Posting swfs

How to post swfs to your website using dreamweaver.
A tutorial from the Adobe - Design Center.

Craig Frazier sketchbook online

Speaking of sketchbooks (or at least we were in class), look at 98 pages a site with a flash slideshow of sketches by Craig Frazier. It will make you completely jealous of his insane ability to show complicated emotions and concepts in the most elegantly simple way. . . AND it will probably make you want to draw more, which is a good thing.

Animatics

Animatics are really just your storyboard playing sequentially and timed to an audio track. They allow you to see you animation in embryo and fix any timing and framing errors early on. This animatic also becomes a working reel, where you can replace each shot with more finished graphics as you go along, but it keeps all the shots set in their sequence so you can see how they relate to the shots before and after.

Here is the clip I showed in class.

Storyboards

Class,

So we need to get going on your final animations! Final animations are due on May 15, but there are steps we can do together along the way to help the process go smoothly. These final animations need to be 30 seconds long and may be funny and lighthearted and character driven, they can be dark and moody and use text and images without a character, they can be synched to dialogue or a song, they can make a political statement or advertise Lime Diet Coke, whatever you want! But I need to approve the idea. So Thursday, you're going to "pitch" your ideas to me and the class with a storyboard. I have not assigned a ton of homework for this class so I really and truly expect you to do this. . . ready at the start of class! Here are some storyboard links if you'd like to know more about storyboarding and see examples. . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storyboard
http://www.storyboardseast.com/storybrd.htm
http://www.silvertonfilms.com/storyboard.htm
http://accad.osu.edu/womenandtech/Storyboard%20Resource/

I'd like yours to be on blank index cards. . . they're easy to rearrange or you can discard and add new ones without messing up your sequence. Use a pencil or a marker, draw quick. This is to communicate your ideas and think through things like what is on screen, who is on screen, is it a close up shot or faraway shot, does the character move through the scene or does the camera pan across the background, etc. I would like the final animations to have some sound. Whether you base it on a movie clip for dialogue or synch to a cool song or just add sound effects for depth, whatever. I'm excited to see what you come up with! We'll see you on Thursday!

101crew

Rudy showed me this site with some very cool flash graphics and animation. It really fits with the street art that they do. . . Notice the way you move from one page to another and the nice animations that get you there.

Walk Cycle Tutorials

Fun, good design. Character design from sketch to finish. . . an hour long video tutorial: mudbubble boy.

Very simple, easy to follow. If you are feeling intimidated by character animation, start here. You'll see that it is ok to start basic. Quick and easy. . . flashcartoons.org

Very thorough about how and why body parts move the way they do, nice video tutorials. More advanced: Moolt.com

soundsnap.com

Here is a terrific site for free sound effects! Soundsnap.com

Some fun animations by Allan Dye

We watched these two animations in class the other day. The first is a trailer for A.D.D. Jane by Allan Dye:

The second is a Pottery Barn Promo he did for their eco-friendly organic cotton line:

I really like the style on these. . . fun colors, dynamic shapes, easy animation that drives the point.

Extreme Pamplona

Extreme Pamplona Play 'Extreme Pamplona'

Play this free game now!!

Flashforward Winners

I keep posting all these Flashforward winners, I figured I should just post the link to the site of the finalists and winners and let you explore them and find your favorites. If you absolutely love one, let me know and I'll highlight it here or in class.

Creep by Monkeehub

Here is another winner that I showed in class today. So sad. But I love the use of keyframes as a textural element for the titles! The song is Creep by Radiohead and it is animated by Monkeehub.

Congo Windfall

Here is the Cartoon award winner for Flashforward 2007, Boston: Congo Windfall at Arj & Poopy. The character animation is so funny and the comic timing is perfect. Wow, but here is what happens when one or two people get all the creative license and doesn't have a studio of people telling them what they can and can't do which can be good and bad. . . sometimes the viewer is left thinking, "Did I miss something?" Just the inside joke between the creator and himself, that's all. Oh well, its still fun to watch. Or maybe you just have to watch all the other episodes to get all the jokes. . .
**PG-13, Some strong language, warning to those with super-sensitive ears.**

The YuYu

The YuYu by Adam Phillips. This is an animation that won for the best flash cartoon at the Flashforward Conference in 2006. The part that kills me is that all the artwork was created in Flash, none of it was imported from other drawing programs.

ikea dream kitchens

Very cool flash/video combo. This would be very complex to put together. . . Admire it. . . Ikea Dream Kitchens.

Hindsight Trading and The Entity Agency

This is a beautiful website designed for a local company by a local firm. Hindsighttrading.com combines good-looking design, great sound, interesting interactivity and ingenuity. Can you tell I like it?

The firm that designed it, The Entity, also has a really fresh and creative site. I really like the way things appear and disappear on the screen.

crave

Crave Cookies and Cupcakes. Fun rollovers and buttons. . .

bloom cosmetics

Check out how just a little, simple animation takes this beautiful site to the next level. . . Bloom Cosmetics.

feed the head

Feed the Head. A fun, interactive flash site . . . I have no idea what the point is, but it's cool!