Pocahontas background practice

I thought it would be a good use of time to practice making backgrounds for animation. So I chose a piece of art by an artist I admire and did a sort of "master copy" type thing. So, no this is not mine. I mean, I did this, but the colors and layout and stuff were done first by another, much more practiced artist.

Though, this little experiment taught me tons about digitally painting. Firstly, that even though it is digital, by NO means is it faster. This took three whole days more than I thought it would. Also, I am pretty sure I soaked up a lot about color saturation, lighting, deep space, and textures. Especially when it comes to trees.... and foliage. Sometimes abstract is the way to go, and other times, you really gotta define stuff (like the up front leaves).

Towards the end, I noticed that I had come up with a system. I would take what I saw and count it as "middle tone". Then, on one layer push the lights (yellows) -because they were never bright enough.... and then on another layer push the darks (reds-blacks). I think I have the tendency to hate using pure black- and I don't know quite yet if that's a good thing or if it will cripple me in the long run, but I'm pretty sure I didn't use any 100% black in the whole drawing.

My favorite part of the drawing was adding the pinks in last. It was SO satisfying.

P.S. Thanks, David!

gypsy idea

can't tell you anything about this yet- let's let it build...

think soda (I would have said "coke" because in the south, all sodas are coke. But I didn't want to confuse you)

SCAD Pearls - Commencement 2009

I got an email a few weeks before the end of the Spring 09 quarter saying this:

Would you like to participate in SCAD Commencement? Would you like to be a Pearl? To celebrate SCAD’s 30th anniversary, the university will present the “String of Pearls Parade” at Commencement in Savannah May 30. Interested volunteers must be available for rehearsal Friday, May 29, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The performance takes place Saturday, May 30, prior to the processional of graduates. Residence hall extensions may be granted to volunteers.

It looks unoffending, right? So innocently worded? They even offered to extend living in the dorms for a WHOLE weekend! Instead of having to fight everyone in Weston Hall to move out by 5pm on Friday (and risk being fined $100) I had three entire days to get everything into the new Carriage House!

So what, you ask, does this "String of Pearls Parade" involve? My first thoughts were: "kind of like ballroom dancing class- classy." and "we are going to wear pearls and look cute in a graduation procession of some sort" This, plus moving out later (and I later found out that it included a free lunch and fifty bucks) equals I'M IN!!

Man oh man. Was I in for an exciting surprise!

I get there and my actress/dancer friend Adelle is there! Then she says something to the effect of "Oh I'm glad you're here so we can do (I heard 'get through') this together" As in, doing this alone is.. adventurous.

Turns out she'd been a SCAD Pearl before! And she kind of loved it! We went into a back room and changed into our costumes and Let. Me. Just. Say. I felt RIDICULOUS! The next couple of hours of rehearsal I went through several emotional phases..

1. Shame

2. Acceptance

3. "I'm going to dance my booty off for all it's worth!"

Moral of the story: The only one who looks silly in a crowd of people who are all silly, is the one who isn't being silly.
______________________________

And for you visual enjoyment, some actual photos from the actual graduation! Actually!
(c/o Adelle, Scad, Flickr, and the prnt scrn button)


This dressing room photo was taken "post-shame".


Right before our call time.
You can almost feel our butterflies coming through your computer screen!



Our costumes were collapsible for easy storing. How promiscuous!


LOOK AT ALL THOSE PEOPLE!
I'm so glad I quit caring that looked like a doofus! Honestly, I bet it looked pretty awesome from above, but I didn't find any above photographs.

New Carriage House Studio Setup

As I have just moved again, setting up studio to get work done has been a challenge. But, maybe not so much since I only have one table and not the strength to carry it up a narrow staircase all by myself!

I keep trying to remember to take pictures of the new house I've moved into, but I stay so busy drawing and spending time at various Savannah libraries during the day that I forget.

In the effort of trying to keep up with this thing (and hopefully I will be posting regularly again during the summer months), here are some photos of my new work area and the super-awesome-makeshift-"light table" that my generous family donated from their basement. (it's actually the table that I grew up having meals on when I was little, so it's kind of strange to me to be doing what I think is 'grown up work' on it.... and the only reason why I call it 'grown up work' is because it's what I can see myself doing for the rest of my life. And, at some point during the rest of my life, I'll be a grown up. ... ramble, ramble ramble...)

Animation: Sixth Week

Animation: Fifth Week

Animation: Fourth Week

Animation: Third Week

Animation: Second Week

In Recent News

Yesterday, we found a house- henceforth named "Henry House" because it is on Henry street. It's a closer bike ride to Montgomery than my current Weston house (near Turner and Dyson SCAD housing, which is about 2.2 miles one way) Here's a pic of the house (courtesy of the internet):...and here's a picture of me on my "new" bike! I use "quotey" marks because although it is new to me, it has existed longer than I have. It was my mom's. Yesterday, I biked 10 miles (if you add up all the trips I made to some places and other places :)

I drew a life size skeleton. Though, unfortunately, you probably won't see it until it is in our house. The house kinda looks like the inside of a gallery, so we are treating it as such. She shall be our fourth roomate.

Speaking of the inside of a gallery- Tonight Frederick will be in a gallery called All Creatures Great and Small, held at the 180 Gallery on Bull Street in Savannah. It was a good thing he and I got some chill time, or else I may not have had anything for the show.. what with being sooooo busy with animation classes. The reception starts at 6, and prior to that, I shall be figuring out the mechanics of riding a bike in a dress. I'm thinking leggings are a go. I'll be sure to take photos :)


Oh yeah, DUH! I got a new dot.com for this blog. You can now find me at http://courtneybrookeart.com as well as http://nypraint.blogspot.com.


Blue Sky Studios visited SCAD recently.




They looked at demo reels, held interviews and gave a presentation. Showed us what they're working on currently and explained a lot about a division of their production team called Materials. The materials team are the people who do the texturing and coloring of the characters, trees, fur, etc.



Also, just this week Laika visited SCAD.
Their presentation was RIDICULOUS!!! (in the definition that means super-crazy-awesome) They showed us some secret photos of how they made Coraline, and some not secret stuff that's already on yoututbe (like the lady who knits all of their tiny little sweaters)


We had a Q&A at the end and Here Is What I Learned:
1. Coraline is entirely procedural. Meaning very little digital. Except for digitally merging the face parts together. (the mouths were printed out in 3d and replaced to make expressions and lip-synch) Even the scene at the end - where the squares are everywhere... yeah.. that was ALL painted by hand. No compys involved. The fog? Not done by special effects. Photographed dry ice and composited in later. AMAZING!
2. Stop motion plus 3d photographing is VERY hard and time consuming. Since the way that 3d movies are made (one camera- two positions for that camera- and moving the armatures in between every shot... keep in mind that one second is made up of roughly 24 frames... ouch) So, the animator would position the puppet, take a high-res photograph, wait, the camera would position itself to take the second photograph, and then go back to its first position and the animator could then put the puppet in its next position. To capture one frame could take up to 10 minutes.
3. Wybie is black.
4. I need to take a camera with me everywhere. I touched a Coraline puppet and have no photograph to show for it.

Here are some facial expressions by one of my favorite artists, Shane Prigmore.

Here's a fun time lapse video of animators animating:

To quote my History of Animation Professor

"It helps to think other than the ordinary"

and

"Animation is the art of impossible worlds.."




I'd like to get into the business of impossible worlds and thinking other than the ordinary.. Sounds like fun! (Also sounds like some stuff I've read about Jesus doing.)

PIXAR at SCAD

Before spring break, a group of people came down from PIXAR to look at some SCAD demo reels and give a talk to all the wannabe's.

Fellow Animators also taking a short rest from finals stress: Sarah Riser and Jyreme Mcmillion

This is Jason Johnston, an effects artist and effects sequence lead.

Becki Tower came back home! She was a SCAD Bee before she left to go to PIXAR.
Also: Notice how close we were sitting to them- my friends and I came an hour early to sit in the front row...Just in case they wanted to high-five us or something. We wanted to be ready and available in the event that anything of the awesome nature should happen.

Ellen Lee gave a presentation about graphic design in PIXAR's films. I never realized how much graphic design played a part in the design of Wall-e. Next time you watch it, take a closer look at all of the advertisements in the Axiom- pretty amazing.

some beauuuutiful notes

Danielle Feinberg- Director of Photography (Lighting) and Ellen Lee. They had cool stuff to say.

I'm working hard and keeping my fingers crossed.. One of these days I'm gonna have a kick butt demo reel. Hold me to that.

All Nighter in Montgomery

Rose and I had a lot of finals to finish up last quarter and somewhere in the night we got camera happy.

Life is a Bosch of Chocolates

These are some final renders of all of the models (1) and (2) from (this) sketch- that I created during the Winter 2009 quarter in Professor Valentine's Digital Form Space and Lighting class. I hope nobody notices that the bird who plays his nose is floating.