Evaluation Plan

What have I learnt?

• The process of rotoscoping

• Human animation

• Stop-frame animation

• Creating and attempting to animate my own armature

• Illustrator basics

• Flash basics

Why did I want to learn it?

• Very interested – to widen knowledge

• Better future platform for illustration

• As a challenge

• Wanted to learn from animations I already admire

How did I learn it?

• Animation workshop

• Emailed production team

• Emailed illustrator

• Emailed animator

• Illustrator tutorial with Simon

• Online Flash tutorials

• Online resource for rotoscoping

• Used camera frame for stop-frame.

Who helped me?

• Frater

• Ashley Dean

• Peer advice

• Crits

Where did I go for help?

• Frater

• Ashley Dean

• Tutors (advice)

Where and why did I struggle?

• Prioritising time and knowing when to finish something

• Moving background (waste of time)

• Being too much of a perfectionist.

• Struggling to find suitable online Flash tutorials

• Arrange to have official permission when filming human animation.

• I need to ask for help more.

Given more time, what could I have changed in my learning journey?

• Approach more people

• Gain a wider knowledge of the regional animation industry

• Gain more contacts from industry knowledge

• Challenging myself to learn Flash from the start of the module

• Learn Flash to a higher level

• Don’t focus on producing pretty work, be fast and brief on techniques

What have I learnt about how I learn?

• I’ am naturally a perfectionist and like intricacy, but for my own benefit I know I’ am capable of escaping this rut

• I’ am patient and prefer to spend time focussed on just one thing

• I’ am shy with technology, but after my introduction with Illustrator my confidence has been restored.

• I’ am an introvert learner, I’ve really enjoyed the independence of my learning journey.

• I’ am naturally ambitious

• I needed to approach this module as a learning journey, not a series of briefs.

A Sudden burst of INSPIRATION

Acid Drops - Episode 1 - Jason Dill from matt box on Vimeo.

This is a stunning video and you can find the full interview with
the illustrator/animator here:

http://www.computerarts.co.uk/blog/psychedelic-animation-acid
-drops-112674

The lad behind it used rotoscoping - which I had a little go at -
and he's used the technique to full effect. This illustration style is
 right up my street and helps imagine something I could've
 produced with enough time.

There's more about Matt here:

http://unreal-estate.co.uk/

Illustrator and Flash: Cloud

I thought i'd give myself a short challenge which
would encompass what I've learnt so far in
Illustrator and Flash. The skills I' am using here
were all learnt from Simon's tutorial and web
resources seen on previous posts.

The following shows my process of creating a
simple cloud shape filled with a gradient, which is
then imported in to Flash to be animated.

Begins: Illustrator:

1) After opening Illustrator as a blank print
document, I created a large group of circles.

2) In the first step I made the mistake of only using
an outline for the ovals. So using the Fill and
Stroke tool, I altered the Fill colour as one flat
colour and changed the stroke to non-colour,
meaning that it won't be visible.

I then selected all the circles using the Selection
tool, and then using the knowledge I had gained
from the tutorial two weeks ago, used "Pathfinder-
Unite" to merge all the circles together. My end
result as you can see is a single path filled with
one colour.

3) Next, I created an oblong shape, keeping the
Fill and Stroke both blank to ensure the shape was
not visible. Again, I went to "Pathfinder-Unite" to
erase the bottom half of my cloud to create a flat
edge.

4) Adding a gradient was actually harder than I
had anticipated as I had forgotten how to do it
since our tutorial with Simon. Because of this, I
managed to source a website that instructed me
how to create gradients:

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Illustrator/14.0/WS8
D8A9E2F-0F65-4bcb-B38F-5E665BC538A9.
html

I quickly realised there was a tool to the left of the
canvas with ways of applying a graident. I soon
found it was really easy and worked in a very
similar way to Photoshop.

All I had to do was select my cloud object, and
then choose my gradient type, angle that it should
travel, and the two or more colours I wanted. I
could also alter how gradual the gradient is.

5) This is what my cloud looks like now with its
gradient. I then saved this shape on to my Desktop.

Flash: Begins:

6) Once Adobe Flash was open with a new
ActionScript 3.0 stage, I imported my cloud from
my Desktop. Next I resized it using the
co-ordinates to the left, changing the positioning
to the top left of the stage and making the cloud
a lot smaller and easier to manage.

Here's a screenshot of my progress so far, with the
cloud positioned just outside of the stage ready to
be introduced.

7) Just to complicate things a little bit, I've
attempted to produce a smaller copy of the cloud
moving in the opposite direction to the larger
original. To be honest it's been a real pain to
duplicate the original process of motion tweening
(even when it isn't that difficult!), but I've
managed it anyway, even if the timeline
proves otherwise.

For example, the timeline (see below) shouldn't
extend as far as it does for the smaller cloud.
Regardless, it still works.

The link here: file:///User%20Work/clouder.html
should demonstrate it working, but I reckon this
might only work on my computer, so I'll have to
find a way of publishing it as an animation that can
be seen by anyone.

More Flash Tutorial resources

I've found this learning page on the Adobe Flash website that lists a fair few tutorials to work with, but what's great is they're listed in difficulty, beginning with a really easy tasks (a couple which I've done already). There's still a lot to learn so now that's what I' am going to dedicate all my time before the deadline in the studio to.

Here's the link to the page that I' am using:

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/learning_guide/animation.html

Flash: Importing and using graphics

I' am using the official Adobe website for a fair few of the introductory tutorials. I find these are likely to be the most reliable and easiest to follow from any other website at the moment. I also prefer to learn by following written instructions as opposed to watching a video tutorial and repeating what I've just watched. 


I' am using the tutorial seen here: http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/flash/articles/flacs3it_firstflash_pt1_04.html
I've also downloaded all the necessary files included in the tutorial.

Importing a file in to Flash happens to be fairly
simple. Similar to what I've learnt on Final Cut Pro,
all you have to do is go to File-Import and select
the specific file you need.

By using the properties panel, I've learnt that it's
easy and accessible to change the scale and
positioning of the file using co-ordinates.

That's basically the end of the tutorial for now,
they're all very basic introductory lessons. They
might be important for me to learn the foundations
of Flash but they are a little bit boring! Regardless,
I' am going to move on to more challenging
ground.

Flash: One Step Beyond!

From the advice I was given last Monday in my group crit, I've decided this afternoon to begin my Adobe Flash "crash course". I've sourced a great website with a beginner's guide to Flash, along with a good few tutorials for me to work through. I will of course document my learning journey throughout my future blog posts. For the time being, the tutorials I' am going to follow are all from:

http://www.freeadobeflashtutorials.com

I've also found some helpful advice from
http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/flash/articles/flacs3_createfla_02.html,
mainly about creating a file and adding graphics e.t.c

Here's a screenshot of the first tutorial that I' am
starting, beginning with rotating a single picture.
This is my starting point but I' am having to refer
to this page:

With Flash now open, I' am now going to follow
these instructions and document my progress in
learning.

----------------------------------------------------------------

So I' am starting with a blank "ActionScript 3.0"
document to get the ball rolling:

I've then produced a shape, using the "Oval" tool
and holding down the Shift key to keep it all in
proportion when I've resized it. I've kept the stroke
and background colours white, using a plain fill of
blue for the circle:

By following the instructions seen on:

http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/flash/articles/
flacs3_createfla_04.html

I've created a simple shape that moves from when
side of the stage to the other. I learnt that this path
could be modified simply by moving the shape on
the 20th frame. This path can change in any way
you seem fit, and the length can also be changed
by dragging the end frame further along the
timeline further to extend the Flash animation's
duration.

I won't post the steps I took for each part of the
tutorial, because it's all viewable on the above
link.

I feel as though I've learnt something extremely
basic that I could use if it were relevant to the
work I want to produce post-module. It's a
a step in the right direction and had reassured me
that using technology doesn't have to be daunting,
and it's often very easy.

The (Very) Brief Mannequin

This is a very brief attempt at animating a wooden mannequin

using a very fast frame rate. I've found it's probably easier just

to do practise videos using this model - as most people know

there's so many possibilities involving limb and joint movement,

I really don't know why I hadn't thought of this idea before.

The main issues I've encountered throughout these short tests

has been keeping the camera completely stable. I've tried using

blu-tac just to fix it to the table, but it's not very affective. I've

also found difficulties in getting the height of the camera

(as stacking objects isn't very reliable).

For the next day or two I' am going to get a tripod out from the

photography department, which should eradicate my troubles.

Can Test Three

So this is my third can test for this morning. I' am happier with

this version to this last, just because it is faster, and slightly

smoother. I might just get a tripod out from photography

tomorrow so I can keep my shots more consistent and reduce

any shake on the frames.

The effect from the light-box seems to detract away from the

action, just because it flashes a little bit too much, but oh well.

Can Test Two

Following on from my last post, this is my second test working

with animating the can to look "alive". All I' am doing now is

trying out some simple ways of moving the can and filming it

from various angles.

I decided to use the light-box on which the can could look "lit",

which also creates an interesting light on each frame that's

reflected on to the wall. I'd like to expand from this now and

have the can moving around an entire room and interacting

with surrounding objects.

I'll upload a third video that gives a demonstration of the can

moving at a double speed.

Can Test

Here's a short test I produced on Monday to experiment with

moving the can and attempting to create the illusion of the

moving image. I think it's worked quite well, but what I need to

do now is take the can to a new location and make it interact

with other objects. I basically just need somewhere else to

test the diversity of the can's ability to move around for the

Canimation competition.

I feel as though this video works well enough, but the frame

must be much smoother, as the can's movement is very jittery.

In my second attempt (which should be finished by lunch this

morning), I' am going to keep the frame rate high to create

the illusion of movement.

The problem with Alfie... and further pigeon progress.

Lately, I've been really irritated by the fact my astronaut character refuses to stand (possible due to the weight of his head) and that he's practically imposable without his paint cracking. It appears I've practically wasted my time making what's come to be a plasticine figurine that can't be animated.

The main reasons behind this brief failure comes down to:

• The lack of paper padding and exposed areas on the limbs.
• The weight of the character's head.
• The fact that the silver paint didn't strengthen the astronaut's feet, but weaken them and leave the edges folding upwards.

Because of all these issues that occurred with my potential character, I' am going to abandon the Alfie the Astronaut and place my focus completely on finishing the pigeon and getting that animated with the Red Bull can. I have actually produced some test animations of the Red Bull can that will be uploaded on Tuesday once I have access to Final Cut Pro in the Vis Com studio.

Below is a photo of the progress I' am making with covering my skeleton with plasticine. This time, instead of making the mistake of filling the body with plasticine, I' am leaving the body hollow so as to stay light and poseable.

It's becoming quite a laborious and technically difficult process which is taking up my time. I' am reverting back to my problem of making things look perfect, but at this stage I' am just trying to get a basic model of a pigeon. I'll then animate it outside (where I can also capture footage of grass/trees blowing and water running) to create the 20 second animation more life like.

Anyway, here's the pigeon so far:

I hope to have him complete by the end of

tomorrow night, just so I can start work on

animating him on Tuesday and have a finished

animation ready for the Canimation competition

on Wednesday.

From Wednesday through to

Friday and for some days the week after, I

plan to give myself an Adobe Flash crash-

course, which will enable me to hopefully

become confident in talking to the college

technicians a little more. I know who to ask,

so it might just be a matter of emailing them in

advance first.

Pigeon's armature

This is the development I've made with my pigeon's
body since Friday. Unfortunately I've had to juggle
work commitments and a painting live brief with what
I' am working on for this module, so things have felt
like they've slowed down a bit. I think I've learnt
about prioritising my time with work, but I still feel
like I spend far too much time focussed on
producing one thing.

I do need to escape this rut, but I think it'll come with
time, as it's just my nature to be intricate about things.

Back to the pigeon: I've tweaked much of the
positioning of the limbs, and have started adding
masking tape to strengthen the limbs, leaving the
joints open and flexible. I need to somehow work
out how I can fill out the body of the pigeon without
making it too heavy.

This work should be my main focus for now, but
tonight I plan to:

• Produce a test of the astronaut I finished 

          making on wednesday.

• Produce a test of the Red Bull can.

I want to do produce the first of this tonight, so
that I can learn about manually adjusting the
settings on my DSLR to get the exposure on each
frame just right. I'll be keeping this test very short.

I intend to just produce a small test of the Red
Bull can too, which might involve the can moving
on it's own from one place to another, or having
an animated face.

Another reply from Broken Pixel...

Here's what Ashley had to say: 

"I'm glad to hear from people who are so enthusiastic about animating! I'm doing a lot of teaching between now and Christmas, but hopefully there might be some opportunities to do some work experience in the new year.  If you send me a reminder in January, I'll let you know what's happening at the studio. Good luck with the Red Bull competition, send me a link when it's done! It's hard to say how long any animation will take to complete, but I'd certainly get cracking soon as the deadline is looming... If it looks like you aren't going to fit all your ideas in in time, don't be afraid to re-write your treatment and be creative with your edit!"

It was great to have some knowledge of when I could potentially gain a work placement, hopefully in January, 

as this would be a really great insight in to the industry. I' am going to remember to remind Ashley about our correspondence for January when fingers cross I can gain a placement.

In the run up to the New year I can relentlessly improve my knowledge  and practise of animation.

From Ashley's other advice for the Red Bull competition I want to keep time very restricted and spend as little time I can producing a very good, quick, clean animation that delivers a simple and appealing messaging quickly.


Here's the progress that I'v
e made so far in creating another armature, this time working life size to make a semi-realistic pigeon.


I seeked out the best images online that depicted the pigeon's body in two poses:

This is a decent enough photo 

that displays the pigeon's width 

from a front view. We all know
what pigeons look like, but it's 
remarkable how you can forget
how to draw one, or in my case

actually make a life size moving 

model of one.

I've also researched 

diagrammatic reference to gain 

some idea of the pigeon's 

skeletal structure and the 

motion in which its wings fold.

And after drawing and getting a feel for
the pigeon's skeleton, I embarked on

producing a wire armature that was

as accurate to the above diagram as I

could produce:

So this is the armature that I've produced

so far (with folding wings!). I' am going

to take more time to strengthen the limbs

and leave the joints more open to bend,

as opposed to my previous Alfie the 

Astronaut that struggles to move so easily.

Red Bull's Canimation Idea

Today I effectively had a minor brain wave when considering the
Red Bull Competition. In order to maintain a reality and relatability
to Red Bull in the animation context, I've settled on creating a single
character than can interact with a Red Bull can.

My idea is to have a pigeon (the frowned upon symbols of the
modern world, and a way of conveying the "Gives You Wings") as
a character that interacts with a can laying on it's side on the
pavement. As the pigeon reaches down to take a sip from the Red
Bull can, he will become energised and reinvigorated by the taste,
as he brightens up in the Red Bull colours of red, blue and a dash of
yellow. He will then fly off in to the distance leaving a trail that says
"Gives Me Wings!"

I started sketching my pigeon today (which is planned to be of a
similiar size to the wood pigeon), but will need to gather more wire
to create the body of the character and more plasticine over the
weekend.

Inspiration comes in Metronomy's video "The Look" which
introduces a pigeon character for a very short amount of time on
screen but to great affect.

I plan for my animation's story to only last around 20/25 seconds,
keeping things nice, short and snappy.

Ashley Dean (Broken Pixel)'s reply...

So here's what Ashley had to say back to me when I emailed him yesterday (a copy of said email is on a recent post):

"Good to hear from you!

I'm glad you have enjoyed my work, I've been very fortunate to have had a long career in animation.

The simplest answer to all of your questions is that I joined a band. I was asked by a friend if I would be interested in doing live visuals for his group and I jumped at the chance. The band was iLiKETRAiNS and the 5 years I spent with them were very useful, I was given the chance to make all their music videos and I met a lot of contacts who I still work for today.

Lots of bands will be happy for you to take one of their songs and animate it... You will have a to work for free for a while, but that's the best way to get experience.

These days, Twitter is an essential tool for chatting to potential clients and keeping an eye on what is happening in the industry.

In terms of improving your skills, the only way is to practice and innovate. Give yourself short briefs, I'm doing a 100 Frame / 4 Second project with some students at Leeds Met at the moment; it's a very manageable amount of time to work with! Also, look out for competitions, they give you tight deadlines and focused briefs. The E4 Estings are great, as is the current Red Bull Canimation project..."

I' am really excited from what Ashley had to advise me. I've already started brainstorming some ideas for the Red Bull Canimation competition, which I plan to start production on very soon.

It was also very reassuring to hear Ashley found a route through producing music videos for iLiKETRAiNS so this proves that if you approach the right band at the right time, opportunities can arise. This has really got me thinking about who I could produce an animation for as a fan, which could hopefully turn in to a professional relationship.

I might even email iLiKETRAiNS (their music is awesome) once I reply to Ashley quite a few times and develop a conversation. The advice he's offered so far has really enlightened me and furthered my understanding of how he "got in" to animation on a professional basis.

In a bid to keep the online conversation flowing, I' am going to email Ashley back with some schpeil that expresses my intrigue.

Canimation - A Redbull Competition (Live Brief?)

"We're looking for supremely talented animators to show us what they can do. Red Bull Canimation is a nationwide hunt for creative talent, and it's open to anyone who’s passionate about animation, regardless of experience. The only rule is that our blue and silver can needs to take centre stage. After that, you're free to be as imaginative and adventurous as you like! Plus, the best animations will get the chance to be featured on Channel 4 and in cinemas nationwide. Get involved and see how Red Bull can give your creativity wings."

I' am going to enter under the Stop Motion category, which requires me to produce a two minute animation promoting Red Bull. I might even ask my friend Katie if she'd like to collaborate on this competition to create something extra special. Anyway, it's an exciting project and I could even introduce the current character I' am creating in to this live brief. Maybe space would be an interesting place for a thing "with wings"...

And here's a link to the competition: http://canimation.redbull.co.uk/

Broken Pixel

I' am going to email the host of the Animate! Leeds Workshop and brain behind Broken Pixel, Ashley Dean, to begin correspondance that in the near future can hopefully reap access in to the animator's community of practise. Hopefully through a figure such as Ashley, I can explore a learning journey of networking and be advised on where to take my ideas. ashleydean@brokenpixel.co.uk

Here's a copy of the email that I've sent out to Ashley:

"Dear Ashley,

I' am writing to you regarding the Animate! workshop operated two weeks ago and just wanted to express the fact that I' am thirsty for more. I' am a second year Visual Communication student at Leeds College of Art with a very keen interest in animation and a background in illustration, and I thought it wise to ask you for some pointers on how to grow as an animator and how you yourself found your feet in the industry. I've watched much of your work online in admiration (as I imagine much of the emails you recieve begin), and could really benefit with a crucial animation contact, so I thought who better to ask than you.

There are a few things I'd like to ask. I think the best way to construct this enquiry is through a list, so here goes:

• What's the best way to expand from creating and animating a single character?
• How did you find was the best way to "get your foot in the door" and get seen?
• Looking back on your career in animation, how did you get the ball rolling and where did you start?

The root of this curiosity springs from a module I' am working through which is encouraging my intrepidity with traditional stop-frame animation. As I said, I attended the Animate! Workshop back on 9th of October and would like some guidance from a leading creative."

I hope that Ashley can get back to me as soon as possible with a reply, which could hopefully result in a meeting (of minds?). Maybe...

Astronaut Alfie and Bamoon

1) Initial character ideas.

Above are a few sketches of what I imagined my

astronaut to look like. I took inspiration from existing

characters such as Dora The Explorer and Buzz

Lightyear to create a character appealing to children

between the ages of 3 to 6.

I intended to draw the character as friendly and

optimistic, being careful as not to make him look

sinister (as some real life astronauts can do).

These drawings are basically to get an idea of his

proportions. I wanted to keep his head large, to

emphasis the helmet but also because a toddler's

head is larger than the body anyway. I feel as though

keeping the proportions of Alfie as cartoonish can

make him look friendlier and more appealing as a

toy or plaything.

I wanted to push the character further by giving him

a sidekick in which he can form a dynamic and

relationship with. After much speculation this

sidekick became "Bamoon", his trusty space guide.

Although the balloon would obviously burst in

outer space, I' am remaining fictitious with the things

that could occur with Alfie and Bamoon's space

adventures.

Alfie is dependant on Bamoon for simple advice

and guidance, but Bamoon is dependant on Alfie

for company and friendship. Thus they make

each other ideal travelling companions on their

intergalactic endeavours.

If I intend to take animating this character

further outside of Comm Tech, I'd like to

introduce Astronaut Alfie and Bamoon to other

additional characters on their journeys to planets.

2) The armature.

By using the knowledge of making an

armature that I gained at the Animate!

Leeds workshop I've constructed a

simple wire skeleton based around the

above drawings of my character

"Astronaut Alfie" and his balloon

sidekick "Bamoon".

There were slight issues I experienced

when making this armature, for example

the wire was harder to bend than I'd

previously considered and the length

of the character's limbs were difficult

to get equal. 

Other than these faults

I' am happy with the armature and plan

to complete the next stage of padding

and shaping "Astronaut Alfie" in to a

shape similar to my plans.

3) Padding and plasticine.

As you can see my character's now taken

shape. I taped many of his limbs with

masking tape, leaving the joints open (which

I'd learnt from the Animate! Leeds workshop

two weeks ago).

I've tried my best at this stage to perfect the

shape of his body and head. I've struggled

to sustain the same proportions as seen on

my initial drawings, but I' am not overly

concerned about this at the moment.

A few issues I've confronted with this third

stage is getting the body to head balance

just right so that Archie stands upright, whilst

keeping both legs straight.

For his "Bamoon" (balloon) sidekick, I plan

to use either polystyrene or foam as a light-

weight substitute.

My next stage is to smoothen the

character's shape, so from hear I can

introduce details such as the astronaut's visor/

face, possible headset (if necessary), painted

features and minimised badges.

4) Character amendments, details and painting.

I've made a few amendments before I've started

painting my character. These have included:

• Reshaping and smoothening the body

• Carving in to the head to form the illusion of

          a helmet.

• Adding a microphone head-piece (because 

          his mouth isn't visible).

• I also tested the idea of having a back-pack

          (but I found this was far too heavy on the

          character's back and looked a tad silly. I

          also found it was difficult to fix to his back.

• Application of facial features (eyes and nose).

Once I had made these changes, I embarked on

painting Alfie, choosing specific colours that reflect

the notion of space travel, happiness, and brightness

that would appeal to children of the age I' am going

to aim the character towards (being ages 3-6 years).

Some issues that I've encountered is the annoying

fact that my acrylic paint often chooses to look

"washed out" or faded when painting. This will just

mean adding more colours to the character. I' am

hoping that once he's all finished he'll have a

professional shine and look good in camera and in

stop-motion.

5) Finished painting.

I' am really pleased with how my character's

turned out and can't wait to add some more

finishing touches (Bamoon, for instance, 

needs creating, but this shouldn't take too 

long).

I plan to make his floaty sidekick from a 

relatively weightless material such as foam or

polystyrene to keep it from weighing down 

the thin wire.

Setting up the photography studio (with Vicky. K)

Today I assisted Vicky with setting up the studio, which basically meant learning from experiencing how she set up the lights, tripod e.t.c to achieve certain photographic effects. Although I' am not placing any focus on photography as part of my Comm Tech Two module, I' am constantly using a camera for animation purposes, so this does have a certain level of relevance to my learning journey.

How to make a Wire Armature

This is a handy demonstration of basically the process that I had

learnt from the Animate! workshop about making a wire

armature for stop-motion animation. The only difference was

we had not been advised to use epoxy or wooden blocks for the

character's shoes, which would have made mine and many

other people's armatures a whole lot stronger

Taking a break from illustration.

It feels important at this point to declare the fact I' am stepping away from illustration for the time being in relation to this module. Although I might have the opportunity to integrate it in to my animation work I feel as though it would be beneficial to keep the illustration as a necessary hobby for the time being, which shouldn't conflict with this Comm Tech Two module.

I've been thoroughly enjoying animation recently (since my Crit on Monday) and feel as though my work has a clearer direction which can allow me to learn and evidence this learning.

I intend to continue my work with the plasticine modelling to create a few really short animations that demonstate a character moving simply, so that if I choose to I can continue this in my spare time.

Once I've tackled much of this plastician modelling over the next few days, I want to spend much of my time in reading week learning Flash, which will involve me consulting technicians (something which I' am admittedly a little scared of but need to overcome to fulfill this module successfully).

Once I've learnt enough of Flash and evidenced this, I'd like an opportunity to revisit my plastician working after reading week depending on how well it goes, and document my process of trying to fuse both Flash animation and my plasticine stop-frame animation.

Result of my mid-module crit...

I need to:

Move away from rotoscope (it's a bit of a waste of time and is only really there for a pretty effect)

Learn Flash (find James or another animation specialist technician, online tutorials or third years)

Maybe look at iStopmotion and iMovie for alternative programs if necessary.

Move on to using plasticine figurines (a bit like Katie's), looking at children's animations (C. Pugwash, CBeebies programs). This is a quicker alternative to producing effective storytelling or even tests.

Produce tests and work that is shorter and quicker to produce. Don't waste a week on trying to perfect a technique, but learn about that technique through doing.

Don't be concerned so much about the detail of my work (which follows on from last year). Focus on the big picture and telling a story or presenting an animation simply and effectively.

Evaluate my posts and "end of techniques" more, highlight what I've learnt, how I've learnt it, sources e.t.c

I might also re-order many of my posts to make my blog more understandable in terms of chronological order.

Think about re-filming my "human stop-motion" at an NCP car park.

More Rotoscoping...

I've decided to resume the progress that I was making using the Rotoscoping technique (of tracing certain frames in an existing film). This time I intend to make a stop-motion animation which is not only longer but more detailed than my last attempt.

The process of creating a rotoscoped animation involves:

Finding a suitable video clip.

I've decided to use a free-running clip. These videos always 

involve a lot of movement, speed and action, which will translate

nicely in to my stop motion.

Downloading the video.

I used Keep vid to download the highest possible quality version

of the video.

Editing the video.

I then took the original video and edited the specific section of 

video I want to turn in to a stop motion. Because this clip lasts

just over six minutes, realistically I can't animate for that long so

I' am picking out a key scene that involves a lot of action.

I' am then editing this 30 second scene, reducing the frame rate

by splicing each frame, and then deleting a certain number of 

frames.

For example, if there are ten frames, I will delete frames

1,2,4,5,7,8 and 10. This leaves me with frames 3,6 and 9. 

By doing this I won't have to trace every single frame.

I've now edited my 30 second clip so that I' am only tracing 

every 4th frame, giving me a little less work to do but hopefully

meaning that the video should still be quite fluid and smooth 

in its animation reincarnation.

I've screenshot around 117 frames which I'll retrace in a darker 

environment. I' am going to keep my drawings very simplified

but clear as to what's moving. 

One problem I had with my 

rotoscope test was that the boxing glove wasn't very 

recognisable, so I'll be taking a little more time to ensure my

animation is clearer.

Saturday

On Saturday Bobby and I went to Woodhouse Lane Car Park

just to see if we could get away with producing some of my

animation. Although I was told last week that security

couldn't supply me with any permission to take photos in

the car park, I thought I'd just try my luck and see if anybody

stopped us. We chose to evade most of the CCTV, but once

we had started shooting, one of the car park's workers came

to tell us we needed a license and official permission.

We then left the car park and headed to college, where I

came up with the idea of the human animation surrounding

Bobby as opposed to him actually moving anywhere. I had

tested this idea days before in the Vis Com studio with a

stationary coke can in the centre of the shot and it seemed

to work quite nicely.

Here's the result of Saturday night:

I' am quite happy with the end result, even if it was thought up

in the heat of the moment. It's kind of reminiscent of Madonna's

"Ray of Light video.

I've learnt from this experience that I really need to try my best

to get permission if taking photos in a place like Woodhouse

Lane Car Park, and to have alternative car parks or similiar

locations to fall back on.

Bobby's Chair

This is just a more adventurous human animation experiment

involving Bobby racing round the studio on a chair. I'd like to

take this idea further by having two people race against

each other for a longer duration of time, just because this would

be more entertaining.

Learning Illustrator: The Basics

Although it's not directly related to my focus on stop-motion animation, this tutorial was an integral part of my learning journey as an illustrator as well as an animator. Although I' am a little apprehensive about producing work that is solely digital, this lesson taught me how such simplistic manoeuvres using the "Pen" tool could easily recreate complex curves. I really enjoyed tracing existing images and becoming more familiar with how the "Pen" tool works, as this is something I' am completely new too. As you can see, below is an example of my experiments with tracing existing images in a bid to familiarise with the "Pen" tool and the "Live Paint" tool, as well as the "Width Adjustment".

Progress of tracing an image of Scott Pilgrim:

This is a copy of the original image that I' am
tracing. I chose it because it's obviously a cartoon,
but includes challenging line that I can attempt to

recreate in Illustrator. I've decided to only focus on

the central sword-wielding character for now.














This is an example of me using the background on
a 50% transparency to trace over all the line work.

This is a screenshot of my nearly traced Scott 

Pilgrim. I've added a few coloured lines to his 

chest area to test using coloured line as I wasn't 

sure how to adjust the colour of a line.

I still need to play with the width adjustment to get

the lines completely right and wide round certain

areas of the character.

For now I' am going to skip the width adjustment

for now and just focus on applying colour using 

the "Live Paint" tool.

I' am currently using the "Live Paint" tool to fill in

areas of colour. Once the character is entirely

coloured, I can think about referring back to the 

original image to create gradients and correct much

of the colour.

This is my fully coloured version of the Scott

Pilgrim image. As planned, I' am now going to 

play around with adjusting the line width to match

the original.

As I can't find my notes taken from the Illustrator

tutorial last week, I' am having to refer to an 

online tutorial on using the "Width Tool" as I 

can't recall how I first did it. Nevermind!

I intend to take the basic skills I've learnt here
further when I come across a live brief or have a
bit of spare time to explore Illustrator and further
my knowledge.

It's honestly opened my eyes and proved to me
that using computer programs to produce
illustration doesn't have to be daunting, and is
actually a lot easier than I had first anticipated.