Jen Cram's Sketch Blog

A Few Sketches

2012-02-21T20:03:00.000-08:00

My good friend, Colin Byrd!

A lady from my head!

Another quick attempt at Gotye... I may be slightly obsessed, ha ha.

Kitty Bounce!

2012-02-07T15:38:00.001-08:00

I totally forgot I had this! I did this in 2 or 3 hours after my last final this summer quarter! I hadn't slept, but had about 4 hours before Montgomery Hall closed for the break, so I decided to use the time!

Did this in Toon Boom!

Music and Pups

2012-01-19T23:49:00.000-08:00

I have a pretty strong love of music, especially that which digs right down and wraps its words around your heart. Music that's so good it almost hurts.... Music that, well, music that makes me do this.

I also love my parent's beagle, Savannah. We got Savannah when she was 3 years old - she came with her name. That was a while ago - long before I even knew there was an art school in Savannah, let alone that I'd live there one day! Talk about serendipity.

Gotye

2012-01-10T16:45:00.000-08:00

I just found out about the musician, Gotye. LOVING his music! So I did a 10 minute sketch. =)

Best as Always!

<3 Jen

Latest Work!

2011-11-20T03:04:00.000-08:00

Hello again, friends! It's time for another animation update! Here's my latest stuff! Not quite a demo reel yet - but I'm excited to take my first dialogue class next quarter!

Please bear with me! I've been enamored at CTNx all weekend - I'll get the shot breakdown uploaded as soon as I've gotten a bit of sleep! For now, suffice to say I am responsible for all character animation on here!

edit - here's an overdue shot breakdown!

1, 2, 3, 4 - Dog: I am responsible for the character animation. Rig by Javier Solsona, obtained from http://www.rigging101.com/freestuff.htm
5 - "AMUs": I am responsible for the character animation. Done for Alexander Curtis's film, Hephaestus.
6 - Frog: I am responsible for character animation. Character design by SCAD Professor, John Webber.
7 - Shaman: I am responsible for character animation, clean-up and ink. Done for Nate Swinehart's film, Rain Dance.

October Love

2011-10-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

Love means not minding when a little finky fur face sits on your book.

A quick 45 minute sketch from my head in Photoshop.

Just thought I otter update...

2011-10-05T14:03:00.001-07:00

I never posted this here!

In a pun-off, my friend, Alex Curtis, couldn't think of any puns because his mind was on "otter-pilot."

Love as always!

Jen

For Funzies!

2011-10-03T15:04:00.000-07:00

Just a quick sketch to celebrate finding my Cintiq pen! Huzzah!

<3 Jen

Forsyth Park

2011-09-07T15:51:00.001-07:00

Hello again, All!

Today I hung out at Forsyth for a bit of sketching with Bridget, Lauren, Emily and Squirrel. I need to improve my ability to render environments, so I spent a little time with this tree by the baby park. Such a beautiful day here in Savannah!

Done with a black Col-Erase Prismacolor pencil and French Gray Prismacolor markers.

All the Best!

Jen

Small Update

2011-08-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

Hey, guys! Just a quick update!

I'm still alive, still in GA, still working towards completion of my MFA in Animation.

Nate Swinehart's Raindance is in clean-up, ink and paint right now! I'm still helping out a bit, and I'm excited to say it's looking absolutely fantastic! Can't wait to see this baby finished!

I'm also thrilled to say that Alex Curtis' Hephaestus is looking swank-tastic as well! It's in the animation stages (I'm working on a shot!), and whoo boy, are things coming together!

I'm so proud to say that I've known these two gents. There are two large groups of passionate, talented, and creatively energetic people behind these projects, and it has been a pleasure and an honor to have been a part of it. Though I'm sad to see their time here at SCAD come to a close, it will be so exciting to see their careers advance from here! Thank you for a wonderful first year at SCAD, you two - you will be missed!

And now, because I owe you guys some art, here you go! Some quick sketches I've been doing over the quarter to keep my head on my shoulders.

Sketch of some friends who keep me happy. From right to left, top to bottom:

Lauren Duda, (myself), Nate Swinehart

Tyler J. Kupferer, Lauren Brown, Ben Anderson

Emily Sampson, Kevin Block, and Sam Fawaz.

Nate's wise words to a stressed Jen.

And I'm off! Kicked out of Monty for the night!

All the Best,

Jen

2011-07-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

Hey, guys! Gonna get into the habit of giving you all a daily sketch - this is a sketch blog, after all!

Doggy Run!

2011-06-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

Hey, all!

It's that time of the quarter again, where I'm up late in the name of awesome projects! I thought I'd update you with a little taste of what I've been doing!

This is the first project from my Drawing in Motion class this quarter. There's more info available on YouTube, if you're interested! It was rotoscoped from Muybridge photos in acrylic ink with dip pens and brushes. Quite a lot of fun!

Best Wishes, as always!

Jen

Shameful!

2011-05-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

Absolutely shameful, this lack of updates! My apologies, dear friends - but there will be a bit of work to show you, after this quarter! Huzzah! And soon, daily posts! I usually do at least one small sketch a day (and plenty of blogging on Facebook, eh heh), so why not share them here?

We're in the middle of finals, now, and the crunch is totally felt. Drawing in Motion has been great so far - plenty of life drawing with an emphasis on putting the figure in an emotional context. Fun stuff! I can feel my life drawing skills improving! I'm working on the final for it now.

Did this quick sketch of Ursula to warm up this morning - found the reference here: http://queenkelley.com/?p=91

Ursula is, of course, the property of Disney.

Ciao, belli!

~ Jen

Character Animation Demo Reel

2011-04-05T19:42:00.000-07:00

Hello, again, friends! Time for another update!

There are edits to be done on all of these, but I thought I should at least give you something new!

Breakdown (I'm responsible for everything unless noted):

1. Character Animation, to be composited into live action footage. Morpheus rig by Josh Burton.
2. Dino Run, rig provided by SCAD.
3. How Not to Lift a Box, Bloke model re-rigged by Jen Cram.
4. Rain Dance Animation Test. Character design by Nate Swinehart.
5. Froggy Sidestep. Character design by John Webber.
6. Fat Cat dialogue. WIP! More of him soon!
7. Eterne animation test. Look for more Eterne stuff soon!

"Pees"

2011-02-08T23:52:00.000-08:00

Hello again, everyone!

I'm up late working on an experimental animation, waiting for some stuff to render, so I figured I'd take a break to update you all on my latest adventures! The experimental is turning out to be quite fun - it'll be done for my grade soon, but I'd still like to put some tweaks on it for my personal liking, so look for it at a later date!

In the mean time, here's my entry for Savanijam! The Contemporary Animation Society here at SCAD holds a competition every year. The goal - make an animation in 24 hours or less, using a provided theme as inspiration. 3D animations could use pre-made rigs, but 2D animations had to be done from scratch. To add to the challenge, we weren't allowed to leave Montgomery Hall until our animations were complete and submitted! It was a great deal of fun, and although it threw off my sleep schedule a bit, I'm glad I participated!

So what was this mystery prompt word, you ask? "'Pees'." Yes, we quirked our eyebrows too. "... Um... Pees? Like, 'peace' on earth? Or a 'piece' of pie?" The response, essentially, "Yes!"

Concept, animation and design by yours truly - the voice and sound recording was done by my good friend, Drew Soman! It won honorable mention for biggest laugh! =)

Until next time! Adieu!

Best,

Jen Cram

Rain Dance Progress

2011-01-17T10:55:00.000-08:00

Hello, again folks!

Well, here, as promised, is a more completed version of my previous test for Rain Dance. Not quite done - there are still some uncompleted frames - but the timing is nearly worked out. This was an incredible learning experience, and I'm totally jazzed to say it was almost chosen, out of all the animator's tests of this scene, to be in the film! What an energizing way to start the quarter!

We are now in full swing on Rain Dance production! It's great getting to know all the animators and concept artists in person. I'm slowly assigning faces to the disembodied voices from Skype production meetings we had over break. There are a lot of great talents (and personalities) on this film - it's going to be great. I'm already learning so much! I'll have to check with Nate (Swinehart, director) and Tyler (J. Kupferer, producer) about how hush hush we're going to be with this - this may be the last bit of Rain Dance animation you see from me for a while, but definitely look forward to the release!

Anyway, off to work! Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, everyone!

Best as Always,

Jen Cram

Merry Eggno- er, I mean...

2010-12-25T00:46:00.000-08:00

I couldn't sleep, so I made you all a present, with Santa's Seal of Approval... Or maybe Santa's Weasel of Approval?

Love, and a Very Happy New Year,

Jen

Breathing

2010-12-16T09:50:00.000-08:00

I found myself a fish outside the bowl
So I grew legs to find a new one,
Lungs to tide me over,
And a brain to avoid the snakes.
Suddenly, I was a brand new creature,
Capable of great processes and feats,
But aware, always and achingly,
Of the distance between me
And water.

Shot 28, Test One

2010-12-13T19:11:00.000-08:00

Heya, everyone!

Here's the latest! This is shot 28, wherein the Shaman realizes his staff has broken and begins to feel alarmed! Check out the animatic to see it in context (link in my previous post). It's also my first animated acting assignment! Prior to this, it's mostly been bouncing balls, walk cycles and other exercises.

I'd like to rework some of the timing and spacing in the eye-widening and head turn at the end (feels a little too even), but as a whole, I'm pretty happy with it! I haven't really gotten into overlapping action with the accessories yet, but I'm going to keep working on this, so I'll post it again soon!

Best wishes, as always!

Jen Cram

Howdy!

2010-12-12T10:44:00.001-08:00

Hello again, readers! Happy Holidays - I hope you're all enjoying the fine/frigid weather, depending upon your locations. I know I'm enjoying the season of egg nog and hot cocoa quite a bit this time around - I've been busy, and a busy Jen is a happy one!

But first, a recap - my first semester at SCAD rolled through at light speed with an incredible amount of learnage and a pleasantly surprising amount of sleep - great success! New friends abound, and with them new projects! Hooray!

My good friend and director, Nate Swinehart, along with producer extraordinaire Tyler Kupferer of Base 14, are in preproduction on what will be an amazing project, and I'm lucky enough to be involved! I'll be animating the Shaman, one of Nate's two characters for Rain Dance, a ritual-gone-wrong story of magic and personal growth. Follow the link to check out the super tasty animatic!

Amazing 3D (and 2D, but you didn't hear it from me) animator, Alex Curtis, fresh out of a Disney animation internship, has also got some wonder in the works. I've been lucky enough to watch the progress of this film, and as the sketches roll out and the models and rigs roll in, I can tell you Hephaestus is going to be beautiful. Alex's passion for animation and commitment to quality in every detail would not allow it to be otherwise. Keep an eye on the project!

There's a lot of talent building behind both of these projects, and I'm swimming around right in the middle of it! Needless to say, it's super invigorating and I'm totally jazzed to head back to SCAD!

But first! Enjoy a few sketches from a game yesterday - in 5 minutes or less, come up with an unusual take on a mythological figure!

First! A house-gryphon:

A girafficorn!
And finally a selkie!

Have a good one guys! Until next time!

<3 Jen

Jen Cram Talent Reel, 2009

2010-09-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

I call it a "talent" reel because it's really a big conglomeration of stuff! You've already seen the Sleasel TD work on here, but please bear with it! As you can read in the notes for this on YouTube, this is almost all of my 4d animation-related work to date in one place. I've got mixed feelings about a lot of it, but I thought I should post it for you guys as a point of comparison - because I am now at SCAD and taking a heavy interest in my own self-improvement! =D

From YouTube:

Jen Cram Talent Reel, 2009

Hey guys! Here's a showcase of (almost) all of my animation work up through 2009. I put it together for my application to SCAD's MFA in Animation. Jennifer DiMassino Cram is the creator and owner of all characters, and is responsible for the creation of all content unless otherwise stated.

Notes:

1) Sleasel the Weasel, Character Animation. 56 sec, pencil and Lightwave 9, 2009. This represents my first attempts at 2D animation, rigging, and 3D animation. Sleasel was the second character model I'd completed.

2) Sleasel the Weasel, Modeling/TD Reel. 2 min 7 sec, Maya 2010, 2009. I brought Sleasel into Maya and explored some more advanced rigging when my school (Montclair State University) got Maya 2010. I give a lot of props to Steven Murdoch for his excellent biped rigging tutorial, and to Swinburne University of Technology in Australia for making it available (link at the bottom). Also, thanks to my old prof, Wobbe Koning, for helping me iron through the rough parts.

3) Funk Skunk: Trippin' Up! Animation Layout and Keyframes/Color Script. 2 min 12 sec, pencil, Prismacolor marker, crayon, and Adobe Flash, 2009. Music by "The Inferno" - Guitar, Dante Cornella, Bass, Jeff Little, and Drums, Sulaiman Ismail. Sounds collected from The Freesound Project (http://www.freesound.org/). Massive props to the prof I never had, Kyeong Won Youn, for his help with Flash. =)

I used a free version of TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress to compile everything - hence the stamps in the upper right corner at the beginning and the end.

Murdoch's biped rigging tutorial - (http://www.swinburne.edu.au/design/tutorials/P-maya/T-Maya-Rigging-Rigging-a-biped-character-for-animation/ID-125/)

Nude Jersey?

2010-06-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

Some might call it a bad idea to post this kind of stuff on the internet, right here next to my professional work and professional name, but this is a social issue of some importance to me. Please take it as a testament to how seriously I feel about the issue that I AM discussing it here.

taken from this ABC article - please read it.

I sincerely hope this goes through! I don't go to Asbury Park often, but if they pass this, it would become my main beach. Asbury Park is already full of great food, exciting music and neat art shops, it's a great place to visit - adding a topless beach to the mix would be fantastic! And it's right down the highway from me. Wonderful!

I think, if this goes through, it'll be a great omen for more mature and natural times to come. The human body is not lewd or suggestive or scary. It is beautiful! Our bodies are gifts that should be cherished and embraced, not hidden away for fear of offense or embarrassment. They should not be shielded from children! Nudity and sex are not synonymous!

Also, men already parade around with bare chests! Why is that acceptable while the female chest is scandalous? This is an issue that has confused me for a long time. Why does my chest have to be covered when his doesn't? Why do we dress our baby girls up in little bikini tops when there is nothing there to hide? In covering a baby girl's nipples, we suggest that there is something sexual there!! We turn our 2 year olds into sexual objects! Why not let them be innocent in their youth?

Why not let us be innocent in our age?

I will be pushing for this. Please, feel free to enter a discussion with me here. I wish more people would be comfortable with public nudity, and I fail to understand why it is such a large problem.

MUCH to update!!

2010-06-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

SO! Excellent news abounds!

First off - I've graduated from Montclair State University with a BFA in Animation/Illustration! Hooray!

I've found temporary summer work - that might prove to be a lucrative long term investment. I'm life guarding again! It entails oodles of fresh air and requires me to stay in shape. Also, I hear there are lots of beaches and pools down at Savannah that might need guards... Which leads me to my next bit of excellent news!

I got into the Animation MFA at SCAD! They gave me a bit of money, too - huzzah! Now begins the housing/roommate/scholarship/grant/work study search. I'm so excited!!

FINALLY - the bit of news I'm MOST excited about - oh, no no, it's too good. I'll have to make a new post for it!

But here are some sculpture tidbit's I've been playing with. My uncle and aunt, Jim and Tay, gifted me with some taxidermy eyes that Jim used to sculpt with. What great inspiration! Also, my beagle, Savannah, is adorable. Just a quick gesture.

Amusement of the Day

2010-04-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

My sister, texting from campus: "I'm starving."
Me: "Eat a freshman. =)"
Sis: "Mmm, yes. They're so tender. Gotta get em before Spring finals, though, they get tougher going into sophomore year."
(later)
Sis: "There is a couple behind me who obviously hooked up over their mutual love for kicking the chair in front of them. I'm going to eat them."

In other news - more art is on the way. Scanner-computer-internet situation is a little complicated, but will hopefully be rectified soon with the purchase of a new computer! Looking at Apple's latest generation of Mac Pro desktops. I'm fluent with both Macs and PCs, but definitely prefer the former - even though they do cost an arm and a leg. Macs just function more smoothly, in my experience.

I'm working on a traditional animation lip-synch test. Hopefully it'll turn into some solid stuff with my neglected characters. Also - lip-synch animation means making funny faces in a mirror all day. I'm loving it.

Finally - a trip to the dentist yielded me a commission. She'd like a humorous piece to hang in her lobby that both adults and children can relate to. Interested in Norman Rockwell-ish content, but not style. Other than that, it's open. Should be a fun one. I'll post sketches soon.

Best!
Jen

2010-04-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

Hello again, guys!

So, it's official! I've applied to SCAD's Animation MFA, and internships at Blue Sky (visual development) and Pixar (art and animation). Wish me luck!

What now? Well, I guess I should apply for some actual JOBS. Also, continual development of portfolio/reel/ability, ha ha.

Anyway, here's some of the stuff I submitted. It went out in various formats to the various places, but these are the basics.

I'm gonna try to get all of my animation reel stuff up on YouTube to share with you soon, too.

Best,

Jen Cram

Sleasel the Weasel

2010-04-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

Introducing Sleasel the Weasel! (And Jen Cram as a modeler/rigger, ha ha.)

Sleasel is best friend and worst enemy to Funk Skunk, the lead character of my main animation endeavor lately (more on that later). He's a sweet, well-meaning guy, but somehow always manages to cramp Funk Skunk's style and throw awkward wrenches into situations. Still, his happy-go-luckiness and winning-but-goofy smile always manage to patch things up.

Here's my second attempt at rigging a character - the first time I've tackled things like spline IKs, controls and stretchiness expressions (and expressions at all, for that matter).

I'll post some character sketches for Sleasel in a bit - I'm just a bit giddy about how this turned out. =}

Jeanne d'Arc

2010-03-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

This was a quick little ditty for a character challenge on ConceptArt. They have bunches of challenges here, just for fun - a great source of inspiration.

I never submitted her, because I didn't feel it was enough of a finished illustration, but I still like the concept. Modernized, soldier/guerilla Joan of Arc. Of course, she fights in Vietnam, not Northern France.

So what are you up to now, Jen?

2010-03-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm currently in the process of putting a portfolio/animation reel together for graduate school/post-grad internships. Pixar and Blue Sky only take undergraduate interns, or interns who have graduated in the last 9 months - so this is my big shot. Wish me luck!

While searching for a format to show off the updated rigging I put in my Sleasel character last semester, I stumbled across the idea of a TD reel. Basically, where riggers show off all of their fantastic abilities and try to get a job. I found this one really impressive, actually...

The squash and stretch capabilities are something I was really struggling to get in my Sleasel rig. He's supposed to be a rubber band! This stuff is really energizing to see.

If you want to see more, search for "TD character reel," or "technical reel," in Google Videos or YouTube.

Best!
Jen Cram

Love

2009-12-06T23:33:00.001-08:00

Hm. There's not nearly enough art on this blog yet.

Just a sketchbook ditty.

Slowly but surely...

2009-12-05T00:29:00.000-08:00

...finishing up my degree!

Feelings

2009-10-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

You know what's a great feeling? Diving into water. What a rush. Plummeting head first to what your body tells you is certain doom, only to be caught at the last second in a cradle of cool weightlessness. Then time stands still for an endless moment between you and your next breath, and you jump out of the water to do it all again.

Coming of Age

2009-09-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

My life is changing.

Generations are shifting roles. I am no longer the baby at large family reunions. There are no large family reunions. The baby at our next large family reunion will likely be mine.

It is overwhelming.