that face

it came back again, today. a million projects, not enough days in the year, not enough chai tea, and still enough enthusiasm to fill an entire gas tank - this vehicle runs on curiosity, compliments, good friends, and wanderlust.

seq17_sh03

seq17 sh03 from Christopher Magee on Vimeo.

seq05_sh04

seq05 sh04o from Christopher Magee on Vimeo.

Frederic Back

Frederic Back died on Christmas Eve. thank you for your films, great animator. You picked a notable day for your exit.

Frederic Back's website.

seq01_sh01 revised

seq01 sh01 ogre pushed onto beach - keys from Christopher Magee on Vimeo.

independent animation.

chris robinson compiled this interesting list of responses to his question of how independent animators manage to make their films.

depressing? inspiring? both?

sometimes.

at the end of the day.
it was a peaceful afternoon of ogre work.
got seq05_sh05's keys and breakdowns done.
the ogre just as the mermaid leaps out of the water
right in front of him.

and ellen had a bunch of water shots on her flash drive.

so, inching forward.

want to get all the pencil tests done before december 31st.
then it's time to move on to waves and clouds and water.
we're close enough to be impatient.

people doing kickstarter to get their films funded.
don't know what to feel about that.

do painters do that?
does andy goldsworthy do that?
would he, if he needed to?

but kickstarter would require the same thing
that doing a band would:
people would have to be attracted to what you were doing
and want to participate.
lots of them.

you have to have something to offer
if you're going to take up someone's time,
a part of their life.

action and reaction
yin and yang
what goes around comes around.

lots of tea today
the usual thursday sandwich

but at the end of the day
with a head full of impressions
tomorrow is uncertain
and when the sun comes up
you reap what you sow.

I can't wait.

cold today.

today was thursday and that was fine except that chris didn't turn on the heat so it was really cold working on backgrounds and ellen suffered through with a layered approach.

these will be fondly remembered as the "good ol' days" of heat deprivation, inclined wood floors, sandwiches from jay's deli, and the hope that someday, yes someday, the film would be finished.

someday not too far off.

seq01_sh07

ogre realizes he can't go back to where he came from.


seq01 sh07 ogre leaves beach from Christopher Magee on Vimeo.

thanksgiving break

...and not a moment too soon!

it's already late tonight, but I couldn't help but spend a little time on transferring the ogre mermaid shot list over to google docs to make it accessible to the crew to update on their own.

looking forward to time devoted to the film over the next few days.

note: google doc shot list updated and ready for updates!

coloring on a friday after class

ogre mermaid interns: a coloring session after 2d computer animation class at the end of the week...worn-out and sleep-deprived but still game for a bit of independent filmmaking...

evan with ogre

meghan wrestling with the chalk pastel brush

nishant at the wheel

grant, ecstatic about the desktop glow

garion on his way back to the ogre

mark, fine-tuning ogre skin shading

garion & mark, zip lurking in background

color run

seq14_sh05 from Christopher Magee on Vimeo.

recent backgrounds from ellen

here are several backgrounds recently colored by ellen...

today in ogremermaid land

we sketched first, then ate sandwiches, and then came back to work.

and ross bollinger dropped in to say hi.
he's an animator just flew into town, with a great sense of timing and also sense of the funny.

we'll be enjoying a spirited debate over the future of pixar in an upcoming get-together, I am sure.

here's his work:

http://www.rossbollinger.com/

check it out!

run cycle

ogre running towards
a painful realization.

don't worry kids, it's all part of the script.

the air we need.

in color.

it's been a constant battle with school behaving like an especially high-maintenance mistress this semester to get any time on ogre these past several weeks, but heck - here are some colored stills, as we inch our way forward!

in production

two, new ellen backgrounds and one ogre standing forlornly on the beach...

another round of sand

I FINALLY finished the first sand shot. Just two more to go!

 

On the last few frames

Taking a break to listen to Ellen and Chris chat about backgrounds. Colorful backgrounds are far more exciting than a month of sand, lemme tell ya what. After a short break, I'll go back to the last two shots. It should be easier, now that I have the hang of it.

welcome, new intern heads!

...Mark, Evan, Nishant, Meghan, Grant, and Garion!

We meet again on Friday after 2D Computer Animation. Have your revised sample files and shots from last week ready (if you don't have the whole shot complete, then just show what you have), so we can discuss texture and color and address any questions that might be floating around.

see you then!

Chris

greetings from the windy city!

I am taking over this blog, one last time! I wanted to wave hi from beautiful Lake Michigan and Chi-Town.  I hope the Ogre-ing is going well and hoping to see an updated animatic soon!  

Take care, guys!

Eric Nielsen

Head of Motion Heads Alumni Association (MHAA)

sand, sand, sand...

ogre turns to sand from Christopher Magee on Vimeo.

janelle's ongoing conversation with grains of sand...

by gum it's october 3rd already...where is this year going to?

ellen's background machine.

wow, a post from janelle, that hasn't happened in a looooong time. : D 

keep 'em coming.

so, not to be outdone, here are my photos from the same session - back in the studio after a bit of a hiatus, a solid afternoon of image-making from all three mo'headers, although as janelle says, ellen has no equal for sitting down and getting on task and staying on task through post-lunch food comas, computer malfunction, and natural distasters.

sand animation...in pencil - kinda pointillistic. but don't worry, there's an animation end in sight...

tune in next week's thrilling episode: "You, Too, Can Draw Little Pencil Specks for Two Weeks Straight!"

janelle with headgear.

ellen likes her grapes.

ogre on the floor, with cell phone guy.

animation perspective.

time for maui cookies.

self portrait with big green leaf.

tools: pencil sharpener, hourglass, water.

we're back! or chris is, anyway.

Chris was in Ottawa for the animation festival last week, so we missed a session. I missed two. Shhh, don't tell anyone...

Out of the three of us, Ellen works the longest without naps or cookie breaks. She's a background-drawing machine!

I'm sure Chris didn't mean to look this menacing, but it made me draw faster, anyway.

I've been animating sand for...forever. And I will be, forever more. That probably means the next two weeks. Or so. I can't tell time anymore. All I see is saaaannnndddd....man, I should go to the beach and study that stuff. Or just go outside and play in the dirt. It's almost Halloween, so as long as I wear a dinosaur costume, no one will suspect anything. It's the most flawless plan!

Obviously, it's time for another nap.

guilty pangs of artistic guilty.

so guilty, oh, the pangs! no work done on the film since ottawa. came back, got blasted with administrative and classroom busy-ness, and caught a cold. and today, saturday, slept in a little, walked to the museum, saw a bit of the indian fête, walked back, ate an indian dinner, then futzed around, watching Raoul Servais (no waste of time, but still, you know, how's this bloody film gonna get done!).

welcome to new interns Grant, Meghan, Evan, Nishant, and Garion! we'll get crackin' this week, never fear. :  D

red in the street in ottawa.

the ogre and the mermaids

France has invaded again!

today was thursday

janelle, ellen, and I worked today on ogre. looking forward to rusty joining us. we also ate sandwiches and ate cookies. life  is good.

also passed out the new business cards, all squared-off and shiny, this time the ink won't scuff off so easily.

school's back in swing, so time has once again become scarce.

no photos, but will post the latest pencil when a window of opportunity presents itself.

 time poo bo poo fleep...

aloha to eric!

eric is heading off into the sunset - sunrise, migrating north where the love is and hopefully a career await!

toiling over sand, surf, and sun for over a year with us, we will miss his melodic mumblings while sitting by the warm glow of the monitor, his perusings about Apple and all their wonder, and talk of the iPad he didn't buy.

but we realize that this adventure must take place, and in hopes of escaping the industry of food art one fine day, eric must take his chances in the frozen north and go for the gusto.

so bon courage, sir eric, and keep us in the loop with news of your adventures!



*of course you realize you've been relocated into the "alumni head" category on the "about" page.   : D

make us proud, son.