Poster Design

For the design aspect of the module, I created a PureRef board for movie posters that had a similar theme to what we were aiming for.

We thought about the underlying message and decided it was ultimately a story about overcoming grief. With this in mind, I thought the fox should be the main focus of the poster and drew up a few concepts to share with the group.

We discussed how the bottom left option was our favourite, but it would look better if there was a vignette framing the fox, the way Danielle had done hers. We also liked the idea of featuring the butterfly on the poster as it was a symbol of hope, something Alex had included in her first design. Taking this discussion on board, I further developed the bottom left and top right sketches.

I wanted to highlight the poses of the butterfly and the baby fox as they were cute and gave the clear impression of childhood innocence. I combined this with the den in the bottom right sketch as I thought it would be beneficial to include environmental work.

I got some feedback that the composition would be improved by finding a placement for the butterfly to enhanced the overall poster design which I did.

I then researched different fonts to see what style would look best. This included some of the examples talked about during our lectures and a variety of online examples.

Ultimately, we used a design similar to Alex’s original concept because the pose was dynamic and filled the space well. Our feedback was that it looked nice, but the font didn’t work. We went back to my reference board and agreed that we all liked the font of Ori and the Blind Forest. I suggested we handwrite the title using a paintbrush on Procreate so the font tied in with the painterly theme we had used for the textures in the project. We tried this and found that it looked much better and helped with the visual storytelling.

I also made some font mock-ups for variety, but they didn’t suit the poster as much as Alex’s so we went with hers.

Business Cards

These are my initial business card designs. I got feedback that they didn’t match the group’s theme and as this was the logo for my Instagram it may be better to produce new ones.

 

For this version, I updated the front colours to match the logo, but still wasn’t right, so I created a second attempt with a forest theme.

Danielle and I started brainstorming and came up with a few ideas to work from that allowed our designs to blend together as a team.

I developed option 5 with a forest background and a fox in front. The idea to use the same image for cohesiveness so we could all include our own foxes to make each card unique.

The business card design we ended up choosing belonged to Danielle, who had made designs based on Alex’s poster. The models on the cards also highlighted our specialty, so I focused on topology as I want to be a character modeler.

It was a challenge to get the wireframe to show on the model without disappearing into the background, but by using a dark blue I managed to make it stand out against the green.

I tried a few different models to see which would look best.

CV

Danielle had also designed a CV template to match the business cards, so I followed her example to update a previous resume I had and shared my template with the group.

I combined the new elements with my existing CV. It looked nice and there was a good layout, but it ended up on two pages which is usually too long, so I decided to do another one. I looked up some job requirements to see what information would be most important when applying for jobs in the industry. I was able to match Danielle and Alex’s designs to make the project look professional while still highlighting the most important information.

I gathered the CVs and printed them, before using a guillotine to cut off the loose edges around the final design to keep them neat.

I uploaded several posts to my ArtStation showcasing the final render as well as progress shots of the project. This allowed me to display all the aspects I worked on throughout the pipeline.

For my showreel, I took an existing edit and updated it to include my new final year project animations. I also decided that as I have modelling portfolios on ArtStation, Sketchfab, and Google Websites, I would change my showreel to focus singularly on my animation.

Art Book

I decided it would be a good starting point to look at the work of previous students, as well as industry-grade pieces. I gathered a selection of renders of my assets and removed the backgrounds so they would fit seamlessly into the theme. The book ended up with a nice finish and an even balance of all of our work showcased.

Display Layout

We had an overall theme of nature, so I knew what kind of items to look for to add our display. I went to the park and collected an array of pinecones and leaves. I also brought in some synthetic ivy vines, flowers, and LED lights which I thought would enrich the display. I bought some faux grass and felt leaves from Hobbycraft which  matched the theme perfectly.

We set up a rough display using the elements we already had, to get an idea of what we could do with the space. We included a draft poster on the wall to get an idea of how big it would be and what to do with the area around it. This initial setup looked pretty, but we decided to add some larger stumps to tie the environment together.

We painted the wall behind our poster an eye-catching blue, keeping in some visible brush strokes to add texture and tie in with our painterly design. We also added wallpaper to the side wall, following the nature theme, to elevate the space further.

Originally, we planned for the ivy to hang down from the top but decided it would be better placed along the front to cover up the green cardboard at the front of the table. Alex and I set up the vines but as they were a little sparce we bought some additional leaves to incorporate with the ivy to give it a fuller and more vibrant look.

We initially dotted the leaves all along the back wall to look like they were falling from a tree. This wasn’t dynamic enough, so I suggested we aim for the impression of leaves blowing in the wind. For this, we started at the top right corner and arranged them in an S shape, but due to a lack of space, the movement didn’t look quite right. Henry suggested looking at the Line of Beauty by William Hogarth. In doing so, I was able to create a natural line that looks like leaves blowing in the wind by using the additional space provided by the side wall.

 

One of our monitors will play the final cut of the film, and the other will show a looping video of our showreels. To create this, I screen-recorded all three of our portfolios and edited them together in Premiere Pro.

Online Promotional Displays

For my professional branding, I started by being more active on LinkedIn to improve my reach and expand my network in the industry. I added professional contacts, engaged with, and reposted a range of content from my connections.

For any events I attended or was part of throughout the year, I followed the company involved and made a post about the event. This helped me reach a wider base of potential employers and shows that I am passionate about a career in the industry.

I decided to open a Google Website to market myself and created a page with my work on Forlorn, as well as an introduction page. I will keep this updated by adding future projects I work on.

I also set up an email address and Instagram account to promote our short film in terms of progress shots and final renders to allow industry experts to become familiar with the film, especially if we decide to enter it into festivals.

Fundraiser

I volunteered to find prizes for the pub quiz and raffle. I started looking at companies based in Northern Ireland, as I thought the community aspect would make them more likely to respond. I started a Google Doc for everyone to add the prizes they sourced.

 

I got replies from Boojum, Born and Bred, and Q-con who provided some great prizes. I also asked one of my classmates if he could get vouchers for Hjem, where he works, as a raffle prize which he did.

I helped find a venue by looking for free-to-hire event rooms and contacting the Pavilion in Belfast. We ultimately decided to go with CQ Social, as it is easier to get to. This meant more people were likely to attend so we had the opportunity to raise more money. I also bought the raffle book which was used for the quiz on the night.

I also made a round for the pub quiz, and shared it with the other organizers and they liked the questions but suggested maybe making the most difficult ones multiple choices to make it easier.

End-of-Year Showcase

I helped paint the wall to cover up drawings and create a more professional look. I set up a ‘room monitoring’ schedule, which allowed people to pick shifts that work for them so we would have cover for the entirety of the show. I will also be volunteering, but as I have more availability I decided to wait to put my name down until others have chosen.