Saturday, December 22, 2012

Life Drawing - December 5th 2012

This week I continued with my experimenting with inks and pens. I also used some water-soluble oil pastels. The model this week was a beardy fellow which was different. I drove to class, which was a bad idea because traffic was terrible, it made me late and put me in a bad mood. I never realised how my head space affected my work or at least my attitude to my work. Next time I'll tram to class and take my time.























Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Scribbles on my iPad with the Pogo Connect

I finally got my Pogo Connect in the mail the other day. The device was really easy to set up and worked straight away in my favourite apps. I did have some trouble getting brush settings working such as toggling between brush size pressure control and opacity pressure control... To be honest I'm still not entirely sure how choose the appropriate brush setting in Procreate. Despite this I managed to find some nice brushes and do some sketches on the tram and at the airport. Have a look and let me know what you think. Full review for the Pogo Connect soon!

 





Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Life Drawing – November 28 2012


This week we had a Japanese model, Ewan, who posed in a kimono. Drawing the fabrics gave my drawings an entirely different focus. The shapes, contrast in form and texture between the model and the large garment was very interesting. I tried to utilise some orange ink I purchased as well as pen and black inks. The most interesting imagery came from the imperfections of the wet media (bleedings, splats etc) with the straight precision, detail and lines created with markers and pens.















Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Life Drawing November 21 2012

Finally went back to life drawing this week. It was really good. My drawings were a bit rough but turned out ok in the end. I forgot to bring paint brushes and decent paper! Next week I would like to play with ink.

The model was wearing crocs when they arrived! Luckily I did not have to draw them.









Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Comparison of iPad Pressure Sensitive Styluses

The iPad is an exciting addition to the animator’s workflow. It allows us to draw, take notes, read and shoot reference imagery and video on a digital platform while on the move. I've been trying to use the iPad to draw, scribble ideas and develop on the go. I love not lugging my laptop and Wacom along. I’m over having 20 sketch books scattered around my bags, desk and work. Naturally, my sketch books are like me: disorganised and messy. I lose and misplace them all the time. I thought the iPad was going to be my answer to this, allowing me to create boards, concept imagery and even rough animation direct to my dropbox for further development at home. Unfortunately the bag of sad Italian sausages (my fingers) as an input device turned out to be not as precise as I hoped. I opted for a small Wacom Bamboo stylus. Upgrading from 'sausages' to a 'twiggy stick' (small salami deli snack) added a greater level of control. It’s more precise, but seemingly stinky. I’m planning out the next step to improve my input device by purchasing a pressure sensitive stylus from the electronic deli of the internet.

What I want is a device that feels more natural and precise than my fingers or a stylus. I’m not expecting something as good as my Cintiq, but I do want something better that feels natural. It needs to work with most apps I currently use (Procreate, Sketchbook Pro, and Animation Creator HD), have a decent battery life and be easy to connect. I don’t want to be charging, changing batteries and waiting for a device to sync when I see a wonderful pose. This thing needs to be as accessible as my pen and pad in order for me to actually use it, otherwise there will be too many barriers for me to bother.

It looks like there are 4 pressure sensitive styluses (or styli) of choice available at the moment. Each feature possesses different looks and abilities making no device the same. They are roughly around the same price mark, $80-$100 but all have varying features and limitations. The 4 devices I’m looking at are Andoit Jot Touch, Pogo Connect, JaJa and Pressure Pen. Some of these caught my eye when Kickstarter campaigns began to fund these devices. I was too slow off the mark to fund the initial 2 devices, Jot Touch and Jaja, but I did manage to get in and pitch some money towards the Pressure Pen: an open source hardware pressure pen which connects via the microphone jack on Android and iOS devices.

I put in all the details I could find about the 4 devices in the below table trying to work out the benefits and limitations of each device.



Ja JaPogo Connect Jot TouchPressurePen
WirelessYesYesYesNo
Pressure Levels1024"Hundreds"2561000+
Buttons212-
Apps Supported (pressure sensitive and full version apps)61613unknown
Nib TypeJot style clear discMagnetic Replicable Rubber nibJot style clear discRubber nib
Battery Life40-80 hrs"Months"12 HrsNA
Battery Type1x AAA1x AAARechargeable - with included USB charger1x AAA
Cost$89.99 $79.95 $99.99 $60.00
ConnectivityBluetoothBluetooth 4.0Bluetooth 2.0Wired headphone Jack
Animation App?0FlipbookAnimation Desk0
Extrasworks in airplane mode?Free tracker app and LED light reflects paint colour - device always onUSB ChargerOpen Source Hardware - Android support - Cheap option with no case (3D printable)

I started looking at the benefits of each product. The JaJa and Pressure Pen claim high levels of pressure control of 1000+ pressure levels. This sounded appealing due to my desire for precision. Whereas the Pogo Connect and Jot Touch are limited to hundreds of levels. The different nibs on each device also claim to affect the sense of precision and control. Both the JaJa and Jot Touch have a clear transparent disk claiming greater precision. The Pogo Connect and Pressure Pen both rely on a rubber nib similar to the Wacom Bamboo stylus I currently own. Additional physical buttons began to seem important, simply click to undo or access menus. The JaJa and Jot boast two buttons, whilst the Pogo is limited to one and the Pressure pen has none.

Software support is another major deciding factor. The Jot Touch and Pogo Connect boast 10+ apps both including an animation application. The JaJa is limited to 6 apps currently, but include the essential Sketch Book Pro and Procreate but no animation apps. The pressure pen is still desperately seeking support, with no confirmed app support announced beyond the initial testing application, but due to its openness is likely to come. Unfortunately after contacting Procreate, they've informed they don’t intend on supporting the Pressure Pen.

The other important barrier is battery life. I really don’t want to be scrambling for batteries or a charger in order to draw. The Jot Touch is limited to 12hrs with a rechargeable battery (charger included). The battery life is better with the JaJa boasting 40-80 hrs from a single and accessible AAA battery. Most impressive is the Pogo Connect claiming 'months' of charge off a single AAA thanks to its unique no moving parts design and use of Bluetooth 4.0. The Pogo Connect doesn't even require an on and off button. Simply pull it out, connect and draw. The pressure pen uses an AAA battery too but I've been unable to find out accurate charge details.

All of these come with some unique benefits and perks. The most interesting are with the Pogo Connect, although limited to one button, it does contain an intriguing LED light. This light mirrors the colour you're painting with on screen, digitally recreating the sense of coloured paint on the end of an artist's brush. It also included a downloadable 'Alien' style tracker app to help find the stylus when missing.

Given the variety of models available I thought it was going to be a tough decision to pick and purchase one of these. Ultimately it was a choice of practicality. The Pogo Connect's battery life and not needing to turn it on and off made it the best choice. The fact I can simply pull it out and use it as I need without being concerned by battery life or switching it on removed any limitations in usability. The app support was the best for the Pogo too, giving me the impression of a wider community and ongoing product support.

The deli of devices was varied with each meat tasting slightly different. The best tasting was the Pogo Connect which concentrated on app support and practicalities. The additional features such as the colour sensitive LED light, extra apps and continual support made it stand out. I've placed my order for this juicy morsel and hope it lives up to the expectation of being a delicious addition to my digital workflow. Keep an eye out for my review and some examples soon!

Monday, November 12, 2012

The Benefits and Limitations of Online Freelance Websites

When I graduated university I geared myself towards the dream of making money by making animation of any kind. After looking around I realised the possibilities were limited and in my laziness I turned to the web. I discovered freelancing websites such as Elance.com and oDesk.com in which you bid quotes on for varying projects. This seemed great but I quickly realised some major limitations and discovered some interesting possibilities.

I quickly found no one would employ me. I would bid but get refused. This was because 1. I had no experience tied to my profile. No one within those platforms had used me before and I had no ratings. 2. I was bidding too high. I always thought, don’t sell myself short, but I was faced with bidding against the likes of Chinese and Indian animators who could afford to bid a lot less due to economic differentials. The AUD was higher than ever and I had to sacrifice my fee, lowering my fee to somewhere between $1.00 and $4.00 an hour. Anything for the ‘portfolio’ is what I thought. Ultimately sacrificing my income and pushing my language and communication skills made me an attractive contractor for a few projects.

I had a distinct feeling that a lot of the projects were ill-considered and ran by those who were ill-experienced. It was home to flaky people who no consideration to the timely nature of animation. Last minute changes, complete revisions and re-animating came with the work. This is a dream place for the flaky entrepreneur who wants something done as cheap as possible with as little understanding as possible. If they had reasonable budgets I assume they would go with contractors they know in person, rather than resorting to the online option.

The other issue with these sites is they all take a bite along the way, taking a small cut of payments. You also have to purchase a kind of bid token, which will allow you to pitch for work. However, you get some for free each month. The system itself, reporting, billing, invoicing, milestones etc are actually set up very well. As a project manager you could manage a large scale project reasonably well with their tools. There is additional time tracking software which can pair in with their systems allowing flexible pay per hour set ups.

As a user you are required to agree/disagree to milestones or terms, making sure you deliverables are clear and the payment milestones are clear. This will ultimately save the any disagreements along the way. Payments can be moved direct to bank accounts or to a paypal account.

Ultimately these websites benefit the employer and not the contractor. This is where I see the possibilities more so. I could see myself with a tight deadline and looking at getting some colouring or other time consuming processes done through one of these websites. Given you’re working with new contacts with varying skill levels, I think it’s best to outsource the timely, less skilled task, saving your project time and money and may help reduce you quoting prices.

There are some downsides and risk to using these sites to outsource parts of your production. Firstly the intention to save time may end up having the reverse effect. The contractor could be slow, inexperienced, or require too much babying to complete the project. You may receive something you don’t want and have to redo it yourself in order to meet deadlines. The other problem is that often the contractors are based overseas. Having your contactors based overseas may be sound budget wise, but it would ultimately hurt out local industry, devalue the process and introduce language and communication barriers. Students, family and friends are always happy to help with medial task and often result in stronger relationships and contacts.

Be cautious as both a contractor and an employer on these sites. Really question whether the process will enhance you project or portfolio and pocket. If based in a remote area and local skills are limited, this may be a great way to get in contact with just the people you are looking for. But ultimately be careful, keep away from the screen and meet, greet and communicate with real people in the real world and you’ll probably develop greater work and greater connections.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Gesture Drawing and Sketching on my iPhone

The other night I was waiting for my girlfriend to finish work in the city. I had nothing to do. I didn’t want to read, play games or shop. So I just stood at Flinders Street Station watching the world go by. Suddenly I wanted to draw! But I had no sketch book with me (bad artist , bad!). I did have my iPad stylus and my iPhone handy. So I opened up Brushes and got sketching, pumping out poses and gesture drawings as I waited around.

There were some distinct advantages to this that were immediately apparent. I always feel self-conscious drawing on a sketch-pad in public, I feel voyeuristic (creepy!). Drawing on the phone made me feel as if I was blending in, not drawing (puntastic!) attention to myself. Although my own internal issue, I think it did loosen my sketches up. Limitless paper by drawing on the screen removed my stingy preciousness of wasting paper! I tend to cram, scribble and overlap when I worry about how many pages I have left. The iPhone allowed me to just smack out as many pictures as possible.

There were a few limitations too. My accuracy was sacrificed with the pen and limited screen size. I didn’t have a pressure sensitive pen (in the process of purchasing, blog post to come!). I found the notification centre pulling down when I sketched in the upper quadrant of the screen. .Similarly I found the edges of the screen not sensing my pen touches. Zoom functions seemed appealing but pulled my focus from the whole pose and action itself but might assist me with details.

There may not be a real substitute to paper and pen, but this was accessible, easy and actually eliminated the need to scan and cataloge in my drawing collection. Feeling comfortable and drawing with ease without the physical limitations of materials made this a fun test. Being able to upload directly to my blog from my phone will all these images is proof of the merit of scribbling on your phone.

Check out the results below.