Animating Creatures For Games

I'm teaching a new class for the CGWorkshops on Animating Creatures For Games. Gonna be a lot of fun! Sign ups are open now & the class begins in March. Click the image to check it out!

Acting Reference #72

Here's a great example of strong silhouette in Skyfall. You want fight scenes to be very clear to the viewer and the fact that this one plays out all in silhouette is awesome! Roger Deakins is a master

Acting Reference #71

Here's a short video from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. I really like the little side/side jaw movement Sean Connery makes. Often we only focus on the open/close axis of the jaw when animating, but adding little side to side movements can add a lot of character

Acting Reference #71 from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.

FPS Animations

I've never really played around with first person animations, so thought it would be fun to do a couple tests to try it out. Warning the second video contains blood/violence.


FPS Animations from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.

Techniques of Steven Spielberg

Lots of good info here on camera/composition/emotion

The Passions and Techniques of Steven Spielberg from Steven Benedict on Vimeo.

Acting Reference #70

Here's another clip from The Thin Red Line. I wanted to show this one because I really like how Jim Caviezel's character moves freely through the scene. Often, in animation tests, I see characters who feel very planted to the ground. Don't be afraid to move your characters around! It works great in this scene because their movement fits their characters' personalities. Sean Penn's character is more shut off/cold, so he doesn't move much & stays pretty much in the same spot the whole time. Jim Caviezel's character is more of a free spirit, so having him constantly walking/not being able to stay still is very fitting.


Acting Reference #70 from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.

Anim: Salute

Here's a very quick animation I did during a webinar for my class. Lots of things I would fix, but not too bad for 1 hour and animating live.

Acting Reference #69

Great clip of Robert John Burke in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Some really great timing in here & awesome facial expressions.

 
Acting Reference #69 from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.

Last Chance!

Today is the last day to sign up for the second run of my class!

Anim: Weapon Out

Here's a test animation I did while preparing for my class. Also included quick process video. All in all took me about 4 hours to complete. Was fun doing research learning about different ways to carry & raise a rifle, I always enjoy the "research & learning" part of animation :)

Lexica Article

USA Today article about the game I'm currently working on :) Click the link to check it out

Disney's Frozen

Looks great :) can't wait!

iStabilizer

I wanted to use this post to plug the iStabilizer. I shoot video reference a lot and having a quick and handy camera tripod is very key. Most of the time I just use my phone to film reference & this little guy is compatible with most all phones. I also like how you can bend & shape the legs into different shapes, this allows for a lot of flexibility when positioning the camera. It's only $21, definitely worth it if you're into filming reference :D

Video Game Animation

I'm running my Video Game Animation class for CGScoeity again. The dates run July 8th - July 29th. Sign up now!! :D



and here's the promo video

Acting Reference #68

Not much to say about this clip - Anne Hathaway gave a pretty amazing performance in Les Miserables. It's a little longer than my normal acting reference videos, but since this was all one shot I didn't want to cut any of it out. Never have I seen a musical performance with this much emotion in it. Enjoy

Acting Reference #68 from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.

51 Things Every Game Student Should Know

Must read for people wanting to get into games

Acting Reference #67

I wanted to talk a little bit about composition & this clip from Romeo & Juliet is a great example. Often when animators are doing dialog tests the environment & composition are an after thought. But thinking about where your characters are & what the camera is doing can add tons to your shot. Using the fish tank as a way to introduce these two characters was a really cool idea & it adds a lot to the scene. I'm curious how many takes they did to get the right fish movement...these days they just would have made the fish cg.
When tackling a test shot, bring in an environment, play with where the camera could be/where the characters could go. You can find a lot of free environment models on the internet - cgsociety does a lighting challenge & you can download the environment models they use here
I also like the little take/reaction Leo has in this shot
hmmm I have a lot of Leo clips on here...is that a problem...am I obsessed with him?...probably

Timing & Expectations

Nice post by Ken Fountain on Timing, check it out!