Author: queentracey1

Lights, Camera, ACTION! Today’s challenge was to finally shoot the animation, after 5 days of planning and set preparation. All told, I ended up shooting a little over 100 still images for my animation. Here is one sequence that I shot:

For tomorrow’s challenge, it’s time to put everything together to create your animation! Since I use a Mac, I will be putting my images together using iMovie. There are, however, other programs that will work just as well. MS Powerpoint would work–it’ll just take you a little longer, since you’ll have to insert your images individually onto slides. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to see how it all comes together!

‘Til tomorrow…happy explorations!

Sometimes life is about the simple pleasures. Sometimes it’s just your perspective that separates the good and the bad days. When your simple pleasures come along, relish them before moving on. This morning I encountered a few of them and thought I’d share some of my favorite simple pleasures.

Flowers and plants. I love my plants. I try to take good care of them but if they die or I have to move and leave them behind, I tend to get emotional.

The perfect song at the right moment. When your iPod is on shuffle and all of a sudden the perfect song comes on at just the right moment.

Mornings. I love mornings. Whether it’s the birds singing and the sunshine or the smell of early morning when it’s still a bit chilly and everything is covered with dew or frost.

My leather jacket. It’s perfectly worn and fits…

So, earlier today, I wandered into the kitchen to make some lunch.  A cloudy day and chilly to start so I decided on a cup of tea.  As I walked toward the stove past the little table where I keep herbs, cut flowers and things like that, I glanced at a vase of old daffodils.

I could not help but think, “I’ve got to throw these things away before the petals fall all over the floor!”  Then I’d have to vacuum … though I already needed to vacuum.  I spritzed a few stems with water.  Maybe a little moisture would help.  Instead, a petal drifted free of its stem and just managed to land on the table.

I turned away with a curmudgeonly sigh.  I put the kettle on to boil.  While waiting for it to whistle, I felt a bit of warmth on the back of my neck.  Perhaps…

Today’s challenge was quick–but necessary to the animation process! Scavenging around the house, I found my lighting and supports (big box, tissue box) for my backdrop and camera. Here is my resulting stage, set and ready for production:

Tomorrow begins the busy work! For tomorrow’s challenge, take the series of still images for your stop animation.

A FEW TIPS:

1. Remember to make small movements/changes to your characters and set in between camera shots, in order to make the resulting animation more smooth.

2. Make sure your digital camera is firmly attached to it’s tripod (or makeshift stand). Using masking tape can be pretty helpful.

3. Use at least 2 light sources in order to eliminate shadows in your animation.

‘Til tomorrow…happy explorations!

I can’t believe it’s already the fourth day of this month’s challenge! As my animation set continues to move closer to being ready for LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION, I am becoming increasingly excited to see the final results!

For today’s challenge, I focused on creating the flower for my animation. Just as I did when I created my flying character, I took short walk to gather supplies. I then began building the flower, keeping in mind my storyboard and the movement that the flower would be making in my animation.  Here is the result of today’s explorations:

For tomorrow’s challenge, add all finished touches to your stage. This includes any additional props that you will need for your animation, as well as your lighting and tripod (or alternative camera support). When setting up your lighting, use at least two light sources to diffuse your light in order to avoid shadows (unless…

After successfully creating my main character yesterday, I focused today’s artful explorations on the storyboard, or visual script, for my story. The story almost seemed to write itself, as I thought about my little flying character and his interests/motives/actions. In line with my suggestions for the storyboard, I decided to limit my board to 6 frames. I kept the sketches relatively simple and quick. (The entire 6 frames took me approximately 10 minutes to draw). Here is my resulting storyboard:

For tomorrow’s challenge, work on the background/stage for your animation. Be sure to include something for a backdrop and base/floor. Using your storyboard and main character for inspiration, create a background that will not distract from your storyline or subjects, but will rather enhance everything.

‘Til tomorrow..happy explorations!