tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218701603445716542012-02-15T18:32:44.850-08:00Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.comBlogger821100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-59916415861152606842012-02-13T16:53:00.000-08:002012-02-13T16:53:53.832-08:00

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-58364606482502101592012-02-11T11:11:00.000-08:002012-02-11T11:11:49.518-08:00

My wife Rachelle is a dog lover and advocate. She volunteers her time at our local dog shelter and we have fostered a dog from there and plan on fostering more dogs to help them get adopted. Today, she has found a beautiful pit bull puppy from Lancaster California that will be put to sleep TODAY, unless she is rescued. Rachelle has been working with people in Lancaster and here at our local

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-12153732011954673802012-01-24T11:39:00.001-08:002012-01-24T11:39:59.673-08:00

Sometimes I feel a bit frustrated and get a creative block that brings me down. Here is a little video that has helped inspire me today.  I hope find something useful in this. 29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-52052632896503412512011-12-29T12:00:00.000-08:002011-12-29T12:00:28.315-08:00

I am primarily a 3d animator, even though I love all different kinds of animation. I get inspired by so many different things. Something that has been inspiring me lately is the truly imaginative work of the animator known as Indie Venture. Since I was curious about her work and I like sharing info on my blog, I decided to get in touch with her and ask her for an interview. Dan: Indie

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-43549381406910842892011-12-07T13:28:00.000-08:002011-12-26T14:32:07.235-08:00

  This contest has already been won! The winner is alpreb.  You can read below and find out a little something about Path of Exile. A dark fantasy action RPG with visceral combat   In Path of Exile, the player has been exiled from their homeland to the corrupted and deeply hostile continent of Wraeclast. Alone, or with other exiles, they must develop their skills and

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-37459654533922427122011-11-16T20:39:00.000-08:002011-12-26T14:32:51.937-08:00

I've been animating for Goldhawk Interactive on the game Xenonauts for the past couple of months and I love it! I have been doing human soldier animations and soon, I will start working on the enemy animations. I am really looking forward to that! When I first started, the basic animations for the soldiers were already done, so for the most part, I have just been adapting their master animations

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-43667273428854186412011-11-01T22:05:00.000-07:002011-12-26T14:33:34.044-08:00

My buddies at Phoenix Online Studios are about to release episode 4 of The Silver Lining. I was honored to be a lead animator on episode 4 for about 50% of the project. I had planned on going back to school and spending my time on my demo reel, so I decided to leave the project. I ended up not going back to school and instead, I am now working for Goldhawk Interactive on the game Xenonauts.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-45114774806008845342011-09-18T22:04:00.000-07:002011-12-26T14:37:00.643-08:00

I love indie video games! There has been quite a boom recently of indie game developers. With technology the way it's heading, if you have the smarts, strong desire and willingness to put in hours upon hours of hard work, you can make a video game.   Not everyone that makes a game has success, but every once in a while, a developer comes along and makes some awesome games and has some kind

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-85952763156577595262011-09-09T21:20:00.000-07:002011-12-26T14:38:34.739-08:00

  After careful consideration about what I should do, I have firmly decided not to go back and get my bachelors degree. I am doing what I should have been doing all along and focus only on animation. I have already stepped down from all the projects that I was working on just so I could go back to school. I was accepted to the 2 schools I applied at, got the award letter from

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-43789026758482619692011-09-05T22:07:00.000-07:002011-09-05T22:07:13.317-07:00

LostWhisper! Here's what he wrote! My names is LostWhisper And I seek a PAX Sivir I stay in my lane all day every day On my quest to their Nexus, where I'll get a bouquet Minions and turrets are no match for my boomerang And if I die, I die with a bang Nevertheless I revive And I teleport to strive I will continue the push I might even hide in the bush And when the lanes are clear I'll be left

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-40846042721018939952011-09-03T19:59:00.000-07:002011-12-07T16:52:58.526-08:00

At PAX Prime there was tons of free schwagg including some free stuff for League of Legends. I got a Nasus Riot K9 skin with the champion Nasus included. I also got an exclusive PAX Sivir skin with the champ Sivir included, that you can only get by attending PAX. I had so much stuff to sort through when I got back and guess what, I found an extra code for a PAX Sivir skin. What

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-7555483391341671592011-09-01T23:21:00.000-07:002011-09-01T23:36:33.423-07:00

I could totally post about all the awesome games, the great people that I met, the panels, the fun and prizes, but I'm not going to! I am going to make this post very simple. You should be able to tell how fun PAX Prime was just by looking at these photos of me. Here I am at the Prototype 2 booth. At this booth, people got on the stage one at a time and there was a guy with a microphone and he

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-26616445225182364472011-08-26T20:45:00.000-07:002011-08-26T20:45:11.811-07:00

We left Phoenix Oregon about 4:45 AM and expected to get up in Seattle about 1 or 2 PM. We did, but last night, I only got about 3 hours of sleep because we were packing and I was so excited for this vacation. When we arrived at our hotel, The Westin, which is only about 4 or 5 blocks from the convention center, our room wasn't ready so we decided to go check out PAX until they called us. They

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-5675909438439230882011-08-18T11:22:00.000-07:002011-08-18T16:20:21.254-07:00

Those lucky bastards! I am so stoked about this game. It's going to be released on 11/11/11 and I'm thinking about taking that whole week off just so I can really get into it. I haven't bought or got into any game in about a year, except for League of Legends which I play just about every day. The real question for Bethesda, "Is there going to be a playable demo at PAX Prime this year?" Well

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-53580923927749617362011-08-17T15:44:00.000-07:002011-08-17T16:18:46.257-07:00

I am expecting to meet a bunch of new people when Chelley and I go to PAX Prime next week so I decided to design some business cards to hand out while I'm there. Plain business cards aren't very memorable, so I wanted to do something fun. Greg Kapersky the genius behind 8 Bit Strange was awesome enough to let me use Kratos from The Final Bit since I am the one that animated him. I put that on

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-13889966319234222462011-08-15T14:07:00.000-07:002011-08-15T14:11:01.980-07:00

Finally at came in the mail! I was sad that I missed the actual graduation and wish I could have been there to congratulate my fellow AM alums, but I am so happy for this. I worked for two years, long and hard and am very proud of what I achieved!

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-46533682393134087732011-08-13T18:45:00.000-07:002011-08-17T16:07:25.390-07:00

12 hours and 16 minutes as of this post until Pax Prime in Seattle begins! I am so excited that Rachelle and I are going to this. This will be our first time at Pax, and my third time in Seattle. I've been on a bus going to and from Wenatchee that went through Seattle, so I really didn't get to see much at all. The schedule for Pax is up and there are a bunch of exciting panels to see. A lot of

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-89172300242746506192011-08-13T15:48:00.000-07:002011-08-13T18:08:18.437-07:00

Recently, I did a couple of shots for the new 8 Bit Strange short film "Final Bit." I got my very own page on the IMDb! Tags: GameTrailers.com, Eight Bit Strange - Final Bit (Short Film), PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 I feel honored that Greg Kapersky from GK concepts gave me this opportunity. Greg is also an Animation Mentor Alum and his work is very inspiring to me. You can also see 8

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-8073515669707286242011-04-22T17:51:00.000-07:002011-08-22T11:05:17.204-07:00

My animation reel and resume have moved to their very own pages. REEL RESUME .

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-78275045531669984432011-03-31T16:00:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:54:48.128-07:00

Here is my reel from Class 5 all the way to Class 1 ~

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-90802185678521254052011-03-27T22:49:00.000-07:002011-03-27T22:58:34.437-07:00

I was going through my old flash drives the other day and come upon some of my old artwork and I thought that I would share them with you. These are about 10 years old, maybe more.Sarrowz End album cover.(I did everything except the text.)Self portrait "Danmpire""Clowny""Beelzebonnet"Self Portrait

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-68768844935581476122011-03-21T16:25:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:54:48.129-07:00

Here is my polished version of my 2 person dialogue. ~

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-63520582599117925792011-03-09T20:07:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:54:48.129-07:00

A bit more polish on my animation! This week I really get into the nitty gritty of the facial animation, so be ready for a post next week.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-40433782848090157272011-03-04T23:13:00.001-08:002011-08-20T12:54:48.130-07:00

Here is my 2 person dialogue shot so far. I have got the blocking all done and put everything into spline mode. I have not even opened up the graph editor yet! ~

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-49976361234683130112011-01-28T08:41:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:54:48.130-07:00

I have been so busy with AM and with The Silver Lining that I have not had any time to post. So far in class 5, I finished up my "Take the pills Jessica" assignment. This week we are starting our two person dialog shot with multiple cuts. it has to be around 12-15 seconds long. Here are the lines that I have chosen to turn in. If you want, please vote on which line you find the most

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-36978323833452673102011-01-11T20:15:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:54:48.131-07:00

Here is the reel from all the work that I have done so far. I will be back to post more about what's going on in class 5. By the way, my new mentor isPETE PAQUETTE!~

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-33312556189913325902010-12-13T12:09:00.000-08:002010-12-13T20:48:20.961-08:00

If you have been playing games for a long time, then you must have heard of King's Quest. What a great point and click game. Well, some very cool people are making a sequel to the old King's Quest game called The Silver Lining, and guess what...I am animating on it! I am so stoked!!Check out the trailer for the game!Here is a great interview with Cesar Bittar about The Silver Lining.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-66070662512798395982010-12-12T18:31:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:54:48.131-07:00

Wow... Here it is, the end of term already. I've got my shot all polished up and ready for next term! Our first assignment next term is to take this shot and put in the facial animation. Here I come mouth and brows.I did do some work on the eyes since my last post. It's really subtle, but I've got a few eye darts in there. Watch closely and see if you can spot em. Term 4, HERE I COME!!!~

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-57181921134327659352010-12-05T10:28:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:54:48.131-07:00

Alright! I finally started digging into the graph editor and really put some ease-ins and ease-outs into my keys. I've also started really developing my overlaps into it also. This shot is really coming along nicely! I still am learning how to make stuff feel alive, but this is really getting there for me.Please post some comments on here and let me know what you think!!!!~

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-88818906961657004832010-12-05T10:20:00.001-08:002011-08-20T12:54:48.132-07:00

This week, I just put my blocking into spline mode. I have not even looked at the graph editor at all! This is what I've got. Week 10 will be my first refining pass. That means I will actually open up my graph editor and start massaging my splines and tangents.~

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-14945426654327709842010-11-24T09:09:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:54:48.133-07:00

Here are 3 great questions I received in my email from an aspiring South African animator named Angie.Hi Dan,I was referred to your blog by someone at Animation Mentor, as I was interested in what the Maya springboard class entailed. I see you said you had worked in flash before. I have also worked in both flash and after effects but never in a 3D program, I have been watching Maya tutorials

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-75999217313541403762010-11-20T17:58:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:54:48.133-07:00

Here is my next pass of blocking for my dialogue shot. I nailed the beats down a bit more and got some more info in there and also moved the eyelids and eyeballs around a bit. Since I am just learning my workflow, I'm not sure if I want to get into animating the eyes earlier or later. Another assignment we had this week was to pose a hand with the emotion of ANGER. I'm pretty sure that this

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-48890052943603154112010-11-19T10:06:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:54:48.134-07:00

Here is my initial blocking for my dialogue shot. After I received my critique, I realized that I had some timing issues and that I need to work on some subtle changes.Here are the changes that I have worked on so far this week. I still have a bunch of stuff to do before my Sunday at noon deadline, but I really feel like this is much better than my initial blocking and it is REALLY coming

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-71613114527189905522010-11-08T18:26:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:54:48.134-07:00

Half way through this term!For my next assignment, I get to do my first DIALOGUE shot! YAY!I have to decide between these three lines. 1. You don't have to stay in the house, go outside, get some air. Take the pills, and calm yourself. Take the pills Jessica!2. Well, I did... go online. I found this new couch, it's really comfortable, uh hu huh. God your moody. I bet your ovulating right

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-70718260160475823502010-10-30T19:04:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:54:48.135-07:00

Here is the final polished version of my assignment! Next week, I get to pick 3 lines of dialogue to animate! I can't wait! I finally get to animate a model that has a real face with a mouth! That is gonna be fun.~

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-46644368524769933242010-10-30T17:07:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:54:48.135-07:00

Here is my final revision before putting it into spline! I got this post up a little late. Right now I am actually doing the FINAL version of it. I will probably post that up in the next hour or so!~

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-16001801087467325492010-10-19T13:46:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:54:48.136-07:00

Here is some reblocking from my last shot. My mentor, Brent Homman feels like he should be falling off of the platform more than stepping off. You will get to see the next revision next week! Please people, post some comments on here so that I know you are reading my blog! Click the facebook share button up on the top right corner to share my post with your facebook friends. I need a bit of

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-65056516761073620112010-10-12T16:20:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.135-07:00

Oh Yeash! The first pass of blocking for my first shot of this term is complete! Check it out RIGHT NOW! Does anyone remember the outtake for the reference from this shot? How about another outtake starring..........CHELLEY!! Please post your comments!!~

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-43487681234039383592010-10-06T17:32:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.136-07:00

Class 4 has begun. This class is called "Introduction to Acting" and my mentor this term is Brent Homman. Brent is from Disney and just got through wrapping up the new film TANGLED. Wow! Being schooled by someone from DISNEY! How awesome is that.I have begun working on my first shot and here is the reference video. My girlfriend Rachelle and I had a great time doing this video. We haven't

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-7479834618134020252010-10-06T17:29:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.137-07:00

Here is my reel from class 1 to class 3.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-32780886639631089032010-09-12T14:19:00.001-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.137-07:00

Here is the final version of my walk! I have spent so much time on this and I am happy to move on. One more week for class 3 and then it's on to Class 4 at animation mentor!!

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-19891969339487159302010-09-11T18:19:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.138-07:00

This is right before polishing! One more week to go.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-76775064401461075932010-08-29T20:26:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.138-07:00

Alright! Here is some reblocking of my cute little walk. There is something that just does not feel right to me. My mentor Scott Carroll told me the 3 most important things I need to work on in this.Posing, posture, and keeping the "bouquet of flowers" more in the front, and not moving them around so much. Next week, I will post my re-reblocking of this with all of the great new changes. The

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-73047575245068516672010-08-23T18:49:00.001-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.138-07:00

Time sure flies!The last project for this term is Stewie bringing his girl a bouquet of flowers. Since I am so awesome at modeling flowers, I made the whole bouquet a sphere. I still have a few more weeks to go. My next post will have all the changes that my mentor suggests in my E-Critique.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-73383991679646316362010-08-16T20:36:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.139-07:00

The finished box lift animation. Comments are always appreciated!

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-89210570330891291822010-08-11T16:17:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.140-07:00

This week, we had a substitute mentor, Anthony Wong! He is really high energy and funny as all get out.He gave me some great tips on making weight believable. Here is my blocking plus submission. Also, I had some issues using constraints this week. I had to playblast it because it is freaking funny!CONSTRAINTS GONE WILD I will be posting my final submission sometime soon!

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-58407600417120483672010-08-02T23:14:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.140-07:00

Here is my first pass of blocking for my new shot that I will be working on. Next week, I really get to dig into this shot and making it look great.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-90781584859381505282010-07-30T17:51:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.141-07:00

Rachelle and I just got back to our room at the Hotel Rex from the AM open house, and a tour at PIXAR animation studios. The open house was great and we got to meet a whole bunch of people. Sadly, Carlos Baena, Shaun Kelly and Bobby Beck weren't there, but that's ok. There was about 50 students and alumni that we got to hang out with.Chelley and I have pictures posted on facebook. The only

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-29236420025278621272010-07-25T13:58:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.141-07:00

Here is the finished product of the last 4 weeks. I really feel like I need to work on weight quite a bit more, so this next shot that I'm doing, is going to be Stewie picking up a heavy box off the ground, turning around and setting it down on something a bit higher.Here is my video reference. Here are the planning sketches that I did also.Please post some comments!

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-6076023453021411122010-07-18T11:12:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.142-07:00

Hi everyone! After getting my E-Critique from my mentor and getting a bunch of comments from my peers, I am posting up the next pass of blocking for my viking. This next week, I put this into splined curves and hand it in as a finished project.Also, I shoot video reference and draw thumbnails for my next shot.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-5566242191489140212010-07-10T20:23:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.142-07:00

My first pass of blocking did not come out at all like my video reference....Imagine that....Check it out. This may or may not be what I am handing in this class, but it's really close. Please post some comments and let me know what you think..

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-38503589695261437392010-07-10T20:18:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.143-07:00

Week 1Introductions were made by everyone in class and our first assignment was to come up with a theme for this term, draw some thumbnails and get down some video references for our first animation this.So, here is something funny for you to watch...my video reference! Laugh all you want, cuz I am a funny guy!Next post... I will show you the first pass of blocking for this shot!.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-62128120675514393372010-07-10T20:12:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.143-07:00

Hi everyone! I just started my 3rd term at AM, (not counting the Maya Springboard class,) and I am super stoked. My mentor this term is Scott Carroll and he works at Blue Sky Studios. He has worked on tons of stuff and here is his bio from AM.I have been working as a character animator for 5 years. I got my start animating on the "Sims" video game working for Maxis/Electronic Arts. After Maxis,

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-20802408877249614742010-06-14T17:53:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.144-07:00

Me not post in long, long time! That's OK, Ive got all the work that I've done all the way from class 1. Check it out. Please post some comments and let me know what you think!

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-34143520905692900292010-04-18T16:35:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.144-07:00

Hi everyone... I haven't posted in a few weeks, and I bet your all wondering what the heck is going on.I started class 2 and have been quite busy! My mentor this term is Dimos Vrysellas and he has worked for Dreamworks, Disney and Sony. You can check out Dimos' Portfolio if you would like.In 2005 he started his own animation company called CIRCUS INK ENTERTAINMENT.Be sure and check that link out,

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-62699282642716539252010-03-28T09:14:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.145-07:00

Hi everyone. I'm on my 2 day spring break and I got this great email from someone interested in Animation Mentor that I thought I would share with you.Hello Dan!Sorry to bother you, I have been looking at your blog and it seems pretty amazing. Thank you very much for posting every week what you are doing at Animation Mentor!I am writing to you because I am a prospective student of Animation

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-78451832953239782242010-03-22T18:14:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.145-07:00

FINALLY, IT'S HERE...... and guess what...we have no spring break.This term ends Friday and the next term starts next Monday!I wonder who my mentor will be.....I wonder what other awesome people will be in my class.So, as promised, here is the video compilation of all that I did in my first term.I learned so much from Brian. He is an awesome teacher and a great mentor. .

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-84101463137982595102010-03-22T18:10:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.146-07:00

Almost done! HELLS YEAH!This class I did a personality walk. Some people really went crazy with this, but I decided to keep it mellow and give Ballie a little groove thang. The pose for this week had the theme of BALANCEMy next post will have a compilation video of all the assignments I did this term.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-55062495167073034332010-03-14T11:47:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:55:29.146-07:00

This week, we had to block out a walk with some personality.I had a great time doing this, and it was still just as hard as doing the vanilla walk.I think that I would like to make his feet point out instead of just straight ahead though. Our pose for this week was a pose showing exhaustion.I got this idea from a picture of a little kid sleeping with his head on a shelf..

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-53463237505670520042010-03-08T21:21:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:55:29.147-07:00

This week, I smoothed out the blocking on my vanilla walk. I know that I need a lot of practice to really make this shine, but I'm sure that I am going to be doing tons of different walks in the future. Also we did a pose showing concern. I made a guy looking over a cliff for his long lost something or other.Please post comments and let me know what you think!.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-90026025890507753572010-03-01T15:31:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:55:29.147-07:00

This week, we started blocking in a vanilla walk with our new character, Ballie! A vanilla walk is just a normal walk with no personality. Check it out. Week 9 is really where I get to finesse the walk and make it much smoother.This week, we also did a strength pose.Week 9 coming up......

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-72638746208580057572010-02-20T21:22:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:55:29.148-07:00

Aaahhh... Week 7. Right about the middle of the term.This week, we had our choice between doing an animation with One Leg, or Tailor. Since I did a One Leg jump when I was in the Maya Springboard Class, I decided to use Tailor. He is a little ball with a tail...hence "Tail-or."We were supposed to make him do at least 3 jumps between 70 frames and 120 frames. This was a great lesson for

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-39309065596142990372010-02-13T09:42:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.603-07:00

On week 6 we learned about overlapping action.Here is my pendulum submission.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-85374306139224908922010-02-06T09:45:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.603-07:00

Hi everyone! This week we had two assignments again. The first assignment was to make Stu into a pose where he looks devastated. This week, I'm gonna show you my sketches also. Here are some of my ideas for DEVASTATION.Here is the final pose. I was really thinking about putting this on a tshirt!The next part of my assignment was to make a ball go through an obstacle course. This time, we

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-59547976239565322642010-01-30T20:42:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.604-07:00

This week's assignment was to animate two balls, (one heavy and one light,) dropping to the ground.Check it out! Please post some comments PEOPLE!!!!..

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-17362706201270584772010-01-26T17:44:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.604-07:00

In this class I had two different assignments. The first one was to pose Stu in a way that he expressed excitement.The second part of our assignment was the infamous bouncing ball. ~~Please comment on my blog!!!!!~~

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-7685649966975199422010-01-26T17:41:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.605-07:00

This week, we really just got to play around with Stu. Our assignment was to go out into the world and just do some sketches of some people. I picked a guy taking his dog for a walk. I sketched him when his dog was taking a dump. This is what I did.I know it's not too exciting, and there is no leash and no dog. I really got to get the hang of Stu's controls and how his joints move though.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-79589680536671245882010-01-07T19:16:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.605-07:00

Finally, my actual first week at Animation Mentor has begun! There are 16 people in my class and I have seen some of their work and let me tell you what....THEY ARE FREAKING AWESOME!! I really have to set the bar high for this one.My mentor this term is Brian Menz and he seems awesome. He has worked on tons of stuff......I'll just copy and paste a little bit of his profile so you can see..Brian

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-9454342806634781212009-12-14T09:18:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.606-07:00

I received my certificate for the fall 2009 Maya Springboard Workshop from Animation Mentor!Next term starts January 4th, 2010....

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-31700735240216473862009-12-02T23:34:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.606-07:00

Class 11 - One Leg AnimationAt last, the final Maya Springboard Class. I start Animation Mentor for reals in a month, January 4th 2009. Finally.This last assignment is a simple hop from a simple character that they call One Leg. I will probably post a video that has all the animations that I have done for this class sometime between now and when my next class starts.I had a great time

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-48602694032236587782009-11-30T22:14:00.001-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.607-07:00

Render of the ClawHere is what the claw looks like rendered in a higher definition, with lighting and shadows. Please post comments! Questions, criticism... anything!!!...

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-59506152357807547022009-11-30T17:39:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.607-07:00

Robot Arm SupplementHi everyone! As per request by Chuckles, I now post a little extra animation that I have been working on. I wanted to give the claw in our assignment a little bit more personality. I think that I have quite a ways to go on this, buy any comments that anyone has will totally be helpful! ...

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-55699116055966735922009-11-27T23:06:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.608-07:00

lass 10 - Basic Animation - Clean Up and ConstraintsWe learned how to clean up our blocking and how to use constraints. Constraints enable you to constrain the position, orientation, or scale of an object to other objects, kind of like your pepsi can (is constrained) in your hand. Once again, feel free to post comments, and ask me any questions if you have em!.....

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-90190553199903475622009-11-19T17:48:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.608-07:00

Class 9 - Robot Arm BlockingWe got a cute little character to work with this session. A robot arm. All we have is 100 frames (a little over 4 seconds) to do our animation. The arm is supposed to swivel around, pick up a can and swivel back around and set it down. At first, I really tried to give him a bunch of character by having him look at the can from a couple of different angles, but then I

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-69561287618795470122009-11-17T18:59:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.609-07:00

Even MORE Basic Animation.This time, we were supposed to make a ball bounce. I used the graph editor a lot on this one. Then, after we had one ball bouncing, we were supposed to save it and then import it back into itself and have a second ball. The second ball needed to bounce a little different than the first ball. This class really gave me a bunch of insight into the graph editor and what it

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-66744052125271542722009-11-11T21:35:00.001-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.609-07:00

Class 7 - More Basic AnimationToday was some more basic animation fundamentals. We did a bit more in the graph editor learning about tangents and different ways to change our curves and how those curves effect the movements and timing.This animation started out as a ball going from top to right to bottom to left to top again. It really looked more like a diamond than a circle. I worked on this

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-37322881389918819432009-11-10T17:46:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.610-07:00

Class 6 - Basic Animation 1Finally we are doing a little bit of animati0n! YAY! For these past few weeks, I have been learning a bunch about Maya, but I haven't really got to make anything move yet. In this class, I learned just the very basics about how you make things move. I learned about the timeline, which is really similar to the timeline in ADOBE FLASH, and the graph editor. The graph

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-13129436411250719282009-11-07T11:57:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.610-07:00

Class 5 - Lighting and RenderingWe have taken our scenes and added some actual lighting to it. Check it out!It looks way better with the lighting and all the shadows now, huh?Please comment, or ask me questions...I love that.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-81280432867614368222009-11-07T11:54:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.611-07:00

Class 4 - Basic ShadingNow to the cool stuff. We took our scenes and applied colors and textures to them.It's starting to look pretty cool, huh? It still is a little flat... Oh yeah, the next class we will be doing some lighting.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-639536057571881362009-11-07T11:49:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.611-07:00

Class 3 - More Modeling & Camera NavigationWe got to take our biped models that we made and put them in some sort of situation. It could have been anything that we wanted. We also learned about camera placement. Here is what I came up with.I know, I know... why is everything all gray? Because there are no colors and textures in the scene.....Coming up next.....colors and textures...

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-82346604733273816682009-11-07T10:58:00.000-08:002011-08-20T12:56:16.611-07:00

I have decided to take the Animation Mentor's Maya Springboard class. This is not a required class if you want to go to AM, but for me it is really helpful. The objective of this workshop is to really learn the ins and outs of Maya which is the program that I will be using throughout my classes and more than likely when I am out there working at PIXAR!It's really easy to find AM student work out

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121870160344571654.post-19902088097957730062009-07-28T10:40:00.000-07:002011-08-20T12:56:16.612-07:00

I have recently enrolled in animationmentor.com. I start the 2009 fall term this September, and this blog is a place for me to chronicle that journey. I would really like to thank my mom and pops, and let them know that I really appreciate them! None of this would have been possible except for their help and loving support.

Dan Longhttps://profiles.google.com/106825244335043314715noreply@blogger.com2