CTN reel 2014 from Rachel Chelius on Vimeo.
This is my reel I showed at CTN, the last shot is a WIP. All my rigs provided by Animation Mentor.
Animation and Other Artsy Things
Friday, November 21, 2014
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Update!
Oh my gosh, it has been like 6 month-ish since I have posted. Being super busy, time decides to fly by you without letting you know. I am making a resolution right now to start blogging more! I am working on polishing up my class 2 reel, and then I promise to post my progress!
I have also decided that I am going to start reading and posting animation resources once a week, as well as doodles and some illustrations. I really want to get my work out there to everybody, and I want to make blogging a much larger habit! So I am officially making a promise to myself.
While you wait: For your viewing pleasure, check out this great short by Bird Box Studios:
Toodles for now!
I have also decided that I am going to start reading and posting animation resources once a week, as well as doodles and some illustrations. I really want to get my work out there to everybody, and I want to make blogging a much larger habit! So I am officially making a promise to myself.
While you wait: For your viewing pleasure, check out this great short by Bird Box Studios:
Toodles for now!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
AM Class 1: Week 2
First...a little bit about my mentor from Disney/Pixar. (can you believe it?!?)
For class 1 at AM, I have the privilege of my first mentor being Anthony Wong, currently working at Pixar Animation Studios. At Pixar, he is currently animating on the upcoming "Monsters University", and previously animated on Ratatouille and Cars. Before Pixar, he was a traditional animator working at Disney. He has worked on films like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan, Tarzan, Fantasia 2000, and Treasure Planet. He even got to animate with the amazing Glen Keane on shots in Treasure Planet!!! How awesome is that?!? He is also an alum from CalArts, probably one of the best animation schools in the country. I am really happy I am learning from a veteran in the animation industry, it is honestly a dream come true.
Now onto my first assignment!!!
Week 1 our only job was to learn the campus and get to know each other...so this week we finally got to do a real assignment. Week 2 was all about observing, sketching, and finally posing. The lecture this week really emphasized on "the basics" (the 12 principles of animation) and how important of a tool they are to any animator. We all want to jump in and do an amazingly epic animated shot with Megamind shooting at a giant squid or something....but you have to crawl before you can walk. All shots go back to the basics. If you don't have the basics, your shot will be poop.
To really get us to practice posing, our first assignment was to go out and sketch from life. Observation is a key tool to any animator because it is how we study movement in different and exciting ways. This is why drawing from life is so important. So, I went out and gestured like a madwomen. I felt super rusty and a little strange watching so many people, but I really started to get into the feel of it after the second day. I got in the habit of walking with a sketchbook, and what a difference it makes! Gesturing is different then life drawing. It is not about anatomy; it is about capturing the meaning of the pose. A strong line of action is also extremely important.
Here are my gestures, including the one I choose to create in maya (circled).
After choosing the gesture I really liked, I had to take it into Maya, and using the rig "Stu", bring the pose to life. This was extremely challenging, especially with the pose I had chosen. Thank goodness for the awesome AM community, they really helped me out with all their great feedback. Here is my final pose.
I think it turned out really well, and my mentor really liked it :) I learned a lot from just posing my character and I am looking forward to what the future week has to bring....
That's all folks!
~Rachel
For class 1 at AM, I have the privilege of my first mentor being Anthony Wong, currently working at Pixar Animation Studios. At Pixar, he is currently animating on the upcoming "Monsters University", and previously animated on Ratatouille and Cars. Before Pixar, he was a traditional animator working at Disney. He has worked on films like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan, Tarzan, Fantasia 2000, and Treasure Planet. He even got to animate with the amazing Glen Keane on shots in Treasure Planet!!! How awesome is that?!? He is also an alum from CalArts, probably one of the best animation schools in the country. I am really happy I am learning from a veteran in the animation industry, it is honestly a dream come true.
Now onto my first assignment!!!
Week 1 our only job was to learn the campus and get to know each other...so this week we finally got to do a real assignment. Week 2 was all about observing, sketching, and finally posing. The lecture this week really emphasized on "the basics" (the 12 principles of animation) and how important of a tool they are to any animator. We all want to jump in and do an amazingly epic animated shot with Megamind shooting at a giant squid or something....but you have to crawl before you can walk. All shots go back to the basics. If you don't have the basics, your shot will be poop.
To really get us to practice posing, our first assignment was to go out and sketch from life. Observation is a key tool to any animator because it is how we study movement in different and exciting ways. This is why drawing from life is so important. So, I went out and gestured like a madwomen. I felt super rusty and a little strange watching so many people, but I really started to get into the feel of it after the second day. I got in the habit of walking with a sketchbook, and what a difference it makes! Gesturing is different then life drawing. It is not about anatomy; it is about capturing the meaning of the pose. A strong line of action is also extremely important.
Here are my gestures, including the one I choose to create in maya (circled).
After choosing the gesture I really liked, I had to take it into Maya, and using the rig "Stu", bring the pose to life. This was extremely challenging, especially with the pose I had chosen. Thank goodness for the awesome AM community, they really helped me out with all their great feedback. Here is my final pose.
I think it turned out really well, and my mentor really liked it :) I learned a lot from just posing my character and I am looking forward to what the future week has to bring....
~Rachel
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Back in Action!
So I finally have the time to post in my blog!!! Wooo! I have been down with the sickness, literally, all week long and I am recovering from a nasty cough/running nose/flu cold thing. However, I will not let it get me down! I have exciting news!
I was accepted into Animation Mentor recently (yay!), and took an intro class over the summer called Maya Springboard. It was technically a Maya refresher class that went over all the basics. During this time I got to meet some really awesome people, and had a great mentor. We barely touched on animation, but no worries! That is coming soon enough. Here is some of the awesome art I created over the summer. Enjoy!
This was one of my first assignments, to create a simple maya background. I really like how this turned out.
A later assignment was to take our background and add textures and lighting. I like lots of color :D
We had to create a simple character out of primitive shapes and basic modeling. Above is a little sketch I did before coming up with the final product.
I really like how my character turned out. He can fly! Whoooosh!
This was my final assignment for the Springboard class. We had to animate a one legged character jumping. I am still not 100% happy with it, but I think it is alright for now. I am looking forward to animating in the next class! This is going to rock!
More updates coming soon!
~Rachel
I was accepted into Animation Mentor recently (yay!), and took an intro class over the summer called Maya Springboard. It was technically a Maya refresher class that went over all the basics. During this time I got to meet some really awesome people, and had a great mentor. We barely touched on animation, but no worries! That is coming soon enough. Here is some of the awesome art I created over the summer. Enjoy!
This was my final assignment for the Springboard class. We had to animate a one legged character jumping. I am still not 100% happy with it, but I think it is alright for now. I am looking forward to animating in the next class! This is going to rock!
More updates coming soon!
~Rachel
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
New Layout
Now this is more like it!!! A much brighter, happier blog. I like this look much better. I will be making a few more changes..but this is feeling much better. I am happy!!! Enjoy my new links, and the new look in general.
To make you smile, here is an awesome animation short by a calArts student named Michael Rianda. No matter how down I am feeling, this always makes my day.
For more of Michael Rianda's stuff, here is a link to his youTube page!
http://www.youtube.com/user/mrianda?feature=watch
Go out and get those moon shoes.
To make you smile, here is an awesome animation short by a calArts student named Michael Rianda. No matter how down I am feeling, this always makes my day.
For more of Michael Rianda's stuff, here is a link to his youTube page!
http://www.youtube.com/user/mrianda?feature=watch
Go out and get those moon shoes.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Happy 100th Birthday Gene Kelly!!!!
Hey everyone! This blog is going to be going under some major construction pretty soon....I have super exciting news, but it will all be revealed very very soon!
For now, I wanted to wish Gene Kelly a Happy 100th Birthday!
Gene Kelly, you are one of the most talented actors and dancers to ever grace the big screen. Thank you for your films. You are a legend, an inspiration, and are greatly missed.
Thank you for inspiring me.
~Rachel
For now, I wanted to wish Gene Kelly a Happy 100th Birthday!
Gene Kelly, you are one of the most talented actors and dancers to ever grace the big screen. Thank you for your films. You are a legend, an inspiration, and are greatly missed.
Thank you for inspiring me.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
IF: Heights
So...here is my first attempt with markers in my sketchbook since about 2009. I must stay, experimenting in markers is super fun...but it is extremely unforgiving if you make a mistake. Oh well, I kind of enjoy jumping into a medium I don't know....I think I am going to practice this more. Even though it was just a quick sketch, I had so much fun that I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship.....
I am utterly afraid of heights, so I decided to try and do this in a way that would make me smile...and nothing is better then a piece of giant, piled up high cake! Even better, a piece that is as tall as you are! Yum.
Enjoy. And hopefully...there will be many (much, much much, MUCH better) marker pieces in my near future.
I am utterly afraid of heights, so I decided to try and do this in a way that would make me smile...and nothing is better then a piece of giant, piled up high cake! Even better, a piece that is as tall as you are! Yum.
Enjoy. And hopefully...there will be many (much, much much, MUCH better) marker pieces in my near future.
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