Kane Mann Ba2b

[kanemannba2b]

This is my group’s final 13th principle film. I am happy with this outcome and I think we have all worked very hard to do our part on time. The animation flows nicely and I think we have kept the art style pretty consistent throughout. I would have liked the music to stay on the whole time, and just get quieter for each sequence, but this was down to the sound designer. I also think my end transition could have been improved if I had more time, but it works well enough. Overall I am very pleased with the film. 

[kanemannba2b]

This is my updated showreel. I didn’t have a great amount of animation to add but I have included my 13th principle piece. I have also changed the music purely because I was bored of the other song. I was kindly given the song by a friend who created it. 

[kanemannba2b]

This is my finished personal outcome for the 13th principle collaboration project

I have added sound effects to my 13th Principle animation. I used a selection of free sounds I found online and in my files. I only added what I thought was appropriate and tried to keep them fairly subtle. I may add one extra sound for when he picks up the pencil but I think it is working in its current state. 

I had to edit the sounds to fit in my film which was quite difficult. I needed to shorten most of them to fit the erratic speed of my animation, to make sure they were in time. I also adjusted the pitches of some of the sounds to make them sound less tacky and just generally better fitting. 

[kanemannba2b]

I made this for the credits of our 13th Principle collaborative animation. I think this will work well with the others as they are all drawn in the same style, using our own specific colour. I may change the animation of the character in this slightly but I’m not too worried about it. I need to move on to other areas of my submission now this project is almost finished. 

[kanemannba2b]

I have been trying to finalise my 13th Principle animation. I have fixed a lot of issues since the last version I posted and have added colour to the whole sequence. The poster in the background, which links to Pheobe’s animation, now matches the poster in her sequence so the transition will work more smoothly. 

I have also added backgrounds to the middle parts of my sequence. I am happy with where I’m at with this piece, but there are still improvements to be made. I think some timings could be better, which I might be able to fix in Premiere Pro in post production. One of these parts is the fairy arm swing, as I think this needs speeding up slightly. I am looking to finish this very soon and move onto other parts of my submission.  

[kanemannba2b]

This is the latest version of my animation. I have worked on timings some more and have started adding much more of the colour in. I have also started to refine the ending and get everything in that needs to be in order for the piece to run smoothly. I am happy with the progress I am making but I still have quite a lot to do. I need to finish the ending and get the timings right as it still feels a bit erratic. I also need to add a transition between the frog scene and the final scene. 

[kanemannba2b]

I have a created a test for a new ending to my 13th Principle animation. I have added a little bit more acting to my character to make it more interesting to watch. I have tried to make him look more excited and ‘full of ideas’ like he is supposed to be. I think this will work way better than what my previous ending would have done. I have also tried to add a bit of slight movement to his body and head when he is drawing to show he is being frantic, and moving in an exaggerated way.

[kanemannba2b]

I have added my last imaginary sequence to the middle section of my 13th principle animation. Following feedback from peers and tutors I have added a character from one of my other group members pieces. I have taken the frog from Will’s sequence at the end and put my characters face on it to show he is imagining himself as the frog. I decided to have him swimming through space for this part because I want to keep it weird, wacky and interesting and I also think it’s quite funny. 

I have also been working on the timings of the whole sequence, whilst trying to show weight and expression better. I have added frames to the beginning part, where he shows he has an idea. I also implemented some squash and stretch to this movement which I plan to exaggerate even more. With these changes I think that part is working way better, and I am much happier with it. I also coloured the beginning transition as I don’t plan to change this much more. Doing this helped me to visualise the start of my animation better and I was able to put the background in. 

My plan is to get the ending shot and the transitions running smoothly as soon as possible so I can start refining the whole animation and adding colour. 

[kanemannba2b]

13th Principle - Space Backgrounds Research

Rick and Morty:

Final Space:

The Simpsons:

For the last clip in my imaginary sequence I want to animate Will’s frog character swimming through space. I have been looking at the ways space has been represented across different animated TV shows. I want to keep the simple outlined style with block colour. My space background will probably be similar to that of the Simpsons, as I think this would fit the style of our film the best. However, my favourite one out of these examples is definitely the Rick and Morty style, as it looks so vibrant and detailed, but still maintains the cartoon aesthetic of the show. 

[kanemannba2b]

Pendleton Ward

Pendleton Ward is an award winning animator who works for Cartoon Network. He is the creator of adventure time, and an influence to our art style for the 13th principle group project. In this interview he talks about how he started in animation and some of the shows that he enjoys watching like the Simpsons. He also gives some advice that would’ve been a good idea for a 13th principle. This being ‘you have to just keep doing something to get good at it’. I like this simple statement, and I should definitely take his advice. The only way to become a good animator is by animating stuff. 

[kanemannba2b]

Style Influence - Adventure Time

Adventure Time is one of our main style influences for this group project. We wanted simple line work and expressions, very similar to this show. My character’s eyes are slightly different, with outer circles and a dot but overall we are following this kind of look. The vibrant block colour is something we are also taking from this, along with there being no shading. I have never really drawn in a style like this before so this project so far has been a bit of a challenge for me. Despite this, I am enjoying the process so far and am excited to work on it further. 

[kanemannba2b]

13th Principle Research

This video is a compilation of times when you can see inside Homer’s imagination in The Simpsons. I thought this was funny and insightful, and is a possible way I could show my characters imagination in my film. However, I probably won’t do it quite like this, as I would prefer there to more focus on the action inside my characters head, whereas in this it is just a small portion of the frame used for it. I will most likely zoom in further for my animation, but still make it obvious that the viewer is seeing into my characters head. 

[kanemannba2b]

Starting Point - Hayao Miyazaki

This book is stuffed full of information straight from the genius mind of Hayao Miyazaki, who has created many extremely successful animated films. In the process of doing this he has also created a massive selection of successful and relatable characters. He talks about all of his work in this book giving an insight into how he works and how these characters were created. This is very helpful for me and I will be using this book for reference in my research report. This insight into one of the most successful animators’ workflow will prove invaluable to me in this essay and I am glad I found it. 

[kanemannba2b]

Background Inspiration

I have been looking at different backgrounds from animated shows to help decide how much detail to include in my own animation. I want to keep the background designs simple, but with some nice little details that make it interesting to look at. I plan to draw my backgrounds quite similar to those from The Simpsons, but with slightly thicker outlines to keep consistency with the rest of my film. I love the Rick and Morty style, with loads of clutter on the workbench and intricate details on every item. However, this will be too time consuming for me to animate so this would not be a realistic route to go down. I also like how the adventure time backgrounds are quite minimalist, but still have a lot of detail in any points of interest. In terms of shading, we are using block colour in our films with minimal shadow. 

[kanemannba2b]

The Craft of Character - Mark Boutros

This book by Mark Boutros gives a great insight into how to create successful and relatable characters. It is very relevant to my research and I think it may come in handy in the process of writing my report. The idea of creating a character that people connect deeply with is something I am exploring and this book explains how to do it. I could use this book along side my survey research data to discover possible ways of creating a brand new animated star. Combining the ideas in this text with the information about modern audiences will be very interesting and useful in my report writing process. 

[kanemannba2b]

The World History of Animation - Stephen Cavalier

This book covers the history of animation from the very beginning up to 2011. This book will prove to be very useful whilst I am writing my research report, as it contains many facts, figures and names that will be relevant to my work. The book mentions work by some of the greatest animators who have ever lived, and shows the development of animated characters throughout the years. I will be exploring the development of these characters and looking at how the creators of them were able to make them into famous stars that everyone can connect with and love. I hope to get more of an insight into how to be a successful animator and character designer in the process of writing my report, and this book will definitely help me to achieve that. 

[kanemannba2b]

I have added some more action to the middle of my animatic to help it fit with my Glen Keane voiceover. He is talking about fairies so I thought it only really makes sense if I add a fairy. I like this added part and think it even adds a tiny bit of comedy. I plan to develop this middle part to show one more thing my character is imagining. I have also added a few extra frames to the start.