The living room set has gone through many, many tweaks and adjustments throughout the last couple days. Today I've gathered some more feedback from my piers that I intend to work on later today.
Overall however, I am very satisfied with how it looks. I think the short will be very visually appealing if this is any indication as to how the final product will look. Hopefully it will look just as good in motion.
Thursday, 5 December 2019
Saturday, 30 November 2019
LAUAN603 - Backgrounds and Aesthetics
For "Stupid Question", I knew what kind of look I wanted but not how to execute it.
My first attempt at creating a living room set for Ben and Rover to have their asinine conversation fell flat in many areas. I wanted grit disguised by style, and what I had done so far simply didn't cut it.
Over the following weekend, however, I collaborated with Prathik (who I had previously worked with on AfterLives) to get my muddled vision down. I gave him some notes pertaining to the qualities I wanted, along with several mood boards and sketches.
My first attempt at creating a living room set for Ben and Rover to have their asinine conversation fell flat in many areas. I wanted grit disguised by style, and what I had done so far simply didn't cut it.
Prathik in turn gave me some sketches of his own and we discussed where certain things should go and what colours should be used until I had finally rendered my own version (see below).
I am very pleased with how this is looking so far, although I will be messing with the colours and lighting for a while to see what works best. This has inspired me to look into backgrounds more, as it is an area in which I lack a lot of skill, but doing this has given me the enthusiasm to learn. I have picked up "A Primer of Visual Literacy" from the library and will soon be reading "Animate Landscapes" as well.
LAUAN603 - Turnarounds Once More
Redid the turnarounds, much happier with these.
Will do some good dynamic pose sheets at a later date.
Will do some good dynamic pose sheets at a later date.
Thursday, 7 November 2019
LAUAN603 - Obtaining Wisdom
I have borrowed "Acting for Animators" by Ed Hooks and "Animated Performance" by Nancy Beiman from the library. Both were useful resources of information but I found Beiman's book more informative as it contained tidbits more relevant to the kind of film I'm making.
LAUAN603 - Ben and Rover Cometh
I have started the development of turnaround sheets.
Here we see the film's protagonists: Ben the person and Rover the rabbit, who are also featured in my COP practical this year as examples of characters who were developed from the personality and animation aspect first respectively.
As far as these turnarounds go, I think they'll suffice for now, but I am left a little dissatisfied with them. To me, they look a little stiff and lack the 'soul' and energy that I usually see whenever I draw them casually, so I'm most likely gonna redo these before attempting the dynamic poses and other such reference material.
Here we see the film's protagonists: Ben the person and Rover the rabbit, who are also featured in my COP practical this year as examples of characters who were developed from the personality and animation aspect first respectively.
As far as these turnarounds go, I think they'll suffice for now, but I am left a little dissatisfied with them. To me, they look a little stiff and lack the 'soul' and energy that I usually see whenever I draw them casually, so I'm most likely gonna redo these before attempting the dynamic poses and other such reference material.
Wednesday, 30 October 2019
LAUAN603 - Script Writing
To date I have written two drafts of a proposed script I've been working on.
I'm going through different versions of the same general story/set-up in order to get as much possible material out of the concept before writing the final script.
Next week I plan to have some turnarounds of the characters completed.
I'm going through different versions of the same general story/set-up in order to get as much possible material out of the concept before writing the final script.
Next week I plan to have some turnarounds of the characters completed.
Thursday, 17 October 2019
LAUAN603 - The Beginning of the End
Well, we're here: the final year of uni, and with it comes the big extended practise project.
I am very determined to make something I'm proud of this year, even more so than I was with AfterLives. I want to focus once again on lip sync and gesticulation by writing and animating a short which features two characters engaging in an odd conversation.
I was recommended that I watch some clips of "Alas Smith and Jones" - specifically the sketches where they play two dim witted characters who simply talk to each other about something. I made some notes as I watched. I especially enjoyed the one about the sperm bank. Good stuff.
I am very determined to make something I'm proud of this year, even more so than I was with AfterLives. I want to focus once again on lip sync and gesticulation by writing and animating a short which features two characters engaging in an odd conversation.
I was recommended that I watch some clips of "Alas Smith and Jones" - specifically the sketches where they play two dim witted characters who simply talk to each other about something. I made some notes as I watched. I especially enjoyed the one about the sperm bank. Good stuff.
Wednesday, 8 May 2019
LAUAN504 (AfterLives) - Week Eight
Not much work was required of me during the final week, although I ensured to stay as productive as possible. I completed our press pack, created my visual journals and scoured the internet for usable sound effects, and spent Wednesday with my trusty editor to make sure the film came out as good as it could be.
I am tremendously pleased with how AfterLives turned out.
Not gonna lie, this is the first student project that I am truly satisfied with. The animation, the backgrounds, the interviews, the pacing... virtually every aspect of the film is perfect in my eyes. I'm very proud of both the team and myself, I think we did a great job.
This was a fantastic way to wrap up my 2nd year at Uni, and it only makes me more eager to come back in September.
I am tremendously pleased with how AfterLives turned out.
Not gonna lie, this is the first student project that I am truly satisfied with. The animation, the backgrounds, the interviews, the pacing... virtually every aspect of the film is perfect in my eyes. I'm very proud of both the team and myself, I think we did a great job.
This was a fantastic way to wrap up my 2nd year at Uni, and it only makes me more eager to come back in September.
Sunday, 5 May 2019
LAUAN504 (AfterLives) - Week Seven
This week was quite hectic, but in a productive way, rest assured.
I coloured the characters I had been working on over Easter (the dolphin, the pig, the peacock, the chinchilla, the bird of paradise and the parakeet), then took on some of the characters that Prathik planned on doing but couldn't due to his workload (the dog and the ram), which I also managed to colour during the weekend.
We also had our final crit - which had us presenting an unfinished version of the film to the class. I was very surprised by how positive the reaction was; lots of laughs and compliments towards the animation really boosted the team's confidence, and we all worked doubly hard to make sure that all the animation was done on time.
However, we still do not have a voice actor for the interviewer. In the W.I.P version of AfterLives above, the voice you hear is none other than myself, acting as a stand-in. There's still time to find someone, but I think we really aught to have given this side of production as much seriousness as we did with things like the animation, character designs and backgrounds etc.
Never the less, I am fully confident that we will have not only a finished film on Thursday, but something worthy of submitting to film and animation festivals.
I coloured the characters I had been working on over Easter (the dolphin, the pig, the peacock, the chinchilla, the bird of paradise and the parakeet), then took on some of the characters that Prathik planned on doing but couldn't due to his workload (the dog and the ram), which I also managed to colour during the weekend.
We also had our final crit - which had us presenting an unfinished version of the film to the class. I was very surprised by how positive the reaction was; lots of laughs and compliments towards the animation really boosted the team's confidence, and we all worked doubly hard to make sure that all the animation was done on time.
Never the less, I am fully confident that we will have not only a finished film on Thursday, but something worthy of submitting to film and animation festivals.
Monday, 29 April 2019
LAUAN504 (AfterLives) - Week Six
Another productive week.
I finished my animation ahead of schedule and only have the colouring to do. I also offered to colour Prathik's scenes if he didn't have time. In addition, I wrote a comprehensive blog post/guide to help Damo animate beaks for lip syncing since he was having trouble (https://cameroncookart.blogspot.com/2019/04/how-to-make-birbs-speaketh.html)
Here is my work so far. I unfortunately cannot show you the first half of the girl gang scene as the video file size is too large to insert into the blog.
I finished my animation ahead of schedule and only have the colouring to do. I also offered to colour Prathik's scenes if he didn't have time. In addition, I wrote a comprehensive blog post/guide to help Damo animate beaks for lip syncing since he was having trouble (https://cameroncookart.blogspot.com/2019/04/how-to-make-birbs-speaketh.html)
Here is my work so far. I unfortunately cannot show you the first half of the girl gang scene as the video file size is too large to insert into the blog.
With all that said, we still haven't heard back from the voice actor we contacted last week. I should have probably contacted either him again or other potential actors during the mean time.
Sunday, 21 April 2019
LAUAN504 (AfterLives) - Week Five
A lot of good progress was made this week;
We held a group meeting via Google Hangouts to discuss character design, voice actors and scene allocation (among other things).
Our character designs went through their final adjustments, refined for the sake of appeal and what's easiest to animate. We sent an email to an actor on Mandy.com who we thought would be perfect for the voice of our interviewer, we're still waiting for him to contact us back.
Animation finally began!
I took the liberty of handling "Girl 1", who is the character with the longest sequence of uncut speaking animation, not to mention the fact that she takes the form of many animals during her scene. Below is my progress so far, I am very pleased with it:
We held a group meeting via Google Hangouts to discuss character design, voice actors and scene allocation (among other things).
Our character designs went through their final adjustments, refined for the sake of appeal and what's easiest to animate. We sent an email to an actor on Mandy.com who we thought would be perfect for the voice of our interviewer, we're still waiting for him to contact us back.
Animation finally began!
I took the liberty of handling "Girl 1", who is the character with the longest sequence of uncut speaking animation, not to mention the fact that she takes the form of many animals during her scene. Below is my progress so far, I am very pleased with it:
I think my teammates will agree that in future projects we need to have our animation commence much sooner as we are having to rush ourselves a little bit here. That said, I have a good feeling that we will make the deadline with a good quality film at the end.
Tuesday, 16 April 2019
LAUAN504 (AfterLives) - Week Four
This week I shot reference material for the Girl Gang scene (as we collectively refer to it). I did this by filming myself acting out the scenes, replicating the camera shot we needed, and showcasing the kind of gestures I would like to see animated with the dialogue.
With my other teammates working hard on finalising the character designs and animatics, I definitely felt as if I wasn't pulling my weight for the majority of the last seven days. Sure, I provided as much detailed feedback as I could when new designs and scenes came in, but in future I would like to improve upon my ability to merely ask for more work to do. Perhaps even attempting some animation tests.
With my other teammates working hard on finalising the character designs and animatics, I definitely felt as if I wasn't pulling my weight for the majority of the last seven days. Sure, I provided as much detailed feedback as I could when new designs and scenes came in, but in future I would like to improve upon my ability to merely ask for more work to do. Perhaps even attempting some animation tests.
Sunday, 7 April 2019
LAUAN504 (AfterLives) - Week Three
This week, the audio files were trimmed further based on what parts of them we decided to focus on in our storyboards. We encountered a mishap where my voice could be heard during a moment in the girl's interview, which could have had a huge effect on the scene if it weren't for a creative work around; cutting the girl's sentence short to give the impression that she stopped herself mid-sentence in a convincing way.
We also decided on what animals the girls should start of as before they morph into different ones later. This of course required more character designs (sorry Damo) but I feel confident that animation should begin next week.
In future, I would like to improve on my efforts in the pre-production process. Although I handled the longest storyboard myself, I think the team would have benefited from me helping out with character design and/or backgrounds.
We also decided on what animals the girls should start of as before they morph into different ones later. This of course required more character designs (sorry Damo) but I feel confident that animation should begin next week.
In future, I would like to improve on my efforts in the pre-production process. Although I handled the longest storyboard myself, I think the team would have benefited from me helping out with character design and/or backgrounds.
Sunday, 31 March 2019
LAUAN504 (AfterLives) - Week Two
This week we conducted many interviews in and around town with a completed consent form.
We collected around 15 or so audio files with people from a variety of backgrounds - it was a very tiring experience, not gonna lie, but well worth it.
After narrowing down which interviews we wanted to use and trimming down the audio files (removing our voices asking the questions), we created transcripts of them to make storyboarding easier. I took charge of the last interview we did; a group of girls we met in a community church.
There's was interesting because we could have them morphing between different animals all the way through.
I would like to improve on my confidence when it comes to approaching people for interviews in public. I feel as if my anxious nature hindered our research somewhat.
We collected around 15 or so audio files with people from a variety of backgrounds - it was a very tiring experience, not gonna lie, but well worth it.
After narrowing down which interviews we wanted to use and trimming down the audio files (removing our voices asking the questions), we created transcripts of them to make storyboarding easier. I took charge of the last interview we did; a group of girls we met in a community church.
There's was interesting because we could have them morphing between different animals all the way through.
I would like to improve on my confidence when it comes to approaching people for interviews in public. I feel as if my anxious nature hindered our research somewhat.
Tuesday, 26 March 2019
LAUAN504 (AfterLives) - Week One
After proposing our initial idea last week, we spent the last seven days researching and planning our way of going about making this documentary - After Lives: focusing on people's interpretations of life after death.
I created a consent form (that was soon improved with tutor feedback) and gathered a few interviews over the weekend. I also created a test storyboard purely to demonstrate what we're going for.
Monday, 4 March 2019
LAUAN504 (KFC Brief) - Week Eight
I had way less time than I hoped I would to work on the KFC ad.
With many deadlines approaching and only half of one of our Applied Animation classes to animate this, I only had chance to further work on this sequence.
The ad will not be completed in time for the initial deadline.
However, there is a chance that we will be able to get it done for the competition deadline. It's hard to say. Perhaps I need to disregard animation quality in favour of time? I'm not too sure.
With many deadlines approaching and only half of one of our Applied Animation classes to animate this, I only had chance to further work on this sequence.
However, there is a chance that we will be able to get it done for the competition deadline. It's hard to say. Perhaps I need to disregard animation quality in favour of time? I'm not too sure.
Sunday, 24 February 2019
LAUAN504 (KFC Brief) - Week Seven
We managed to acquire some background music this week that perfectly fits the tone that we are aiming for. I also began roughing out another scene as you can see bellow. This one is quite ambitious as it involves two characters, a curtain (which is essentially nothing but follow through), lip sync and part of a walk.
To improve further, I want to try and force myself to animate more even when we don't have Applied Animation scheduled. I think I tend to neglect this project too much when it's not placed before me, or I prioritise things like COP instead. I need to give everything an equal balance.
To improve further, I want to try and force myself to animate more even when we don't have Applied Animation scheduled. I think I tend to neglect this project too much when it's not placed before me, or I prioritise things like COP instead. I need to give everything an equal balance.
Sunday, 17 February 2019
LAUAN504 (KFC Brief) - Week Six
This week we went over our storyboard and made some adjustments to the story. I offered to take care of drawing the storyboards this time as you can see below:
With these changes, I added a simple head turn from Audrey with the employee animation I had already completed - the sequence is now ready for the background art.
With the required background I needed for this scene still in production, I opted to at least rough out the action in the meantime. This scene does have dialogue so I will come back to it once we have the line recorded.
With these changes, I added a simple head turn from Audrey with the employee animation I had already completed - the sequence is now ready for the background art.
Overall, this was quite a productive week, however I could probably have fit in even more sequences to rough out or even helped with the background art a little - in future, I will give myself more roles to help speed up production.
Sunday, 10 February 2019
LAUAN504 (KFC Brief) - Week Five
This week has our first feedback session.
It was greatly appreciated, but it meant that we needed to not only re-do all the backgrounds we had so far, but a complete restructuring of the storyboard is required, which we'll tackle next week. In the meantime, I'm working on my first piece of animation, which you can see below:
It was greatly appreciated, but it meant that we needed to not only re-do all the backgrounds we had so far, but a complete restructuring of the storyboard is required, which we'll tackle next week. In the meantime, I'm working on my first piece of animation, which you can see below:
Tuesday, 5 February 2019
LAUAN504 (KFC Brief) - Week Four
This week I completed some dynamic poses for Audrey the chicken.
These are just to provide reference when animating and are based off scenes in the storyboard/animatic.
These are just to provide reference when animating and are based off scenes in the storyboard/animatic.
Sunday, 27 January 2019
LAUAN504 (KFC Brief) - Week Three
This week I redid one of the turnaround sheets to refine a few elements.
I also created one for the employee and the colonel himself.
I also created one for the employee and the colonel himself.
Sunday, 20 January 2019
LAUAN504 (KFC Brief) - Week Two
Meeting up earlier in the week, we managed to produce a finished script and settle on an art style. As Jenny worked on backgrounds and Petra handled the storyboard, I produced two turnaround sheets of our main chicken - Audrey, including one where she wears a bathrobe.
Thursday, 17 January 2019
LAUAN504 (KFC Brief) - Week One
My team and I have decided to take on the YCN KFC brief.
We need to promote the fact that KFC treat their chickens properly restaurant to offer the best quality food possible for their customers. To do this, Petra and Jenny came up with the idea of having an advert set in a spa for chickens (this is how they approached me to join).
My first task was to come up with some character designs and decide what kind of aesthetic we should aim for. I figured a cutesy feel would work best considering the tone of the setting and the humour of the "story".
We need to promote the fact that KFC treat their chickens properly restaurant to offer the best quality food possible for their customers. To do this, Petra and Jenny came up with the idea of having an advert set in a spa for chickens (this is how they approached me to join).
My first task was to come up with some character designs and decide what kind of aesthetic we should aim for. I figured a cutesy feel would work best considering the tone of the setting and the humour of the "story".
Wednesday, 9 January 2019
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