How to navigate around my Blog

At the top of my blog, you’ll see four options; Home, Research, Reflection & Change and Final.

The HOME button, incudes all my work into one pile. However if you hover your mouse over the home button you’ll see all the weeks of my progress and a shot sentence from my statement of intent.

The RESEARCH button is all my research. If you hover you mouse over it, you’ll see all my experiments and concept art.

The REFLECTION & CHANGE button is all my reflection. if you hover your mouse over it you’ll see my vlogs.

The FINAL button is my finished piece.

Techniques

In the end, I only used two programmes. Maya and After Effects.

Maya is a programme that allows you to create 3D models on a computer, which is how I was able to model my designs. I was taught how to use Maya from the very start of my course; in year one we modelled a interactive map, that we could transfer to a programme called unity (E3 used this programme to make one of there games called, Assassins Creed ® unity) which we could walk around in and experience something we created ourselves. I find Maya to be a complicated programme to use, due to the many tools and the many mistakes you can make, however I’m glad that I learned how to use it because I will need it for university. The advantage to using Maya is that I could create a 3D object that I could animate and put into my advert.

After Effects is a programme used for Visual Effects, which is where I created a 3D dimension as my background (which I discovered by myself by experimenting with the options and effects) and other effects like the text and transitions. I learnt how to use this programme in year two, where we had to create a title sequence for a James Bond film we made a title to, I very much enjoyed this project which Is why I decided to use this for my final major project. However there are disadvantages to this programme, if you used to much data or the computer was to slow, the programme would shut down and try to restart itself, which meant all my progress would be lost. To overcome this problem, I saved every time I knew I was going to do something complicated, which also meant I ended up with a lot of saves; that I had to number to keep track. But from this experience, I now know a better way to present my work in a class or presentation, rather than using PowerPoint.

Unit 11 Personal Statement – My Future

UNIT 11 Progression & Industry

Below is my Personal Statement for the UCAS application:                                             Animation is my fascination, I’ve always asked, “how was that made? how can I do that?” and eventually I found myself drawing characters and recreating films from my own imagination, even doodles became a moving pictures in flip book, and over time learning from my mistakes, I learned how to improve my drawing abilities. I found I had a passion for art in my last years of primary school, but I never knew where it would lead me, so as my enthusiasm grew I was adamant I would take GCSE Art at secondary school and that is when my eyes where opened up into a new world. It highlighted to me that I wanted to be far more creative in my career and be able to work on something alone but also combined with others. I want to create something that I could be proud of and bring joy to others, like animation did for me. When I first applied to attend college, I was originally taking fine art however because I achieved higher GCSE grades than were anticipated, I had the chance to follow my animating dream, and so far I’ve not been disappointed and I feel there’s so much more I can achieve and do. Having done two years at college in Animation and Game design, I have learnt how to use different kinds of programmes, such as Maya, After Effects and Photoshop. During this experience, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the tasks of learning how to use and create with these programmes and develop my abilities in evaluating my own work in essays and improving my life drawing skills. Attending University will give me the opportunity to develop these skills further, allowing me to work closely within the animation industry such as on films, adverts and advertisements. I will be able to use up to date technology and extend my knowledge of wireframes, 3D modelling, rigging and recreation of different environments whilst making them look and act real such as a character walking in snow scene storm or in the heat of a desert island. I’ve also had the chance to attend a BFI (British Film Institute) residential programme, where I stayed a week with professional animators and learnt how to create stop motion animation. During this time I realised that I wanted to have a more computerized aspect of a career in animation and the effects I could achieve through it. It was from talking to the animators, that I know where I wanted my carer to go, from student, being employed and then becoming a freelancer and so on. From this camp, we made short clip films which were screened at a small Bristol theatre, where we received a certificate and DVD of our work, from a leading animating director of Aardman. In education I’d been told that I would never achieve or go very far, because I was too shy, quiet, unconfident and an underachiever. This never stopped me from doing what I wanted to do, such as playing the guitar by myself and within a group to an audience, being involved in the history re-enactment group called ‘The Sealed Knot Society’ with my family and walking my dogs, as this helps me clear my mind and gain inspiration, to my story writing and drawings. Being the youngest child in my family, I’m grateful for this opportunity in going onto higher education; my mother encourages me to reach my goals just like she did when she gained her degree as a mature student. So going to university and being able to study animation will be the first of many steps towards my dream career, and help me in being able to become an executive and director of my own game and animation design company, to take my family name and make it well-known, famous or even celebrated which is something I’ve always wanted and said I would do and to prove to others that I can be someone and achieve great things.

 

Out of the five options for universities, I chose to only select two; Bournemouth and Portsmouth University. I chose these two Universities due to the fact they both offer a course in computer animation with a motion caption on-suite, on the campus. I made Portsmouth my firm choice because it suited me better, the course allowed me to take life drawing lesson as an extra curriculum, also it made more sense to have accommodation in Portsmouth when I had family living in that area, it give my parents ease to know, that I wouldn’t be alone.

As a animator/artist I have many dreams, but two stand out the most. I wish to see myself as a director of my own animation/film, with my family name rolling up the credits, and if that doesn’t seem right, then I would like to be a CEO of my own business, with my own branch in the gaming industry. I find Its better to dream big, then to not dream at all for my future. Both these two aims are big responsibilities, both needing high education and knowledge, but I believe with my good leadership and listening skills, I can achieve these goals, of course with the help of further education. If I was successful and achieved the goal of being a director, then my job would consist of; Coaching actors and directing them towards the required performances that I foresee, Coordinating staff on set, Overseeing the cinematography, Interpreting a script and creating it into a film, and directing the shooting timetable to ensuring that deadlines are met on time. However no one starts of as a director straight away, if I wanted to reach that goal I would start of as a runner and learn what the business entails or what should be expected from a director. Then slowly I would take my first step in the path of a director, by being a animator and learning what it is like to be directed, the pressure and the joy of helping create the film. Eventually, after a few years of experience, (not to long, because I still want to be a young) I would apply for my first directing job and create a film that everyone could enjoy.

What i did for the Show

On June 17, we had our show in our classroom; everybody was assigned a computer which would have our show reel playing on loop, also I had print outs of renders that I pinned up around my computer and a name tag which included the university I would be attending, stuck on the computer below the screen. The show officially started at 6pm, however my class and I arrived at college around 11am; to set up our computer and boards in the middle of the room with our print outs pinned up, any unfinished work, and set up the drinks outside the classroom for refreshments as people walked around watching our show reels. I had invited my parents to the show, to which I explained my work and the process it took me. When I was allowed to leave with my parents, I shook my lectures hand, thanking him for teaching me for two years; before leaving we walked around the other expeditions at the college, to which I felt relieved to be finished and feeling rather lost now that I had finished college.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssIUzpndSVY

3D dimension

The video below shows the 3D dimensional background that I created in After Effects, unfortunately I had to keep the background stationary, due to the fact that the model I rendered in Maya, was in 2D (you can see this happening in the video as I pan around the object, the model goes flat). I created the 3D dimension by creating 6 solid objects that I made 3d, I then placed them in a box like shape around the camera to give it the room like effect. The reason I decided to create a 3D background was due to the fact that I liked the depth it gave to the animation when I zoomed in; unlike a plain background which would stay blocked and unnatural. However there were some disadvantages to this technique, the program’s (after effects) speed slowed and it was hard to navigate around the area because there are so many tools to use to pan around. I would definitely use this technique in the future

https://youtu.be/F67tvYiWLVw

 

Writen plans and Notes

         

These pictures are scans from my sketch book, at the top you see the drafts of my first designs, where i was experimenting with different style of objects i could use and model in maya. The last four are the storyboards i used for my final major project. I decided to create storyboards and lists so that I could be prepared for the up coming weeks, also so I could have a better understanding of what I wanted to create and by doing this I overcome barriers by planning early and learned to be organised with my work.

Final Render

This is the finishing result for my final major project. I am quite pleased with the begging of the animation; however the ending of the animation I feel it was rushed and disappointed, I believe if I had more time i could improve my ending.

 

FMP Final Evaluation

Evaluation

Before we broke off for the Easter Holiday, I was ecstatic for this project knowing that when I had completed this piece, it would be the start or ruin of my future career. Soon after the holiday had begun I had an idea, so I began planning and drawing out my creations; not sure whether it could be done on the computer with the right programmes or if I had the skill to accomplish my visions. The ideas sprung up on me when I was playing the game Bioshock, I liked the way game developers (2K) presented the powers within every Bioshock game. This gave me the idea to design an advert for the objects that I would design. The original idea for my final major project was to create a humorous advert, in which I would add my own twist to it by making it old fashioned with future technology that I had modelled in Maya.

Now that the project is finished, my final piece is different from what I set out to achieve, instead my project looks futuristic and clean, with a 3d background and an empty room, which is similar to an animation I saw about a tennis simulation that happened to be an advert about the future clothing line for the company Lacoste (2012).

I feel that I have achieved the advert that I had wanted even though it was different from my original idea and I wish I had more time to perfect the ending which left me in a hurry to finish. Though I am quite disappointed that I could not achieve the original idea that I had planned out, I am honestly happy with what I have achieved with the result of my final render.

When I began searching the internet for inspiration, I quickly learned the necessary needs for an advert and with this in mind I began my research. I did find research a weakness for me; being the first time that I had to go into detail about what I was creating and then digging deeper and reading between the lines. However, finding what I should research about became my downfall, I overcome this by researching relevant subjects such as robots to refer to my AI that I had created. I came across different styles of robots; such as humanoid limbs or no limbs at all, I also searched for the types of colours and features I should use. Over time and constantly drawing different styles, I chose to use the same shape that destiny uses for one of the enemy drones called a servitor; due to the fact I like the simplistic design of a sphere with a camera I picked that for the body, also when I researched further into the styles of robots, I came across many robot designs being a shiny white, with no scratches or rusty unlike the beaten up style that companies use for wasteland games such as claptrap from Borderlands (2009).

When I asked my lecturers and class mates for different ways I could research, during feedback, I was mostly directed to YouTube (2005). From this I could see the different years of adverts, from 1941 to today. From there I researched further, I began looking into the creations of robots and the start of science fiction, where I was inspired by the concept art and the stories being told by each and every different advert.

I am proud to say that I believe my research was successful, due to the time I took to carefully draw and present my products. I studied the different ways I could make objects into weapons and how I should design the object to match them to the need of the suitor. Though, I did mostly rely on games such as Destiny (2014), and random pictures that I had come across on the internet to give me successful designs.

There were different issues I came across in my project such as slow rendering in after effects and Maya, also the time consuming technique of rotoscoping, which caused me to edit every frame per second. When rendering in Maya I found using a spare computer to render the scene and then carry on my work on the computer I originally used, made the process quicker, so I could complete the scenes faster. At some point in the middle of the project I also began to struggle with my ideas, I realised I had no way to present my render models, so the only thing I could do was to ask for advice from my lecturer, which ended with me having a small breakdown in front of him. He took me aside till I calmed down and helped me to realise what I was doing wrong and pointed me in the right direction.

 

When it came to sticking with an idea that I had created, I struggled. My mind kept changing and new ideas came to me all the time, some were too late to include as I was close to finishing. When I first started my second year of animation and game design at college, I quickly learned the concept of after effects and in my first year we learned about modelling in Maya, so taking these experiences I was confident about my skills however it was my first time combining these and filming appropriate scenes for my project, I overcame these problems by continuously filming different angles and different movement, to which I would place them all in front of me and then decide what I like and didn’t.

Coming to the end of my project I began to realise what I was beginning to achieve, and I started to build my own experience, especially from my feelings of failing at the begging of this project, which changed the outcome of my personal statement.

When using the method of rotoscoping in after effects, I found it a very useful tool, it enabled me to get rid of the background in my filming and select the main object. Though I did find using this method very frustrating, having to roto every frame it took up most of my time. If I had a chance to re-do my project I would change my approach, I believe at some point I forgot what my true purpose was, and that was to create an advert not an action film with fancy gadgets.

Many things changed in my project, I had planned to make it more similar to the Bioshocks plasmids clips. Such as my characters, these were originally going to be still shot drawings and I wanted to make them emotionally change with fancy transitions, like making the still shot twirl around showing the new emotion. I changed this due to the fact that I am not confident at drawing, and I knew the unnecessary stress I would place on myself If I had followed this path, luckily I still had the option to film live footage. Another example of a change I made was the complete style of the animation, I had planned to make it old fashioned with the crackle of a gramophone in the background with the effect of static, but because I changed my approach on the characters I decided to make a rash decision by taking a different path from my original idea. I did this by making it similar to the Samsung adverts, and with more time I could have improved my project further.

I’m glad that I could overcome these problems I faced at the beginning of this project, though I had rushed a bit at the end, I am still happy with the result of these eight weeks. I’m sure if people were to see my final render, I would hope they would realise the time it took me to create what I had achieved and the complications I met. I would happily show them the models I rendered in Maya, which I am very proud of.

Being an hour away from college, I had to plan my time carefully, due to the fact that I don’t have a computer at home and only a laptop that allows me to write in word and research the internet. So I decided to design and research at home and then complete my project during the time I spent at college. Another way I planned my time was by writing new lists every week in a small notebook that I would keep on me whenever I was at home or at college, inside it I would write to do lists and what I needed to research or any other ideas that came to me during the day or night.

Effects and my weaknesses are my constant indecisiveness; not being able to stick to one idea and I felt my research skills let me down. If I had another ten weeks I would improve the ending, feeling that it wasn’t the standard that I wanted to achieve, this is because I felt I rushed because the deadline was fast approaching.