Secondary Action

Sketches


Turn Around Sketch

Line Tests








Added Sound


Final

I refined some scenes and timing.

To start this project, I listed all the principals and scribbled down quick definitions for each one. I started brainstorming different ways to show each principal and how to fit them all together in a scene. For instance, I used arcs in the washing line and orange branch, easing in the fall, squash and stretch in the orange roll, etc. In this animation, I think my improvement comes across clearly and I can see that I am starting to become more consistent and upping the quality of my work.
I sketched out the character a few times, made a small turnaround that I later refined as well as started to sketch some statues from reference. My personal goal was to challenge myself with the story board and to make a well paced piece.

I wanted to attempt three difficult scenes: a panning shot, a zoom out and a tracking shot (panning with character). It was difficult to imagine each key frame of a moving shot and I found that story boarding it was difficult in small pieces. Instead, I decided to draw three large illustrations and, using colour coded rectangles and annotations, I clearly squared off the key frames and directions of movement. It was really helpful to work from one large piece than many small sketches.

I found that I had been too ambitious with this project. I decided to do it all hand drawn on a line tester and had planned to colour it in Photoshop. However, I didn't realise that the way I wanted to colour it was not possible so I changed my plan to focus on making strong lines and a clean animation. I wanted to attempt a dreamy quality to the piece by skipping frames in the tracking shot through the statues. I don't think this was successful as, without the colour, it looks jumpy rather than fading in.

I am really happy with how the sound and hand animation came out. I think that they are well timed and the slow pull of the orange off the branch reads clearly to the viewer. I am also happy with succeeding in producing a clean panning shot. In the future, I would have made a single large illustration of the statue and tugged it across the camera rather than drawing a load of different frames as that is not what the industry does.

The biggest difficulty I met was in completing the tracking shot. It was difficult to fit the walk of the character with the panning of the camera while also wanting to fully render and colour the scene. I think that this is the weakest part of my animation. To improve it, instead of, again, drawing each frame, I would draw one long illustration of the background statue, a cut out strip of the foreground states and then used paper cut outs to and editing to fade in and out the characters movement. This would have allowed for quicker working, a more successful and complete shot, more control of the pace and much less line testing and redrawing.

Overall, I think this animation shows how my understanding of the principals has improved. An element I had been trying to improve from the second task was being more mindful of volume and I think that the consistency in the shape of the hands (especially through turning and zooms) shows that I am beginning to get an applied understanding of it.

Squash, Stretch, Easing, Arcs

Unfortunately, my project for this task become corrupted. I wanted to produce some experimental animations that would demonstrate my understanding of the principle without becoming too far behind the other tasks. I decided to animate a baseball player using the straight-ahead method. I found this technique more freeing as it produced cartoonish results but the anatomy lacks anchor points in the movement due to the freehand method. I also think the end of the movement is jumpy and would be smoother with more frames and cleaner lines.



I used squash and stretch to exaggerate the expression of the character. I used easing in the speed of the swing and a dramatic arc in the direction of the swing.

I wanted to demonstrate this more throughly so I also produced two animations on the line tester. The first is of an old man pulling a disgusted face. I squeezed the head inwards and pinched the eyes and mouth to bunch up his features.
In the second I used pose-to-pose to draw a man sneezing.

While I am disappointed my original project cannot be used here, I feel that these three animations utilise squeeze and stretch, easing and arcs just as well. The original had issues to do with lack of characterisation and stagnate movements which I tried to remedy this time with the look of the characters and the liveliness I tried to bring to the dynamic baseball bat swing.
I have noticed that i struggle with a sense of volume through out my animations (the character design sheet, the clay ball bounce and now in the man's face). I think that being more mindful and producing more detailed sketches/storyboards to use as a frame work will allow me to be more consistent in the dimensions of my forms.

Let Me Entertain You!

12 Animations produced around the world ranging from historical to modern.

• (2016) Forms in Nature- Chromosphere (International)
  
  Chromosphere is a international (spanning  design and animation studio. I selected this piece for its effective visual storytelling by blending organic and man made structures through stitching scenes together by a strong geometric shape.
• (1998) Kirkou and the Sorceress - Michel Ocelot (France)

The french and Belgium production 'Kirkou and the Sorceress' was the source of unpredictable and frivolous controversy about the use of unsexualised nudity in this African folk tale inspired film.The pictorial style of animation is heavily influenced by African and Egyptian art. 


• (1955) Gumbasia- Art Clokey (USA)
  
  Claymation is first used in 1921. As an early experimental use of claymation in abstract storytelling, Clokey followed kinesthetic film principles where he relied on the feeling the reality-suspending visuals induce for understanding.
• (2018/19) Significant Otherness - Onesal (Japan)

A complex CGI piece created for Pause Fest 2019. I like the intense choreography of the motions. The focus on texture and lighting allows for that visual mesh of technology and human organs to come across fluently to the viewer.


• (2018) A Gong (Grandpa) - Zozo Jhen, Yen-Chen Liu, Ellis Kayin Chan, Tena van der Galovic (France)
  
  Oil pastels and 2D animating are fully celebrated through the warm textures of the backgrounds and slow, human staging of each scene.
• (1949) Song of the Prairie Arie - Jiri Trnka (Czech)
  
  I like the use of sound and the character designs of the puppets. The constant stream of music sets the pace of the story and helps to clue in the audience to upcoming downfalls and immersive them into the mood of the film.
• (1949) Marriage Wows - Famous Studios (USA)
  
  A funny 2D animation full of light-hearted visual gags and good examples of exaggeration and subversion. 
• (1908) Fantasmagorie - Emile Cohl (france)
  
  Often credited as the first animation ever, Fantasmagorie seems imperative to reference to (even only internally) as a critical source in understanding the development and history of animation.
• (2014) The Bigger Picture - Daisy Jacobs (UK)
  The Bigger Picture from daisy jacobs on Vimeo.
  
  Immediately, the use of squash and stretch to spring out the main character and the clash of 2d and 3d form are very jarring to the eye. It unsettles the scene giving way for tension and an uncomfortable dynamic within the family.These effective storytelling techniques reminding me of The Ring as they are subtle like the trick of recording scenes backwards to only play them forward to achieve a sense of wrongness.
• (2017) In/Ex Troversion - Julia Gomes Rodrigues (Brazil)
  
  While the roughness of the animation leaves this source far from the polished quality of those above, the narrative is clearly conveyed. The style is a good example of what is trendy for the time as well as the overall narrative clearly linking to a popular subject for the tumblr era: the struggles and charm of the introvert.

Anticipation, Exaggeration, Follow Through and Overlapping Action

Notes:
Reference, thumbnail sketches, key frames, inbetweens, line tests - fixing issues, relief overlay, add sound, final.

Reference


 Line Test

The action i chose to focus on was knife/axe throwing. To start off this project, I sketched out all the key frames while looking at reference. Then, I sketched in the in-betweens and refined until I was satisfied and ready to start the clay relief part of the animation. I wanted to try and watch my volume in forms so simplified the character into basic shapes. I feel that from this task, I have learnt a lot about consistency and how important it is in order for the motion to read correctly.

I (almost) split the animation into the two mediums by the anticipation for the action (the throw) and the follow through. By simplifying the design of the person into block colourful shapes, I tried to explore exaggeration in the back bend and arm swings.

I added a light throwing sound and thud to help bring impact to the throw.

Final

From this task, I can clearly see improvement in my timing and volume. The final piece is slightly out of focus which lowers the production of the piece. If i did this again, I would want to add the knives/axes to the throw as i think it would look more dynamic and finished.

Research

Online Sources

• Animation Magazine
• Animation World Network
• Cartoon Brew
• Skwigly
• Stash
• Wired
• Gizmodo
• Zippy Frames
• Animated Views
• Traditional Animation
• On Animation

Print Based

• Stop Motion Magazine
• Cinefex
• 3D World
• Computer Arts Magazine
• Animation Magazine

Books

• The World History of Animation - Stephan Cavalier
• Encyclopedia of Animation Techniques - Richard Taylor
• Women and Animation, a compendium - Jayne Pilling
• The Animator's Survival Guide - Richard E. Williams
• Drawing with Dynamic Perspective: Art for Animation and Live Action Film - Meryl Rosner

Places

• Cardiff Animation Festival - 20th/22nd April 2019
• Manchester Animation Festival - 13/15th November 2019
• The Cartoon Museum - 35 Little Russel Street, London

Pendulum

After the ball bounce, we moved onto arcs and pendulums.

I created a stop motion of a pencil swinging in an arc.



Next, I tied a ball to a string and swung it like a pendulum. Using photoshop, I traced the movements of the ball and created a smooth animation of its movement.



After some peers reviews, I realise that the pencil does not need a frame of it straight up as it makes the movement clunky and reads as a ticking pencil rather than a swinging one. The fluidity of the movement is removed and it becomes mechanical.
I really like my second animation. I moved the placement of the string to make it more natural and used what I had learnt of squash and stretch to show speed and direction. The ball is only spherical at the top points of the pendulum.

My second attempt at a pendulum was much more successful. I remembered not to have a frame of it straight down and spherical as it would look static. I used the string to also show the bounce and swing of the ball. I think adding the hand that holds the string would improve the animation as it would show the swaying of the hand that swings the ball, emphasising the movement and grounding the string.

Ball bounce

In this task we had to create two stop motions using the line tester of a ball bouncing. The first was of a simple ball dropping and bouncing on impact. We focused on squash and stretch to recreate the motion accurately. By distorting the shape of the ball, the motion is slicker and shows the speed of the drop and force of gravity/movement.

Next, we did a second ball bounce but this time it was across the space rather than down.


My first version of this was too slow and I felt that the first bounce looked out of place; the way i distorted the shape of the ball made it look more like an extra force was making the ball move rather than it bouncing on impact.



To fix these errors, I corrected the timing by deleting certain frames.



Then I reshot the first bounce to make it look more natural. When I squished the ball this time, I was more mindful of the shape I was making.
I think that these experiments were successful- I used squash and stretch to create an accurate recreation of the movement I observed. I think this skill will be useful to show speed and also exaggerate movements.
If I had to do it again, I would speed up the first ball bounce experiment. I think it is too slow after editing my second video for the same reason. However, I think that it was through evaluating my second one that I could better reflect on the first.

Timing

This week we had to create 3 animations: one of our character simply blinking as a line test, and then two of our storyboard (the first with excessive timing and the last edited to be more effective). The first of the second animation had to be held to 12 frames per frame. Then we had to use a technique called 'fudging' to delete frames to make a smoother animation.




I am happy with how my animations came out but I think that using TV Paint made it more difficult for me as I didn't know the software well. On the other hand, I now feel more comfortable in that software and want to explore it more.
I think I need to improve my consistency in drawing as well as mentally breaking down a movement. While I am happy with the end product, the foot step still looks unnatural. In future, I will recreate the action i want to draw and record it so I can play it back and better understand the frame by frame movement.

After completing this task, I went back to my first animation and refined. I focused on keeping consistent line work and upping the quality by colouring it. I feel that I have improved in quality but I still need to correct my understanding of movement and standard of production.

Who Am I?

Why do you chose to study this course?

• To become specialised in a challenging skill. 
• Animation clarifies possible carer goals for me. 
• To be surrounded by people learning the same skills as me who can give me criticism and different views on my work and style.
• To build a diverse portfolio using different animation types that I can learn.
• To gain contacts that may later help me network within the industry.

What do you want to learn during your time on the course?

• How to use different softwares.
• The different roles within an animation team and what they do.
• How to create an effective animation portfolio.
• The foundational skills of becoming a decent animator.
• The history of the industry and the new possible applications for animation (e.g oculus rift, etc).

What skills do you think are strengths?

• Research and evaluations of progress .
• Visualising scenes and frames that are striking.
• Having a cinematic look to my composition.
• Being able to work in a group and build a concept together.
• Being experimental with style and mediums as it allows for more growth and diversity in my work.

What things would you like to improve?

• Feeling comfortable using softwares and technology.
• Creating smooth, professional level animation.
• Creating a style
• Networking within the industry/creating my own opportunity
• Knowledge of animation history, studios, etc.

What ways will you evaluate your progress? 

• Through this blog, I can record the experience and opinion of my work.
• Sketchbooks can show a development in process.
• Listening to peers advice and criticism.
• Comparing each project against each other to examine improvements.
• Evaluating my work as I go.

Storyboard

Using the character I developed earlier in the week, I created a storyboard focusing mainly on camera shots and colour to direct the viewers attention. The first panel shows a static shot from the floor of a pair of trainers stepping in as the doors slide open. The outside is brighter as the character steps into the shadowed foreground, creating mystery. I wanted to use cool tones to emphasise a change in mood later in the scene. Next the viewer is pushed back behind and above the character as the step into the store is repeated. The lighting creates dramatic shadows that hide parts of the character while other visual information is revealed. Suspense is created by prolonging the reveal of the character and the use of a high angle. The camera slides diagonally in the same direction of the breeze, pulling the viewer in the opposite direction of the doors. The third panel reveals the character and zooms into her face to focus on her flat expression and piercings. Switching view to her line of sight, the colour palette of the scene warms, emitting from a stuffed toy on the shelf and contrasting with the cool lighting of the overhead lighting. The next dynamic shot starts front he back of the characters head (with the bear still in frame) and swoops round to her changing expression. the final shot is of her eyes widening and a warmer palette.

The aim of these six panels was to set up an expectation of the character and then contrast that by introducing her motive for the end goal of the scene: shoplifting. I have learnt how to use camera angles, lighting and colour to communicate the narrative without sound of text. I feel I successfully kept the story clear by keeping the eye-line of the character in mind so the shots are laid out with a flow of front to back viewpoints. I wanted to use the movement of the camera shot and consistency in lighting to create an environment that made sense to the viewer as the character moved through.

To improve my storyboard I would use shape more purposefully. In my character design, I focused on strong angles that could have played off the box-y nature of the aisle and contrast with the soft shape of the bear. Instead of utilising that to produce compelling visuals, I feel I have lost impact as the contrast between the tomboyish rebellious character and the teddy bear is not as aesthetically strong.

I would also match the colour of the arrows to the intended captions as, in the industry, this would be intended as instructions for someone else and not notes for myself.

Character Development

In this module, I have developed an original character through using a character development sheet, creating a full character turn around and producing a dynamic pose reference sheet.Through doing this, I have fleshed out a full design and concept of a character that I can use in my storyboard and future animation projects.

Before getting to the finished product, I started by sketching various features in different styles (ears, mouths, noses, etc). Then, I jumped into making vague drawings involving my favourite features from the page. The most inconsistent part of the design so far was the hair and body which was my next focus. Finally, I moved on to colour concepts, details and finalising the design. I think this helped a lot in becoming more comfortable with the characters shape and applying a personality to go along with the design.



The character fell into the rebel archetype easily and the clothes and hairstyle lent themselves to an athletic character trait which added to the development of her background and personality. The colour palette I chose was earthy, dark and masculine. By using giant round ears and different angles in her body and clothing, her silhouette is distinguishable but simple.



Overall, I think that the character designing process went well as the different elements of the design reflect the personality and archetype of the character. The red hair and piercings are intended to signify typical rebellion while the green colours laced throughout the design hint at a more mellow attitude. However, if i was going to design this character again, I think i would use a different medium to draw her with as the lines are inconsistently thick. I would also be more experimental with exaggerated expressions as it could bring more liveliness to the design.

The biggest issue I have is keeping a consistent volume of form in the turn around sheet. I will be aiming to improve this in future tasks.

Solid Drawing

The first task was to produce twenty figure drawings focused on motion or action. To start with, I sketched ten two-minute poses with gestural lines and little detail to get down the core shapes and proportions. I found that these were a little too tight and lacked movement so I also filled a page with quicker sketches of dancers, allowing myself to play with more angular lines and exaggerated proportions. After that, I made five fleshed out sketches that have more details and stronger lines. The first held more energy as the looser texturised lines helped break up the permanence of the pose but as my sketches became more defined and detailed they lost the sense of movement and strong line of action. With the two black and white watercolour drawings, I used texture and direction of my brush strokes to help show the action. I also wanted the hands to be more blurred as they are caught mid swing in both poses. Looking back on my five fleshed out sketches, I picked two to experiment with; using spot colouring, I broke up the solidness of the form to show where the body moves to (particularly focusing on the hair). Finally, I painted a fully rendered pose.

I think that my overall figure studies have good proportions and stylisation. With the use of texture and loose lines, the motion of the pose is clearer as the sketch becomes more dynamic and gestural. I liked the use of clean, angular lines that retain the motion by being exaggerated. I think that the final sketch is the least successful. Similar to the last fleshed out sketch, the pose lacks motion which would be fixed by an exaggerated line of motion like in the early dance class figure studies. To improve I am going to keep using gestural lines and stylised proportions to give my poses energy and maintain a strong line of motion.

Welcome

Over the next three years, I will be using this blog to archive and record my progress throughout the Leeds Arts University Animation course. I hope there will be visible improvement and am excited to use this blog as motivation to challenge myself. I might use this blog to show prospect employers.🌝🌚🔱