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So much for CS7. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2418602,00.asp I still don't know how I feel about Adobe's new platform of cloud-only subscription or nothing (unless you stick with CS6 until the end of time). It's fine for my employer, since it's just allocated to the office budget, but $600 a year for whatever personal projects I want to work on seems steep. Guess I'll be sticking with my CS5 for a little while longer.
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May 10, 2013 16:52
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Electric Crayon posted:So much for CS7. I like it personally, mainly because my flow of needs for home usage is pretty start/stop so I can just subscribe as needed. Plus the lack of tiers and all inclusiveness of it (and constant updating to newer versions) is nice. Also if you use it at work you're allowed two installs of the license so you can activate it at work AND home  .Or if you only have one install of it you can activate it back and forth between work and home as needed. You just won't be able to use both at the exact same time.
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May 10, 2013 17:45
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Just finished a short project for uni, a interactive explanation of the Prisoner's Dilemma: http://youtu.be/TDDW5VYx1a0
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May 13, 2013 21:08
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Is there any functionality / any scripts or tools that don't exist that you wish would? Or, any processes that are a bitch and a half in your workflow but you'd like automated? Just getting into script development, taking the down time between projects to pour into this, learning the skill set. So if you have any requests, please let me know!
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May 14, 2013 20:33
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I finally made something! For years I've lusted after motion graphics, I've taken tutorials on AfterEffects and tried to make something, but I've rarely had anything TO make except, 'hey look I made something!' But that all changed last week when I drew up a pitch for Ford. They saw the drawing, (well. It's photoshop + wacom tablet) and wanted to see how the thing actually did stuff. The basic concept: An interactive info graphic page on weather.com, showing how weather impacts fuel efficiency. The data would change out depending on the user's location, weather, time of day etc. I started drawing out the rest of the thing, and decided to animate it. I did that part in Blender, importing my sketches, and then bounced it over to AfterEffects for the opening/closing screen. I did the music in garageband. It's hardly what I'd call a demo reel - and some of the text I go over pretty quickly, only because they've already got the original mockup. They presented it to Ford today. I'll let you know what happens next. Not bad for a thing I whipped together in 4 days. I wish I had more time to work on it. https://vimeo.com/67856941
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Jun 10, 2013 19:55
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There's some really awesome stuff in here lately! I'm going to bump this thread by asking for feedback on my new reel. Please let me know what you think! My Demo Reel
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Jun 27, 2013 06:41
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Jesus H Christ the graph editor in After Effects is the biggest piece of poo poo ever (compared to say, Maya, where it's pretty intuitive). Any resources out there to get my head around it? Especially in AE CC. None of my curves have tangent handles! edit: Separate Dimensions just solved like 99.9% of my issues.
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Jul 9, 2013 22:57
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I decided to toss my hat into making stupid motion graphics gifs on Tumblr, but ye gods, what a horribly annoying process. It takes me longer to manipulate and color correct the image to get it to upload than to make the gif itself. 50% of the time I can't even upload the gifs entirely, even after following byzantine tip after tip. Anyways, here two cool ones that I tend to follow: http://motionaddicts.tumblr.com/ http://motionaday.tumblr.com/ I like these because they're not your typical "hey man I found a cool greyscalegorilla tutorial and messed around with some keyframes" that seem to be 95% of the ones on Tumblr.
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Aug 19, 2013 22:59
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This thread isn't super active, but I figured I'd give it a shot! I'm working on a really quick animation in After Effects, and I'm not quite sure how to pull it off. The basic idea is that there's a guitar, the strings on it are visibly strummed and a few music notes pop up around it. I want to have six strings on the guitar and either get all of them to visibly vibrate once in a believable way, or have a point on all six strings pull sharply and snap back. Is there any easy way to do that? e: as soon as I posted this I thought of a solution  for anyone interested I'm just going to animate make a line on a shape layer with a midpoint, and animate the midpoint, then just duplicate that six times. It's a pretty stylized animation so I think this should work.
mareep fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Aug 28, 2013 |
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Aug 28, 2013 20:00
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You could animate the midpoint manually with keyframes, or use the power of expressions! http://www.motionscript.com/expressions-lab-ae65/vibrating-strings.html
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Aug 29, 2013 00:28
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Sauce Mop posted:You could animate the midpoint manually with keyframes, or use the power of expressions! Oh this is awesome, thank you!
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Aug 29, 2013 18:11
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So, hey, anybody want to move to Mississippi for at least a year, work under me, and make a meager salary (with benefits!)?
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Sep 5, 2013 20:45
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BonoMan posted:So, hey, anybody want to move to Mississippi for at least a year, work under me, and make a meager salary (with benefits!)? What's in Mississippi?
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Sep 6, 2013 12:09
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Travakian posted:What's in Mississippi? Lots of open land. edit: Basically I work at a production house/ad agency and am starting a long year long project with a client. I'll be doing other stuff when I can (the big project is a 90 second animation with sound design/vo/etc every month), but my bosses are essentially looking for some renaissance man to come help out while this is going on. Of course they want someone that can do motion graphics, graphic design (print and web) and hopefully knows a little code. They aren't completely delusional that they'll find that perfect someone, but that's their wish list. Should have an actual job posting sometime soon. BonoMan fucked around with this message at 14:16 on Sep 6, 2013 |
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Sep 6, 2013 14:12
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Posted our job posting in the careers thread here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2563469&pagenumber=48 edit: And the listing on our site - http://madg.com/motion-graphic-artist-job-opportunity-mad-genius/ BonoMan fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Sep 17, 2013 |
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Sep 12, 2013 17:48
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Anyone at motion2013 or attend AE World last weekend?
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Oct 5, 2013 08:48
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I'm working on my reel at the moment, and I was wondering if I should include really nice projects I've put together for corporate clients that use a fair amount of stock material. There's been a lot of tweaking and compositing done to the templates and stock elements that I've done. Should I include these types of projects? Or should I try and keep it to completely scratch pieces I've created(which I have a fair bit less of). I recently left a production house that mainly put together internal media, meeting openers, and digital signage content for science corporations, and We never had the budget or time to complete projects from scratch. Edit: I should mention the tweaks to the stock elements/templates include recoloring, inserting custom elements like logos/graphics and 3D objects to replace parts of templates, tracking, editing, combining multiple elements to create one cohesive piece, etc. jaik3n fucked around with this message at 20:37 on Dec 4, 2013 |
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Dec 4, 2013 20:34
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jaik3n posted:I'm working on my reel at the moment, and I was wondering if I should include really nice projects I've put together for corporate clients that use a fair amount of stock material. There's been a lot of tweaking and compositing done to the templates and stock elements that I've done. I would not include projects that use stock elements as it's sort of disingenuous to what you're selling to a potential employer. I've been going over reels for our job posting and as soon as I see something that I immediately recognize from Videohive or a Video-Copilot tutorial, it definitely puts me off a bit. Even worse is seeing something that looks great, going to their site and looking at individual projects and seeing a huge quality discrepancy in their actual work vs the reel. Half the time I wonder if people just steal poo poo to put on the real. Either way it'll make a potential employer skip right over them.
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Dec 4, 2013 21:05
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Should I work on personal, short, animated pieces from scratch to build the reel? I don't have much professional work that doesn't include templates or stock elements of some kind. Also, where would you say the line is as far as that goes? Is it less deceptive if I explicitly list what I did in each clip? I'm planning on the reel only being 45-50 seconds at the moment.
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Dec 4, 2013 21:32
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jaik3n posted:Should I work on personal, short, animated pieces from scratch to build the reel? I would say it really depends on how much of the project is stock. I personally have a piece on my reel that has a stock cartoon drawing that we purchased because it looked exactly like the school superintendent, but all the other pieces and animation were made by me. On my reel breakdown I make sure to mention that the still illustration was a stock graphic we purchased but that everything else was created by myself. Coming from a 3D animation world, I frequently used character models, textures, and rigs that weren't created by me from scratch and that's what we were always told to do. In the print world, it's also the same thing...people don't expect you to create every item in your layout from scratch, stock photos and illustrations are common, so you label what is/is not your creation. The thing to remember for a reel/portfolio is that you're showing what you can do. So if you're only showing stock AE files that you simply changed the colors or the text on, it doesn't say much for your ability. However, I think it's a little extreme to think that every project will have absolutely no stock since a lot of companies will purchase something basic to save time and then let you create something else with it. If you use Element 3D model packs to save modeling time for something, does that mean you can't put the finished product on your reel? Do you expect every single 3D shader or texture to be created from scratch by the artist as well? I may not be the best person to answer the question as admittedly I don't hire anyone and I'm still trying to break into an actual Mograph agency, but coming from the more corporate world, that's the reality of the situation quite often. I'd always recommend working on personal projects for your reel as well because the more experience you have, the better. chellesandcheese fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Dec 5, 2013 |
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Dec 5, 2013 20:04
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Yeah there's a BIG difference between a stock "item" in your project and using a template. We use stock items a lot in things, but we've never done a stock template or AE project. If I'm hiring a motion graphics guy/gal then it's okay to use a stock photo or 3D element because I don't everyone to be a generalist in every single area. But if I'm hiring you to create snazzy motion graphics, and your reel is filled with stock AE projects, then that doesn't really sing praises for your ability. At least in the mind of the hirer.
BonoMan fucked around with this message at 21:19 on Dec 5, 2013 |
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Dec 5, 2013 21:16
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BonoMan posted:Yeah there's a BIG difference between a stock "item" in your project and using a template. We use stock items a lot in things, but we've never done a stock template or AE project. If I'm hiring a motion graphics guy/gal then it's okay to use a stock photo or 3D element because I don't everyone to be a generalist in every single area. But if I'm hiring you to create snazzy motion graphics, and your reel is filled with stock AE projects, then that doesn't really sing praises for your ability. At least in the mind of the hirer. OK, good to know I'm not totally out in left field then.  Since we seem to have a little bit more activity going on in here lately, I'd still love some feedback on my reel if anyone feels like giving it. Suggestions to refine stuff, cut stuff, or skills I should add to round it out would be a huge help. My Demo Reel
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Dec 6, 2013 01:34
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I don't really consider myself a motion designer but here's a TV spot I put together in After Effects. They like it so much that they're having me do more in this style, so any feedback from people who do more of this is appreciated! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSzkHv9cBZw
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Dec 6, 2013 21:19
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chellesandcheese posted:OK, good to know I'm not totally out in left field then. In the Look Who's On Board scene, I like the mechanical puppet(I know there's a word for this type of look but it's escaping me right now) look and feel, but It seems to be clashnig with the realistic textures on the sailboat, and the more ethereal/pop-y star background. I also really don't like the "Compass to 2015". The font doesn't make sense for the scene and it kinda looks just stuck on. I'd either lose the text, or try to incorporate it in some other way. I think your animations, especially the grass/filigree/pencilsketch stuff looks nice and has good timing. The best animation piece in the whole reel, for me, was the "It's the little things that make life so big." The color choices are really nice, and the font is great. I would personally try and take the camera wiggle you have down a notch though, smooth it out over a longer period of time. It looks like you have a camera wiggle of like..... wiggle(3,50) or something like that. I'd go with something like wiggle(.5,200) this will give you a smoother motion, and you'll still see that perspective difference you're going for. Your 3D stuff looks good as well, especially the diving animation. It looks and feels nice. Overall I'd spend a little more time on your font and color choices. Specifically the 3D Michelle Worrell Demo Reel(this kind of font I've never been a fan of. Take a look on fontsquirrel.com and try out some more sleek san-serifs for 3D text. Also, the fonts Bebas, Gotham, and Futura are your best friends[Actually, try out this opening/closing scene and replace whatever font you're using with Futura Bold. It will look amazing.]), and the font the 747 flys through(the blue color on top of a blue sky makes it blend in and it's harder to read.) You have some nice timing, and you make things flow well and feel natural. Hope that's the kind of critique you were looking for :x
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Dec 7, 2013 00:42
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chellesandcheese posted:OK, good to know I'm not totally out in left field then. I think you need to work on fundamentals. It looks like you're putting your time into things like simulated bubbles and snow and 3D text when you should be focusing on things like graphic design and the principles of animation. Your frames should work as still images before you even bring them into after effects (don't design everything inside after effects, if that's what you're doing). Animation-wise, I see jarring things like cameras coming to an immediate stop (the scenes at 18 seconds and 28 seconds and 59 seconds) objects that just suddenly start moving with no easing or anticipation (the scene at 45 seconds) and objects that move in a very linear and unrealistic fashion (the car at 46 seconds). Do you have other graphic designers or motion designers that you admire? Look at their work and see what you can take away from it. If you don't look at other people's work then I'd suggest you start now. You need to build up your visual vocabulary. I did notice that you have a lot of 'high school' themed stuff in your reel, though, so you have an impressive knowledge of software for someone so young. I just think you're focusing on the wrong stuff. I see these reels all the time and never say anything, but you've asked for advice a few times now so I thought I'd give my opinion. Sorry if any of this sounded mean.
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Dec 7, 2013 16:26
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My initial thoughts had much less to do with the actual animation and a big focus on the design. You should really dig into graphic design and design fundamentals and see how that affects your work. I think it will make a big difference. You're probably about halfway to having a knockout reel, but it's hard to tell since it's buried under a lack of foundation in the basics: basically echoing what raging bullwinkle said. In keeping with giving myself little AE projects to do over holidays, here's the thing I knocked out for Thanksgiving. Don't know why I thought putting gradients on everything would be a good idea after I wrestled so much with making .gifs at manageable sizes, but ah, lesson learned! 
mareep fucked around with this message at 02:47 on Dec 8, 2013 |
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Dec 8, 2013 02:44
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chellesandcheese posted:OK, good to know I'm not totally out in left field then. It'd be really cool to get a few breakdowns on some of the more complex shots -The best in class award sticks out as one that looks like it has more technical flair -a multi pass composite? Show it! This would also help pad out the flow a bit more and add some rhythm The opening/closing animation to title the reel is complex and detailed, in fact it's probably the most accomplished part of the whole reel, but putting it there means it becomes a yardstick a lot of the rest of the work is compared to. My call would be to repurpose it into a personal work project -perhaps the opening titles for an undersea kids show of some variety- and then use it as a show-off shot towards the end. Showreels don't need intros On tech vs. design, I wouldn't sweat it too much, some things just take time to develop. Keep focussing on making stuff that looks poo poo hot, looking at what great work other people are doing and analysing it and you'll learn about the sort of graphic design and type choices you want to make as you go Personally, I've been experimenting a lot recently on trying to bring more Motion Design in to web work. There's finally a strong foundation of features in modern web browsers that's allowing decent, refined motion design to pop up. It's fun to design animation and story in a way where you can only really barely guide the user in how they want to see it.  https://www.davidpaliwoda.com Also been doing little fun motion sketches in the meanwhile. Would love to do more fluid stuff   DaveP fucked around with this message at 11:21 on Dec 8, 2013 |
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Dec 8, 2013 11:06
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Thank you all for the feedback! I don't feel like anyone was mean, and the only way I'm going to get better is if I can get someone to give me feedback and tell me what to work on. Just to clear something up, I'm not young. I worked for a city government cable channel for 3.5 years, and so I did four graphics packages for high school graduations as that was one of the big annual projects. My degree is in 3D character animation, but I decided I really like motion graphics better, so I'm trying to do what I can using my animation degree and my basic design degree from community college. Looks like I need to go back and study up on some old basics. I've been working in a bubble for the last several years as I work as a multimedia designer and most corporations tend to only have one designer. I'm trying to get a reel to the point I can get a job in a creative studio. I'll go back and work on your suggestions and if you guys don't mind I may come back and ask for more feedback in a few months.
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Dec 10, 2013 02:13
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Been working on this for a bit and while this month! Little nervous about posting this many .gifs at once so if there's any problem with it please let me know             
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Dec 20, 2013 22:20
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Old stuff~
Travakian fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Jul 9, 2014 |
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Apr 15, 2014 14:29
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Travakian posted:Finished a new reel recently, would love any feedback/comments! It's good but ditch those shots with just the plain text on some footage (from the piece that opens the reel ... with the deer). Those aren't up to par with the rest of the work and bring it down.
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Apr 16, 2014 04:34
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Hey hey. I've been working as a motion graphics designer/compositor for the last 5+ years, mainly on sports broadcast packages. You can look at my reel here: http://www.designslashmotion.com/#/2013-motion-design-showreel/ I'd be happy to answer any questions for a time if anyone has any about the type of work I do! IHeartBoobs fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Apr 21, 2014 |
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Apr 21, 2014 20:23
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IHeartBoobs posted:Hey hey. I've been working as a motion graphics designer/compositor for the last 5+ years, mainly on sports broadcast packages. You can look at my reel here: http://www.designslashmotion.com/#/2013-motion-design-showreel/ There's some really nice work in there! I enjoy sports graphics (especially from the US) for their extremely polished and over the top quality, do you have any experience with live broadcast graphics (stats etc)? I've always wondered how those are put together.
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May 3, 2014 22:12
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rear end cobra posted:There's some really nice work in there! I enjoy sports graphics (especially from the US) for their extremely polished and over the top quality, do you have any experience with live broadcast graphics (stats etc)? I've always wondered how those are put together. For broadcast graphics, you're looking at a Chyron system of some description. My first real job ever was operating a Lyric system through an ancient Ross switcher for a morning talk show at my community college. Not the most exciting stuff, but with all the buttons and doo-dads on the switcher you can pretend you're at the helm of a starship when you pull that nice heavy t-bar for the dissolves.  Well, that's what I did at least...
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May 3, 2014 22:38
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Working on a reel since I want to do more motion stuff going forward. It's still WIP and I just hate looking at 99% of my work but have a look: [redacted] ass cobra fucked around with this message at 15:33 on Jun 20, 2014 |
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May 7, 2014 16:23
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I've been working on something for the last couple of nights that people in here (if there's anyone left reading this) might like! It's an AE precomp that lets you animate circles in a lot of cool ways that'd take a whole while to do by hand. Been messing around with it to check it all works and I'm pretty happy with it! The download is at http://www.othercubed.com/store/circles If you don't care about downloading it and just want to see the video, it's up at https://vimeo.com/100242888 Not sure where I could promote something like this? If anyone knows any websites or blogs that might be interested let me know!
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Jul 8, 2014 22:28
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OtherCubed posted:I've been working on something for the last couple of nights that people in here (if there's anyone left reading this) might like! Send a link to Lesterbanks.com, and post about it on Twitter and it should get some buzz. Looks interesting! I haven't downloaded it, but any way for you to convert it into a preset pack? Way more accessible to users than an AEP they have to open up and fiddle around in.
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Jul 8, 2014 23:17
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Travakian posted:Send a link to Lesterbanks.com, and post about it on Twitter and it should get some buzz. Yeah, I really wanted to do something like that, but from what I researched it looked fairly far out of my depth. I don't have a lot of spare time to learn a whole set of coding - just made this in a couple of late nights - but if there's a simpleish way that anyone knows of to convert it to a jsx (full plugin I'm assuming would be harder) then it's definitely something I'd want to do!
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Jul 9, 2014 00:04
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OtherCubed posted:Yeah, I really wanted to do something like that, but from what I researched it looked fairly far out of my depth. Well-- .jsx would be for a script/panel as opposed to a plugin. Presets are super simple, just a matter of dragging properties/effects to your 'Effects & Presets' panel and saving it as something-- for something like this, may take some rebuilding to get it modular enough, but could be doable. If you're interested, I can take a look at converting it out as such when I get some time. Toss me an email at username@gmail.com and I'll respond with a non-masked/forum account.
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Jul 9, 2014 00:13
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Thanks man! Just sent you an email.
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Jul 9, 2014 00:41
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