Sean Sexton (Class 6)
Areas of strength: Fonzo has a great handle on all that is animation. His work is fun and entertaining while demonstrating the principles in a solid way. He works hard, takes direction well and it was a pleasure having him in the class. Areas of improvement: Fonzo should continue to work on new tests including a new body mechanics test with Bishop and a new acting test with a female character. He should also work on some of his posing so that it's as strong and appealing as possible.
Arslan Elver (Class 5)
Areas of strength: Great communication, dedication to high level of detail. Working very organized. Your blocking pass was very detailed which was a huge help for the rest of the work. Nice posing and never satisfied with what you do. You always look for ways to improve it which is a key thing. Areas of improvement: I know for the last few weeks you were very busy with work, so you didnt produce as much you want. I think you should observe and analyze the reference more. Some stuff i was asking was already happning in your reference and I think you can bring them into your animation. Also sometimes you stop all parts of body at the same time. Don't forget to offset things a bit more, they'll look more natural. Also be careful about the eyes and eyelids, sometimes you break them quite easily :) keep up the great work
Erik Morgansen (Class 4)
Areas of strength: Fonzo has good ideas and a solid grasp of animation fundamentals allowing him to execute his ideas well. He has an excellent attitude and work-ethic. He communicates well and participates in the Q&A sessions in a thoughtful way. I'm impressed with how quickly he picked up the process of animating a character with lip-sync. Overall very good work. Areas of improvement: Fonzo can benefit from keeping his work as simple as possible and focusing on the animation rather than spending energy on cameras and editing. Fonzo's work will look stronger and more finished if he pays close attention to the relationships of the hips/chest/head (and arcs of all the joints of the body) and the overlapping action required to give sharp motion a realistic edge. He's very close, but can get another level of refinement in his work. I'd like to see him push this as he moves forward.
Mike Gasaway (Class 3):
Areas of strength: Going out on a limb is always encouraged with me. It's nice to see that you are unafraid to both try something different and something cartoony. What a great time to try it! Now take what you learned from it and build on that. Areas of improvement: Make even stronger keys to already strong poses. Make those tweens (much like your last exercise) just as strong. Work on spacing to get some texture as well.
Areas of strength: Fonzo has some really funny ideas for his shots, and generally has a very fun sense of timing - his shots tend towards the "toony" style of animation, but he did a nice job of trying to reel that in for the "physical reality" of this particular class.
Areas of improvement: As Fonzo knows, time management was an issue - his job kept him from really performing to his ability for the class. The other suggestion I would make would be to spend less time conceptualizing the shots - it's great to come up with funny stories and situations, but this takes *time* - and for a guy that has limited time to begin with, well, you've got to find ways to maximize your time for creating really beautiful, smooth looking animation. Planning is another area where Fonzo could spend more time - some of his thumbnails felt rushed through, and occasionally timing was not indicated in planning. Again, maybe this is just a time thing.
Chad Stewart (Class 1):
Areas of strength: Fonzo did some really nice work this term. He has a passion for animation and it shows in his work. HIs poses were very nice with good weight, design and personality. His animation shows a good understanding of the principles of animation. HIs spacing is very well thought out, his animation has good weight, and everything has a nice appeal to it. That's huge as it adds that intangible quality of entertainment to his work.
Areas of improvement: Fonzo could keep working on the concept of overlap. His tailor assignment was good, but he can improve his use of overlap by really studying it in good film animation, looking specifically at the line of action of each frame and how it interacts with the frames around it. Also, study the wave motion that's created and how it moves and whips the end of the chain. Track the spacing of the end, too.
