Cutout Backyard

This is the end:-)

Andromachi — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:11:30 +0000

So, final project has been submitted and it’s time for holidays:-D

This is the link for a website-interface i made to present my work (it hasn’t really been optimised for the web cause I wanted to give the full quality videos, so be a little patient if it’s slow)

over and out:-)

3rd game: A beba blom & agalmatakia akounita

Andromachi — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:46:27 +0000

This is the link to the 3rd animation of the “cutout backyard”.

“A beba blom” is a greek counting rhyme (like “eeny, meeny, miny, moe”), so the child selected is “it” (the “mother”, as we call it in Greece). This rhyme is followed by the game “agalmatakia akounita” which literally translates to “little still statues”. It will make more sense when the sound is added to it:-)

*The building on the rock in the back is the Parthenon on the Acropolis rock, in Athens, Greece. The modern building to the left is the New Acropolis Museum and the building to the right is the Makrigiannis building.

Writing my dissertation

Andromachi — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:45:46 +0000

I have made a break from animating and hope to have a very good first draft of my dissertation on Friday. I am researching issues such as the power of animation in our optic-centric society,in order to justify the selection of this medium as the “new language” we choose to communicate tradition to younger generations. I have also gathered a number of examples where communities or individuals use animation to pass on their dialect, religion, and many other aspects of their particular culture that seem to be descending into limbo due to the mass culture that is widespread in this “global village”. Another aspect I would like to explore on the other hand is how museums (the more “official” institutions of art and culture) use animation to involve children mainly in art and culture, and the implications entailed. My focus is mainly on oral culture, but of course I have to study aspects of more “formal culture”, as existing research has focused mainly there. This is the angle through which i will attempt to examine the work I have done…

If u have any interesting books/ articles in mind I should read.. please let me know! It’s never too late (before the 20th of August that is!!!)

Stay tuned… sound is coming right up!!!

Andromachi — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:49:36 +0000

No media file to go with this post yet – but I have great news! Sound designer Joe Still offered to do the sound design for my small animations!

We had a meeting this afternoon and went over a few things and - dramatic pause – he sent me a first version of “tiflomiga” about an hour ago!

Really happy and excited! Even the thought of doing the sound design by myself gave me a headache… Thanks again Joe! I really appreciate it!

Not all clichés are bad!

Andromachi — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 14:50:45 +0000

Apart from the new Acropolis museum (the building on your left) the rest is a bit of a cliché! But no harm in having some laughs once in a while!

So here they are.. my little darlings, dancing syrtaki with a background of the Acropolis and olive trees:-P

(This isn’t going to be part of any game – it’s a post merely for the fun of it!)

Second game ( Tiflomiga ) animation…

Andromachi — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:31:12 +0000

Tiflomiga (blindfold with tag)

Here’s the link to the video on vimeo! If u don’t know the game, please let me know if the “rules” are clear – cause that’s (sort of) the point!

I’m now starting off with the 3rd game called “agalmatakia akounita mera i nichta” (which literally means “small still statues..is it day or is it night?”)

As an homage to the recently inaugurated Acropolis museum, I think I’ll have the setting there…with the Acropolis rock in the back:-)

Also: Acropolis—> museum—> statues…. ahahha ..get it? lol

First game ( Perna perna i melissa ) animation

Andromachi — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:01:57 +0000

Well… the first game’s animation is done (I need to make some corrections – including the camera of course…) but it’s time to move on to the second one!

Comments for changes welcome:-)

WiP – 1st game animation (perna perna i melissa)

Andromachi — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:24:25 +0000

Here’s the link for a part of the first game i’m animating. Still have work to do and this is the start of it. I’m also concerned about the video quality cause the rendered one is sth like 30MB for 25secs and when i compress it into an .avi i loose alot of the nice quality and the cardboard and paper texturing isn’t really visible…

First group photo in the school yard

Andromachi — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:29:44 +0000

This is the first group photo, eventually united in their (blender) school playground and ready to animate:-)

Meet (from left to right): Chloe, Damien, Angelo, Nick, Ema and Melina!

Replacement animation finally works!

Andromachi — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:20:00 +0000

After almost a week of looking for a way to switch between side faces, front face and expressions… I am glad to say I finally got there:-)

Layers were too messy and didn’t really work. I tried to follow the tutorial I had found from the very beginning, things went wrong, I made a post in the forum, and then at some point of despair …blender smiled back at my little cutout boy!!! This is a silly animation of joy testing the replacement script. No time to refine it – have to get down to work cause I am a ”wee bit” behind schedule!

Click here to see my video on Vimeo