Mocafurbs - an animated short film by yours truly & it's Making Of

in #art7 years ago (edited)

MocafurbsSnap.jpg

Omg guys. This is exciting. why? Because I get to show you my one true love. The thing I love to do the most in this world:

Animation

Animation made by me to be specific. Featuring some pretty annoyingly adorable cat creatures, and a little girl who meets an unexpected playmate.

I created this shortfilm during my Classical Animation year at Vancouver Film School back in 2012-13. Although it is a bit dated by now, and student work to boot, this little film will probably always have a special place in my heart.

I sincerely hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it ~♡

Why it is special

It was the first time that I learned what I was capable of, in an intense 12 months at VFS. It was the year I learned just how much I love this medium, the year I became sure that I was meant for this industry and that I will quite happily spend the rest of my life animating and telling stories. The year I truly found my place in the world.

It is also the only real traditionally animated project I have, because I later specialised in 3D animation, as the jobs in 2D, unfortunately, are a bit sparse at the moment.
But since I will always remain a 2D girl at heart, this project is precious to me.
I also think it still holds up, despite me having a lot more animation experience now.

The little critters too, the Mocafurbs hold a special significance in my life. I even have one tattooed haha.

What the hell are "Mocafurbs"?!

Mocafurbs, in case you are curious, actually stands for Monster Cat Fur Balls, which, essentially, is what they are: Balls of fur with feline features and personality traits (that's also where the "monster" in the name comes from XD ).

I created the little devils a long time ago, very randomly. I was doodling for a mural I was commissioned to do at the time (a commission that ended up falling through, ironically). The person wanted a fun, monster themed wall in her garden, so I was doodling little monsters in my sketchbook, and BAM, out of nowhere, these little beasties appeared.

I've been drawing them ever since, and they somewhat became my mascots as well as a symbol for my artistic ambitions in life.

I love them, and they're my staple doodle when signing a card or anything like that. Sort of like my trademark. I should really start drawing them more again, they really deserve some art of their own. (Also, they're actually hilarious. constantly up to some type of mischief.)

Here's a little line drawing of them all piled up on branches of their home-tree.

MOCAFURBS.jpg

Let me know if you'd be interested in seeing more of the little critters. ;)

Tools of the trade - how was it done?

Mocafurbs is a traditionally animated (also called 2D animation or classical animation) film.
This means that everything you see on screen has been hand drawn with pencil on paper, on an animation desk. In other words the old-school way.

Like this:


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even working at home~ :P

The all important persistence of vision

To understand how traditional animation is done, you need to understand what persistence of vision is.

It's very simple really. Persistence of vision, in non-scientific terms, is the phenomenon which makes your brain pick up a bunch of individual images and interpret them as movement instead of single images, because they flash by too fast to separate.

One of the oldest and most famous examples are the famous Muybridge photographs. The guy was fascinated by things in motion and he set out to answer the age old question of whether or not a horse in gallop ever leaves the ground with all four hooves. (spoiler: it does)
He set up a row of cameras along a track which would go off one after the other to capture every part of the movement while a jockey galloped by with his trusty steed.

This experiment had an unintended side effect.
It was one of the accidental discoveries that led to the invention of Film.

Think about it, what is the slightly old-timey name for movies?

Motion Pictures.
...
Pictures in Motion.

In fact, don't you think movie sounds a hell of a lot like a cutsey abbreviation of moving pictures? ;)

That is what persistence of vision is. It's what makes our brain take one of the (awesome) Muybridge photograph sequences:

MuybridgeHorses.jpg
Image source. this is also where you can read more about the debate concerning the gallop of a horse

And, when displayed very fast one after the other and looped, see this instead:

muybridgeanigif_enhanced-buzz-29520-1350416746-8.gif

Gif source. Eadweard Muybridge Wikipedia page

How cool is that??!

It's basically your brain going "f * ck no. Can't process this sh * t, buddy. Here, have a muddled version instead."

Kinda hilarious if you think about it. One of the most beloved things in pretty much everybody's lives: film and television (and anything that moves on a screen basically, so your fancy new app and your beloved cat Gifs are included in this) only exists because we've learned to exploit the inaccuracy of our internal information processor: the brain.

How this applies to 2D animation

Traditional 2D animation (and really any film at all) works exactly the same. It's essentially a bunch of images displayed very fast one after the other to create the illusion of motion.

This means a hell of a lot of drawing. Check out the size of 2 of my longest scenes:


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That, in turn, means hard-core dedication, the need to really love what you're doing, and an iron will to fight through this kind of crap:

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Oh, and did I mention sleep deprivation?


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And days where you be like:

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how am I ever gonna make it?

But if you love it, truly love it, you power through and you end up surprising yourself.

So what happens with all those drawings?

Simply put, everything gets scanned in, including the backgrounds, then it's coloured and the single scenes put together in a compositing software.

It's all a tad more complicated than that of course, but let's leave the in depth explanations for another time. this post is already wayyyy longer than initially planned XD XD


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colouring one of the scene backgrounds in good old trusty photoshop


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to the left, a "compositing tree" in ToonBoom Harmony. Told ya it's a tad more complicated :P

After that, the different scenes get exported again as image sequences (again, those moving pictures) and put into an editing software, where everything gets edited together.

Then music and Sound Design is added: We were lucky enough to have an in-house Sound Designer at VFS who was very good at his job.
Also, random fun fact: I voiced the Mocafurbs and Penny, the little girl ;D

When all of that and more is finally done, it gets exported into a movie file, and voilà, a short film is born!


Alrighty folks, I hope you enjoyed this slightly lengthier than planned post and sneak peak into how a 2D short film is made.

I would super appreciate a little comment on whether or not you enjoyed this post, if the length was ok or too much, and if you would be interested in a slightly more in-depth view of the different stages of "the making of a short film" perhaps.

Any feedback is more than welcome and appreciated.

I shall leave you with some photos of what a 2D animation workstation looks like ;)

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toodeloo,
until the next time.
Rock on.

Jill

Sort:  

Hi @jillustrations I loved this post so much! Mocafurbs are adurble, totally adurbs, I have all the lurb for them. I think of 2d hand drawn animation as a dying art so really cool to see it still being taught and practiced (yeah yeah I know you said you can't find work in 2d animation, end up doing 3d, but just that you did this at all, even for school, is so cool!). I loved seeing the glimpses at the behind-the-scenes work that goes into even a short 2d hand drawn animation like this. So impressive. You are also a terrific writer and the post was put together so nicely.

Your post has been nominated by a @curie curator to be featured in an upcoming Author Showcase post on the @curie blog. If you agree to be featured in this way, please reply and:

  • Let us know if we can quote text and/or feature images from your post.
  • If you would like to provide a brief statement about your posting, your life or anything else to be included in the article, you can do so in reply here or look me up on Discord chat (@gnashster).

You can check out the previous week's Author Showcase to get an idea of what we are doing with these posts.

Thanks again for the amazing post!

Cheers - Carl (@curie curator)

Oh my gosh, thank you so much!
This really means a lot to me, as my main goal on steemit is to bring animation a bit more into the spotlight and hopefully get people interested in the thing I love most in the world by writing informing, educational and hopefully interesting articles about this modern artform. ♡
Yes 2D isn't very mainstream anymore, and it's tough to get a job in it at the moment, but it's very far from dead! (hmmm.. another post idea perhaps? haha)

And.. just... wow. thank you so much. I'm very critical of my writing (and my art XD ) so to hear that my writing is good is butter for my ego :P

I would absolutely love to be featured in one of your Authors showcases, I just had a brief look at your link and I'm truly honoured that you feel my post is worth including. These are some seriously top knotch posts. (I know what I'll be doing all day tomorrow... checking out all the awesomeness ♡ )
Please feel fee to quote/include anything you like.

I'll also drop you a line on Discord.

BIG FAT THANK YOUUU~~~ once more! ♡
toodles!
Jill

You make us #steemit-austria “Gang” so proud Jill!!!
This is one of the best articles, I have ever seen on steemit and This since June 2016!
Go Girl!
I fell in love with those furry balls 🌷
Wirklich toll und außergewöhnlich, was Du da machst.

aweeeeeee Thank you @mammasitta ♡ ♡ ♡
That is high praise indeed!
I shall strive my best to keep more good content coming! ;D Though I don't have that much more animation in store haha bit of a time consuming art after all.
vielen, vielen dank, schaun wir mal ob ich nicht Österreichs erste richtig berühmte animatorin werde hahahaa das ist jedenfalls der traum.
also nicht "berühmt" unbedingt aber Disney-Pixar ist das ziel! ;D Und soweit ich weiß gibt's da noch keinen Österreicher :P

Funny #writing -- like when u replied, " to hear that my writing is good is butter for my ego". Ha !

Never heard that one before. GOOD LUCK with the Authors showcase -- and CHECK Out my reply (BELOW), as I answered 2 of yr Feedback requests

#CREATIVE

Hahaha I believe that's probably because it's a direct translation of a phrase I say in German XD I am not a native speaker after all, and borrow from German quite often. :P
And thank you~~! ♡

WOOHOOOOO! * bounces and runs to check it out *
.... ..... .....
I love it ♡ Thanks so much again! :D

actually, I'm afraid I can't find you on Discord for some reason :/
I'm a bit of a noob with that too, do I have to be on a certain server to find you?
my Discord name is also @Jillustrations

I just wanted to have a brief chat about what sort of statement from me you'd be looking for exactly. :)

thank you~

Huh. I can't seem to find you either :( I honestly have no idea if there are different instances of Discord on different servers, but previously any time someone had said to find them on Discord I could just start typing the username in the direct message search and it would pop up, but I am not seeing a @Jillustrations. Feel free to email me, same username as here with ye olde gmail appended.

@jillustrations & @carlgnash. For discord, u need to include the ID number as well.
For example : @zord189#7776

Thanks @zord189 we are in touch now :) cheers - Carl

I kinda like your "little devils" .. I imagine this is quite fun for you ♦♦ Your Love ♥ for your #ART really comes through.

What a wonderful #Animation short ! Watched it all the way through, and appreciated that it featured Cats e.g.

==> "Yes, I'd be interested in a slightly more in-depth view of the different stages of creation."
As far as Length, well I was glad that you went in DEPTH as to "Persistence of Vision" & the Muybridge photograph sequences !

Found it Noteworthy when you explained that the Single sketches were 'put together' with a compositing software ♦♦ Will check into that.

P.S. - You surely were lucky you found an in-house Sound Designer ! It came out well (Will share this via a Re-steem) - You EARNED it !

☻☻It's nice you got to add yr Voice to the masterpiece, too ♦♦ Kind of like a signature!

sweet, thank you! ♡

I'm glad you liked it. I have a few posts planned of a more in-depth view of how a shortfilm is made, by popular request :D so check back occasionally, there will be something coming within the next month. ;)

Yeah, the School had a resident Sound Designer whcih was super lucky. He was a fricking beast too, because he did ALL the sound design for ALL the student shorts in both classical AND 3D animation. That's an insane amount of work to still keep the quality up. I have a lot f respect for that man.

Thank you so much for the Re-steem ♡
much appreciated!

Have a lovely day!

Wow!... this is so great... an insight story of the animator herself, explaining the process and showing her beautiful animation... Great job @jillustrations!

My animation student will learn a lot from this. Your concept art and character designs are great. Your motion wonderfully applied to Animation principles... and we can feel your passion through your animation.

I'm liking this post very much and will resteem it in my blog!
Thanks for using #steem-cartoon as one of your tag.
Glad to see your post in this community.
Cheers!

Thank you! :D
wow, thank you for showing your animation student! :D
I'm planning further explanatory posts about animation in the future so make sure to check back if you're interested ;)
all the best to you and your student, & thank you so much for the resteem ♡

Yes! I was invited by @zord189 to use the tag :) Thank you for having me ;)

Woooow einfach nur wooow

Ich bin echt hart beeindruckt, nicht nur von dem Ergebnis, also dem Kurzfilm, sonder auch von der Arbeit, der Motivation, der Hingabe, der Kreativität die du da reingesteckt hast.

Auch die Geschichte und Beschreibung der Mocafurbs, wie viel Gedanken du dir dazu gemacht haben musst :3

Ich hab bis jetzt noch nichts resteemt, aber ich muss sagen, das hat es sich echt verdient.

Bitte mehr davon!

aww dankeschööön! ♡
Es is immer voll schön wenn die harte Arbeit, Herzblut und Schweiß , die man in ein Projekt steckt anklang finden ♡ und dann gleich SO VIEL LIIEEBE hihihihi

bitte, du hast es dir verdient!

This is just amazing! Thanks for sharing your making of and thoughts! You did a wonderful job, really love it!

thank you very much! :D

Thanks for the valuable showcase of the animation process, practical reading, pleasant and a beautiful result. This is the kind of stuff that is worth not only being read but also saved in favorites for future reference!!

Oh wow THANK YOU! ~~♡
Oh me gosh, saved into "faves" for future reference! .... 😳
Thank you very much! :D

OMG! Are you kidding me... Mocafurbs are beyond adorable... I almost cried at the point when Penny left the one at the tree... please confirm 2 things for me?

1.That she does have it in her backpack at the end
2.There will be a sequel very soon

and 3) OK, can you confirm 3 things for me

3.I can adopt a Mocafurbs from somewhere?

In all seriousness, brilliant post and I for one would love to see the process broken down into "bite sized" posts :)

Thank you for bringing Mocafurbs into our lives 😻

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Nice post. Amazing film. Very creative

The amount of sacrifices and effort that you put in for your animation without passion, it is impossible to accomplish. It was great the curie noticed it for what your hardwork. All the best and don't let your passion die down as you continue to head for greater success!

Thank you so much @fun2learn!
It definitely means a hell of a lot, getting this recognition from them, and making it possible for me to reach so many people with this film ♡
Definitely haven't lost the fire yet ;D (and it's been 5 ish years since I made this film.. omg. time flies. )
thank you for your well wishes, they're super appreciated ♡

First of all, you created a successful movie. When I watched the film, I remembered the book by Anna Llenas Vocie of Spain. I absolutely recommend reading it :) I wish you continued success. Pinar.

Thank you!
Well I love books, so I'll definitely look into it. Thanks for the recommendation. :D
good luck to you too ♡

oohhhh "El Monstruo de Colores" are super cuuuute! I love it, thank you for showing me. ♡
unfortunately there don't seem to be a lot of english translations of her picture books :(