Sneaky Squirrel Animation

Wolf Animation

2010-07-21T00:25:00.000-07:00

Elephant Animation

2010-07-21T00:24:00.000-07:00

Lovely Photo

2010-07-07T00:19:00.000-07:00

What an amazing photo, taken by Romain Golbenko. It reminds me of one of those elaborate paintings in the National gallery, where each character is reacting differently, some bored, some inquisative.. the anticipation, the resignation... amazing...

here is his official photographic website

The Wild Days

2010-06-03T03:36:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd take the time to collect some neat things I gathered from the Wild Things production. This is IRA, the character I got to animate. He was played by Forrest Whitaker, I saw so much footage of Forrest, I felt like I knew the guy!

Even the production toilet was a creative experiance!

Here are Sketches done by the amazing animator, Tim Watts (The thief and the cobbler,Corpse bride, Despereaux)He drew little sketches everytime he came to my desk to discuss shots.

Here is my sakteboard, that Spike was kind enought to sign for me... What an awesome character he is, gosh!

Here's Spike fighting off all the Framestore staff looking for autographs

Heres a great photo of the Wild Things Production with Spike

Here is K.W. advertised at our bustop, woohoo! Roumer is that K.W. may stand for Kate Winslet....

Here is the crew shirt.I thought it'd be nice to take a pic before it fades... Thanks to Daniel for organising these...

Here are the awesome skateboards that Spike released though his Girl Skateboards co.

Here are some of the different posters and covers that were released

It turned out that it was during production that banksey's famous artwork was removed from the wall near the Royal Mail buildings. The company that owned the building said that it was a routine painting schedule, yeah right!!!

Being an Animator

2010-03-29T00:54:00.000-07:00

I'm always reluctant to carry on about how exciting it is to be an Animator, as Animation Mentor have pushed this idea to the extreme of sounding like used-car salesmen. I dont want to do that.

But i can say that there is alot to say about being an animator. One thing is that the situation is constantly changing, ie, you work on several projects that are often nothing like the last, so theres some sort of variation, which is so pivotal in keeping life fresh.

On the other hand , it can mean that some of the best animators in the world end up doing really mundane tasks at times, like cleaning the mocap data on a dogs jaw for 3months, or animating 300 books opening. I dunno, you get my drift.

But there are other things that make animation a great art to immerse yourself in.
here is one of my favorite:

I HATE the tabloids. Always realeasing disturbing vague information each morning, like the one headline 'Killed by half a paracetamol tablet' in huge black letters in the front of the paper. read further and it says in small print....'the victim took 16 tablets, which was one half more than her body could handle'

But , because I am an animator, I can still find use and joy is skipping through the badly written tabloids, because I get to see unusual characters, unusual poses, stages in a walk cycle, line of action, flow lines, the list goes on. Another good example is looking through the sports pages. I enjoy some sports, but I dont reach for the sport pages in the morning, and i dont care for football, but wow! When I go through the sports pages, i see human bodies being pushed to the extreme, I see action poses, bodies out of balance, and hand poses, man , do I see some freaky hand poses. When a person is concerntrating so hard, and pushing themselves so hard, that hands really do interesting things.

The train can be a dismal place in rush hour. But seeing such different folks arriving an leaving always creates enough observationnal entertainment. One of the animators at work told me how he train was delayed and detoured and he was an hour late, but it was the best train journey ever, because he saw some kids that inspired him to make a short film, and he wouldnt have thought of it ohterwise.
I thought that was an interesting idea, because i know for sure there were several people standing on several platforms, waiting for a train that was late, standing all defensively, arguing with the platform staff, and peering down the incoming railway track every five seconds, as if that somehow magically makes the train arrive sooner.
Definitely not animators.......We're watching them!

Flow Lines

2009-10-18T14:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos I saw in the paper recently, i thought they were a good example of flow lines, and how they lead our eye to a particular point. I also love the line of action on the tiger and the way the water also creates the sense of motion and flow

It's Been Too Long

2009-09-15T06:01:00.000-07:00

Hi Chaps

Yes, time flies, finnished working on Where the wild things are, its gonna be a great film. Now animating at Spider Eye, very nice place.

Here are a few animations I have been pottering with over the last year, gulp. and stil WIP? oh my golly. anyhow, better archive them now, incase they never see the light of day, doh!

Sarcastic Squirrel from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

Skateboarding Moom from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

LifeDrawing - biting the bullet

2008-08-26T04:05:00.000-07:00

I post these examples in the hope that it will motivate me to attend more classes, and be able to look back on these and acknoledge my growth. wish me luck, 'cause I freaking need it.

Primal Fear

2008-08-11T02:29:00.000-07:00

I loved this photo in the newspaper. Such a good example of a person in the climax of fear. I found a better quality image on the net. I really like how the one guys has that really classic fear pose with his hands up near his face, not coving his face but more like cowering. Like a mouse. Or is that just because I'm surrounded by mice at work?

Breaking Joints

2008-08-08T01:28:00.000-07:00

OK we're back by popular demand (yeah right, Paul)

I've found my niche! Some people upload high quality pics from expensive books, I'm gonna do the opposite. I'm going to upload dodgey photos from poor quality tabliods (eg london lite).
At least then I'm garanteed that no-one else has this cr&p on their blogs, and Whallah! Instant originality. I seem to keep finding the odd interesting pic in the paper, and because after a while, the pages get all brown and old, I actually contemplated buying a laminator just for paper clipings. Then I realised the blogoshpere is just as good a place as any to imortalise these images.
You see I've been thinking, and I've learnt so much from blogs latley it''s time to give a little back. But I don't always like reading alot, so I'm gonna assume you are the same, and focus on adding more pics than text.

So here goes, an interesting example of the 'breaking' of joints in a perfectly real human being. I've been trying to bend my arm this way, can you do it?
Don't ask me why I have a building collection of africans throwing things, I can't afford a psychologist to find out.

But it's interesting how far back his arm goes, don't you think? Give me your thoughts.
On an off note, it's gkinsa funny how that fire/smoke ball seems to eminate from his hand

More to come: some interesting notes and lo-res tabloid pics on walks, and a few pics of people under extreme pressure

Andrew Gordon Character Animation Masterclass

2008-07-12T03:47:00.000-07:00

Happened 10th and 11th July.It was awesome! And it was great to meet Andrew, and thank him personally for all the great splinecasts and animation observations. If you havent read and listened to EVERYTHING on the splinedoctors website, go there now! Splinedoctors

Whats Up Doc?

2008-06-25T01:03:00.000-07:00

It's been too long. And i've seen such kick-ass blogs that inspire me to use this tool to push a little harder, and get more content out. have you guys been to melmade.blogspot.com? What an inspiration this guy is. Such a talented artist, finding his way into the realm of 3d, whilst still having a rewarding family life, and time to draw and blog.

As for me, I've been working at the Framestore, working on thier new movie Despereaux. The trailer will be out in a few days, I'll post the link. It looks great. I am really chuffed to be a part of it all.

I have worked on some of my old animations, and hope to load 'em soon. Thanks again for all of your critiques! Keep it real, maties!

D

Skateboarder walk Cycle

2008-05-14T00:06:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys.... what do you think? it seems it's been a while since I've animated, what with all the job interviews, so it feels weird. Your thoughts?

Skateboarder_walk15 from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

Two new WIP pieces (again???..)

2008-03-28T02:09:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys...for your comments.......
Monkey: Hands/fingers not done, ears not done, most lipsynch done
Moom: blocking still

Proud Monkey from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

Moom Mistake from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

WIP Showreel March 08

2008-03-19T04:06:00.000-07:00

hello, hello. here is what I've compiled so far...really short and sweet. The Martial Arts piece is still in progress (horrible spine) so please point out any distractions... I really feel I need a new lip-synch piece, it's just going to take time...and i've lost interest in the 'dumd and dumber' piece I was working on. he he.
The Polar Bear stuff belongs to the Framestore CFC, and New Line Cinema, and is animation I did for the Golden Compass Movie

I'm still working on the Walkball soccer shot, and a new Moom performance piece...check out the new Moom 4.o rig on highend3d, its awesome.

To Play the Reel, please type in the password: David
This was to prevent it been shown publicly on Vimeo until the Golden COmpass is released on DVD on 28 April

David Beer Animation Reel March 2008 from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

Great talent

2008-02-27T10:05:00.001-08:00

In the last few weeks, I've been exposed to some great talent... without even always realising it. Also, many of these people are just 'passing through' where I work, so I've made a mission to collect links to their great work, and I've added them on the right side of my blog. please take the time to browse through thier reels, they are all pretty much based in London

Contrast

2008-02-18T10:10:00.000-08:00

I'd been thinking about a 'throw' pose for a few days, and i kept drawing little stick men...so I started pulling out pics in the newspaper...I had these two pics sitting beside each other on my desk...n it occured to me that it was quite an interesting contrast....and kinda amusing... the motivations are so different, the energy, the intention ...yet in some way they compliment each other too....

Some Wip pieces

2008-02-02T06:09:00.000-08:00

Here are 2 of the pices I've been working on lately.... It's been quite hard to focus on these, what with the job during the week.... I've also started watching far too much tv on the weekends.... it's like I plug myself back into the machine to re-charge for the week ahead! But theres still hope...... yeah?
Keep in mind they are still in the blocking phase, I just made some curves linear to make sure the rotations are working out.

WIP Acting piece Jan 08 from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

Sphere of Fear Football from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

Walkball footie WIP from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

Out of Tune project re-rendered

2008-01-25T03:09:00.000-08:00

I spent the holidays re-rendering this short film for the Aardman Talent showcase. Beofre, it had just been playblasted in maya, which does not look good as a final product, but was sufficient for Animation critique purposes.
I'm glad I've given it a bit more of an edge...that was an amazing time in my life

Out of Tune by David Beer (re - rendered) from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.
London Animation School final film ‘Out of Tune’ available on the London National Gallery website, the film needed to be inspired by a painting in the London National gallery.

My New Reel Nov 2007

2007-11-27T04:00:00.000-08:00

David Beer Animation Reel 2007 from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

David Beer Showreel 2007 Breakdown

Seq	Description	Work done	Credits
1	Intro and Walk cycle	Animation	- Rig by Tim Oberlander
2	Wolf walk	Animation	Rig By TSM2M via highend3d.com
3	Walk study	Animation & Rigging	Design concept inspired by Animation Mentor Practice rig
4	Run Cycle	Animation	- Rig by Tim Oberlander
5	Rexona Bear for their Web campaign	Animation	- Rig owned by Framestore CFC, Animation supervised by Head of Commercials, Dale Newton, Framestore CFC
6	Lift sequence with fall	Animation	- Rig by Tim Oberlander
7	Acting Piece	Animation	- Rig by Tim Oberlander - Audio sample from Scrubs TV show
8 & 10 & 12	Sequence from my London Animation School final film ‘Out of Tune’ available on the London National Gallery website, the film needed to be inspired by a painting in the London National gallery.	All Animation , Design, Modelling and Rigging
9 & 11	Sequence from my London Animation School Second Term film ‘Roboto Kung-Fu’	All Animation , Design, Modelling, Rigging and Rendering
13	Push study and Acting piece - Personal project	All Animation	- Theo Rig by 10 second club group - Alfred Rig by Rodri Torres - Audio sample from Scrubs TV show

Tween: A Flash Odyssey

2007-11-10T05:53:00.000-08:00

Tween: A Flash Odyssey

And now for something completely different

2007-10-30T03:39:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't say its extemely funny...but it does kinda bridge the gap between reality and the cartoon world. Especially that blond guys face.

The Sphere of Fear

2007-10-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

Not really , just a jolly walk

Sphere of Fear on his day off from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

Basic Guy Butler - My new reel in progress

2007-10-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

This has been my way of creating some sort of theme for my reel. The wonderful Basic Guy rig, with a few accessories....

WIP

part 1 - the walk

Daves Reel Intro from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

part 2 - the run

Daves Reel, Running from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

part 3 - the lift

Daves Reel - The Lift from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

Walkies for Wolfy

2007-10-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

Um ok yeah whatever... a wolf walk... Framestore style (well kinda)

Wolf Walk from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

Not a strong moment

2007-10-27T10:39:00.001-07:00

Theo Push from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo.

I didnt realise how much work I took on with this one.... I havent done much to Alfred at the back, so he's kinda stiff....
And I hope to fix up a few things with little Theo too.....
But I wont mention what I think is wrong... i'll leave that up to you guys.... :-)
(yes, David used a smiley face, get over it, already!)

Busy Bee(r)

2007-10-06T15:41:00.000-07:00

The internship at Framestore is over... what a trip man, once again, it's the fellow creatives that made it a blast.....
So what now? Well, funny thing is, I've been as busy as ever...
I am working on a few pieces for my new reel, and I've gone back to basics with Keith Langos animation training, all I can say is 'Wow!'

It's a terrible pity London Animation School dont investigate Keiths teaching methods, i kinda wished I'd been given such valubale insight from day one!

All i can say is that if you are an aspiring newby 3D animator, head on to Keith Lango's website
http://www.klangoanimation.com/
The cool thing is the price you pay for his expertise also goes to some people in South America who could really do with some medical help and water purifiers, so its a double hit!
Thanks for all your effort Keith.

I hope to be proactive enough to put up some of my recent animations, from the Framestore stuff, to the Popgirl rig and animation I did for the new Popgirl Digital channel, and the work i hope to have done for my reel
Cheers for now
D

Out of Tune - Project on London National Gallery Website

2007-10-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, after our showing at the National Gallery, all the students final projects have been uploaded onto the National gallery website, with a short synopsis of the piece.

Heres the link, showing all the students work

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/collection/transcriptions/animation/default.htm

and to my film specifically:
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/collection/transcriptions/animation/outoftune/default.htm

Framestore - the Aftermath

2007-09-17T08:13:00.000-07:00

Hey, well, my internship is over. It's been really awesome, and I feel I've got lots to do now to revamp my reel. I've learnt a ton in the last two months, especially patience, so I'm ready to work on some quality content. I also have some examples of work I have done for Framestore CFC, i just need to get permission to show it first.

I must say that the coolest thing about the internship was meeting all the talented individuals that work there...Its really pushed my goals to another level, and also taught me that its not such a distant goal.

I always see such professional work on the internet, and it seems so far away, but people sitting right next to me were doing the most amazing stuff....

Thanks Guys

Now to step it up a notch.... watch this space!

Manic

2007-08-13T02:52:00.000-07:00

Well well well, it's been a while guys..... Luckily I doubt anyone has been hanging on for an update here...... so don't lie dammit.

Hey, FRamestore Rocks (Thanks Amy!!!!!)
I can say I've been animating like crazy, but its all very subtle stuff, and very long to do, usually like the same 10 secs of footage for 2 weeks.

I have been fortunate enough to work on a shot for the New Golden Compass movie, (This Movie is gonna look awesome, I really hope the acting and script is as good as the visuals!!)
The shot consists of two main character Polar Bears, with about six others in the backround, My job was to sort out the three main backround bears walking away...... Realistic Quadropeds, oh my god....... and 3 whole weeks of it.
Then I got a chance in the Commercals dept, and what do I end up animating? Bears again. Grizzly to be exact.

But it's been an eye opener..... the coolest has been witnessing the amazing talent around me.....
These guys are real passionate about what they do..... I guess you have to be, especially at crunch time, when there are no longer enough hours in the day.

I hope you are all well, buddies, esp the one's I havent managed to mingle with for a long while now.
Apply for Animation Jobs at Framestore, they have started animating thier first full length animated film, Despereaux!!!! it looks freaking awesome so far!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another experiment at weight

2007-06-26T04:06:00.000-07:00

Any comments, suggestions? Thanks guys

Walk ball test

2007-06-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

Getting straight back into it, heres a quick animation (sat morning after rough Open night)

Any thoughts and crits, thanks
I want to really start from the basics again

The Course is Finished

2007-06-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

Well, the Open Evening we had in the studio last night marked the end of our 1 year course in animation. I just wanna tell all of my classmates, you guys made it really worthwhile, I really hope we manage to stick together, all these blogs and facebooks and things.... also, BBQ on Saterday, dont forget.

My Final Project can be viewed here
www.outoftune3d.blogspot.com

Please click on the links to my colleauges, to see the amazing animations they have done too

Thanks Again Guys n Gals

Well Worth It!!!

2007-06-05T07:53:00.000-07:00

Ah, so it was worth it staying awake until 0400 fighting with a DVD authering program. I found out on Friday , I have been selected for an Interenship at Framestore CFC this July. If i hadn't of prepared that showreel (my first post in this blog) I wouldn't have got it. It's awesome, and came as quite a suprise, especially considering the people who applied. Whats great too, is my good buddy Mariano was also accepted. They obviously saw a photo of him, and realised he must be an animator. or a psychopath.

Anyways, alot of good people applied, and deserved the opportunity, so I'd better make the absolute most of the experiance.

Final Project Blog - Out of Tune

2007-05-20T07:29:00.000-07:00

It now seems more logical for me to document My CSM Final Project using a dedicated blog, To see Its development and progress, why not scurry over to :

Out of Tune - 3D Animation Project CSM

(http://outoftune3d.blogspot.com/)

Then I can use this one for all my other 3D endeavours.

..sneaky, very sneaky.

2d Animatic for Final CSM Animation

2007-05-10T02:28:00.000-07:00

Well, finally , I've worked out which filetypre to upload to vimeo to get the sound to stay in sync, yay! So, without further delay, here is the first version of my 2d Animatic for 'out of Tune' I plan to tweak the timing a bit before begining animation. But i have been spending the last week or two Modelling and Rigging the Main Character and Parrot, will upload pics soon

David Beers College Project Animatic ver1 from sneakysquirrel on Vimeo

My Current Showreel

2007-04-29T11:58:00.000-07:00

Wow, well as many colleauges in my class know, Framestore CFC London recently closed thier doors for thier 2007 yeild of internship applications. We only realised 2 days before the cut off date that this was the case. And most of us didn't have reels at all, let alone standard DVD playable ones. But by 0330 on Friday moring, this was the result.

David Beer 3D Animation Showreel test from sneakysquirrel

Final project CSM, The Present

2007-04-22T16:10:00.000-07:00

Working on Storyboards as we speak