Fall 2010 Final

Chance of Showers from Ann Mendenhall on Vimeo.

Progress 1

Final Progress from Ann Mendenhall on Vimeo.

It's still in pieces.

Elements

Elements from Ann Mendenhall on Vimeo.

Walk Cycle With Character

Walk Cycle With Character from Ann Mendenhall on Vimeo.

Metamorphosis Remix, "Swim"

Swim (Metamorphosis 2.0) from Ann Mendenhall on Vimeo.

Walking Light

Walking Light from Ann Mendenhall on Vimeo.

Walking Male

Walking Male from Ann Mendenhall on Vimeo.

Walking Female

Walking Female from Ann Mendenhall on Vimeo.

Visual Research

(It should be noted that I didn't actually take this last photo, but modeled for it. I picked it out for its interesting composition while going through old stuff. Photo by Meifung Su.)

Weight: Three Objects

Weight from Ann Mendenhall on Vimeo.

KCAI ANIM: Incremental #2

The Bouncing Ball

Bouncing Ball Assignment from Ann Mendenhall on Vimeo.

Golf Swing Sequence

Golf Swing from Ann Mendenhall on Vimeo.

Ball Under Layer

The entire underlayer:

For clarity, the separate sequences:

Pendulum

Pacmandulum from Ann Mendenhall on Vimeo.

KCAI ANIM: Incremental #1

Drawing from the model was both an enjoyable and beneficial experience. Simple, gestural figures are usually my strongest drawings; drawing without concern for excessive detail is something I find particularly relaxing. A series of overlapping increments on one page, like this one (as opposed to a separate sheet for each individual image), can become crowded and confusing, but also strongly indicates the path of the motion in a singular and visible way, making for a useful visual tool.

Incremental Sample

Yeeesss it's a pokeyman. L-leave me alone, I swear I have other interests. D:

KCAI ANIM: Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis Project from Ann Mendenhall on Vimeo.

I struggled with the animation when dealing with the “moving through space” portion, mostly because 1) it felt very prescribed, as I failed to do enough to personalize it and 2) environments are a weakness of mine. Once I’d made it through the first part, however, the more experimental steps proved to be a lot of fun. Since I love characters, I found myself pretty stuck on the fish, trying to see what were the best ways to make him move and what sorts of things I could make him do before running out of time and notecards. I ended up regretting my decision to incorporate so much dark area into the last frame of the original flipbook, since as a result, I had to deal with it extensively to create a smooth(ish) transition away from the fish’s antics and into my apartment’s hallway; graphite is smeared all over my kitchen table and lightbox, now. There are some obvious mistakes, but I’m still happy with the result.

KCAI ANIM: Hunting and Gathering Project, Part I

From Memory: My family’s lake house was originally a once-a-weekend novelty. As a kid, experiencing our original routine permanently installed in my mind a sense of specialness about the place, thanks to the process of waiting all grueling week long to visit. While I would occasionally go outside to participate in more traditional lake-related activities, this view is easily my most memorable: I’d hook up my Nintendo 64 (which I wasn’t allowed to keep in the “real” house) to the TV in the front room and scour dungeons in Ocarina of Time with my best friend practically every Friday evening, crouched sideways in aging, erratically-placed armchairs; there are few rooms you remember better than the one in which you experienced your first Water Temple.

From Life: I’ve only lived in Kansas City for about a year now. For most people, that’s probably plenty of time to have cultivated a more interesting “favorite place” than the inside of one’s own apartment, but I’ll confess to you now: I don’t get out much. My current living situation, which I entered two or three weeks ago, is the one that so far most closely resembles my ideal. At home in MS, I’m comfortable, but sometimes a bit suffocated, and the school dorms are… well, dorms. Here, I seem to have finally struck an acceptable balance of dependency and freedom; to me, moving here marks the start of my transition away from who I am now and into the person I am trying my hardest to be. This view of the living room is the one I experience most often.