Orc Double Take Test

Orc Double Take: Test

Introduction

Over the Easter holidays I felt that this would be an opportunity to practice some animation. I will do this through small tests and exercises, I have already started this in a previous post with the help of Tom Bancroft’s book ‘Character Mentor’.

Within this test I wanted to practice a double take on a character.  I have created a double take before as part of the 2D workshops during term 1, which can be seen my previous post. I was pleased with the result of the reaction of the character however it is incomplete because the character does not react to anything. The space which should have had a scary thing was left empty because I focused on the reaction rather than the trigger. Therefore I wanted to revisit this task as a test and an improvement.

Initial 

I chose an orc as the character because I am looking forward to the release of ‘Total War: Warhmmer’ later this year and have recently been motivated by the fantasy genre including: Warhammer, Warcraft as well as others. I chose a simple double take where the orc is minding his own business, sees something and then reacts.

I started with research on what an orc looks like with mood boards, I particularly like the design of orcs from Warcraft large jaws and teeth which look more like tusks. This similar design is also shared by Warhammer which was also a source of inspiration.

I then moved onto the key poses of the double take and tried to add squash and stretch to the positions to represent the extreme positions.

Tests

I then produced some tests to adjust the timing of the positions.

I added a snort to this test because I intend to add life to the orc as he 'minds his own business' rather than just be doing nothing. In a way I wanted to add a scenario where the orc is keeping watch, smells something and then notices the danger. 

After further reading from Richard William's Animation Survival guide I revised the animation principles and started to remember the process again. 

I then downloaded the trial version of Toon Boom to continue my tests and develop my understanding of animation.

I started with keys, then extremes and then breakdowns. I felt that I had not done some animation in a  while I lost track of the process and felt overwhelmed, once I found control again I could focus on the test and progress through it rather swiftly. 

I started with a rough blue pencil to quickly sketch the main poses and quickly test the movements of the head to ensure they are what I wanted as well as adjust timing etc. 

As I worked through the different positions of the head I found that I was taking positions further and adding additional details and movements. I started to take notes as I worked to ensure I added these to later positions and details. 

One detail i noted was that I wanted a delay on the jaw as he moved his head, the head would turn first and then because of the weight of his jaw, it would follow and swing behind. 

I intended to create this as a looped GIF, however Toon Boom does not offer this option; I exported the frames as images and created the GIF in Photoshop instead. 

• I would twist the face on the 'sniff' to make the facial expression more dynamic. 
• I would probably reduce the exaggeration of the delay of the jaw on the turns because they seem too exaggerated as they are at the moment. 
• I would smooth the drawings to make the movements smoother because they seem rather 'sketchy' and rough as they are.  

This has definitely helped with revisiting the animation principles and now I can clearly see I have much more work to do with revising. 

Character Mentor: Assignment 1

Character Mentor: Assignment 1

Introduction 

Over the Easter holidays I decided to catch up on some reading and keep practicing my animation and drawing. I was recommended this book by our visual narrative tutor: Les called ‘Character Mentor’ by Tom Bancroft. This book is focuses on how to give a character through their poses and acting. He goes on to explain that book assumes you already have designed a character, and this is supposed to guide you on how to present that character. One way to describe this book is that it focuses on the principles of solid drawing and staging. 

It has great tips and pointers and I feel that it has really helped me. There are also assignments for the reader as well as examples from other people who have tried the same assignment. Moreover these entries have feedback from Tom Bancroft which have also been improved. Therefore I decided to try these assignments myself to improve my own work. 

Assignment

Assignment 1 involved creating a character from the description given and pose them in such a way which reflects his personality. You can see the description in the image below:

 

This is my design of ‘Elroy’ and ‘Kirby’ from the description.

 

I felt that the word ‘inseparable’ stood out to me and I wanted to pose them in such a way that reflects this. Because I felt that Elroy is lonely in his new school as he has no friends, but Kirby is always there for him even though he may eat his clothes.

I tried to add depth by turning Elroy as well as adding weight to his clothes by having him lean forward and for the necklace to hang and show this. As I sketched Elroy I felt that I had to enlarge his: head, hands and feet to make him appear younger because he is only 15 years old. I have always found it a challenge to reflect youth but I feel that I have had a good attempt with this assignment. 

Conclusion

This is why I particularly like these assignments because they challenge you to try and do something different which you wouldn’t normally do. I would improve this design by: spending more time on the hamster design because I felt that I rushed him because I was focused on Elroy. I feel that the face of Elroy may appear too old or fat because I feel that his face may not be part of his body (if that makes sense). I’d revisit the hat because to make the hat ‘unique’ I wanted a hat inspired by Fivel’s the mouse in ‘An American Tale’. However I had already drawn the hat and finished the design before I thought of this. I would also spend more time on the tiki mask necklace design.

I will revisit this assignment in the future amending the improvements given to myself and see if I have improved. I will also continue by completing the other assignments within the book in the near future. 

Live Video Performance Workshop

Live Video Performance Workshop

Wednesday 16th March 2016

Introduction

This is one of the workshops which are currently on offer as part of Unit X. These workshops offer a range of different skills and knowledge which weren’t easily as accessible to other students from different mediums. Therefore it is important to attend these sessions are try something different that you are new to and learn something from it.

This workshop is called ‘Live Video Performance’ which is what it sounds like; this is where still and moving imagery are edited together which would then be projected and presented live.

Session

Within this session we used software called ‘Resolume’ which was a free demo for us to use and experiment with. At first I wasn’t completely clear what VJ meant and what the session was really about until we were shown examples of the tutor’s own work.  I found that these videos would be performed live and found it confusing that there was not timeline for these images or videos, as I am used to programmed such as: Adobe Premiere, After Effects and Flash etc. However because these videos are performed live, we had to apply the effects to our chosen images/ videos and then click them in order we chose in front of the rest of the class.

Because this workshop is a part of Unit X, I chose to relate my performance to the Ballet ‘Giselle’ in relation to the ENB brief. Within the session we were expected to produce a one minute performance using images and video to perform for everyone else. We can also have music if we chose to. I collected a range of ballet images and paint droplets which were layered on each other with the addition of fluid effects. I added effects to make the dancers move slightly in the direction the image suggested and a fluid effect to the paint droplets. I chose these images because time was limited and thought it would be interesting to portray these dancers with different ‘splashes’ of colour.

Image of Resolume interface

[http://articles.triplewidemedia.com/app/uploads/2014/01/Resolume_Avenue_4_930.jpg] 

Conclusion

I found this session challenging with understanding the concept and the software, but once I had spent some time working I gained a clearer understanding what was happening. Overall, this session was different and may not be used at all in the future, however I still find it useful to attend because it is a different experience which is available to animation students which wouldn’t normally be. 

Inspirational Talks: AL & AL Talk

AL & AL: Incidents of Travel in the Multiverse

Introduction

These inspirational talks are a series of different speakers which will be running for the next few weeks as part of Unit X and are recommended for us to attend. As these speakers have a range of different experiences and knowledge they can offer this and more to help us build our own projects for Unit X.

Talk

AL and AL are a couple of visual artists and filmmakers who have an exhibition at HOME called ‘Incidents of Travel in the Multiverse’.

http://homemcr.org/exhibition/al-al-incidents-of-travel-in-the-multiverse/

They talked about their experience after university and how they got to the point they are today with their exhibition. As you can see the notes I’ve taken I focussed on the life lessons they gave us from their own experiences. Such as the feeling of being completely alone once leaving university, which is significant because I realised how much support and guidance is offered by the university and that it will suddenly disappear once you leave.

Another point that stood out to me was that you’ll be learning all of your life and that once you leave university, is when the real challenge begins; I never thought of leaving that way.

[These notes are by Siobhan Gilmore, thank you!]

[These notes are by Siobhan Gilmore, thank you!]

Conclusion

Overall I found the talk was not completely relevant to animation or Unit X; however it didn’t need to be because I feel that I have learnt a lot about the experience after university. I intend to attend future inspirational talks when I can. 

Life Drawing 3/3/16

Thursday 3rd March 2016

Introduction

We had our first clothed model, this was significant because this gave us the opportunity to observe and capture fabrics which had not done before. There is a significant different between the form and shape of skin, and fabric. This was a challenge because while drawing these abstract shapes that the model's poncho was creating, we had the challenge of portraying a model underneath those shapes. 

Session

Initial Sketches

This a collection of initial sketches which we always do to start a session. I do feel that i am improving though on the initial sketches even though they are very rough and incomplete. I feel that I observe the model much more and in turn make my sketches effective. 

[Initial Sketches: Pencil]

Tone

 Using charcoal we observed the tone of the models clothe's because we had not done this before. I found this a great challenge because I was observing the difference between the fabric and the model's flesh. This is definitely an area I must study and practice further. 

[Tone: Charcoal] 

Memory Challenge

 In this challenge we had to observe the model for a full five minutes, then the model would sit down and we would sketch the pose we had to remember for four minutes. I observed the line of action of the model as well as the direction of the hips and shoulders. I believed that if I remember the core position and body language of the model, it would create the pose effectively and the details would follow. I had trouble remembering the position of the hand because it was an awkward position from a difficult perspective; to save time I didn't draw the hand but will have to develop my understanding of the structure of the hand. this should allow me to observe and capture hands from any perspective effectively. 

[Memory Sketch: Pencil]

Seated Positions

 We then moved onto seated positions as requested. This faces the challenge of perspective and scale because of the position of the drawer and the model which would foreshorten the model. 

I am particularly pleased with these drawings as I feel this demonstrates that i have developed compared to my previous drawings in the past. I still take notes for improvement but feel motivated to continue to develop and become better in my drawings and observation. 

 [Seated 1: Pencil] 

 [Seated 2: Pencil] 

 [Seated 3: Pencil] 

 [Seated 4: Pencil] 

 [Seated 5: Pencil] 

 [Seated 6: Pencil] 

Weight

Like the previous session we returned to a pose portraying weight as requested by a student.

[Weight: Pencil]

Expressive 

 The final drawing we had to capture the emotion that the model was expressing. 

I chose to add the additional charcoal above the model because I felt this was an appropriate way to portray the negative feeling the model was expressing. 

Conclusion

In conclusion despite this session being new and challenging due to the model being clothed, I can see that I have developed my life drawing and wish to continue to practice and learn more. As I always focus on the structure of the model to capture her in full, I need to challenge myself further by focusing on form and torn of the model instead. This way I can apply what i already know and learn new skills at the same time. 

Ballet Drawings Display

Ballet Drawings Display

Village Green

As I have discussed in a previous post, I attended a life drawing session where I was challenged with capturing the movement of the ballet dancers as they practiced and warmed-up for their performance later that day. These ballet dancers are part of the English National Ballet and we were allowed to watch them practice at the Palace theater. The drawings were then collected by Andy which were then enlarged and displayed in the Village Green. The Village Green is a large work space where work is displayed created by students. 

My work was one of the chosen few to be displayed in this space alongside our show reels which were also being shown. Furthermore this was displayed for an important visitor who was visiting the university and viewing the work of the students. 

The Cornerhouse

70 Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 5NH

My drawings were also displayed at the Manchester Cornerhouse during the Unit X introductory presentation. This was displayed with a gathering which had snacks and free wine. These drawings were displayed for the English National Ballet who introduced the additional projects for Unit X where we would create a product for the English National Ballet.