A small update: When I wrote the stuff below, I was working on a certain project, however, I paused work on that project to create "Jose's Dinner" because I wanted to create a simpler animation for my first short. I wanted to verify that I finally understood Blender well enough as well as giving myself a simple one to finish to make sure I hadn't bitten off more than I could chew. Work on my first project will resume as soon as I finish up with "Jose's Dinner.
10 May 2007 - ERM

I really got started with computer animation in the Nov/Dec 2006 time period when I started to learn how to use the Blender 3D rendering software. I progressed rapidly from my first animation, "Eric's Cube and Mountains Animation" to "Penguin Flight". I was quite happy with myself for completing my first ever computer animation. I then began an animated short with my first humanoid, Raul Domingo, and a budgie, which would be his pet. However, upon learning more about computer animation, I began to realize what had been tugging at the back of my mind when I finished "Penguin Flight".

After all of the animation was finally complete with "Penguin Flight" and I had watched it a couple of times, something just didn't seem right about it. Finally I realized the problem. Sure, my animation had a story: It is about a Penguin who wakes up one day and decides to fly. However, it was not a story in the conventional sense of the protagonist having some kind of problem that needs to be solved. Therefore, I consider all of my animation through January 2007 to simply be a learning process. I learned how to use Blender and how to create videos from the output. I got pretty good at modeling. I won't win any prizes just yet, but with the budgie I was able to model without following any tutorials - a first for me at the time.

Therefore, I am currently working on my first true animated short. (Although I may release a simpler one in the interim to make sure I get the techniques down) I started work in mid-March of 2007 and I expect it to take me 6 months at minimum, but probably closer to a year to finish. Why so long, when "Penguin Flight" only took a few weeks? Because a true, quality animation takes time. (Also, I have a day job, a wife, am launching a photography business and have other hobbies I also enjoy) I am doing this one right - scripting, storyboarding, 2D/3D animatics. At this point in time I do not want to divulge much about my project. When I have some 3D material, I may or may not do a teaser. Since my short is going to be in the 3-5 minute range, I don't know if a teaser makes sense. I may do one as an animation test on the main character - we'll see, but it's some time until then.
27 March 2007 - ERM

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Created 1 Aug 2007
Last Updated 1 Aug 2007