Rough Seas Captain!

Here are a few boat animation tests for a potential zoetrope creation.  A possible way in which we will create this is by 3d printing each frame out and placing them on a spinning vinyl record.  The record will then spin with a strobe light timed to give the illusion of animation... Magic! 

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Oh! Hello

Here's an animation I created as a teaching aid to my class.  I created it to demonstrate mixed media animation and weight within Adobe After Effects. 

I Love mixed media and it's always fun to animate someone dropping into scene. 

Dropping in to the Library from David Chandler Bierdeman (Chad) on Vimeo.

Hermosa Preciosa

Lovely Lava Lamp Archer Girl

Made this for fun while between projects.  Nothing like do a nice little animation exercise just for the fun of it and it turning out pretty sweet. 

Am I Wrong - Dance Animation

Am I Wrong - Dance Animation from David Chandler Bierdeman (Chad) on Vimeo.

A fun little animation I created to keep busy between studio jobs.  Enjoy

Dance Wip

"Am I wrong" dance wip progress from David Chandler Bierdeman (Chad) on Vimeo.

The Boxtrolls - Trailer

Boom! New Reel

Animation Reel - D. Chandler Bierdeman 2014 from Chad Bierdeman on Vimeo.

Myosis... Another beautiful creation from Gobelins

Myosis from GOBELINS pro on Vimeo.




Making of Myosis Emmanuel Asquier-Brassart from Emmanuel Asquier-Brassart on Vimeo.

New city, New Job

  So it's definitely been a while since I've posted anything to this blog! The reason is, back in August I got a new position as an associate animator with the company SkyVU in Omaha Nebraska.  This is super exciting because it is my first studio job outside of college and it's creating 2d animated cartoon episodes (my dream job)!
  This company which is about 5 yrs old makes a game called Battle Bears which is currently available from the app store and android market.  I equate it to multiplayer Halo, but with bear characters and much more customization!  The creator of Battle Bears and CEO of SkyVu Ben Vu (graduate of CalArts) has had this dream of creating an animated Battle bears show since the beginning, but has just now had the funding and ability to get it started.

  Getting back to me, some evan more exciting news is that just recently I was given the title "Lead 2d Character Animator".  It's really exciting because all of the final animation has to be approved by me before it can be put into the show.  In addition to this I am also creating the intro to the show.  So my past few weeks have been very intense, jammed full of animating and critiquing others work.

  This weekends goal to relax was to reenergize and re-motivate myself of my dream of becoming the next great animator.  To do that I have been reviewing some of my favorite animation blogs (such as Animator Island), reading up on the work of Milt Kahl, watching cartoons and pencil tests. And reading from "The Illusion of Life Disney Animation" by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston.

Below is an image I drew up while doing some exploration with the Battle Bear characters

I will most definitely be posting the link to our first episode when it comes out, but in the mean time keep an eye out for Battle Bear news and info about our first episode coming soon! 

Dancing Koala

Koala Dance from Chad Bierdeman on Vimeo.

   My brothers studio name is Kitchen Dance Studio and its name has always been based on this dance. The maskot for the studio name is a koala.  Therefore I created this dancing Koala lol

   There currently isn't any sound.  My bro is working on creating some succulent sounds for your ear holes. So in the mean time, enjoy these visually tantalizing dance steps

Not that way! Animation Practice

Changing Direction Animation Exercise from Chad Bierdeman on Vimeo.

Children's Christmas Story

   I was asked to make a slide show sort of thing that told the Christmas Story for the kids at my Church. They had decided to not do a play, but take photos in the the outfits and I would photoshop them into a scene. And then they could watch along with the church and listen to their pre-recorded voices reading the Christmas story. My brother and I recorded their voices and then I created backgrounds and photoshoped the kids in. He mashed up the audio and fitted it to the images and added some camera movements and subtitles to bring it all to life.
   Needless to say it was above and beyond what they had expected it to be, and everyone absolutely loved it! It's kinda silly at times, so I hope you do to.

 
The Christmas Story from Chad Bierdeman on Vimeo.

August 2012 11 Second CLub Submission

During the month of August for some added fun I took part in the 11 Second Clubs competition.  I of course chose to do my piece with 2d animation.

The first thing to do was to listen to the sound and get an idea of what is being said. Why it's being said, and what else might be happening in the background. From that I started designing characters. A lot of characters.

The guy in the orange hat I saw riding a motorcycle while I was downtown and thought he looked like a cool design that I needed to draw.  So I wrote down his description then drew him later that night. So he's simply included for the fun of it. 

I then narrowed it down to the characters beneath. 

After character design I story boarded and animated. I hope you enjoy the final video. If you would like to vote you can do so on their website 11secondclub.com

Meet Candice

Here are character exploration, turnaround, and expression sheets for a new character named Candice.  I then wanted to have a better idea of her character and how she would move, so I created an animation of her having fun.

Any comments and opinions are welcome. 

A New Found Website WIth Great Stuff!

Recently I found this website, On Animation. It's a great site for animated shorts as well as behind the scenes stuff to movies and all sorts of other greatness.  Below is a behind the scenes to the Movie Paranorman which I found on their website and am super excited to see!

Funny animated clip

Here's a short animation I created to work on shadows and an all around more professional looking animation.

Part of the final sequence to the film I've been working on

Well it's just about 100% done. I've finished my animating, now my brother is doing what he does best and is cutting out some of the fat and adding background sound and beginning and ending titles.
The project for those that don't know, (which I'm assuming is most) is an education film to teach kids with aspergers how to interpret facial expressions and body language.
I've learned a Ton on the project, but now it's done and it's onto the next one... Which I don't have, so I guess it's job hunting time again.
Happy Animating, and God Bless

Great Short!!!

Learning from others mistakes is always easier

   Hey there animators! Don't forget to take the time out from your hours of drawing or curve editing to listen to other professionals talk animation and for you to learn a new lesson or two.  A Fantastic resource to do such learning are the critiques of the 11 second club entries that animation mentor mentors do. The latest critique can be found here.  These critiques are done by studio professionals that cover every topic from squash and stretch to timing and staging, the lessons to be learned and areas of application are endless.
   I always say it's easier to learn a lesson when it's someone else who's made the mistake. That way all you have to do is remember how to do it right and your golden! Now go out there, learn a new lesson, and Happy Animating!