Reflection

Within the past week we have started to shape the foot of our 3D models, it was mainly a practice to learn how to shape 3D models. Throughout the Caad session it was explained that we can use various shapes to create our 3D model, we started off by using a cube and making it an editable item they we started to use the knife tool and then we started to roughly shape out the foot:

We overlaid the 3D model with our 2D lifework of our character designs, this made it easier for us as we had a model to sketch out the 3D work within cinema 4D. We used 2 different views side and front so that we could switch from one panel to the other to make sure that the 3D foot stayed in the shape resemble the reference within cinema 4D:

After adding the new points into the shape we then shaped them so that they lined up with the outline of the line work. From a different point of view the 3D foot looked very choppy so what we were supposed to do next is that we were supposed to raise the rest of the foot so that a form of a leg morphs into  the model and we were also trying to make the shape of the foot less jagged and more well rounded:

As you can see the 2 different foots are very different in shapes mainly because I deiced to restart as I found it very difficult at first to make however on the second attempt I managed to kind of round out the edges of the 3D leg. 

For this specific piece I believe that I can comprehend how to make 3D objects as long add I have a reference to go off as I am doing but as I am so inexperienced with cinema 4D and 3D modelling that I believe that I can do better from this and learn how to use 3D modelling effectively. 

One of my main targets for this piece is to practice 3D modelling in my own time not specifically related to the module but try to 3D modal different body parts such as hands and  feet or arms etc.

Furthermore I have also scanned in my line work into the computer and I am now currently working through my style sheet I also need to insert my lifework into adobe illustrator and take screenshots for my development for my Digital Skills Acquisition module. 

Furthermore we focused on our contextual studies during thursday afternoon we managed to learn how to structure our essays and how we should reference any sources we gain information off, whether it is from a book or a web based article, we also did some work on one of the topics that we are supposed to study, direct filming we all created various types of frames and we put them all together to make a animation as a class. every frame was used in different ways and they were either rotated and overall the entire animation was filled with various colours and shapes moving around. 

Overall my main targets for this week are:

1. Finish off the rest of the style sheet for this week (INCLUDE COLOUR REFERENCING)
2. Practice one 3D model in spare time mainly for practicing with tools that will be used for 3D modelling.
3. Live trace line work within adobe illustrator and take screenshots for development. 
4. Begin research for contextual studies and set up essay structure as researching.

3D Animators research:

3D animators differ highly from 2D animators as the 3D animations cover so much more depth and details so the major important factors to include are elevations, depth to the 3D of the animations and the character designs making sure that they are accurate from all angles.

Sintel: Ton Roosendal

The first 3D animation that I researched was an independent film created by Ton Roosendal mainly funded by blender institute to improve the free type of software for animating within 3D, the animation is approximately 15 minutes long, entailing the adventure of the lone beggar girl and a baby dragon, the animation style is beautiful as the art art style, it is very detailed and it is set in various settings, public areas, mountains hill etc.

Here are the elevations for the main character of the animation, it is not as detailed as the final product however it shows the 3d design of the main character showing details of clothing hair style body proportions from various different angles.














The main animaton was most likely created in the 3D software Andvalidate as this animation was created so that it could improve the software itself the independent film received so much funding from online and also the Amsterdam blender institute realised the animations potential and they funded the majority of the project. The Netherlands films fund also approved funding for this animation.

The main concept for this animation is adventure and mainly coping with the loss of loved ones, as within the animation the main character is perceived as maintaining her youth as she searches for her companion however it is revealed in the end of the animation that she has aged greatly and that the dragon she fights and kills is her former companion the ending of the animation is supposed to leave you on a note of anti-climatic with an issue that would never be resolved, from my perspective I believe that this animations concept is pursue your hopes and dreams but do not let them consume I believe that this is the animations sad and subtle message.

David O'Rielly 

David O’Reilly is an animator and film maker from Ireland, he is well known for the use of 3D animation, he had been involved in various projects and he even directed and produced an episode for adventure time where it was all 3d, many other of his works include “The External World” and “Let’s play on a Mountain”.

All of David O’Reilly’s work is 3D, this is a scene from “The External World” he involves rather unique character designs and the style appears to be quite modern it appears that he created these characters in a 3D software like Cinema 4D.

“The External World” is a 17 minute long animation made up of shorter animations which all link together, half of the animation is bizarre and the other half with subtle undertones of serious concepts, ranging from a bird trying to find love with a printer to a dreamful man being beaten with his own ideals.

Not only has David O’Reilly created his own films but he has also help major animation productions like Adventure Time, as he created an episode called “Glitch is a Glitch” it transforms the 2D characters into  3D characters, he still retains the persona of the characters brilliantly so the episode is basically a transition from 2D to 3D.

Not only has David made animations but he also does designs for T-Shirts and he also has made 3D models of characters such as galaxy boy, he work with various types of materials.

Tokyo Plastic:

Tokyo Plastic are a group of animators who mainly producer media based for advertisements, they have advertised for brands such as Samsung, Nike and O2.

Here are Tokyo Plastics character designs for the Nike mascots, they are design to look like trainers so that it is relatable to the appeal of the products, and it creates a cute and appealing look that will keep the audience of the advert interested. These are the 3D designs:

Here are the uncoloured 3d Models of the character designs, the change from 2D to 3D most likely occurred through the use of elevations and 3D editing software like cinema 4D and many more like it. As the character is 3D it appears to have more life to it and shows more of a personality. The style is very unique as it is somewhat of a transition of something alive yet an inanimate object.

They have also made character designs for mascots for the O2 also, the style appears to be a prehistoric style:

Tokyo Plastic design a dinosaur like creature, with personality traits like laziness and ignorant manner, this was an attempt for O2 to show how they have good customer service so Tokyo Plastic created a prehistoric bad customer service rep, most likely indicating that bad service is a thing of the past.

Zealous Creative:

Zealous creative are a creative industry based in Australia they have made various animations mainly made through stop motion so it is a more traditional 3D animation, from this studio animations such as "The Maker", "Zero" and the "Smooshies".

The use of stop motion and of the various materials gives the animations a lovely traditional feel for example with zero the use of the design of the 3D models is outstanding as there are various types o materials used such as wool, plastic, Plasticine and various other types of materials however these materials make the character designs somewhat adorable while they are also creepy.

The concept of the animation is mainly about people in life who are more or less successful in life depending on which number they have, it goes from 0 to 9, basically those who have a significant number are more valued members of society while those who are born as 0 have less value to society and are deemed as being unnecessary for being alive and are treat as scum. The concept has various types of symbolism mainly delving into the subject of self-worth and societies view of people, mainly the point is people who are deemed as being worthless to society such as having no job etc. have hidden potential and are not as worthless as society portrays. 

Another animation along the name of "The maker" the story is about a odd rabbit creature trying to make itself a female version of itself, most of the animation you are persuaded that the main character is lonely however the real concept of the animation is the amount of time each creature has before they can make another of their creations, this can be considered to be symbolism for how short life can be and it can also symbolize that we should make the most of what time we have left. 

Target/Reflection:

1. Within the first semester I believe that I could of done better within the first 4 modules by focusing more on research and focusing more detail on learning how to use the software more professionally and created good quality animations and illustrations. The main concept for my first module was Childhood and there were various concepts such as storyboarding and animation production. believe that my strengths are mainly traditional illustrations if I want to improve I should: 

• PRACTICE ILLUSTRATING USING VARIOUS SOFTWARE
• PRACTICE USING ANIMATION SOFTWARE MORE FREQUENTLY (GET GRIPS OF SOFTWARE)
•  FOCUS MORE ON DETAIL WHEN ILLUSTRATION (SHADING, FACIAL FEATURES ETC.)

   2. Within this module (3D Design) I believe I have made a moderate start I have already created my final design  for my character and I proceed to make sketches within my sketchpad with the final design of the character within various scenarios, there are several characters that I have created linking to the backstory so if I am not happy with my final design of my character I can pick another one that I have previously drawn and develop on it so that it is to my liking. What I majorly need to work on is getting my characters traced up onto Adobe Illustrator and then decide if I want to stick with my final character design. Not only do I have to do this but I must make sure that I have decided on a character design so that I can start the 3D designs and also finish my research of 3D.  

3. Mainly I believe that I am at an average level within this course I wish to improve on my work and improve on my technical skills, I do not believe that my style of artwork is as good as it can be for example my metamorphosis animation I could of focus more on the design of the dog making it either look more realistic or to a ridiculous cartoon style.

New Blog: New Start

Today is the day I have created this blog, its the main blog I will be using for posting about my work on my Animation and illustration course at Newcastle college. I started this course because art is a major influencial factor in my life, I love to generically draw but so far I am enjoying learning so many new things that can be used within the creative industry such as how to animate and how to illustrate using software. I am interested in various styles and artists ranging from manga artists to abstract artists. I mainly love a simple cartoon like style like series such as Adventure Time or The amazing world of Gumball, I mainly love these styles as some of them can be quite obscure and creative such as how Ben Bocquelet creates a semi-realistic environment within the animation this occurs through the use of having 2d characters move around freely within a 3d environment.

What I mainly hope and want to achieve is that I can improve my skills further through experiencing so many different types of animation and illustration software, also to develop my own type of style so I want to get as much sketching and illustrating done throughout these 3 years, mainly I hope I can develop the skills to become a skilled illustrator, possibly make a story book as I love the idea of making up stories and telling them and sharing them with people.