Animated Shorts

Les Dangereux - A Ninja Love Story

The character animation in this is what really excited me. Visually, the models, although sleek, are very simple, and the style is not hugely complicated, and so, i believe, achiveable. Because the characters' mouths are covered, all their facial animation comes from their eyes and you can tell even more about what they are thinking through their body language. Black Ninja is clearly very relaxed, perhaps even bored as he sips his drink in the chair. Only when he turns and sees Red Ninja do we see his eyes widen hugely and his posture shift forwards. Red Ninja is very well trained and her movements are very strong as she beats up Black Ninja. As she is holding his gaze and sees that he is merely offering her a flower, her eyebrows relax and she lets her arms fall down slightly. The shot of the two hands, one trembling with the rose, the other slowly taking it, hesitating in the middle is very sweet. As Black Ninja is accidentily catapulted into the distance, Red Ninja stares after him lovingly and shocked, only to relax herself and slouch into a sigh. Her eyes glance down to the side in disappointment. They then perk up as she sees the note falling from the sky. Not only does this film hold huge appeal but it is also a perfect example of really great character animation.

Animated by Daniel Klug in Maya 2009, Mental Ray and After Effects.

Bridge - 4 animals trying to cross a bridge

The comedic value of the story to this short is priceless. 'The moral behind this story revolves around how there are often disagreements on competing paths in life, and the possible results of pride, abstinance, and compromise.' The differences between the characters is easily distinguished not only by character design but also by their reactions to the conflicts involved in the story. What i really liked about this animation was how all the different characters are shown through their animation. The big moose is very lazy, he yawns and scratches his backside. The bear is very proud, he walks with bouncing strides and a smile on his face. Bear is initially angry at meeting Moose in the middle of the bridge, and is the first to try and squeeze past. He rolls his eyes and growls, showing his impatience. Moose cannot get past him and gradually becomes angered also. Both refuse to turn around and go back the way they came, Moose by folding his arms defiantly and fearlessly and Bear by shaking his head and preparing a huge roar. This is interrupted, of course, by the raccoon, who is politely tapping on the back of Bear. Raccoon waves hello, friendly as he is, and seems to ask nicely if he can get past. Bear, the big meanie, picks up Raccoon roughly, bonks him on the head twice and throws him away, adding salt to the wounds. Bear resorts to trying to push Moose backwards forcingly, which knocks him into the rabbit. Rabbit seems impatient and wants past, grumbling about them being in the way, but is quickly put in his place as Moose kicks him off the bridge. Moose and Bear have in common that they won't move, and Rabbit and Raccoon have in common that they are able to come to compromises.

Animated by Ting Chain Tey in Photoshop, Maya, Corel Painter, After Effects, Adobe Premier Pro, Adobe Flash.