This week, I began looking into other artists’ showreels for inspiration for my own. As my style is mostly 2D based, I decided that researching styles that had this in common would benefit me well. The first showreel that I was really interested in was that made by the studio Cartoon Saloon. Although this task was primarily to be focused on individual artists, I felt that including this was important as the studio influences my work. I especially adore their animation and designs in their 2020 release, Wolfwalkers. The music, the fluid animation, linework and colours are all something that made this movie one of my favourites- this isn’t even including how much I loved the story. Ultimately, their showreel itself is astounding, well-edited and summarises the studios’ best works. Viewing their showreel has made me realise that putting quality over quantity definitely makes a difference in a portfolio, and this is something I will continue to strive for. A showreel also requires an equal focus on the music, typography and editing style in order to be effective towards the audience- this is also something I intend to acknowledge for this module.
Cartoon Saloon showreel:
Cartoon Saloon Showreel 2020 – YouTube
The next showreel I looked at was by an artist who goes by Lava Art on Youtube. Their work is 2D based and seems to be quite fantasy-inspired. Moreover, I love their linework, colours and usage of squash and stretch in their showreel as it really shows off their level of skill. The editing and music both suit the style and body of her work, complementing the theme. Ultimately, watching this showreel has made me feel inspired to include various types of media into my work like Lava Art does, which includes line art, flat shading, full animations and less fluid pieces. Having a mixture of different pieces, whether it be work in progress art/finished art may display a good balance of skill and the lack of fear to experiment in the subject of animation. I personally feel that being fluid with the showreel will show the viewer that the artist isn’t afraid of unexpectantly, therefore being confident. Although it is important to ensure that this has a good balance as too much experimentation might make the portfolio look rushed, messy and uncared for. In summary, I will look into this further into the future, and try out these different types of presentation whenever it comes closer to the time of creating my own showreel.
Lava Art Showreel:
GOBELINS Portfolio // Animation Demo Reel [ACCEPTED] – YouTube
In comparison to the last two, I feel like this next one is a little more lacking in material. A lot of the animation included is really simple and less interesting to watch, for example, there is a lot of simple walk animations and basics such as bouncing ball studies. These feel a lot more like beginner studies rather than artwork expected to be handed to an employer. Although my words are harsh, this is something that is very important within the sector of the animation industry as it is very competitive and it’s a further requirement to showcase the best work you have to offer. Despite this criticism, however, their style is really cute and I can’t help but adore some of the character creations shown in this showreel as they reflect creativity, intuition and passion. By reviewing this showreel, I can see how important it is to properly figure out how careful you have to be with the media you include. For instance, too many simple animations at once can come off as possibly lazy, beginner level or quite tedious to an employer- which is why it is important to only have a few of these mixed in with more finished pieces of work. Ultimately, I will refer back to this showreel and keep in mind what I have discussed here in order to polish my showreel to be as professional as possible.
SleepyGrim Showreel:
2d Animation Showreel! – YouTube
In conclusion, these showreels have taught me the importance of showcasing a range of different works, ranging from animations, sketches, concept art and final pieces. They also taught me that balance is key in a showreel and manipulating music and editing techniques, it can really make or break the showcase itself. I will continue to research and study techniques and ways to improve on my editing skills, whilst also thinking about what pieces of my work are the best. This would put future me into the perspective of what I will need to include, and give me the further confidence and motivation to begin my own showreel. As I am someone who wants to work with a studio such as Cartoon Saloon, I will have to put a lot of effort into my portfolio and to reach these types of standards, I aim to improve and work on my body of work to get there.
Showreel editing practice
To allow the class to get more adjusted with editing software and also give us additional insight on how to present our work, our tutor Alec gave us the task of re-editing his Show Reel. At first, I viewed this task as very daunting and was worried that I wouldn’t be able to make it as good as the original. However, after some trial and error and adjusting to Adobe Premiere Pro, I was able to edit the project to a level I felt was satisfactory. Although there are some things in there that could be better, such as my choppy editing of the music at the end, as my first proper go at editing, I feel quite happy with the outcome. In future, I will try to avoid mistakes made here and will continue to improve on my skills using this software. Below are the video inserts of both the original and my take of Alec’s showreel.
Original video
Edited by me
Above is the version in which I edited and put it together. I feel as though it matches a lot better with the beat of the music, and overall enhances the quality of Alec’s work. There were a few shots that I felt were too long in duration, and cutting these down a bit more made the whole video more interesting and refreshing to watch. Not only that but there was far too much in the first video, deleting these made the showreel less messy and more organised, quick to the point and more fluent. Before there were just too many clips that it was difficult to understand the targeted focus. After doing this task, I am more experienced and tuned in to the music/video of a project, which I feel is a big achievement for me. I will take what I have learned here and use it to my advantage for my own showreel. Doing so would make my art appear more professional and organised and this is what employers want which is passion and creativity.