Katie Canadas : Animator

Hello, all!  Well, this post has been a long time coming!  I'm working full-time now as well as other things (um, I guess you could call it life), so finding time to animate isn't easy, but I managed to finally finish this walk cycle and update my demo reel!  Yay! I'm exploring a new dialogue piece and out of that, I decided to take a stab at a quadruped walk cycle.  I've never worked with a 4 legged rig before (always staying in my comfort zone of bipeds) and have always struggled with cycles.  What started out as a quick, little exercise to get my feet wet turned into a full-on piece!  Surprising, but rewarding!  And I've got to admit, the wings were tough!  There was lots of deleting and redoing!  But here it is!  Hope you enjoy it!  And shout out to Long Winter Studios for this awesome rig (named Drake), I've really enjoyed working with it! Dragon Walk Cycle (Quadruped) from Katie Canadas on Vimeo . And here is my up...

Hello to the whole one person who actually looks at my blog (it's okay, Mom, I know it's you just being nice)!  Today's blog title is inspired by A Charlie Brown Christmas, one of my favorite Christmas movies and I just really love the Peanuts!  I've been working with a fabulous mentor from CG Spectrum on and off for the past couple of months and it has been an awesome experience thus far!  We spent time polishing and finessing my zombie and t-rex short as well as my 3 person dialogue piece; taking the time to give some love to the finer details and get the two pieces looking even better!  I've learned so much from how to handle IK arms and their tendency to stick to eye darts and keeping facial features alive, and so much more! We have a new dialogue piece in the works with two rigs I think are going to be a blast to work with, so stay tuned!  Below are the final versions of my zombie and t-rex short as well as my 3 person dialogue!  And check out my dem...

Today's blog post is inspired by the amazing Carrie Underwood, she's definitely one of my favorite singers with an incredible voice!  And this song gives me goosebumps every time I hear it! Anyway, I've (finally) finished my zombie & t-rex animation!  Yay!  I honestly had no idea how long this piece was until I finished it... no wonder it kind of kicked my butt!  I'm very happy with it and as always, learned a ton!  Considering I had never animated a zombie or a t-rex before, it was definitely challenging, but the process was fun on this one, lots of deleting and re-doing, lots of finding out what didn't work, haha!  I'm improving and it feels good!  And of couse, any questions, comments, feedback, etc. is welcome!  Enjoy! Zombie & T-Rex Animation Final from Katie Canadas on Vimeo .

Hello friends!  Hope everyone had a lovely Easter weekend!  I know I did!  In an attempt to update my extremely outdated demo reel (seriously, time flies when you're juggling a million things at once, good grief!), I added a few finishing touches to the 3 person dialogue I was working on months ago.  Below is the final piece, check it out and enjoy!  I enjoyed the challenge of animating three separate characters, each with their own personality, and have got to say, I think I'm getting the hang of this whole overlapping action thing... maybe a little too much!  Anyway, I hope to finish up the zombie and t-rex animation next, then start on a piece that's short and sweet! Oh, I almost forgot, this week's blog title is courtesy of Chris Young, I've been digging his songs lately!  Happy Wednesday! Great News Animation Final from Katie Canadas on Vimeo .

I recently took a 12 day animation intensive course with my mentor (probably the fastest 2 weeks of my life) and loved it!  It was so much fun, I learned a ton and definitely pushed my animation skills!  It's so fulfilling to push the boundaries of what we already know to come out smarter and better at our craft in the end!  I'm learning so much about running vs. walking, weight mechanics, staying true to character, etc.  I also really enjoy that this piece is unlike anything else I've done thus far, making it all the more exciting for me! Below is what I accomplished within the 12 days, it's not complete and parts are still in the blocking phases, but so far I'm happy with it and can't wait to finish it!  As always, comments and feedback are welcome!  Enjoy! p.s. my blog title is courtesy of The Fray, their new album is pretty dang awesome! Zombie & T-Rex Animation WIP#1 from Katie Canadas on Vimeo .

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 .