So It Goes: Postcards & Presents

Senior thesis is finishing up... and to go with my animation, I took some of the scenes & made them into postcards! I am still tweaking the animation, so I'm not posting it yet, but here are the postcards: 

(all images copyright 2014 © Alex Pope ! )

In addition to making postcards that I will hand out at senior show at the end of the year, I also took the pages of bristol I recorded paint drips on (to use in my animation) and cut them into pieces that I then framed and gave to all the teachers who helped make my thesis what it is.

Doodle Daily

I try to do something in my sketchbook everyday-- and lately its been a lot of type.

My thesis sketchbook front page + thesis animation title

 A birthday card I made my dad

Lots of #wordsofwisdom

  

(follow me on instagram for more + often! @axpope)

Value Contrast

I don't want to give anything away, but here is another sneak peak into my thesis process! 

Enjoy these screen shots straight from AE. I threw an adjustment layer over my comp with the black & white effect on it to evaluate my color / value choices before second critique on monday.

Walk Cycle Development

My main character, I shall name him Carl the Cage for now (I love alliteration), has a very important walk cycle. I mean all character walk cycles reveal a lot about themselves, however in my pieces he is mainly walking hence the emphasis on the need to finesse his walk.

Check out how far his walk has come since this summer:

First rig & walk cycle

To be honest I wasn't quite sure what he would be doing so this is pretty generic. 

Second rig & first walk cycle

Doing ok, but still seemed to light on his feet 

Second rig & second walk cycle 

Now the way he pulls the string makes more sense and he feels a little heavier... 

Still in the works but I've gotten this far in time for our second critique. his walk will continue to be pushed but you won't see it till the end-- I got to leave some things about my thesis a surprise still! :) 

Handmade Alpha Mattes

My thesis is very illustrative with a focus on hard work and being handmade. 

Here are some behind the scene shots of my handmade alpha channels! By recording the motion of black paint and ink on a white background, I then translate that information to opacity-- so black will be see through and white will not. I'll be using the paint / ink motions as scene and color transitions in my piece :)

In the container & on screen:

Dropped ink in a tall, clear container of water (seen here), soapy water and milk.

 

Working behind & in front of the camera: 

Clamped bristol paper to outside of fish tank and dripped ink, watercolor and acrylic paint.

 

The paint & the painting:

Taped velum paper to inside of fish tank and painted with acrylic paint.