For our last lesson this semester in Henry’s Creative Futures was the talk of showreels and portfolios. Since we know about showreels and portfolios since second year is was a good recap of the overall with the Quality over Quantity with the Halo vs Horn effect and who’s our Target Audience. For it all depends on what we make and who is it for e.g. character design, character animation/rigging, modelling, prop design and environments/background etc.Β
For I have only updated my CV for the week and poster designs for this module with the feedback from my team to add and feature for next Friday.Β I simply continued the Major project in the meantime with the three weeks remaining of classes left to get everything wrapped up.Β
Since our lecturer’s weren’t in for a trip, I took the time to work on our posters as Dylan and I having been working on them and will decide on the final design this Tuesday coming. Here is some of the progress I’ve done for both by adding some effects with the gradients. I really like the both of them in my opinion since they give off the creepy horror feel from other horror monster posters.Β
After being off for the Easter Break I had made improvements to certain animation shots and made a new shot which involves the Jumpscare encounter with the boy and the beast, but with the boy animation instead. It is still a WIP but a bit of progress with reference from my storyboard to aid me for the Jumpscare scene.
My definite goal this week is to finish all roughs before were off for University and with our assignments coming up and hopefully move onto in-betweens/clean ups with colour before we finish the last week.Β
I went lengths to finish all the roughs of the 2D animation and join them together this week to show to my tutor on any improvements or assets needed for each one which I had then received from him. I had shown incredible progress on hoping to move into the in between and clean ups with Dylan finishing the backgrounds in the dark with effects and Sarah finishing up the beast 3D animation in hoping to combine both media together.Β
During the second Easter Break week, I gotten my feedback from my tutor to add secondary animation to the walk cycle of boy walking down the hallway. I looked back to original walk cycles with secondary action on how most of the body bounces, the hair, the hands and the items in their hands. I also went back to my second year walk/skip cycle for reference on what I had done. I then went looking for more references to aid me for the walk cycle for the boy which I found useful to get the movements I require.
This is the outcome I came out with with the secondary animation before the end of the Easter Break and updated my posters the week after. It wasn’t to difficult for the walk cycle with the secondary animation as the other shots had been more challenging.Β
This first week off, I took the time to work on the more challenging shots with the Dad leaving, the Jumpscare and the boy walk cycle. I had animated the dad leaving his son from the intro shots with the Dads walk cycle and the boy at the door entrance.Β
I then worked on the boy walk cycle with and without the background moving which the video below helped me with moving the backgrounds shots on krita showing me this new technique of using animation curves to help move the shots. For the walk cycle was easy enough as I have done this from first year using the references to aid me for this project.Β
Before the Easter Break, I had down 5 shots with their backgrounds before moving onto the challenging animation this week. I had animated the curtains opening and closing, the boy pulling up his covers and the door locking with the click sound.Β
I realise that I had only did the simpler and medium challenging shots these weeks which my lecturer Aodhan had noticed and I will have to take the Easter Break to do these shots to get the harder shots out of the way. He also said that we would have to get to our key point of animation which will serve as our alternative ending just to watch our time on the pipeline.Β
“EOYS Discussion and Postgraduate/Freelance/Clients”
Before the Easter Break, our lecturer Henry introduced us to Postgraduate/Freelance and Clients. He had shown is the understanding of Masters in Animation if we would wish to return to enhance our skills whether it is 2D or 3D to push our skills in this year or the next. It has been giving me thought after graduation if I should return late 2024 or next year 2025 as long as I secure a part or full time job for the future.
When it comes to our year’s fundraiser involving the pup quiz and craft fair nothing has changed as I’m still helping the craft fair for the 22nd April by guiding people within the shop and as well as buying some materials from my classmates on what they have in store, so I can contribute for our class.Β
As well for our posters, I have updated and improved both versions of the poster which is still a WIP at the moment. As the colours are still flat and basic I hope to show these improvements to my team and hear their feedback and give mine to theirs before moving on and deciding who’s design were going for.Β
Coming back into week 7 after having the last 3 Fridays off, we were introduced to fundraising, future careers and coming event of the showcase for our groups. As the whole is partaking in either of the two fundraising events which are a pub quiz on animation and a craft fair within the art shop. As I listed my name for the EOYS 2024 role for the craft fair as a event volunteer to help with the public and probably buy stuff there if I see anything and contribute some money for the craft fair.Β Β
As a class we were discussing about the layout of the lab and which group would be seated using the one table for each group having their poster up as a banner. Since I’m in a group of three people we will be either be in the middle or next to the wall. For the posters we kept working on them as we were experimenting with the colours but only the flats just to test them out. We looked at each others and given feedback on each one so we will be doing thatΒ
I had showed off my progress to our lecturer Aodhan on animating the two shots in the blocking/rough stages with the references I gathered for the both of them. I had also sketched out new backgrounds for the project with Sarah’s background shots of the 3D environment around us.Β
References:
Roughs:
Having knowledge about the arc was a great help to lift and rotate the boy’s head during the rough process before blocking and the reference for the boy peaking out of the doorway to show what movement I’m using to show his caution and fear from even if it is till in it’s rough stage.Β
Sketched backgrounds for the boy with his bed and the wall with the window which would have the curtains added onto them.Β
My plan next week is too sketch more backgrounds and animate more shots for next week as it’ll be our last week before the Easter Holidays . We decided to cut down the animation to 2 mins instead of 4 as to shorten our animatic as well. We can still show off our progress of we had done it and completed our table on our roles and who is doing what from Sarah’s Excel table.Β
