buckochamp

[buckochamp]

Been listening to a lot of NADDPOD (a D&D play podcast) and felt inspired to make a rough turnaround for Beverly Toegold, the halfling paladin!

[buckochamp]

stanley reading his self-published fanfic to the kids

[buckochamp]

EXCELLENT rec. I've been binge reading all morning.

new 8 panel what happens next update

[buckochamp]

(Redbird)

First peek at my OC Charlie, main character of a comic I'm working on.

[buckochamp]

Here's a short breakdown of one of my favorite 2D animations I made for COLOR Creative. So many wonderful people played a part in this project-- I was responsible for animating Dumpi in the style of a nostalgic breakfast cereal cartoon, but a little more... threatening 👹

[buckochamp]

Meet Bucko; a lonesome cowpoke accompanied by a weird little guy named Champ. Together, they wander the open plains in search of somethin' neither of them quite recall.

[buckochamp]

Absolutely! Deciding how to approach speech animation was super important because this project had a LOT of dialogue. For the motion tests, I pulled some royalty-free audio of a guy saying "Welcome! What can I do for you?" and presented three options to the client (see first GIF above). A - Open/Close. This approach only uses 2 key mouth shapes; it's used a lot in older cartoons and anime because it saves a lot of time and it's easy to dub over. Arguably, it also could have added to the "old school" feel of the cartoon. B - Simple Phonemes. This method uses 12 key mouth shapes animated on 2's. It brings the character more to life than option A and it's easy to do quickly if you set up a mouth rig in After Effects (tutorial link)!

C - Complex Phonemes. This also uses the same 12 key mouth shapes, but it's hand-animated in Photoshop and includes in-betweens on the 1's . Looks buttery smooth, but takes a lot of time and the client simply didn't have the budget. Plus realistically we might have had to cut down on dialogue if we went with style C for the whole video. Hence why the guy only mouths "welcome" in this GIF. In the end, we went with B - Simple Phonemes, with just a couple moments of C for flair.

Choosing what level of animation you want for your project is a process of asking yourself, "What is the purpose of this animation? How important is getting the story out there vs. spending time making it visually stunning? What tools can I use to make this process faster and how can I design for that from the beginning?" Everyone wants to make a masterpiece every time, but if that was our goal, we wouldn't finish anything. You only have so many resources; balance them to your benefit!

Sometimes, you have to figure out juuuuust what level of animation fidelity you can achieve for a project that has a strict budget and deadline. Here's how I broke down some options for the client! In the end, we used a mix of rigged puppets in After Effects and moments of hand-drawn animation for impact.

[buckochamp]

still learning

[buckochamp]

September is right around the corner, and I am available for work! Hit me up at owenanimations@gmail.com for your motion design, 2D animation, storyboards, style frames, VFX and compositing needs!

[buckochamp]

Sometimes, you have to figure out juuuuust what level of animation fidelity you can achieve for a project that has a strict budget and deadline. Here's how I broke down some options for the client! In the end, we used a mix of rigged puppets in After Effects and moments of hand-drawn animation for impact.

[buckochamp]

made a sticker for my favorite game rn

[buckochamp]

Shaking off the burnout rust by practicing some style frames and cityscapes. Happy crop top summer!

[buckochamp]

First round of exploration for some logos! I'm pleased with a few of these, though they definitely need polishing. Had fun playing around with Illustrator's 3D effects. Which one is your favorite?

[buckochamp]

Trust the process.

On June 1st, 2024, I got laid off from my full-time Motion Design job after 5 years.

I made it through three rounds of layoffs, but the fourth one left our creative team a skeleton crew. With Big Tech’s mass layoffs, creative agencies like ours took a hard hit.

Since 2019, I’d been living in a bit of a bubble, enjoying my first full-time gig in a creative field with health insurance and retirement benefits. After 5 years of freelancing, I was craving some consistency and long-lasting team relationships. Even though the projects weren’t always personally inspiring, I found joy in the creative process and took pride in bringing clients’ visions to life.

But then-- burnout. My personal creativity dwindled, my websites expired, and my online art audience faded away. Depression crept in, and I spent my remaining creativity on work, leaving me drained by the end of the day. All I wanted was to touch grass and call my mom.

Now, freshly laid off, I find myself in an industry landscape I only partially recognize. Many of my colleagues are in similar situations, struggling to find jobs. Opinions on AI and ethics are flying around, and the general feeling is that the industry looks pretty bleak.

So, what’s next?

I’m leaning into freelance unless something better comes along. I’m stepping back from saying yes to every job to reconnect with my personal inspiration. Over 10+ years in the industry, I’ve fine-tuned my ability to create, communicate, and manage projects– I just need to trust the process. For now, my simple formula is this:

Create art

Show art

Repeat

Thank you for joining me on this journey. I’m excited to see where it goes. If you enjoyed this post and want to stay updated on my creative adventures, please follow my blog and connect with me on social media. Your support means the world to me!

Follow my blog for more updates and insights: [The Buckoblog]

Connect with me on social media:

Instagram: instagram.com/buckochamp/

Youtube: youtube.com/@buckochamp

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/owenanimations

Let’s create, share, and inspire each other in our artistic journeys!