Animations Yay!!

Production is well underway on the third year films here at AIB, and I've been working with two different teams producing animation and tests for their films. At AIB, the third years work on their final films with a team made up of other animation students: a core group of fellow third years, as well as second and first years to round out the production. Together, they make a complete film that will be shown at graduation and also in the various festivals that AIB participates in.

The first film I signed on to was Sol, which compares the Greek myth of Phaeton with the Apollo moon missions. It's a very pretty film, and I'm excited to see how the final product looks with its impressive background paintings and elegant ancient style. I animated two constellations - Gemini and Aquarius - who will be watching Phaeton's chariot as it races through the sky. The animation needed to be very slow and elegant, bringing across the massive size of these celestial figures. That means there were many similar, anatomical drawings that I had to do.





The second film is Risk, about a chess king who gets dropped into a game of Risk. It's a completely different world, one where four armies are all poised to clash right where he's standing. Will he make it back to the world of black-and-white safely?? This film looked entertaining and fun to draw. It has dynamic action, and strong characters. Whereas Sol feels like a moving illustration, animating on Risk is like creating a cartoon. Between the two, I'm getting a great range of animation practice.





AIB and MICA work as a great team; where MICA lacks, AIB excels, and vice versa. I'm glad I chose to come to this school, which is even greater than I had thought at first! I only wish I could stay for the next term as well, to see the films to completion.

I like how my first post was entitled "Emma Rochon"...

Almost at entire week 2! The first week of classes is over and I've switched one of my classes several times. When I got here, SACI surprised us with about 284 arbitrary mandatory Itallian state government/SACI related fees which was frustrating considering what the rates for dollar to euro are right now. But I decided to avoid a big studio fee for the screen printing class and switched into a creative writing workshop and then finally settled into Renaissance Literature which looks awesome! The bad side is I won't learn screen printing in a classroom environment. The good side is I can still use their facilities for the MICA independent honors studio (with Noel teaching me) and the only real studio course I have is that independent one! What a nice contrast to the vortex of pain last semester!

Conservation is freaking awesome too! In Painting Conservation we're making practice boards which show us all the steps used in making a wood panel. We made our own gesso with rabbit skin glue and whiting gypsum and on Tuesday we'll sand it down to a fine flat surface and begin re-creating a Bysantine looking painting on it. I'll scan it and put it up when we're finished but I have no work to show for myself yet... because I'm lame.... but I will have a comic for Illustrophillia! If only I could get my hands on a scanner. I've been told there are ones in the design building so that will be my adventure tomorrow!

Life Drawing!

They've got weekly life drawing sessions pretty much everywhere, if you look hard enough. But the good thing about AIB's life drawing is that it's for animators. As in, they organise it. Which is cool. But the better thing about AIB's life drawing is free paper and drawing implements!! How can I pass that up, when MICA charges to walk into the school store? As Ariyana can tell you, I'm a whiz at going to life drawing every week,* so the only thing stopping me is a 45 minute wait for the bus home afterward. Ouch... Or "brrr," rather.

Anyway - here's some of the highlights. I've never worked with chalk on black paper, so that was fun. The first years also have a life drawing requirement every Friday; the graphite ones are from that session.

Apologies for the bad quality. It's pretty much impossible to take a good photograph of a drawing. At least with my camera. Click for larger images. Oh yes, the little numbers (as good art students could probably figure out) are the length of the pose.

* Okay, maybe not "Life Drawing," but finding naked people? Sure.
* cough cough

These were 20 minutes

30 and 15, respectively

John's Week One Sketches

I've been in Bournemouth for a whole week now, so I believe a nice sketch post is in order. My Little Moleskine* is getting good use! People from the seaside, people from McDonald's, people from the bus, and some other exchange students from Paris who are in the Animation Programme as well. The course has been going great so far, and there is life drawing every week, so there will be some naked people in the future!

* My Little Pony for the Artist.

Emma Rochon

Hello everyone! I've made it to Florence alive and tired. It's 8pm here and I've been awake too long but I have to stay up a little longer so that jet lag doesn't eat my brain. So far I can tell you about the amazing innovation of the aeroplane. I consider myself an expert now considering I've been on three in the past 24 hours. Unfortunatley my luggage was lost in the process and I patiently await its arrival because I would like clothes and shampoo :___:..... I'm not sure how they're going to let me know when it gets here since I couldn't leave them a contact number and left the school address as the delivery address. On the bright side, I live like two blocks away from the Duomo in a crazy little fourth floor appartment. it's very cozy.

But I'm here in Florence with Noel and one of our other roommates, David, who's really cool (and goes to normal school!!). Orientation starts tomorrow and if they try to make me play ridiculous character building touchy feely games I'm gonna put a hole through the wall!

To Study Abroad Students (spring 09)

Congratulations on everyone going abroad next semester!

Hopefully while you are abroad you will have time to post some work (in progress work/finals/sketches/photos/thoughts/etc). You don't have to write essays, just maybe an image, some comments, and your name. You could even email me your images if you don't have time/don't feel like posting. (asuvarnasuddhi@mica.edu/ arisuvar@gmail.com)

This we'll have something to show for our semester away from MICA and Rebekah de Wit could show this blog off to future study abroad students.

So anyone able to participate, thank you! And congratulations again to everyone!