Well, I went through many more interesting manga today, including Mars, which was amazing, and Love Hina, which was extremely funny.

As the new year swiftly approaches, I think it's time to consider all the great things that independent artists can do in 2003!

Hmmm... My Vaio is really starting to sound bad now. I wonder how much life it has left...

Yesterday I had my first encounter with the GTO manga. Now I guess I can see what all the fuss is about. This is a really good story. Naturally, I now want to get my hands on a few of the GTO anime on DVD.

A NEW DAY

Well, Christmas has come and gone and a new year is about to begin. So where do we go from here?

First and foremost, we're taking J4A into the new year as production continues with episode 5. The possibilities for the show seem to keep getting better all the time. Add to that, I am constantly gaining new ideas and new ways of working from the things I learn on this show. This will only lead to better quality work in the long run.

Next year will also see the creation of "World of Hearts", my next film, which I will finalize story on shortly.

It will have many facets to it, including, quite possibly, an original manga-style comic to go with it. This show will also feature a kickin' soundtrack which I hope will make some waves out there! Next year will be a big year in the entertainment industry I think. I think we will see anime and manga hit all-time highs in market penetration. We will se more of it on TV and in major retail outlets. People will be talking about it. If an anime won an Oscar...

For today though, I am going to relax and watch a few movies. I will prepare for the storm to come...

Former Fox Home Video President To Launch Anime Production Company

December 27, 2002

Pat Wyatt has left her post as president of Fox Home Video and Consumer Products, with the aim of starting up an independent production company specializing in anime, with a focus on original direct-to video properties. The company will also produce theatrical features, according to VARIETY. The name and details of the company are forthcoming. Wyatt told VARIETY her intentions are to reconnect with her family roots in Japan by "bringing eastern culture to the west." Wyatt has presided over the Home Video unit for the past five years. She joined Fox in 1995 as president of Licensing and Merchandising, and was then handed the Home Video reins in 1997, after former video president Jeff Yapp departed Fox. The company has not announced a replacement for Wyatt.

CHANGING THE WAY I WORK

Over the weekend I was at Q's place. I may have mentioned before that he got a new DLP projector and see watched some movies and played a few games on a big, and finally bright, screen. His new projector is really nice. On Saturday, Mojo (known in the Lightwave world) came over and it was time for some shopping. (after a stop at what has to be the best gumbo place in the west) Naturally the place people like us would want to be is Frys Electronics. There I started seeing the first bits of technology that will change the way I work. For a time I have been interested in two things. One is space. I have no more room on my desk. Two tower systems, large CRT monitors, an HP G85 printer/fax thing -- It's crowded in here. The other thing is interface. The "how" of my work. It should be easier. The tablet of course solved a lot of that. Well, one way to gain a lot of space, would be this:

After looking at many LCD options this one, or perhaps their 17" looked like solutions. Now these things are not cheap. It was $899 which I think is a great price, but would I get two? The 17" was $549 which is easier to stomach and still offers larger viewable area than the monitors I have, but I started thinking even further. On another aisle, I found switch boxes. I don't mean just the old, brown, large knob, clicker things. I saw streamlined, software switching, USB boxes which might let me work both systems with one monitor, one keyboard and, of course, the tablet. Now this seemed like a plan. But the switch box, a good NEC LCD and I just cleared up a lot of space. Naturally I didn't want to make a snap decision though, so then I started thinking, why do I really have two computers? Well, one machine is my internet box and one is the work box. In the past I might have even installed games or other things I wouldn't really want to risk on the work box. I also didn't want my work box accessible to hacking. These were all valid reasons and still stand, even though modern net security makes some of it less of a worry. So the question really is, do both systems really need to be full tower systems? That's when I thought of this:

The Tablet PC. If you check out the last post on this page, titled Drawing on the tablet PC, you will see that this guy is thinking what I'm thinking to some degree. Why not have my second machine be portable? Remember when I went to China and wished I had a laptop with me? This would solve many issues for me. I could still be drawing no matter where I am, and this would then be my internet system. Imagine, one nice high powered desktop system, maybe even with two LCD monitors for a dual setup. Then I can have a tablet PC which I could take anywhere. Sounds like a plan?

Later, as shopping continued the next day, we found ourselves at Guitar Center. This is one of those things that makes me realize that I really have to keep up with what's happening in the technology world. You see, for some time I had been thinking about buying an Audigy 2 from creative, with the nice breakout box giving me optical in/out for sound recording etc. When I did Chaos I has a Live card which had a digital in, but Shadowskin was finished on my Athlon system which has an Audigy 1 and no digital input method. Luckily the Audigy is a great card. Currently I record sound using a 16 Channel mixer and going to DAT. Once I have it there it must get to the computer, hopefully digitally with no loss. Seems a bit convoluted doesn't it? Well, if I hadn't stepped into Guitar Center the other day, I would be continuing that convoluted process not knowing any better. When I say better, I am talking this:

Technology is truly amazing isn't it? This thing will not only eliminate some incredible bulky pieces of equipment, it also eliminate all those convoluted steps in that recording process. This thing will be the mixer, there will be no need for DAT. I record to the hard drive inside. I can go from nothing to final mix, including using loop samples, right here on the one box. I could even burn a CD right there if I choose. This is the BOMB!

A CONTINUING LEGEND

After stopping at Guitar Center and finalizing "Changing the way I work", we stopped at the store of stores. Now I have known about this store for some time, but the first time we passed by, I avoided going in, thinking I wouldn't be able to walk out without spending a small fortune. On Ventura Blvd., strangely the name of the place escapes, but this is a store that leaves and breathes anime. It doesn't stop there though. Hong Kong action cinema, Japanese films, models, toys, games, manga... this is a dream store for me! There I found films that I have wanted to get my hands on for ages but could not easily find. Aside from landing my hands on Mamoru Oshii's Avalon and the controversial Battle Royale, I also picked up a movie which will, in my mind, live in legend.

THE LEGEND OF ZU! I remember catching a trailer for this film years ago on the internet. Being a fan of the first Zu Warriors film, I was immediately psyched. The trailer showed images which took the great things of the first film to many new and higher levels. Not being able to get my hands on it, though, I had almost forgotten it years later. Now I have it, and it was as impressive as I could have ever hoped for! It is incredibly beautiful and of extremely high quality, boasting special effects unlike any Cantonese film I have ever seen. It also features some very noteworthy stars of the genre including Samo Hung (Martial Law), Zhang Zi Yi (Crouching Tiger) and Ekin Cheng (StormRiders).

Unlike Crouching Tiger, or other Wuxia films, this story place in a true fantasy realm. This amazing world could not be shot on location or even on set. Much of it was created and masterfully so, in digital technology.

The film boasts action sequences choreographed by the famed Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix, Crouching Tiger), and once again he proves that he can open up to any new style and create amazing combat scenes. The action is intense and different from other films, even those with fight scenes designed by him, this one enhances the action with amazing magical weapons and superpowers.

This film has to be the pinnacle of all things I truly love about Hong Kong action entertainment, with the addition of elements I think are truly great in anime and video games. Most importantly, these elements were all integrated correctly! Using 3D CG provided not only by Chinese studios but also noted Lightwave houses such as Foundation Imaging and Pixel Magic, and implementing it with masterful compositing, they created a film which will raise the bar for the genre for some time to come!

THEY DON'T MAKE 'EM LIKE THEY USED TO

While at Q's place on the weekend we viewed the new DVD release of the Back to the Future trilogy. It was pure fun to revisit these films and laugh out loud as I fell into that world again. Surprisingly, in this world of digital FX, the stuff they did in those films still holds up so well today. Still, I am left to ask, what happened to movies like that? They just don't make stuff like that anymore. Not speaking just about the type of movies that they are, but the quality as well. It seems that writing of that caliber has all but disappeared in todays Hollywood machine. I've been thinking about that for some time, even before watching these. Go back and watch any of you favorites from ten or more years ago. With very few exceptions, do we really have films that good today?

I've been thinking a lot about DVDs lately. When DVD just came out, it was considered a replacement for Laserdiscs. It was also assumed that they would claim the same small market. No one ever thought it would overtake the VHS market. Things like full screen (4:3 aspect) DVDs were unheard of. As a result, DVDs were aimed at the film aficionado. The special features therein reflected that. In a directors commentary, which was more common at the time, they assumed that the viewer knew about and was into filmmaking. Other special features went into great detail about the process of making the film come to life. They went into things only film geeks would care about.

Now DVD has overtaken the VHS market and it seems DVDs have gone more mainstream. Full screen DVDs are much more prevalent. We now have commercials and previews on DVDs as well. More importantly, though, it seems as though the special features have gone mainstream as well. With the exception of the few special collectors editions, DVDs now contain special features which seem to want to appeal to a much wider market. They contain things which you would expect to see, or sometimes have seen, on E! or Entertainment Tonight. Gone are the in depth features about how some guy sanded a foam model to get just the right look. Now we see a focus on the actors, the big stars and their experience in making the movie. Commentaries now seem to include more actors rather than directors and they talk about making the film from a perspective which seems to be aimed at tabloid magazine audiences. The features about visual FX now assume the viewer knows nothing and we see a guy sitting in front of a computer trying to explain how he created something as if he is talking to a five year old. No detail. Just, "The computer then turns this into a cool looking monster!"

Well I am just back from Lord of the Rings and after seeing it, I have to say, it is true what everyone says about the Gollum character. It is, quite simply, the greatest CG character I have seen done to date. I was immensely impressed by the Dobbie character from Harry Potter, but this was yet another level up. I can't say if it was because it was modeled better, or textured better or if it was sub-surface scattering on the skin, but Gollum truly looked alive. That's not often seen in CGI characters.

While the movie was absolutely amazing, I have to say that this may mark my last trip to the theatre. I am truly sick of it. Even a early morning matinee is no longer safe. I am sick of people talking, (or worse making monkey sounds for some reason) sick of the cel phones and now even the cleaning crew can't wait for the last reel to go to black before they start piling in, talking of course. Basically, the experience is no longer enjoyable. It is certainly not worth the rising prices of tickets.

The configuration work is done! I have now setup the tablet to work in Lightwave and Modeler. The key was giving one of the pen buttons the function of the mouse middle click for Lightwave. In Modeler, it was necessary to give one of the buttons the function of the space bar. This makes it easy to switch on and off tools and change from points to polys easily while working. There is more I can do. The tablet has a row of buttons across the top that I could setup to perform any function I wish. I figure these things will have to setup as I work and learn.

It will take a bit of getting used to, as a small move of the pen can sometimes move an object pretty far. The reason I am so psyched is because the "idea" of working this way is just plain more intuitive than a mouse and keyboard in my view.

Well, I have now wrapped animation on Episode 4 of J4A and it's time to push forward. I did backup all the important stuff from this Sony computer which I think will soon fade away, but now it's still going. I am getting more used to using the tablet in other interfaces too. I talked to a couple of people who even model in Lightwave via tablet so I think I will play with that today. I need to configure the pen to have a center button equivalent.

Everyone tells me to go see Lord of th Rings NOW... They say that Gollum will amaze me. I may have to do that.

BACK IN PRINT!

I thought most worthy of posting. The Illusion of Life, the animator's bible by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston is back in print! No animator should be without this priceless reference on their desk. I never had my own copy. I first encountered this book while at Rainbow Studios. I knew then that it was a must have. I studied it well and to this day use many of the techniques learned from it. Unfortunately you couldn't actually get it back then as it was out of print. Now it's back, so I suggest you get it while the getting's good. I did!

As production goes on I tend to keep a "running tab" of what was done in adobe Premiere. as a set of new scenes are completed, they go on the timeline and I can watch it output to TV. This goes for any show I do. In most cases, since things are timed at the storyboard phase, I am looking at what will be the final edit, or very close to it. So as I did it today, I got to play around with navigating Premiere using the tablet. I'm sure you've all heard enough about the tablet by now, but this is all so new and cool to me. I could see myself using it exclusively in a very short time.

Foundation Imaging, know for visual FX on shows such as Star Trek, Babylon 5 and Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, went under a while back. I don't know if I wrote about it then , but I went to the farewell party. Well yesterday and today, they held an auction where all their equipment was sold off. I didn't go, but I heard from those who did, I missed some good stuff. Their 68" Mitsubishi Widescreen projection TV went for $700 I hear. Racks of render farm machines and PVR boards going for next to nothing. Not that I really need any of that stuff. Someone mentioned that I could have had their nice Sony NTSC reference monitors for really cheap. That I thought about, but then I would rather have flat panels for everything at this point. I want to replace both monitors with LCDS (or maybe a Cintiq ;o)) and replace my NTSC TV with a widescreen flat panel I saw at Fry's which takes S and component in. Then I could be happy for a while I think.

As bad news goes, the very computer on which I am typing sounds like it's on its last leg. The fans whine, there is odd clicking. It will be over soon. Not that I am worried. It's a 500Mhz computer which has served me well for years. Still it will be a sad day as it is my last Sony Vaio. Oh well.. times change. I will probably replace it with a shuttle SS51 2.8Ghz P4 box. Still, I hope I have some time before I have to make such a decision. Not that it will stop me from backing up everything tonight. ;o)

THE EVIDENCE IS IN!

I actually tried to use the tablet a bit in Lightwave today. I realize to really get optimum performance out of it, I would need to do a bit of configuring for the buttons on the pen. Mainly to give myself a center button equivalent. I haven't yet messed with anything outside the default configuration, but I am sure I remember seeing somewhere that you can do different configs per program. If so I may push forward with total tablet domination one day.

Right now, though, it is working magic in Aura. I am also starting to take greater advantage of what compositing can bring to a production. Sometimes it's simply better to setup 3D elements individually and get them rendered and out of the way. This makes me less of a slave to a "3D scene". I can then move elements to my desire in 2D later. Real easy!

As if the Court Jester weren't trouble enough. Is the J4A team ready to face off with this guy?

I am getting a lot more used to the WACOM tablet. I am even getting to the point where I can almost use it exclusively. I haven't tried it in Lightwave yet, though. But for most things, the concept of pen and paper feels much more intuitive than a mouse, even after years of mouse work. Navigating interfaces with the pen just feels "right". this makes me wonder how it would feel if I were to get a Cintiq.

WHEN ALL ELEMENTS COME TOGETHER

I received an email which got me thinking. Currently, I use the Intuos2 tablet for drawing, as a replacement for drawing on paper and having to scan in image. It does very well for this. Someone asked me, however, if I use it for other purposes, like 3D modeling or animation. This is something I hadn't really thought of. I have seen it done. In fact when I am drawing in Aura, I am also using the tablet to navigate the interface, work menus etc.

I have seen people use their tablet to complete replace the mouse. I suppose it could be easier overall. After all, I have likely spent more time with a pen in hand than a mouse. This is something I shall have to try.

THE COMBINATION

Sometimes it is a task to decide what will be 2D and what will be 3D. Thanks to the power of compositing though, the two can integrate seamlessly into the same scene allowing the best of both methods to play to their strengths!

What if this logo could project from her costume and become a usable shield?

That is precisely what will happen in an upcoming sequence in J4A!

I watched Lilo & Stitch today. Not that this was the first time. The DVD came out Tuesday and I think I picked it up Wednesday or so. Either way I just saw it this week... a few times.

IMAGE © Walt Disney - USA

I like the movie, but I am very impressed with the art. The use of color was fresh, seemingly innovative. It had a good "feel" to it. The character designs, being very simplistic and rounded, added to that feel. It really works. It would be interesting to study why.

Well the tablet gets put to the test. I have to say I am very pleased with how FAST things have become. Whipping a image for the place where the J4A team will face their next trial was a very good exercise. The potential for what could be done with the tablet is nothing short of amazing.

TIME TO BELIEVE!

I don't believe this! I can't for the life of me imagine how I have worked without the use of tablets for so many years. Having this thing changes everything. I can't even begin to imagine the possibilities. NO more drawing and scanning! That alone is worth the price of admission. But it's so much more powerful and yet feels so much like the real thing! I'm a convert, what can I say?

And who might this guy be? Could he spell trouble for J4A? Find out next!

THE TIME IS NOW!

Today I have entered the world of the digitizing tablet. Well, I haven't actually entered I guess since all I did was buy the thing. Still, even getting to that point was a task in and of itself. Now I've known the name WACOM since tablets existed, but I've also heard other names thrown in throughout the years, sometimes even with the word "better". I started by asking Jeremy Lang, the systems master over at Mike Young Productions, what the animators were using over there. From that point, the name "Intuos" was burned into my mind. After that, I posted to this blog and a couple of other places to get more info. Special thanks to all who replied.

Now I immediately assumed this was the type of thing that would only be found online, but a quick trip to the WACOM site proved that these things could be found at Frys Electronics and CompUSA. After a few grueling calls to those stores, (I'm sure you've all been through that before) I was on the road. (there's a funny story about that on Q's Blog)

Standing in front of these things didn't make the choice any easier, as the top three models were available at Frys. I generally don't draw all that big and I heard that the animators at Mike Young Productions were using the 6x8 tablets so I thought that would be the way to go (it was a good price after all). Lucky for me, there was some other brand's 6x8 open so I could actually hold it and feel if it was right. It also helped that independent animator Paul Fierlinger [Drawn From Memory] wrote to me earlier saying, "The 9x12 inch WACOM because the bigger, the better...", and I know he has tried many tablets before going all digital, so I trusted the experience of the master. I got the 9x12 tablet, and for some reason picked up Spriggan as well.

Now some of you may be asking, "Why not get this?":

I played with this for a bit when I was last in Japan. It is an amazing tool. But at $1,899.00 it will be some time before I travel that road. Perhaps one day...

THE TIME HAS COME!

I think it's time I got with the times and moved forward in the world of animation. What does this mean? It means it's time to invest in a drawing tablet! When I started animating it was done on paper. In 1987 when I transferred that skill to the computer, the Amiga computer no less, drawing tablets were unheard of. So I learned to draw with the mouse. From that point, although I moved into 3D and other skillsets, my 2D drawing continued to be done strictly by the mouse, even to this very day. I've heard of many artists and some studios making the transition completely to the drawing tablet. No more drawing and scanning, and I'm sure no one else still does it with the mouse. So I'm thinking it's time to move on. I am currently thinking WACOM, but I figure all you animators out there have more experience with this than I do. Any recommendations?

THE EVIL COURT JESTER

One of the many new villains which have arrived to plague the J4A team.

Well, with the holiday weekend out of the way, it's time to get down to business! The business of hardcore production. Expect a storm of updates, including images and animations over the next few weeks as J4A continues. Where does it all begin? With the models. New villains are arriving to plague our J4A team so be on the lookout for them first. As we continue on, keep an eye out for new techniques and a bit more in-depth reporting of some of the "how" behind the work being done on this ground-breaking new show.

In the meantime, here's a little something for the animators out there to ponder. An article about 2D and 3D animation from Metropolis Magazine.