Best Work?

If I had to choose, I'd have to say that "Jaguar and Fly" (posted two posts down) is my best work to date. However, this may be because it has got the best feedback from other people, mostly due to its cute soundtrack and colorful animation. I have a lot of relatively strong animation which isn't as cutesy, though.

Exhibit A:



Here is my demo reel as it stands now. It really needs some work, I think, but here's my best work all laid out in one place.

Enjoy.

Digital Cel - Hoorah!

I have to say, I'm very excited about this class. As one of 2D's biggest supporters, I recognize the importance of digital cel animation. Too often, 2D is considered a "dead art", when nothing could be further from the truth! I'm happy to say that 2D is seeing a revival lately (The Frog Princess - I can't wait!), but things are done much differently today than what many people consider "traditional animation".

Me, personally? I guess you could say I focus on character animation, so my goal for this class is just to learn Flash in order to do character animation. But, like I mentioned earlier, I'm also fascinated by experimenting with animation, and trying new things.

So, for this class, I think I'll kind of combine the two. I'd like to do character animation in a loose, sketchy-looking style - the kind you might see on an American Airlines commercial. You know, this sort of thing:



(One of my favorite animations, by the way)

Really, I'm just looking to kind of "find my style". I'm going to learn Flash, and just sort of see where it takes me. Where I have a lot of experience working with After Effects, I find myself kind of limited by it, and I think Flash can really offer me a lot more freedom in my animation.

Also, my demo reel needs some beefing up.

My favorite animation

Having grown up worshiping Disney and Nickelodeon cartoons, these are some of my favorite animations.

As I mentioned earlier, I truly feel that The Lion King is the pinnacle of 2D animation. If you don't believe me, here's a clip:



Of course, Disney has incredibly high standards for animation, and I know they work their animators into the ground, blah blah blah, but I'd say it paid off. Few things really depict the "illusion of life" the way The Lion King does, and that is a quality of animation that I really strive for. In fact, call me corny, but I like to keep a Disney movie playing while I'm working on my animation. Keeps me inspired, even if I often find myself staring open-mouthed at the screen, considering giving up animation, convinced I'll never be that good.

Another animated cartoon that really inspired me as a child was the Saturday morning Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon. Let's take a trip down memory lane:



While the animation here is more crude than Disney's variety, and may not have that same "illusion of life", it still is eye-catching and highly entertaining. Besides this, the characters all develop greatly through the series, and I guarantee every child of the 90s can name a character from this show that they really identified with.

And speaking of great writing and character development, another animation that I really love is the more modern Home Movies. This may be considered the epitome of "crude animation", but who doesn't laugh when Coach McGuirk "rearranges" the library's card catalog? This is an example of animation facilitating the humor for the sake of appealing to an older audience, and I think it does it splendidly. Here's a clip:



Just. Hilarious.

Unfortunately they don't produce the DVDs anymore, but I'd highly suggest checking it out. It's captivating.

Anyway, I feel like this isn't very indicative of my animation taste, so I'll be sure to keep you posted as I remember some more. Oh, and here's one of mine. I guess you could say this is one of my favorite animations. :)

Salutations! And welcome to the blog!

I'm Ashlee Perkins, originally of Merrimack, New Hampshire - a small New England town where we readily accept Canadian currency. Now, however, I've ventured out of my igloo to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design, where I am in my Junior year of studying animation.

I have a 2D focus, and would like to pursue traditional/digital cel animation as a career. Also, I am fascinated by storyboarding and pre-production work for animation, so I have a Storyboarding minor and have considered doing layout as a career.

I was inspired to pursue animation as a child, watching mostly classic Disney movies and (now-classic) 90s Nickelodeon cartoons. These animations really shaped my childhood, and I would love to do the same for a younger generation.

The Lion King really shaped my love for animation as a child, and I often go as so far to say that this movie has got me where I am today. As a child, I studied the drawings frame by frame to learn how animation worked, and later wrote my admissions essay on the animation of The Lion King. Naturally, I was thrilled to have Professor Phil Young teach my Animation I class, and I kind of idolize him. Too bad he moved to Montana.

Since coming to SCAD however, I've really developed a love for the more loose, abstract style of animation. I truly feel that animation has a lot of capabilities that have rarely been tapped, and I would love to attempt to broaden the field of animation in my career work. A friend and I have been developing a darker, edgier story that we'd love to produce someday, which I feel is the beginning of this "broadening process". Too often animation is labeled as "kids stuff", and I would love to bring it to a wider audience.

More later!