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More ideas for some fun inspiration
This should not be all about animation and filmmaking. What about telling our stories through art? We can create some fantastic images - especially when we put our heart and soul into a story (or song, poem, glimpse of a thought, etc.,) as we put it together, apply effects and just the right shaders, enhanced with some painstakingly critcal post work... and get them shown to the whole world!
Perhaps take one or more images that we're really proud of and put a favorite song into it and post it on YouTube!
Maybe take a bunch of images and design a flow of them - either one at a time, several on one page, two - side-by-side, and add some text to help tell the tale. Add some sound and song... launch it!
We should try and put a bunch of cool stuff together for a consumer-made Carrara Promo Reel!
Did someone say "consumer-made Carrara Promo Reel"??? sounds cool!
Something like that. I am not very good with dates. The ones with you were always the progressive ones.
A few posts ago I recommended the book "How to shoot video that doesn't suck." This is a very good book about making camera shots. Same as script writing, you cannot figure this out yourself. There are many things you do not realize.
Sounds good. So one day you have your own project at YouTube? Or is that not your goal? Believe me, this is a lot of fun to do.
YouTube channel on list as well as creating a website Wilson Graphic Design for myself relating to all my graphic abilities 3D, 2D, Animation, DTP, custom logos, fonts, forms, buisness cards, flyers all of which play their own roles in any thing needed by any buisness or individual needing nearly anything... Also custom web page design.
Durn ducks... you get them in a row... if you don't keep an eye on them they tend to wander off. Here ducky ducky. :)
That is very good. Did not expect that.
Carrara is an amazing tool but only a few are going beyond the playing level. Even the experts, many much better as I am, are not doing the things with Carrara then can be done. There are several animation channels on YouTube with over 1 million subscribers. Almost all in 2D and not very good. Carrara can do much better.
+1
Yeah, wgdjohn! Go for it! Most impressive plan layout!
Yeah Pjotter, I think that the biggest part of Carrara's magic is how it can cater to so many need of so many interests - not just using purchased content! I actually chose Carrara because I really rely heavily on purchased content, and that it magically lets me work with it within its immense realm of tools. But I've met so many people here that never ever use purchased content which, at first, really made me ponder. Marketplace content is so cool, why not use it?
The answer to such pondering becomes very clear once we start seeing what other folks can do in this magical environment!
Agree too many 2D animations are not that great. I feel very lucky to have started out on the Amiga and chose to learn from the masters... see Amiga - Disney Animation Studio (1990) a program I bought in the early 90s the program only lasted a few years but I still have it... while the program came with many very good examples the heart/meat of it was in the manual where many animation "must knows" are to be found. These also apply to 3D animation which Carrara excells at. For good cartoons with a storyline see ES Productions - Animations compilation by Eric Schwartz which incorporate Disney/Warner Brothers/Hanna Barbarra cartoon animation styles. Eric's hopes were to be hired by Disney, I heard. I am lucky to have met him around 2000 He was a vendor at an Amiga Convention along with the Gateway Computer Club. I ran/run the User Help SIG. While the PC could only do 256 colors the Amiga was capable of 262,144 (18) bit color with it's first computer introduced in 1984/5, before my computer and graphics learning.
Aaack! Seems I've come down with the Babble-Bug. Wonder where I caught it. :) You're a silly willy... you don't know? Get back OT! Okay... okaaay.
Pjotter, Yes I have a lot of irons in the fire so it seems. What helps is that the only things that lay ahead are learning character animation in Carrara, how to, then move on a story and back to animation... oh and finishing learning to model properly and well in Carrara.
Important things that make a story, video, film come alive:
SFX, sound effects for main action or background. [crickets chirp, birds chirp, a dog is barking, thunder booms/cracks, footsteps, running footsteps, loud heavy footsteps... for a dragon or larger creature - a dragon - elephant - org, crashes, the creak of a door or opening of a chest]... the list goes on and on. Note that with sound editing software you can modify many sound creating entirely different SFX.
SoundTracks... yes more than one. [a main theme track, one for happy scenes, one to add impending danger, one for an action scene, another for the end of the story... perhaps a variation of the main theme or an entirely different one] I'm sure I've left out one if not a lot more. These will add to the tone to the scene and accentuate it... give it life/feeling.
VFX, Carrara handles a lot but not all. Everyone needs at least one very good paint program. It's best to have other specialty software.
Gotta go... gettin' late... places to go... things to say.
Relying on purchased content is fine as long as you don't simply use it as is... too often I've seen a video and see the same "off the shelf" content used that much of the time I either have or have seen before. Your 2 characters I can't say that about... you have done a good job in making them your own.
Hadn't seen these. Very enjoyable. Thanks.
Here is one of several really cool videos regarding performing that sort of Hand-Drawn animation very quickly using Howler. This one is using 'Drop Magenta' to make it simple to fill the outline drawing even with a background already in the scene. Then he uses the Exposure Sheet function (which has been beefed up since this video was made) to use those few frames to animate his character over the specified amount of time. This one is performed and narrated by the Developer Guru of Dogwaffle himself, Dan Ritchie!
Earlier in that playlist are some tutorials/demonstrations on using Spitesheets as well. Howler rocks for animators!
This one demonstrates new additions to the Light Table (Onion Skin) feature, which allows us to see previous and/or future frames in an animation
Trailer - Animation with Dogwaffle
Wow! My book for a penny finally arrived - just in time to get a good dose of reading in before the course begins.
Before the first of six books begins, he introduces the reader to the book's layout, which is six separate 'books' within the one, designed to work as a resource for quick reminders or ideas for those whom are already adept at writing creatively, yet laid out in the proper order for folks like me, whom need more of an overall 'class' on the entire subject - writing, formatting, finalizing, presenting and selling screenplays successfully.
I'm only a few pages in and am already learning some valuable stuff right off the bat!
Not only that, but it's really quite entertaining to read with his really good style of writing - it captures our attention which makes the reading very easy - even for someone like me who can easily fall asleep reading! He's teaching how we need to captivate our audience (folks we want to sell our art to) right from the start - and he's following that advice with this book!
He's also using many examples of movies to help drive the various points home, which is very helpful, even though he's very good at making the point without them. The examples are very helpful though.
Anyone wanting to learn how to write captivating screenplays (which need to be written quite a bit differently than, say, novels or plays) I strongly recommend this book!
Thanks again, Pjotter!
You're welcome. I knew you only needed a little push. Now you cannot be stopped anymore. You are launched.
Most think knowing Carrara is enough. You can make animation, but that is it. If you want to make catchy animation, you need more. You need the info from experts. There is so much behind the scene info. If you start reading books, you will be amazed how much you do not know. If you cannot add tension / emotion in a video, a non animator will not watch it again because it is boring. Believe me, a walking character only is boring for a non animator. If you want to put music on your video, you need books for that. I have dozens of books about animation, script writing, soundtracks, etc. Every books tells me something I didn't know. I am also writing and creating music. Same here, you need books if you want to make something good.
You need three things: a basic idea, motivation and knowledge (books and YouTube videos).
I remember seeing a charming character animation in the early days of computer animation, and everyone was asking the guy who did it where the button was to add that character and appeal. He replied that it was 20 years of doing traditional animation that did it, it is something that you cannot get the tools to do for themselves!
I do not agree. If he can do it, you can do it. Instead of figuring out things yourself for 20 years, you can buy books and learn it yourself in a much shorter period. That is why there are books. They are for learning, so not everybody has to reinvent the wheel again.
20 years? So he didn't have Carrara. With Carrara everything is a lot easier. He did it with much more simpel software. And in those days there where not many books about doing this.
Walt Disney company created everything by hand drawing each frame and layovers.
Thinking it cannot be done, because of .............. is a very good excuse of not doing it. Dartanbeck is developing something, I have done it, other are doing it, so it is possible. It is not perfect what I create, but it is a start. And it will be better if we keep trying. You have learned Carrara, so you can learn starting a project.
Most have excuses for not doing something. `Too busy, too complicated, you have to be an expert, too hot now, etc.' There is always an excuse of not doing something.
You only need the motivation to create something. If that is available, the next step is what. If the idea is not perfect, start it and one day something better pops up.
The thread was for Dartanbeck, but I was also hoping others would be motivated. But that does not seem to happen unfortunately. A project does not have to be commercial. It can be for fun. Build a complete (fantasy) world on YouTube. It is free. Believe me, this is fun once you get started. This is better then doing a bit of that and a bit of this. Create one time renders, or other one time things.
This thread has inspired more than just Dart I am currently working on getting the mechanics down in carrara and then i will create an animation using a subject I am very familiar with (a military parade) as a start and test then we will see where it takes me.
My daughter is going through college currently and in the path she has set for here self she is taking concept art and then animation to ensure that she has the skills and knowledge to do the job and not just how to use the software. Currently she is enrolled in the same script writing course as Dart at futurelearn and we had found at a used book sale the same book Dart just got as well as others on the topic. She has also signed up for the fiction writing course at futurelearn as it gets into character development, so this thread has inspired more than just Dart, he is just more vocal about it.
Thank you for starting it.
Sorry, but you have misunderstood my meaning, and I agree with what you have said. What I was meaning is that the tools (in this case Carrara) will enable the mechanics of the animation, but it is the person who is doing the animation who puts the life, the character and the charm into it. There is no magic button to press which says "Make this appealing". And as you say, it is the story and the context which will really matter. If a charatcer runs across the screen, that may only be of interest to other animators. But if we know that he is running across the screen to get to and rescue his lady love who is being threatened by a hideous monster, and if prior scenes have made us care about those characters, then it becomes an exciting and involving scene that everyone can enjoy. I absolutely agree that with motivation and learning that you can achieve amazing things!
Good to hear this. Let your mind wander around. You could focus on a specific character in the parade. He is not so clever / clumsy. He does not want to be in the armee. Add a dance routine. Very easy with duplicator. Or make a parade contest. Who has the most original performance. Also duplicator. Do it with creatures instead of humans.
Also good to hear, because I thought you meant it takes many years before you can create anything yourself. And these days it is a lot easier. Carrara, Daz content, BVH, YouTube, books.
For the ones who also want to start a project, do a bit the same as Dartanbeck. One YouTube channel for the finished videos and one `The making of.......` for us, the ones on the Carrara forum and other animators. Post your test versions and ask for comments / advice / suggestions. Once again, you need books (or decent YouTube How to videos) if you want to impress non-animators. Search for instance for "how to build plot." Or do a search for this at Google.
At first I didn't want to do the separate channel. But after some (and not for very long at all) time, it occured to me that Pjotter is absolutely right about this.
Adding my finished works to my current channel would certainly make that channel more lively, but I really want my movies to have a nice, neat presentation without all of the clutter that I currently have up there.
I can still take parts of those finished works, do commentaries, tutorials and/or just promotional fun videos for my current channel, thus making it more lively.
Yeah, when I first read Phil's comment above (the first one), I felt that the meaning was more like: There is no such thing as a "Make it all work - automatically" button. One must perservere through using one's own mind - practice, patience, and knowledge. But one could also add: imagination, structure, and perserverence.
Carrara is an amazing tool - but it's just that: a tool. Tools are made to simplify operations, which require an operator of some sort. In this case, an artist.
So I've been getting some great inspirations just through living each day, observing... sure. But even more, let my experience and muscle-memory take over for most of the stone work, and in the meantime I let my daydreams drift, enhanced with the selected playlist my micro-laptop plays through my Dewalt construction worker sound system.
My singer lets me come over an do stonework or any other kinds of landscaping to help fund my efforts. I don't get paid much, but it helps pay the bills and grab some extra fun food, like ice cream and taco fixings, etc.,
After doing stone work, landscaping, heavy equipment operations, water works (ponds, waterfalls, babbling brooks, song bird attracting drip features, etc.,) for over thirty years, I have a certain index of methods that my body can use to create stuff much more efficiently than when one is learning the rope over the first five-plus years of practice. The first few times is the worst... just don't know quite which stone to use next... how to lay out the shapes efficiently and cut them where it's needed, etc., Even just moving the beasts around gets much easier after a decade or two - even though my skeleton hurts now... persistently! LOL
So here's me at my singer's house. Most of the stone work was done by me and some of the smaller features were made by him - which taught him that he doesn't really want to do that sort of thing.
In the Post Your Renders thread, I was showing my new Dartan character figure I'm building using V4's Male Morphs (made because M4 was still a long ways away). He's not finished yet, but when super-imposed next to my photo, we can see that he's pretty close - since he's supposed to be much younger and somewhat stylized with larger eyes and a more heroic body shape.
More stone work.
I will eventually be replacing everything that's currently mulched into these stone, dry river bed features. These picture don't really do it justice, and the place is really large, making large, heavy stones look small.
I don't have any images of what I'm working on now - but today I went out and picked about two tons of stone, loaded it all by hand in a few trips in my little Windstar, and installed them. So that 4,000 pounds had to be lifted twice minimum.
Writing music is also very inspirational. I like to create my own originals, starting with the bass guitar and a wordless gibberish making up the melody of how I want the vocals to be.
After I know the song on bass and vocals, I sit down behind my drums (not the ones in the picture - those are my singer's studio kit) and record the drums for the whole song over three or more tracks on the mixing board (Bass, Snare, Overhead - often four more, one for each Tom), then record the bass guitar on it's track.
On my way home, every time, I get treated to sights like this. Such a magical environment I live in. I live only one block away from Lake Michigan. I couldn't really see the camera screen when I took these, which is why I caught such a small view of the lake, being knelt down holding it down by the road.
Inspiration through serenity!
Great stonework Dart, and thanks for the glimpse into your world! If I am am ever travelling near to Chicago, I'll give you a shout!
Thanks Dart it is good to see the work you do.
Good Physical labor does give the mind a chance to wonder and let the creative juices flow, the same for exercising It just wonders off into where it wants to go. Wether that is working on a problem, thinking out a script or scene issue or what have you.
I was just thinking... why learn the program Carrara in this case first. There is nothing I see wrong with diving deep into the story concept... perhaps even write a book or short story(s) first? I can see nothing wrong with that approach or even doing both at the same time. Hmm.... learning writing... start writing, before during and after... and in-between it's playtime... time to learn Carrara so you can add further life to your story/script. Next step a video... perhaps even an Animation Short. Who knows might even be headed to a feature film coming to a theatre near you.
Many still Art be it in a museum, art gallery, nearly anywhere... you might see something or people that inspire an idea for a story. I've noticed renders for the Carrara Challenges and other places that makes one ask questions that would lead to full story. There are a some very good examples in Carrara Challenge #27: “Carrara 9, Give us a Sign” Voting thread that in themselves tell a story. BTW: Voting ends at midnight tonight.
I'll use PhilW's "I have a Carrara 9 shaped hole in my life" as an example... the still render indicates motion.
This motion could be animated [cut to somewhere... a mouse might run across the floor and camera pans back where the character is even further along or finished her carving] she finishes for the day.... puts away here tools and removes apron and hangs it up on a nail in the shed/shop...this could be one corner of a large shop with many other wood carvers working away...where does she go... does she have a family or live alone or with a roommate... was that scene here day job or a hobby, either way would work... so she exits the shed, hops into her car or walks to the main house... if she gets into her car perhaps she stops somewhere on the way home...[cut to car pulling up to a market or somewhere else]. Well you get the idea.
Hey wait... let's expand her work on carving the block out... the chisel slips and cuts out a part of the lettering that she wanted... frustrated she throws down her tools, picks up the block and tosses it... [cut to a big pile of ruined blocks... shows the block landing atop the pile] [camera pans back where she is placing an untouched block on the worktable and she starts all over again]. If you want more of this story idea you will have to twist Phil's arm. :)
(I wish we could delete inadvertent posts...)
I like the idea of a big pile of blocks which have gone wrong - could make a nice little short animation with that idea! But I am already working on one as part of my forthcoming Animation for Carrara training, so it will have to wait.
P.S. I have made a note of the idea, so that you get credited if I ever actually make it!
Cool... I had an idea which inspired an animation... thanks for the thought of crediting me... gotta go put ice on head... it's beginning to swell again. :)
Well, no promises, but if it ever does get made, I'll be sure to credit you.