Illustrator Induction 1: Part Two

After we had finished playing with the different stroke settings, we had a go at tracing a drawing. We looked at Totoro, and started by going over one half of the character then flipping the drawing to create the whole outline.

I'm aware that I haven't drawn all his features, but hey ho.
It was just a practice and I like it so bite me.

 I found this quite easy but I'm under the impression that if I tried drawing without the help of an image underneath I won't be able to do it. Obviously I can't say for certain, and I'm interested to find out whether I'm correct or not, so there is a very good chance I shall experiment further with Illustrator. I think it has potential to be a programme that I will use, and I like the defined lines and shapes you can create using it. It's just a matter of getting used to it.

Illustrator Induction 1: Using the Pen Tool

I do NOT like illustrator. It confuses me and I don't like how you can't draw freely using the pen tool, and that you have to use anchors and handles to make curved lines. I do like that the lines are really smooth though, so at least Illustrator has that going for it at the minute.
To try to get used to using these features we were told to open up the pen tool exercise sheet and follow the instructions. I found it quite easy to follow, but I'm not fully sure what I have done. I don't feel like I have full control over the programme and that bothers me. Maybe I will get used to it, and maybe it will grow on me. Maybe.

We shall see.

In the second half of the morning session we were focusing on filling in our shapes and changing the stroke settings. I thought the different strokes were pretty cool, and I enjoyed looking at the different patterns I could create by changing the brush definition etc. but again, I don't like how they were presets as I feel like I still don't have control. Because of this I'm leaning more towards favouring Photoshop, that and I feel more comfortable using it. Maybe this will change the more time I spend using Illustrator, who knows.

Pixilation Task: Part Three, Final Product.

After a couple hours of filming I managed to get my pixilation finished, and I had quite a lot of fun doing it. I don't usually like telling people what to do, I like to let them just do their own thing and interpret the situation how they want to, but I actually enjoyed directing my "actors" and watching their expressions as they were pushed into walls and such.

I pretty much stuck to my storyboard when I shot the animation, but there were just a few odd angles I ended up changing. Some of the shots were awkward to achieve in the rooms I was filming in, so I strayed away a little, but the storyboard was definitely helpful for solidifying my idea and getting me to consider a range of angles, and I think I have done quite well at making the animation look interesting because of this. I tried to use a variety of techniques, such as shift in focus (if that's what it's called, I don't know), and I also tried to consider the rules of thirds when I was shooting, and I think I have been quite successful. 

 

I presented my final product to the class and I'm so happy with the responce I got. Most seemed to be pleased with the work that I had produced, and I got some nice comments as well. Someone also suggested that it could have been a good idea to have the parasite crawling out of the girl's mouth at the end. I thought this was a good idea and I was gutted I didn't think of it myself. I think it could have tied the animation up a bit better, and would have been a good chance for me to include some more close-ups.

I got the chance to watch my peers animations too, which I thought was really helpful. I really liked that I could see what other people had been working on just to see how our work differed, and it also gave me the opportunity to compare it back to my own work. Some people had strayed away from the more tradtional method of pixiliation and just used continous shooting to record the actions that were being acted out rather than moving slightly and then taking the photograph. Whereas I really liked the ideas they were able to come up with, and it created a much smoother, realistic image, I think I much prefer the quirkyness that comes from the more tradtional pixilation method, and I like the surreal things you are able to do by using humans as puppets rather than filming them. For example, floating around. It's not something I tested myself - I just created odd "woddle walks" - but it is definitely something I would like to come back and experiment a bit more with. It was tons of fun and theres loads more that could be done with this technique.

Photoshop Induction 3: Frame by Frame Animations

In today's (I say today's but by the time I post this it'll probably be days later) Photoshop induction we learnt how to use video layers and how to create drawn, frame by frame animations using the video timeline. I loved it. Granted I was getting ridiculously frustrated at times as things were going wrong and I didn't know why (still don't know why), but I had finally started making digital animations in the "correct" way.

To get started we were to create a short 5 second animation of a pendulum swinging, but like the lemon I am I COMPLETELY MISUNDERSTOOD the task at hand and instead I looked at working with different elements in a ball bouncing sequence. I think I haven't done too shabbily (yes that is the word I am going to use here) to say it's my first ever digital animation, even if I was supposed to be doing something else. I got the idea to have a water droplet bounce like a ball and then set on fire, so I just went with it, and I'm glad I did because I'm really pleased with it.

In the second half of the induction we were asked to create a short animation using the video timeline feature, that focused on one or more of the classical elements. Now I had already done this in the morning, but did it again anyway to practice using photoshop. I decided to keep it simple, and just had a match being struck against the side of a matchbox to light it. This didn't require much drawing, so I got it done pretty quickly. I was able to just copy and reposition the match drawing onto my next frame, so the only other drawing I needed to do was the flame that grew bigger, and the sparks from the side of the matchbox. Despite how simple it is I am still happy with the result, and by doing this animation I have been able to experience the different things I can do with video timeline, so it has been really useful. 

Pixilation Task: Part Two, Storyboarding.

I decided to scrap my News Studio idea that I previously decided to run with. After some consideration I figured it would be too hard to create a "news set" as I only have a week (well, a couple of days now) and I don't really have the resources to make it look believable. I shall keep the storyline and have the main character of the animation become possessed by drinking from a cup that is infected by parasites, but I am going to change the setting and what occupation the character has.

The idea I managed to come up with was a student at a college or university, most likely the latter. I can have the student grab a coffee at a cafe on the walk to the institution or before he/she begins work, and then take a drink whilst working. The character will then become destructive and begin to wreck the place and throw things around, before leaving the area and possibly passing out. 

As much as I would have liked to have used the news room idea, I still think this one is just as good, and I believe it to make just as much sense as the first, as well as have enough action in it to meet requirements in terms of length. 

I have planned out my storyboard on sticky notes to begin with, just like I have done with previous briefs. I think there is a good variety of shots in there but I shall consider producing a more refined/final version before I shoot just so I know exactly what it is that I need to photograph.

Sorry for the length of this post. I couldn't get the images to go in a horizontal line and I tried for close to ten minutes. 

What even is that massive gap. I give up.

Pixilation Task: Part One, Planning.

In yesterday's studio session we were taught about pixilation and was given the task to produce our own animation using this technique. The animation was to be no longer than 1200 frames and was to explore one of the following relationships:

• Predator and Prey
• Host and Parasite
• Parent and Child

I had a few initial ideas on what I could do but not a solid idea, so to get started I did a bit of brainstorming. I looked at each theme individually so I could make a decision on what it was I wanted to do. 

Brainstorming for Parent and Child

I started with Parent and Child (I tell a lie it was actually Predator and Prey, but what you gonna' do about it?), and I think I came up with some pretty good ideas from looking at the definitions of these words on Google (I did this for all six words in the brief). The main idea I got from this mind map was to deal with the subject of losing a parent or a child, and act out a scene that involved the two together - for instance dancing or playing at the park - and then have one of them unexpectedly disappear, representing either the death of the parent/child, or to show that they had already died and it was somewhat like a recall of events/looking back on a particular memory.

Notes for Host and Parasite

Next I looked at Host and Parasite (this time I'm actually telling the truth). The main ideas that I got for this relationship was to have a human become infected or possessed by a parasite and become destructive. My favourite setting that I came up with for this was a News Studio. I think it has potential to be quite entertaining and the events that would lead up to the destruction would make sense and be relevant, I.e preparing to go on air. Up to now it was looking like my favourite idea and one that had the most potential. 

Notes for Predator and Prey

Lastly (firstly) I looked at Predator and Prey. Again I really liked some of the things I was able to come up with for this one, the main idea being to base the animation on Online Predators. I would have the predator be represented by the computer and have it "come to life" and start attacking the computer user/victim/prey with the mouse and the cables. I think this is a good idea for interaction between human and prop which is a requirement of the brief I have been presented with.

Here's a Sketch of a Leech. Enjoy.

I really like all three ideas, but after some thought I think that my Host and Parasite idea has the most potential. I think the storyline is pretty solid and provides me with enough content to reach my minimum frame count. The Parent and Child idea was a nice way to make the story relate to my own personal experience, but the topic is quite depressing and I think it be best that I stick to more cheery subjects, especially as I believe that the pixilation style best suits happier topics. Then again it might have been nice to try and make it work with this idea.

I think my Predator and Prey idea could have easily worked as a story, but I think it needs more work/thought to make it long enough to meet requirements, and as I only have a week to plan and create my animation, it just makes sense to roll with an idea that is quite solid as it stands. 

Flippin 'eck: Flipbook Session 3

I managed to create a further three flipbook sequences. I was still looking at bouncing balls, but had them moving in different ways. In the first book of the day I was still focusing on squash & stretch and timing, and I simply wanted the ball to slowly lose momentum and come to a holt, as I hadn't been able to do so with my other flipbooks as I didn't have enough pages. This time I planned it out so that the ball would stop moving. To be honest, I would have liked the ball to roll a bit at the end to show that it had actually finished bouncing, but I think the sequence is pretty solid as it stands. I think I did a good job at keeping the volume of the ball constant, and I think the sequence is pretty realistic, so I am pleased with it.

 

Sequence One

In the second flip book I thought I'd try something a little different. I was still focusing on a bouncing ball, so consequently squash & stretch and timings, but this time I wanted the ball to bounce away from the 'camera'. I planned it out first, and decided that the ball would start of quite large as it was close up, and would get smaller the further away it went, so because of this I was also focusing on the "arcs" principle. To begin with I didn't add in the ground which it bounced on, as I was unsure where/how to draw the ground line so that it would look realistic. This resulted in my sequence looking quite unrealistic and made it seem that the ball got too small way too quick, and that there was no depth to it. I then decided I would add in little lines as the ball got "closer to the ground" and it improved my flip book massively, and for a first attempt I don't think it's bad at all.

Sequence Two

In my final flip book I decided to give my ball pig tails, and so i was focusing on the "secondary action", "squash and stretch", "timing" and "follow through action" principles of animation. I found this the hardest to do out of all the flip books I have done, as I didn't have a reference for the hair. I knew it wouldn't be dragged upwards as soon as the ball reached the ground, but I had to guess at what point it actually would start to. On the other hand I also had to guess when the hair would start to fall when the ball reached the maximum height of it's bounce (This is probably worded extremely poorly, but it's the best you're going to get). 

To say this sequence was a complete stab in the dark I don't think I've done bad. Granted, it's not the most realistic sequence in the world, but at least it's believable (in my opinion anyway) and that's good enough for me. In the future however, I may want to think about collecting references, whether it be photographs or watching people jump up and down if I am wanting to create a more realistic animation.

Sequence Three

Photoshop Induction 1

For our first Photoshop tutorial we were taught the basics of the program, a lot of which I already knew, things such as creating a new file or a new layer. Despite having quite a large basic knowledge on Photoshop I did learn quite a lot, and I soon realised that the techniques and tools I learned about were a lot easier than what I had been doing in the past. I discovered this through experimentation with the eraser tool. I never realised that by changing the brush settings of the eraser that it could be used to blend together two parts of an image. In the past I had always just resorted to using the mixer brush tool, and it would end up being blurry and quite unrealistic. It was fine if I wanted to blend colours together in a drawing I was working on, but when it came to photographs it didn't quite work the way I wanted it to, so I'm really glad I found out about this feature.
I put this knowledge to the test a task we were assigned. We were to try to compose an image by taking sections of sample photographs and blending them together. My result is the image above, and I think I did an okay job, I'm particularly happy with how I was able to add shadow in the foreground and extend the height of the cliff.

In the second half of the tutorial, we were taught about layer masks and adjustment layers, two things I had never heard of before. I remember seeing them whilst watching other people working on their own photoshop projects in the past but never knew what they were for or why they were there, so it was nice to finally learn for myself. In the next task we were assigned, we were to make a new image to test our ability with using masks and adjustment layers, as well as the blending technique we had learnt that morning. I again took a series of images and put them together, including giving the man some armour, but this time I added a hue/saturation layer to adjust the colour of the background, as well as a black and white layer for the man and goat, as I didn't like how bright he was. I also felt this looked best considering there was a lack of colour in the background. To continue with the "murky" atmosphere, I tried to make the photo look foggy, using a similar method to how I included shadow on my previous image. Overall I think I did a pretty good job at creating some interesting images, and am looking forward to see what else I can put together.

(I have this exact post on my Personal Professional Practice blog, but I'm not sure where it belongs, so here it is again just incase.)

Photoshop Induction 2: Working With Flipbooks

In today's Photoshop induction we were taught how to use the timeline feature to create a frame by frame animation. It is something I already knew how to use as I had used photoshop to produce my animations on at Art Foundation, but it was nice to recap as I have been out of practice. 

We started the session by learning how to use the scanner, so we could work with the flip-books we produced previously. Scanning was easy, but I found that cropping the photos so that they were the same size was quite hard, and I came across a few problems.  I was using a fixed crop tool (yes this is the exact terminology… possibly) but I still found that my images were different sizes. It turns out I hadn't changed the resolution and that's why they were all different. But instead of going back and resizing them all individually, I was shown how to record an action so it could be repeated at the click of a button. I wish I would have learnt about this before, as this could have easily come in handy. 

Here is my first attempt at putting together my scanned images. I used the second flip-book sequence as it is my favourite out of the three, and I think it has gone okay. However, my original drawings have smudged for some unknown reason, and the frames don't quite line up resulting in the animation being jumpy. To begin with I didn't really like this, but the more I look at it, the more it is growing on me. It reminds me of an old black and white film. I did attempt to improve this however, and the result you can see below:

I created this animation using the brush tool. I drew over my original frames and then 'erased' it by using white. Rather than redrawing the ball, i copied it onto a new layer and repositioned it. When the ball was coming into contact with the wall/floor, I used the skew tool to change the shape of the ball. This maybe considered cheating, or might not even be the most effective use of this tool, but hey ho. Bite me.
As a first attempt, I don't think I've done too bad.

Storyboard Examples: Toy Story (x2)

Oooooh that quality though

I am clearly a Photoshop wizard.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, my apologies for the quality of these images. It's rather awkward trying to photograph a storyboard that is featured over two pages of a book.

Anyway...

Toy Story was another film that was featured at the exhibition I saw in Paris, and consequently was featured in the catalouge I purchased. I wanted to talk about these two storyboards that I found in the book in particular, not just because I think that they are good examples and explain the story clearly, but because of how different these two storyboards are even though they have been used for the same production. Kinda'. Well, same film series.

The one on the left is a storyboard for Toy Story 3 and was produced digitally by Erik Benson. Without trying to repeat myself too much, I like the range of camera angles he has used in this scene, and how he has shifted the focus of the camera with the use of colour. For instance, the white of the characters draws you away from the grey backgrounds, as well as the odd character (Eg. Woody) that is a dark grey, to show they are sat infront of the camera. Not only do I think that this makes the thumbnail more detailed and easier to follow, it clearly shows where the attention of the camera needs to be. Which is a lot different to the storyboard shown on the right. This one was produced by Joe Ranft (left half) and Bud Luckey (right half) in pencil and ink, and once again I think it is a great example. The pair have used arrows and short lines to help explain the action and movement of the characters, which I find is very helpful, and is actually something I did in my own storyboard. They have also shown where they want the camera focus to be by including more pen detail on the subject. A very different technique to Benson, yet just as effective. The art styles are also very different from one another, and I like this differentiation and how they were still able to communicate the story well, but I have to say that I love the way Benson has drawn his. It feels like quite a childish drawing which is a nice touch considering it is meant for a family film.

Storyboard Examples: Up and For The Birds

In January of this year, I had the privilege to go to Paris with my Art Foundation course for a week. The trip was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING and I have never been on a trip that I have enjoyed as much as that one. The highlight was definitely going to the Pixar exhibition that was being held at Les Docks, an exhibition I was extremely lucky to fall on as it was only there for a couple of months.

At the exhibiton, there were original drawings, sketches, models, storyboards and designs from many of their movies, the most memorable ones for me being Brave, Toy Story, Wall-e and Up. It was truly spectacular to see these things first hand, and it really made me think about the work that goes into perfecting the film.
Whilst there I was able to buy a catalouge that is filled with a lot of what I saw at the exhibiton, including some storyboards, some of which I have chose to talk about here.
(Apologies for the following photos being the worst quality photographs you have ever seen - It's quite awkward to photograph pages of a book).

These are two images I have taken from my Pixar Catalouge. They show the storyboard for "For The Birds", and was created by Ralph Eggleston. I think this is another great example of a storyboard, especially in early stages. The sketches are really rough and you can even see the original circular guidelines of the bird's bodies, but Eggleston was still able to explain the scene very well. It does however lack a range of camera angles, and the shot is always head on, with only minimal variation in shot framing. I don't necessarily think this is such a bad thing in this case, as there isn't much going on in this scene, but a few close up of the bird's expressions might have been a good addition to this storyboard. You can see in the enlarged sketch, that this is something that was later implimented, as there is a slight blue box around the birds in the middle to show that the camera is to zoom into that section of the frame.

Just for starters, this photograph really doesn't do this storyboard any justice, but it's the best I'm going to get as it is featured over two pages in the catalouge. With that being said, this is a beautiful storyboard that explains the story of Carl and Ellie. It has been put together by a series of artists; Nick Sung, Josh Cooley, Justin Hunt, Rob Gibbs, Bill Presing and Ronnie del Carne. I think it's a great idea having more than one person working on a storyboard, as I like how the different art styles can come together to make one interesting piece, similar to the Brave storyboard I showed earlier today.
I think this is a good example of a more developed storyboard, as it has a variety of shots and includes a lot more detail. It has also considered the use of colour in some of the frames. I think it flows nicely too, but this might be a bias view, considering I know what happens in the film. Maybe it would be harder to understand if I hadn't seen it, as there isn't an explanation as to how one frame leads to the next, or what really happens in each frame in terms of movement or actions. Having said this, I believe it has done a good job at picking out the key events in the scene and giving the audience/production team a good idea of what they want to happen.

Storyboard Examples: Brave

I think Brave is a brilliant animation, and I'll probably ramble on about it at some point in the future, but  that's not why I'm blogging right now. I'm here to talk about this storyboard in particular. I believe it to be a very good example of a storyboard, as the drawings are quite basic yet they still explain what is going on in the scene very well. It has a good mixture of different shots and camera angles, something that I tried to do with my own. It doesn't have any annotation to explain what is happening in each scene, but then again I don't think it was necessary to include it. It's perfectly clear to me what they are expecting to happen from these illustrations. I also like how there is a difference in art styles between some of the frames, so not only does this storyboard provide a good visual aid, it is also an interesting piece in itself.
I like how they have used a splash of orange in the third box. I can only think that this would be to differentiate between the two characters without having to use labels or colour the whole thing, considering the Mother and Merida look fairly similar in these drawings. It would have been nice to see the whole storyboard in colour, but on the other hand, I like the use of shading here. I think they have been able to explain lighting quite well in the frames that have been shaded, which again is quite useful to the production team.

It would be quite nice to develop my own storyboards in this way. If it comes to explaining or planning out a particular scene in great detail, I think this would be a good way to go, especially as I feel this is a very successful storyboard.

Flippin 'eck: Flipbook Session 1

Despite feeling half dead all day, I've thoroughly enjoyed it. We started the day by learning about the 12 Principles of Animation, and it turns out I had come across a lot of them without even noticing it, much like Visual Literacy. For instance, I had used "Arcs" in the drawn animations I produced on my Art Foundation course last year, especially when it came to the movement of my characters. I had also looked at "Timing", and had fewer drawings to make my character appear as though he was moving much quicker. Some of the principles I hadn't heard of, such as "Straight Ahead and Pose to Pose Animation", but now that I have learnt about them they seem quite self-explanatory, and were quite easy to get my head around. Whether I'll be able to put this knowledge to good practice is a different story however...

Following on from this lecture, we were asked to produce a series of flipbooks that took into consideration two - in this case - key principles; Squash & Stretch and Timing & Spacing. The task at hand seemed quite easy to do, as we were only to draw the sequence of a ball bouncing in different ways, but when it got down to it, I found it quite challenging. I really had to think about how the ball was going to react when it hit the surface/ground, whilst trying to keep the ball at a constant volume. I also had to make sure that the spacing between each frame was correct, so that it didn't seem that the ball was falling/bouncing to fast or too slow.

 

Warning: May trigger epilepic fits due to poor animating skills

Considering this has been the first attempt at a flipbook since I was about ten, I don't think I have done too bad of a job. I think I did quite well at keeping the ball at a similar size between frames, and I think the bounce sequence looks quite realistic.

 

Warning: Again, may trigger epilepic fits due to poor animating

In my opinion, my second flipbook was more successful than the first. In this sequence, I made the ball bounce up against the wall and change direction. Whilst doing this, I had to take into consideration the arcs that the ball would make, aswell as the inital "Squash & Stretch" and "Timing & Spacing" priniciples, and I think I did a good job.

 

Apologies for this being the laziest animation you've ever seen.

In my last flipbook of the day, I wanted to animate two balls bouncing besides one another and give each ball a slightly different characteristic. Whereas this was a good idea, it didn't look so good on paper. The balls defy the laws of physics by falling at different speeds. I DID want one ball to appear as though it had been dropped or thrown with a greater force, so that it would fall quicker and have a harder impact on the ground, but I don't think I was able to execute this very well. I think this is due to the shape of the ball as it is falling to begin with. Maybe if I exaggerated the shape, and had it more oval shaped as it was dropped, it would look like it was travelling at higher speeds. I could also have done this by increasing the gap between each frame.
Despite my flipbook not quite working out the way that I wanted it to, I still think the bouncing sequence for each of the balls was quite realistic. It has also made me think about things I could do to improve and experiment with in the future, so all in all it has been a positive, productive day.

Animation Skills: Storyboarding 3

Developed my storyboard further by photocopying my originals and adding colour to them. It wasn't perfect, as I did it really quickly in coloured pencil, but I think it made quite a large improvement and really helped me to see what an end product might look like. These are just a few of the frames I completed, aaaaaaaand that's about it.

Really happy with them.

Animation Skills: Storyboarding 2

Yesterday I set out to make the improvements on my storyboard that I had thought of the previous day. I didn't change too much, as I seemed to get good feedback on the way the story flowed and how it was structured. I did however add in the long shots and different angles that I was debating about and I think this massively improved the story. It just made it more interesting to look at by offering a wider range of angles. I also think that some of the scenes will 'work better' in the new ways I have sketched them out in.
Above are just two of the frames I redesigned/improved, and apologies for them being the worst quality photographs in the world.

Animation Skills: Storyboarding

My take on Humpty Dumpty - First ever post-it note storyboard.

In today's class, I learnt about the pre-production process that is storyboarding. I have already touched on creating storyboards before, but today I covered them in more detail. I learnt more about shot framing, and what to consider when making a storyboard, such as compostion and lighting. I also learnt about paper editting, and that it is where you work on different sheets, so the story can be easily changed and re-sequenced to help make it flow better. I had a go at this today, and found that it was a very useful technique.
When creating my own take on Humpty Dumpty, I tried to consider different camera angles and shots that I could use, and I think I was able to do a decent job, however when I revisit this again tomorrow, I may think about trying to add in some extreme long shots, or even some extreme close-ups, as a lot of the scenes seem to be 'shot' in medium or close-up.

All in all, I think today has been relatively successful, as I was able to learn something new and gathered some nice, constructive responces in relation to my storyboard. Roll on tomorrow.