Samarth Murkumbi

MA Animation student

[samination]

Review #6

This week, I finished all the basic content for my film-

* Character animation

* Backgrounds

* Promotional video

* Presentation slide

What went well-

* I think I did well with the animation and backgrounds plus compiling

* The promotional video went well, there was not any problem while exporting.

What can be improved-

*The audio design could be a lot better if I had given it more time, audio design remains to be a weakness in my work

* I think the branding could’ve been better for my film to make it reach a wider range of audience.

* The promotional video and presentation slide could have been more customised if I had made my own assets.

-18th August

[samination]

Review #5

2nd last week of the review, I’ve finished-

* The backgrounds

* The character tie downs

* In betweening of certain shots

What I think went well was-

*Backgrounds- I like how the backgrounds turned out and they’re exactly in the style I prefer them in

*Character animation- I’m proud of some shots that I’ve done over the week

Here are some points that I think can be improved:

*Giving certain moments in the film time to breathe and register

*Making some assets for the films opening sequence

-11th August

[samination]

Review #4

After getting a review on the animatic I feel like I’m here with my project-

What went well:

* Animatic is clear and I can go ahead with animation

* Character personalities are working well

What needed improving:

* I was behind schedule according to my Gantt chart so I need to catch up

* Backgrounds should’ve been on the rendering stage by now. Hopefully I can catch up with the timeline and get back on track.

-21st July

[samination]

Review #3

Characters are finalised with their colour palettes

I’ve also started working on the environments and placing characters in the frame to check out the composition

-14th July

[samination]

Review #2

In the last 2 weeks I made up thumbnails and story board for the final film, I also got the idea of including colour blocking with yellow to visually represent the importance of golden hour in the film.

Wok progress of 3 weeks

* Thumbnail sketch, try to think of the story, how characters will be placed in the scene etc.

* Working on story boards

* Initial ideas for character design and environment design

-30th June

[samination]

Review #1

To start off with the project I finalised which story I was going to work on I.e. Golden Hour. From there I started doodling the initial ideas for the film on Procreate. Note for this week was to just start working on the film to get the ball rolling.

-9th June

[samination]

Diary #20

Audio - I needed a lot of audio links for my film and I found most of them on YouTube. Some of them were really easy to find like an owl hooting but for some I had to dig a little deeper like the footsteps audio, to find the right one that’s sounds like the character is walking on concrete and not on super crunchy leaves. Audio plays a very important role in the believability of any film so I wanted to make sure that I got the right sound fx for my project.

Here are some audio links that I used in my film:

Free sound effect (2022) ‘walking sound effect’ [YouTube] 1 Sept. available at: https://youtu.be/iuROA1iLMMg?si=4n1K6i5N7D0L03B4 (accessed: 20 July 2024).

Effecism (2023) ‘sound effects - owl hooting noise’ [YouTube] 19 June. Available at: https://youtu.be/tiWGHDihUYc?si=gIXTQx6x1NNdwrhg (Accessed: 20 July 2024).

SoundPound (2023) ‘sound effects - elevator ding’ [YouTube] 23 Nov. available at: https://youtu.be/JeDq0-I6BoQ?si=On40B4OGI2vQxC_N (Accessed: 20 July 2024).

[samination]

Diary #19

Shot breakdown - I’ve attached an example below for how I approached the final look of the film, I started with the thumbnail for a background and then refined it with the elements I wanted in the scene, like creating the shapes for the leaves in the below shot for example. Then I tackled the rendering part for the shot, starting with tiles then moving the leaves and then adding the light source. After I had a clear idea of where the light was coming from I could add the highlights on the leaves and render their shadow, finally came the time for the character. I animated the characters on a separate file and then added them in front of the background to get a feel of them in the space and then proceeded to add highlights to the characters. Rinse and repeat for all the other shots.

[samination]

Diary #18

Style references were a major part of my film. To narrow down my character design I took inspiration from a lot of my favourite artists, some examples being Deanna Marsigliese and Anya Butler.

• I adore the 3 dimensional approach in Luca’s design. Whenever Luca opens his mouth or looks to the side you can see the background right behind him, it doesn’t make sense from an anatomical perspective but that’s the fun about animation, it doesn’t always have to k]make sense and you can build your own world that doesn’t follow all the rules of physics.

Creative Bloq (2024) Pixar's 3D human mouths look utterly cursed from behind. Available at: https://www.creativebloq.com/news/pixar-mouths (Accessed: 20 July 2024).

Pixar's 3D human mouths look utterly cursed from behind

Take a fascinating peek behind the scenes (and teeth).

• From Anya’s work I took inspiration for the 2d side of my project pipeline. Anya’s work is incredible in the sense of exaggerated characters with weird proportions, I wanted my characters to have a similar feel to them. Large heads with small body, proportions that are exaggerated but still make sense.

[samination]

Diary #17

For the “dream sequence” of the film where characters goes into their imagination to think about their experiences I wanted to surround the frame with a white border that gave the effect of the scene being a memory, this was directly inspired from some past films I’ve watched along with comic book panels that do this a lot. It instantly gives a feel of something dreamlike and is a good way to separate the current flow of the film to introduce something that happened in the character’s past.

[samination]

Diary #16

I wanted my film to have a certain sense of humour in it, since the film is aimed at a younger audience I thought that it’d only benefit from this decision. To accomplish this I added some audio gags like the scene transitioning abruptly from a scenic river view to the shot in an elevator. I also gave the swan a calm expression that suddenly changes to a horrified blank stare as the elevator beep chimes in.

[samination]

Forefront #10

Another person I feel inspired from in the industry is Deanna Marsigliese. She’s a character artist based in California and has worked on many recent films in the studio. She loves to take inspiration from her daily walks, I love following her account as she’s always on the run in her free time and keeps posting random images from her town on her Instagram story and what she finds amusing about it. She has a very distinct approach to her work too, usually when she’s stuck at a dead end creatively and can’t come up with anything new, she’ll bring out scrap magazines or a roll of wire and just start physically creating characters, she has stated that not being in control of the paper texture or how the wires will bend grants her a new perspective to approach her work in the documentary ‘Inside Pixar’ 2022.

I feel that she’s at the forefront of animation because as she stated in her Instagram post a few months ago, her very first sketches of the emotion Anxiety were finalised from the get go for ‘Inside Out 2’, she still insisted on doing more but at the end decided to go with the initial design. Her love for her craft is what inspires me and I think she’s one of the bests in the industry right now.

Marsigliese, D. (2024) ‘Anxiety - Final Expression sheet’ [Instagram]. 24 June. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQe_jrlDLLu/?igsh=MTI5YTUyNjQ0YWFpZw== (Accessed: 21 June 2024).

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQe_jrlDLLu/?igsh=MTI5YTUyNjQ0YWFpZw==

[samination]

Forefront #9

Jared Bush is an American screen writer and director. One of his movies that is on the forefront is Encanto, not only was Encanto culturally relevant it also won the Oscar for the best animated film of the year. I loved Jared’s work because before the movie he wasn’t very well versed with the culture of Colombia (where the film takes place) so him along with a few other members from his studio sought out a local guide and went for a tour for a few weeks to familiarise themselves with the culture, food and people of Colombia.

The research that went into it really showcases itself in the final result of the movie, which is a stunning representation of the culture. I love how much work Jared put into the research of his film, he didn’t have any personal experience to showcase but to understand where others are coming from and expressing it so well in a film is a great feat.

EL PAIS (2022).The real story behind the Disney hit movie ‘Encanto’. Available at: https://english.elpais.com/usa/2022-01-26/the-real-story-behind-the-disney-hit-movie-encanto.html# (Accessed: 20 July 2024).

The real story behind the Disney hit movie ‘Encanto’

Local guide Alejandra Espinosa was hired as a cultural consultant for the animated movie which takes inspiration from the Colombian town of

[samination]

Forefront #8

In this post, I will talk about ‘Spider-Man : Across the Spiderverse’ , which is renowned for breaking many limitations in 3D and 2d animation. Since its release in 2023 it’s been a cultural phenomenon and is always talked about in online spaces.

Character Design

The character design in Spiderverse is notable for its innovation and diversity, setting it apart from other films in the genre. A lot of my favorite artists have contribute to this film such as Kris Anka, Tarun Lak etc.

all the various spiderpeople in the movie are not just designed with visual appeal in mind but each one is accompanied by a backstory and lore that ties them into the films expansive multiverse. This integration of character history with design helps to create a deeper connection with the audience.

Following the artists working in SonyAnimation also gives an insight to their creative process and how they made this film a reality. All the troubleshooting makes the end result that much more enjoyable when you know all the efforts that were put into it.

The design undergoes multiple iterations based on feedback to ensures that the final design not only looks great but also fits well within the movie. Having a good colour palette and shape language along with a striking silhouette goes a long way. I think their art style sets a new level of standard for the whole industry.

Anka, K. (2024) k.anka . Available at: https://www.krisanka.com/ (Accessed: July 20).

Animation Mentor (2024) Tarun Lak. Available at: https://www.animationmentor.com/mentors/tarun-lak/ (Accessed: July 20).

[samination]

Forefront #7

TotemCreative is an animation studio based in India and specialises in 2D animation specifically. They’ve made a dent in the industry doing advertisements for brands like Swiggy and Kissan, they’ve also broken through in the international market by making short informative films for TedEd Animation.

Their work with TedEd stands out the most as all their different films have a different approach in style, colour palette and character designs which shows their versatility in treating every single film as a standalone piece of media.

What I also like about the studio is how they keep their socials updated with recent breakthroughs in the industry plus an update about their own work and how they make their films a reality, from the initial ideation process to the storyboards to the final film.

Totem Creative (2016) Totem Creative | home. Available at: https://www.totemcreative.in (Accessed: 21 June 2024).

2D animation studio | Totem Creative | Mumbai

Totem Creative is an Animation studio based in Mumbai, India, specialising in 2D animation production and pre-production for various brands,

[samination]

Forefront #6

I also wanted to pick freelance artists as a forefront example because freelance is a very brave career path to follow in the industry and the success stories while being rare are always inspiring to see.

For this section I’ve narrowed down three of my favourite freelancers in the industry Chedil, Elliot and Kel Lauren.

• Chedil is an NID Ahmedabad graduate based in India who works from home. He did his bachelors in animation and currently focuses on concept art for different clients. In an interview with animator’s guild India Chedil’s advice to young graduates was “to animate everything they can in a project, from ideating to character design to backgrounds even if it’s just a 10 second clip. See what you enjoy the most and from there it’s just a question of repetition and practice. Also observe everything around you”. This really resonated with me as an animation student myself who enjoys certain parts of the animation pipeline especially the concept art part.

• Chedil has hosted multiple creative workshops to an astounding level of success as his classes always sell out. In these online courses he goes over his experience as a NID graduate and his work process and what he looks for in a reference when he’s making his concept art pieces. Chedil also hosts a monthly livestream on his Instagram account where he does q&a’s helping young creatives.

• Elliot is a freelance graphic designer based in Australia. He has a very distinct art style that is instantly recognisable, his work is a blend of retro style, a primary colour palette and humour which is also his main brand in his YouTube videos. This distinct art style and humour has also helped him mass a huge following on his YouTube channel. Elliot has his own website where he sells his prints but he also works with several clients in the industry. I love his work because I feel like he brings something new to the table, I’m also recently getting into typography and I feel that Elliot’s work is a great gateway into this of typography which seems very alien to me at the moment.

• Kel Lauren is another freelance graphic designer that I follow. They’ve worked with for major recording artists for their posters, vinyl records and album covers. Kel Lauren is at the forefront in my opinion because they not only take inspiration from nature but they go above and beyond with their techniques e.g. using acid wash/sun dried prints of various flowers and leaves and incorporating them in their digital work after scanning, and the world is finally catching up to their vision as I recently found out that one of their designs was used as a poster for Ariana Grande’s new album.

Marak, C. (2024) ‘Plein Airpril 2/30 ocean’ [Instagram]. 2 April. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5RM94uxVdJ/?igsh=MXA3anVlMjRoN2ttYg== (Accessed: 20 June 2024).

Ulm, E. (2024) Elliot is a cool guy. Available at: https://elliothasacoolstore.com/en-gb?srsltid=AfmBOorT-f_t5RKgTLTF_4d6AkftsXvWsWibzg5yQ2XrY13gKCHJjWYG (Accessed: 20 June 2024).

Lauren, K. (2024) https://kellauren.design (Accessed: 20 June 2024).

Kel Lauren is a Graphic Designer in Portland, OR, specializing in merchandise design and music branding.

elliotisacoolguy print store by elliot ulm graphic design humor poster shop

[samination]

Forefront #5

Industry giants aren’t the only people who are at the forefront of the industry, there are many young creatives taking over the digital space on social media too.

Two examples that come to mind are JaidenAnimations and Ice Cream Sandwich.

These two YouTubers have both been an immense source of inspiration for me, their work is based on their life experiences but the way they take these everyday bland scenarios and represent them in the form of engaging storytelling and animation is what really sell it.

I took inspiration from a lot of visual gags in their work for my own film. A sudden cut to a completely unrelated scene or a quick audio gag can take the film viewing experience to a whole new level.

I feel like Jaiden is at the forefront of animation as a digital creator because her stats speak for themselves, as of August 2024, Jaiden Animations's main YouTube channel has amassed over 13.4 million subscribers and 2.5 billion views. She’s also been nominated for a total of six Streamy Awards (the biggest award for YouTubers), and she won in the Animated category at the 10th Streamy Awards in 2020.

JaidenAnimations (2018) Title of film or programme. Available at: https://youtu.be/sbtQp7C1MDs?si=31uvF6m7jPnIAZAA (20 June 2024).