Exercises !

[chatbraque]

Hi there

I'm up to give a "workshop" in a school of art… here, near Dijon
… it's about design (illustration), but i can present what i want (more or less) and I was thinking about adding a little "animation" to it
I can remember a thread where some of you guys (teatchers ?), were talking about exercices they use to delight their students with …
but unfortunatly, I can't find it again…

Does anybody remember that thread ? or help me by giving me ideas about "how to teach animation to very early beginners ?"
(not really the technic, but how to play around and make them feel, the sense of time … spacing… etc… with fun exercices… Am I clear enough ?)

tHx a lot in advance

[Animark]

At our filmschool university applicants have to do a three day test to get into the study. This year I gave the following exercise and they had a lot of fun with it, as far as they are doing a qualifying examination.

1. I made an very easy background - just a line for the horizon.
2. I placed a ball and a pyramide in the front
3. I gave it the title "mating season" / "breeding season" (In german "Paarungszeit")

The applicants were allowed do anything what they want with the two objects, but should'nt animate more then 100 drawings on 2's. They also shoukld not need more time than 3 hours. The examiners then took a look at the animation under the issues of idea, acting and timing. This could be a good exercise for beginners and I think it is not as boring as a bouncing ball for example. But I am not sure if it is interesting for students with a background of being illustrators.

[chatbraque]

Thx a lot… well actually they've got a background of being "artists" (art contemporain)…
… a bit of drawing and technic can't do them no arm (it's how I see it maybe I'm wrong… it's difficult to understand exactly what they want… a mix between "théorie" and "pratique"… the last time they asked me, I did something very close to the software, not theorical at all (with flash) and they enjoyed it… then !

Your Idea sounds great to me ! … "saison des amours"
(maybe a torus instead of the ball… or two balls ?… )

who's next ?

[Paul Fierlinger]

My favorite is to draw a drop of water falling on a leaf, it slides down the leaf, and eventually drops off the leaf and out of the frame (bottom). It then works as a cycle of a drip. So much can be observed in this exercise: Timing, acting, weight, creativity (the shape of the leaf), yet it is relatively easy for anyone to draw.

[chatbraque]

Thanks Paul… sounds great, and clever…
and plus, you give me the idea that theres is of course a lot to do about "cycling", sure…
… it's magical and not too much "time consuming"… ideal in that case…

5 fridays with them… it's not much, if really animating… and I 'll have to show them TVP (demo) or maybe flash because the school already has it… or pencil because it's free and fast to learn (one hour)… and they're supposed to show something at the end… wich wo'nt be possible by using a tvp demo-version
… so, If I'm really going that way, I'm just aiming at getting them closer to the feeling of what "24 frame per sec" mean… using very simple backgrounds and lines…


besides that, I'm certainly supposed to find a global link, in order to rely these exercices… kind of an "artistic moral caution" (you know how they are ;o))

Maybe "24 images par seconde" might be the title of the workshop
(hey !… how creativ ! … must be late)

[Paul Fierlinger]

Hey, and you can call the exercise Project Green Leaf and even double Green if done paperlessly...

[chatbraque]

Geeees !
(They' ll love it ! )

[chatbraque]

"Drawing something at a corner of the screen… let's say a square… in a team of 4, the students will have to animate a sequence of 2 seconds… and the square will have to come back to it former position… or to move to the clockwise next corner ?… one corner each "

Was'nt it on this forum that I have seen something like that ?… I really can't get that thread back… it was full of clever ideas… ????

[Animark]

Hi Chatbraque,

I am not allowed to post or send any of our examination work to anyone. Sorry. But just imagine jumping, running, kissing, loving, f***ing, ... objects and laughing and smiling students to get an idea of what has happened .

This is the thread you are searching for:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3905&p=31846&hilit=teacher#p31846

[chatbraque]

But just imagine jumping, running, kissing, loving, f***ing, ... objects and laughing and smiling students to get an idea of what has happened .

Not in my classroom, sir !…

This is the thread you are searching for:
http://www.tvpaint.com/forum/viewtopic. ... her#p31846

Yaaaaaaaaa ! Thx a lot…
have a good day

[chatbraque]

This workshop has been halfsuccessfull… the "breeding season" was the best part… the number of students was decreasing day after day except for the two last, when we played around this "saison des amours" (well we were in spring actually)…

(I 'was told to teach a bit of "perspective" wich was"nt the funniest part I must recon… it's hard labour… maybe too hard for a "end of year"


Anyway, thx again to you all …

[D.T. Nethery]

Your commitment to exercise may prompt you to go to bed half an hour earlier so you get enough rest and have time to exercise first thing in the morning. Having a bit more sleep gives you a bit more energy. It also makes the world a little brighter when you wake up. When you get up and exercise first thing, you'll get a rush of endorphins (good feeling neurochemicals) that make the world look and feel a whole lot brighter. If you exercise after work, you clear out the stress of the day and have a fresh start on your evening.

Good advice Ms. Jones . Now run along to the gym , dear, we've got animation to do here. Nothing to see here , move along.

[Paul Fierlinger]

She's SPAM.

[D.T. Nethery]

She's SPAM.

Your commitment to exercise may prompt you to go to bed half an hour earlier so you get enough rest and have time to exercise first thing in the morning. Having a bit more sleep gives you a bit more energy. It also makes the world a little brighter when you wake up. When you get up and exercise first thing, you'll get a rush of endorphins (good feeling neurochemicals) that make the world look and feel a whole lot brighter. If you exercise after work, you clear out the stress of the day and have a fresh start on your evening.

Good advice Ms. Jones . Now run along to the gym , dear, we've got animation to do here. Nothing to see here , move along.

The nerve of that Ms. Jones, suggesting we animators should EXERCISE anywhere but on the drawing board . She don't know us vewwy well do she ? I lift my pencil (Wacom pen) and my coffee cup and that's about it, exercise-wise . (ok, truthfully, I do walk my dog and take him to the dog park for romps, but you know what I mean ... )