Project update…

This project has been a labor of love and passion starting in 2006 when I first witnessed "Children of the Secret State".  That documentary really opened my eyes to the tremendous challenges facing ordinary people in North Korea.  So many things have happened in my life since then but I’ve always held this issue close to my heart.  Early on, I wanted to find a way to help and to raise awareness.  It became obvious that I should use my most natural talent which was art and the telling of stories with it.

Up to this point, I hadn’t done any animation.  My only experience was in drawing comics.  I was set on a new journey of artistic discovery going from 2D to 3D and finally back to a combination of the two.  I’ve spent a considerable amount of time trying to find the easiest way to tackle this mountain of work.  First, I thought that 3D rendered as 2D cel shading was the way to go.  I figured that I can build everything in Lightwave 3D and simply render the objects in different positions and poses when needed and still get the same “hand-drawn” effect.  While this did work, I could not control the placement of lines like I wanted and grew dissatisfied with the results.  So, back to the drawing board so to speak and I began looking into 2D apps like Anime Studio and Toon Boom Studio.  Finally I settled on Toon Boom Animate Pro and have not looked back.

Recently, I joined teams with a good friend of mine Ian Pearson to help refine/redo the script and generally help out with many of the other aspects of the project.  What a great addition he has become.  Over the course of the past several months, his interest and concern for North Korea has grown.   We’ve taken the original concept/idea/intent of the story and switch it all around with hopes that it’ll be more gripping and a better story overall.

Finally, I’m closer to making some decisions on the background designs.  There will be a lot of back drop images to paint as this story will start in North Korea and then go through China, Laos, possibly Thailand and then South Korea.  While exploring the architecture and design of these Asian countries will be fun and interesting, it also presents a large challenge.  So far, I’m using Google Sketchup and then pulling the layers into Photoshop for final painting (images to follow soon!).  We are a very small team with an even smaller budget.  We’ll need to streamline our processes as much as humanly possible.  We wish to support and respect the honor of the people North Korea in all that we do.  It is of utmost importance to us that they are understood from a humanitarian point of view.  Everything we do will enlist this spirit!

Thank you for supporting this project and the North Korean people!

Best Regards,

Frank Freeman.

Contents of a Digital Artist’s Toolbox

Today’s artists are expected to be very dynamic in the way they work and the way they create.  They are expected to feel perfectly at home with the latest digital tools and software while still being capable of picking up a pen and markers to do a quick sketch.  For some of us, this can be a tall order.

The most public shift from traditional artistic methods to digital methods was when Disney Animation Studios went digital.  Back in 2006, Disney laid off 650 employees to cut back and focus on computer-generated films.  This was a major shift from their traditional 2D hand-drawn movies.  Some say that this shift drastically changed the animation industry and put an end to America’s traditional animation industry.

The new reality has demanded change in the industry and has required schools to educate its students in the latest digital tools, software, and techniques.  There has been a lot f talk lately regarding “production-ready’ artists.  The current expectation on new professional artists is that they be more capable of hitting the ground running.  They must be able to jump right in and perform well at a high level.

Obviously, there are a lot of software packages and equipment that one must know to be a successful digital artist.  If you are new to this all, it could be quite overwhelming.  I can imagine someone new would be wondering where to jump in and get started.

I would recommend starting with your strengths and interests.  It can be beneficial to gain confidence early on.  Especially when navigating the complexity and the seemingly endless options available.  Starting with what you know (to any degree or level) and building on that is a good way to get started.  In addition, you should start with the basics.  No matter what field you choose to pursue, it is always smart to have a solid foundation based on Perspective, Anatomy, Lighting, and the Elements of Color (to name a few).  A beginner needs to learn the discipline to say to themselves that they will master these concepts before moving on to their dream subject or project.  Just about any seasoned artist can figure out immediately if another artist has mastered the basics.

Let us look at a fictitious example.  Let us imagine a newly graduated digital artist who has big dreams of becoming an animator for Pixar.  He has a shiny degree and lots of hours manipulating 3D models on expensive equipment.  His hours reflect his interest so much that he neglects mastering anatomy and the ability to render basic shapes on paper.  When he gets his first job, most likely, he will not be given the “animator keys”.  He’ll be relegated to other tasks where he is needed with hopes of gaining the overall experience needed to move up.  Given this scenario, one can see that depending on the task, he may suffer because he cannot perform the basic task of storyboarding or creating some rough drawings of shapes and ideas.  Any one of us at any time can be asked to quickly put an idea down on paper and even though it was a quick render, it should possess the most basic properties of shape and perspective.

Any digital artist’s toolbox should include traditional art skills and digital art skills.  They should have a well-rounded toolset.  For the most part, Photoshop or Painter are staples for any artist.  Whereas Maya, ZBrush, 3D Studio Max, and Lightwave are just a few of the popular 3D applications and it can be difficult to master more than one.  However, having one of them in your toolbox will enable you to learn and apply what you already know to a new program.  Developing a broad base of digital skills within your self and continually trying to apply those skills to your daily work will make for a successful digital artist.




Frank Freeman is a freelance artist, trainer and CEO of Artistic Gurus, Inc. a training company that focuses on how-to videos in the 2D, 3D, Traditional Arts, Comics, Anime and Manga fields. http://www.artisticgurus.com/ or http://www.rentartvideos.com/

NewTek's LightWave 10 Makes Its Debut

(Computer Gaphics World, Dec. 2010)

Following a sneak peek at SIGGRAPH, NewTek is now ready to roll out LightWave 10, the latest version of its digital content creation software that, among other capabilities, enables interactive viewpoint rendering and real-tim stereoscopic previewing, supporting the company's billing at a "production-ready version of LightWave."  See more here

Frank Freeman is a freelance artist, trainer and CEO of Artistic Gurus, Inc. a training company that focuses on how-to videos in the 2D, 3D, Traditional Arts, Comics, Anime and Manga fields. http://www.artisticgurus.com/ or http://www.rentartvideos.com/