Clay mouse head

In ceramics we had a play with clay, so i made my mouse (more like rat) head. I really loved doing this, and would love if i could just do this all of the time, making puppets and things out of clay. I forgot to take photos of the head before these top ones so i will attempt to explain the process we used instead. 

We first got a lump of white clay (some people used the terracotta clay as it was less dry and easier to work with)

 then we split the clay into two balls and made them in to equil cups, then we scored the edges, and added slip, adding the to hollow domes togeather to make the head hollow, then using slip and scorring added on the rest, making sure there is a whole into the head to stop the head from expoding in the kiln. 

PIZZA - reasurch

Pizza from Ross Phillips on Vimeo.

Both these animations art by ross phillips, one being a repetitive animation of a dog grabbing some pizza off a table, Its the simple movements, lasting 15 seconds, and starting and ending in the same place so it is possible to be put on a loop (imagine how many pizza slices that dog gets to eat).

Its simple and effective so could be a good style for idents, which you can see below he has also done idents for E4 making him perfect to look at. I looked at another short film he did also about the 'future of mobility'. I really like the way he animates, the colour he uses and his smart character designs. alot is said or happens with not using to much detail. even in the future of mobility the animation went perfectly with the narration to visually explain what was trying to be said in a very clear manner.



E-sting from Ross Phillips on Vimeo.

Future of Mobility - resurch

Arup - Future of Mobility from Ross Phillips on Vimeo.

This is a short film helping to promote sustainable transportation, with very clear imagery to get the message across. and showing how we can improve the way we et from one place to the next in the most cost effective, time efficient and in a sustainable manner. Simple shapes are used , and vibrant bold colours. It is very clear, with interesting, clear characters and very visually pleasing with a lot of repetitive animation, which i really intrigued by at the moment.


The colours and the shapes used also change when it swaps between the urban like and the more eco friendly way, making it more lively and less busy using brighter colours to try and go with the positive feel of that part of the animation. I need to look into layers, with a set background that i can move, and move the main characters around the background set. i wanted to look at this to see also how i could animate someone cycling a bike.

Tower block reasurch

I want compare how they repeat, the style, how different they are from each other along with colours and sounds.


Tower Block. Loopdeloop from Alex Grigg on Vimeo.

once again im coming back to looping things, as if they are never ending and it is something i want to try more of, at least for one of my idents.the first one is asif showing the strange goings on from within a tower block, and is looped, using very simple colours which are teal, pink and back. Each loop is 20 seconds long before it repeats.



Play. from Alex Grigg on Vimeo.

I found these as its the same guy who animated phantom limb an animation i watched earlier in the year. this one seems more shape baste and each loop is only 10 seconds long but very beautiful also. Its the smooth movements i like the most how it just flows like liquid.

Im fine thats - research

once again it was the simplicity of it, the bold colours. and the way a lot of the animation stays quite still yet wobbly. I guess its about human nature and the main characters journey from push-over to an angry manic. simple narrative, and character design within the 2D animation.

I just think its beautiful, with very few spoken words really and to me is quite poetic. This was animated with a tablet, so an outcome like this style wise would be something to aim for in the future with getting used to movements and colours. im not a big fan always of realistic animations, i think the beauty with cartoons like this is you can play around with features and colours and add a lot more to get a characters persona across to the audience.

practicing with my graphics tablet

so because i cant use a graphics tablet to save my life i decided to have a practice now i finally had a cable for my tablet (which happen to be samson phone chargers.. if only i new earlier)

first i quickly drew my mouse although had no reference... and as you can see.. first thing i scribbled.. mostly to get used to using the tablet. 

i then started working on a character, i realised i hadn't done much drawing or character designing recently so thought it would be a good shout to create a character i could use whilst practicing. i wanted to create an urban cyclist.. as my new idea is to have someone cycling on a bike.. well maybe a few and try and put it onto a loop going past for the BBC four ident.

i got this idea when watching alot of them on the tv, and thinking it didn't have to be a full narrative so why not? if i can work out how to animate on the computer and animate someone on a bike (i feel this may be impossible at my level) but if so i could maybe get some quality, and its relevant to the tour de France which is something i feel would actually for the channel almost if its done right. 

Bottle - Ident reasurch

What i like about this animation is how they used what was available to them, sticking with natural materials like sand and snow and still tells a story, almost a love story. I like how they masked the sea and backgrounds to try make the movements more fluid on the beach with the sea even though there is stop motion going on, this must have been harder with the snow animating as the water is a bit more choppy, and there is alot more problems with the light constantly changing, probably due to the snow. although i quite like it, how you can see the sand movie and the light changes. i do think its a very charming film, and really cleverly made even if the ending is a bit sad.


I like how they didnt use a complicated set, i looked at this for reasurch as i wanted to see how i could try using things i can find around me to create an animation, i thought about doing that for the BBC four animation but we shall see what i end up creating.

Research colour club

KIDDA TOUR VISUALS from Colour Club on Vimeo.

I wanted to right about these visuals for the Kidda live shows because of the repetitive movement and simplicity of the characters, yet still staying exciting. I have been looking alot more into how i can repeating frames and keep it very simple but still keeping a slight narrative there, and interesting. Im surprised how many people do it and how well it works, like with danger mouse.. there animations got shorter and shorter as they just made the intro (catchup) longer and alot of there scenes will just repete with the speech over the top. i find it very clever at how well it still works within animation to help save or to not waste time at least.

Ident research - Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon Idents from Lucas Zanotto on Vimeo.





NICKELODEON IDs from Jules Guerin on Vimeo.

I has a look at some recent nickelodeon idents. I really like the first one and how each illustration interacts with a 'real' object that we all recognise which i find very appealing. they are also very funny and quick with a quick funny ending.

what i love about the second one is the colours, and how they flow into one another, the bold and fun like paint focusing on a pin ball machine, which helps to explain why it goes through such a crazy route, as im sure in the past i have looked at the amazing, all the monsters in them, different themed machines, also keeping with a fast pace, before finally bouncing into the logo.

i like the simplicity of the first, although the second to me is something that inspired me more when contemplating doing an ident for E4 or the Cbebbies channel. i want to improve on photoshop and using my graphics tablet so i can create such fun shapes and sharp colours.