Credit where credit's due.

As is our custom after watching particularly awful films, Chuck and I looked over the DVD special features of Beowulf. We often watch these behind the scenes features in an attempt to see someone we know in the VFX scene as they disingenuously chat up the benefits of computer animation, or we're grasping at straws, hoping to make some use out of the hours lost. The hours were irretrievably lost because there is, of course, no measure of satisfaction after a film as awful as Beowulf.
But then came a little gem among the tech drivel and twirp boasting. Neil Gaimen (who I'm pretty certain hasn't actually done anything good, or at least good enough to deserve his enormous cult following,) went right ahead and took credit for a truly lovely quotation by G.K. Chesterton. The original quote goes as follows: "Fairy tales are more than true. Not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten."
How lovely is that? How eloquent and thoughtful and encompassing a concept. What a fantastic tribute to the fairy tale as a genre.
But then back to the DVD features where Neil's bobbing and talking head spoke this same quote, but as if it was of his own design. He followed G.K.'s words with his own, adding "and that is a huge true thing."
What a word-smith.

Let's just hope the editors, on a deadline, just happened to cut out the part where he gave credit to G.K. Chesterton and his marvelous quotation. I hope it's not too unlikely.

Puppet couture

Holly hand knitted Mawk's sweater and beanie with tiny needles and yarn not much thicker than sewing thread. She magically finished the sweater in less than a day. The beanie was done over a cup of morning coffee.
Chuck's super hero moniker for her is "The SilkWorm," which is pretty appropriate for a woman who doesn't miss a stitch even while knitting in a dark movie theater.

Workspaces continued.

While taking a breather from the rigors of animating, Chuck winds down by painting the miniature dock house. We're under such a tight schedule that down time ends up being just another time to work.

Puppet's with no soul.

It's tough to bring a puppet to life. A good deal of the illusion comes from the animator's performance and an engaging narrative, while some believability stems from the puppet's design. The better the design, the more fluid and natural the movement. The smoother the movement, the more life-like. But is 'life-like' the goal?
I'd argue that 'magic' is the goal. Something more than realism (otherwise you should simply film live action.) Somehow, it's a balance between the familiar and the unbelievable. It all comes down to a 'suspension of disbelief.'
From the start, Chuck and I agreed that our puppet's eyes needed to be as expressive as possible. We put so much weight on them, that at one point we removed them all together and opted for a hollow face. When we finally came around, Chuck found an old man who hand crafted glass eyes for dolls [contact information to be added.] As a finishing touch, Chuck added a little drop of lube which gave a great deal more depth to Mawk.
As an example of going the full distance, take a look at Chris and Maciek's film "Madame Tutli Putli" to see just how powerful eyes can be alongside skilled animation.

Miniatures continued.

To further illustrate the benefits of Y2Clay, I've added a picture of this very rough miniature sculpt of Mawk. At under 1 and 1/2 inches, it's not too difficult to get fairly intricate. After forming the armature from thin wire and getting a basic shape, I added melted Y2Clay in bulk to the areas I knew would be needing bulk. When the clay was a bit cooler, I carved out the general shape with an x-acto blade.
Once it cools completely, I'll go at it with tiny tools to get the little details and textures.

Mister's Tutli Putli

We were lucky enough to have both Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski stop by our studio for a visit before heading to Los Angeles and the Oscars. Their film "Madame Tutli Putli" is nominated this year for best animated short film.
These two, and their film, are simply wonderful.

To make an omelette you have to...

...break a few quail eggs.
It didn't take much to destroy this fragile egg moments before it was to be on set.
I mentioned in a earlier post how many eggs I've sculpted in the past that couldn't compare to the original and how happy I was to be using the real thing. After blowing the innards out, I filled the egg with wood glue thinking it would solidify over the next 48 hours. Unfortunately, I forgot that the glue wouldn't set in such a dense volume.