My animation arts blog

Starting off, for this task using the basic shapes found in blender we had to create a base or plan for the layout and composition for our chosen world. Referencing the main parts which stand out in my thumbnail I blocked out the shapes and laid out where they would go.

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Mainly using the cube mesh and extrude tool again I added three small stones (varying in size) to be placed around the map of the area to create the illusion of the boat being slightly buried under the ground.

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Moving on I made the cliff’s three parts so that it is easier to keep track of which part i’m changing, adding on this also helped to divide the layout itself with each part signifying the foreground, mid and background. In creating the right side cliffs instead of remaking new cliff shapes I ended up duplicating the already existing shapes on the left, rotating and placing them in the opposite order so that to the viewer it looks like different cliffs when it is the same shapes I also used the extrude and scale tool to add different shaped wedges so that there is some variety to the shapes and so they all look organic.

To further add to the atmosphere I lifted parts of the ground to create the look of sand piling up in sections. This helped to create the feeling of this being underwater as each part had a reason for it to look a certain way like making the ground more lively and not a simple flat plain as that would loose the viewers investment into the world they are viewing.

Comparing the two I feel that the composition in the 3-d model would work better if the boat were closer or larger. This is because on a first glance it is hard to see where the boat is making it seem less important however whilst this is the case the placement I feel works perfectly as the ridges of the cliffs lead the eye towards it. To improve this I would adjust the size of the ship so that it stands out more against its surroundings and the silhouette created by the cliffs.

For this task using the basic primitive shapes in blender I had to create a model of a robot using the techniques which were shown in the lesson.

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As this task was mainly to use the shapes given in blender I found it interesting to thinking of a breakdown what is seen in the design. Particularly for the antenna on the robot the base of it was made of two cylinders scaled down to match however we had not yet learned how to change shapes to be different like what is seen in the reference, so I used a flat cylinder to represent the shape of that section of the antenna. Whilst the reference model is in a specific pose with one leg slightly forward to show the robot walking I focused on the basic idea of the design without complicating it as including the mid walk pose would have made the model seem off balanced as it would be hard to tell it is walking unlike the reference image.

Overall I have enjoyed this task as it allowed me to put what was shown and taught in the lesson into practice. I was able to understand the basics of using blender and was able to create a primitive version of the referenced model robot. What I would have done changed would have been to look at the model further and add more sections like the neck area around the whole design as my model looks fairly blocky whereas the reference had more areas other than the neck which connect that way. Moving forward i’ll use what I have learnt to create a base for my chosen 3-D scene using the basic shapes and techniques I’ve learnt to bring it to life.

For the start of this project we had to generate possible ideas we would like to explore as a low poly world, to do this we started with a few ‘what if?’ questions. For this task mine were: what if we lived in the sky? what if we were small? what if there was a hidden ruin? what if we went deep underwater? or what if we lived underground? I was split between the what if questions of if we were small or if we lived underwater so I decided to gather images on both (as separate boards) to see which idea I would want to bring forward.

For this image board I went with the idea of having small objects to us being seen in a different perspective, like that of an ant roaming around. I went with the imagery of garden designs specifically with a gnome and fairy theme as I felt it would help to add to the idea of things being unusually massive because of the perspective, as well as this I found that in most garden decorations they include small houses and spaces playing of the idea of tiny beings living with small signs and pathways like a tiny community. Small ideas I had whilst making this were small pathways leading to a tiny house, glowing mushrooms adding to the mythical imagery, small fairy’s (small glowing orbs for simplicity when creating the world) floating and flowers which grow around the house like ivy or huge flowers above.

For this image board I went of the idea of living or having a focus of being underwater. Whilst wanting to include different marine animals like fish I also felt the piece would need a focal point, for this I looked at sunken ships parts decomposed due to age. Ideas I had whilst going through this were parts of the ship being misplaced such as being scattered around the ground or stuck to parts of the surrounding area, sharks circling the ship with small fish grouping as well as mysterious glowing lights suggesting a sign of ‘life’.

Going forward I decided to go with the idea of being underwater with the sunken ship as I felt there would be more ideas for moving sections like the fish, the perspective being able to be taken different ways such as inside the ship or following a loose bit of wood which leads to the ship. I liked the colour combinations as well and felt the idea of mysterious ‘lights’ around the ship (not the main light filtering in from the sunlight) had the potential to add a bit of story to the world making it feel more alive other than the marine life already present.

Using the imagery and ideas I had came up with I then created 6 quick thumbnail ideas for what the low poly world would be like. For each of these I included different aspects of the inspiration board such as different ship parts being shown like parts of sails or flags or an anchor hanging down. Looking over the thumbnails I particularly liked the 5th thumbnail as it had a monumental feel to the sunken ship as the focal point with the cliffs to the side curving to lead the eye towards the ship, as well as this I also liked the inclusion of the fish circling around the top of the ship further adding to the focus of it.

In developing the 5th thumbnail for it to be used as the 3-D scene I decided to not only show the side view which was used in the thumbnail but also an overhead view so it would be easier to make into 3-D. Using reference images of different old styled ships I created a design which has a simple yet interesting silhouette. For this plan idea whilst I am going to include fish swirling around the top area of the remains of the ship, I wanted to mainly focus on showing the layout so it is easily readable to be made into the 3-D scene.

Going from my mood-boards and initial notes on my ideas for the cat and fish I made a few quick sketches exploring possible designs. In the end I decided to go with the 4th design of the fish and the 1st design of the cat as I felt the original idea of them being visually different is portrayed the best with those two, being a sharp and angled design for the cat with a soft and rounded design for the fish.

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Here is the turn around of the cat character, I wanted to showcase the cat’s sharp angles in their design such as their ears standing up from all angles. This turn around features no colour as I wanted to mainly focus on the consistency of the cat going from each angle however the cat would be a dark purple colour in future pieces which are coloured.

This is the design for the fish with the main body being a circle with the tail being a flowing shape. Since they will be underwater the tail will move in multiple directions due to the current, because of this it will be difficult to get the consistency of the tail to be exact each time so instead it will follow the general shape so when the fish moves the tail will follow in the same direction with an almost silk look to it. The final colours for the fish will be white with a small pattern of pink/orange.

For the environment I realized that for the lake to be frozen over it would have to be at least winter like temperatures which would mean the trees would be bare meaning no leaves. In response I made a few ideas which show winter like snow or wet leaves on the ground instead of the original idea of it being autumn styled. I also included the cat and fish in the environments to see if they stand out and whilst the fish stands out in their area the cat is difficult to see in the timing of the environment so going forward when featuring the cat they will have a white outline so they are more easily seen against the night.

Small notes I have for the storyboard based on ‘topsy turvy’ feature: the cat chasing the fish above the ice, twisting camera angles which showcases the cats desperate attempts to get the fish such as the camera angle showing the fish being larger then the cat like underwater. Moving forward i’ll focus on creating a storyboard to work on what the general story I’d want to tell with these characters are as I have ideas and what i’d want to feature but not necessarily an end which would be satisfying.

For the final part of this rotation using the previously chosen refinement and line art I had to create a few colour tests exploring possible routes for the final outcome. With the idea of royalty, flowers and the main idea of ‘pride’ in mind these were my tests.

For each colour selection I wanted to express a different take on the character. For the 1st this was a focus on royalty and the imagery of ‘gold’ with a particularly brighter selection of colours (compared to the other tests) which grabs the attention of the viewer, though mildly desaturated to suggest something is off about this character. For the 2nd character I put a focus on demonic imagery using more ghostly and moody colours to emphasis this, doing this I was able to find that the combination of these colours made the character almost seem corpse like as if they had just came back from the dead which added to the characters personality of being bitter and arrogant. For the 3rd it was more of a neutral colour scheme to suggest a quiet and sinister character whereas the 4th was dulled out colours of the inspiration, being of vanity and flowers.

Going over these colours and where my research had led me I decided to make the 2nd colour test be the final colours. This was because I felt that these colours where able to create an atmosphere around them, the moody hues of the red and purple suggesting a somber type of royal who rules from the shadows whereas the use of the blue and yellows grabs the attention of the viewer making the characters face stand out with a distasteful stare. Not only this but the colours in combination with the the idea of them being a royal can engage with the viewer with the argument of: who put them in charge and why? were they always like this?

For the final drawing I had to consider lighting and shading when rendering them so I used different types of opacity layered to create a wax or clay look style to them. This was to emphasize the subtle dead look to them whilst almost remaining human. I wanted to showcase the atmosphere present in the base colour tests so used darker colours for shading like blues and purples, not quite black as this would have made the shadows seem too sharp in comparison to the main colours. The choice of colours are all desaturated which also helps to emphasis their attitude to the viewer. What I would have done differently looking back is experiment with other extra assets to further showcase a royal feel to them such as jewelry to extend the imagery of them being too prideful in them self and their ‘achievements’.

Overall I’ve enjoyed this project being able to research, create and finalize a character based on the seven deadly sin’s “pride”. I was able to research outside of the idea of what the sin is and used an inspiration which wouldn’t necessarily come to mind when thinking of it, as well as this I was able to build my skills in digital art and created a rendered drawing which has shading and lighting.

Here using the 5th rough idea from my previous work I came up with four ideas each having small changes in order to explore the type of look this character would have. What I focused on was the ideas previously mentioned around flowers like the amaryllis playing a big part in the design as well as the overall imagery of royalty to further showcase a bitter and cold interpretation of the sin of pride as a character.

For the 1st design I used the rough idea and fleshed it out mainly sticking to what is shown in the rough. What works well with this design is the feeling of the character being of some type of importance as well as their attitude as they look down at the viewer suggesting a dominance as they look down however whilst this aspect of the design works I felt the clothing felt plain so chose to work on this in the other refinements.

For the 2nd design I played of the idea of the character being a cold and bitter person with the imagery of fur as accents to the clothing as well as the loose hairstyle to add a hint of a icy attitude. What works is the expression of the character almost appearing ghostly whilst they loosely hold up a glass, as well as this the style of clothing usually being worn during winter further emphasizing the personality of the character. What I would change would be a further emphasis on the character being of higher importance then it being loosely implied, however I do feel the inclusion of the small winter coat adds a layer to the visual which strengthens the personality.

For the 3rd design I decided to try an alternate dress style with this evidently being more loose and appearing like that of silk as it moves due to the wind. What I feel works with this design is the more ‘fantasy’ look the character has with long flowing sleeves and intricate patterns along the dress itself, as well as this the more loose inspiration of flowers with the neck attachment playing of the idea of a flower with petals as well as the pattern itself being similar to what is seen on gold lief styled mirrors which was the original inspiration for this. What I would change is the hairstyle as whilst it adds contrast being made of mainly sharp angles I feel it does not quite capture the personality of the character which I felt worked in the previous designs being loose or partly held up, to further add on the looseness of the dress whilst looks nice can also communicate a looseness to the character.

For the final refinement I wanted to show an alternate way this character could be like going from human like in the previous designs to demonic in this with sharper angles around the horns and face contrasted with the outfit they wear. What works well is the presentation of the character not being human and instead being a demonic being as well as this the more subtle showcase of the character being dignified with a tied up bun hairstyle which suggests a uptight and strict personality about the character. In contrast what I feel I would do differently is change the style of dress they wear as while inspired by the various types of large designed dresses of royalty specifically from the mood board inspired by mainly Victorian outfits, there is too much contrast with the character and the style which i feel does not work cohesively together.

Overall the aspects which work well in each refinement will be brought together to make the final line art for the character moving forward. This will be done layer each aspect together then making the line art on top in order to then move onto colour choices and final renders.

Moving forward in creating a character design based on the sin of pride I made a total of 6 rough ideas exploring possible characters using the previously made silhouettes. What I focused on were the types of silhouettes I had chosen and the type of personality and imagery which came off them as a result: what type of clothing would they have? would they look human? who is this character? These were the questions I wanted to answer.

When creating these designs I used the general look of the type of clothing in my mood board on royalty, this was because of the ideas I had looked at in my research around the imagery of ‘vanity’ and decorative designs being similar to that of royalty and the attitude of being too proud to the point off putting others down. With each silhouette I played off the idea of roles such as the 6th being a butler or the 2nd being a princess, I did this to emphasize more personality to the viewer as if I were to mainly focus on one styled each rough would look very similar. With this each design stands out with their own look and has their own style to express.

Whilst designing these roughs I felt there was not a lot of variety as all the designs feature “royalty” in some way but not so much the original idea of them being the sin of pride, to combat this I decided to delve into what other ways there can be to express ‘pride’. This led me to the discovery of flower symbolism and whilst I had known about this idea I found the flower named ‘amaryllis’ which in flower symbolism suggests determination and love, I felt this flower could add another layer to the design roughs so I incorporated this into the 5th design. What struck me about incorporating this flower or a plant sub-theme is that whilst it may not directly relate to the sin of pride I had thought that flowers are usually given as gifts or signs of gratitude and with this the idea would be turned around with the flower idea being used to suggest a bitterness to the character. How I would develop this is include a flower styled pattern on the character through clothing or the imagery, what I would emphasize is the idea that the character has flowers around them like they are giving themselves gifts of their ‘achievements’ rather then actually earning them.

Looking over the designs I felt a connection with the 5th design not only because of the sub-theme of flowers but also the posing and how that shows off their personality. I also like the potential the rough idea has with it not just relying on the imagery of royalty but them seeming to be more of a cold and bitter person due to the way they pose themselves looking down at the viewer from the side. Going forward using this base idea i’ll create a few refined ideas which further explore the themes I used whilst also expressing why they are the sin of pride.

Staring this new rotation I was tasked with researching, developing and creating a character design inspired by one of the seven deadly sins. I chose to base my character on ‘Pride’ as I felt it would be interesting to explore how pride can be represented visually, from here we had to research the style we would go for as a result of the idea of ‘pride’: what their appearance would be, their attitude and how that would be presented as well as who this character will be.

What initially inspired my research was the word ‘vanity’ which usually refers to ones admiration in their own achievements and appearance. Going through Pride and how this can be represented visually I linked this to mirrors which are commonly used to reflect an image, specifically I was drawn to a specific style of mirror which has frames such as gold lief or wood carvings which are only used as a decorative purpose with intricate designs and imagery. I felt this linked to pride as mirrors can suggest a self admiration as well as a focus the character would have on appearance. This lead to the research into Victorian and medieval era clothing specifically for ballrooms, worn by royalty or various jewelry and items like scepters and cloaks as the style of the carved mirrors and clothing would been seen largely during that era, mainly of those of a higher class.

In response I generated eight random silhouettes inspired by the imagery and ideas which I had collected. Doing this not only was I able to explore quick ideas and not get too attached to them, I was also able to think of ways to represent those ideas with each silhouette looking unique with individual posing. Looking over the ideas I liked the idea of the character having a large almost poofy collar around their neck (such as the first rows: 1st, 2nd and 3rd designs), I also particularly liked the idea of the character holding some type of object which could be another extension to show their personality such as the mirror idea or in the silhouettes an umbrella or walking stick. Adding on I liked the idea of having the posing suggest the type of person the characters are, such as the first rows 4th design which suggests a youthful flare whereas the second rows 1st, 2nd and 3rd design suggesting a stern coldness as well as a snooty-ness to the 3rd design in the second row. Moving forward I will explore rough ideas with these silhouettes making sure to experiment with how the base idea can be taken.

This project is for the visualization animatic, with the starting theme for us to generate our own ideas being ‘Topsy-Turvy’. Starting of I explored what my initial ideas were and came up with quick note form storiest, from this I decided that I liked the idea of exploring strange camera angles as we follow the characters such as from above or below to show the link to the starting theme of Topsy-turvy. Going further I liked the idea of the characters we follow being opposites like the words of topsy-turvy so I stuck with idea of the pairing of a cat and fish as both live in different places with the cat being on the ground whereas the fish is underwater. Following the format of this being an animatic I had to keep in mind that the duration for this will be short so the story should reflect thay and work with it instead of against.

Using various images from google I gathered a collection of images for the style for the characters and environment. I did this to get a solid idea of what each thing the viewer would see should feel like, by doing this I figured out that the cat character would have a sharp and angled design in opposition to the fish which would be graceful and elegant with a curved and soft design to further showcase them being opposites.

For the story which would be featured in the animatic I wanted to go off the short idea of the cat chasing the fish. From this I thought that with both creatures living in different places there could be different perspectives both following the cat on the ground as well as the fish underwater which I felt can lead to interesting camera angles such as above the cat as they spot the fish as well as underwater like the cat being on top of ice seeing the fish underneath. Going from this the short story is: The cat chases a fish trying to get a meal. The synopsis or overall idea being: It is a cold winter’s night as we follow a small cat hungry for their next meal as they spot a frozen lake with a small fish underneath, thinking its an easy meal. Moving forward using the mood-boards for the characters and environmental design i’ll be creating the concepts to be used making sure to showcase the idea of opposites and interesting camera angles.

For the last tasks of the paperwork rotation I had to create a walk cycle. For this I had to mainly focus on the transfer of weight as the character makes each step as well as the overall movement of a character taking a step. With this in mind, whilst making this animation I wanted to further express the figure stepping on the ground and pushing their body up as well as the swing of the arms. What I did well I feel is the looseness of the body as the figure takes the two steps with a few frames building up the the impact of the figure as the step up and down. What I would have done differently is add a small feature to them such as a hat or hair style to give them a bit more personality visually and whilst this task was only meant to focus on the movement I feel that adding a few features could have aided in selling the casual walk more to the viewer.

For the second part of task three I had to create a simple design to not only move their head from left to right I also had to include a secondary action which would follow up the main animation. For this I made a simple cat head with large sections of fluffy fur on its cheeks, the main action being the cat turning to the their left with the secondary action which would essentially ‘drag’ behind being the fur swaying as the head turns.

In my breakdown of how I wanted the animation to be like I first planted where I would want each action to end, the head turning ending around frame 17 with the fur movement following ending around frame 25. Doing this I was able to creating small ideas for what each frame would be like with a bit of drag as the face turns to the other direction. What I feel is successful of this task would be the main and secondary action which was able to add to the idea of the cat turning their head with their expression at the end looking almost surprised at something off-screen, I was able to add a bit of personality to the cat as they turn to the other direction which is important as other than visually the viewer has no other information regarding the cat so this is able to communicate a style to them. What I would have done differently would be to go over sections of the animation to make the cat look consistent as the turn from the first frame to the last frame the cat looks different which can be jarring and lessen the impact of the cat turning as they look different when compared. As well as this I would have changed the expression of the first frame to add the idea of the cat being surprised at something off-screen, maybe they start of sad and and by the end as they turn they’re excited or pleased? I feel that this would have added a bit more character to the cat other than them ending of surprised but a build up to it as they turn to sell the imagery of them actually being surprised to the viewer.

Overall my experience during this paperwork animation rotation was a mainly positive one. I had the opportunity to mainly focus on the movement of an object or character and explore real life movement to influence the actions within the work such as an arm moving or ball bouncing which focused on the fundamentals of movement in animation.