Life Drawing 25/2/16

Life Drawing

Thursday 25th February 2016

Introduction

This is our first life-drawing session in the second term since we had the animation screenings and the acting classes. Now we have returned to life-drawing we have to revisit the skills we had learnt in the first term about observation. 

Session

2 Minute Poses

Here are some poses where the model posed for two minutes. I found these difficult to capture accurately because I felt that i needed time to remember what i had learnt from the previous sessions and my drawings were showing this. 

 [Two Minute Poses: Pencil]

 [Two Minute Poses: Pencil]

1 Minute Poses

We then moved onto one minute poses as we felt that if we reduced the time to capture the whole model, it would make us observe the model more and remember quicker. I felt that this did help because we weren't given time to worry about details, therefore making us focus on proportions and shape to capture the form of the model. 

 [1 Minute Poses: Pencil]

 [1 Minute Poses: Pencil]

30 Second Poses

Continuing with the same trend, we further reduced the time per pose. This further challenged us to quickly capture the essential lines of the model. 

Again I feel that this was helping me remember and I felt that I was improving further into the session. 

 [30 Second Poses: Pencil] 

Weight

These next poses are of the model carrying a bag. These poses challenged us to portray weight within a still image. This was a requested pose; within the Red Baron's New Toys Script Pesticide is seen carrying a sack full of Toy Soldiers. Therefore this pose by the model is supposed to portray a foundation for that same scene.

I felt the way to achieve this illusion was to just observe the model, because I can see that she is carrying that weight on her back; therefore if I just capture what I see exactly, it would show through the drawing. 

The bag was not a heavy one, and i feel this shows in the drawings. However if I wanted the bag to be heavier, I would make her bend her back further and reduce the distance of the bag to the floor to further exaggerate that weight. 

 [Weight Poses: Pencil]

 [Weight Poses: Pencil, Sharpie]

Negative Space

These next drawing are created focusing on negative space. These drawings we focused the contrast of the model's skin to the black background to observe the shapes created around the model. 

This made me observe the form and shape of the model. I would observe the from through the light and shading and the shape through he lines created by the contrast around the model. 

[Negative Space: Pencil, Charcoal]

[Negative Space: Pencil, Charcoal]

Contour Lines

Taking the idea further of the model's lines, we had the task of capturing the model's contour without taking the pencil away from the paper and without taking our eyes away from the model. 

These sketches are the result of that task and as you can see they are not completely accurate. However I understand this was to demonstrate observation is key, and even if the drawings are inaccurate I feel they have captured the models organic contour line. 

[Contour Lines: Sharpie]

Exaggeration

These next sketches are of the model in the same pose, however we were tasked to exaggerate the pose further with the next drawing. Therefore we would have to exaggerate any straight, curved, or twisted lines to exaggerate the pose further. At first i was confused by this idea because how the model was posed, that would mean there would be a restriction on how exaggerated the model could be. What I mean is: if the model is twisted in the middle, to exaggerate you would twist the model further, however this would mean you would have to draw the back of the model. However you cannot see the back of the model, you are facing the front and cannot observe and capture the back. 

I continued anyway and just maintained the pose of the model but deformed the lines and shapes; therefore the model is still exaggerated. 

[Exaggeration: Pencil] 

[Exaggeration: Pencil, Sharpie] 

[Exaggeration: Pencil, Sharpie] 

Seated Poses

These last poses were of the model in a seated position. We were given longer to draw these poses compared to others, however we would need to demonstrate a mixture of knowledge and skills we had done this same session. 

Because the model is seated we would have to demonstrate: proportions, weight and contrast effectively as well as many more other skills and knowledge. 

Seated positions pose a great challenge due to their complexity. I found these a great challenge and feel that the drawings show this. 

Conclusion

This session was a revision of what we had learnt in the first term in the first life-drawing sessions. Because this is a revision, these drawings I've created aren't as effective as my previous drawings. Despite this I feel that I greatly improved within the session alone and feel that this session was necessary to remember those skills and knowledge we need. If I just continue to observe and practice I feel that i will progress and improve effectively. 

3D Workshop: Visual Narrative

3D Workshops: Visual Narrative

Introduction

These workshops are part of the visual narrative module and made to further our skills and understand of 3D animation. We used Maya 2016 within these sessions.

Friday 29th January 2016

I was unable to attend this first session therefore, I completed the tasks the next week. Within the session, the group were shown to create a sack and a throne that are two props found within the script ‘Red Baron’s New Toys’.

Friday 5th February

Within this session, we were shown how to create a model of a mannequin based from a reference image of an art figure.

We were shown how to create a reference image by placing an image onto a plane within Maya which would act as a reference during modelling. We created this reference with images of an artist mannequin from both the front and side. We then imported these images on the X and Y axis which showed the front and side of the mannequin.

From there we used the Bezier curve to follow the shapes of the leg of the mannequin because the primitive shapes did not reflect the natural curves of the mannequin. After that, we adjusted the vertices to ensure they were correct ad aligned to allow us to revolve the shape based on the Bezier curve we created. This meant that Maya would follow the Bezier curve as an edge of a shape and revolve on an axis we assigned which would then create the 3D shape. Using this same technique, we also created the thigh of the mannequin.

Utilising the benefits of Maya, we copied the leg, which would then become an arm with some minor alterations. This allows us to be effective with time and allow us to work on details rather than waste time creating the same shapes. After adding the shoulders, elbows, wrists and hand this became the second arm of the mannequin because I simply copies the left arm; it became the right arm. Using this same technique, I added the hip, knee, ankle and foot of the left leg; then copied the left leg to become the right leg. This saved a lot of time and effort with unnecessary work.

After I had completed the mannequin, I began the tasks assigned for last week. This included the creation of the throne and a sack for the toy soldiers.

Based off the layout designs of the throne room, I created the throne within Maya. The throne is a very simple and angular shape, which made it much easier to model. In addition, I utilised the symmetry tool within the modeling toolkit which allowed me to maintain and accurate symmetry of the throne which I wanted. This meant that I could create one side of the throne and the exact same would happen on the other side which saved a lot of time.

After I had created the throne I created the sack for which the toy soldiers would come out of. With help I created the sack using curves which would then be repeated and scaled into the ‘shell’ of the bag. Then using the tool in Maya which allowed me to connect these curves together into one shape which gave a natural curved shape of the bag.

[UV Editor]

From all of this I have learnt that I need much more time on Maya to further my skills and understanding of the tools. However I am finding this difficult because of the wide range of tools and directories of the tools. This will just take time and practice to master. I continue to take notes in these lessons as i find it difficult to remember where tools are and what they do. Therefore this section is based off these notes and they explain what i did and for me to remember certain tools and techniques. 

[Notes taken during session]

[Notes taken during session]

Friday 12th February 2016

Within this session were introduced to rigging. This is the process where a structure is created for a mesh which is then applied as a 'skeleton'. This can be seen as the rig being the skeleton and the mesh of i.e. a character being the skin which will be around this skeleton. 

We started by using a pre-made mannequin created by our tutor to reduce the risk of Maya crashing with our mannequins. We followed the process as shown in the notes (above) which allowed us to prepare the mesh for the rig and to remember an important lesson: 

NEVER DENY FUDGE

Name it

Delete History

Freeze Transformations 

These are tools and actions we should take while we use Maya as this reduces the risk of Maya crashing and saves our work if there was a problem. 

Another rule to never have the rig on the same layer as the mesh. 

At this point in the notes we were creating the arms and legs and copying what we had created to the other side much like last weeks modelling. 

We learnt that we must group joins and parts in a parenting order and that we must have an understanding of a rig's structure. 

This means that we had to join the hip joint to the knee joint, then to the ankle joint etc. rather than the other way around. This is because this is an introduction to rigging and there is an option to create the rig in reverse. This was the for the purpose of keeping the lesson simple. 

We grouped the rig joints together meaning that if we moved the shoulder of the rig, the arm and hand joints would follow. However if moved the elbow joint, the shoulder didn't move, but everything below the elbow joint did. 

After creating the arms and legs we had to create a spine for the rig which would act as the spine of the mesh and connect the limbs together. We had to understand the principle of parenting and the hierarchy of joints. 

Therefore we had to assign the legs to the hip joint, which was part of the spine. And then the arm joints were connected to the collar joint. 

From what I learnt in lesson I started creating a mesh of my Red Baron character and added a unique rig just for the Baron. I took the rig and model further by creating hands and finger joints. Therefore i had to assign individual fingers joints o the hand joint, to the elbow etc. Moreover the Baron's exaggerated body shape created a both interesting and difficult challenge. 

I continue to find Maya difficult to understand at times and that it is a very challenging piece of software. However I feel that I have greatly improved from last term in both skill and understanding. I will continue my work in the 3D to further develop this as I intend to greatly improve my knowledge and skill in Maya and other 3D software. 

 

Continued Personal Work

Throne Room

After redesigning the castle interior and exterior, I had to create a 3D version of the baron’s throne room. This will later be used as part of the pre-vis where the characters will inhabit this room and act out their parts. Following the designs and using a range of tools in Maya, I created the throne room.

The textures of the throne room are very basic, however this is an initial stage and later detail may be added. This is being created for a pre-vis therefore detail should be avoided as the focus is on the main actions and there is not enough time to effectively detail every texture within the scene.

Baron and Mannequin

Taking the 3D work further, I continued work on the Baron’s and mannequin’s rigs. Beforehand I had no altered the rig’s ‘skin weight’ which is the area of effect for a given joint. An example of this could be that when a rig is created, the two feet are close together and because they are close together Maya believes that the ankle joint of the LEFT foot would affect the RIGHT foot. Therefore when the LEFT foot moves, parts of the RIGHT foot would follow when they shouldn’t. This meant that I had to use the ‘paint skin weight’ tool in Maya and remove the areas of influence of the joints. I did this for both the Baron’s Rig and the Mannequin rig; now I can move both rigs freely without altering other areas of the mesh.

After I had done that, I added a cape to the Baron’s rig. This is because during the character design I explained that the Baron would have an extremely long cape. This then became the idea that the Baron’s cape would be the red carpet in the throne room, because it is so long. I feel that this is an important part of the baron’s character; I wanted to add this to the Baron’s mesh/rig as I feel that the cape is a part of the Baron.

I created the cape using IK handles, which connects two ends of joints which influence each other and gain the properties of a spine or tail. Essentially the cape is the tail of the Baron which is why it is connected to the Baron’s original rig and connected to the collar joint. The cape was made using a cube polygon which was spread and flattened which was then given multiple sub divisions. This allowed the cape to fold and bend freely naturally like fabric or cloth. Joints were then added all the way down the cape to give the cape structure. Then two IK handles were added, one from the start to the middle then one from the middle to the end; this allows the cape to move freely. Finally I attached the cape to the Baron’s original rig.

I had also created a model and rig for Dr Bones, this is because I thought I would have to create a model and rig for all of the characters within the script. However, I had recently discovered that this is not required, within the project we are allowed to use the mannequins created in the previous lesson for the characters. This is great news as this means a lot less work is needed to be done; however I still wish to create a model for another character or two because  I want to express my interpretation of the character’s performance effectively and I feel that a model and rig of those characters will further help me with this. In addition it gives me more practice with Maya which I feel I need.

I feel that I am advancing with Maya and gaining a better understanding of the tools. I am finding ways that I am comfortable with and combing tools I know and tools I am learning to create a work method which I can produce work effectively. I feel that I may have created the Baron’s rig quite complex because I have also added separate finger joints in the hand (three separate fingers and a thumb per hand) and I feel this is an unnecessary complexity to the pre-vis. On the other hand I see this as an opportunity to further challenge myself in Maya and allow greater freedom in the pre-vis which will allow me to move the Baron in many more ways.

Friday 19th February 2016

 Today we learnt about: Rigging Locators and Inverse Kinematics. 

Rigging locators are used to align an object to a point and to move that point which would move the mesh rather than move the mesh itself. We did this by using eyes which illustrated this point effectively. The eye would be the mesh and the locator would be what the eye is looking at and the eye would follow that object. 

we started by creating a primitive sphere and texturing an eye skin on top. Then going to the rigging tab we would select locator,  move the locator to a point in front of the eye which was also level. We would then attach the locator to the mesh by containing and aiming the locator. Then by moving the locator, the eye would follow. 

We would then simply duplicate the mesh and attach the second eye to another locator and group the locators together. This is extremely useful during animation as this makes the animation of eyes and character much simpler by the positions being maintained and the locator manipulates the position. 

We then added a constraint to the eye we created by creating a NURB circle around the eye. This meant that we could align the NURB circle around the eye and constrain its position in space. This allows better control of models and greatly reduces the risk of an animator accidentally manipulate or alter the mesh. 

After we had created the eye we went on to discuss Inverse Kinematics. Inverse kinematics was explained by the idea of an object moving its position in space rather than rotation. One way to visualize this is: someone swinging their arm around by the shoulder is= forward kinematics and if that same person moved their hand from a stretched position to their shoulder, that would be inverse kinematics. 

We applied this in Maya by applying an IK handle between a hip joint and an ankle joint. This way we could move the foot of the rig and the knee would follow as well as the hip despite the hierarchy of the rig. 

With what i have learnt about locators, I will use these in my pre-vis for eye and head movements. This will make the animation of the pre-vis a better quality than before and make effective animation simpler whereas this would take too long to animate the same eyes and heads without the locator tool. 

I have researched IK handles before with the cape of the Baron. After what I have learnt I intend to continue my work with the Baron's cape with IK handles and even different Maya tools such as ncloth or wave emulators. 

Professional Employability

Professional Employability

Introduction

These session are part of the Framing the Visible project and these sessions are there to develop our understanding of the professional environment and improve our ‘soft skills’

Thursday 29th January 2016

This session was an introduction to the new project and that it would be the required 30% as part of our Framing the visible grade. We started the session with a discussion of what the session is and what they will be about. These sessions are described as our development into a professional state of mind for once we leave university. This will make us prepared for the professional work environment and respectable employees. This is because employers have found that graduates have little or no understanding of professionalism within a work environment despite their knowledge of animation. Therefore, it is important to gain an understanding of both sides of employment.

After that, we were handed scripts where group members took on the roles of different people within different scenarios. We then discussed their attitudes within the situations and how they were professional or how they could have improved. From this I learnt that it is important to be clear with someone rather than ‘dance’ around the subject. This is because it is essential to state a subject and for the recipient to understand that subject clearly, this can then be solved effectively. An example of this could be that and an employer is unhappy that an employee is late. Therefore the employer would be unclear why he/she is unhappy, the employee would then clearly explain why which would then allow the situation/ conversation progress.

Next, we were given the task to create a snowflake by following instructions with our eyes closed. As a group we followed the instructions correctly, however ending with very different snowflakes. This was done to make us realise the flaws in the instructions. This made me realise that I must be clear in my instructions and points I wish to make because there is the risk that the recipient may not understand the task as clearly as me.

After that, we had the task of following instructions on a sheet. On this sheet were a list of instructions for us to do. We were told that we had three minutes to complete the sheet and everyone started at the same time. This sheet is designed to trick people and challenge if people are reading their assignments properly. This is because questions 1,2 and 20 are the only ones that need to be completed if read correctly, the tasks in-between are used as evidence that the person has not read them properly. This is because of the wording of the question which says to read all tasks carefully, then complete them (1 and 20 are the only ones that need to be completed.). I had misread the questions and completed the sheet incorrectly. From this I learnt to read any given brief, question or task twice an carefully to ensure I am following it correctly.

Thursday 5th February 2016

Within this session we discussed desirably and essential traits that employers search for. We provided a wide range of traits including: being a team player, knowledge of current software, problem solving etc. This made us realise the different things that employers search for and what we must accept are our limits and be confident in our strengths. This is because we discussed about applications to employers and that we must be clear what we want to be within a team. This is because some graduates do not make it clear what they want to be; this is unprofessional as you must be clear what you are good at and what you cannot do.

From this list, we were then given the task to note three traits we saw in ourselves. These would be traits that would be desirable by a potential employer. I wrote on my sheet: Focus, Determination and Organisation. This is because I have a passion to accomplish tasks and challenges and that gives me the drive and focus to accomplish those give tasks. This is also completed with organisation as I believe it is important to clearly organise your work and tasks which demonstrates that I am in control of my work and life.

From there we were then separated into groups where we would note three traits of other members. This was done because people may see different traits in each other than themselves. From this group task I was given: Initiative, Leadership and Determination. As this was not discussed with as a group because other group members would give each other these traits. I feel that I have demonstrated these traits when needed such as leadership; however I try not to be a leader at times because I wish to work under a leader and accomplish the tasks given rather than giving tasks. Despite this, when a leader must arise within a group I am willing to take this roles to complete the task as a group. We were then asked if we agreed with the traits that the others had given which everyone agreed with.

Finally, we were then assigned a task to create a five-minute presentation about a role within the animation industry. We were all given different roles within a team which we had to research,  which would be part of a production such as a film or TV series. We were given the roles based upon the traits that were given by other group members. From this I was given the role of ‘Animation Director’ to research. This presentation’s deadline is: Friday 19^th February 2016.

Presentation

I started research with searching what an Animation Director does and what the definition of an Animation Director is. 

Therefore I will go through this next section per slide and explain how I found this information. The information is brief as the presentation is only five minutes long. 

I started by researching how the title 'animation director' is defined. I found that on the Creative Skills Set (CSS) website had two separate definitions. 

There is a series director and an animation director which I believed was more to what i was looking for. However I felt it was important to show that there are different views on what an animation director is. 

 Continuing with the definition of an animation director I searched other sources on what an animation director is. As i found there are a range of arguments as to what an animation director is because many different people have very different views on what borders as a director and animation director. In the end I found that the animation director works under a director in a given production and their role is to lead the animators during production.
This slide shows some quotes I found online.

 Moving on from the disagreements, I found some of the responsibilities of an animation director. These include:

• The supervision of other animators to ensure quality and consistency throughout production
• Managing the animation team to ensure work is completed on time and that the work has not gone over budget

Overall they are the manager of the animation team that oversees the production of the animation. This could be said that the animation director has creative control over the animation. 

I felt it would be appropriate to give an example of an Animation Director and found: Genndy Tartakovsky. I am a big fan of his work through the performance of his characters as well as his style. Furthermore as you can see in the images on the slide, his style is consistent throughout his work.  

 [Reference Slide]

[Bibliography Slide]

I had also prepared some initial notes for the presentation. 

I feel that I have created a short but effective presentation and I will reflect on my performance in the future. 

Friday 19th February 2016 

Today I presented to the rest of the group about the information i found about the role of an Art Director. As mentioned beforehand I created a Powerpoint presentation which would only be around 3-5 minutes long and that I will reflect my presentation once I had presented it. 

I had taken notes on the points I would say and planned to keep the presentation short and concise. Throughout the presentation I was nervous as I do not like public speaking, however this will be a part of my career and I must get used to this fact. 

I ensured throughout the presentation I projected my voice and that I was looking at the audience, I also tried to be confident in standing in front of the group to make my presentation effective. 

I feel that my presentation could have been better by my presentation skills and presence. Because I was nervous my presentation faltered and I didn't get all of the points I wanted across. This is because I have all of the information to present but feel nervous and only say some points. 

I how to improve my presentation skills is through experience, rehearsal and time. I need more time to present more; that I can gain experience in presenting. I would also rehearse my presentations to ensure that all of the points are being said and that I am calm while presenting. 

We have also been given the brief for this project. 

It outlines tasks that we must complete before the deadline: 25th April

These tasks include:

1. Write up a review of at least two professional conferences/talks or exhibitions you

have visited this year. (Can include two sessions from the animation festival or

Manimation)

2. Notes and assignments you are set during the unit.

3. Keep a blog (can be the same as your animation blog)

I believe I can accomplish these tasks before the deadline as I have already completed two of them: Keep a blog and the two events reviews. Because I have already reviewed the Manchester Animation Festival and Manimation on this same blog. 

MMU Futures

Team Work Essentials

Introduction

These sessions intend to develop my understanding of working effectively within a team. I booked this lecture when I saw it was available as I intend to improve my teamwork skills after my reflection from the One Minute Film project.

Wednesday 3rd February 2016

This session involved the basics of teamwork, recognising different types of team members and exploring ourselves and to recognise our strengths and weaknesses.

We started the session with introductions with the session involving a range of students from different years and courses. We started to discuss times where teams have worked effectively and badly including examples from our pasts. We then discussed how different teams are effective and to recognise the signs of a good and a bad team.

Handouts were then given out with descriptions of different team roles as described by Belbin.

 This sheet showed that different people have these traits when they are part of a team and from these sheets we had to recognise these different members. We did this by watching videos of people working within teams to accomplish a task, these included: I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’ and ‘The Apprentice’. Within these videos we clearly saw the different roles that people take within a group and how these roles work together make a team effective or ineffective.

We also had the task of assigning different roles to different development stages of a project. This was through a handout and as a group we discussed which roles would be necessary for each stage of a project.

There were roles which would be needed throughout the project however as a group we decided to choose a single stage where the role would be most needed because we believed that every role would be essential for every stage anyway.

From this I reflected on my past and what my role was within a group. This involved being honest with myself and accepting what role(s) I am.  Reading through the sheet I believe that I am a: Co-Ordinator, Implementer and Completer (Finisher). (In my opinion, I believe these roles change depending on the group and task assigned however I am discussing my role(s) within recent groups.). This is because I like to manage the team and have a clear idea what the final product will become. Recognising that I like to be in-charge and in control of the group and product, I recognised my flaws which would be that I am too controlling of the group. This is true because I reflected upon this in my recent group project: One Minute Film.

From this I learnt that I must acknowledge that I must not be too controlling of the group through communication and trust. This is because I can continue to monitor the progression of the project whilst maintaining a level of trust to allow team members to complete their task their way.

Communication and Influencing Essentials 

Within this session we discussed ways of effective communication as an individual and within a team. Throughout the session we were in small groups and discussed ideas and our experiences in communication be it positive or negative. 
I took notes throughout the session and took pictures of the handouts we were given (notes and handouts are not in the order taken/given):

We discussed about different listeners and how to deal with different situations and how we could improve ourselves as listeners. I feel that I mostly a content and action listener, this is because during work I believe it is important to hear the facts and details about the progression of a given project and what will be done to accomplish those tasks. 
However this is dependent on the context of the situation because this does not necessarily mean  that a person is one type of listener all of the time. 
taking note of my 'work' listener: I need to ensure that I take note of what is being said carefully to consider other peoples ideas and to not reject them too quickly and allow others to share and support their ideas. 

Within the the session I learn that there is so much more to communication than i thought. Even simple communication has many factors that influence the message and how it is received etc. Therefore I now realise the significance of sending a message effectively and that I will be careful in what I say and how I say it. This applies both socially and professionally. 

How to Write Winning CVs

Introduction

Within this lecture we learnt how to create an effective CV and how to stand out from the crowd. We talked about a number of points on what makes a good or a bad CV and thought how we can apply this to our own CVs. I felt that it was important to attend this session because I believe that my CV isn’t as effective as it could be.                

Session

We started the session on how an employer views a CV and that the initial glance lasts only 30 seconds. Therefore first impressions of the CV are vital and that the presentation of the CV is just as important as the content. This is because if the CV is full of information and not laid out effectively, the employer wouldn’t want to read the CV at all. Therefore we looked at other ways to create a CV including video and illustrative CVs. This is a very different and creative approach to creating a CV, therefore I found this very interesting and will use these ideas to influence my own CV.

We discussed what makes up a CV and what information it should contain. This information includes: personal details, education, work experience and any additional headings you’d want to add yourself. The most recent information would be first and then followed by previous work experience/ education.

We were then told about the importance of cover letters for an application. Cover letters act as an introduction for the employer before they are bombarded with information from your CV. The cover letter should include: your name, what your applying for and 3 key points for why you feel suitable for the role.

Language was another important point we discussed, and how it can be used within our CVs. Language can be used in a number of ways to convey different meanings, therefore we thought about how we can change a few words in our sentences to create a more positive delivery of the same information. This would include rather than using words such as ‘did’, replace with ‘can’ which has a significant impact on how an employer reads your CV.

Conclusion

We finally finished on a checklist for key elements we must have in our CVs to make them effective. After attending this session I feel that I have learnt a lot about what makes an effective CV. I feel that after attending this session that my CV needs a lot of improvements because I can now see how I have made my CV generic and boring. Therefore I will apply what I have learnt and more to my CV to make it stand out from the crowd.  

Networking: Building Your Own Digital Brand

Introduction

The next session I attended was networking where we learnt the importance of contacts, how networks are created and how they expand. Networks can refer to both technological ones and connections between people. In this case we explored how we use them and what we can achieve with an effective network for our future careers.

Session 

Within the session we learnt what networks are and we can expand them. This is because everyone already has a network, complex or not. This session is here to help us develop a professional and vast network to increase our chances of being hired by an employer and make us professional individuals. We looked into how complex networks can be and how we can make our own networks effective. This is because if we put more thought into our networks, such as; who is our audience, what information are we displaying and how are the audience viewing my profile?. We looked at social media and how it can use it effectively with established goals that we set out to achieve from what we display and post online.

Networking can also apply to connections between people outside of social media. We discussed how to be an effective communicator in conversations and how to create the best opportunities at social events such as employability fairs and cafes. 

Conclusion

Finally, we summarised what we had learnt in the session by creating a list and thought about how we can apply what we have learnt to our own networks. I feel that I have gained from this session and learnt how to expand and develop my network effectively. I feel that I have gained the most understanding about my digital network and how to make it effective.