Katie Canadas : Animator

Christmas season is upon us and I couldn't be happier!  This is definitely my favorite time of year!  So today's blog title is one of my favorite songs from Kelly Clarkson's Christmas album (Wrapped In Red)!  Christmas music has been playing nonstop in my house since Thanksgiving, woot woot! I finally have another update to the three-person dialogue piece I've been working on.  I try to provide progress updates as often as possible, but sometimes I get so caught up in what I'm doing and I'm on such a roll, I just forget!  Needless to say there's been quite a lot of progress on this animation since my last post!  I've finished the splining and facial animation for all three characters and I'm still working on refining some of the movements.  I'm trying to pay better attention to the smaller, more subtle details, which I'm hoping will make it feel more life-like.  Enjoy! Great News WIP#3 from Katie Canadas on Vimeo .

Tonight's blog title is brought to you by Florida Georgia Line, it's one of my favorite songs off their new album and ironically, it's the title of the album too!  This new album definitely doesn't disappoint!  So I have another update to the three person dialogue I've been working on!  I squashed the main guy's movements so they're a little more quick and snappy, which I think works great and adds a lot to his character.  And I introduced the girl's actions, they're not final, I'm still tweaking her movements, especially when the guy pulls her up, there's not enough of a sense of gravity and her actually being pulled against her will, so that's a work in progress!  But overall, I'm happy with my progress!  It's really exciting so far watching this piece come together!  Now, on to the second guy!  Enjoy! Great News WIP#2 from Katie Canadas on Vimeo .

Lady Antebellum's new album (747) came out on Tuesday, and since I've been listening to it pretty much nonstop since then, I thought it'd be a good title for today's blog post =) Been working on a new animation, let's call it Great News....  It seems my workflow changes with every animation, which I kind of enjoy, it's never boring!  So instead of posting a typical blocked version, I laid a few key poses for the 3 characters, then started splining the main character.  This is probably the most abstract workflow I've ever had and I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of enjoying!  There's a quote that continues to pop into my head while I'm working on this animation: "an essential aspect to creativity is not being afraid to fail" so instead of allowing myself to be paralyzed from the fear of making a mistake or making poor animation, I'm animating freely and boldly, knowing control z is my best friend! So when watching the video bel...

I'm alive!  Long time no see, blog!  I took a bit of a hiatus and got busy with life, but I'm back!  And writing this while watching one of my favorite romantic comedies (Tom Hanks is so awesome)!  Below is a bit of "teaser" image of the new animation I've JUST started working on.  I think it's going to be good!  Hope this image gets you excited about seeing it!  I know I'm excited to keep working on it!  Feel free to leave any comments about what you think it may be about, your initial impressions, etc.!  I'd love to hear it!

Today's blog title is a song by Thomas Rhett, I went to see him, Eric Paslay and Brantley Gilbert last night in concert, so of course I've been listening to their music all day today =) More importantly, I've finished the second round of blocking on the push animation I've been working on.  I decided to really refine my blocking, build in more anticipation and any overlap if possible.  It was kind of a personal challenge (and experiment) to not only make my workflow more efficient, but to see how much detail and anticipation I could build into my blocking and not offset any keys.  I think it turned out pretty good and I'm hoping this will help me when I get into my splining, which is my next step!  Enjoy!  And as always, any comments, feedback, advice, etc. is always welcomed! Push Animation WIP#2 from Katie Canadas on Vimeo .

Hello everyone!  Today's blog title is inspired by Monsters University, watched it this evening and was reminded of how awesomely amazing it is!  And decided it would be the title for tonight!  In other news, started working on a new push animation and just finished the initial round of blocking, woohoo!  I tried out two different costumes on Morpheus and they weren't looking too hot, so went back to the black leotard.  And I received some of the best advice: stop thinking so much and start trusting my abilities more, which helped tremendously!  My next steps are adding in more detail, seeing how much anticipation I can build into my blocking, and seeing how well I can sell every pose.  I want the emotion to slap you in the face!  I'm feeling good thus far about this animation and will keep chugging away at it!  Enjoy! Push Animation from Katie Canadas on Vimeo .

This blog title's inspiration comes from a song by Cassadee Pope, while not my favorite song off her album (though a very catchy tune), I thought the title was fitting for this post!  I've updated my character animation demo reel to include my most recent dance animation!  It's always a fulfilling feeling updating my reel, anyway, hope you all enjoy it! Character Animation Demo Reel from Katie Canadas on Vimeo .

Tonight's blog title inspired by Lady Antebellum, love their (newish) song "Compass" it's such an upbeat song, it always puts me in a good mood!  And speaking of good moods, I'm happy to announce I have (finally) finished my FootLoose inspired dance animation!  I really enjoyed working on this piece and feel like while my patience and determination were tested, I learned so much and am seeing even more, which is a great feeling!  Already have my next animation lined up and am excited to start it!  Can't wait to see what I'll learn this time around!  Enjoy! Footloose Dance Final from Katie Canadas on Vimeo .

Today's blog title is coming to you courtesy of The Swon Brothers, it's their newest (and first) single and it gets stuck in my head so easily!  It's taken me two weeks to get around to writing this blog post.  Work has been so crazy and keeping me so busy that when I do have a spare moment, I'm so exhausted I can't even think straight (seriously, I almost fell asleep at my computer last week).  But finally, here it is!  Even if it is two weeks late! I recently went through and made another pass at refining my animation.  Trying to give the character more weight and make him feel like he has mass and isn't so floaty.  I also went through and checked my arcs as best I could (using the ever handy grease pencil in Maya 2014).  So here's the result!  Enjoy! Footloose Dance WIP#5 from Katie Canadas on Vimeo .