Arlo R said:
Let’s everybody chill out, there’s no need to start alienating people before you even get to school. You can be abrasive and discomfiting in your dislike of Johnny Cash and religion/fondness for the Shrek franchise as much as you want in a few months.

Haha I'm preeetty sure those guys are current calarts students with fake accounts spamming the forums with nonsensical psuedo-drama just to confuse people. Unless Johnny Cash, the country music singer who died in 2003 has been reincarnated as an animated dalmatian whose sole activity involves posting on an animation forum of population ~1000.

I think you're overthinking it haha. Just show them you're confident in your hands/feet/heads drawing ability. And don't so strictly abide by what other people have done. :P

Well I'm definitely no expert but hopefully this helps:

You're definitely really talented and have a good eye for design! You also have a distinct style/voice developing which makes you stand out. I can totally tell when a piece is yours.

like in this one, your design is super cool:

http://animatedbuzz.com/albums/photo/view/album_id/1689/photo_id/37223

Now onto le critique:

One thing I've noticed is your figures feel very stiff. I keep wanting to bend them into the right position and make them move. I'd say focus less on getting the nitpicky details of clothing folds and such down (which seems to be done a lot in your sketchbook) and instead focus on the body as a whole and the weight of the body-- practice getting really loose with brush pens and ink and whatever else you can find that isn't a super thin marker/fineliner.

I noticed the stiff-ness especially on these pages:

http://animatedbuzz.com/albums/photo/view/album_id/1689/photo_id/36493

http://animatedbuzz.com/albums/photo/view/album_id/1689/photo_id/36497

Even when people stand, they have their own unique postures, so maybe make standing positions less stiff and find the quirks in their movement that make them different.

Also what would help with the stiffness is more gestures! You may have a lot and just didn't include them or somethin but for the main portfolio, show gestures. CalArts seems to really like those.

Your figure drawings are once again super cool with the designs, but also focus on form and weight. For example...

The shading in this one does nothing to help show the form of the figure. The legs look really flat/angular, and the contour of the figure isn't accentuated with the shadows. Think carefully about shadow placement!

http://animatedbuzz.com/albums/photo/view/album_id/1689/photo_id/37226

Your shadows on this one are a lil weak too. The harsh shadow under the dude's arm would follow the form of the body, so it wouldn't be completely straight. The weight of his body also feels off in the legs.

http://animatedbuzz.com/albums/photo/view/album_id/1689/photo_id/37220

Your use of color is neat though. And you consistently show heads/hands/feet, so keep that up! I hope some of that helped!

Thirla Alagala said:

If anyone loves Arrested Development ...I think we'll be fast friends

 How'd you know that's how I choose my friends!

Cool idea!

Hello hello, I'm Val, I'm 17, from the midwest. I wasn't expecting to get in on my first try, so I guess I'll be one of the youngsters of the program! I've been obsessed with cartoons and drawing for forever-- I made my first 100 animations when I was 8 in old school Macromedia Flash (they're hilarious to watch now. Maybe I'll submit one to the Student Academy Awards). And apparently when I was a tot, I drew the Powerpuff Girls for 3 years straight. 5 year old me would be proud :,I

A few random facts: I'm super picky about music, I love improv, I'm not hot about anime but I'm open to the good stuff, and newts are the greatest. Excited to meet you all in the fall! I won't be able to go to the Accepted Students Day event at CalArts but I'll be at the one in Chicago :)

blog:

http://valpalshorts.blogspot.com/

tumblr:

http://shortspal.tumblr.com