Anim8Yash

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Planning and Reschedules

This post is a reflection on the methods I used to stick to my schedule and maintain consistency. I want it to serve as a reminder in the future whenever I feel myself procrastinating or becoming unorganized. Looking back at these twelve weeks, I realize how important it has been to have a flexible system that kept me moving forward even on the more difficult days.

My planning was divided into three main parts.

A rough weekly schedule: This was the most important tool in making sure I was not missing out on tasks or stalling too much each day. If I ended up feeling unproductive, I allowed myself to shift the work to another day of the week and take a day off if necessary, as long as I was still hitting my overall goals for the week. One of the key lessons I realized over the past twelve weeks is that rescheduling instead of chasing a schedule that I was already too far behind on became a lifesaver. I rescheduled eight times during this period, but that flexibility kept me on track. The important point is that I was not endlessly chasing a strenuous list of tasks. Instead, I was able to redistribute them evenly across the remaining days.

Estimated weekly schedule Reward for showing up I am not a morning person. I work best at night, but because this was a self-study module I wanted to test myself with a morning routine. With the right amount of sleep, mornings can actually be very productive. To motivate myself, I put a sticky note and a pencil in my bathroom. Each time I woke up on time, I marked an "X." If I woke up late by an hour, I wrote "X1" or another symbol of my choice, just for me to see my progress at a glance. This small visual tracker helped me measure my consistency, and despite some off days, I managed to follow the routine quite well.

My personal "Tick" on successfully showing up for the routine

Track progress on the go (Well maintained Routesheet) Having a well-maintained route sheet was another major factor that kept me motivated at all times. The visual satisfaction of turning boxes green gave me small but meaningful boosts, pushing me to stay away from distractions. At the beginning, the idea of animating thirty shots from scratch for a solo project sounded overwhelming. However, once I broke it down and had a clear picture of what needed to be done, the work became much more manageable.

My Routesheet screenshots

Reflecting on this, I see that structure and flexibility together made it possible for me to keep moving forward. Rather than fighting myself, I learned to adapt, and that is what helped me deliver consistently throughout this project.

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Post Production and Bloom

All of the hard work is finally coming together. With the coloring and post-production completed, the imagination sequence has turned out exactly how I visualized it, and in some parts it may have even exceeded my expectations. Watching it in its final form has been extremely rewarding, and for now I have been enjoying the satisfaction of seeing everything fall into place. I wish I could say the same for my acting shots, but those will need a little more attention moving forward.

The Imagination Sequence

I also layered the post-production changes on top of these shots, and the results captured the kind of atmosphere I always pictured for the jungle. The combination of blues, shadows, and a subtle mystical glow creates exactly the kind of space I wanted the child’s imagination to live in. It feels immersive and authentic to the story.

The added particles One detail that stood out to me was how well the bloom effect worked in bringing the character into focus. It really makes the character pop out of the background and gives the shot a stronger sense of depth. I want to document the process I learned here because it was surprisingly simple yet impactful. The effect came from using a Gaussian blur on a duplicate layer and adjusting its opacity. I would not have expected such a small adjustment to create such a dramatic improvement, but it genuinely elevated the shots to a higher level of polish.

With Bloom (left) Without Bloom (Right)

Looking back, I feel that I have finally reached the level of visual quality I was aiming for in this project. That in itself gives me a lot of confidence as I move closer to wrapping up the film.

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Using Minor Stock-Free effects

I am very close to finishing the film and the deadline is just as close. This is the stage where I need to refine the project to the best of my ability while also making sure it is complete and ready to present. Since this is a solo project, I have to find efficient and economical ways to achieve the final touches.

One of the most practical solutions has been to use stock or copyright-free effects. The purpose of adding these is to make the shots more believable and immersive for the senses. I plan on using the typical anime-style flashy lines combined with vignette effects to emphasize force, speed, or moments of intense focus. For this, I found a YouTube channel called "Green Screen Garf" that offers the perfect effects for my edit. All of the content there is copyright-free and does not even require credits, which I found incredibly kind and supportive of creators like me.

Youtube - Green Screen Garf - Anime effects In addition, I have identified another useful resource in the form of a website called forfilmcreation.com. I intend to use it to incorporate atmospheric dust into the forest sequences. This small detail will add a subtle yet effective layer to the environment, creating a more mythical and enchanted forest atmosphere that supports the child’s imagination in my story. It is again a very generous resource for filmmakers who want to add that extra polish without unnecessary obstacles.

ForFilmcreation - Youtube Channel I also want to make it clear that the choice to use these resources is not because I am unable to create these effects myself. The real reason is the crunch in time. The value added by these details is important, but recreating them from scratch would take far too long compared to the benefits. Using these pre-made effects allows me to focus on other areas of the film that need my direct attention, while still ensuring the final product feels polished and alive. References: Green screen Garf (no date). https://www.youtube.com/@GreenScreenGarf. ForFilmCreation (no date). http://www.forfilmcreation.com/video/8.

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Acting Shots Continued

I continued with the acting shots after my previous blog, and at this point I have completed all the shots driven by the Kid. There were a few key elements I wanted to bring into these sequences through the way he moves and acts. Early on, I had written down words that describe his personality, such as enthusiasm, excitement, curiosity, hyperactive (maybe), and high energy.

All the Kid Dialogues Out of the four shots featuring the Kid, I chose two to keep in constant motion to emphasize his high energy, which is in sharp contrast to the more grounded nature of the Grandpa. My aim was to show this contrast through acting choices and the use of accent. In these moving shots, the Kid shifts from one place to another while talking, which visually reinforces his restless and lively personality. Anyone who has spent time with a child can relate to this. Kids are energetic, tireless, and want to do everything at once. By intentionally overlapping these traits I believe the performance feels more believable.

added layer of subtle motion with fingers

Specifically, the first two shots show the Kid before he has started listening to the story. In the remaining two shots, I kept him more engaged and reduced the bouncing motion. This contrast makes the stiller shots appear as if the child is fully focused, since they are framed by earlier moments of high-energy movement.

Snaps from the other two shots

In contrast, I want the grandfather to appear wise, experienced, and occasionally tired, but still willing to do whatever it takes to make his grandson smile. From a technical standpoint, the main challenge was balancing lip syncing with the Kid’s motion so that it matched the audio naturally. I am grateful to my friend who provided the perfect tone and voice for the dialogues because no matter how good the animation is, the wrong voice could have ruined the shot.

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Script Analysis for acting shots

This week was focused on covering my acting shots. In total, I have around eight of them, split evenly between Grandpa and the Kid, with four shots each. As I had mentioned in my previous blog and based on the research I had done on how to approach acting shots, I followed a structured method to begin executing them efficiently.

I started by sorting out all the dialogues that would be used for the acting shots. Once that was done, I went through them line by line, trying to understand what each line was trying to communicate. I focused on which words could serve as the key moments in the dialogue, what they added to the overall story, and how they shaped the conversation between the two characters.

Script analysis

I wanted some of Grandpa’s lines to carry an added emotional layer. While he narrates the story, I imagined him also reflecting on how things used to be, adding a subtle undertone of nostalgia or quiet resignation. Even though this emotional layer may not be critical to the story’s meaning, I felt it would add to the character’s depth and make the narration feel more believable and grounded.

To put this into practice, I chose to begin with one of the most visual shots in the sequence, the one where the Kid gets excited about the scary monster. I began by plotting out the keyframes, which stayed pretty close to what I had already visualized in the animatic. In fact, this shot had been one of the clearest in my mind right from the animatic stage, so I didn’t have to spend much time deciding how to block it out.

Shot 5 - Acting What made it different from the earlier stages was that I now had to integrate the audio, syncing the animation with the dialogue. I animated the lip sync to match the speech, and then added inbetweens, some follow-through, and a bit of secondary movement in the Kid’s fingers. For now, it seems to be working well and sits right with the tone I was aiming for.

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Weekly Progress Report - Week 7 and 8

During Weeks 7 and 8, I was completely immersed in making progress and getting the tiedown sorted. Most of my time went into cleaning up drawings, adding inbetweens, and exporting multiple WIP edits to ensure I was making the right decisions. These two weeks were heavily focused on execution. That also meant I had less time for reflective feedback, since feedback only becomes useful when a solid chunk of work is completed. The tests were done, rough passes planned, and now it was time to sit down and fully execute the vision, which I feel I managed to do.

Progress from past 2 weeks Reflection

I was mostly focused on executing the shots, so the only reflection I really sought out during this time was when I had a brief moment of panic. I started wondering if I was falling behind, even though I had been diligent and consistent. I reached out to my tutor, and his response helped clarify things. He told me that only I could determine if I was truly falling behind or if my current routine wasn't working. If I felt things slipping out of hand, I had the option of making a fresh schedule with the time I had left. That helped ground me again and reassess my pace calmly.

Blog and Documentation

This part was a little more affected. I was only able to post two blogs in two weeks, which is a noticeable dip compared to my usual pace of three blogs per week. But I felt it was the right call. There wasn’t much to reflect on narratively or creatively during these weeks because everything was about pushing frames and executing what was already planned. I didn’t want to blog just for the sake of keeping count if there was no value to share. My energy was better spent focused on completing the sequence.

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Tiedown - Imagination Sequence

This past week, I was completely occupied with the task of completing the tiedown for the entire sequence. Since there was not much to think through conceptually at this stage, I focused entirely on drawing each and every frame, doing my best to push the quality as far as I could. I worked on a few individual shots before compiling the whole sequence together with the audio to see how everything flows.

Tiedown - Imagination Sequence

I managed to follow my routine as consistently as possible. Although I can't deny there were some lazy days and some better ones, on average, I was able to stick to the plan just fine. One of the key things I did right was finishing the most challenging shot early on, when my motivation was at its peak. This decision brought a few positives with it:

Approaching the most complex part while I was full of energy helped me get it done as effectively as I could.

Watching those difficult shots take shape kept my motivation up even on slower days.

Knowing that the remaining shots were much easier in comparison helped relieve some mental pressure.

The combination of these factors has helped me avoid burnout, as there’s always something that keeps me wanting to come back and push the film further.

My tutor once mentioned that the real issue only arises when progress stops completely, and that even slow progress still counts. I’ve found that to be true so far. On less productive days, I chose to work on filler shots like the one where a shadow forms.

Shadow forming shot

On better days, I tackled more demanding shots, such as the one featuring the claws or the sequence focusing on the flames along the creature's coat.

Flaming coat & Sharp claws shots This completed sequence now represents around 50% of the entire short film. I plan to get some reflective feedback on it to make sure there are no major issues before I move on to the final finishing stage, which will involve coloring and post-production.

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Acting and Accents in Animation

As I move closer to finishing the imagination sequence, my focus is now shifting toward the acting shots. I believe the most technically demanding part of my animation is nearly complete, and to give the remaining scenes the quality they deserve, I want to prepare myself to approach them in a way that feels natural and effectively communicates the dialogues. These scenes will carry a lot of the emotional weight of the story, so getting the acting right is key. I started this phase with a humble approach by watching acting shot tutorials on YouTube. Alongside the standard guidance on poses and expressions, I came across a video that introduced the concept of "accent" in animation. At first, I assumed it was related to speech, but it turned out to be something else entirely, and it caught my attention. The more I looked into it, the more I realized how important this technique is when it comes to creating engaging and believable performances. One of the examples referenced was from the series Arcane, which is known for its high-quality animation and expressive character work.

Accents in Animation - Youtube

So, what is accent in animation? In this context, an accent refers to a brief, impactful moment or gesture that adds emphasis to a particular action, sound, or emotional beat. It helps give clarity and rhythm to a performance and often makes the scene more memorable or expressive. I also learned that there are two types of accents commonly used: hard accents and soft accents.

Hard accent and soft accent A hard accent refers to sharp, sudden movements that feel like a hit or a jolt. These are often used to convey intensity, surprise, or a shift in energy. On the other hand, soft accents are more about gentle transitions and subtle shifts in motion. They can help ease the audience into a new emotion or idea without being too abrupt. I found a blog on "Animation Apprentice" that simplified these ideas and gave visual examples that were really easy to understand. There was also a post from the Animator's Survival Kit that showed the difference in a side-by-side comparison.

Example of Hard and Soft accent In the above image, the first action is considered a Hard accent and the second one a soft accent. The difference is basically more to do with how timing changes the meaning of an action for instance a wave of palm at normal pace can be seen as a greeting gesture like a "good bye" or a "hey!" while when you move the same motion too quickly it could be interpreted as "No !" "Stay away". What i was able to understand is accents use these subtle variation to make the performances more impactful and meaningful so that the message is crystal clear to the audience.

Example of going through the script from the video posted above One of the biggest takeaways from my research is that adding accents to a performance helps make character emotions more readable and believable. However, it is also important to avoid overusing them. If every action is exaggerated, then nothing stands out, and the performance can become flat or confusing. My next step will be to revisit my script and go through each line of dialogue. I plan to make notes on the tone, emotion, and intention behind each one so I can match the animation accents accordingly. This is a new layer of detail for me, and I am excited to explore it further. As I start animating the acting shots, I will be experimenting with accents to help shape clearer, more emotionally resonant performances that do justice to the story.

References:

Filip Animation (2024) Accents in animation | How boost your acting shots in 5 easy steps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcupF4F7XlM.

Williams, A. (no date) Soft -vs- hard accents. https://animationapprentice.blogspot.com/2020/03/soft-vs-hard-accents.html.

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Execution - A Tier Shots

This week, my primary focus was to get major shots completed at the final pass stage. These are crucial parts of the film, and I had a very specific plan laid out for how I wanted to approach the week. Monday and Tuesday were fully dedicated to Shot 15, which plays a key role in setting up the action. Wednesday was reserved for attending class, so any additional work that happened on that day would simply be a bonus. Then Thursday and Friday were set aside for working on one of the most visually important shots in the short film, which I refer to as the special shot. The goal for the week was to complete the tiedown for the entire imagination sequence so that I could move on to character acting starting next week.

Shots 16 to 19 combined

However, things did not unfold exactly as expected. Shot 15 ended up taking much longer than I had planned. The process of getting the character’s anatomy and movement just right required a lot more attention and adjustment than I had anticipated. Even though I had already worked out the rough animation, the transition into the final pass exposed issues in proportions, poses, and line clarity that needed careful reworking. What was initially supposed to take two days extended into Wednesday, and even then, the shot was not fully finished.

Inbetweens in Shot 18 and 19

I still need to add the electric special effects that show the character powering up. Despite the delay, I am quite happy with how the impact frames turned out. They capture the energy and momentum I was aiming for, and that felt like a win.

Impact frames After wrapping up most of Shot 15, I moved on to Shots 18 and 19. In order to maintain the rhythm and flow of the scene, I decided to combine these two with the tail end of the previous shot. This helped the scene feel more fluid, but it also introduced more complexity. Specifically, animating the beast’s leap required tricky foreshortening, which added extra pressure on accuracy and consistency. I had to draw five inbetweens for the motion to feel believable and dynamic. These frames are included in my process documentation for reference. The shot still needs special effects and force lines toward the end, which I will handle during the coloring stage.

Some of the Inbetweens

I used some smears to show the force and velocity involved in the action. What I really learned from these shots is the realization that inbetweening is a stage I cannot afford to underestimate. It can significantly affect the timeline and push back other tasks if I do not plan for the time it demands. The amount of redrawing and checking involved in this process is intense, and I now understand that future schedules need to account for that. As of now, I will be revising my timeline to better match the actual pace of work.

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Weekly Progress Report - Week 6

Week 6 was dedicated to audio as the main objective. My goal was to finalise all voice recordings and prepare the final tracks for both animating the acting sequences and making them ready for post-production. I spent three out of five working days this week solely on audio. During the rest of the time, I managed to complete the tiedown for the SFX shot in my film (not including post and colour). In terms of my overall timeline, I’m still on track, although I had hoped to finish a few more backgrounds.

Tiedown of Electric sfx layer Reflection

This week, I wasn’t able to schedule a reflective tutorial with my tutor, but I did receive some feedback from my peers. The response was mostly positive. Nothing particularly stood out or prompted changes, which might be because the people I showed it to are all animators and artists, and not particularly technical when it comes to sound. If it sounds the way it’s supposed to, then that’s generally good enough in their view.

Blogs & Documentation

This aspect has remained consistent. I’ve continued documenting my progress at my usual pace and in a level of detail that I find helpful. I learned a few things about audio recording which I’ve made sure to note down as clearly as possible. That way, if I want to revisit or build on this process later, the knowledge will still be there. Overall, it’s been a productive week, but it also reminded me that the final deadline is getting closer.

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Audio recording for Dialogues

This blog is basically about my experience regarding how I went about with the process of Audio recording for the dialogues in my film. Since I’m not a specialist with audio, it was new for me to learn and understand how the equipment works. The different functions they serve and the entire process was unfamiliar to me. It was also quite cool to finally see all this professional equipment right in front of me.

I needed the right voices for my characters. I also wanted to create a contrast in the way the two characters sound. One voice had to come from a witty, old man who has experienced life and seen how the world around him has changed, though he hasn’t become bitter about it. The other voice had to be that of a child who is energetic, curious, and always eager to explore and ask questions about the world. I wanted the voice of the child to carry a certain innocence and enthusiasm, especially around topics that fascinate him.

Main Characters from my Film I was fortunate to find exactly the kind of voices I was looking for, and I didn’t have to look too far. These voices came from fellow students at my university who are also studying art. I ended up learning a few things about the process of directing, particularly when it comes to voice acting. I learned how useful it is to provide reference points so the actors can give their best performance and how important it is to make sure those performances align with the tone and intention of the film.

Gandalf's Dialogues - Reference for my Grandpa character For the Grandpa character, I needed a voice that could really hold the audience’s attention during the narration without sounding comic or unserious. I wanted it to draw people in while still keeping a witty undertone that suggests there’s more to the story than what appears on the surface. I looked into a few well-known characters from existing media and found that the best point of reference was Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. I told the voice actor to take inspiration from his tone and delivery style, not to imitate it directly, but to capture the same gravitas and wisdom in their own voice.

Ponyo and Sosuke's voices - Reference for Kid's voice On the contrary, for the kid I wanted innocence, energy, and excitement. The tone had to be upbeat and the voice had to sound naturally cute. I got lucky here because one of my peers from the Concept Art course felt like a good fit, and she agreed to do the voice acting. She had just the qualities I was looking for. Interestingly, she had already done voice acting in a previous school project where she voiced Sosuke from Ponyo, which perfectly matched the kind of vibe I was aiming for in this character. So I decided to stick to that tone and it worked out really well. This is a sample of what I was able to extract from the voice recording sessions:

Visit Original Link

From a technical standpoint, I recorded the voices using a Zoom H4n Pro recorder. A few things I learned while using it include positioning the device at nose or eye level to avoid pop or muffle sounds. I set the mic level between 50 and 60, which gave me the right volume and clarity. I also did a comparison between the recordings made with a basic home microphone and those captured using the Zoom recorder. The difference was immediately noticeable. The Zoom gave me a much cleaner, more professional sound and provided more flexibility for adjustments during post-production. References: - YouTube (no date). https://www.youtube.com/shorts/g5uFPTUv24I. Netflix Anime (2021) Ponyo | Multi-Audio Clip: Shipshape! | Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0aXYKd13XI.

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Studying Electric SFX further

I'm heading toward the final pass of my electrically charged sequence. The rough stages already give a sense of the real lighting, but since this is my major project, I want to add more elements that I personally feel inspired by. One of the best animated series I’ve seen, especially in terms of animation, is Demon Slayer. There's a character named Zenitsu who performs some breathtaking lightning moves in the series. I find myself constantly revisiting a compilation of sequences where he uses his signature move, "Thunderclap and Flash."

Zenitsu : Compilation of all Thunderclap and Flash moves

That’s where my curiosity began. I kept wondering what about it makes me keep coming back to those scenes, purely for the way the sequence plays out. I’ve watched it countless times because it gives me a boost of energy. It motivates me to focus and push myself harder. Part of it may be that I already know the context of the series, but there's something deeper in how those sequences are directed and animated that makes them so striking.

Holding pose for Anticipation I tried to unpack what makes it work so well. One major aspect is anticipation. Every time before the action begins, there's a strong pose or stance held for a few frames. You can see the dust and wind gather around Zenitsu, which adds weight and tension to the moment. Then the timing of the attack becomes crucial. The fast-paced movement kicks in, often followed by a hold frame to give the viewer time to register what just happened. That is usually paired with a quick cut or several dynamic close-ups. It all ends with a clean landing pose while the effect of the action arrives just after, suggesting he was so fast that he landed before the demon even reacted. That kind of delay adds a clever sense of impact.

Further Added Anticipation with dust and end of every attack The lightning effects are also incredibly detailed. Often they begin with a brief flash fade, revealing a bolt of energy shooting toward the screen in unpredictable patterns. There seem to be multiple layers involved. One carries the primary light beam, while others add electric sparks around it. Instead of sticking to the typical sharp, spiky "Flash" logo style, the lightning looks much more organic and believable. It feels chaotic, just like real lightning in the night sky.

Lightning originates as a flash from afar Another detail I picked up only after studying the sequence closely is the color change in the lightning. It moves from yellow to blue. As a casual viewer, I never noticed this consciously, but once I did, I realized it added a lot of variation and randomness to the scene and the randomness works as lightning is a force of nature.

The color and layers of their lightning

Combine that with camera movement that follows the lightning, full-screen flashes, smear frames to match the speed, and dramatic black and white frames before the impact, and everything flows perfectly. The sound design just ties it all together to make the scene feel intense and powerful.

Smears and Black + White impact frames For me, these moments go beyond just being exciting. They are carefully constructed pieces of visual storytelling. Every choice builds tension, release, and rhythm. That is what I aim to learn from and bring into my own project. Not by copying it, but by understanding the core ideas behind it, such as anticipation, rhythm, layering, and impact, and applying them in my own visual language.

References:

Mujo Anime Z (2022) Zenitsu All Thunder Breathing Form Compilation || Demon slayer 1080p. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8KOaiX7w3o.

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Weekly Progress Report - Week 5

This week I worked on cleaning up some older shots to improve clarity. I also made sure to collect the resources I need for final production, since I will be starting my final passes next week. To prepare for that, I continued working on some of the final backgrounds and also pushed ahead with the next stages of animation. A quick note to myself: this Friday ended up being the most unproductive day in the past month, and I could not figure out exactly why.

Reflection

On Thursday, I had an online tutorial with my tutor to get feedback on my recent work and progress. We discussed both the technical aspects of my backgrounds and the animation shot I am currently working on. He had a few valuable suggestions that I noted down:

The background can maybe be a little less busy

Add the character to the layout to make sure the background does not overpower the performance

Use thick and thin lines more effectively, since thicker lines help emphasize and emboss specific areas

Before and after using the thick lines (especially towards the forehead) These points gave me a clearer path forward and reminded me to keep things visually balanced while continuing to refine the details.

Blogs & Documentation

As for documentation, that part has stayed consistent. I have made peace with the fact that 3 is all I'm able to muster since I want to have progress before i write my blogs.

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Working in Passes

To accomplish the kind of quality I’ve visualized for my final project, I started working in true passes for the first time. I’ve done passes before, but never with this level of commitment. Previously, I would go through a couple of rough versions and then jump straight into the final pass.

Latest Progress This time, I’ve allowed myself the space to dig into each phase properly, and it’s been a game changer. For this blog, I want to walk through the process I followed to reach the shadow pass in one of my shots. There are still a few more stages left, but documenting this part feels rewarding and gives me that little dopamine hit that pushes me to keep going.

I’ve broken the shot into four clear stages so far: Animatics, Rough Pass, First Pass, and Tiedown. This timeline reflects the journey from early preproduction into active production.

The Animatic stage was focused entirely on the flow of the scene. It was rough and messy, but helped me see how it would connect with the rest of the film.

Animatics stage The Rough Pass was where I made decisions about screen composition and motion, figuring out what elements would be visible and how they would move.

rough pass

Then came the First Pass, where I paid attention to the drawing quality and started refining the appeal without losing motion.

First pass

Finally, in the Tiedown phase, I introduced shadows. This step brought the shot much closer to a polished version and also laid the foundation for the color stage.

Tie down

Throughout these four weeks, I’ve noticed major improvements in both the process and the final result. One big benefit of working this way is that each shot gets time to settle and develop. I’m not rushing decisions like I used to in older projects, and that’s showing in the overall quality. Another benefit is how organized I’ve felt. I always know exactly how far I’ve come and what’s left to do. This level of structure is something I lacked before, and it caused me to miss out on the full potential of many shots. I also plan to use this layered breakdown in my promotional video later on to give people a behind-the-scenes look at how the film is coming together.

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Stepping towards Final Backgrounds

I took a step back from working on backgrounds to focus on animating my sequences, and this was a conscious decision for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to return to the early background layouts with a fresh perspective. It can be easy to get attached to first ideas, and some distance often helps me judge them more objectively. Second, I felt that getting deeper into the animation would help me better understand the tone and emotion of each scene. That emotional clarity is important to me when designing backgrounds that truly support the storytelling. I tend to move back and forth between stages like rough animation, design, and layout, using each phase to inform the others. Now that my scenes are in motion, I can see more clearly what the environments need to feel cohesive and expressive. This approach allows me to avoid rushing into final background designs and instead make decisions that are more grounded in the needs of the story. One of my biggest inspirations for background design has been the film Wolfwalkers (2020). The stylization in that movie is truly unique. I especially admire the way they balance raw, expressive linework with carefully considered color choices. The backgrounds have this handcrafted feel that gives them so much life and character. I found a book in my university library about the art of Wolfwalkers and spent a lot of time studying their approach to composition, layout, and texture.

Few references that inspired from the Wolfwalker book in my Uni My tutor also gave me a helpful piece of advice. He suggested that I try bending the perspective lines in my shots to create more cinematic impact. That idea really stuck with me. Instead of focusing on perfect perspective accuracy, I started thinking about how to make the scene more dynamic and expressive. This change in mindset opened up a lot of creative possibilities. To build the mood and color palette, I searched Pinterest for images that captured the magical, mythical feeling I’m aiming for. I came across several forest scenes, glowing plants, and nighttime environments that really sparked my imagination. One idea I want to include is glowing mushrooms scattered across the forest floor. They give the scene a fairytale-like vibe and can add a soft light source that makes the space feel more alive. I’m also interested in the way moonlight highlights grass and casts shadows. Those details help the background feel atmospheric and immersive.

References from pinterest

In addition to all this, I started thinking about how to streamline my workflow. Since I’ll be designing several backgrounds from the same environment, I created a set of reusable elements like grass, bushes, and plants. These can be rearranged and slightly modified to maintain consistency while saving time. This approach keeps things efficient without making the visuals feel repetitive.

Individual repeatable elements designed by me After gathering references, planning, and testing different ideas, I completed the first final background for my film. I’m kinda proud of how it turned out. Backgrounds are not something that come naturally to me, so everything I’ve achieved here has come from practice, experimentation, and being open to learning. There is still room for adjustments based on how the rest of the film develops, but for now, I feel this background is a strong step forward.

First background created by me More importantly, to me, it reflects how far I’ve come in understanding the visual language of my story. It shows that the world I’m creating is starting to come together not just through animation, but through thoughtful design choices that support the narrative and tone. References:

Wolfwalkers (2020) ⭐ 8.0 | Animation, Action, Adventure (2020). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5198068/.

Lê (2025) 'ref 1,' Pinterest. https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/7810999348534162/.

'ref 2' (2025) Pinterest. https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/322922235802516647/. Juarez, B. (2025) 'ref3,' Pinterest. https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/73535406411570467/.

[anim8oryash]

Weekly Progress Report - Week 4

This week was much lighter in terms of actual production work. I used the time mainly for feedback, reflection, and pulling everything together that I’ve worked on so far. I created a whip edit of all the material I’ve made up to this point. I also completed the first pass of my S-tier shot, which was a major milestone.

Week's progress I made some progress on a few A-tier shots as well, although they’re not quite ready for export yet. In addition, I outlined a few tasks that I plan to complete in the coming week. Overall, this week has been about recollecting, reviewing, and making sure everything I’ve done so far is moving in a clear direction.

Reflection

We had a class this Wednesday, where I had the chance to discuss my progress in more detail with my tutor. The feedback I received was really positive. He mentioned that I’ve now reached the stage where the structure of the sequence is clear and the vision is coming together. That was exactly the goal I had set for this week’s session, so it felt great to hear that recognized.

One suggestion he gave was:

Flip the close face-reveal shot

Change the boy's expression to somewhere between Awe and Scared

This adjustment will help with flow and clarity, and I’ll be implementing it as I refine the sequence further.

Blogs & Documentation

As for documentation, that part has stayed consistent. I haven’t been able to write that additional blog post I planned for yet again. I'm starting to feel I might have to accept the fact that I can only do 3 blogs per week.

[anim8oryash]

Sharpening Timing and Visual Clarity

This week, I continued working on the shot and made significant progress. The rough passes from previous weeks helped me get a clear idea of how to navigate the space around the camera and how I wanted to draw it. I had to make some solid decisions, and one of the challenges was figuring out the right timing, especially where the foot lands and the camera moves through the character’s enormous body up to his face. I also had to stay aware of the perspective changes, just as my tutor had previously suggested.

Imagination Sequence Whip Edit

The references I shared in earlier blog posts were really helpful when I was working out the timing and perspective shifts. I wanted the movement to feel correct and also dynamic enough to keep the audience engaged. Since this is part of an imagination sequence, it is important that the fast-paced motion lands in the right places and keeps the energy up.

Initial attempt

My first pass ended up being too fast. It covered all the stages and included the camera movement, but it went by so quickly that the viewer could not register what was happening. I showed it to a friend, and he pointed this out right away.

I slowed it down, but something still felt off. I could tell what I was trying to show, but my friend still could not see it clearly. This meant I had to go back and tighten up a few loose ends. I added a base color to separate the character from the background and the terrain, which helped make everything clearer. I also added some glowing eye trails to increase the character’s impact and guide the viewer’s focus. After making these changes, the character finally stood out in the scene . Here is the final version of the shot.

My Locked First pass

With this shot complete, I created a quick edit that includes all the rough and first passes of the imagination sequence so far. I was happy with how it turned out. I showed the sequence to my tutor, and they confirmed that most of what I had done was working well. That feedback gave me the confidence to move on to the final passes for this sequence.