Reflection#1

    The first reading I chose was “Tool Time at Pixar” by Ellen Wolff.  In this reading she makes a recollection of her experience at Pixar and how, under Brad Bird’s instruction, they developed a new tool--the Review Sketch Tool.  “It’s a scalpel, not a Swiss Army Knife.  But it has a really sharp blade with a really good handle on it.  At the end of the day, it’s a simple thing, but it’s executed very well.”(Johnson 2004).  As Johnson, a team member, states the Review Sketch Tool that they created is not something fancy and high tech; it’s a simple basic program that thoroughly gets the job done.  From this reading I’ve learned not only technical aspects of the Review Sketch Tool they developed but also that anything can be simplified.  This type of mindset can help my further my animation.  I will be able to tackle obstacles no matter how difficult and tedious the task at hand is there is always a way to simplify things to make it easier. 
    My second reading is “Timing” taken from Frank and Ollies book.  “But the personalities that were developing were defined more by their movements than their appearance, and the varying speed of those movements determined whether the character was lethargic, excited, nervous, relaxed.”(Frank and Ollie).  What Frank and Ollie stated struck me by surprise.  At first I thought that the way a character looks is what defines their personality.  It didn’t cross my mind that timing is what actually brings out who a character really is.  Timing is so essential in animation!  As I move forward with my animation  I will make sure that I utilize timing to create not only a spectrum of character’s and their personalities but, use timing to clearly communicate my thoughts and ideas into animation.
    The third reading I chose was “The Animation Process” by Pixar Animation Studios.  “Storyboards, Modeling, Animation, Shading, Lighting, Rendering”(Pixar Animation Studios 1996).  From this reading I’ve learned the basic process of developing an animation.  Pixar talks about the different steps it takes to bring your storyboard sketches to fully rendered final image.  This breakdown of the process is useful for me to move forward with my animation because I can quickly skim through the process and easily figure out where I stand and what my next step is.  I’m sure that the process requires a lot of fine-tuning from the storyboard to the rendered final image; but this basic layout simplifies the process and gives me an easier time figuring out what step I’m on. 
    The final readings I chose was “Arcs” taken from Frank and Ollies book. Like their previous reading arcs are something that I never knew existed.  I unconsciously was aware of arcs but I’ve watched them all my life not knowing what they were.  “A hit or a throw could be on a completely straight line, but the beginning of the action came sweeping in on an arc and the Follow Through started a corkscrew action.”(Frank and Ollie).  It astonishes me that arcs are also so essential in animation.  They make the animated figures movements more lifelike.  For my future in animation, arcs will come in handy when I want to make my living creatures or people move more lifelike. 

Ball with Tail

Bouncing Can

Bouncing Ball

Roller Coaster