Oh hey, I’m busy animatin’, so have a naked lady from yesterday’s class. This time round, we were studying tone by using white chalk and charcoal on gray paper. And yes, the model was reading her Kindle.

And now she just needs someone to talk to. You’d think I’d have started on character #2 by now, but hey, I was having fun getting the Poehler stand-in just about right. Every time something felt a little stiff, I referred to my trusty Animator’s Survival Kit and found ways to make her more dynamic. Not saying I got everything right, but I’m really happy with the way it evolved.

4 days left, so I’ll start the exasperated husband just in the nick of time. Luckily he won’t also be moving like a hummingbird on crack. He’s onscreen for three more seconds than she is, so it’ll be interesting to see how the time spent animating compares.

God I love 2D animation. Frozen in time, this looks like Angela Lansbury after a date with a steamroller. At 24 frames per second, it provides a barely perceptible indication of speed.

Back in the `30s when animators started studying live-action films, they noticed that fast motion resulted in a lot of blurred, smeared frames. If you study Warner Bros.cartoons frame-by-frame, you’ll see how they applied the concept to animation. “The Dover Boys” is a film that used it especially liberally.

I didn’t have high hopes when I tried it with my own animation, and was ecstatic to find that it actually works really really well.

My current favorite morning ritual: running up to Grant’s Tomb, then sitting in the Coffee Bean drawing passers-by.

(This is not an invitation to stalk me, ladies!)

The dichotomy has been especially pronounced this week: In the morning, I’m off like a rocket. In the evening, I’m off like a gas leak on the short bus. I blame you, day job! For being so goshdarn fulfilling, I mean.

I’ve been animating in the morning, and that’s progressing nicely. But I’ll spare you incremental updates on that. Tune in next week!