F.A.L MDX UniWork Y2

The journey continues

[falmdxuniwork]

Internship- 250 words reflection notes

This project was rather challenging. I am not keen on talking to people and asking for advice, help or anything similar. I went way out of my comfort zone for this project, but I think that is for the best.

I did a lot of research regarding the internship options at some studios, I contacted some people from the industry, and then I shifted my focus to a different subject. I wanted to see how many options I have after I finish Uni, and I found quite a few. I am still interested in animation, but I am also interested in creating soft pastels, artist charcoal and maybe homemade recycled paper. I explored both fields and decided to do both. The main element that I took from this project is that the animation industry and the art industry, in general, are really vast and still expanding. Also, you can change your field of practice anytime. A lot of things are connected to one another so you can work in different domains. Another significant fact observed in doing my research is that fame forges over time. There is NO easy or magic way to become known overnight. That is why you should keep trying to make your work known. There will be people who won't like what you create, but there will also be people who support you and enjoy your art.

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https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gsCVBcsV8TIEUsCem70tjJA_8q9-NwTy

I added all the drawings made this semester in the same Google Drive folder.

Here are a few more of the highlights.

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Advanced animation skills - 250 words reflective notes

The advanced animation skills project improved my view on some aspects of animation.

Alongside these past weeks, we created short animation clips regarding weight, the movement of quadrupeds and how a character behaves within an obstacle course. These exercises taught me how to manage my time and construct a motion path. I learned that animating characters requires careful planning and reference. I also learned how crucial timing is in animation. Not only does time create suspense, but time gives life and takes life.

At the start of the project, I wasn't confident in my ability to animate. I was hesitant in animating characters because I didn't have an attack plan. I was unsure of how to organize the movement, but as time progressed and weeks passed, I started to form a pattern. First, I think of the action and try to plan it. Then I do a rough sketch with motion paths, arcs, and guidelines to keep the character the same size. After the completion of the planning, I line and then color the animation.

Of course, there were times when things were not so good. I struggled with keeping the size of the characters constant, issue that I fixed using guidelines. I also had some difficulties with timing. I tend to make the animations too fast, a problem that I'm currently working on solving. I often fear using pauses and keeping the character still, but I will try to be more confident and do experiments.

I am extremely grateful for the feedback and the help I received from my tutor. Without his guidance and input, I wouldn't have learned so much.

As a final take from this project, I am no longer afraid of animating movement because I know how to plan and structure it.

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Elements Project (Color)

This is the latest version of the elements project for the Final Hand-in.

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Grad Assist- Reflection Notes

Reflection Notes: This project was quite interesting and refreshing. It gave me input on how a working studio may run. Though, I am sure that the overall feeling and process may differ drastically. After I received the list with the pairings, I contacted my appointed 3'rd yeards: Tariq, Rute and Raquel. I introduced myself and offered my support. I also asked what kind of help they needed. Tariq. ( 4,5 + 5+ 6= 15,5 h) Tariq asked me if I could help him with some background designs. He gave me three background sketches and a mood board. We talked about the style, the colours and the overall feeling of his film and desired backgrounds. He was quick to answer my questions and gave me appropriate and useful feedback. I enjoyed working with him, as his vision matched mine. The only difficulty I faced during the hours I helped him was the simplicity of his designs. I tend to overcomplicate things, and working with restrained ideas was a challenge. Overall I believe I learned how to tone down on details while still having a beautiful design. Raquel:( 3 +1,5= 4.5 h) Raquel needed my help with the design for her Arcade. Initially, she wanted me to do the outside and the inside concept ideas for the building. But, as time went by, I completed my hours before I got to help her with the inside sketches. I did manage to help her with the exterior. She is a good director. She gave me exact guides and ideas, a mood board, the story idea and the animatic. She knew exactly what she wanted and needed, and I am glad that I was able to help her. Rute:( 4+2+4=10 h) Rute needed help with concept ideas for market stalls. They gave me a lot of visual references (two mood boards and a Pinterest link) and a storyboard. They gave me 6 background guidelines to do the concept art on. They had some specific elements that I had to follow, but otherwise, I had a free hand on what the stalls should sell. Working with them was fun. Their layout wasn't clear from the begging. It passed a trial and error phase. Having to redo the sketches proved to be helpful. Overall, I learned to quickly adapt and change my designs.

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2 MINUTE FILM- REVISED

This is the latest version of my 2 min film for the Final Hand-in.

I tried to fix the main issues that were pointed out during the crit.

I made a list of the changes I did.

(scene 1) fix the zoom; change the title transition to a fade-out. 

(scene 2) fix the zoom 

(scene 3) delete Nur, adapt the animation to the butterfly, and slow the animation. 

(scene 4) add close-ups; slow the animation.

(scene 5-6) delete Nur, add butterflies, slow the animation

(scene 7-8 ) slow down the animation

(scene 10) add an echo effect and slow down the animation. 

(scene 11) add Queen, add interaction between Ariann and Queen. 

(scene 12) delete black borders, and add butterflies. 

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Internship revised

After the Crit, I realised that my internship project was not complete. I added a database, a "final thoughts" section and I decided to contact 4 more people. I am well aware that I might not get a response until the final hand-in, but who knows how my luck will be. I uploaded the database into the google drive folder, and I will add the final version of the PowerPoint closer to the deadline, just in case someone might respond.

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I finally got all the signatures for my Time Sheet!

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The main program that I used in animating the 2 min film is Photoshop.

I separated each scene in different files and start working. Initially I did a very rough sketch over the animatic to have the timing right.

After I finished the rough sketch and liked the results, I created separate video groups for line, color and sometimes details.

Each character had it's own set of video groups all color coordinated. Green - Ariann, Red- Eira, Blue- Nur, Yelllow- Butterfly, Purple- detalis, Orange- additionl stuff or backgrounds.

After I finished the sequence, I went to After Effects and added an Echo effect from the Time category. I also played a bit with some fake "ratio"

In the end, I gatherd all the separated files and music and put them all together using Premier Rush.

The process wasn't necessarily hard or complicated but it took quite some time.

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This is the WIP ' Family Ties" version made for the Final Crit

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2 min film update!

I did most of the line art, I still have some parts where I should define them.

I decided to change my animation approach to save time and give my animation a more.. fairytale like feeling.

The main inspiration that I'm using right now is Hungarian Folktales.

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These are the completed background design for the Room interior.

And above is a mood-board containing the inspiration I took for Ariann’s room.

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These are the last concept designs that I did for Rute and the Grad Assist. I completed my hours with these sketches.

It was a pleasure working with Rute as my director. They are organized and focused. This was an interesting and refreshing process and project.

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These are the changes in design that I did for Raquel.

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These are the changes I did following Rute's directions. The backgrounds took a trial and error process until they fit the film's action.

As I don't have much time left until completing my grad assistance required hours, Rute decided to give me more concept art duty as opposed to line art.

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Below you can see some rough sketches for the backgrounds Rute needed help with. I tried to follow their mood boards ( previous post) and layout (left and below).