The Final Group Animation

My files – OneDrive (sharepoint.com)

The sound design differs from our individual segments because Caity (the one who edited the clips together) struggled to make it flow correctly, so she just put music over the top of it. I think it works either way, and I’m very proud of my group’s final animation! I think we all did a great job. It is nice to see it all come together and watch the hard work we put into it pay off. The animation required a high level of communication, team work and dedication, which my group demonstrated wonderfully, in my opinion. I enjoyed working with everyone, getting their ideas and feedback, they were wonderful.

My Segment

 

And it is complete! I am pretty proud of the result despite the issues. I do feel like you can feel the rushing that went into this, but I think I’ve done the best I can do.

There are a few issues like line art that could be cleaned up, there aren’t any shadows and I had to sacrifice a few things for the end result. I also noticed issues I thought I’d fixed, like there’s a part in the third shot where Sylvie’s face fur flickers, and I’d previously fixed that in an earlier export. I have included the clip where I fixed it below, but there was an issue with Priya’s eyes overlapping Sylvie in the second to last shot, and in adjusting that I must have undone the fixed layers. I’m a little bit irritated by it, but it’s my own fault and something I’ll have to keep an eye on in future, lesson learnt.

 

I think my favourite part of the process was definitely the actual animating part, I found it very fun.

I used an orchestral version of BTS’s On for the background music, as it was the song everyone had agreed to use after I’d begun animating.

I also used this website to generate the Animal Crossing speak.

Videos and Sound effects used

How To Adjust Audio Levels In Adobe Premiere Pro – Bing video

This was the first time I’ve ever completed an animation and I’m proud of the result. It had its challenges, but overall I think I applied what I was taught in class and took on board feedback I was given. I think my actual animation is quite good, there is obviously a lot of room for improvement, like the mid shot of them walking along, and throughout I could’ve kept Priya’s head more consistent in shape. I also think that my art in general improved a lot over the semester, I have a better grasp on anatomy and I’m more confident with backgrounds, especially in perspective. It has been really rewarding watching this improvement and motivates me to continue improving over the next semester.

I learnt that communication is paramount in a creative team. The teams that were most successful had constant communication, and I observed in my own groups that my final one was the most fun to work in because we kept everyone else in the group updated on progress made.

As for what didn’t go well, I had trouble keeping my motivation when placed into a group with a world concept I wasn’t thrilled with and stayed there for three weeks. It was definitely a learning experience about how to work despite being uninspired, and I understand that this situation may occur in the future. I now know how to deal with it, but while in that group I struggled quite a bit.

I also had technical difficulties, which took up a lot of time in the end. I couldn’t apply Aodhan’s feedback as I’d ran out of time, which I could’ve if there hadn’t been so many issues. I think in the future, to make it easier to resolve any issues that arise, I’ll do each shot in individual files in Clip Studio. The only reason I didn’t was because I’d underestimated how long my animation would actually be, which is absolutely my fault and highlights something I need to work on in the future.

I think if I could go back, I’d try to be more adventurous and step out of my comfort zone more. I find when reviewing my earlier work that it isn’t very interesting and could’ve been pushed further. I also think I’d put more time in completing work for this module, I had a job that inhibited the amount of work I could do, but I wish I could’ve done more pre-production and concepting for my final world.

For future animations, I will work on creating more consistent lines and building confidence with dynamic movement. I think I am beginning to grasp the principles of animation, but further practice could really help me improve to become faster and create more interesting animations. I’ll partake in more workshops and watch videos from professional animators to inform my practice better. By completing more exercises that demonstrate the fundamentals, I should be able to improve my skills as an animator.

Some Animation Backgrounds

The rise of the brown stone. An excess of dark caverns. My backgrounds are very minimal and simple and can barely be seen, of I’m being honest. If I had another chance I’d make it more interesting to look at. I think it’s rather dull and doesn’t have a lot of character to it. On top of that, I think on their own they’re too dark.

The egg was an inside joke among the project members, so we decided that’s what they found in the catacombs.

Reference 1

Reference 2

I also used House Of Ashes, a game by the same developers as Until Dawn and Man Of Medan, for reference –

 

The Week From Hell

There was a lot of progress and final edits made. This was also where I finally realized the problem that was persisting in my animation. I had no idea what was happening and it was deeply upsetting to me because it seemed like nobody had an answer for me. Clip Studio hadn’t gotten back to me, nobody online reported an issue, and I went through the animation with a fine tooth comb trying to see what I’d done.

There were a few issues with this version. I hadn’t finished colouring, but the cameras on the background were a little strange. I resolved that issue quite quickly though. Note, I also tried to add lighting to the background via a flickering light but it was at this time I realised that finishing the animation to a polished standard likely wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t have time to add lighting to the characters, and in the end I didn’t even have time for shading. Therefore, this was scrapped later.

 

 

The colour was still mostly as intended on this one, though still in progress. I finished the final shot but hadn’t worked out the transition. I managed to begin adding the glow to the flames. If I could go back, I’d try to make the fire look more random and also tone down the red and make it more orange and cohesive.

The issues with colour are absent here. I’m not sure why, especially as the issue should’ve started at this point and had cropped up in earlier iterations of the animation.

Added the ‘animalese’ dialogue for lipsyncing purposes, though I luckily didn’t need to adjust it. The transition is starting to come together.

This was when I realised the colour issue was happening.

The actual problem was that colour layers were misaligned and it wasn’t apparent until exported that it was happening. I took out the backgrounds in case it was one of those cameras influencing it. This export triggered a day’s long investigation into everything about the animation, trying to figure out what happened. In hindsight it was a minor thing, but I also have to remember the issue was far worse prior to me fiddling with the colour layers affected. I have since accidentally saved over an export that demonstrated the issue when it was at its worst.

I contacted Clip Studio but they didn’t respond prior to submission.

I’d like to say there was a definitive answer on what caused the problem, but I went through every single camera folder, deleted them and redid them as I was convinced it was an issue with the 2D camera. The issue persisted and it wasn’t until the 20th that it was resolved. I deleted two camera folders that affected the animation layers which held the problem when exported, and suddenly it was working, even though I had just went through individually ungrouping all the camera folders one by one and the colour misalignment was persistent. For the sake of my sanity, I just had to forgo the camera movement of Priya in the second to last scene, as I wasn’t going to risk whatever triggered the problem. It is a noticeable change, but it was also a sacrifice I was willing to make.

The forgone camera movement can be observed here. It is disappointing, but I’ll accept that technical difficulties happen and I had to do what was necessary to ensure the animation was completed. The day spent figuring out the issue also meant I couldn’t complete shading.

This is my segment for the presentation. I feel like I could’ve described my process and the project a little bit better, but in a way I think letting my animation speak for itself made the most sense. At this point I hadn’t finished animating the flame cycles and still had to finish the last few scenes. Showing my work in class was nerve-inducing but also very insightful. People seemed to think my animation was good, my lecturers told me it looked good and that they particularly liked the scene where Priya knocked into the back of Sylvie. I think that moment demonstrates my understanding of animation principles well, in my opinion. I’ve tried to focus on creating animation that displays difference principles and fundamentals.

I was quite surprised to see that my group have set a good pace. Up until now, I was worried about being behind as I’m quite a slow worker. It’s a constant worry for me that I won’t complete this animation in time, and it’s become quite a personal goal for me to complete it for the deadline. Any worries or anxiety was soothed a little when I saw the rest of the class, as it helped to remind me that everyone is around the same point in production.

Also, seeing the rest of the class’s work was very inspiring and interesting. Creatively speaking, it helped me to spot ways to improve my animation, and I also enjoyed watching the other animations to see how I could better convey the narrative I was trying to go for.

In my presentation I make note that I need to redo my animatic due to changes, I’ve started that process now and I intend to have it finished soon. However, the animation is my priority, and getting it done takes precedence over the animatic.

I used this template – Midwinter Blue Nature. Free PowerPoint Template & Google Slides Theme (slidescarnival.com)

By the time I’d sent it in to the chat to create a cohesive presentation, the others had already finished their segments, so only I and Ciara used the template.

One on One Tutorial Feedback

I submitted this to Aodhan for feedback. In general, he said it was very good and that the only thing he thought could use some work was the opening scene. He thought it would look clearer if I moved Sylvie back so the arm holding the torch was more visible. Though, he said that it was a change he thought only needed to be made if I have time to do it. I agree with this feedback, as I think it’ll help fill the space more, and while I think the action reads ok, it could be clearer.

Apart from that, my work seems to be going well and Aodhan reminded me the animation didn’t need to be coloured, so I should focus on the animating portion. I

Personally, I have pushed my skillset to try and create a visually interesting animation. I’m quite proud of the progress I’ve made, and I can definitely see personal growth after reviewing previous posts.

Animation Progress #3

I threw in rough backgrounds that are unfinished. I finished animating the last scenes, and I think they turned out really well. I’ve started collecting sound effects for the final edit.

(Edit) – Looking back at this animation clip, an issue I didn’t realise would become a massive problem had already cropped up. The colour layer is slightly misaligned, I hadn’t noticed it prior to this, but it is very obvious after review.

I’ve also begun watching Aaron Blaise’s course on The Fundamentals Of Animation and had been lucky enough to get it for free during an event. It has been greatly informative, in particular the time and spacing and the squash and stretch demonstrations were very useful. I have a better understanding of those concepts.

Rough Animation Progress

(Week 1 of animating – Week 2)

I’ve begun rough animation progress on the first half. I’m trying to go scene by scene, but I have a feeling this will slow me down the further I go into the animation. I think I’ll need to change Sylvie and Priya’s design slightly to make it easier to animate, and so I think I’ll need to complete more finished character sheets and expression sheets to make the process easier.

green screen transition animated fire – YouTube

I used this video as reference for the fire transition, which helped me a lot. Finding a reference from life was difficult, and so I had to use an animated reference. It was actually really helpful in putting together a convincing transition and I think it turned out well.

HOW TO ANIMATE FIRE 🔥🔥🔥 – Bing video

I also used these two as further reference just so I could have a better understanding of fire and how to capture it’s movement.

My flame animation could use a little work, but it won’t be a priority for now, if I have time I’ll go back and fix it.

Changes and The Reason For It

(Spoiler, it’s over-ambition and inexperience)

As can be seen, I had to make changes to the animation already. While roughing out the walk cycle for Sylvie it struck me that I was being overly ambitious. I got about six frames into the beginning of the cycle, and decided promptly that there was very little chance I would get it and a second character walk cycle done to a standard I was happy with in the time I was given.

There are obviously problems with this rough, but I was quite proud of the progress I was making, it was simply taking me too long. This is where my inexperience comes into play, and the earlier concerns caught up. Walk cycles can be very tricky, and there was too much to take into consideration for me to keep track of while roughing this out. If I had more time, I’d dedicate it to creating a dynamic walk cycle. I’d experiment with secondary action and inputting personality into the character’s walk, alas, I do not have the time. My inexperience influenced me to underestimate the work it would take to complete.

The other reason, and by extension the other problem with including two character walk cycles, was that I am a perfectionist. I was setting high expectations for myself, and part way through animating this I realised it was unrealistic and potentially stressing me out. The amount of detail I wanted to include was burdensome, but simplifying it down would create a situation where I wouldn’t be happy with the outcome due to feeling like it was subpar. I want this animation to be of good quality, even if this is my first whole project, and simplifying them would make me feel like I hadn’t tried hard enough.

So, I made the decision to cut them entirely and mix a few of the scenes together to create a shorter animation that I could put more focus into.

 

At the end of the week, I finished adding colour to the scenes I’d cleaned up.

First Pass Animatic

For my animatic, I used my storyboards to put them into motion, and then edited it down from there. This first pass animatic is really rough, and I think I’m going to redo the animatic when I have some time. I also have some concerns that were raised by my lecturers about the two character walk cycles, they might be too much work for me to complete.

My aim is to do a fully coloured animation, as I think the colour will help sell the concept of the animation.

Song used: BTS(방탄소년단) ON Orchestral Cover – YouTube

Final Animatic

 

Floursack Animation

I did this floursack animation to practice movement, and I think it was very successful. I continuously tweaked it, and I already have ideas of how to improve it for next time.

I animated on Clip Studio Pro Ex on 24 frames.

This was the key frames and a little bit of tweening.

First pass, inbetweens, breakdowns and keyframes done. I noticed a snapping issue on the flour sack’s fall, while it doesn’t look bad, I wanted fix it to see what it would look like.

And this is the final rough animation. I think this was a really helpful task to do, and I enjoyed the process of animating it! I think I need to work more on secondary action, as I struggled to make it look natural, but it is a start.

 

Puddle Cat

We were given the task to create something from a simple shape using the straight ahead method of animating. I started with a circle and slowly melted it out, I didn’t really have any idea of what to turn it into. but at some point during the process I saw a blob that looked like cat ears, and it gave me the idea to create Puddle Cat!

I have to admit, I’m just a little emotionally attached for it being a class exercise. I tried to add a little bit of dynamic action with the tail, but I think I could’ve refined it more.

Storyboards

I did the class exercise which was to draw a floursack character for these storyboard narrations. I don’t think these are particularly interesting looking, I wish I had a bit more time to refine them a little, however this was an informative task. I now have a better idea of what I need to improve, which is primarily staging.

Magical Academia Storyboards

Due to an indecision on the transition between me and Sam I had two openings. However part way through drawing the first pass, we decided the flame to torch transition works better and so I developed them into storyboard thumbnails to completion.

The discarded opening was a spider scuttling out from under the door, transitioning to my characters outside a mysterious door in the forest. They open it with a spell and go in. It was a pretty boring and limited opening that would’ve padded out the main concept of my segment, which is them in the catacombs.The storyboards for my segment follow Sylvie and her friend as they traverse the catacombs under the school, and they make a surprising discovery. It transitions from behind a pillar of stone to Ciara’s spooky forest segment. I wanted to create something that has a mix of limited and dynamic animation, and also demonstrates the principles clearly. I won’t know if it properly translates until I see it in motion, but I am hopeful that it works well!

Final Storyboards

These are the final storyboards. They don’t have backgrounds but I wanted to put a focus on the character movement and how each scene connects. I also added additional notes to help frame the animation during the process and make it easier on myself.