Vanster

On Exhibition and Tumblr

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 08:42:00 +0000

helloo, these few months, I've been working on my final animation project, called 'The Witch's Butler'. My friends and I will be having our very own exhibition (with projectors and screens hung on walls, snack and drinks - curated by us students), called CEL-OUTS *cue poster*

We've been posting some screenshots of our films on the website so go check it out. Here's a direct link to my piece: [clicky]

Also, I finally hopped on board the tumblr train! Almost all my classmates use it so it was just a matter of time. Stumbling my way through primary and secondary blogs...and themes..and what likes mean etc etc. It's still new, but if you tumblr too, you can now follow me at vannyel.tumblr.com

So, If you're in town, or know anyone who is, RSVP to our facebook event page and come along to the exhibition! I know we all can't wait to get our finished films out there for eyes to see.

(Gosh, that is a lot of links in one post... but I figured it'd be more convenient and clear.)

It's been a bit quiet around here ...!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 08:40:00 +0000

I've been busy with 2 frame-by-frame animation among other 3D stuff. So far, I haven't found a reason to not like Toonboom. My animation school has actually just acquired TVPaint and teaching with that, but I'm starting to understand what a fellow animator meant when he said he swears by Toonboom. Pretty strong words there. Though I have yet to get comfortable enough with using it for cut out animation. Anyhow, I'll leave you with a screenshot of my current work. Deadline in 3 weeks - let's hope I can make it!

Making sense of random audio

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 18 May 2013 07:57:00 +0000

Exercise in using an X-sheet to sync animation to audio. Drawn on paper and compiled/coloured in TVpaint.

I only did a pencil test after all the drawings were done, so some parts of the animation could be better. Having to paint every frame was a killer...! Stay tuned...more work coming soon.

a short film (updated!)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:10:00 +0000

(I like documenting stuff I do, so if you want to skip my yammering :P, head on down to the videos below!)

One of my classes this year is called Video 1, basically an introduction to Video. And for that we made a short film as a group.

Once we had a base screenplay done, we took it home individually and altered it to our own versions, so that we ended up with 4 slightly different films. 4 weeks later, and our films are finally finished. Shooting was completed in a day and a half. Unfortunately for some shots, we only had time for one take.

It might sound strange having a video component as part of an animation course, and initially I thought so too. I wasn't sure what I would get out of this class. But live-action film and animation are just two different mediums for the same purpose - storytelling. So I saw this project as an exercise to learn more about storytelling using the moving image.

Apart from learning how to actually use a DSLR and other filming equipment, I really enjoyed going through the whole pre-production phase - writing the screenplay, creating storyboards and shot list ....as well as understanding the limitations and advantages of live action production compared with animation. Plus I had the best group mates to work with for this project (thanks guys!). They really do make a huge difference.

So this is my version. I wanted the story to be subtle, with all the ingredients present. I'm open to comments and constructive critisicm, especially in terms of story - that's where I'm trying to improve. If you want to, a PM would be great.

Remember to turn up your speakers a little (headphones are best) and watch in 720p. cheers guys

Vanessa - "Darren's World"

And here are my group mates' versions (I'll update this section till all of theirs are up).

Terri - "Safe"
Check out her blog post for some behind-the-scenes photos

SAFE : Short Film from territory.mp on Vimeo.

Sharin - "Lost"

LOST (A short film) from Absharina Yofitasari on Vimeo.

and finally, Dileepa - "My Name is Darren"

MY NAME IS DARREN from Vincilabs on Vimeo.

Vertices, Faces, Edges

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:27:00 +0000

So Maya, we meet again. Just some screenshots from what was done today.

Basic 3D modelling...

... and some workflow principles with creating a scene from concept art.

Chase (animatic)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 01:39:00 +0000

Storyboarded a chase scene from a script. Since I had the materials already, why not make it into a semi-animatic? All SFX obtained from freesound.org

On review: Some scenes went on for too long, dictated by the sound file which was created first before the video - I overestimated the length of the shots. Tightening up the speed of the shots could make the animatic more interesting and engaging with the chase.

Here are 2 pages out of 9 of the storyboard panels drawn.

..and the turnarounds for the characters. Yes, they do have names :)

11-second Club NOVEMBER 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:21:00 +0000

So this was my submission to the 11-second Club November 2012. Spent about 10ish days on it from character turnarounds to this *finished state.

On hindsight now, thanks to some feedback I've gotten, I should have planned the shot a bit better. I was rushing into the animating and lip sync part, I'd neglected planning. I really shouldn't have started inking and painting but I'd wanted to see what the finished product could look like.. not a good idea competition-wise but glad I did.

Some preparatory stuff I did prior to animating. I realise it was hard to keep him on model once I started! And....holds! *slaps forehead* Had I known that concept beforehand...gosh, could have saved so much work.

What 85 drawings look like.

The Spectacles

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 01:56:00 +0000

One of my uni assignments - choose any of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, adapt a part of it including designing the characters. A Tableaux and two pages. We could choose any era we wanted to place the story in so....that's what I wanted to go with. I've drawn comics quite a lot in the past, but never coloured them, so this was kinda fun to do. Character turnarounds were produced too. I never used to do that but hey, it's what they do for animation! :)

One of the goals was to tell the story well enough without the use of speech bubbles. After going through a few revisions, here it is! (It's only a part of the story, so I chose to do only the early half of it)

More of my fascination with the human head

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 May 2012 07:42:00 +0000

Oh dear, another headshot! They're very relaxing to do.

CaricaTURES

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:37:00 +0000

Sometimes you see someone's face and go 'Gee, he/she has such strong features!'..that's what I thought when I saw Timothy Omundson on Psych - plus he looks a little like Rowan Atkinson don't you think? While sketching them, I had to try really hard not to draw them realistically, in proportion, and instead kept reminding myself...'Exaggerate! Exaggerate! - What features of theirs jump out the most?' Short but fun and interesting experience. Will be doing more of these in between to get a better hang at it.

No more Chuck!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:38:00 +0000

I really hope you can recognize him. And if you don't... aw well. It's Zachary Levi...or you may know him as Chuck Bartowski from the NBC TV series Chuck (that just ended!! D': hence the want to paint him) or as the voice of Flynn Ryder from Disney's Tangled. and of course I used photo reference for this. Gosh, that first pencil sketch looks so scary, doesn't it? ^^" I will miss all those Chuck x Sarah moments! :(

A break from the tablet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:13:00 +0000

Tried out a Toner Gray copic marker here. I'm still not used to using them though...kinda messy. I'll just have to keep experimenting.

Also, I've been playing around with acrylic painting - learning the basics under the guidance of a Mr. Bob Davies ;) Love his videos!

another city sketch

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:22:00 +0000

Sketching in the city on a Sunday afternoon, ... after a hectic week!

Gotta keep that pencil moving.

Related posts:

A day in the city

Art/Music Collaboration: Dwarves In The Sky

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 06 May 2011 06:48:00 +0000

Added a new artwork to the Gallery. Just completed yesterday, an art/music collaboration with Karimn 'Patt-Ytto' D.K.I. Please view the artwork as you listen to his beautiful music. Unfortunately, with the way I have set up my pages, I can't place the music in the Gallery. Make sure you turn up the volume enough to hear the percussion and strings.

Title: Dwarfs In The Sky by Karimn 'Patt-Ytto' D.K.I. (I used the Title as in his DeviantArt upload)

Music has always been a huge inspiration to me so I'd wanted to do something like this for a while now. This may not be one of my best work, but I've definitely learnt a lot from it. I hope to do more of such collaborations in the future :) So I thank Patt-Ytto for letting me have a go at creating a scene from a piece of music.

You may find him on DeviantArt and on Newgrounds.

Till next time then.

Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy - Concert at Sydney 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 10:17:00 +0000

It all started when I received Distant Worlds' e-newsletter in my inbox round about November last year. By then, tickets were already selling like hot cakes and I absolutely did not want to miss this out, especially as it was the only stop Distant Worlds was making in Australia! Didn't take long before I got some pals to come along, bought the tickets (concession available), booked our flights to Sydney etc etc. The event was set for April 15th and 16th 2011, Friday and Saturday respectively, and thank the skies, I had the time.

Dress code This being my first orchestra (by Sydney Symphony and at the Sydney Opera House too!), I was curious to find out about the dress code, but, as I recall, I couldn't find any official information. So, my friends and I just dressed smart casual, nothing too fancy, as the weather wasn't too good either. I was half-expecting some cosplayers around and sure enough, there were a few [UPDATE: So apparently Square Enix had sent out an email asking people not to wear cosplay costumes to the event. So don't :P] Some dressed really casually too. ~~Unfortunately, the lights in and around the Sydney Opera House were really dim and not photograph-friendly at all, so excuse me for the lack of photos in this post.~~ I lost my camera so I've lost all photos from the event itself and most of my other sightseeing escapades in Sydney! :(((

Merchandise       We arrived at 7.30pm, just enough time to wander around outside the Concert Hall. There were booths selling merchandises, including Distant Worlds' albums ($20 each), posters and T-shirts (which were sold out by the time the orchestra was over, so if you want, you'd better get it before the show starts, me thinks!).

Seats        I am new to live orchestra so I had sought some advice about good seats and was told that seats about 14 rows from the stage were where recordings for orchestras were done so, 14th row it was, or somewhere close to that (This may not be true for all orchestras, and the advice was not based on the Sydney Opera House anyway). Having a general understanding of the arrangements of instruments on-stage may help too. Not surprisingly, the seats we got were amazing, in the ground stalls near the centre, with a full view of the stage (for these seats, it was $89.00 on student concession, $99 for regular tickets).

On with the show        Introductions were short and the man himself, Nobuo Uematsu, after receiving a deafening applause, sat just 4 rows in front of where we were! Of course, with a body guard to shoo away eager fans who had not gotten a meet and greet ticket (like me.. For your information, the meet and greet tickets were an additional $50). Arnie Roth took charge from there.

The show began with a selection of Final Fantasy music familiar to the majority of fans including To Zanarkand (FFX), Liberi Fatali (FFVIII) and Aerith's Theme (FFVII) . In the second half, music from more recent titles dominated, including those from Final Fantasy XIV and also compositions of Masashi Hamazu from Final Fantasy XIII. Some songs from older titles (FFV and FFVI) were played as well and Kanon, a singer from Japan, flew in to be the solo vocalist. In total, about 20 songs were performed and the entire show, including a short intermission, went for 2 hours and a half. It was a great night, surrounded with 200 over other fans of all ages.

If you are a Final Fantasy and Nobuo Uematsu fan, I highly recommend attending one of their concerts close to you, if you can. I know I couldn't pass up the opportunity to listen to my favourite music live and orchestrated. You can check their dates and sites of performances on their website - they've already got a whole lot of performances lined up. I will just like to add: although Nobuo Uematsu's songs are amazing, some of the music played that night, I felt, had been played either too fast and too rushed, or just too slow. Listening through their album, however, I didn't find this to be so - their recording on the CD is great.

You may have already noticed: I avoided details of the concert because I'd like to leave you with just that bit of anticipation and surprise. What kind of fun would it be if I'd taken that away and spoiled you crazy?

Excuse me now, as I take a trip down nostalgia road, game controller in hand.

Related posts:

Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 05:05:00 +0000

Pardon the absence, I am making some changes to the blog. And constantly sharpening my pencils (or...refilling the lead..). Watch this space!

Basic animation: Mr. Floursack

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:28:00 +0000

Finally! First real update for the year - late huh? This is my first animation ~~(short?)~~ piece, drawn on tons of paper on a lightbox. It's based on an assignment in Tony White's ' How to Make Animated Films' book. The background, as directed by the book, was obtained from www.desktopacademy.com . This took 3 weeks to complete and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. There are some mistakes in there but I've learnt a great deal from doing this assignment. And boy, have I gained a larger appreciation for animators and all that effort they put into getting the movement and fluidity just right! Additions and improvements can be made here but I thought, this is enough, it's time to move on to something else. I may add sound in later on, to learn more about post-production.

Thanks for watching! Vann signing off.

Pages from the sketchbook

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 03:00:00 +0000

Pencil on paper - never getting tired of it.

Some sketches from le ol' sketchbook.

Happy New Year 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 09:46:00 +0000

I managed to squeeze in my last drawing for the year right after the Eve dinner - he's my puppy! I've been wanting to draw him for a really long time. The holidays have been awesome, catching up with family, some games and reading, and I'll be heading back to Australia really soon...
Happy New Year to all..!

Vanille fanart

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:50:00 +0000

This is my fanart of Vanille from Final Fantasy XIII. I can't help but think that Tetsuya Nomura had way too much fun designing her....the beads, the random pieces of cloth! that curvy weapon..thing...lol I decided to push myself and draw a full body applying what I've learnt in the past weeks, though this took longer than it really should have. I was enjoying the process yet just fearing every stroke I make would be a total blunder. It was difficult to really get a good look at her design, so there're some mistakes in there....well, that's that. On to the next piece!

Headshots and an update on Disney Masterclass

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 13:50:00 +0000

A collection of headshots I'd done recently. Posted the first one before but thought it'd be nice to have them altogether. They're all random characters except for the last one which you may recognize as the smooth Flynn Rider from Tangled ;) I'd used the original pencil designs of Flynn as reference and realised too late that in the film, his hair is different. Well... Whew, break time, I say.

The Disney Masterclass with Roy Conli and Glen Keane was amazing and inspirational. There was one part when Glen was explaining Sculpture drawing (shading when animating) using a pencil test clip from The Little Mermaid, where Ariel was singing 'Part of Your World'...but there was no audio. And to fill in the silence, Glen had asked us to sing along and guess what?...you could only hear squeaks, haha! Though, a huge sing-along would have been fun..

Plus est en vous... There is more in you

Related posts:

More headshot practice

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 10:03:00 +0000

I know I should really be studying my books (related to my uni course, that is) but..my hands get itchy. Been working on drawing and coloring still-life, stock is awesome! For this piece, I wanted to use what I'd learnt recently from practice and other great artists. I'm quite happy with the result :)

Also, there's gonna be a Disney exhibition at the ACMI, plus, Roy Conli and Glen Keane will be coming to town for a Masterclass! If you're interested, head over here. I know I'll be there ;)

Fighter

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:10:00 +0000

Wow..this feels strange..I haven't drawn like this in quite a long time. What do I mean? I mean, me just flicking my pen over a drawing. I've been so hung up on details and getting things perfect, neat and 'inside the lines', if you know what I mean. I picked up drawing from reading comics so doing lineart was really fun. And you know what? Fight scenes were even more fun! Ka-POW! haha And I realise today, no, more like I am reminded that the drawing has more life when the lines are..imperfect. At least, I prefer it this way :)

Warrior

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 09:54:00 +0000

Trying to do more semi-realism. This character is based off a previous character concept which I'd posted here before =P

Full body pic can be found here .

This took me about 8 hours from random sketching to completion.

Wonder

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 07:22:00 +0000

Yay for artificial food coloring :P

Textures from Mayang's Free Texture Library