Dony Permedi's Animations

I really wanted to use my first post as an opportunity to share two of my favorite student 3D animation short films. Both are created by Dony Permedi, a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City. I've long admired his two shorts, Kiwi! and Pony. I feel Kiwi! is particularly relevant to our course because it was created with Maya and After Effects. Check it out below:

What I really enjoy about this short is how Permedi focuses most of his efforts on the animation aspect of the it. Because the short is lacking in certain areas, such as texture art, and because the kiwi is a silent character, the film relies heavily on the use of animation to convey certain points. Permedi did a great job of conveying emotions in particular. I always liked the part where he twirls down the rope because he looks so enthusiastic. The last shot of the kiwi's face is a very meaningful scene as well.

In an interview with the blog ISFAT, Permedi brings up a few points that I considered valuable advice for anyone starting out with 3D animation. He mentions how the animation took up his second year in graduate school and that taking the time to create storyboards and an animatic really helped the process of creating the short. He also brings up that he fouced on his strength in animation because he wasn't the best texture or lighting artist. He noted that had he focused too much on perfecting every aspect, he would have wasted too much time. Permedi also took the time to state that the CGTalk forums are a vauable source of advice and information for both fledgling and professional animators.

To learn more about Dony Permedi, check out his website! As for the Pony video I mentioned earlier, check it out below!