In this study task we were instructed to create a bibliography of all our sources from Study Task 1.
In this process I have learnt that creating a bibliography requires a lot of pre-planning in order to make the process of citing and linking smoother. Thankfully, I kept all the links to all the sources I included in Study Task 1, and so I did not have too much trouble creating the bibliography. However, in the future and for my essay I should be wary and should be more organised in order to save me a lot of time.
In this introductory module, I believe that the purpose was to develop my knowledge and understanding of the 12 principles of animation, and how to utilise them well in my projects and animations. I also understand that it was used to ease me into the process of different techniques and tools used to create animations, for example, stop motion and hand-drawn animation. This module felt very experimental, which leads me to believe that this module was meant to give us the freedom to experiment with these different techniques to find out where our strengths and weaknesses are.
In the process of this module I have discovered that my strengths lie in 2D hand-drawn and digital animations. A majority of my animations were created using these formats, and I feel that my abilities have developed in this area greatly since the beginning of the module.
First Project
Final Project
Due to this development of my abilities throughout the module, I think that my final animation is my "best-work" as it stands out against the rest of my animations. The time and effort put into my Study Task 6 Final animation was far greater than my previous ones due to the detail and editing that went into creating it. Everything in this animation is a great improvement from the negative points of each of the previous animations, and so I believe it to be superior to every other animation I've created.
5 Areas of Success Within my Work in this Module
Great creativity and diversity in my animations and character designs (Study Task 2, Study Task 6, Study Task 4)
Improvement on drawing skills from the beginning of the module (Study task 1 - 6)
Well planned and executed Storyboards (Study Task 2, Study Task 6)
Good use of different animation techniques and arts styles, combinations of animation formats (Study Task 5)
Good use of the different principles of animation, such as squash and stretch and exaggeration (All Study Tasks)
3 Areas of Improvements Needed in my Work
Organisation and Time Management in general.
Line work needs improving overall.
Less focus on 2D Digital Animation and more focus on other forms of animation (E.G Stop Motion)
In conclusion, throughout this module I have learnt that animation requires a lot of focus, effort and hard work in order to do. I have developed my skills in animation and learnt new techniques that may help me in the future, such as Photoshop and editing skills in Premier Pro. I have learnt how to create fluid animations and delete certain frames to create good timing. Through my peers I have taken criticism to heart and have attempted to improve on them, which I believe can be seen in the development of my different animations throughout the module. However, I do believe that I still have plenty of room for improvement, and I shall work on these improvements in the module and years to come. In the future, I will keep to making predominantly digital or hand-drawn work as i believe it is my strongest format of Animation, however I will try to broaden my skills by attempting more Stop Motion and maybe even 3D Digital Animation. I will try and improve my drawing skills by sketching more in my visual journal to keep my skills refined.
In the space of this image we can see multiple dynamic poses and designs for the character 'Cuphead' which utilises nostalgia as a selling point due to its 1930's cartoon-esque design. The character is sketched from multiple angles and sizes, each with its own expressions and emotions. There is no background to these sketches which gives me the impression that this image is concept art for Cuphead. This is also true with the colours used, the grey scale palette tells me this was created with pencil on paper, cementing that this is indeed concept artwork. The character is taking up almost all of the space on the image, which shows that they are, of course, the main focus here. We can see some lines drawn that direct the vision of the character, for example the sketch of Cuphead at the top of the image in the center, however we also see another sketch of Cuphead looking directly at us, showing that this character can break the fourth wall. The way Cuphead is designed in these concept sketches gives us a good indication of what his character is feeling, thinking and doing at that moment.
In this study task we were instructed to create an original animation which includes Secondary Action, as well as including various other principles of animation.
I began by creating model sheets that will be included in my animation.
Model Sheet
Expressions
Dynamic Poses
Story Board
The Animation
After my development I began the animation. I separated it into three mp4's and edited them together using Adobe Premier for the final animation.
Linework
This is the first development of my animation. This is the first three scenes of my storyboard.
Coloured Animations
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Final Animation
For the final product I edited the clips into Premier and added effects, both visual and audio, to create the final product.
Critical Analysis
What Went Well
Good use of secondary action, with the hair movements, eye movements, dripping, walk cycle of the character and sweat drops.
Somewhat fluid animation.
Good inclusion of most principles of animations (E.G Squash and Stretch, Anticipation, Exaggeration, Easing and Appeal and Staging).
Very good development for the animation with character model sheets and a storyboard.
Critique
Door animation could be a lot smoother and fluid.
Perspective needs improvement.
Less jittery movements on the hair in the walking scene.
In this task we were instructed to create an animation incorporating the principles of anticipation and anticipation. For this task I decided to use eye movements and expressions in order to create a sense of anticipation.
Pre-idea Sketches
I created these sketches of eyes to give myself a reference and idea of how I could exaggerate the eye movements and create anticipation through expression.
Anticipation Animation
The anticipation lies within the sudden eye movements and the eye progressively squinting more and more. Along with the sudden jumps of text, it creates anticipation that the eye is going to blink. I also added veins on the eyes and exaggerated the dilation of the pupils as an overlapping action to emphasise that someone is trying not to blink and is scared to, which also creates a sense of anticipation in the sense of feeling.
Follow-through Animation
In the final followthrough animation I added colour and sound to further emphasise the anticipation and the exaggeration, and also added a follow-through (E.G the eyes getting progressively redder, the sound of heartbeat, etc). I also added a plasticine background to contrast the "cartoon" style of the eye and to create mix media.
Critique
Line work has improved, but needs to be more defined and consistent.
Good timing on the eye expressions and blink.
Well incorporated colour palette that fits the mood.
Some animated segments need to be more refined. (E.G, eyelids and tear duct.)
Good inclusion of mix media (2D Digital and plasticine)
In my search I decided to focus on the topic of Nostalgia. I have focused my searches and sources on two distinct animations and animation studios: Cuphead and Studio Ghibli, and how they induce feelings of nostalgia. I found that the creators of Cuphead used traditional hand drawn techniques to animate their game, and stylised it in the aesthetics of 1930's cartoons, creating a sense of nostalgia for people in the modern day. On the other hand, with Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, I found that their style of animation has stayed quite consistent since their first debut, which induces feeling of nostalgia to old time fans of their content. I personally find Miyazaki's work very nostalgic.
In my research on 'Inclusive Storytelling', I decided to focus on how women are representing in media such as video games, animations and full feature films. I have tried to diversify my search and pick out some of my favourite female characters from media, such as Samus Aran. Instead of narrowing my search on this character, I decided to branch out to other characters, such as Ripley from Alien, and Usagi from Sailor Moon, two different characters entirely, yet both just as strong in their own right.
In this study task we were asked to identify 12 different animations from around the world.
PATHS OF HATE
Country of origin - Poland.
Director / Studio - Damian Nenow
I really like this animation because of the multiple, intricate camera angles the director utilises to reflect the themes of the animation in itself. Hate. The quick cuts, camera movements and are used to instil panic and create tension. The sound design is also very well incorporated into the animation, especially the gun fire and plane engines. The colour scheme is also incredibly well used, going from an unsaturated, grey colour palette to an intense red.
I chose this animation because I like the style of the animation, specifically how John makes a 2d animation style look very 3D. I also enjoy the characterisation of the two characters and the dynamic between them.
I chose this animation because I'm a very big fan of blizzard, mechs, and 2d digital animation. I admire how intricate and fast paced the animation is, as well as the dark yet colourful colour scheme.
I chose this animation because of it's style mainly. I really adore the paintbrush art style mixed with animation, I think it works very well and is very unique. Watching the movie itself in Manchester Animation Festival was a great and memorable experience.
Howl's moving castle is one of my favourite movies of all time due to it's art style, animation, and the heart that went into creating it, which is why I've chosen it.
I chose this animated film because I'm a big fan of the dark tone and stop motion animation utilised in this movie. The two compliment each other greatly to great a weird, admittedly frightening animation.
Selfish
Country - France
Director / Producer - Kazack Productions
I chose this animation because of it's unique, cut-out esque style and social commentary on modern society.
Silly Sundays
Country - Ireland
Director / Producer - Cartoon Saloon
I chose this animation for its very childlike atmosphere and vibrant colours and art style, as well as smooth animation.
THE BOY WHO LOVED THE MOON
Country - Italy
Director / Producer - Rino Alaimo
I chose this animation because of it's beautiful lighting and colour palette, as well as its unique cut-out style and story.
Bloeistraat 11
Country - Netherlands
Producer / Director - Nienke Deutz
I chose this animation for how memorably disturbing I found it, as well as the odd mix media art style, utilising 3d and 2d animation together.
The Cat Came Back
Country - Canada
Producer / Director - Cordell Barker
I chose this animation for how incredibly cartoony and ridiculous the animation and art style looks. It is very entertaining to watch due to these reasons.
Bellyflop
Country - South Africa
Producer / Director - Triggerfish / Jeremy Collins
I chose this animation because it seemingly combines 2d and 3d animation in a somewhat aesthetically pleasing way, such as the design of the characters and the effects of the water splashes.
Country / State - Toronto
Producer / Director - Wildcard Productions / Patt Jewanarom
I chose this animation because of how smooth and fluid the movements are, and how they flow with the music. I also appreciate how meta the animation becomes with animating the sketches and storyboard parts.
In my research I have found many sources that I did not expect to find, such as exhibitions and different magazines. I hope to use many of these in the future for further research.
In this study task we were instructed to create animations associated with stretching squashing and arcs and easing as well as pose-to-pose and straight ahead style animations. To do this, I created my own animation of a bouncing ball by using a line tester and Plasticine to create the footage of a ball bouncing.
Up and Down
Arc Bounce
Pencil Swing
Rotoscoping
Pose-to-pose
Colour and Sound
Critical Analysis
What went well
Decent use of Squash and
Stretch with the bounces.
For this task we were instructed to create a blinking animation and an animation sequence of our previously created character.
The first part of the task involved drawing different frames of our characters eyes blinking. I created a nontraditional blink by making his eyes roll to the back of his head instead of traditionally blinking, because he's a skeleton.
"Blinking Animation"
Eyes Closed
Eyes Open
Critical Analysis
What went well
Animation looks somewhat fluid
Quick.
Looks like a "blink".
Consistent drawing quality.
Critique
Needs better colouring quality.
More in-between frames needed to make it smoother.
The second part of the task involved creating an animation sequence based on 2 scenes from our storyboard to test timing. We took 12 pictures of each frame using a line tester and then began to edit it by cutting down the amount of frames to create good timing for our animation.
Our objective in this study task was to create and design our own character and create background information, a model sheet and a turn-around sheet of the character we design. We began by sketching different facial features such as eyes and noses, and slowly constructed our own character with it's own personality traits and attitude, as well as background story.
Critical Analysis
Positives:
Interesting character design and concept.
In-depth character background and character traits.
Simplistic yet compelling character design.
Well displayed examples of character's personality.
Improved character design over time.
Criticism
Improvements to be made on drawing abilities for the character.
Line-work needs improving
Improvements on expressive drawings of character
Improvements on dynamic poses
For the second part of Study Task 2, we were tasked with creating a scenario for our characters to experience and create a story board using photographs of photographic poses of ourselves and others. We were also instructed to create masks of our characters, however this was optional. On this story board, we had to describe each key scene briefly.
Critical Analysis
Positives
Well framed photographs for storyboard scenario.
Well designed mask for the photographic stages.
Well thought out and designed scenario
Good use of character personality displayed through storyboard scenario.
Diverse camera angles.
Critical Improvements
Improvements on overall practical drawing abilities.
Improvement on character proportions and anatomy.
Focus on archaic character personality.
Inclusion of more dynamic poses in storyboard frames.
For our first task we were instructed to complete a series sketches based on dynamic poses drawn from life.
10 two minute basic sketches
5 five minute developed and improved sketches
2 ten minute black and white developed and detailed sketches
2 fifteen minute detailed, spot coloured sketches
1 thirty minute rendered coloured sketch
Analysis
Results - I have developed my skills in life drawings and using my time wisely to create sketches efficiently. It can be clearly seen that my sketching has generally improved from the very first two minute sketch to my last rendered thirty minute sketch. I feel that continued practice like this will help me improve further in drawing action lines and forming dynamic poses. The final sketches feel solid and have some sort of weight to them, which shows the development of the drawings.
Critique - One example of criticism is that I should try be more accurate with my basic construction. For example, the very first sketch should be bigger and the proportions of the limbs and body parts should be more accurate. I should also try keep consistent with my art style and body proportion.
I have created this blog in order to document all my work for all my modules in the future! It will be used in my submission to accompany my work, however for LAUAN402 it will be used to document all of my research and my study tasks, as well as any presentations or videos.
This is a blog that I will be keeping in order to keep progress of my studies in animation! My name is Rhys, I'm from Gibraltar and I wish to study and eventually be employed into animation through Leeds Arts University.
