Katie Canadas : Animator

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  In an attempt to update my extremely outdated demo reel (seriously, time flies when you're juggling a million things at once, good grief!), I added a few finishing touches to the 3 person dialogue I was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 .

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 .