Nowdays..

I’m soooo  anxious because we have only 5 months left, but I think it’s going to be good.  I’ve already started working on one of the characters for a modeling assigment . For 3d Design class we started working on character model sheet for our next modeling assignment. I just developed character concepts for my demo reels and model sheets. Here is my concept of the character modeling what I had so far..

Her name is Hwang Jin-Yi, a woman of erotic style and flamboyant intelligence, was excellent at writing poems and drawing and she ridiculed the patriarchal society in which she lived.
Any actress would want to play Hwang Jin-Yi — the famous gisaeng is one of the most colorful characters in Korean history. Many movies, dramas and novels have dealt with the life of Hwang Jin-Yi. Directors have sought out only the most beautiful actresses to play the role.

There is no arguing that Song Hye Kyo is loved by many fans around the world, and she takes a huge leap in her career to play a femme fatale that departs greatly from her previous image. Having clearly come into her own as an actress, she successfully captures the character in her inimitable style. Beyond Song Hye Kyo’s impeccable beauty, the film is accentuated by a variety of beautiful Joseon era costumes.

Last Wednesday..

we had a field trip to industry night instead of our 3D design course.  Only 9-10 students from the graduating class had really presented their materials.  It was a good experience to check out how industry night worked but it was a little disappointing at the same time.  The reason I say this is firstly, I’m a bit worried if I can get my demo reel finished in time and secondly I feel the majority of the work could have used some more polishing.  I hope I can learn from my trip to industry night and create something that I will be proud of. And I really hope our industry night won’t be as small.

Considering we have two classes that are finishing at the same time I believe we’ll have a good result amount of reels to show any industry employers and we also get a lot more industry employers coming to our industry night.

Currently I’m working on a side project. I’m modeling a car. This isn’t a project we were assigned but I’m feeling a bit burnt out and need to take a break from my current assignments.  I think this will energize me and I will be able to focus on my work more.

  – BCIT downtown campuse

  I’m still having a problem with my demo reel idea.. One of the instructors didn’t like my idea and another instructor thinks it’s great. I have no idea which advice I should follow.  The instructor who likes my idea has a lot of different concepts to give to me.  I’m running out of time so I’m getting anxious.  I think the best way for me to get past this problem is to just take a week off and relax (since I work so hard normally  J). 

  The graduating class is having their industry night on Wednesday, and I’m planning to go down and check it out.  Those guys are great and inspirational.  I hope by the end of the week I’ll have my idea figured out.  I think the best thing I need to focus on is to really stop being pulled all over the place by other people’s ideas and really do something I know I will enjoy since it will probably the only time in the near future I will be able to do something fun.

My spring vacation is gone.. This vacation was really good for my rest and recharging for powerful energy. I just enjoyed playing golf and tennis with my buddies.. But I have to decide what I am going to do for my demo reel during the time..

I have talked about my demo reel ideas with texture class instructor.  I want to put my environment  which I’m already done without texture and lighting in demo reel, and one female character which is gonna be really pretty  with little animation such as walking. She gave me little idea with my environment and character.

This is..

My environment is based on Hagia Sophia, which is Muslim Temple. So, my character walks inside there, wearing Muslim scarf. When she comes out she throws away her scarf. It means she gets freedom from restrict, such as burning her bra. I have no idea about this.. it makes sense but…… I should concert about it more carefully…

Also, Im going to create a  such cool and nice car such as Audi R8.. I’ve already decided which car I will model. However one of my classmates already modeled that car. ;(

I really need to try and find some inspiration for my demo..

In my Career Preparation class, it was my presentation of research for the game company which I really want to apply to..Radical Entertainment ! 

I know I’m not enough to get into there, but my unique creativity, self-motivated, outgoing personality and a recent certificate from the BCIT Digital Animation program, make me a strong candidate for the position of a Generalist CG artist.  I am an expert 3D modeler and graphic designer.

Art is part of my life and I continue to improve my work with my personal projects.  Professionals in every field, especially designers, must possess the flexibility and imagination to stay ahead of the trends. The published Bio in this blog elaborates on the details of my skills and experience.  My reel shows how I have turned ideas into reality.

Nowadays I feel so down and stressed due to loads of work, assignments, and so on. Until now, I thought when it comes to health, there are only two factors to consider: physical and emotional. However, I recently learned that there are five more factors I have to take care of as well.

They are spiritual, intellectual, occupational, social, and environmental. I haven’t paid any attention to these areas so far. Spiritual, I need to read the Bible everyday. Intellectually, I need to read more books. Occupationally, well, this year I am doing ok. Socially, I need to join or make an internal circle. Environmentally, I need to go out and enjoy nature more often with my family.

1) Do NOT try to make a one-size fits all demo reel. This works in small companies, but for the main studios it may hurt your chances more than anything else. Make your demo reel specific to the position and studio for which you are applying. If you’re applying as an animator to a big animation studio where departments are very specialized, then everything on the reel should say only “animation.” It should not say “texturing” or “lighting” or “modeling.”

2) You should NOT include everything you’ve worked on throughout the years. Keep it short. If you’ve been working in the industry for, let’s say, 10 or 20 years, and you include every single shot you’ve animated, your demo reel will not be a reel anymore, it’ll be a feature film that recruiters/supervisors will have to sit through. So keep the reel under a minute or two, even if that means not using all of it. Chances are that people, who are reviewing your reel, are looking at another hundred, as well. So, the easier you can make it for them, the better. You don’t want to bore them. Instead, they should see your strongest work (even if it’s only 30 seconds). Leave them wanting to see more.

3) Make the reel original on the inside, NOT on the outside. Human resources, along with actual animators, will be looking at your reel, and they don’t care about how fancy the outside package looks or what you include along with the reel and resume. From key chains to toys, I’ve seen people include all kinds of things with their reels that do not relate to their animation skills. Put all of your originality into the actual animation content. Make it fun and original for people to watch, but don’t overdo it.

4) Do NOT include stuff that is too distracting, whether it’s music or fancy titles. If you have a reel with a dialogue animation test, and the music is too loud for people to hear the line the character is saying, or you have this mega-loud techno music going on throughout the whole thing, it will conflict with the purpose of the reel, which is to show your animation skills as clearly and simply as you can. Everything else should be secondary.

5) Do NOT include stuff that other people have animated. Be very clear and honest about what you have done. The industry is very small, people go from company to company and they are very familiar with other people’s work. Always include a credit list of the shots on the reel and what you animated for them. In the event that a shot is actually shared by two or more animators, you should clarify the work that you did.

6) Bring your own personality to the reel. Ultimately many people can learn the techniques. What’s interesting to see and what recruiters look for, is also the personality, the actor behind the reel. Don’t include things/tests/shots that are basically based on what other people have animated. We don’t want to see a “Pixar” reel. Instead, we are looking for the talented actor that can help Pixar (or any studio for that matter) make our movies more distinctive.

7) Find out what to submit and how. In the case of Pixar, go through the site and find out exactly what they need from you before you apply. This applies to any studio. Chances are, they may need you to submit a form before you send anything in some cases, or they may ask you to send your portfolio in a particular way or format.

8) Label your Disc/Case. In talking to one of our main recruiters, this seems to be an issue. If they like your work, but the contact information is only on the resume, and this gets lost in the pile of other reels, there is no way they’ll be able to contact you. So label everything. Put at least name, phone number and email address on the case and disc. Even if it’s with a sharpie.
You can also label it at the beginning/end of the actual content.

9) Be respectful with the people looking at your work. It doesn’t help you and your case if as soon as the Studio gets your reel, you call/email the recruiters/animators a dozen times a day. Be considerate with their time, and most important, treat them with respect. They are here to help you and their job is not easy as they have hundreds of reels to go through. So keep it in mind if you send a reel, and you don’t hear from them inmediately.

I hope this helps.

Here is a great link:

Oscar Winning Animated Shorts“Manipulation” by Daniel Greeves. This was probably the film that made me want to try handrawn animation, even when I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. Sometimes it’s easy to see a film and become influenced by it…but what’s really difficult is to instead, think as far as you can think as to what it is that you’d like to see on screen and follow that vision. Many of these filmmakers did that with these films. As artists, it helps to force yourself to look within yourself and what you want to say and do things differently…otherwise you are just doing something someone else has done previously.

Someone found many Academy Award Animated shortfilms and compiled an amazing list of them in this link here. I’d highly recommend watching some of these, as many of them truly think outside the box, whether is from a theme point of view, the style or how the stories are told. It includes a shortfilm I framed by frame to death back in College…

Come back.. Yeah, I know. I’ve been away from the blog for a while. Just the way things are right now. Will I be more active here? Who knows. Life comes one day at a time. I’ve learned to write any future plans for my life in very light pencil, so we’ll see. But today I had a spare minute and thought I’d drop a note…

There’s been a bit of fighting back and forth in the animation blog world about the absolute bestest most purest and historically accurate way to write for animation. There are the “story board only!” people and the “written text!” people. Whatever. A lot of hot air over a pretty insignificant topic if you ask me. But then I’ve just described about 95% of what get’s bloviated about in the animation blogosphere- including here.

Anyhow, I came across this and thought it was cool. Hans Perk over at his A Film blog posted a 1930 script/board outline for the Mickey Mouse short “The Firefighters”. Go check it out. He’s got great scans of it to download and look at. It mixes text and thumbnails to express the story. It does a great job of quickly getting the idea across. Seems like a nice compromise. But compromises aren’t any fun when you’re engaged in ego wars over who’s more smarter at knowing everything about animation.

Ahh, navel gazing. Nothing quite like the smell of belly button lint to start your day off right. Heh-heh

Til next time, be good, chill out, go outside and breathe.

   

Cindy Khang has been working as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer for over 5 years. She offers the following services:

• Illustration & Graphic Design … she is available for original art and illustration contracts for print and web.

• Website Design – she can work with you to create an affordable, simple, clean and visual appealing “brochure-style” website for you personally or for your business.

• T-shirt Design … she has extensive experience with the screen printing process and has an unique style that works well for printing on cloth.

• Logo Identity … she can create an original, unique logo identity for:
- logo Identity & Stationary Package for personal, business and special events
- web site logo identity and colour scheme

• Layout Design … she can design a poster, brochure, button design, newsletter or whatever for your next event or business.