I want to retire my old laptop, and therefore have been slowly wading through my files, organizing and making sure that everything’s backed up. The process is often frustrating as there is a lot of mess to clean up from hasty back-ups with confusing names and repetition, but has also led to nice rediscoveries, like of the following essay I wrote for an animation seminar. I remember feeling initially excited by the topic but then dissatisfied submitting the paper. I meant to also write about The Lion King and the use of animated film for national and global morality-making. Didn’t get to that. It doesn’t even really have a proper concluding statement but that’s mostly school formatting stuff anyway…it does have a bit of that school essay feel to the writing, but after revisiting I’ve decided it’s not too embarrasing. I was the sort of foolish student that, if unhappy with my work, I’d submit a final and never return to see what feedback or grade I’d been given. As long as I passed the class I didn’t want to know. As far as I know only my professor and/or her TA have read it. I’d like to share it now and would enjoy reading any responses you may have.

Graciela

~I recommend reading this in a mobile device, or an email server that isn't Google if the images are too big. My email at least is not fitting the images properly into the window and I don't want to go and resize everything.~

Girl Jam! is a stop-motion parody animated short inspired by sitcoms and reality music shows like Making the Band. I animated, and it was directed, written and all vocal work performed by Asia Bey. I've chosen to write about it for my first process post because it was very DIY.

It is currently only viewable in it's entirety on Asia's Patreon at the Video+comix level (TW for violence, adult language, and nudity). I will illustrate this ~process post~ with some clips and gifs. This was my first time animating something this long using toys rather than puppets created specifically for the project, also my first time animating something written by someone else and being directed. Before animating, I received one audio track with voices and music edited together, so I could not edit the timing where different sounds overlapped. The only flexibility I had with lengthening or shortening a shot was at the silent parts of the audio. In a way, it was nice to have this constraint - All I had to do was fill in the imagery.

Hi! I am interrupting my every-two-week timeline to announce that my full intro animation course is live on Hyperlink.Academy! It starts next Thursday, April 22 at 6pm EDT, meets once a week for 6 weeks and doesn't require any fancy software or materials, it's all about getting started animating using what you have.

I like to think of animation, especially stop-motion, as a form of reverting back to children playing with toys, and I want to encourage that sort of playfulness this class. I like using stop motion for beginners because it feels like the most accesible way to start animating, especially now that affordable photo sequencing software is more widely available than ever (we'll use Stop Motion Studio), and also most quickly connects to the sense of wonder sparked by seeing inanimated objects come to life. I'm not calling this a stop motion class for now, however, because I don't want the focus to be on a specific look that someone might think of when they hear "stop motion", but on the basic how-tos of recreating motion that applied to any software or style. But for now we'll be thinking only of using what we have easily available. How can I manipulate this thing it to create the effect of motion that I want?

Take a look at the course details at: (https://hyperlink.academy/courses/principles-of-animation/99)

I'd appreciate you sharing this with anyone that may be interested. Discounts are available, message me on hyperlink's website @gracula or email gracsarab@gmail.com

Museum

For some time now I have thought about teaching. My first year at UCLA I worked as museum educator at the Fowler Museum of Cultural History on campus, a job I loved. I gave tours of the galleries to K-12 school groups. The most requested exhibit for tours was Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives, their permanent exhibit showcasing pieces from all over the world. It opened with a display of faces -- masks, puppets, or busts to introduce the idea that objects represent personal or communal identity. I would first ask the kids to identify elements of the pieces that stood out to them and prompt them to interpret the meaning behind those creative decisions. After a quick overview into the background of a piece, I'd encourage them to think about how similar relationships are expressed in their own lives. For example, in response to Hopi Katsina dolls - what toys or playthings did or do they use to learn about their culture, or to emulate adults? Or, relating to a king's robe and items, what do people with authority in their life, such as a school principle, wear or carry to signify that authority?

Other favorite exhibits from my time there were:

Earth Matters, a really expansive collection of works made with earthen materials, through which African artists negotiate their relationships to land and nature, and -