WEEK 2 – COMPOSITION AND PERSPECTIVE
During Week 2 we were taught about composition and perspective, one of the main animation fundamentals. We were told about how composition is used in cinematography and animation, as well as the different kinds of compositions that can be used with techniques such as Rule of Thirds, The Golden Ratio or Symmetry. These are used in camera shots and animations to make up and frame the scene, so it is more visually appealing. We were tasked to take photos and attempt to capture interesting compositions like the ones we had been taught as practice to become used to searching and creating these compositions in our own work.
It was very interesting to learn how composition and perspective make up a scene, or an environment and can change the situation and mood so effectively.
After the lecture, we were assigned to find the perspective lines in 3 images of stills from animations. I found two very prominent one-point perspectives in Avatar: The Last Airbender and in Boku No Hero Academia, and I also found a two-point perspective in the show Gravity Falls featuring a scene of the “Mystery Shack”.
I found it very challenging to find a two-point perspective for this assignment, and even when I found the one shown above, my viewpoints for the left side were not very accurate. However, I was able to discover many one-point perspectives and decipher where the viewpoints and horizon lines were much more easily.
This has allowed me to know I may need to practice and study two-point perspectives further in my own time, however, I do believe I have a much better understanding of perspectives and for finding and creating viewpoints now than when I began the course.
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Design A World –
In class we were separated into groups of 4 or 5 people and given the task to think of as many World ideas as we could together. My group brain-stormed together for an hour about various ideas that could be used for a world. We had both simple concept ideas that could be used as well as thorough story and environmental ideas.
Eventually we decided to combine our favourite ideas of a post-apocalyptic world where it had been caused to shatter into pieces that still orbited the same solar system together. We focused on three main ideas for planet pieces that would be different biomes: A technological, futuristic city-based world; A cold ice and crystal world; A poisonous, fungal and mushroom filled planet. We were then able to add and take away any other ideas that worked with any of these three themes.
I was mostly interested in the environment of the planet pieces as well as what the characters who lived of each world piece looked and acted like. My main focus for the concept art was what the main character and what the characters who would help them on their journey would look like, each being unique to their world.
For our homework that week we were tasked with making 12 thumbnails of potential environments, locations and scenes within our group’s world concept. We had to be aware of what compositional techniques we would use as well as trying different perspectives. In my thumbnails, I tried to get a mixture of compositions such as Rule of Thirds, however I think I could have focused on that aspect more rather than create whatever perspective and composition that came naturally. I need to practice two-point and three-point perspectives much more and be much more conscious of how I compose my pieces.
