Process&Production-The Other Side- Setting Ideas

Setting Ideas

This is my first ideas for environment and character in my sketch book. I needed to show that the male works in a factory so i needed shots of what it looks like as well as him interacting with equipment and showing the toll it is taking on him.

I have shown the guy to have cuts and bandages on his hand because of him working so hard but also because factories weren't very safe a few years ago so it more set in those days as he is worked to the bone and carries on even with cuts and scrapes.

I think the environment is very important because i need to show it as being draining and tough so the message of the dad being a hard worker can be carried across until the end. I have also done a small drawing of what i will try to make the drive home look like with the ground all coming towards the car and therefore the camera.

Process&Production- The Other Side- Mood Board

Mood Board

This mood board is showing my thought process in the form of images. I have been trying to figure out what the character should look like and in my head he is a typical dad who is big and burley who is hard working but its hard to get an idea across when there are no images to back it up. This is why i have done this mood board.

I have also looked at factory settings and machines so i can develop the scenes around accurate machines and therefore make the idea easier to follow and understand. I have gone for my character being tough and strong but when he sees his family at the end he reverts to a teddy bear who is happy and sees the reason he works so hard in them. This is why on the mood board i have families and people hugging.

At the bottom i have decided upon my colour chart being black and white as this will make it easier for me to add the details i want and add subtle colours where i see relevant, like the home having a more orange warm colour as its a happy place for him to go to.

Process&Production- The Other Side- Mind Map

Mind Map

After getting the brief I had to get all my ideas written down so i can figure out which one i would like to do for the final animation.

This is the mind map i produced of all my ideas. I was torn between 3;The other side of life, The other side of a hard worker and The other side of a personality. These three i had come up with a full idea for both and where i could go with it.

I had to try to figure out which one i could easily show within the 25 seconds and which one i would find best to do in this space of time. After setting them all out i found i was drawn to do 'The other side of a hard worker' as this one was clearest in my mind for what i could do and show.

This process has helped me because my original idea which i thought of first was 'The other side of life' where i could show someone losing someone but i found i could only picture the beginning and end of that story so the hard worker story was more thought out.

Process&Production-The Other Side-Brief

The Other Side

The new brief we have been given, is to produce a 25 second animation in 2D that shows Knowledge and understanding, Cognitive skills, Practical & Professional skills and Key Transferable skills.This animation must be computer based so i will produce it on Photoshop that will be 24 frames per second on two's. To work out how long it must be for me, it is 300 Frames.

As soon as we were given the brief i had many ideas coming to mind so my next step is to produce a mind map of what possible animation i could create, could be about. After i will get tarted on getting a full idea formed and reference images together in a mood board so i can understand my idea and what i want to produce.

Studio Brief 4- Apply- Final Animation & Evaluation

Final Animation & Evaluation

Here is my final animation that is in the genre of love. I found this task to be very interesting because i have done it in hand drawn animation style. I found this to be very difficult overall because you have to draw each slide, and when it is going at 12 frames per seconds, it all goes by very quickly.

I found the run cycle to be quite hard because of all the different frames needed for each body movements. When drawing these, i decided to leave them looking sketchy and rough because i like the overall effect it gives and the tones created from the slightly sepia toned background and the black and white characters.

The purpose of this animation is to show love. This is shown by the two lovers running into each others embrace which is quite obvious. I also added the spiralling effect because when you love someone you entangle yourself with them and become one, this is why they are shown fluidly spinning and merging into a heart shape before hitting the ground where they re-emerge.

I found for this task we were given enough time because it was just under 2 weeks, the only time i struggled with time was trying to get it all scanned in and edited so it was to a good standard that i am happy with. 

This does not mean i would not have improvements. I would colour the characters with a pen and ink lining so that when they merge the pen and colours all mix so its like the couple really do become one at some point so it adds to the overall story i am trying to portray. I do feel the theme does come across however because its very clear they are a couple and are in love therefore showing the theme.

I think next time i would do this on Photoshop, This is because the animation paper is very hard to keep neat and tidy, with no creases or smudges, so if it was on the computer it would be clean and a lot easier to draw and edit each stage as i could do a whole lot more with the software that i could not do on the paper with such a short amount of time.

I think something that went wrong to begin with would be that i worked out that from my design, i would finish early with a few more seconds that i needed to do. I amended this by adding more to my overall ending so that the couple re-emerge out of the pool on the floor. I do prefer this ending compared to them just being fluid as it is more of a complete ending and not something that could look incomplete.

Overall i am happy that i completed an animation that was 5 seconds long, at 12 fps and that was something that i was proud of. Even with many things to improve on, as a first attempt at a full animation with a story, I think i did well.

Studio Brief 4- Apply- Testing

Testing

As hand draw means you cannot see the overall finished animation till the end, i used a camera to take pictures and then uploaded them to Dragon Frame which put them all together. This is so i can see what i have been doing so far and what i need to look at.

This was my first test that was for the people running to each other as i wanted to see if my run cycle would work and look correct. I wasn't sure how it would turn out because it was a lot of frames yet still didn't take very long in seconds so i was hoping it wouldn't go too fast.

I this did turn out ok because i could see what was happening but also, i found i liked the ending where they come together because the male bends down slightly to meet her which i was hoping would come though and it does.

This was my second test that looked at the couple running to each other, when they spin and when they spin up and turn to liquid in a heart shape. I really liked doing the water aspect as i liked the fluid motion i was able to give it. I liked how it ended up as well as it moved at the right speed but you could also see the water splashes and the heart shape is very clear.

When i was using the camera, the way it was set up meant that it cut off the top section but since it was a test it didn't matter because i could still clearly see the whole thing but i will scan these images in when i am finished so the whole thing can be seen and the images wouldn't be drowned out by the light being too bright.

This is my final test as this is the end of my animation. This is where the couple re-emerge from the pool on the ground. I like how this turned out but i would have liked to see it without the light being to strong again but i still couldn't change the way it came out. This was still ok for the tests but i will now scan in the whole thing and then edit them in photoshop so i can make them look how i want.

Studio Brief 4- Apply- Development

Development

This was my page for characters. I knew what i wanted them to look like after seeing my different inspirations and what i mentally wanted them to look like. As the animation is so many frames and i would have to hand draw each one in a small amount of time, I like this type of style as well as it shows people in such a basic form so people have to pay attention to what is happening. This is also so i can pay close attention to changing the forms and shapes so it looks fluid, smooth and the story is seen.

I needed to storyboard my animation because i worked out that my original idea would be too quick because i thought it would last longer but it is actually short as we are working at 12 frames per second. This is why i added more to the love story and had them being 'reformed' after the liquid has landed. Now i feel there is more to the story that is interesting and adds to the story.

Studio Brief 3- Explore- Frame by Frame animation

Frame by Frame Animation

This is a simple Frame by Frame animation that i have created to just sample what it is like designing an animation on Photoshop using the animation timeline. This is the final outcome from the short amount of time that i had to complete this task. As you can see if does not end correctly because i had trouble adding any more frames as they kept on getting mixed up and deleted so i had to leave it ending like this. 

Overall i was quite confused to begin with when using this type of animating but after doing the first 5 i got the hang of it and found it quite easy to produce. I have also added a 3D effect with highlights that change when the ball goes around the room as this makes it look a lot more realistic compared to if it was just solid.

 

This is a video of someone who has done a simple frame by frame looping animation, this is just a short gif style animation that loops very quickly but you can clearly see the stages they have taken when creating this frame by frame animation.

Overall i like the way they have done this animation as it looks smooth and because they used onion skinning, each slide successfully lines up. I will use this type of animating in the future as you can get an animation produced in a good amount of time and you can make very easy changes very simply.

Studio Brief 1- Paperman

Paperman

Paperman is a Walt Disney animation. This is a fairly new release and is the first animation to be produced by Disney that merges hand-drawn and computer-generated animation techniques. This has been found to be very popular as the overall aesthetic of the characters are charming and draw people to them and to get attached to them and their story.

I really love the style that this animation has been done for colours and shading, as the whole thing has been done in black and white where only her lipstick print has been done in red. This really shows how much the colour contrasts with their world. When watching this animation you can really see how different it is when the art style looks like it should be 2D then looks 3D overall so this would have taken such a long time to produce and get correct.

The audience for this animation would be aimed at everyone as Disney movies are aimed at children but the overall concept and theme is grown up enough for adults to enjoy it as well. As it is a love story where he is trying to get her attention and failing as she cannot see the paper planes he is throwing to her. This is what made this animation so popular because it appeals to everyone therefore can be enjoyed and appreciated more.

Studio Brief 3- Explore- Pose & Pose Pendulum

Pose & Pose- Pendulum

This is my pose to pose animation of a pendulum. This was done to see how a testing shot was done and how to plan how to do motion on singular frames. I found this to be a very time consuming task but it really opened my eyes to how difficult the original style of animating was.

I found i had issues with size because if you look at each individual slide when i was drawing them, the ball on the end was changing size and getting bigger and smaller. This was really difficult to maintain because i would think it was the same size but then when running though, i could see a clear difference and had to go back and alter it.

I did a plan before drawing it though because i needed to work out where each pendulum placement needed to go to make it seem like it was moving smoothly. For it going to the right i did it in brown and then for it coming back, i did it in blue. This was so i knew which one went were and what order they go in.

Overall i do think i will use this type of animating as i am able to see just what i need to do and to what stage it needs to get to for it to get completed.

 

This is an video showing 'Pose to Pose' as well as 'Straight Ahead' animation. This was created by Alan Pecker and is showing the difference between the two types and how they differ as i originally got them confused with each other. This is also showing just how i created my pendulum animation and how each step needed to be planned out and in the right place.

Studio Brief 1- Contre Temps

Contre Temps

This animation was created by The CGBros, by the Contre Temps Team and was published on Youtube in 2013. This animation was done using effects and paintbrushes that create a watercolour effect before being rendered and having CGI added. It is about an underwater city that has a time of day when the water lowers so one man can go out and collect treasures, which he sees as clocks being his most useful treasure.

This is a beautiful animation that has stunning environments throughout as well as having nice character designs and overall visual effects that draw the audience in and create interest in the story. The character design shows the male to have sharp squared features as he has been hardened from his time alone whereas the little girl is innocent so her features are soft and smooth, showing the designs to be well thought out.

I think the media used and the lighting is used to show dramatic effects which adds to the animation itself. This is shown when the tide goes out and the world is calm, refreshed and beautiful whereas when it comes back in it is dark and sad because once again the man and now the little girl are trapped inside.

Studio Brief 1- Thought of You

Thought of You

This animation is called 'Thought of You' by Ryan Woodward and really peaked my interests when i saw the style in which it is done but also the fluidity of the characters motions within the animation as they are shown to be spiritual, liquid but also moving ribbon that floats lightly around.

The character design in this animation has been done very simply as the body's have sketch lines and circles within them to show they are 3D and simple. Although they also contain different tones, shading and line work which really draws me to the aesthetic, but also makes their movements look all the more effective, when their body is moving along with it surreally.

http://ryanwoodwardart.com/my-works/thought-of-you/  - This link is showing you how it was made. Real dancers were used for him to get the correct look of each move that was drawn which is why this animation look so effective as you can tell he really researched into what dancers move like and how they look doing it.

This animation is trying to tell a love story where she is spiritually with him. He is fighting to get to her but she keeps pulling away until she finally wants to be with him but its took late and he has given in. You can clearly see this story as she is in a different colour to him and is only the same colour at the end when he walks away.

This is why i like this animation so much as it hold so much emotion when no words are spoken so it shows just how effective animation can be when it is silent.

Studio Brief 1- Solipsist

Solipsist

This stunning animation was created by Andrew Huang, as well as a massive crew of people to get this final outcome. The way this animation was created was a very difficult and time consuming but payed off in the final outcome.

The way it was done, seen in the clip below, was that they took small clips of film where the girls were swaying, then at the same time the animators were digital moving the fabric and insect things on them, like when they take over their faces, it was done right then and there. 

This is why this animation is so impressive, because i've never seen one done like that where it was all done at the same time which is why this all took so long. The way they have been designed though it very clever, they are clearly been taken over by a monsteresque, insect thing, but its just fabric that they are using so this is why it is interesting. 

Studio Brief 4- Apply- First Storyboards

Apply- Starting Storyboard 

I wanted to just jot down some basic storyboards so i could visually see what my plan was and what i basically wanted to happen. This shows what i am wanting the couple to do when they are stretching up and spinning before turning more and more into liquid in the final heart shape.

Studio Brief 4 - Apply- References

Apply- Movement Reference

To make my animation more realistic and easier for me to produce i have looked at the way couples run towards each other in the stereotypical cheesy fashion because that is how the beginning of mine starts because you can instantly tell its love. I chose to find these clips because when i animate them they wont be as cheesy because my characters will try to have such fluid motions and they will be designed well. Slow Motion couple -Here is a link to one i have been looking at as it is slow so i can see all of the movements from each slide if it were an animation.

I have also found another similar one, Couples running to each other, This is so i can compare the two and whichever makes the animation work best, i can use more. Both are good as one spins slightly and one is lifted so i can look at both and see which i prefer.

This song of Ed Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud' was perfect to look at dancing and body movements so i could see how the couple could approach each other and how they can spin into the spiral that will turn and stretch them into water.

This is another reference by Eadweard Muybridge who studied cycles of movement as he shows people running and walking in images so i could draw the running knowing the positions are all correct and in the right place.

This type of referencing is overall very useful to me personally as it helps me see just how to draw certain things and how to plan each step and what will come up next.

Studio Brief 4- Apply- References

Apply- Animation Inspirations

This is one of the main inspirations i have found which is called 'Thought of You' by Ryan Woodward. I came across this animation a few days after i thought of the idea for my animation so it was perfect to show what i was imagining for my idea. As i wanted some simple characters that move very fluidly to come together in a tale of romance.

When i take all the pictures of this animation i will see if i can change the lighting to try to give it a more sepia tone but if not i will add colour to the characters so much like their light and dark i will have one light and pale coloured and the other dark with a dark colour attached to it, so when they come together in their spiralling dance, I can merge the colours and when they turn into fluid the colour can be the mix of the two.

This animation is very moving about how two people grew up together and fell in love. This is again set out like a form of dance where the camera is tracking their movements which makes this more visually stunning. I also really like the fact is is chalk and coloured pencil on dark blue backgrounds.

This animation is called Duet by Glen Keane and i was mostly inspired by the end spin as the couple in my animation are coming together and spinning in a sort of dance so i need to see how this was done, this is why this is helpful.

Studio Brief 4- Apply- Research

Apply- Research Planning and Ideas

This is my next stage where i have wrote clear titles for each section that i have to plan. For the concept i needed to just write which one i am going to follow and which i need to design for. My characters need to have clear aesthetics and designs as they have to be the same all the way though and cannot change, but also i want them to be interesting so the audience can get attached to them and keep interest in my design.

My method that i want to use would be pen and ink but i will initially draw them in pen and fully complete it and then add colour and water if the effects could look better. I wanted to do hand drawn as i wanted to draw a full animation so i could try out the method and understand how to do them in the old style of how animations were created.

For inspiration and research i will be looking at couples running towards each other as well as people dancing and fluid animations. I have found some animations that have inspired me so i will talk about how they have influenced me in my next blog post.This page was just so i could plan what i needed to do and what i needed to remember about this idea.

Studio Brief 4- Apply-Story ideas

Apply- Story generating

This is my next stage of planning as i was thinking of each individual title and what story i could do for each one. Some i found to be too hard to do, as they would be too hard to complete in the time frame and as this is the first animation i am doing so i want it to be completed. After writing all of these options, i found i like Love as a genre to follow and the first story i wrote down about two couples running towards each other then fluidly exploding and swirling into a water heart at the end.

My next stage is going to be about planning individual aspects of this task, like the research i need to do and character design as i need to be able to visualise the animation more clearly. I also found that i am radiating towards doing hand drawings so i need to be able to think about how i could draw each frame for each stage.

Studio Brief 4- Apply- Notes and Initial thougths

Apply Brief

These are my notes that i have taken down about this brief. When told that the animation can be about anything, we were given themes or genres to follow; Love, Hate, Lateness, Surprise, Longing, Happiness and Fear. When first given this brief i instantly had ideas that i could possibly do but i had to go away and think about the fact we have been given 2 weeks and it must be 5-10 seconds long, so i dont want to make it to over complicated and not be able to finish it to how i want it.

When told this we were also given the opportunity to do any type of animation, it could be Pixilation, Hand drawn or even on the computer. So this really made me think about what it could look like and the story it could tell.