Tuesday, 27 October 2020

BREAKING THE RULES PROJECT WIP


 Work In Progress


Here is a plan for the breaking the rules Animation which includes techniques such as short boiling loop, smear effect, squash and stretch, and a pop, all resulting in one large loop. 




PLANNER

 Hand Drawn Planner 

Week 4-6 completed 



Animation 1A – Formative Reflection



As Animation 1A progressed, I became less worried that I was starting from scratch as I took my time to learn the basics first and had not been thrown in the deep end. I was surprised by my creative choices, as I immediately went for a more abstract style, which I rarely do in any other creative work. I found myself spending my time at the beginning getting my head around the software, and then realised it really helped to learn about the background and evolution of Animation theory. Learning about the Zoetrope and the first forms of animation helped me to think of film in a different way, like the FPS in animation and why we always shoot in 24FPS in film began to fall into place in my head. However, my limits in this subject became clear very early on, that my focus, patience and perseverance would really be put to the challenge. I think my ADHD is partly the reason I decided to do it on Adobe Animate, rather than by hand, as it is quicker and easier for me to stay focused in. 

 

There were a few obstacles which presented themselves, such as not understanding the field guide for a long time, but I decided this was okay to move on from as I was working on online software. Arguably, the most valuable aspect I have learnt so far is learning to work patiently and to trust the process. Once I allowed myself to relax and take time developing my skills and not jump into the deep end, I enjoyed creating a lot more. Furthermore, I documented my working process by keeping notes and working in a sketchbook before taking my ideas over to the computer. I am also going to now begin taking screenshots of my working process in the longer, final project in order to document the process. The blog has been really helpful to me as a reminder of how far I have come even though I am still only learning the basics. My favourite parts of the overall process was finding new artists and being inspired. This has allowed me to work in a new medium and learn to express myself in a new way artistically, which is always exciting. Watching myself learn a new technical skill which is applicable to my degree such as transferable skills in Adobe Animate and After Effects is really exciting to me. Perhaps a lot of this inspiration came from my additional research resources used, which included Linda.com, various YouTube tutorials, and artists such as Norman McLaren. Additionally, coming back into contact with TV shows I grew up on in the lectures such as Pig and Pog and other Aardman studios through the lectures was really exciting, and encouraged me to dig back through other childhood animations such as BOD, Rhubarb and Custard, and Captain Pugwash. 

 

Entering this elective with my film makers head on allowed me to both apply prior knowledge, such as roughly knowing the programmes, but it was also extremely interesting to learn about film and the moving image from a different angle. It was exciting to realise they both originated at the same place; photography. However, I regret not taking the time to learn hand drawn animation first if I had the time, (and money for the equipment), as I think it would have been extremely useful and transferrable. Although I didn’t start off with the drawn elements, I achieved more than I thought I would, and it is exciting to see ideas start to naturally manifest themselves in this new medium which I am learning. Even though it can be a tedious and challeneging process, I am proud of understanding the basics of animation and the software in just over a month and look forward to creating the new project and overcoming more obstacles. 

 

Sunday, 18 October 2020

Primary and Secondary action first attempts


This was my first attempt at creating secondary movement. I used what we learnt from creating the bouncing ball and then added some hair/string to the sides of it in order to begin learning how the secondary action. It actually looks a bit like a weird bug. The movement is a bit jolty but i'm still happy with it. 

For my second attempt I just used one 'string' so I could focus on making it more smooth. I think this attempt came out better. However for my next attempt I am going to plan it more so the secondary movement looks for realistic. 

Wednesday, 14 October 2020

About me

Hello!! I'm Meg. I am a second year Film & TV student, and I am delighted to be on the Animation 1A course this semester, (and the 1B next semester, woo!) 

I am an aspiring artist and creator. I enjoy oil painting, sculpture and making films of course. 

I feel like there is a large gap in my portfolio and that gap is animation. Learning to animate, and understand the moving image, frame y frame, will be helpful for a lot of things I do. I have already found it very helpful for my Film course, as most theories are applicable to film. 

I enjoy surrealism, and weird things. I hope to use my imagination to create some strange and uncomfortable animations by the end of this year, but I have a lot of learning to do! 

My Website

Here's an Image of me and a recent work :)



BOUNCING BALLS



 

Tuesday, 6 October 2020

12 Frame Animation


12 Frame Animation

This was my first attempt at animating a moving image, I used a Wacom tablet as well as Adobe Animate. As you can see, I really needed some help, since I was a little confused. I used this assignment to try out the software and to ease myself into animation. I really enjoyed it!