Bereft Poster

I went ahead and made a poster for my senior film: BEREFT.

I can't believe this actually happened...

Other than some minor tweaks I'll have to work on while animating, my rigging is done! HUZZAH! I'm currently reworking my animatic and it's truly nice to be away from the highly technical stuff...for now. I can't believe that a couple weeks ago I was stressed about loosing my rigger and having to end my summer vacation early so that I could go down to SCAD and hopefully put something together before school started! I went from having half a facial rig and no body rig to a fully rigged character capable of the Loony Tunes style animation I'll be going for in just 2 weeks! Pardon the pat on the back, but I think I deserve this one. *pat* *pat* 

Demon New Test Poses

I  got far enough with my skin weighting yesterday that I was able to do some test poses. Here are a couple for you to enjoy. And if you're wondering who this little guy is, he's a part of my senior film. You can watch the animatic (a sort of pre-film) here . 

everything (c) me

body rig (c) AbAutoRig 

more rigging doodle breaks

The skin weighting continues.

Rigging Doodles3

More doodling during my rigging breaks. 

Rigging Break Doodles 2

Yesterday's break doodles. Just a bunch of nonsense.

Spring Quarter Finals Are Here!

Have you ever just reached that point during finals where you slip into a coma and just stare at your work? Because that's where I'm at right now. Just one week left until summer! Gotta keep it together!

We've been featured!

A big thank you to columnist Andrew Heller for his article about me and my work in the Flint Journal this past Sunday! http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/aheller/2013/05/andrew_heller_little_things_ca.html

I'm truly blessed to have supporters in Michigan. I did this sketch of him to say thanks the best way I know how. Thank you everyone and be sure to pick up a copy of The Pick-up Princess today!

Pick-up Princess website: http://www.animatedchildren.biz/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BalloonCatAnimation

THE PICK-UP PRINCESS IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!

My first ever animated children's e-book is finally here! The Pick-up princess is a story about a little girl who imagines herself to be a princess. The queen, her mom, has ordered her to pick up her room. But the princess has other ideas. Pick up your own copy of her adventure today!

Find it in the app store: https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/the-pickup-princes/id633484028?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D2

A big thank you to everyone who has been supporting myself, my crew, and my cousin through out this whole process. I don't think I was ever without a loving person to moan at about how hard something was being, how annoying flash was, or any other complaint I might have had. And through it all, I was constantly told to keep going. I hope The Pick-up Princess finds it's audience and success. But I've learned so much from my time on this project, that I feel successful already.  Thank you everyone!

1!!!!!!!!!! Featuring Katrina Elzinga

THE PICK-UP PRINCESS ANIMATED E-BOOK LAUNCHES TOMORROW! I can't believe it! The anticipation has been enormous. Today we look at the final crew member

 Katrina Elzinga: Author

Katrina wrote "The Pick-up Princess" when she was about 6. I was 14 at the time and we decided to do a self published paper book where I provided the illustrations. Our effort was marginally successful. Jump forward to a year and a half ago when I was wanting to do an animated e-book; a revamp of The Pick-up Princess was foremost in my thoughts. I think the writing is great and I hope our efforts inspire Katrina to continue writing. Stay smart Katrina! 

2!!!!!!!!! Featuring Cassandra Trissler

2 DAYS REMAINING until our app goes live! Today's drawing is brought to you by Rough Animator and Colorist Cassandra Trissler. Be sure to check out her portfolio site when you get a chance: http://www.cassandratrissler.com/

Cassandra's animation was one of the hardest to clean up, but also one of my favorites. She had a really subtle scene and she just ran with it to produce animation that was very smooth and touching. Her style has always intrigued me for being soft and beautiful. Even her comical pictures are often desaturated and create a sense of quiet. I love that about her and her work. Stay beautiful Cassandra! 

3!!!!!!!! Featuring Sean Ward

ONLY 3 MORE DAYS UNTIL OUR APP LAUNCHES! I'm jumping for joy, you guys!

Today we feature Colorist on the project Sean Ward.

I met Sean during a particularly late and frustrating night at my school's animation building. He noticed that I was about to punch a hole through the computer I was using and came over to suggest that I not do that. We ended up quoting SNL skits for the rest of the evening and I've been following him around ever since. His excellent word play and acceptance of my constant spewing of Monty Python skits make him an invaluable friend and I was so happy to have him on this project. Stay "What chyo' swattin' at" Seanicus! 

4!!!!!!! Featuring Eric Monachello

4 MORE DAYS, GUYS! Today we feature Rough Animator and Colorist Eric Monachello! Be sure to check out more of Eric's work on his website: http://www.ericmonachello.com/

Eric is a fun and lovable guy. I think I speak for all his friends when I say that his most recognizable feature is his beard, though. He looks naked without the furry friend that covers his chin. He's like Santa Clause, except I don't think Santa is nearly as Jolly. Stay bearded Eric!

5!!!!!! Featuring Waymond Singleton

Wow. 5. DAYS. LEFT. I just can't get over that. Today we look at another Rough Animator on the project: Waymond Singleton. Be sure to stop by his Behance portfolio site as well, you won't be disappointed!  http://www.behance.net/waysingleton 

Waymond is one of the giggliest people I know. I don't think we ever got through a critique without him cracking a huge smile and laughing. He's great at keeping spirits up and it's no wonder that this has lead him to be involved and in charge of so many student groups. Stay giggly Waymond! 

6!!!!! Featuring Paloma Schultz

ONLY 6 MORE DAYS UNTIL OUR APP LAUNCHES! Wow! Today's post is brought to you by Graphic Designer Paloma Schultz. She was in charge of adding the words to the book and creating a fantastic Title logo! Be sure to check out more of her work on her portfolio site! http://www.behance.net/Paloma_Schultz

"Growing up in the South with the name Paloma couldn't have been good for my child psyche. I was fidgety, loud and obnoxious (fortunately I have overcome these afflictions...maybe). I had a rag doll named Myrtle that I took with me everywhere! She always seemed to be as big as I was, but in all actuality she was probably only about 2 feet long. Despite toting Myrtle with me everywhere, I tended to neglect her for a more exciting task. Myrtle was definitely worse for wear after 2 or 3 years and she had to be retired to the shelf in my room."

There are many areas in which I am incapable: rocket science, hula hooping, anything that involves physical activity, etc. However, I have a special kind inability for typography. Thank goodness that I kidnapped found Paloma! Thanks for all your work, Paloma! Stay sassy! 

7!!!! Featuring Kevin Garubba

ONLY 7 MORE DAYS!!! Today we look at Colorist Kevin Garubba!

"I had this Luke Skywalker action figure who was caught in an alternate dimension and had Dragonball Z powers and had to team up with my Toy Story toys to save the universe...  We saved the universe so many times.  It was a thankless job but somebody needed to do it. "

Kevin and I were in a class together when he heard about The Pick-up Princess project. We had just finished rough animation and he was wondering if there was any way he could help out. I jumped at the chance to add him to our team. Along the way, Kevin made some great contributions including some extra animation on a scene that gave it a special element of life. Thanks for all your hard work Kevin! Stay savvy! 

8!!! Featuring Margaretta Westerman!

Only 8 more days until the animated children's e-book "The Pick-up Princess" launches!! As a part of our countdown, I'm featuring one crew member every day. Today our story and art comes from Margaretta Westerman who was a rough animator on the project. 

"I had a lot of toys when I was younger but one of my favorite toys was a giant Meeko plush (from the Disney movie Pocahontas) that my dad gave me. I was living in England at the time and my Dad was sent to Texas for work. Well like most father's he brought back gifts for my brother and I and mine was this giant Meeko plush. He said he saw it and thought of me and since he had only brought one suitcase he had to stuff this giant plush into to his suitcase in order to bring it back to England. It's old and worn now but I still have it, he sits at the edge of my bed back in Virginia where my cats like to sit and sleep on him, he's just that fluffy still."

Margaretta is currently working at a Disney theme park soaking up all the artistic brilliance down there. I remember her animation being some of the easiest to clean up because she's one of those people who is good at hands and fingers. That may not sound like much, but trust me, hands are a nightmare! I'm completely jealous of her hand talent and was very blessed to have her on the Pick-up Princess team. Stay classy, Margaretta!  

10!

10 DAYS! There are only ten more days until the children's animated e-book "The Pick-up Princess" launches on the app store! I am so happy to be able to say that, this has been a long time coming. 

To celebrate, I will be posting an image done by a member of my crew each day of the countdown about their favorite toy from childhood. 

Starting the whole thing off is myself: Debbie Scheller: Director and miscellaneous tasks person

Demon Doodles

This is the character for my senior thesis film. If you'd like to check out his shenanigans further, I have some more of him up here: http://schellerdebbie.wix.com/debbieanimation#!senior-film/cbg4

He's kind of an angry little guy.

Backgrounds Before Swine

These are the backgrounds for the short pig themed film I'm creating in my 2D production class. I like to play with the flatness of things and experiment with hard shapes that maybe aren't so literal. I'm pretty happy with how these turned out. Backgrounds aren't my speciality, but I really want to get better at them. They just define so much of a film's tone.