CANADIAN ANIMATOR USES CAMBRIDGE’S INKWORKS

ANIMATOR Derek Cummings has recently been commissioned by National Film of Canada to produce a short film called ‘Mind Me Good Now’.
Cummings is using Cambridge Animation’s Inkworks to soften lines and add cartoon shading to the 3D scenes created in Alias|Wavefront’s Maya. Inkworks is a plug-in that allows Maya and 3D Studio MAX users to assign cartoon characteristics to 3D scenes and models. The 2D characters in ‘Mind Me Good Now’ will be drawn by hand and then scanned in and composited with the 3D backgrounds.
‘Mind Me Good Now’ is based on the book of the same title by Lynette Comissiong, an expert in Caribbean Islands folklore, and is scheduled for release in March 2002. The film will be released as part of a 10-part series called Tale Spinners, a Canadian children’s storybook club highlighting fables specific to various cultures.
Cummings said: “Though I have lots of experience animating on the computer, I wanted to be true to classical animation techniques and did not want ‘Mind Me Good Now’ to be completely computer-animated.
“I am aiming to create a simple, outlined look that also has a lot of architectural depth. Animo Inkworks provides the perfect interface because it allows me to build and animate complex architectural and birds-eye scenes within which my 2D, hand-drawn characters can move freely.”
‘Mind Me Good Now’ is Cummings’ first film that he has both animated and directed. In addition to working for the National Film Board of Canada, he has also contracted with Manitoba Lotteries to develop animated shorts for the Winnipeg Gold Eyes baseball team and the Winnipeg Moose hockey team. Both of these projects were created entirely in 3D using Maya.
Inkworks is an exclusive product of Cambridge Animation Systems, known worldwide for its Animo software. It is used for feature films, animated television series, commercials, games and multimedia development by leading studios worldwide, including Warner Brothers and DreamWorks SKG.(AMcE)