Demo Reel 2012

Posted on 07/02/2012 by artofthecartoon

Shot Breakdown:

Shot 1: Lord of War
keyframe animated all characters in Maya (rigs from Animation Mentor), created background, fire texture and lighting

Shot 2: Eskrima
animated character in Maya (rig from Animation Mentor), created background and lighting

Shot 3: Flash’s Moral of the Story
animated character in Maya (rig from Animation Mentor), created background and lighting

Shot 4: I’m Late!!!
keyframe animated all characters in Maya (rigs from Animation Mentor), created background, fire texture and lighting

Shot 5: Plyometric Kit: Reverse Wind-up (male)
motion capture + keyframe animated character 3DS Max
(animation copyright VHI 2011)

Shot 6: Tiny vs. Spiderman
animated all characters in Maya (Tiny rig from chadmv, Spidey rig from Gary Wee) created background & lighting

Shot 7: Superfly
animated all characters in Maya (rig from Animation Mentor), created background & lighting

(206) 356-1000

cesarthe2nd@gmail.com

Demo Reel

Posted on 03/16/2012 by artofthecartoon

Shot Breakdown:

Shot 1a: Lord of War
keyframe animated all characters Maya (rigs from Animation Mentor), created background, fire texture and lighting

Shot 2: Plyometric Kit: Single Arm Punch (male)
motion capture + keyframe animated character 3DS Max
(animation copyright VHI 2011)

Shot 3: Plyometric Kit: Alternating Single Arm Punch (female)
motion capture + keyframe animated character 3DS Max
(animation copyright VHI 2011)

Shot 1b: Lord of War
keyframe animated all characters Maya (rigs from Animation Mentor), created background, fire texture and lighting

Shot 4: Plyometric Kit: Reverse Wind-up (male)
motion capture + keyframe animated character 3DS Max
(animation copyright VHI 2011)

Shot 5: Plyometric Kit: Pitch Wind-up (male)
motion capture + keyframe animated character 3DS Max
(animation copyright VHI 2011)

Shot 1c: Lord of War
keyframe animated all characters Maya (rigs from Animation Mentor), created background, fire texture and lighting

Shot 6: Plyometric Kit: Ball Walkover (male)
motion capture + keyframe animated character 3DS Max
(animation copyright VHI 2011)

Shot 7: Plyometric Kit: Diamond Push-Up (female)
motion capture + keyframe animated character 3DS Max
(animation copyright VHI 2011)

Shot 8: Child
animated character Maya(rig from Animation Mentor), created background and lighting

Shot 9: Plyometric Kit: Kneeling Chest Pass (female)
motion capture + keyframe animated character 3DS Max
(animation copyright VHI 2011)

Shot 10: I’M LATE!!!
animated character Maya (rig from Animation Mentor), created background and lighting

Shot 11: Optimus Prime Run & Bound
animated character Maya (rig from Gary Wee)

Shot 12: Plyometric Kit: Alternating Single Bound (male)
motion capture + keyframe animated character 3DS Max
(animation copyright VHI 2011)

Shot 13: Eskrima
animated character Maya (rig from Animation Mentor), created background and lighting

Shot 14: Balance Training: One Leg Balance with BodyBlade (male)
motion capture + keyframe animated character 3DS Max
(animation copyright VHI 2011)

Shot 15: Superfly
animated all characters Maya (rig from Animation Mentor), created background & lighting

Contact Cesar Cueva

(206) 356-1000

cesarthe2nd@gmail.com

SDCC 2011 Day 1

Posted on 07/21/2011 by artofthecartoon

The actual first day of San Diego has come to a close, and as an animator today was that first wave of creative energy and inspiration that comes over an artist amongst not only his peers, but also the fans of the medium.

When it comes to SDCC, I’m definitely more of a panel person, more specifically the smaller ones and the ones that deal with my interests. Today my panels were the CCI-IFF film school series: pre-production and screenwriting, Alex Niño, How to use CG in comics, Bill Plympton, Classic Cartoons: Tom & Jerry/ Looney Tunes, Robert Rodriguez, Jon Favreau & Guillermo Del Toro, New Generation of Spike & Mike Animation, and Kung-Fu films…

I won’t even attempt to go over each and every panel I went to, but I will give you some of my main points I took away:

Film is an art (duh), start small and practice your craft, know your tools and how they can make your workflow easier, I have a deeper appreciation of Tom & Jerry more so than before, Guillermo Del Toro likes to cuss, and I really need to re-watch Police Story starring Jackie Chan.

The highlight of my day was the Spotlight in Alex Nino.

It was like listening to my Filipino Uncles tell stories, except this uncle was into drawing, inking and comic books. I asked him about the restrictions of being an artist during the Marcos Regime in the Philippines and his thoughts on the difference between the animation medium and comic book medium. His answers were brief yet insightful. He recalled his censorship of his artwork during martial law, and he waxed poetic about his freedom as a comic book artist as opposed to the team environment of animation.

If I had some regrets, it was that I didn’t have enough time to chat with these panelists afterword. SDCC is so huge now, it seems that someone is always just more aggressive than I am, plus when I have limited time to jump to the next panel it makes it even tougher. I think next time I’ll try to leave a larger gap between panels esp. with the folks I really want to meet.

It was a good and inspiring, yet tiring 1st day of SDCC 2011. I’ll definitely need more of these tomorrow…

SDCC 2011 Preview Night

Posted on 07/20/2011 by artofthecartoon

San Diego Comic Con 2011 Preview Night. As a professional animator, my goal for SDCC is to not only make valuable contacts within the industry, but mostly to stay inspired and let my creative juices flow with all the geekiness around me.

Most of the contacts and info will come from the panels in the days ahead, preview night is all about inspiration, getting a lay of the exhibition floor, and shopping!

And I got a chance to finally pick up the kotobukiya Psylocke I’ve wanted for so many years:

And thanks to Daps1 for braving the line and picking me up one of these:

And lastly, probably the purchase that felt the best, were these plush yoshi dolls that got for my nieces.

Because above all, even though I go to SDCC to geek out and generally think about ME, the reason I stay inspired and the reason I animate is for all the folks out there, and that especially goes for me family.

I haven’t written here much, but stay tuned… I plan to try to blog about many things animated that are happening at SDCC 2011 from panels to costumes to artists, etc… I might even attempt a Capt. America review.

Have fun!

Winnie the Pooh

Posted on 06/16/2011 by artofthecartoon

Winnie the Pooh/ dir. Stephen Anderson & Don Hall/ 2011

On the second to last day of the Seattle International Film Festival, I sit in a theater awaiting the North American premiere of Winnie the Pooh. To my left, my partner of about a year and all around me I am surrounded by an almost full theater of smiling parents, anxious kids, and general fans of animation (well at least the folks that can make it to an early morning showing on a Saturday). After the parade of speakers and thank yous, the lights go dim, and Winnie the Pooh comes on. Amidst the occasional laughs from the small children around me, my eyes are affixed on the screen, hanging on each beautifully animated frame while I reminisce of the days when I first met the round lovable bear known as Winnie the Pooh. Days after I’m still collecting my thoughts, reflecting on all the changes that have occurred in and around me in not only the 5 months since I last wrote, but also the 2 years since I took my first baby steps into the animation world. All this brought about by a mere children’s movie. So after a very lengthy hiatus, I figured I should write something…

Winnie the Pooh is not your traditional “modern” animated feature. It’s doesn’t offer any flashy effects or well planned out action sequences. There is no magic, no plot twists and no added adult humor or pop culture references to entice the older audiences. No, Winnie the Pooh is an old fashioned Disney 2D/ hand drawn animated film through and through. It knows its core audience and it’s an effective film for 3 reasons: simple storytelling, a subtle yet powerful moral message, and a creative imagination. All these add up to something that gets lost in today’s films of CG, big action sequences, grand sets, and manufactured emotions… Innocence. Continue reading →

Thought of You

Posted on 02/14/2011 by artofthecartoon

It’s Valentine’s Day! A holiday mostly tailored towards the card making companies. However, the overall sentiment is appreciated, “celebrate love.” So for today’s inspiration, I bring you an animated piece that has already made its rounds on the internet, but the animation and emotion is still as powerful as ever:

Thought of You/ Ryan Woodward/ 2010

For “making of ” video, hit the jump:

Continue reading →

Super Bowl XLV Commercials… Animated!

Posted on 02/10/2011 by artofthecartoon

Well the Super Bowl has came and went. Congrats to the Green Bay Packers on their win! I would hate to be that dude from Seattle who is bitter towards Pittsburgh for a loss 5 years ago, but let’s face it, I’m little bitter! So I’m glad that Green Bay won. Anyway, the highlight for most people is not the game itself, but the commercials that companies spend millions upon millions of dollars on. And for this year’s crop of commercials, it was… meh.

I did notice however, that many of the commercials had some sort of animation to it. From CG Black Eyed Peas, to bugs in the forest, animation is pretty much everywhere. Here were my top 3 favorite animated Super Bowl XLV commercials:

Brisk Iced Tea

Kia Optima

Coca-Cola

Art of the Cartoon

Cesar Cueva: Character Animator, Writer & Artist