Doug's Intro

Animator/Illustrator/Student Director

A drawing is an idea. As an animator, I turn ideas into stories.
I am currently a junior at the Kansas City Art Institute. It's been a blessing and privilege to be a student there after earning my AFA at the Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, IL. I keep this as a journal of my latest projects and explorations in animation.

Vimeo - http://vimeo.com/user4679231
DeviantArt - http://drmeloche.deviantart.com/

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Fields of Gold

I have been sick over the past couple days. So, that did put a little punch in my time. All better now and ready for vacation to begin. Not wanting to leave this blog unattended, here are some photos from the fall semester that I have yet to upload.


Look everybody! KCAI really is paved with gold.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Wacom Tablet - let's get familiar


I purchased my first digital drawing tablet last week, and I must say...I am loving it. These images are simply studies to get the feel for using this new hardware. There is certainly a learning curve to this process.

I have posted these purely for later reference. I wish to return to these images and laugh in their "faces" when I post much more skillfully executed work. 

FALL FINAL 2010

Fall Final 2010 from Douglas Meloche on Vimeo.


Here it is in all its hand drawn glory! I present to you the culmination of three weeks labor. I refuse to acknowledge the week I spent doing other things over Thanksgiving Break.

The B&W rendered portion completes the assignment while the roughed out drawings towards the end are the early stages in this becoming a full blown animated short.

My study focused on cycles, cycles, and more cycles...I am so glad to be taking a break from cycles for a while. Being able to execute visually interesting and fluid cycles is an essential skill and I am certainly grateful for the time I invested in this project.

IMPROVEMENTS:
1) Need to completely redo the transitions because the EKG is poorly botched.
2) There is some skating on  the "suitcase walk cycle", and his hat has heavier line weight than the body.
3) Need to add all the additional content that expands the composition and narrative.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Something to think about

Well, I have been faced with an opportunity, and it came time to make a decision. I am confident I made the right one. I was considering taking a double-major in Animation/Art History. I had to ask myself what I want most of my BFA degree(s).

The answer was simple: I want to ANIMATE! I came to this school because I have the dream of being able to see at a great story told on screen and say, "Look at what you were a part of. You made that!"

If I am to be accepted into a studio, then I need to be at the top of my game. My work is decent, but I have a lot of growing to do. This semester was demanding and although I got things done; I didn't experiment with the mediums as much as I should have. Why would I slash my time and keep my portfolio from being the best it can be? Dividing myself between two majors just isn't logical at this point.

Plus, I can always get an Art History degree/certificate after finishing up with the BFA.

I just need to stay on top of my game and really push myself to devote every moment I have to my animations! So, blogging isn't doing that right now. God Bless and here's a fancy animation for you to check out.