Greyscale Gorilla Sound Graph Manipulation.

My strengths and weaknesses.

At this point in the course I think it would be a good idea to review my strengths and weaknesses. I have developed so many skills on this course and learned so many new things. I feel I am strong in 3D modelling in Cinema 4D. I have made a couple of successful 3D models and feel if someone gave me a character board to turn into a model I could do it no problem. I think I am really strong at using adobe illustrator. I can create illustrations using it really well using the pen tool. I really like Illustrator because it makes everything seem a lot cleaner. I feel I am also strong in character design which is probably a good thing since I mainly do character based work. My weaknesses definitely lie with 2D animation because I do absolutely none. With practice I will improve on this because I feel it is important to have a wide range of skills so you seem more attractive to an employer to hire. Time management is probably my worst flaw. I really have to improve in that respect. But I do think if I was to get paid for something I would buck up my ideas. I need to improve on my finishing as well because it has been pretty poor this year.

My reflection of the years.

Since there is not only less than 2 weeks left on the course I think its time for a reflection of the course. When I first joined the course I had no idea about animation. The thought of making images move was rather daunting for me. Getting further and further into the year I soon realised that there was a lot more to the course than just animation. Its a very broad course which takes elements from every course in the creative practice I believe. I have learned so many techniques and methods on this course its crazy. I didn't think I could learn so much so fast. I have developed skills in 2D animation, Illustration, 3D animation, 3D modelling etc. This year I have also done a project which consisted of group work, which is good experience as in the industry I will be working with others. I have also learned a lot more about the industry and how to get myself out there. Its not only important to have the skills it is also important to have the knowledge and drive to get yourself known and get yourself work. Its no good being able to create and not earn a living. I feel I have really improved in 2D work. I never done any illustrative work until this year. I am very good at using Illustrator now, the pen tool at one point was rather hard when I first started. I am a lot better at digitally painting images now, I can add shading a lot better and depth of field. My skills in 3D animation have improved as well. I am good at modelling organic characters and I can pretty much rig off by heart now. I haven't done any 2D animation in the second year, apart from the group work, but I would like to start because I would love to use textures to create surroundings because it looks really nice. My favourite part of the course was probably the 3D slug. This is because I felt I learned how to model and rig the character really quickly. The outcome wasn't how I planned but all in all it was a personal success. My worst part was probably the 3D robot. I jut didn't connect with it at all and found it really difficult to even start animating. I will be rather sad when the course ends because I have learned so much and made some really good friends, time has really flown by.

Paranorman daytrip.

To get more insight into current animation trends in film. Me and the class went to go and see Paranorman. This film is about a kid who can talk to the dead and no one believes him. Zombies start walking around due to a witch and Norman is the hero. That is quite a brief description but thats the jist of it. Its a 3D stop motion animation which looks amazing and really nice. It makes you think how much time and effort its taken to make this. 3D stop motion characters can be a tricky thing. I really liked this film and now after reminding myself about it, I think il go buy it.

Pictoplasma.

Pictoplasma is the biggest animation festival in the world and hosts some of the biggest animators and illustrators. Its hosted in New York and Berlin. The course I am currently studying does an annual trip to Berlin and sometimes New york, if you can afford it obviously its expensive.

There were a lot of good talks this year. One of them was one of my favourite illustrators Jeff Soto. His work looks absolutely amazing and a talk with him would of been a right treat. To be honest I think the Illustrators would of be more interesting than the animators this year.
Another example of a talk is Low Bros. I only discovered these through Pictoplasma. They do a lot of graffiti which looks amazing and makes you think 'how the dickens did they do that?' Its all free hand as well which makes the work even more impressive. Again a talk with the illustrators from Low bros would be a very interesting one.

Pictoplasma has loads of great workshops where you create characters and animate and basically learn so much about character design. You get to keep all of your creations and meet a bunch of interesting people. A couple years ago Matt stone and Trey Parker done a talk. Even though the animation in south park isn't exactly the most 'mind blowing' I am a huge South Park fan and I think a talk with them would've been fantastic.

Animex.

This year Animex came to newcastle. It features talks from people in the industry of animation. The specialist fields within the talks are gaming, storyboarding, comics etc. Workshops are also a feature of Animex.

This year they got a lot of artists and animators to run the workshops. They had games expert Alex Trowers who is a designer for Boss Alien ltd. He was running a workshop that was explaining how gameplay isn't only to do with the character. He was talking about how gameplay can pretty much be extracted from the surroundings of the character.
Another example of a workshop was Chris Robson, who is a 3D Artist and the founder of www.3d-palace.com. The workshop he was running was building a 3D detailed robot walker, reminds me of star wars which is always a plus. All the assets were already created by Chris but you had to put the pieces together. Also he shown people how to texture the robot.

Animex is really good to get to know how people get successful and work in the creative industry. Really you should take business cards so if you happen to talk to other people who are interested in what you do or you just get talking. You could even be talking to someone from Ubisoft for example and you could hand them a business card, that would be a good start for anyone.

I think going to things like this is really important because you get so much good advice and information. The creative industry is a really competitive field and you will require some 'street smarts', in a certain sense. And, building on what I said earlier, there can even be opportunities. All you need to do is talk to the tight people and have a business card and who knows your foot could be in the door. you could even meet some people who you want to collaborate with, just chat with, share interests etc.

3D Modeller. Achieving this as a future career.

My skills as a 3D modeller have vastly improved in the last 2 years. I really enjoy using Cinema 4D because of the endless possibilities within the software and final outcomes are usually impressive. It sounds weird but I believe I am better at modelling organic objects more than mechanical but that is personal preference. I am very good at rigging now and can pretty much do it off by heart.

For a future career a 3D modeller would be a good move for me I feel. My skills in Cinema 4D have improved over the duration of this course and I really enjoy using it.

A 3D Modeller's job is to create 3D characters, environments, objects etc. from character boards received and concept drawings. essentially its bringing plans to life. The models always need to be easy to rig and animate because complicated can be very difficult to work with and fail miserably, this has happened to me. Modellers can also be asked to rig and build character joints, which I can do rather well now.

Modellers are required to have one in a variety of qualifications. One of these is a degree which is what I am going to acquire at the end of my Animation course. Portfolio's will be essential as they are with any creative practice. Experience will be preferred if not necessary as it is a very important part of any animation process. An understanding of other 3D softwares will be needed but some studios will re train new employees and teach them skills in other softwares.

I will need to have basic modelling skills such as:

Following references and concepts correctly
able to model complex and organic models
ability to model environments and models with a good outcome
have an understanding of anatomy and good drawing skills.

In conclusion if i want to become a 3D modeller I will need to Improve my modelling skills, especially 'mechanical' modelling. Build a strong portfolio and experiment more. Model more environments so I can improve my skills. I will need a good qualification which I will get at the end of the 2 or 3 years. My finishing will also need to be improved.