in to take pictures for us when we need it...[--]” she rambled on about issues concerning privacy, of which, I was aware of, but didn’t think any of my images infringed upon patient privacy. 

“--So, I need to delete my images. Is that what you’re saying,” I interrupted her, “There’s really nothing too invasive with these images, I swear. I’m aware of privacy laws regarding media, but there’s really nothing in here that could come back to you guys. I’d be more than happy to agree to a release form or some kind of disclosure or no compensation agreement” I pulled out the camera with the LCD screen pointed up to show her the images. In preview, I went through the pictures to show her each one carefully. None of them were impressive. Most of them were still frames of objects found in the waiting room and consultation; a chair leg coming in contact with the ground, a stack of pamphlets on nesting table, a rolling chair, doctor’s instruments, John looking down at his ph---oh no.... Peggy was outraged. 

“See!! That is a patient, that is no good! You delete all of those images right now. You cannot do that! Can’t you see how that is wrong?! Delete everything,” She commanded. 

“Everything?” I questioned, but it didn’t more than a glance to realize her anger and bewilderment. I dutifully obliged and deleted every image I had taken from my duration with her head lingering over my shoulder. Still, I felt determined to question her further. 

“What is so wrong with photographs? The camera isn’t a weapon, ya’know. Besides, there are people taking images with their phones irregardless of privacy standards. I feel like the only reason you’re targeting me is because my camera is ostentatious and unconcealable. Besides, I asked this patient if it was ok after I took the shot.” I continued to argue my point while deleting the images. It only angered Peggy. 

“There,” I said, “all deleted.” 

“Good, but don’t you see how it is wrong to do that?” she, once again, asked. I had already replied to this question twice and didn’t feel like answering it again. I just kept to myself and allowed her to continue. At this point, I felt like a vacuous child being lectured into the ground. Did I feel remorse? Undoubtedly, I felt it, but the fact that I could reconcile with this women plagued me with more, unsurmountable guilt than anything else. What does it mean to be a photographer, to have a degree and uphold certain values, if I can’t convince someone otherwise about its nature? Peggy touched on the small of my back, erging me to exit the facility. Before leaving she had one final question, that I didn’t feel the need to answer after considering the negative connotations involved in the conversation.

“What is name for our records?”

“Oh, I can’t give you that,” I replied solidarily and exited the clinic doors. 

Upon looking back, I realize now that Peggy’s confrontation-in particular-illuminates more on the prohibitions of seeing; as well as legal/moral issues involved. Peggy was obligated to stop and lecture me on the legality of the situation. Her duty, in that respect, was to act according to protocol. When I tried to reconcile the situation-albeit-in a frivolous, panicked manner, I was met with more of the same lecture. We didn’t see eye-to-eye on the situation. In a more diplomatic conversation, I could see the conversation being more successful. However, Peggy instigated her side of the conversation with much more emotionally involved gravitas that it overwhelmed me; it brainwashed me into contrition before I could even begin to build my side of the argument. 

Binding, legal implications have power over ways of seeing just as much as emotional jurisdiction does or even an acceptance of conversation. Communication is a two way street. Both sides have to be willing to receive and contribute to the discourse. I’ve never photographed in a health care facility. I’ve been advised not to and was aware of the complexities involved both legally and morally. Why did I do it? I did it because I thought I could maybe reason with someone if I got caught or share information about the artform that means so much to me, but retains a heavy stigma in the public eye. 

The biggest threat to seeing, in any way, is cowardice. Summoning up the courage to seek discomfort, to be vulnerable, and to be forthright on the discoveries made after the fact, is the key to seeing behind walls; even when you meet someone like Peggy. 

“To see things thousands of miles away, things hidden behind walls and within rooms, things dangerous to come to, to draw closer, to see and be amazed” (Secret Life of, 2013).

Works Cited

Kuku, David. Unknown. n/a.

Panar, Ed. Animals That Saw Me. Vol. 1, Spaces Corners, 2011.

Segal, Daniel. “Can You Tell a Jew When You See One?” Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought, vol. 48, no. 2, 1999, pp. 234–238.

Stiller, Ben, et al. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Amazon Prime Video, 201th Century Fox, 5 Oct. 2013.

“What Is Staring?” Staring: How We Look, by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Oxford University Press, 2015, pp. 13–17.

Creativity and Its Significance

Creativity is the art of implementing new artful account into reality. In simpler terms, it agency aberrant new means and evolving new patterns to get abroad from the one aforementioned arid accustomed actuality and visuals.

Innovation, the apparatus as able-bodied as the conception of article new, is advised altered and additionally has never been apparent before.

The apparatus of the blast was article unique, artful anticipation of Sir Alexander Graham Bell.

And again the change or say addition in this acreage from the apparatus of not alone telephones but additionally adaptable phones and not to acknowledgment the apparatus of the pagers was amid some the abundant ideas, and we alarm it creativity.

Open-mindedness, analytic capability, acceptable communication, and autograph skills, beheld arts are the ancestry of adroitness or we can say ancestry of a artful mind. Adroitness is ubiquitous, it is everywhere and it is about absurd to escape from it.

“Creativity is intelligence, accepting fun.” – Albert Einstein

Comparatively, it is absolutely accessible to appear up with account and imaginations but it is absolute difficult to accept character accompanying with accomplishing skills. After them, adroitness is nothing, it will be of no use.

There is a continued account of artful minds out there like Steve Jobs, Einstein, Frida Kahlo, who accept appear out with an invention, a novel, a new way of attractive at the world.

Yes, adroitness is not alone inventing article but also, the way you attending at the angel is appropriately important and the acuteness of castigation in absoluteness or fiction is additionally the art, we alarm creativity.

Creativity’s absolute abstraction is adamantine to understand. the added you get complex in it, the added you will acquisition how absurd phenomena it is and it leads to eternity. it has no borders and no limits.

What is that Leads to Creativity? Creativity There are abounding interpersonal ancestry of bodies that advance adroitness in their activity decisions. They are –

Self-confidence, bodies who can assurance in their acuteness and decisions and can catechism after any hesitation. Observational abilities are like seeing the world/ problems in altered means and alive how they are. A artful actuality should consistently accept humility. he/she should be alert as they should apperceive in what way to think. They should be explorative and experimental. He/she should be analytical about aggregate and anything. They should consistently accept article to agreement with. They should not alone anticipate but additionally be actionable. Several added applied ancestry should be in a actuality to be creative, in fact, these abilities or ancestry can additionally be the adjustment in which a architect thinks about article critically-

Observation Analysis Interpretation Reflection Evaluation Inference Explanation Problem-solving trait Decision-making ability “Creativity is a agrarian apperception and a acclimatized eye.”

“Creativity is annihilation but a mind-set free. It is the way you allotment your body with the world.”

Creativity is absolutely mysterious, you never apperceive who will in what way about the botheration or anything.

How do We Chronicle It with Business? Many bodies chronicle adroitness with artful jobs such as writing, painting, arena music, dancing, and abounding more.

Creativity But, the accuracy is not all artful minds are artists, abounding jobs in the business world, and alike in science, charge creativity. It is important in the workplace.

These days, administration seek the accomplishment of adroitness in their advisers and accompany new solutions and anticipate with altered perspectives at the workplace.

At the workplace, it is all-important to apperceive your adroitness abilities to backpack out new tasks, break problems, and aftereffect to the challenges.

Old minds about become orthodox, biased and they abridgement new account and go on with old cerebration and the aforementioned perspective. New and artful minds accompany beginning ideas, beatnik perspectives in their work.

Creative minds are advised a admired asset to the company.

Creativity Skills Can We Convenance and Improve It? People can be artlessly artful and best of them are, but some charge to admit it on their own and use it efficiently, but this adeptness can be congenital up or bigger with practice.

Solving riddles, analytic Sudoku, absolution go of your assumptions, and developing or practicing new perspectives helps in developing creativity. Alike absorbed can be alleged creativity.

Extending to Added Fields – Creativity can additionally be alleged ‘Thinking out of the box.’ For instance, Sherlock Holmes, a fabulous detective realizes in one of his abstruseness books that no barking of the dogs can be an important clue in the annihilation case.

You can accomplish your assignment artful after actuality an artist. For example, authoritative acceptable decisions at the time of recession, authoritative bigger and able advance decisions.

Creativity in STEM Areas- People anticipate that the acreage of science and technology, alike in engineering and mathematics are artful or say artful in their own way they are and can be awful artful like –

Writing a awful avant-garde coding language Developing a hypothesis Proposing a new plan for angular people Redesigning accouterment to enhance productivity A Analytic Approach of Creativity Holm-Hadulla had developed with his colleagues a analytic approach of creativity. It is an interdisciplinary theory. The analytic approach of adroitness is the abstraction breadth adroitness takes abode in the accord and booty of adjustment and chaos.

Creativity bendable Skill Similarly, artful account can be begin in neurosciences and attitude also. In Neurobiology, it can be apparent that the artful action takes abode in a activating affiliation amid adherence and chaos that leads to new and accessible neuronal networks.

In the case of Psychology, adroitness is apparent as to how the analytic of allied and focused cerebration with aberrant and akin cerebration leads to new account and products.

Creative personality ancestry like the ‘Big Five’ assume to be dialectically braided in the artful action –

Emotional alternation vs. Stability Extraversion vs. Introversion Openness vs. Reserve Agreeableness vs. Antagonism Disinhibition vs. Constraint. “You cannot use up creativity, the added you use the added you have. “

Several altered theorists accept appropriate models of the artful person. One of the models suggests that there are four “Creativity Profiles”. They are as follows –

Incubate (Long-term Development) Imagine (Breakthrough Ideas) Improve (Incremental Adjustments) Invest (Short-term Goals) Types of Creativity- 1. Deliberate and Cerebral Adroitness – The bodies who are complex in this are absolutely purposeful. They are the ones who accept invested in one acreage for a continued time, congenital high-level adroitness in that area. They advance abilities and capabilities for every bearings and assignment in that area.

The blazon of bodies in this breadth is mostly acceptable in analytic capability, controlling ability, research, analysis, and experimentation.

One arresting archetype of this blazon is the apparatus of the ball and electricity, Thomas Alva Edison ran hundreds of abstracts afore inventing the ball or electricity.

To conclude, this blazon of adroitness requires a abundant accord of time, dedication, and knowledge.

2. Deliberate and Affecting Adroitness – The blazon of bodies who accord to this class is absolutely affecting and sensitive. Their assignment decisions are afflicted by their emotions, actuality appropriately analytic and accordant as well.

It is the end artefact of affecting cerebration and analytic actions. This blazon of adroitness happens to bodies randomly. It is not advisedly done.

This is begin in the amygdala and cingulate case genitalia of the animal brain, breadth the amygdala is amenable for animal affections admitting the cingulate case helps in the acquirements and processing of the information.

“Everything you can brainstorm is real.”

3. Ad-lib and Cerebral Adroitness – There are times back we are aggravating adamantine to acquisition the band-aid to a problem, say, authoritative a abstraction agenda for the week. But you are not able to anticipate of any able abstraction breadth in the aboriginal abode you can abstraction finer and additionally administer your breach and adequate time.

But again aback while accomplishing some added assignment or say aloof alert to the music you get an abstraction on how to administer your schedule. This is ad-lib and cognitive.

One such big archetype is the analysis of the law of force breadth Sir Isaac Newton got the abstraction of it while adequate beneath an angel tree.

It works back our acquainted apperception is at rest. Say, we apperceive that we appetite to get that accurate job done, but we don’t apperceive how again aback back you are adequate you get an idea.

4. Ad-lib and Affecting Adroitness – As declared afore amygdala allotment of the animal academician is amenable for the affecting activities.

This blazon of adroitness additionally occurs in the amygdala of the brain, in added words, the allotment of our academician which showcases affections is additionally the acumen abaft our creativity.

This blazon of adroitness is an epiphany. Epiphany is the abrupt adeptness of something. This mostly happens to abundant and abreast artists. Scientific breakthroughs, discoveries are all after-effects of it.

It is like cerebration of the bearings with a absolute altered angle and accepting added thoughts about it. This blazon can’t be obtained, it is inbuilt.

soft skills What are the Qualities of a Artful Mind/Person? Creative bodies are about or say mostly –

Energetic and focused Flexible with thoughts and perspective Dreamers Disciplined and playful Proud yet modest Curious Not abashed of criticism Rebellious at times Emotional Knowledgeable Open-mindedness The Belief of Creativity, a book by David Burkus reveals the accuracy abaft all these belief that bodies accept about creativity, some of these belief are:

Creativity is alone artistic. Creativity is alone appropriate at the top-level administration in the company. It cannot be developed abundant or learned. This is a decay of time. It is not important as abstruse adeptness is added than enough. Creativity is a God gift. ” Adroitness is contagious, canyon it on. “

FAQ’s – 1. How do we ascertain a artful person? Ans: A artful actuality can actualize or advance new and avant-garde ideas, they see the problems with a altered angle and they are consistently curious.

2. Is adroitness a accomplishment or a trait? Ans: Adroitness is a skill, not a trait. As ancestry are adjourned by acceptable and bad. Adroitness is article likability, adeptness to anticipate above reality,  actualize new possibilities, accomplish new account by the use of our mind. Actuality a accomplishment it can be developed and accomplished by several methods.

3. Is adroitness a assurance of intelligence? Ans: Adroitness is the accomplished anatomy of intelligence as it is the adeptness breadth bodies go above adeptness and actualize or accomplish article new and aboriginal and unique.

4. What are examples of artful skills? Ans:Creative abilities accommodate dancing, painting, beheld arts, advice skills, analytic capability, new inventions and discoveries, open-mindedness.

5.What are the bristles techniques for exploring artful thinking? Ans: The bristles artful methods acclimated for exploring artful cerebration are evolution, synthesis, revolution, reapplication, alteration direction.

6. What are some advantageous artful tools? Ans: Some advantageous artful accoutrement that can be acclimated to addition your adroitness are : a) Mindtools b) Sudoku c) Puzzles d) Academician Plots e) PaintNite f) Doodle Buddy g) AllTrails Hiking App h) SnapGuide i) Fyuse

7. What are artful thinkers? Ans: A artful thinker is addition who thinks alfresco the box. There are bristles types of artful thinkers: The crabbed thinker, the adorning thinker, The aberrant thinker, the analytical thinker, and the artful thinker.

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4 Lazy Character Shortcuts Hollywood Can’t Stop Using

The best movie characters are usually the ones whom we sort of identify with. Whether they’re a simple middle-class teenager or a grizzled Matthew McConaughy playing a nihilistic detective trying to find aliens from the future inside a black hole, they work because when they make decisions, we get it. We learn who they are and understand them. Sometimes, though, writers don’t really have time for that shit. Instead, they use some kind of shorthand which (they hope) will have the same profound effect with far less effort. This usually doesn’t work at all. Particularly when …

4

Sudden Sacrifices Are A Substitute For Heroism

What is more powerful than one human being sacrificing their own life to save others, usually to the accompaniment of an orchestra that sounds like it’s about to parade through the screen? You could probably base a whole religion around it. In the world of Hollywood screenwriting, sacrifices can also be written in not to provide a satisfying end to a character’s arc, but to add instant heroism to a character we barely know.

Read Next

Why We Can't Take Our Eyes Off The Things We Hate

Kong: Skull Island (which I think is a great movie) includes a bunch of dispensable soldier characters who are tailor-made to be ape food. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m a fan of slasher films, so I have an appreciation for characters who only exist to say “Hey, guys, what was that noise?” But then, while under an assault from mutant reptiles, one of the soldiers, Captain Cole, pulls out two grenades and stares down one of the beasts. The rest of the cast does the typical “NO! DON’T DO THIS!” thing, like the audience is expected to. No, don’t do it, guy with literally two personality traits.

The guy’s plan goes awry and he ends up being a bloodstain on the side of a cliff, but that’s beside the point. The point is … well, what is the point? The sacrifice doesn’t add a dimension to his character, nor does it say anything poignant about him. Instead, it just makes him look like he’s very bad at thinking through decisions. You’re stranded on an island with a monster ape and ubiquitous leviathans, and your plan is to waste yourself and two precious grenades with your patented “Stand there and hope” maneuver?

Of course, they also did this with Superman at the end of Batman v Superman, in a Hail Mary effort to give us some reason to care. They did the same in I Am Legend, in which Will Smith sacrifices himself to maybe blow up some of the zombies, which is such a pointless act that the director’s cut has Will Smith not do that.

And remember Chappie, that Black Mirror episode, but with more decapitations? At the end of that, Ninja — played by Ninja of the rap group Die Antwoord — tries to sacrifice himself in dramatic slow motion, as if the movie is under the impression that we liked his character. He just spent two hours cursing and emotionally abusing a childlike robot. Sacrifice away, idiot.

If they want us to care, they need to scroll backward a few dozen pages in the script and write the character as someone we’ll either be sad to see go or happy to see redeemed. Oh, and the character needs to stay dead.

3

Making A Character Suddenly Badass (In A Way That Makes No Sense)

There’s nothing better than when a badass character gets a badass payoff. My boys in the Dragon Ball franchise are constantly training so that when the time comes, they can triumphantly punch holes through people. This is immensely satisfying because you, the viewer, get to anticipate seeing them use their skills. There is build-up. So it’s baffling whenever “badass” characters either get that way out of nowhere, or are assigned badass traits that don’t fit their progression at all, like if The Karate Kid ended with Daniel challenging Johnny to a snowmobile race.

Take Arya Stark in Game Of Thrones. A big point is made that she’s not built for swordplay. Her cranky travel companion Sandor Clegane points out that her tiny frame and flimsy sword is useless in a gritty fantasy universe full of giant men in armor. Thus, she learns how to work with poisons and magic disguises, leading us to believe that she’ll be pulling off some rad espionage tactics to fool bad guys who could crush her skull like an egg. Instead, within a couple of seasons, Arya becomes Jason Bourne Lite, shrugging off stabbings and doing sweet parkour. Later, she faces off in a practice duel with giant sword master Brienne and outmaneuvers her easily, smirking the whole time.

Regardless of the fact that she is never shown acquiring that level of skill, the problem is that this character is now superhuman and is in no way someone you can identify with.

Writers can’t resist this, even when a lack of combat training is the entire point of a character. This happens in the recent Death Wish remake, in which Bruce Willis, a surgeon, suddenly becomes a mix of Jigsaw and Rambo, all because he lost his family … and he��s a surgeon? This movie had a lot of problems, but at the very least, it could’ve made sense. I can’t claim to know what they teach you at medical school, but I sincerely doubt it involves target practice. I mean, not yet, anyway. But they couldn’t think of any other way to have him beat the bad guys.

And look, I love Harry Potter‘s Neville Longbottom, but the whole point of him is that he’s a clumsy, nerdy boob. He continues to be that for the first seven and a half movies, until his arc completes with him … cutting a giant snake’s head off in slow motion with a sword? Why? At no point in the series are we clamoring for Neville to be the guy who decapitates magic serpents. He’s shown as having talents — specifically, using magical plants — but all of that goes out the window because in the end, being a hero only means being great with traditional fighting techniques.

I’m not saying that Neville should’ve been watering the shrubs while Voldemort was attacking, but maybe give us something more in line with his character. He can be cool without being Conan. Hell, Breaking Bad spent its whole run inventing ways for a sickly chemistry teacher to defeat drug lords who are stronger and more well-armed than he is. They didn’t simply make him suddenly good at ninjutsu.

2

Gritty “Realism” Is Conveyed Through Ceaseless Cursing

People curse in real life. They do it in the car, they do it in the bedroom, they do it when they’re in line at Gamestop and GODDAMN, RICHARD, THE TRADE-IN VALUES ARE NOT GONNA BE THAT GOOD NO MATTER HOW MANY “PRO” POINTS YOU HAVE, SO GET THE FUCK ON WITH IT, SHITLIZARD. But since lots of movies are shooting for PG-13 and network TV shows usually try to be family friendly, they have to keep it clean. When creators find themselves without those restrictions, they tend to go hog-wild.

So I get it, prestige TV dramas. You get to put on your HBO/Showtime Big Boy Pants, and you naturally want to curse a lot because Mom and Dad aren’t around to tell you no. But do so many characters absolutely need to do it like they’re auditioning for a Rob Zombie film? For example, the sister character Debra is the heart and soul of Dexter, considering the show reminds you at all times that the titular character lacks a heart and soul. But there are ways to illustrate that she’s deep and troubled other than peppering all of her dialogue with curses that make her sound as if she’s just discovered Urban Dictionary. You know, like actually giving her an important role on the show? That’s just my two cents.

It comes up in Game Of Thrones, which desperately wants to be Definitely Not Lord Of The Rings, and Boardwalk Empire, which desperately wanted to be Definitely Not The Godfather, or Deadwood, which desperately wanted to be Definitely Not Renewed For A Fourth Season. I love you, Deadwood. I live and breathe you, Deadwood. But holy shit, it’s hard to market a cowboy show, much less a cowboy show that constantly plays like a Greek tragedy and includes an errant dropping of “fuck” every six seconds.

Compare that (again) to a show like Breaking Bad, which was only allowed one or two F-words per season. When they come, they actually have impact. When Skyler reveals to Walter that she’s sleeping with her boss, it’s “I fucked Ted.” Not “I’ve been messing around with Ted,” or “I let Ted play on my slippery dulcimer, if ya’ know what I mean.” It’s a gut punch. The fact that, realistically, she’d probably say it that way is just icing on the cake.

Some of you might say that these shows use gratuitous nudity in exactly the same way (that is, because they can), but at least beautiful naked people is a selling point. Who’s out there saying, “Man, I’m not crazy about the plot of that show, but some of the cursing is amazing. It gave me a full erection.”

1

Geeky Characters Are Defined Only By Their Ability To Spout Pop Culture References

A lot of people in the world are geeks. Not me. I only talk about Digimon when I’m drunk. But a lot of people are. And you’d think that since “geeky” interests are so commonplace, we’d get more great geeky characters in pop culture. Characters that we see aspects of ourselves in. Sadly, what we do get are shows like Big Bang Theory, or characters like Steve Urkel from Family Matters, Ross Gellar from Friends, Morgan from Chuck, Noah from the Scream TV show, and about 75 percent of the denizens of Kevin Smith movies. These are characters who don’t make geekiness look fun. Instead, they drag it around like a cross, burdened by their own existence.

I would probably relate to more “geeky” film characters if the writers knew how to identify them as geeks without having them bleat like farm animals about Star Wars or Dungeons & Dragons. Either that or they’re like Spencer from Criminal Minds, who refuses to shut up about how his special, powerful, super computer brain works differently from the average brain. He’s supposed to be likable, but I’ve never met a single likable person who went into detail about how much smarter he or she is than most of the population.

It’s like they’re so afraid that we won’t get it unless they crank it up to cartoonish levels. The “funny” control room employee in Jurassic World wears a Jurassic Park shirt with the original movie’s logo on it. That’s great! It builds his character and it adds to the theme of the movie that you probably shouldn’t recklessly commodify prehistoric beasts. But he then explains why he wears that shirt and how much it costs and how much he loved the first Jurassic Park, and any chance we had of identifying with him goes out the window. If I buy a Spider-Man shirt, I don’t go around the mall asking people about their favorite Doctor Octopus moments; I just wear the shirt.

It’s so strange because you’d assume that most writers are themselves geeks, the ones who have to borrow clothes to attend a red carpet premiere and then are kept far away from the cameras. You have to imagine them toiling away on their sitcom pilot thinking, “Hmmm … what would a geek say in this situation? It’s so hard for a cool, sexy beast like me to put myself in their mindset. I know, I’ll have them suddenly speak Klingon.”

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6 Common Mistakes of Beginning Animators

We asked Animation Mentor Grad, Pixar Animator, and current mentor Jane Cassidy to share the common mistakes she sees time and time again from beginning animators. Here’s your comprehensive list of what NOT to do as a beginning animator.

So you are thinking about entering the field of animation — it can be a daunting task. If you’re already enrolled in Animation Mentor, you have taken the first step. I took that same step seven years ago, and as a student, I made plenty of mistakes. Now that I am teaching at Animation Mentor, hopefully my perspective from both sides allows me to guide you away from these common pitfalls.

1. Not Following the Syllabus

Assignments may seem straightforward, but I have had quite a few students turn in the wrong assignment, be it the incorrect exercise or the incorrect format. Typically reading the syllabus can easily prevent this.

The reason this is important—not only in class, but in your animation career going forward—is because in a real movie production you will be required to thoroughly understand shot briefing notes before beginning your shot. Instill the habit early of following notes and understanding shot direction. As a result, you will enjoy a long and healthy career in animation.

2. Not using AMP

In a class of nine students, I find at least half the students will not utilize AMP. It is crucial that you check in your work using AMP, as this allows your mentor to pull up your work and “look under the hood” so to speak. Some mentors like to pull up your work and tweak your animation during class. The overwhelming feedback is that these demonstrations are extremely helpful. It allows you the students to see how a professional animator would solve the problem in a live step-by-step demo.

Make sure to set up AMP before the first week of class. Not only does it speed up your learning curve, but it benefits everyone else as well. We are all in this class to learn together!

3. Underestimating how hard animation is, not putting in enough time

Too often I see beginning students underestimate how much effort each assignment requires. Even a bouncing ball can take a few days if you are just starting. It may look easy, but once you start to move keys around and start to animate, panic and stress can set in.

I went through a similar experience when I was a student. What helped me the most was going in anticipating how hard it was going to be, how much work I was going to have to put in. The more space you create for yourself to do great work, the more room you’ll have to make mistakes, make iterations, and break through natural plateaus that come with mastering any craft. And especially as the assignments get more complicated toward the end of class, a walk cycle for example will require even more time.

So have a good idea of how many hours each assignment will take and plan accordingly. The more effort you put in, the more your mentors can help you get to wherever it is you want to go.

4. Not giving or asking for feedback

Too many beginning animators make this mistake. Too often we feel like we are not good enough or experienced enough to give other animators feedback. The truth is, you are good enough. It is through looking at other people’s work that we develop our eye. It is through viewing and discussing other people’s work that we develop a community, a sense of togetherness. It bolsters the idea that we all have something to learn from each other. Plus, it’s a fantastic way to get inspired.

Don’t be afraid to look up fellow students’ workspaces. Comment on their work or just say hello, even if they are in a different class than you. This is how we build our community and establish connections.

Specifically, challenge yourself to leave five people feedback each week. Add them to your buddy list. As you get more comfortable, add more people to that list—the more the merrier. Also, don’t forget to put in a Peer Buddy request during your first week. You will be paired with an upperclassman, which will be another source of support for you. Take advantage of all the community Animation Mentor has to offer. It will push you further than you could ever imagine.

5. Taking feedback personally, worrying too much about grades

We put a tremendous amount of hard work and love into our animation. It can be hard sit there and take the feedback when someone is giving you notes on your shot. You must NOT take it personally. The natural choice is to try and defend yourself, which is understandable. But rather than internalizing what someone says to you, your attention should be on the work itself. It’s easy to hang your head down after a tough critique, but you must realize that you wouldn’t be receiving criticism unless someone believes in you—believes in your ability to improve, believes in your ability to do great work. Criticism is a sign of your potential.

In a real production environment, animators work as a team to bring the director’s visions to life. We try our best to put our creative voices into our shots, but at the end of the day, the director has the final say. Your mentors are in a sense, just like a director. Mentors have their own style of critiquing, just like directors have different ways of conducting. Some may not praise your work as much as others, but this is not because they don’t appreciate your work, or have something against you as a person. It comes down to giving you a fair and truthful critique directed at the work, not you the animator. To be a professional animator means you have to have thick skin, but it also means you’re lucky enough to be part of a team, a group of people focused on putting out the best work possible.

6. Not keeping it simple

I see a lot of students over-complicating their assignments. I should know, as I was one of them. Here is an example of over-complicating a walk cycle assignment by yours truly. I started with the “excited” walk. After that I decided to add some bird droppings, and then a “sneaky” walk.

My mentor told me this was way too complicated, so I kept the excited walk and used all my time to perfect it. Here is the simplified version.

My advice is to stick with the simplest option. Focus all your time and energy into making that simple animation spectacular. Don’t waste your time putting in fancy lighting. It is always better to have solid, simple animation with extra time left at the end of the week, as opposed to having an over-complicated storyline and rushing to finish your assignment at the end of the week. Just remember, “KISS”—Keep It Simple Stupid!

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6 Common Mistakes of Beginning Animators

We asked Animation Mentor Grad, Pixar Animator, and current mentor Jane Cassidy to share the common mistakes she sees time and time again from beginning animators. Here’s your comprehensive list of what NOT to do as a beginning animator.

So you are thinking about entering the field of animation — it can be a daunting task. If you’re already enrolled in Animation Mentor, you have taken the first step. I took that same step seven years ago, and as a student, I made plenty of mistakes. Now that I am teaching at Animation Mentor, hopefully my perspective from both sides allows me to guide you away from these common pitfalls.

1. Not Following the Syllabus

Assignments may seem straightforward, but I have had quite a few students turn in the wrong assignment, be it the incorrect exercise or the incorrect format. Typically reading the syllabus can easily prevent this.

The reason this is important—not only in class, but in your animation career going forward—is because in a real movie production you will be required to thoroughly understand shot briefing notes before beginning your shot. Instill the habit early of following notes and understanding shot direction. As a result, you will enjoy a long and healthy career in animation.

2. Not using AMP

In a class of nine students, I find at least half the students will not utilize AMP. It is crucial that you check in your work using AMP, as this allows your mentor to pull up your work and “look under the hood” so to speak. Some mentors like to pull up your work and tweak your animation during class. The overwhelming feedback is that these demonstrations are extremely helpful. It allows you the students to see how a professional animator would solve the problem in a live step-by-step demo.

Make sure to set up AMP before the first week of class. Not only does it speed up your learning curve, but it benefits everyone else as well. We are all in this class to learn together!

3. Underestimating how hard animation is, not putting in enough time

Too often I see beginning students underestimate how much effort each assignment requires. Even a bouncing ball can take a few days if you are just starting. It may look easy, but once you start to move keys around and start to animate, panic and stress can set in.

I went through a similar experience when I was a student. What helped me the most was going in anticipating how hard it was going to be, how much work I was going to have to put in. The more space you create for yourself to do great work, the more room you’ll have to make mistakes, make iterations, and break through natural plateaus that come with mastering any craft. And especially as the assignments get more complicated toward the end of class, a walk cycle for example will require even more time.

So have a good idea of how many hours each assignment will take and plan accordingly. The more effort you put in, the more your mentors can help you get to wherever it is you want to go.

4. Not giving or asking for feedback

Too many beginning animators make this mistake. Too often we feel like we are not good enough or experienced enough to give other animators feedback. The truth is, you are good enough. It is through looking at other people’s work that we develop our eye. It is through viewing and discussing other people’s work that we develop a community, a sense of togetherness. It bolsters the idea that we all have something to learn from each other. Plus, it’s a fantastic way to get inspired.

Don’t be afraid to look up fellow students’ workspaces. Comment on their work or just say hello, even if they are in a different class than you. This is how we build our community and establish connections.

Specifically, challenge yourself to leave five people feedback each week. Add them to your buddy list. As you get more comfortable, add more people to that list—the more the merrier. Also, don’t forget to put in a Peer Buddy request during your first week. You will be paired with an upperclassman, which will be another source of support for you. Take advantage of all the community Animation Mentor has to offer. It will push you further than you could ever imagine.

5. Taking feedback personally, worrying too much about grades

We put a tremendous amount of hard work and love into our animation. It can be hard sit there and take the feedback when someone is giving you notes on your shot. You must NOT take it personally. The natural choice is to try and defend yourself, which is understandable. But rather than internalizing what someone says to you, your attention should be on the work itself. It’s easy to hang your head down after a tough critique, but you must realize that you wouldn’t be receiving criticism unless someone believes in you—believes in your ability to improve, believes in your ability to do great work. Criticism is a sign of your potential.

In a real production environment, animators work as a team to bring the director’s visions to life. We try our best to put our creative voices into our shots, but at the end of the day, the director has the final say. Your mentors are in a sense, just like a director. Mentors have their own style of critiquing, just like directors have different ways of conducting. Some may not praise your work as much as others, but this is not because they don’t appreciate your work, or have something against you as a person. It comes down to giving you a fair and truthful critique directed at the work, not you the animator. To be a professional animator means you have to have thick skin, but it also means you’re lucky enough to be part of a team, a group of people focused on putting out the best work possible.

6. Not keeping it simple

I see a lot of students over-complicating their assignments. I should know, as I was one of them. Here is an example of over-complicating a walk cycle assignment by yours truly. I started with the “excited” walk. After that I decided to add some bird droppings, and then a “sneaky” walk.

My mentor told me this was way too complicated, so I kept the excited walk and used all my time to perfect it. Here is the simplified version.

My advice is to stick with the simplest option. Focus all your time and energy into making that simple animation spectacular. Don’t waste your time putting in fancy lighting. It is always better to have solid, simple animation with extra time left at the end of the week, as opposed to having an over-complicated storyline and rushing to finish your assignment at the end of the week. Just remember, “KISS”—Keep It Simple Stupid!

Want to learn from pro animators like Jane?

Start working toward your dream by learning with professional animators from a variety of major studios and career paths! Get more information about Animation Mentor’s Character Animation Courses.

Get More Information

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6 Common Mistakes of Beginning Animators

We asked Animation Mentor Grad, Pixar Animator, and current mentor Jane Cassidy to share the common mistakes she sees time and time again from beginning animators. Here’s your comprehensive list of what NOT to do as a beginning animator.

So you are thinking about entering the field of animation — it can be a daunting task. If you’re already enrolled in Animation Mentor, you have taken the first step. I took that same step seven years ago, and as a student, I made plenty of mistakes. Now that I am teaching at Animation Mentor, hopefully my perspective from both sides allows me to guide you away from these common pitfalls.

1. Not Following the Syllabus

Assignments may seem straightforward, but I have had quite a few students turn in the wrong assignment, be it the incorrect exercise or the incorrect format. Typically reading the syllabus can easily prevent this.

The reason this is important—not only in class, but in your animation career going forward—is because in a real movie production you will be required to thoroughly understand shot briefing notes before beginning your shot. Instill the habit early of following notes and understanding shot direction. As a result, you will enjoy a long and healthy career in animation.

2. Not using AMP

In a class of nine students, I find at least half the students will not utilize AMP. It is crucial that you check in your work using AMP, as this allows your mentor to pull up your work and “look under the hood” so to speak. Some mentors like to pull up your work and tweak your animation during class. The overwhelming feedback is that these demonstrations are extremely helpful. It allows you the students to see how a professional animator would solve the problem in a live step-by-step demo.

Make sure to set up AMP before the first week of class. Not only does it speed up your learning curve, but it benefits everyone else as well. We are all in this class to learn together!

3. Underestimating how hard animation is, not putting in enough time

Too often I see beginning students underestimate how much effort each assignment requires. Even a bouncing ball can take a few days if you are just starting. It may look easy, but once you start to move keys around and start to animate, panic and stress can set in.

I went through a similar experience when I was a student. What helped me the most was going in anticipating how hard it was going to be, how much work I was going to have to put in. The more space you create for yourself to do great work, the more room you’ll have to make mistakes, make iterations, and break through natural plateaus that come with mastering any craft. And especially as the assignments get more complicated toward the end of class, a walk cycle for example will require even more time.

So have a good idea of how many hours each assignment will take and plan accordingly. The more effort you put in, the more your mentors can help you get to wherever it is you want to go.

4. Not giving or asking for feedback

Too many beginning animators make this mistake. Too often we feel like we are not good enough or experienced enough to give other animators feedback. The truth is, you are good enough. It is through looking at other people’s work that we develop our eye. It is through viewing and discussing other people’s work that we develop a community, a sense of togetherness. It bolsters the idea that we all have something to learn from each other. Plus, it’s a fantastic way to get inspired.

Don’t be afraid to look up fellow students’ workspaces. Comment on their work or just say hello, even if they are in a different class than you. This is how we build our community and establish connections.

Specifically, challenge yourself to leave five people feedback each week. Add them to your buddy list. As you get more comfortable, add more people to that list—the more the merrier. Also, don’t forget to put in a Peer Buddy request during your first week. You will be paired with an upperclassman, which will be another source of support for you. Take advantage of all the community Animation Mentor has to offer. It will push you further than you could ever imagine.

5. Taking feedback personally, worrying too much about grades

We put a tremendous amount of hard work and love into our animation. It can be hard sit there and take the feedback when someone is giving you notes on your shot. You must NOT take it personally. The natural choice is to try and defend yourself, which is understandable. But rather than internalizing what someone says to you, your attention should be on the work itself. It’s easy to hang your head down after a tough critique, but you must realize that you wouldn’t be receiving criticism unless someone believes in you—believes in your ability to improve, believes in your ability to do great work. Criticism is a sign of your potential.

In a real production environment, animators work as a team to bring the director’s visions to life. We try our best to put our creative voices into our shots, but at the end of the day, the director has the final say. Your mentors are in a sense, just like a director. Mentors have their own style of critiquing, just like directors have different ways of conducting. Some may not praise your work as much as others, but this is not because they don’t appreciate your work, or have something against you as a person. It comes down to giving you a fair and truthful critique directed at the work, not you the animator. To be a professional animator means you have to have thick skin, but it also means you’re lucky enough to be part of a team, a group of people focused on putting out the best work possible.

6. Not keeping it simple

I see a lot of students over-complicating their assignments. I should know, as I was one of them. Here is an example of over-complicating a walk cycle assignment by yours truly. I started with the “excited” walk. After that I decided to add some bird droppings, and then a “sneaky” walk.

My mentor told me this was way too complicated, so I kept the excited walk and used all my time to perfect it. Here is the simplified version.

My advice is to stick with the simplest option. Focus all your time and energy into making that simple animation spectacular. Don’t waste your time putting in fancy lighting. It is always better to have solid, simple animation with extra time left at the end of the week, as opposed to having an over-complicated storyline and rushing to finish your assignment at the end of the week. Just remember, “KISS”—Keep It Simple Stupid!

Want to learn from pro animators like Jane?

Start working toward your dream by learning with professional animators from a variety of major studios and career paths! Get more information about Animation Mentor’s Character Animation Courses.

Get More Information

The post 6 Common Mistakes of Beginning Animators appeared first on The Official Animation Mentor Blog.

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6 Common Mistakes of Beginning Animators

We asked Animation Mentor Grad, Pixar Animator, and current mentor Jane Cassidy to share the common mistakes she sees time and time again from beginning animators. Here’s your comprehensive list of what NOT to do as a beginning animator.

So you are thinking about entering the field of animation — it can be a daunting task. If you’re already enrolled in Animation Mentor, you have taken the first step. I took that same step seven years ago, and as a student, I made plenty of mistakes. Now that I am teaching at Animation Mentor, hopefully my perspective from both sides allows me to guide you away from these common pitfalls.

1. Not Following the Syllabus

Assignments may seem straightforward, but I have had quite a few students turn in the wrong assignment, be it the incorrect exercise or the incorrect format. Typically reading the syllabus can easily prevent this.

The reason this is important—not only in class, but in your animation career going forward—is because in a real movie production you will be required to thoroughly understand shot briefing notes before beginning your shot. Instill the habit early of following notes and understanding shot direction. As a result, you will enjoy a long and healthy career in animation.

2. Not using AMP

In a class of nine students, I find at least half the students will not utilize AMP. It is crucial that you check in your work using AMP, as this allows your mentor to pull up your work and “look under the hood” so to speak. Some mentors like to pull up your work and tweak your animation during class. The overwhelming feedback is that these demonstrations are extremely helpful. It allows you the students to see how a professional animator would solve the problem in a live step-by-step demo.

Make sure to set up AMP before the first week of class. Not only does it speed up your learning curve, but it benefits everyone else as well. We are all in this class to learn together!

3. Underestimating how hard animation is, not putting in enough time

Too often I see beginning students underestimate how much effort each assignment requires. Even a bouncing ball can take a few days if you are just starting. It may look easy, but once you start to move keys around and start to animate, panic and stress can set in.

I went through a similar experience when I was a student. What helped me the most was going in anticipating how hard it was going to be, how much work I was going to have to put in. The more space you create for yourself to do great work, the more room you’ll have to make mistakes, make iterations, and break through natural plateaus that come with mastering any craft. And especially as the assignments get more complicated toward the end of class, a walk cycle for example will require even more time.

So have a good idea of how many hours each assignment will take and plan accordingly. The more effort you put in, the more your mentors can help you get to wherever it is you want to go.

4. Not giving or asking for feedback

Too many beginning animators make this mistake. Too often we feel like we are not good enough or experienced enough to give other animators feedback. The truth is, you are good enough. It is through looking at other people’s work that we develop our eye. It is through viewing and discussing other people’s work that we develop a community, a sense of togetherness. It bolsters the idea that we all have something to learn from each other. Plus, it’s a fantastic way to get inspired.

Don’t be afraid to look up fellow students’ workspaces. Comment on their work or just say hello, even if they are in a different class than you. This is how we build our community and establish connections.

Specifically, challenge yourself to leave five people feedback each week. Add them to your buddy list. As you get more comfortable, add more people to that list—the more the merrier. Also, don’t forget to put in a Peer Buddy request during your first week. You will be paired with an upperclassman, which will be another source of support for you. Take advantage of all the community Animation Mentor has to offer. It will push you further than you could ever imagine.

5. Taking feedback personally, worrying too much about grades

We put a tremendous amount of hard work and love into our animation. It can be hard sit there and take the feedback when someone is giving you notes on your shot. You must NOT take it personally. The natural choice is to try and defend yourself, which is understandable. But rather than internalizing what someone says to you, your attention should be on the work itself. It’s easy to hang your head down after a tough critique, but you must realize that you wouldn’t be receiving criticism unless someone believes in you—believes in your ability to improve, believes in your ability to do great work. Criticism is a sign of your potential.

In a real production environment, animators work as a team to bring the director’s visions to life. We try our best to put our creative voices into our shots, but at the end of the day, the director has the final say. Your mentors are in a sense, just like a director. Mentors have their own style of critiquing, just like directors have different ways of conducting. Some may not praise your work as much as others, but this is not because they don’t appreciate your work, or have something against you as a person. It comes down to giving you a fair and truthful critique directed at the work, not you the animator. To be a professional animator means you have to have thick skin, but it also means you’re lucky enough to be part of a team, a group of people focused on putting out the best work possible.

6. Not keeping it simple

I see a lot of students over-complicating their assignments. I should know, as I was one of them. Here is an example of over-complicating a walk cycle assignment by yours truly. I started with the “excited” walk. After that I decided to add some bird droppings, and then a “sneaky” walk.

My mentor told me this was way too complicated, so I kept the excited walk and used all my time to perfect it. Here is the simplified version.

My advice is to stick with the simplest option. Focus all your time and energy into making that simple animation spectacular. Don’t waste your time putting in fancy lighting. It is always better to have solid, simple animation with extra time left at the end of the week, as opposed to having an over-complicated storyline and rushing to finish your assignment at the end of the week. Just remember, “KISS”—Keep It Simple Stupid!

Want to learn from pro animators like Jane?

Start working toward your dream by learning with professional animators from a variety of major studios and career paths! Get more information about Animation Mentor’s Character Animation Courses.

Get More Information

The post 6 Common Mistakes of Beginning Animators appeared first on The Official Animation Mentor Blog.

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A Film Language Analysis of Blade Runner and Akira (BA2a Film Language Essay) - Long version

This essay will compare and contrast the film language of two preliminary clips from the 1982 live action film Blade Runner and the 1988 Japanese animated film Akira. Analysing the narrative approaches and filmmaking techniques employed by these classics.

Blade Runner is an American future-noir, science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott in 1982, centred around the ex-cop Rick Deckard, a ‘Blade Runner’ assigned to kill fugitive ‘Replicants’, androids designed to be almost identical to real human beings. I have chosen to examine the sequence in which we are introduced to Deckard because it is integral to our understanding of this world and his character.

The sequence starts with a wide crane shot looking down at a crowded city street (Fig 1, shot 1), focused initially on a florescent neon sign of a blue dragon with an orange flashing tongue that radiates a harsh blue glow onto its surroundings. As the camera continues its journey, these neon lights are everywhere, even umbrella handles, refracted through the heavy rain and smoke in this evening scene, creating a cold, hazy atmosphere, setting the visual and narrative tone of the film to come. Beginning in the foreground, the sign moves out of frame as we pan into the bustling people below, taking on a first-person view as if the camera has become part of the crowd. This is emphasized by how close people get to the camera (Fig 1, shot 3), which makes for claustrophobic and uncomfortable viewing, an invasion of space, much like how the crowd must feel. The audience is presented with the lower city, loomed over by the colossal and intimidating upper cityscape where people are few, shown in the previous scene. The two worlds starkly contrast each other, from the vast and impressive imperialistic towers to the dirty city below bustling with an organic, melting pot of people, left behind by the new world both figuratively and literally. Below, the point of interest is slowly revealed, sitting still behind the ever-flowing crowd; Blade Runner, Rick Deckard.

Deckard can be seen from the beginning of the sequence, but attention isn’t drawn to him right away, only when the camera finds him and frames him in the centre of a mid-shot (Fig 1, shot 4) do we take great notice of him. However, he is the only person in shot who is still and sitting alone, so he does stand out from the crowd. The most attention-grabbing aspect of his positioning in this shot is the wall of strong florescent blue and pink neon signs and TV screens, this strong backlight silhouetting him beautifully to draw our eye. His white newspaper also reflects a canvas of pink light that stands out from the blues of the surrounding areas. On this newspaper, ‘Farming Moon’ is written in bold suggesting that in this future, the Earth has become unfarmable, forcing mankind to look elsewhere for a sustainable food source. It could also explain the relentless rain and lack of natural light.

As Deckard turns the page of his newspaper we have our first cut to a wide shot looking up at the sky above (Fig 1, shot 5), where a large, moving zeppelin fills centre frame, positioned midground between the dark skyscrapers in the background and the jutting structures of the lower city in the foreground. The cut is preceded by a J cut in the audio as sudden, disembodied voice announcement is played just before the change in shot, implying that that sound is coming from the zeppelin above, supported by the corresponding text shown on the zeppelin’s screen. The announcement; “A new life awaits you in the off-world colony, the chance to begin again…”, enticingly advertises a better future for these working-class people, suggesting that in this future, even though mankind has progressed technologically, it still lacks prospects for the lower class. This is supported by the framing of the zeppelin, with its diagonal line of movement, suggesting that this is a perspective POV shot of Deckard’s or a passer-by, from the ground below. The dimly lit, towering skyscrapers appear to engulf the sky with only a few faint vertical lines and windows to tell them apart, giving a sense of entrapment in this enclosed space, like the bars of a prison cell with no clear view of the outside. This feeling of no escape is also emphasised by the beams of lights from the zeppelin, evading the privacy of the crowds below.

As the audio from the zeppelin continues, there is an L cut to a close-up shot of Deckard as he gazes upward to screen right (Fig 1, shot 6), his eyeline and continual audio suggests that his attention is on the zeppelin overhead. This shot is very intimate, this closeness reveals his vulnerability which is clearly shown on his face, slightly dazed with a look of longing in his eyes. These zeppelins must be a constant reminder of what he can’t have; a new life “…in a golden land of opportunity and adventure”. Snapping out of his daydream and back to reality, Deckard returns to his newspaper, eyes now immersed in shadow, marking the end to his exposing moment of emotion.

Now onto my chosen sequence for the post-apocalyptic, science fiction film; Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo in 1988. This animation was adapted from the manga Otomo started in 1982 and finished in 1990. The film follows the story of the biker gang leader Kaneda and his childhood friend Tetsuo, who gains psychic abilities after a motorbike accident. I have also chosen to analyse the sequence we are introduced to the protagonist; Kaneda because not only is it a key introduction to this new world, but an interesting comparison to a film of similar themes and sensibilities as Blade Runner.

This sequence begins with a shot of an old yellow street sign that flickers in the evening light (Fig 2, shot 1), similar to the previously mentioned flashing neon sign in Blade Runner. This could be a direct influence or reference to the 1982 scene because the manga doesn’t contain this sequence, and in an interview with the creator Otomo, he described Akira as sharing a “certain worldwide vision” with Blade Runner (Akira 2019, 2009). The sign is centre shot positioned on a rusted and cracked wall that has been temporarily repaired but overall unkept. The camera is angled up, mimicking the perspective of a person standing below it, immersing us in this world. Next, we get a wide geography shot of a deserted, run-down alleyway (Fig 2, shot 2), that looks abandoned but from the abundance of signage and traffic lights, this area is still very much in use. In the background, we get a glimpse of the immense vibrant cityscape that blocks out the sky similarly to the skyscrapers in Blade Runner, in same claustrophobic fashion. However, unlike in Blade Runner, the florescent colours make the city look alive even though this street is empty of people, creating a sense of anticipation. We then see a solitary man approach the street sign from the first shot, before cutting on action to a medium shot of him entered the illuminated doorway, stubbing out his cigarettes on the doormat, without a care, and walking down a set of stairs.

This cuts to a high contrast, bright TV screen, close-up and centre frame, that shows flashing florescent images of entertainment programmes before settling on the News (Fig 2, shot 3). This provides the audience with a sense of familiarity, coupled with the static crackle that is produced when changing channels, indicative of TV sets in the 80’s, the period of this production. We are given an exposition of this world’s society as the News’s woman announces that “groups of unemployed workers, who have grown in number… are rioting nationwide.” This implies that there is great unrest in the lower class of this society that are increasingly rebellious. Much like the people we saw in Blade Runner, who also hoping for a better future. From this, we cut to a mid-shot of a man behind a bar with head and TV remote in hand, leading us to assume that the previous shot was a POV perspective. Next, we have an L cut in the TV audio to a wide, over the shoulder shot of the bar tender as the first man we encountered enters the bar (Fig 2, shot 4), highlighted by the illuminated green stairs in the doorway behind him. Our eyes are also drawn to him due to large L shaped glowing light above, that guides our eyeline directly to his location.

Cutting on action, we get a mid-shot view of this shady character suspiciously glancing around the room (Fig 2, shot 5), who I suspect is a gang member from his attitude and the tribal markings on his head. As his eyes focus off camera, we cut on action to a pan in the direction in which he is moving, in what I perceive to be a POV shot, getting our first glimpse of Shotaro Kaneda (Fig 2, shot 6). Just like Deckard, Kaneda is silhouetted by the wall of the bright florescent lights of the gambling machine in front of him. However, Kaneda has his back to us and his bright red biker clothes clearly stand out amongst the dim colours of the room. Colour theory suggests that red is a symbol of danger and power, this is in line with his character as the leader of a biker gang. This could be further supported by the red pillar in the foreground presented adjacent to Kaneda, its strong vertical lines symbolising the strength of his character. From his attire I think he wants to appear this way, for example, the huge pill on his jacket is a symbol of anarchy reminiscent of the British punk movement.

These two classics are not only hugely influential to filmmaking today, but Blade Runner allowed for a feature-length, adult animation like Akira, of similar themes and film language, to be accepted and treasured by the West. Which allows me to create the kind of animations I love and want to show to the world.

4 Lazy Character Shortcuts Hollywood Can’t Stop Using

The best movie characters are usually the ones whom we sort of identify with. Whether they’re a simple middle-class teenager or a grizzled Matthew McConaughy playing a nihilistic detective trying to find aliens from the future inside a black hole, they work because when they make decisions, we get it. We learn who they are and understand them. Sometimes, though, writers don’t really have time for that shit. Instead, they use some kind of shorthand which (they hope) will have the same profound effect with far less effort. This usually doesn’t work at all. Particularly when …

4

Sudden Sacrifices Are A Substitute For Heroism

What is more powerful than one human being sacrificing their own life to save others, usually to the accompaniment of an orchestra that sounds like it’s about to parade through the screen? You could probably base a whole religion around it. In the world of Hollywood screenwriting, sacrifices can also be written in not to provide a satisfying end to a character’s arc, but to add instant heroism to a character we barely know.

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Why We Can't Take Our Eyes Off The Things We Hate

Kong: Skull Island (which I think is a great movie) includes a bunch of dispensable soldier characters who are tailor-made to be ape food. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m a fan of slasher films, so I have an appreciation for characters who only exist to say “Hey, guys, what was that noise?” But then, while under an assault from mutant reptiles, one of the soldiers, Captain Cole, pulls out two grenades and stares down one of the beasts. The rest of the cast does the typical “NO! DON’T DO THIS!” thing, like the audience is expected to. No, don’t do it, guy with literally two personality traits.

The guy’s plan goes awry and he ends up being a bloodstain on the side of a cliff, but that’s beside the point. The point is … well, what is the point? The sacrifice doesn’t add a dimension to his character, nor does it say anything poignant about him. Instead, it just makes him look like he’s very bad at thinking through decisions. You’re stranded on an island with a monster ape and ubiquitous leviathans, and your plan is to waste yourself and two precious grenades with your patented “Stand there and hope” maneuver?

Of course, they also did this with Superman at the end of Batman v Superman, in a Hail Mary effort to give us some reason to care. They did the same in I Am Legend, in which Will Smith sacrifices himself to maybe blow up some of the zombies, which is such a pointless act that the director’s cut has Will Smith not do that.

And remember Chappie, that Black Mirror episode, but with more decapitations? At the end of that, Ninja — played by Ninja of the rap group Die Antwoord — tries to sacrifice himself in dramatic slow motion, as if the movie is under the impression that we liked his character. He just spent two hours cursing and emotionally abusing a childlike robot. Sacrifice away, idiot.

If they want us to care, they need to scroll backward a few dozen pages in the script and write the character as someone we’ll either be sad to see go or happy to see redeemed. Oh, and the character needs to stay dead.

3

Making A Character Suddenly Badass (In A Way That Makes No Sense)

There’s nothing better than when a badass character gets a badass payoff. My boys in the Dragon Ball franchise are constantly training so that when the time comes, they can triumphantly punch holes through people. This is immensely satisfying because you, the viewer, get to anticipate seeing them use their skills. There is build-up. So it’s baffling whenever “badass” characters either get that way out of nowhere, or are assigned badass traits that don’t fit their progression at all, like if The Karate Kid ended with Daniel challenging Johnny to a snowmobile race.

Take Arya Stark in Game Of Thrones. A big point is made that she’s not built for swordplay. Her cranky travel companion Sandor Clegane points out that her tiny frame and flimsy sword is useless in a gritty fantasy universe full of giant men in armor. Thus, she learns how to work with poisons and magic disguises, leading us to believe that she’ll be pulling off some rad espionage tactics to fool bad guys who could crush her skull like an egg. Instead, within a couple of seasons, Arya becomes Jason Bourne Lite, shrugging off stabbings and doing sweet parkour. Later, she faces off in a practice duel with giant sword master Brienne and outmaneuvers her easily, smirking the whole time.

Regardless of the fact that she is never shown acquiring that level of skill, the problem is that this character is now superhuman and is in no way someone you can identify with.

Writers can’t resist this, even when a lack of combat training is the entire point of a character. This happens in the recent Death Wish remake, in which Bruce Willis, a surgeon, suddenly becomes a mix of Jigsaw and Rambo, all because he lost his family … and he’s a surgeon? This movie had a lot of problems, but at the very least, it could’ve made sense. I can’t claim to know what they teach you at medical school, but I sincerely doubt it involves target practice. I mean, not yet, anyway. But they couldn’t think of any other way to have him beat the bad guys.

And look, I love Harry Potter‘s Neville Longbottom, but the whole point of him is that he’s a clumsy, nerdy boob. He continues to be that for the first seven and a half movies, until his arc completes with him … cutting a giant snake’s head off in slow motion with a sword? Why? At no point in the series are we clamoring for Neville to be the guy who decapitates magic serpents. He’s shown as having talents — specifically, using magical plants — but all of that goes out the window because in the end, being a hero only means being great with traditional fighting techniques.

I’m not saying that Neville should’ve been watering the shrubs while Voldemort was attacking, but maybe give us something more in line with his character. He can be cool without being Conan. Hell, Breaking Bad spent its whole run inventing ways for a sickly chemistry teacher to defeat drug lords who are stronger and more well-armed than he is. They didn’t simply make him suddenly good at ninjutsu.

2

Gritty “Realism” Is Conveyed Through Ceaseless Cursing

People curse in real life. They do it in the car, they do it in the bedroom, they do it when they’re in line at Gamestop and GODDAMN, RICHARD, THE TRADE-IN VALUES ARE NOT GONNA BE THAT GOOD NO MATTER HOW MANY “PRO” POINTS YOU HAVE, SO GET THE FUCK ON WITH IT, SHITLIZARD. But since lots of movies are shooting for PG-13 and network TV shows usually try to be family friendly, they have to keep it clean. When creators find themselves without those restrictions, they tend to go hog-wild.

So I get it, prestige TV dramas. You get to put on your HBO/Showtime Big Boy Pants, and you naturally want to curse a lot because Mom and Dad aren’t around to tell you no. But do so many characters absolutely need to do it like they’re auditioning for a Rob Zombie film? For example, the sister character Debra is the heart and soul of Dexter, considering the show reminds you at all times that the titular character lacks a heart and soul. But there are ways to illustrate that she’s deep and troubled other than peppering all of her dialogue with curses that make her sound as if she’s just discovered Urban Dictionary. You know, like actually giving her an important role on the show? That’s just my two cents.

It comes up in Game Of Thrones, which desperately wants to be Definitely Not Lord Of The Rings, and Boardwalk Empire, which desperately wanted to be Definitely Not The Godfather, or Deadwood, which desperately wanted to be Definitely Not Renewed For A Fourth Season. I love you, Deadwood. I live and breathe you, Deadwood. But holy shit, it’s hard to market a cowboy show, much less a cowboy show that constantly plays like a Greek tragedy and includes an errant dropping of “fuck” every six seconds.

Compare that (again) to a show like Breaking Bad, which was only allowed one or two F-words per season. When they come, they actually have impact. When Skyler reveals to Walter that she’s sleeping with her boss, it’s “I fucked Ted.” Not “I’ve been messing around with Ted,” or “I let Ted play on my slippery dulcimer, if ya’ know what I mean.” It’s a gut punch. The fact that, realistically, she’d probably say it that way is just icing on the cake.

Some of you might say that these shows use gratuitous nudity in exactly the same way (that is, because they can), but at least beautiful naked people is a selling point. Who’s out there saying, “Man, I’m not crazy about the plot of that show, but some of the cursing is amazing. It gave me a full erection.”

1

Geeky Characters Are Defined Only By Their Ability To Spout Pop Culture References

A lot of people in the world are geeks. Not me. I only talk about Digimon when I’m drunk. But a lot of people are. And you’d think that since “geeky” interests are so commonplace, we’d get more great geeky characters in pop culture. Characters that we see aspects of ourselves in. Sadly, what we do get are shows like Big Bang Theory, or characters like Steve Urkel from Family Matters, Ross Gellar from Friends, Morgan from Chuck, Noah from the Scream TV show, and about 75 percent of the denizens of Kevin Smith movies. These are characters who don’t make geekiness look fun. Instead, they drag it around like a cross, burdened by their own existence.

I would probably relate to more “geeky” film characters if the writers knew how to identify them as geeks without having them bleat like farm animals about Star Wars or Dungeons & Dragons. Either that or they’re like Spencer from Criminal Minds, who refuses to shut up about how his special, powerful, super computer brain works differently from the average brain. He’s supposed to be likable, but I’ve never met a single likable person who went into detail about how much smarter he or she is than most of the population.

It’s like they’re so afraid that we won’t get it unless they crank it up to cartoonish levels. The “funny” control room employee in Jurassic World wears a Jurassic Park shirt with the original movie’s logo on it. That’s great! It builds his character and it adds to the theme of the movie that you probably shouldn’t recklessly commodify prehistoric beasts. But he then explains why he wears that shirt and how much it costs and how much he loved the first Jurassic Park, and any chance we had of identifying with him goes out the window. If I buy a Spider-Man shirt, I don’t go around the mall asking people about their favorite Doctor Octopus moments; I just wear the shirt.

It’s so strange because you’d assume that most writers are themselves geeks, the ones who have to borrow clothes to attend a red carpet premiere and then are kept far away from the cameras. You have to imagine them toiling away on their sitcom pilot thinking, “Hmmm … what would a geek say in this situation? It’s so hard for a cool, sexy beast like me to put myself in their mindset. I know, I’ll have them suddenly speak Klingon.”

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6 Common Mistakes of Beginning Animators

We asked Animation Mentor Grad, Pixar Animator, and current mentor Jane Cassidy to share the common mistakes she sees time and time again from beginning animators. Here’s your comprehensive list of what NOT to do as a beginning animator.

So you are thinking about entering the field of animation — it can be a daunting task. If you’re already enrolled in Animation Mentor, you have taken the first step. I took that same step seven years ago, and as a student, I made plenty of mistakes. Now that I am teaching at Animation Mentor, hopefully my perspective from both sides allows me to guide you away from these common pitfalls.

1. Not Following the Syllabus

Assignments may seem straightforward, but I have had quite a few students turn in the wrong assignment, be it the incorrect exercise or the incorrect format. Typically reading the syllabus can easily prevent this.

The reason this is important—not only in class, but in your animation career going forward—is because in a real movie production you will be required to thoroughly understand shot briefing notes before beginning your shot. Instill the habit early of following notes and understanding shot direction. As a result, you will enjoy a long and healthy career in animation.

2. Not using AMP

In a class of nine students, I find at least half the students will not utilize AMP. It is crucial that you check in your work using AMP, as this allows your mentor to pull up your work and “look under the hood” so to speak. Some mentors like to pull up your work and tweak your animation during class. The overwhelming feedback is that these demonstrations are extremely helpful. It allows you the students to see how a professional animator would solve the problem in a live step-by-step demo.

Make sure to set up AMP before the first week of class. Not only does it speed up your learning curve, but it benefits everyone else as well. We are all in this class to learn together!

3. Underestimating how hard animation is, not putting in enough time

Too often I see beginning students underestimate how much effort each assignment requires. Even a bouncing ball can take a few days if you are just starting. It may look easy, but once you start to move keys around and start to animate, panic and stress can set in.

I went through a similar experience when I was a student. What helped me the most was going in anticipating how hard it was going to be, how much work I was going to have to put in. The more space you create for yourself to do great work, the more room you’ll have to make mistakes, make iterations, and break through natural plateaus that come with mastering any craft. And especially as the assignments get more complicated toward the end of class, a walk cycle for example will require even more time.

So have a good idea of how many hours each assignment will take and plan accordingly. The more effort you put in, the more your mentors can help you get to wherever it is you want to go.

4. Not giving or asking for feedback

Too many beginning animators make this mistake. Too often we feel like we are not good enough or experienced enough to give other animators feedback. The truth is, you are good enough. It is through looking at other people’s work that we develop our eye. It is through viewing and discussing other people’s work that we develop a community, a sense of togetherness. It bolsters the idea that we all have something to learn from each other. Plus, it’s a fantastic way to get inspired.

Don’t be afraid to look up fellow students’ workspaces. Comment on their work or just say hello, even if they are in a different class than you. This is how we build our community and establish connections.

Specifically, challenge yourself to leave five people feedback each week. Add them to your buddy list. As you get more comfortable, add more people to that list—the more the merrier. Also, don’t forget to put in a Peer Buddy request during your first week. You will be paired with an upperclassman, which will be another source of support for you. Take advantage of all the community Animation Mentor has to offer. It will push you further than you could ever imagine.

5. Taking feedback personally, worrying too much about grades

We put a tremendous amount of hard work and love into our animation. It can be hard sit there and take the feedback when someone is giving you notes on your shot. You must NOT take it personally. The natural choice is to try and defend yourself, which is understandable. But rather than internalizing what someone says to you, your attention should be on the work itself. It’s easy to hang your head down after a tough critique, but you must realize that you wouldn’t be receiving criticism unless someone believes in you—believes in your ability to improve, believes in your ability to do great work. Criticism is a sign of your potential.

In a real production environment, animators work as a team to bring the director’s visions to life. We try our best to put our creative voices into our shots, but at the end of the day, the director has the final say. Your mentors are in a sense, just like a director. Mentors have their own style of critiquing, just like directors have different ways of conducting. Some may not praise your work as much as others, but this is not because they don’t appreciate your work, or have something against you as a person. It comes down to giving you a fair and truthful critique directed at the work, not you the animator. To be a professional animator means you have to have thick skin, but it also means you’re lucky enough to be part of a team, a group of people focused on putting out the best work possible.

6. Not keeping it simple

I see a lot of students over-complicating their assignments. I should know, as I was one of them. Here is an example of over-complicating a walk cycle assignment by yours truly. I started with the “excited” walk. After that I decided to add some bird droppings, and then a “sneaky” walk.

My mentor told me this was way too complicated, so I kept the excited walk and used all my time to perfect it. Here is the simplified version.

My advice is to stick with the simplest option. Focus all your time and energy into making that simple animation spectacular. Don’t waste your time putting in fancy lighting. It is always better to have solid, simple animation with extra time left at the end of the week, as opposed to having an over-complicated storyline and rushing to finish your assignment at the end of the week. Just remember, “KISS”—Keep It Simple Stupid!

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