Reaching for the Stars

Making the 'Star' of the show

This semester was my first major animation project, to make an animation of my own design and concept in order to test the skills I'd obtained over the past two years. I originally wanted to do an entire animation about this star and its protector trying to find the little star named Sirius after he goes missing, but the scope and magnitude of the project at hand soon made me realize my dream animation would not only be wrought with difficulties, but I would only have time to rig the star completely and model the protector. I believe that was the purpose of this project was to show the difficulties that come with these freedoms I now have to make something entirely original.

Concept

I liked the cute short animations that Disney has done, with normally inanimate objects like something as big as a volcano to a small lamp on a desk. I chose to do a little star, due to the many possibilities I can make with them due to their names and characteristics. The star I made was Sirius, the dog star, which is why I gave my star small dog ears. My original protector character I gave a large, fuzzy imaginary-friend kind of character, as the animation I was going for was a whimsical fun tale that would've interested me as a child.
So I quickly drew them, put them on the computer, and modeled them within Maya. The star was simple to handle. The protector, on the other hand, was challenging. I had originally had fur on his character, with a bunny-like muzzle. Yet the fur tool on Maya was difficult for me to use and couldn't even utilize correctly. So, in a heavy heart, I scrapped the idea for a simpler design of stripes down the sides and arms for him. The protector had a skeleton like that of the star in order to make him move. Using the bone tool, I constructed a custom bone structure for Arcturous (the protector's name), but the types of faces I used had caused problems. So, on both Sirius and Arc, I converted the faces into triangles to attempt to get them to move properly, yet even as I painted weights upon the character, it still didn't move correctly without issue, so I had to abandon my story altogether, with me quickly replacing it with a walk cycle completed for Sirius. I toon-shaded him using the toon color tool within Maya, made him look like a cartoon, and quickly finished the little star walking within the vastness of space. The rendering went without a problem, for once, and I ended the animation in about 49 frames of animated walk cycle.

Lessons Learned

I not only learned abilities to follow specific tutorials within Maya that I hadn't discovered earlier, but I learned how to put in fur within 3-D animations. It was a simple matter of creating an X-Gen file within an animation within Maya, select the type of fur that one would want (custom or premade), and apply it to certain faces upon the character. Getting advice from my peers is something entirely to me, but it surely did help, for when I got stuck within a creative rut, one of them would point out a flaw that could be corrected simply, or even a new idea that helped push me past my stubborn wants for my own animation. They helped me see the flaws within my own work and learn to be more critical of my work. Lastly, I had learned much about the importance of modeling and pre-planning animations, as I went into this animation preparing to learn on the fly and wish to make something good based on ideas made on the fly. I have since been reminded to always plan out what I want to happen within the animation, otherwise I will get lost and lose inspiration from an animation I previously had loved from the beginning.

Same? Different?

I would honestly change the protector's design to closely relate to my star and make it look like he belonged in the same animation with Sirius. The design colors as well, as even some of my peers noticed that the blue stripes down the sides looked similar to those from Tron. But I would keep the concept and the star. I loved everything about them, despite their own individual difficulties I had with them at first.

Epilogue/ Sirius' Last Bow

Generally, this project seemed more of a wake-up call of the difficulties of animation more than anything else. But I did like this project nevertheless. Despite my misgivings about the fur tool, the complete redesign of what I planned to do, and my protector character not working properly, I am very proud of what I worked on throughout this entire semester. I decided for my next project within Maya that I will design them after I had drawn out what I want with them, and that they'll fit the layout design I've planned to make them with. Already, modeling for it is easier the second time around. Perhaps maybe I'll learn to use the fur tool this project, but the skeleton and mesh are much easier to move now that I've considered how my new character will move. I loved this project, as it helped me assure myself to be the best animator that I can be, despite all the misfortunes that may occur. I hope that in the future I will retain the knowledge I have and add to this ever increasing plethora of animation knowledge. Using the new information I learned from this project, I will make my next animation even better.

The Sweet Tune of Animation

Main Melody (Main Idea)

With the (then current) success of Frozen's soundtrack, it was about the successful nature of many new animated films, such as the Happy album from Despicable Me 2, or Immortals from Big Hero 6. It was about how the soundtrack can make or break a film, how the soundtrack can give the animated feature a new life, and how it can make a movie more popular than anticipated.
The author was arguing mainly for how the music within Disney movies, (as well as some from other companies) can make a film rise to Stardom, the prime example being that of how the new film Frozen's soundtrack outselling the record holder Lion King. He also uses prime examples that are both support that the music can make more money for a movie, like Snow White for it's revolutionary music that set the precedent for all future Disney musicals, to the time where test audiences wished for a completely new track in Pocahontas. He has backed up his sources using other interviews from both Disney employees and DreamWorks as well. However, the main weak point for this argument is that they don't discuss any of the repercussions for bad soundtracks. But another, smaller weak point is that it doesn't focus on any movies abroad, like say Wallace and Gromit, whose soundtrack is phenomenal with the movie. Yet there are several strong points in her claim, by using well known examples and success stories, as this will resonate with a broader audience. There is also the fact that she explained some of the success by using quotes from the directors of some of these films. Her conclusions being that the movie industry is booming with the new advancements and brilliant compositions of music within the film.
I do believe that the argument is important, as the movie industry with all of its advancement from the first animated feature or cartoon with sound, have come to expect pieces that match the story's feel and emotions perfectly. If a film is not up to par with the score, the entire piece, no matter how moving or emotional, will feel off and leave audiences dissatisfied. The evidence seems to be convincing, and I do not see any wide range of ramifications to be made to the argument.
The applications of an animator is that we have to be sure that if we do choose to have music, that it must fit the animation, and it can make or break a movie. But yet what I don't understand is what the author meant by it was odd to hear about how "...it was still considered unusual to make a song-heavy animated film.[in 2006]", as I had thought that other animated features were influenced heavily by its music before that, such as Lion King or Beauty and the Beast.
But now using this knowledge, it helps me realize the importance sound can give a viewer, about how music can help make or break the success of an animated feature. If I were to make a great animation, it is only fitting to have correct score in it as well.


Keegan, Rebecca. "Animated Movies Sing a Happy Tune." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2014. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.

The Burning Review: Sintel

F

The Story of Sintel:

Plot

Sintel was a very young redheaded girl. She was homeless and alone until she first saw a baby dragon injured in the dirty streets. Being a kind soul, she takes in the little infant, cares for his injuries, and become very close that she gives him the name of Scales. But one day, when the tiny hatchling was flying on his newly healed wings, a large, unidentified dragon swooped in and kidnapped Scales, leaving Sintel determined to find him and bring him home. Her journey leads her into the cold mountains, deep into dragon territory. There she hopes to be reunited with her long lost companion.


Sintel. Blender Foundation, 2010. Film.

Design/ Focus

Sintel's art style is a 3-D animated movie created in Blender, with detailed features on the main cast, while some of the background characters don't seem to have as much development. An example of this is when Sintel was fighting a thief near the beginning of the animation, her movement just seemed more fluid to me than her adversary. The backgrounds seem to be animated in 3-D as well, unlike some animations in 3-D that I've seen. My Maya animations looked to have similar shadows with the lights like they were. However, the facial features on the humans seem similar to Maya's as well. They weren't flawless, but well made for an independent film made by recent college graduates. Some of the fight scenes at the end, between Sintel and a dragon, weren't as smooth as some of the other fights. But the story endured, and seemed beautiful on its own.

Reviewing Sintel

The emotions of story itself was enduring, at times peaceful, cute, and even a tiny bit tender. But the personalities from the main characters was there in all its beautifully rendered glory. The design for all of them were fantastic and their movement so varied and different depending on their own personality. But the tale being told of how a woman has dedicated her life to search for her friend in spite of the risks and difficulties presented to her was illustrated by at first having her fight an enemy, and then having a flashback to explain the backstory. A mini montage of Scales healing and growing closer to Sintel was mastered perfectly by holding the camera above Sintel's bed and slowly turning around on an axis, with each night Scales growing closer until they are next to each other.
Myself, I would take some of the character development and design with me if I were to work inspired off of this animation. The characters just looked so right with the personalities given to them. I would also take the smooth flying scenes of when Scales and the opposing dragon are flying, as I've wanted to animate a flying animal in Maya for quite some time now. I am grateful that I have learned how to make backgrounds with similar texture, as if I hadn't, creating projects like this would be much harder and more tough to do.


What the Creator did Well: Sintel was full of very vibrant animations of dragons, a chicken chase, and animating so many people at nice in a marketplace scene. Development of the story through the use of light tones and lights for the fond memories that Sintel had of Scales, while the darker pictures later on showed the dark side of the animation. Very well used technique for this short film to showcase the feelings of the protagonist in the intensity and/or brightness of the light.

What Could He Improve: The walk cycles and the water animations could be more fluid, as at times it felt as if the spilt liquid on the floor was just a shape being pulled over a plane. Character walks at times can be stiff, and even rough in a few places. Example is when Sintel was fighting the adult dragon, the dragon's movements looked fine, but it seemed like that  Sintel's were a tad slower than what they should've been.

Concluding Thoughts:

All in all, I loved this animation to bits, not because I love Fantasy, but the simple, yet eloquent story that seemed to stem so easily from this animation. The characters, their designs, the backgrounds, all of it compliments each other nicely. Besides a few minor flaws, the animation seems to be a fantastic rendering of the bond of friendship and how far it can go to save a friend. It wasn't as overly spectacular as How to Train Your Dragon, but was animated just right to be wonderfully enduring.

Link to the Video:

Sintel

 

One Small Step for Me, One Giant Project to Handle

The Hype of Animation Finals!

       Within Animation, we learned much from this past semester of fun, trial, and error. So, for our final animation project of the year, we decided that since Jessie Blom, Greta Lundy, and I worked so well before, we combined our forces once again to bring forth the best of our capabilities in our own respective way. We immediately got to story boarding our final piece. But finding a concept was difficult to do, as we wanted to be as creatively free as possible, but still have at the very least, a hint of the plot. We threw around ideas, nothing really sticking until Greta comes up with the idea of a visitor on an alien world. Our group loved it, Jessie even saying that the encounter should be with a robot. The creative process truly started when Greta sketched out a basic plot from our idea, and we then got to work instantly. Greta would animate and create the robot, I would create the opening title card, and Jessie would wrap the whole thing together. It would be hard to do, as it encompassed our entire semester of learning into a single project. But again, it was to show off the skills we acquired from the semester, and it was an ambitious, fantastic feeling of pride when we put ourselves to work. So we set out to complete our goal, displaying the best of our capabilities to a single, coherent idea that was just as creative as we were.


The Process Begins!

        After being introduced initially to the tutorials of Video Copilot and seeing how detailed and simple they could be, I discussed with my partners on what type of sequence would be used. Would it be mysterious, foreboding, magical? But in the end, there was a tutorial on a grid looking sequence, robotic and calculating. After seeing the entire overall look of the piece, I knew it would be fantastic. So, having a cool lightning effect within Adobe After Effects and editing it to look like a grid layout, duplicating the layers, and having them fade in and out was the first step, simply achieved by utilizing the many positive aspects of After Effects. But then the second step emerged, having the letters emerge from a moving, 3-D background. I had never done this before. So, I converted all of the layers into a 3-D layer like the tutorial said to do. However, the effects kept creating problems within After Effects. They slowed down rendering with each one I added, and even changing one detail within the keyframes of my work caused it having to be re-rendered to even see if it would work. But then, I discovered the perfect looking grid fad-in that I stuck with for our title sequence. But since we had extra time as I finished, I chose to use a fade out effect on the text layer and I believe it turned out fantastic. Greta had used Maya to create the stunningly beautiful robot. Jessie had made the background in Photoshop and brought the whole thing together with After Effects. We had finished before the deadline of May 19th, so we enhanced our effects and made them better with mine taking more time with the fade out effect, and Greta added more fluidity to her robot. We managed our time well, I believe, as we had enough time to enhance the effects and footage we had rather than attempt to cram everything at the last minute. I've actually had to render out my project 3 different times to make sure I got everything right.

The Robot

Afterwords and Last Words

         This entire year was full of firsts, exciting and new animation skills being awakened as well as the high point of my creativity. I loved what I've done this past year, my animating skills have greatly improved and I've done things I've never thought of before. Green screens and After Effects and 3-D animating has me excited at the endless possibilities available to me now. Although I love the project as it is, I would change the color of my grid effect, to match the robot a bit more. I also would want another idea to attempt, maybe have someone live with the robot like a sitcom. Or one idea I wish we had done was to have the video go a bit longer, and have a different encounter with a creature be highlighted. But I did enjoy creating the grid effect itself, so that part would stay the same. I also enjoy the look of the robot, and how it moves, so I would retain those things as well. But one thing I would keep the same about this project is the people I was with to create this project, as it wouldn't be good without Greta or Jessie. I will draw out some of the effects from After Effects, like the lightning to help make better looking openings. Perhaps I will find the other effects and make my own original openings. I also want to experience the 3-D converter in After Effects, as it was an interesting thing to try and succeed at. I hope that next year will bring more excitement and thrills to the field and help me achieve my dream of being an animator at Disney.

The Pictures of my Time as an Invader:)



The Ring

Poking at Air

 

Confuzzled me

Step Right Up, See the Amazing Circus...Boxes!

Welcome to Cirque de Lecture!

For the final project of Graphic Design, we had to decide to make a box for a product for children. So, after discussing for a few minutes, we unanimously decided to design a package that  had something inside in which all three of us had as children, stuffed animals! So Katie Arpin, Danielle Sleigh, and myself wanted to do something clever while boxing the stuffed toys. But then Katie asked us if we had seen the Animal Crackers circus box design. We looked it up, and it was a wonderful design of a circus boxcar with animals peaking out through barred doors. We decided that it would be perfect for a children's toy box! The color palette would be yellow, red, and blue, as the primary colors are both simple, and fun for children to look at. The animals we chose to have boxes are the wolf, the fox, and the lion. We chose the three in order to show variety of the animals, not just doing circus animals for our box. So we got to work immediately!

The Fox

The Lion

The Wolf

Designing a Logo

So my job on the project was to create a lion logo for our circus. So I looked up old circus posters of lions, and decided to do a lion in profile. I chose the orange and yellow, as children recognize the form of a lion in cartoons from these designs. I checked in with my friends on the design, and they agree that its simplicity was admirable about it. The wild mane of the lion was designed with the pen tool within Adobe Illustrator, creating a new shape, then combining it with the shape constructor tool. So the three of us kept consistent tabs on ourselves so no one strayed from the goal of designing the project with glee. Danielle designed the box die lines, bleed lines, etc. Katie worked on the actual look of the box on the outside. We finished early, so we decided to add bars that are see through bars in the box, and even added a silhouette of each door of each animal on the back door. 

3-D render on Illustrator

We test rendered it and it looked beautiful, but the print was messed up due to the print shop messing with the size of our box. but we pulled through, with our cooperative skills enabled and we believe it was beautiful!

Afterword

This final project and last hurrah for graphic design I believe went beautifully. My friends and I designed a realistic, beautiful box that could look like it belongs on store shelves. I would change the logo a tad, but all in all, our work I believe is exemplary. I will continue to carry on the legacy of the graphic lessons I have and use them in my animations. This year's been great and I can't wait for more!

Fixing Fonts

Fonts that I make

This font is one I've used before, Young Shark, and one I love using do to the interesting look it has. But there are other ideas I've had for it. Merging the letters and making a completely different look to it was my mission. So I went into Illustrator to type out my name. I made all of them a compound path while adding and subtracting points within the font. I merged the V with two "S"es, The J with the L, and made a dragon-esque tail for the I. I also subtracted the extra fins from Young Shark, as they were getting in the way of my style. Now I can create my own fonts.

Afterword

Even though what I did was minimal, I loved what I did. I just can't wait to do more with making my own fonts. Hopefully they can be really nice on future projects.

Thinking WITH The Box.

The name of my made-up company

Creating with Products.

Graphic designers do business with those who need help displaying their brand across to be viewed by the potential customers.  They have to be beautiful, simple, elegant, and even memorable. This week we learned how to create an entire style with making package designs for made-up products. Mine was named Wyvern, a company that produced genetic altering medication that led one to grow their own natural wings, bat or bird.  So I set off to complete the task at hand, making a well -constructed,  interesting concept to carry out.

The Process

I began working on the box outline, die line, and bleed line by using the shape tool, pen tool to create other shapes to construct a box. I then used the shape combiner tool to create the complete, whole outline of my box. I then set up a color palette to see which colors would work well with my company. I knew I wanted a blue, to coincide with my theme of skylines and clouds, but needed a color to contrast and complement it by itself.  So watching lynda.com tutorials, I found a nice shade of purple that symbolized royalty and even magic. Afterword, I found a beautiful font called Head Case that seemed as imaginative and innovative like my product. But editing with the 'y' in Wyvern, I found that I had warped it to be an interesting dragon shape. So I kept the design as my main logo for the company.  By then, I had amassed enough pictures to make the 3-D revolve, which was one of the hardest to accomplish due to the repeated problems I had making them, from the wonky bottle to the box not being copied, meaning that I had to create ANOTHER box just to showcase the opposite side. But I pushed through and endured through the trying tasks, and my final project turned out beautiful.

Afterword

I felt that my box was original, and it inspires me to continue pursuing my designing skills even when I finish graphic design. The troubles were even fixable, and I can't wait to end the year on a high note.