Edmond was a Donkey - Franck dion

Edmond was a donkey is a beautiful animation, which to me seems to focus on identity and acceptance. It starts with edmond, a guy alot smaller then everyone else, keeps to him self and works hard even after all the ridiculed. until his colleagues play a trick on him by creating donkey ears out of paper and place them on his head. when he sees them in the mirror he finally sees who he feels he is something he identifies with, but of course is seen as insane for identifying with such a thing. I guess i love it so much because it an animation most of us can relate to in some way and the idea of being different. I feel like acceptance is something we all strive for and there is alot of equality in the world so why dont we accept people for being different? when no two people are the same? why is it so hard to accept it? There are many reasons, social norms, religion, our culture but anyway i find it a beautiful animation focusing on the subject and it is quite slow and simple characters but i feel 3D animation here really worked in bringing the story to life.

I have watched this over and over as i love the character design, the textures and simplicity of the colour pallet used, using such neutral pallet. when looking at animations composed using 3D software im amazed at how different you can take advantage of this. Its a very dreamy animation to watch which to an extent really hits home making you think of acceptance and where your part plays within this animation, well in a narrative sense. But also the techniques used have a very dramatic sence with the colours really showing dullness almost in a beautiful way if that makes sence, really makes you interact with the characters although little actual speech comes from the characters as it is narrated through using the visuals to show his side of the story almost.

Bears on stairs - DBLG

This is beautifully animated using a 3D printer, which is becoming more and more popular within animation, especially places like LAIKA which have 3 to create there faces and frames for smooth movement, but ill probably write about them more later.

Anyway this is a simple repeating animation of a bear walking up some stairs. the animation was created on 3D software, then each frame was printed out using a 3D printer to create this simple beautifully smooth stop motion animation. I guess its important to see how so many different techniques were used and how important all of these were for how this animation turned out. I find it hard still to get my head around maya, but maya, and other software like 3D cinema are helping to revolutionise new ways to animate, more precise ways to get the result wanted but all in all saving time and money (depends how useful the printer is i guess and how much it cost). It could be argued that it takes away the hand made feel but i think that still has its place but this helps open up new techniques and possibilities in things like stop motion allowing a mixture of disciplines and ideas to become reality, helping it move forward with the times and not be left behind.





DBLG 2014 from DBLG on Vimeo.

I also had a look at the show real which was beautifully put together, with alot of idents for channels like E4. Its only one minuet long which is enough time for them to show the vastness of there abilities and work but not to long to loose your attention. DBLG do alot of work using 3D animation software, mixing techniques and coming up with fresh catchy ideas and idents we all recognise from tv. Its beautifully formatted work is bright and endearing which is something i want to look more into when focusing on advertising and idents as they are two things i want to work on, initiv ways to promote and interact with viewers.

Ren and Stimpy - John Kricfalusi

Ren and stimpy is an old cartoon which used to be on nikolodeon as nicktoons block of shows with rugrats and dough. Although looking back now alot of it is quite jumpy and doesnt flow as much as cartoons we watch these days but along with rugrats and other animations produced around this time in the 90's there is a crude theme along them, playing alot on the crude over exaggeration of the characters and there actions.

They do hit alot of the basic principles of animation though really emphasising there movements and actions, going that extra step with there emotions and the story. Its that exaggeration that makes animation special and stand out as its one of the few forms where you can turn any idea into reality without the boundaries of what is actually real. For example in this one the exaggeration of the drooling, having actual taps appear out his mouth in this episode to show the extent of his hunger and want for the grotesque looking food. It could also be seen as a bit sexist or at least cruel having them constantly mauled by a babboon even when dressed as the wife as a disguise, i feel something as visual as that in that context wouldn't be as allowed these days.. although animations like this one are probably pioneers to programs like adult cartoons like southpark, and kids shows like adventure time.

I wanted to look at this as often its hard to step away from reality and what we know as every day actions to be possible. I know with 3D software its the same but i feel it can be alot more limited as we automatically see it as more or a realistic way to create characters and sets allowing my realistic and complex designs. Ren an stimpy isnt complex in there colours, or set design but keeps you entertained none the less. I do debate looking back if alot of the cartoons i watched were really suitable for kids but i guess you look at things differently when your young and its something all ages could enjoy (as long as you like that sort of thing).

maya prop modelling for moom - guitar

I decided in the end to make a guitar as a prop for my final animation, i thought there are may ways to interact with a guitar and many different emotions connected to it, so thought it would fit the lyrics quite well. 

At first it was very difficult getting the shape right, especially the whole in the middle, especially working out how to get the correct curves on the guitar, i tried to copy the guitar in my room which helped a lot, compared to trying to copy something i couldn't physically look at. It meant i could really look in detail on the shapes and how to put it together. 

It did take me a few attempts at getting the shapes right, especially when i would look at it smoothed as the shape of the blocks would change dramatically. 

The tuning pegs were actually quite simple, as it was basically two shapes that i could then duplicate and place into the guitar. 

At first with the body and strings i thought about downloading or looking for a guitar texture but decided to just attempt to make the strings using long tubes, and bending them at the top using the lasso tool.

Maya - Modelling skills exercise

Here is my first attempt at creating a model using maya, in this exercise we got given a small wooden truck to copy in maya in order to practice and learn how to use the modelling soft ware. Because of the simple shapes of the truck i didn't find this to difficult to model as not much manipulation was needed.

The lighting was quite easier to understand, we used the spotlights  allowing me to quickly create 3 point lighting to illuminate the model truck.

I found colouring a bit hard to understand at first, or more understanding the different textures and metallic surfaces but once i got the hand of it a little bit and realised you can save the set textures and colours made it a whole load easier, although this is a simple model so not sure how i will find adding colours and textures to a more complex model. 

I was playing around about with the flooring, with the shine, playing with the size of the checker board flooring and playing with size, you can see here i properly made the whole bit a tad to large, making the truck look like it is in an almost infinite space.

MOON EXPERIMENTING

These were my first attempts at playing around with moom, working out how his body worked, how the joints turned and how to make him move smoothly. I experimented for a while moving him from pose to pose treating him like an artists dummy a bit, playing with expression and emotions to go with the movements.

It took me a while at first to get used to the joins especially the shoulders and hips as i couldnt seem to get his hips out of the position above for a long while, finding it hard to backtrack the movements i had done. 

I already had an idea of the emotions i wanted him to portray when animating him, and one thing i new i may struggle with was getting him to kneel on the floor smoothly.

Mooms prop - Character and narrative first ideas

I struggled a lot with finding which prop, as the idea and tone of the scene could be completely changed depending what he is reacting to, if it was a small object he may get onto the floor, or do i need a table?

I thought about things like a laptop, then i would have freedom to what was on the laptop, if he didn't get a job, failed uni, failed a competition or game for example. i also thought about the idea of maybe something breaking, or a hobby and something isnt working like maybe a broken string on a guitar.

i considered if he is drunk, mad and if he really believes what he is saying. for the moment i think i have settled on the idea of a flay pack done wrong, or trying to fix something, i feel it could go well, possibly only having the flatpack coming into view half way through or possibly him trying to put it togeather in the first paragraph and it completely falling apart in the second with him falling to the floor as if he has given up.. like me with maya basically.. i know i keep mentioning it but i feel his frustration so i guess at least its something for me to build on.

Truck maya exercise

The first thing we had to create on maya was a truck, which compared to other things i have attempted to construct recently, actually wasnt as difficult as i first thought, although it was mostly just made from blocks which made getting my head around it alot easier. One thing that helped alot was starting to imagine how everything is made from shapes, breaking up there form. 

I struggled a little more getting my head around adding colour, or more so the different textures and how much light could reflect off each component, 

My truck ended up very simple, but i did try and make the front reflect more light then the back, same with the metal poles in the wheels, i made them very reflective trying to get them to look like metal. 

I used 3 point lighting for the truck, at least with the lights you can see the reflectiveness on the truck and the shadows created giving it a lot more depth especially once it had been rendered. 

YCN Brief consideration - Study Task 1 - complete

YCN Brief consideration and evaluation

I picked two briefs from www.ycn.org, going through each one to see the pros, and the cons, pinpointing what it is about the brief that i find so appealing or the problem within it i want to solve. I considered Which would be most beneficial to the brief, which one would challenge me most and which i felt could fit in well with my practices among much more. 

what will i benefit from these briefs and which ones will benefit me and my skills more, this is hard to think about because its a little bit of head over heart. Which ones i feel most comfortable with, the ones that will likely match my skill set or i feel will be most enjoyable, compared to once i will find more a challenge but may force me to learn new skills and create something i never thought i could achieve.

PROPERCORN

Creatively bring to life our ethos of 'Done Properly'

Brief: http://www.ycn.org/awards/ycn-student-awards/2014-15-ycn-student-awards/briefs/propercorn

Creative Challenge

How can we creatively bring to life our ethos of ‘done properly’ to our customer?

We want to consider the daily touch points of our customer’s life where they will be most receptive to engagement. How can we creatively connect with them in these moments and give them a memorable burst of our brand and beliefs. This could be in the form of a campaign or piece of communication in a more traditional sense, or it might be an altogether more radical physical engagement or experience.

Propercorn is a popcorn company who believes if they are going to do a job it should be done right, meaning the quality in the product they sell, the ingredients, the design and the custom service is of a high standard. I very much was drawn to this brief because of of there beliefs as knowing where my food has come from, and what i am eating is a very important part of my life and after doing more research into the product as a healthy alternative for snacking on the go or just in general. Straight away once i looked more into the types of places it was being sold, knowing they are mostly organic and health stores and after reading more about there ethos made me straight away new it was something i would like to help promote as an alternative to snacking on things like crisps, chocolate and other high sugar and salty items on the market.

Along with the fact it is a company i would like to back, they are also very supportive of students and the arts, just making everything about it a very desirable thing along with freedom within the brief. Although the amount of freedom is slightly limited as they have a set theme and illustrations for there product, i would like to have those boundaries and see what i could do to make there own ideas come more to life to try and challenge me in that way, as it is very open to how i could go about the brief. 

One thing i am worried about the brief having such clean cut ideas already and such a strong personality about it already i feel i would struggle to keep the same quality in my work. But this is definitely a brief i want to at least attempt even if i don't pick it at my first and main brief for responsive.  

Taylors Coffee

Engage younger customers with a new product innovation for Taylors Coffee

Brief: http://www.ycn.org/awards/ycn-student-awards/2014-15-ycn-student-awards/briefs/taylors-coffee

The Creative Challenge

Create a new coffee product innovation for Taylors of Harrogate.

We’re looking for revolutionary ideas that can really shake up the coffee category. This should be a drink, preferably hot, and should avoid instant coffee and anything requiring the purchase of an electric machine to make it – i.e Pods/Capsules. Think about trends for this younger audience, where you could see the market going and how it will appeal whilst still fitting in with our brand values. What could be fashionable or desirable for 16-25 year olds in this space that isn’t currently out there?

It’s worth looking into the progression of coffee, often described as ‘waves’ or ‘generations’ to see how we’ve moved from very basic instant to embracing origin and new taste profiles. For the purposes of this brief, what could the fourth or fifth wave look like for this audience?

Taylors coffee are looking to aim there brand at a younger audience, although i do think they shouldn't be trying to sell coffee to 16 year olds as it seems a young age to get people hooked on coffee, although i know i consumed a lot of coffee at that age. On there website they have a range of coffees ranging in strengths and situations, along with tips on the best way to brew coffee for personal taste and even what can be done with left over coffee granules to exfoliate on there instagram. 

I guess what i liked about this was i thought it would be a nice challenge to try and convince a younger audience for quality in there coffee, along with there different types of coffee i thought the variety could be very appealing if marketed right as although instant coffee may be easier, getting coffee like this is often cheaper and alot nicer (well i think so) and coffee although not the best for you is something alot of people between those ages drink at least once a day. 

I feel like i could use the names and branding of the coffee to my advantage, using real situations and how coffee improves it relating to the type of coffee being promoted at the time... this would be a challenge as unlike propercorn i wont have much original material to work with except the logo, and would have to try and still keep it sophisticated with the style in order  to keep with the way they flow, although i feel like playing on the other uses of coffee could also work when trying to reach a younger audience but it is a large age group to work with. 

itv2

Help itv2 re-connect with 16-34 year old Brits in 90 seconds

Brief: http://www.ycn.org/awards/ycn-student-awards/2014-15-ycn-student-awards/briefs/itv2

The Creative Challenge

We need your help to re-connect 16-34 year old Brits with the new itv2.

We know that what young audiences currently think about the channel is out of step with the new content. We also know that the look and feel of the channel isn’t helping them understand this change and recognise that it is a channel ‘for them’.

The good news is that when we show them promos from the new shows they like what they see. The bad news is that not as many young people are watching the promos as we’d like.

As a result, there are loads of 16-34 year olds out there who don’t know that itv2 has changed for the better, and therefore don’t consider it a go-to channel. There are lots of TV channels and content brands vying for their attention, not to mention wider entertainment options. So we’re looking for amazing, creative ideas that will help us stand out and make us a relevant choice for 16-34 year old Brits.

We want to see ideas that will make people want to watch itv2 and talk about it with their friends.

We’d like to see short, sharp ideas that will make the most of our owned channels. We have 90 second ad-breaks between our shows that we could do something more exciting with. You have full license to do whatever you like with these spots and can draw on or play with any of our other touchpoints as part of this.

For example, we have a fast growing following on Facebook with a healthy reach. We have talent like Leigh Francis – also known as Keith Lemon – who make an impact wherever they go. We have live shows and a whole tower of studios on the Southbank.

ITV2 like Taylors coffee are trying to re-market themselves to attract a younger audience, as they are trying to completely re-style the channel almost and have a full renovation. i feel like this could be quite fun, but also challenging and reminded me of an ident brief i completed a while back, which would give me the opportunity to help advertise the change, possibly with short/fun animations following more the direction the channel is trying to head in. 

There seems to be a fair bit of creative freedom with this brief also as by them trying to change who the channel attracts, they will still be constantly changing and growing trying to find there new identity leaving more opportunity for the style open. This would also allow me as a brief to create a short animation and leave me in a position where i could almost try and imagine i had the power myself to decide where the channel was heading leaving alot of creative freedom. 

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.

Discovery channel original Ident idea

This was my original final idea for the discovery channel ident, originally i wanted them all to do with sound so wanted to animate sound bouncing through and instrument.. but when looking back at old work i decided i wanted to do an angler fish catching it pray.

when i decided this i sat down and cut out the main shapes quickly, before adding a few other details.

all the joints were then sewn together so that they could move freely, the only one i didnt sew was the jaw, so i was/am planning to use bluetack to move the jaw up and down. i feel he needs more detail, so i may use colouring pencils or cut out more detail.

then there was deciding on the fish he was going to catch and how i planned to show the logo, so i thought maybe the logo is the fish and he eats it.... but realised it needs to be at the end of the ident.. i had a look on after effects to see what i could do and have come across the puppet tool.. so i may try to scan him in and hand a play around or animate him stop motion.. and have the logo show a different way..

BBC FOUR original Ident idea

so my idea was to do with jazz music and i wanted a sleek movement of the instruments slowly appearing in each section in neutral coloured sections, as if being drawn.. i tried to hand draw them out but it didnt look high quality enough for the channel so i decided to try again on flash... before i realised i couldn't understand flash and none of the tutorials were teaching me what i wanted..

i feel like i will need to do this on photoshop or try hand drawing it again, although i have a few other ideas i have now jumped a little to, so ill do a post on them soon and let you know how thats going.

this (although its on its side) is kind of how i wanted it to look once they all appeared on the screen.. if i could make the lines clean i think it would work really well! so i may try again on a different program when i get a new graphics cable and see how that pans out.