WIP : Lipsync

Yeah, Bonnie's back! Told you she was my new best friend. Now we're working on a lipsync.

Don't worry, not only the face, the whole body moves too!

But I thought this screen shot was funny.

It takes time to complete it, but I'm having fun on it.

Oh and btw, I didn't drop my side project. More coming soon!

Behind The Gate

I can finally share the title of our upcoming short : Behind The Gate.

The word "Gate" has several meanings, including the actual physical gate of the orphanage Nell's in (the name of the orphanage is right below). You'll get to know about the others soon.

Showreel - September 2014

I can finally share my collaboration with my friend Bonnie!

So here is the first version of my new 3D showreel. It's short, though it took two months to make.

I have many other ideas of animations and I still work on it.

BUT! Thanks to it, I could send mails to some studios, which is pretty cool. I was looking forward to having enough material to be sent. This + my contest video + my new portfolio is enough for now.

(The animations aren't perfect, obviously. But I'm learning everyday on making things better!)

Once again, I do not own Bonnie's rig. It's a free one made by Josh Sobel ( > his website)

Nell

A bit more about the main character of my project, with Léa. 

(Told you there was nothing better than pencil drawings!)

Nell is an orphan with big dreams. The real world always reminds her that there's no room for her. Though, she's just a little girl and authority forbids her to leave her "jail".

Make Art

"We all make choices. The hard thing is to live with them, and there ain't nobody that can help you with that."

(choose yours)

The Words

This movie touched me as it deals with art and morals. Any artist could be confronted to what Rory Jansen lives. Tomorrow, you could find an amazing story you know everyone would love, decide to publish it under your own name, well knowing that those words are not yours and get all the credits out of them. But sooner or later, the past comes back from nowhere to ruin your life, or at least your mind. In such a situation, we all know what's best to do, though some of us will choose the wrong path.

I personally am, with all of my heart and soul, against injustice. Though, I felt compassion for this character, not only because it's Bradley Cooper... again, but because I could feel the torture he was a victim of thanks to his acting skills. So let me tell you something I truly believe in :

Say what you have to say through the art you know. Do your own thing.

If you can't express yourself, let others do it for you and spread their art crediting them.

Every story is to tell. Even the story of your life, as boring as you think it is, will find a reader or a listener. No need to envy anyone's talent, we all have our own. We just don't know how to use it. 

So my friends, don't let yourself drown into jealousy or injustice. Grab a pen, a brush or a guitar (or any other instrument including your voice) and let your art speak for itself.

People will appreciate and acknowledge your values and the truth in your art, trust me.

Introducing Nell

Let me introduce you to a new friend (yeah another one), a 2D one this time : Nell.

(everything is much better pencil drawn though... You'll get to see it in my next posts)

I created her for an upcoming project I have with my dear cousin, Léa. She's an amazing writer and she accepted to make up a scenario and we both talk about the proper storyboard and atmosphere we want for a short 2D movie. That's a great experience so far!

We currently have two characters over, and another one we need to discuss. The storyboard is still under construction, but we know where we're going!

While doing that, I still work hard on my showreel, which has some pieces of animation done. I'm so excited for it to be over actually!

More to come very soon!

Clouds & Silver Linings

Silver Linings Playbook

The title says it all.

Why do I review this movie when it's been out for two years now. Because I watched it again last Friday night, and I can't help but think that my life is just like Pat Solitano's life.

This guy... is Bradley Cooper. Okay. But this guy... is sweet, passionate, sincere. He feels things that others can't (or just don't want to). Society calls him crazy, even ill. But all he wants to do is feel alive and think positive when the world around him pushes him down and doesn't see who he really is. He is not crazy! He is more human than most of his relatives and friends. 
This guy is different. This guy is real.

"The world will break your heart ten ways to Sunday, that's guaranteed. And I can't begin to explain that, or the craziness inside myself."

Why try to explain who we are? Who really wants to know anyway? Those who do will be patient, stick with you, and see what's best in you. No need to try to be who we're not. If people call you crazy, let them say. Just know who you are, be proud of yourself, and happiness will come to you naturally. Being different is a gift. That's what I think.

"Once you get in the right frame of mind, I think anything's possible. I think we get, we so often get caught in this state of negativity and it's a...it's a poison like nothing else."

I work everyday on getting deeper and deeper in the right frame of mind. And yes, I do believe that anything is possible when you reach for your dreams and goals.

"I do this! Time after time after time! I do all this shit for other people! And then I wake up and I'm empty! I have nothing!"

This one's by Tiffany Maxwell (payed by Jennifer Lawrence). No comment on this one. It speaks for itself.

"I'm gonna take that as a silver development! A silver development! That's a silver lining!"

Every tough situation leads to questions, then leads to answers, and finally leads to what's best for us, as a person. Silver development is the key. For sure!

I'm going to buy the DVD as soon as I can. I know it'll be one of my best friends forever. Haha

3D Animation stills

Let me introduce you to... Bonnie!

I do not own this rig. It's a free one made by Josh Sobel ( > his website )

So, as you may know, I'm working on my showreel with my friend Bonnie. She does many things for me, like walking, running, dancing... She's so cool!

For now, we agreed that we would keep our collaboration secret, because you know, we still have to work hard on the animation, and rendering.

But! Here is a little preview of what's coming.

(yeah I know, it's blurry right here...)

Chains

"Tryna break the chains but the chains only break me"

I'm not used to doing this, though I always wanted to. Some make fan arts of animated characters (not that I'll never do any, I have some ideas in mind), I make fan arts of songs. Well at least, I always tried, but none of them ever deserved to be posted. Until this one.

This week, one of my favorite artists (Nick Jonas) released the first single off his second solo album. It's called "Chains". And like many other songs, this one came on point to help me deal with my own life.

(Other examples? "A Little Bit Longer" by the Jonas Brothers, "Guilty" by Omarion, "Beautiful Times" by Owl City, "FU" by Miley Cyrus... And the list can grow much longer!)

It really inspired me, and still does.

This song is about realizing that chains prevent us from living our life and dreams like we always wanted to. It can be a person, an event, a word... it can be anything. We all have chains in our lives, in our hearts. Some deal with them better than others. Some keep them silent not to hurt anyone. Some ask for help. Some just put them aside and move forward. How hard is the last option! Even harder to break them for good.

I'm not going to talk about myself here, or at least not right now. But there's one thing I have to say. I think everyone has the right to live and be happy, no matter what people say or even think. Life is hard enough not to let anyone waste it. Dreams must become true, and people must understand it. We won't always succeed, but it's worth trying.

Animation posing

I currently am working on a new showreel.

What does it take to make a good showreel? Good posing! 

Which includes good lines of action to make a character look more dynamic.

Once you understand it, you still have to practice to get better.

Once you can draw it, you can animate it.

Of course it's not a part of the showreel, but that's a great training actually.