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.

Weekly Reflection.

This week I have really focused on my PPD including my portfolio, Blog and development file. I feel a lot more organised since last week and I really feel that I will get a huge chunk of this done by next week. Once it is out the way I can focus on my work based, which is next to completion, and I can start doing more creative things such as Project green screen which is a brief set up by Robert Rodriguez to create a monster for his film 'two scoops'. I will carry on with my PPD and get it all done. I haven't went into my poster very much but I got some more advice from Dave on how I can improve it, the improvements won't take long.

Jeff Soto.

Jeff Soto is an established illustrator which has recently had a conference slot at Pictoplasma Berlin. His creations are amazing to me because they can be pretty much anything.

This is an image I found on the Pictoplasma 2013 website. This robot has been created in 3D. I havent seen much 3D work from him so this is a nice change. I love the texture of it because it looks like a toy (I would very much like this model). This was created using Cinema 4D.

This is the generic style of Jeff Soto's illustrations. They are all 2D, with the exception of the 3D Robot above. He uses Adobe illustrator and Photoshop to make his creations. He is a very good influence because his illustrations are rather simple and random. I think its similar to my style.

Pepper Melon.

Pepper melon is an animation organisation that I have researched into before for job opportunities. Their process was simple, send in a portfolio and a CV and they'll get back to you. I really like their work. They never stick to one practice which is good because it broadens their horizons. They work with 3D and 2D animation, as well as illustration.

 This is an example of their 3D work. I love the design of this character. It is all focused around one simple image, an acid smile, and they have built this weird and mental looking robot monster around it. The colours clash and the design of it makes no sense but it does work really well in my opinion. The arms remind me of something from Hellboy. 

They had a slot at Pictoplasma 2013, one of the biggest animation and illustration festivals in the world.    It would have been very interesting to to see a talk from them but unfortunately traveling to berlin can be rather costly. 

I think these are a good influence to me because they dont stick to one practice and like to experiment with all kinds of weird stuff, whether it be 3D, 2D, animation or illustration. I don't want to stick to one practice and I would like to get a job in an animation company like this. Its well established and successful and creates very interesting pieces of work. 

Timeplan for the remanding week.

Thursday 18th:
- Print out portfolio plans and sort them out once and for all.
- Create designs for project green screen e.g rough drawings and brainstorms.
 -Do some work on progress file e.g Uni research, Local companies and CV.

Friday 19th:
-Start writing about each piece in portfolio, 250 description essentially.
- Continue with project green screen, hopefully get a design into illustrator to start tracing the image.
- Do more work on progress file.

Saturday 20th:
- Portfolio work such as finalising and getting ready to print out final stuff on monday.
- Continue with project green screen.
- Totally finish work based learning e.g making of, research and poster. Progress file, mainly CV.

Sunday 21st: Portfolio work including written descriptions.
- Project green screen work, hopefully start to finalise design and begin colouring using photoshop.
- Progress file.

SWOT Analysis.

Strengths - My strengths mainly lie in Cinema 4D. I think I am a good modeller and can build characters well, especially if they are more organic. I am Getting really good at Adobe Illustrator, the pen tool is very easy to use now. Character design is a strength of mine. I am rather good at character boards.

Weaknesses - Hand drawing is a weakness of mine because I never do it anymore. Time planning is a weakness of mine, I really need to sort this out. After Effects is also a weakness.  I haven't utilised the full capabilities of Adobe Photoshop, colouring is pretty much all I can do.

Opportunities - There are many opportunities in animation and illustration for me. Live brief competitions are a great way to get my work out there, I am currently working on a Future Lions live brief. If you complete a live brief, for channel 4 for example, you pretty much have your foot in the door. Social networking is another good way to get known. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Vimeo and Blogger are the biggest networking site in the world and can host any brand or business. Paul Hess, a well established illustrator, came in to have a talk with the class about his work and how he does things. It was a great insight into how I can further my career. He suggested things such as agents, which will look for work for you. I think this would be handy because it would give you more time to carry on with projects and you know you will have guaranteed work.

Threats - These include other students, competition in the animation world is very high now since there are a lot of students graduating. The north east has limited opportunities compared to Manchester and London so there will be few jobs. Threats also include technology progressing, I will have to learn new techniques and softwares. Being limited to one or two techniques will really limit the job opportunities. Deadlines can be a threat because if you don't stick to them it can be a disaster.

Weekly reflection.

This week I aimed to complete my poster, sort out my portfolio and start a new live brief. I have improved my poster a considerable amount since the last reflection. I had a talk with Dave about the design of the rabbit. The original design looked as though the rabbit couldn't walk. I done some research into cartoon rabbit designs and added the influence to my own rabbit. I have also done a lot to the background including textures and bolder lines. I will still carry on with the poster to get it to an even better standard. I have got together 12 pieces of work for my portfolio so far ready for inspection. screenshots of animations, 3D models and illustrative work. I haven't got around to starting a new live brief because I can't find any I really like at the moment.

Looking back I wish I had done more written work as I feel that is what is going to screw me over. PPD is going to be a definite next week.

Poster so far.

This is the Beatport poster so far. As you can see it looks a lot better from the last 2 posts. As you can see I have added textures to the back and the ground. I think the back texture looks really good because of the cracks and darker parts. the floor texture looks a bit stretched so I will have to find another one. I have added a bit of shadow on the speakers which I think makes a massive difference. I also added a thick black line around the speakers which again makes them logo big and bold like they should be. To improve on this I am going to add a shadow to the floor to show that the speakers are towering over the rabbit and make the bottom of the wall a bit darker. In conclusion I am really happy with it so far and I think it can only get better.

Work Based Module Strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths - Illustrator has bin a big strength in this project, the lines have been very clean and look really nice. Photoshop has been a strength as well including colouring up and composition. Character design has bin a strength.

Weaknesses - Time management has bin a little on the flimsy side but I think I'm still on the right track.

Giger spaceship C4D (Alien & Prometheus)

The spaceship where the face hugger eggs in alien and the main site in prometheus was all done in Cinema 4d. It would be quite an interesting thing to create since I am a huge Alien fan.

Gotta Love Giger.

I don't draw anything like this but I have always loved the design of the alien designs. Giger is a very strange fellow. His designs and paintings of the Aliens are of an erotic nature, sounds strange but true. He predominately used airbrush in his paintings. If you have a look they are based on fetish sexual imagery. All his paintings are heavily horrific and nightmarish. He had a sleep disorder which he used also to create his imagery. He had nightmares and transported them to paper. I think Giger's style is absolutely amazing, even though i could never and would never create anything like that i still love his imagery, however horrific they may be.

How to get work done.

This is how I like to work. A good mix from someone, in this case Flowdan.

Timeplan for the coming week.

Well I have a hell of a lot to do so here it goes...

Tuesday: Finish poster Definitely. Start plan for next live brief. Come up with final idea. BLOG.

Wednesday: Continue second live brief. Arrange portfolio for inspection. Ideas for final show (oh god..) BLOG.

Thursday: Continue second live brief. Portfolio stuff. Final show ideas. BLOG.

Friday: Finish live brief. Portfolio stuff. Evaluations.

Saturday: If I'm feeling bold do another live brief. Portfolio stuff.

Sunday: Gather all sources, Portfolio, Briefs etc for College on monday.

Poster finishing touches.

I have added toon shading to the speakers but not much because I like the solid colour. Overall I think this looks a lot better. And I have also added a black outline to the outside of the speakers. This poster is coming along nicely.

Rabbit Mark 2.

This is the 'I am completely of my very tits' rabbit. I done some research into other rabbit characters and found a design of the feet that I liked. I personally think it looks a lot better. I have used Toon shading on the character as well. I have also made the outline a lot thicker. I am really loving this design now and its got me back in touch with doing more illustrative work. In conclusion I think its a lot better than the last design and its very nearly in completion.

Weekly Reflection.

Since my timeplan I have done a fair amount of work and have made good progress on my beatport poster. Even though I set out to do some work on my robots legs I haven't even touched them. I have mainly bin focusing to get the work based project, Beatport poster. I have come up with a good composition for the poster and have even filled it with color, I am happy with the progress so far. I have uploaded the progress of the poster on to my blog wall. I have taken screenshots of some of my animations for my portfolio, unfortunately I haven't got as far as I wanted with that but I will work on it the following week. Since setting myself a target for the penguin competition I have changed my mind about doing it, lost interest. 

I feel my skills have really improved in illustrator since taking on the beatport poster. My lines are a lot cleaner and I can maneuver the pen tool really well. I think I could've got more work done but I am glad that I have made very good progress with my work based so I can tick that off and get that out of the way.