I'll Be Back...

I'd write an incredibly long description... But it probably won't pay off as well as this unbelievably charming video...

The best way to prepare for life is to begin to live.

The title sounds fitting. Quite a few people have written blogs talking about the end of college, how this is it, the end of the road? But is it? No. It isn't. In hindsight of not just the project, but the whole year, I can't help but feel lost, my own personal level of skill isn't at a high enough standard for industry, I know allot of people have gone off before and never put their qualification to any use, but I'd like to be one the few who do. Hopefully.

I'm out to be the best at what I do, it's honestly the only life goal that makes sense, I've never been interested in the contemporary industry, not because it bores me, but because it only appears to a select few, that's not what I want out of life, I want to get good, really good at what I do and entertain people because it's the only thing that makes sense in life in what I want to do. Maybes and most likely I'll get shot down, and I might never end up at the top, but I'll quite happily get there and fail if need be. Delusional? You bet. But why on Earth pursue a career you don't have a drive for? I talk to people studying Accountancy, Biology, Maths and English, people who study that because it's going to get them money, not because they have a passion for it and it's a waste as far as I'm concerned.

If there's anything I've learnt this year, it's to do what makes YOU happy, Choke was never a project that set with me, it's why it changed so much and so drastically, because the drive was never fully prominent and still isn't. I have a trailer prepared, but am I happy? Am I ever? No.

In all honestly, there's allot wrong with it, and I'm just not fully content, I'm really not happy with the use of really limited animation and that was only used because I was pushed for time and I just know I can do better. Much better. I like the premise, the idea, I think it works pretty well and I just want this to be a singular story arc, but I've come this far and I'm not about to knock it on the head now. I got ahold of some oven-baking clay, "Super Sculpey"and it's really great stuff, to coincide with my upcoming final show, I made a model of Piper...

I found that just being brown, he looked bare, so I added a pink tummy to him...

I realise the paint work isn't that great, I'm going to hopefully neaten it up and add some detail, it's something new, something I've never done before and I've enjoyed it to say the least. 

In further regards to my work, the quantity was without a doubt the largest I've ever handed in and I did get a real sense of accomplishment being rid of it and at the same time, there was so much which I wasn't content with and it's hard to find words, perhaps it's because an artist's work is never done, not that I consider myself an artist, merely a perfectionist. I've enjoyed the run, the competition and the drive to do better than what I'm capable of, I've seen my peers as friends and competitors, people who want what I want and people, who ultimately, I have to bypass, it applies for everyone, that each and every individual see's each and every other person as competition, at least that's how I've viewed the year and maybes it was wrong, that I aspired to be the best but alienated myself from allot of other things, maybes. 

But I applied for the course to leave with a qualification, and in the first year of my study, I didn't think I'd achieve that, it's only when I hit second year that my focus, my drive and ambition improved and it's seen me through the year. I've heard people say, "Grades don't matter, i'm only here to animate", if you're only there to animate, go home, because with the right equipment, anyone can produce something. What the course is, is about you changing, progressing, seeing the industry for what it is and leaving with an understanding of what this medium is built upon. I think I've achieved that.

So what's next? A 3rd year in education undoubtably, another year of practice would be beneficial towards my own learning. In terms of the blog, will it keep up? No. I could say yes but this blog isn't about ME, it's about MY learning and although i've tried to make it more personal, I like the idea of being able to reflect every now and then on my work and I might plan together a new blog, just to get up and off the ground, make something personal, more video's, images a good rant here and there to let off some steam, barely anyone reads a blog, I bet barely anyone reads THIS, but it's about getting an idea or opinion out of your mind and onto here so theres from for more and at least this way, you can reflect. To finish up, here's my showreel, it needs tinkering with, its pretty damn abysmal if I'm to be honest, but I'll work on it... I'm not worried about the final show, I'm worried about the fact that I don't know what exactly to do for it...

I'll figure something out...

I've done it before.

I can do it again. 

If you've followed my blog, I might add a bit more, but most likely, this'll be it for a while, I'll just be tying up my previous blog entries. So then, with this all said and done, thanks for reading.

Callum.

I don't wanna need you because I can't have you.

With only a few days left I feel like I should be panicking, that I should be tearing my hair out in a blind fury... What's left of it at least. Fact is I'm not worried, not at all and that in itself worries me about my approach to my work, maybes I've just hit rock bottom in the sense that I just want the year to be over or maybes I've become comfortable, personally I don't think it's either. I've really pushed myself and although I haven't gotten as much animation work as I'd like done, I've still got a damn lot to show for the past couple of month. In regards too my animation, as long as I get my first scene done, i'll be pleased, because I can end it with the cliche, "Coming soon" text, furthermore, I've got my speed painting along with an incomplete showreel, marvellous.

My main focus with the animation, Choke, is to have it complete by the time the Star and Shadow exhibition starts up, I'd like to have the animation coloured up but to a better degree than, well... This...

I think what I look forward too is waking up on Saturday morning, knowing it's all over... For now. I still need to make up my mind as to where I'm going next year and both Newcastle and Sunderland have their positive's and negative's, it's just another worry in my little paddling pool of self doubt. Pessimistic as always, aren't I?

So then! In regards too the OddCo work experience, it was a fun little task getting back into the 3D run and for an hours job I don't think I did too bad. What's that? They look like my old character's Coffee-Bean and Dr. Carbonate? Why yes! Yes, they are! I'm not going to lie I was terrified on the day of presentation, mainly because an OddCo representative was there and the reality sinks that, "shit... this is quite worrying..." But it went well, with my designs coming first place out of a class vote and that was honestly something I REALLY didn't expect. I explained that there would be a variety of character's each with multiple different colour schemes but also blank canvas character's to paint onto as well as commercial character's, say for instance Carbonates head could be a Coca-Cola flask, it was well received with the only gripe being that the arms on the characters were too sharp but that it was an easily fixed problem. All in all, I enjoyed it and it was nice taking a break from work just to sit down and do something different.

Finally, it came to mind that I still have an old animation from the beginning of the year which until last night, didn't even cross my mind that it was rigged and had a pre-existing animation, you thinking what I'm thinking? No. Oh... Well... If I can get it coloured up well in a decent environment, then it might be one extra thing to hand in at final show. I realise that the animation is horrible, it was the result of me getting carried away one night back in November of 2011... The years went quick!

Anyway, if you've read up to here, thanks, I wish everyone in the class the best of luck for Friday.

Trust me.

You'll need it.

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.

I admit, my posts haven't been as frequent, or as in depth as I'd like them to be as of late, I've been doing what I can in the small amount of time which remains. Last and today I put written work to the side and focused on what I enjoyed most, doing nothing animating. I've been so wrapped up in what has to be done that I've let slide my main focus, Choke, the animation and honestly it's been a breath of fresh air being able to just sit down and FINALLY get into a work flow which feels right but without a doubt, enjoyable. I've been fairly alien to After Effects this year and now it just feels nice to work with, it makes me feel like I'm 15 again, making video's on Sony Vegas, tedious and time consuming but so enjoyable just to get all the little tweaks correct.  

Speaking of Sony Vegas, I've found one of the last video's I produced when I use to hoard my little video's onto Youtube.

It's one of the few which I actually like, even 3 years or so after I made it. Without a doubt I'd like to reproduce the video and sync it to the entire music piece attached to it, that being Groundhog (Beat Juggle) from DJ Hero. It's no surprise that I dropped the project, the syncing later on in the track would've been a nightmare and I specifically remember this video struggling near the end, that, and I was using my old PC which I had a love-hate relationship with... It would either work really well, or blue screen... Was usually the latter. Dragonball GT, though an incredibly flawed series seemed to fit the song better than Dragonball or Z, so without a doubt, come Summer, I may just spend a couple of days gathering the footage, going back to Vegas and get myself reacquainted with an old love of mine, video editing. 

Now then, what else? Oh yeah! OddCo... Wait, I'll leave that till a later post so it's a stand alone, that last segment really doesn't suit being included in a post about industry related work. Now, like I said before, I've been working on my animation and am thoroughly enjoying it, the entire first scene is actually nearly done which is honestly surprising, it hasn't taken that long. Given that the deadline is next friday, May 11th, I know fine well I won't get finished in time, not with other work being prominent as well, my goal is to do what I can up until then and then try and get it all rounded up by the time final show comes around, if that fails then I'll make a trailer advertising the "This Is Not An Exit"  show we're exhibiting come July. I'm worried, terrified in fact but sadly I'm only human and can only do so much. 

To round off this post, here's a quality botched version of my introduction, it's not finished yet, I'd like to add a few little bits and bobs if I can but I like the music... 

I think that's all I like.

Work related

Task 1: You will document all animation festival and competition opportunities that are suitable for submission of your animated short or concept with supporting justification in annotated form stating why you are considering that particular festival or competition, its benefits and entry requirements etc. This information will be typed and presented in an A4 document to be submitted within your Work Based file.

Task 2: You will develop and finalize all the preproduction elements for your animated short this will include scripts, storyboards and an animatic. This work must be professionally presented in a suitable format for submission.

Task 3: You will complete and present a minimum of one live brief relating to the development of your practice, complete with research, analysis, development and a final product(s).

These briefs will be supplied by the Young Creative Network, D and AD and other possible sources. The brief must be client based and explore the commercialism of  your chosen discipline.

You will produce a Work base file. This should include:

- A typed and formatted time sheet documenting in detail your time management and project work relating to work experience or completion of a live brief. It must reveal where you have taken responsibility for the management of a project.

- Evidence of work experience or completed live briefs. You must demonstrate in your evaluations how you used what you have learned to solve problems in the work related experience.

Task 4: You will deliver a Work related presentation
Your powerpoint will cover:
- Investigation into companies/industry related to your future progression.
- Target markets/audience.
- Current and future trends within your chosen area.
- How this will influence your practice and development of new work.
- Opportunities, this may include competitions, commissions and exhibitions.

You will present your findings during a PowerPoint presentation, which should be a minimum of ten minutes. This will be printed and presented within your work related file for submission.

Task 5:
Written Analysis
Toward the end of the academic year you must produce a 500 word written document that analyses the knowledge and skills gained during this module. This must be typed and presented within your work based file.

Do, or do not. There is no "Try".

It's been a while since my last post, within that time there's been panic, Berlin, work and the like. Firstly, panic. At the time of writing I writing there are 2 weeks till May 11th... The deadline for this final module and may I just say, I'm both terrified and excited, terrified in the sense that I don't think I'll get done in time and excited because I can't wait to just have a break... 

I've produced a mock up of the opening, it's nothing amazing and still needs work done to it and I'm not fond of the music used despite my initial thought that it worked well at first. It didn't. It has too much of a foreign twang to it and for an animation which is mostly surrounded by a jungle... Doesn't really flow well...

Finally, Cor Humanum. What is Cor Humanum? Honestly... I really don't know, I wanted to hand in a digital speed painting for one of my modules at College and I really wanted to see if I could do something decent, what this is, is just that, an attempt to try and produce a decent piece of work in relation to a personal project which at the moment is simply titled, "N.K". What about the music? Well, the great guys at BloodandBiscuits gave me the thumbs up to use some of their music, really friendly.

We Boil At Different Degrees

So, the ball's rolling, frames are getting inked up and it's all coming together better than expected. Good. Currently, I'm just rounding up the remaining pencil tests as best I can, most of them consist of lip syncing and taking into account how I now plan to approach lip syncing, it really shouldn't take too long... 

Here's hoping anyway. 

Here are a collection of inked line tests which will form

Apart from that, Berlin was a great experience!

The World Went And Got Itself Into A Goddamn Hurry

For the past few days, I've been producing pencil tests, lot's and lot's of pencil tests, so much so I need another file to hold them. Besides that, I did one in particular, a lip sync test. The script is rewritten and everything is ready to go, or is it? See, I've just wasted 70-odd pages on a 3 second pencil test and I've learnt something by it.

It get's boring real quick!

Over and over again I drew the same image until by the end, the proportions had morphed out of position, so I've thought, it would probably be better to just take a base mouth movement and just swap and change each mouth over when need be, it would save ALLOT of time and effort and it's a shame I realised this half way through production, but I thought, "well, I've made it this far, might as well finish it off" and I did, and made a god awful mess of the end result. What I did on a whim, and will no doubt regret after I upload this, is record myself visually recording lines, why? I don't know, I was bored but I figured that it might be good for entertainment educational purposes.

The procedure doesn't get any easier and I'm not well off enough to afford a fancy microphone which could knock out the noise so I've just got to play with the cards I'm dealt. It's been a while since I did voice acting and although I like to TRY and get into character, the fact is my bland, monotone voice over shadows any and all emotion but thankfully, for the character of Piper, it's fitting. This is the pencil test and quite possibly the worst animation I've ever done. It's terrible.

Apart from that, I've been messing around with Corel Painter again, I enjoyed it... Until I saved out as a JPEG and I couldn't go back into it, so this is what remains of an unfinished, unfunny Batman image, speaking of Batman, I've fallen in love with it recently, finally got round to seeing the conclusion of Arkham City and it does leave allot of things in the mist, open ended and hints at a 3rd, and hopefully final closure to the Arkham Universe. 

Why do I say that? Arkham Asylum was breathtaking, I thoroughly enjoyed what the island and its inmates had to offer, my gripe was that it was FAR too short in terms of the main story and the Riddler Trophies only draw out that time span by a few more hours but granted it does give you a sense of accomplishment. Arkham City on the other hand allows the player to explore a much more elaborate environment and meet more inmates... Maybes too many. I sat there, playing away going from Two-Face, Penguin, Mr. Freeze and before I knew it I was 3/4 of the way through by the time I bumped into Robin which Rocksteady have really done a good job at making a previously campy side-kick, "bad-ass". With the main story complete I realised I had only completed a mere 30% of what the game had to offer as a whole, side missions, riddles and puzzles alike, Arkham City is scattered with more to uncover and un-lockable's to find, granted it was the Arkham games which spurred a greater interest in Batman and since then it's a franchise which I've grown more and more fond of, the character of Batman or Bruce Wayne is that of a mere human, no super power's, no invincibility, just him and his will to protect Gotham city. With this said, it would be nice to see closure to the Arkham Universe so as not to milk it for all its worth, it's set itself up for a trilogy, hinting that the 3rd would most definitely see, "Gotham Burn". If you haven't played the Arkham games, you can pick them up pretty cheap and considering they're not incredibly long gives the casual gamer a decent excuse to just try it out but also gives the avid gamer to delve into the Arkham games and dig out every little secret the game has to offer.

Life Is Simple. It's Just Not Easy.

To dream is to fall into chaos upon a spiraling whirlwind of untainted diminishment as the bow breaks and the cradle falls unto the ocean we hold so deep. I worry, worry incase I am a demon. No Callum. You are a demon! The woman's whose womb is too slack can give birth easier in the same sense that a homosexual can strain less when defecating his life into the cesspool of emotion and bodily escape. We have no chance to survive, we must make our time. Someone

UCAS

Research for uni's

CV

Skillset

Competitions

Work Research

SWOT Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats : Self Analysis

What's Done Is Done.

First and foremost, although not an avid viewer of his work, I just want to show that I do have a heart and say how much of a shame it was for British Animator, Edd Gould, creator of "Edds World" to pass away today, anyone whose been a situation which involves cancer knows the severity of it and knows just how life changing it is either to the person involved or family. Edd was a talented animator and it's a damn shame for someone quite so young and talented to die in such instances. If you can, show your support and with that, just make the most of what you have in the small time on this fragile little planet you have.

Onto more work related aspects as to not dwell in upset and events gone by, I've decided to re-title the animated short, "Choke" I wonder why? In any case, I do actually like this concept and I'll probably keep it, it's vibrant, comical and gets across the meaning of the animation with its presentation alone, comical and bright though with a dark under-lining humour represented by the darker coloured gradient in the word, "Choke". 

I don't know why I'm pretending to be deep and meaningful about my work, I did it because I thought it looked nice, that's all. 

We also have some more pencil tests, this one I think worked out all right, nothing special though I think that the rotation in Piper's head will do, I could line up each detail (and trust me I am tempted) but as I said in my last post I'm now left with 7 weeks and an attitude towards my work which I hate whereby I have to go, "It'll do". If there's any advice to give with this, just make sure you have a solid idea from the get-go, if you don't, it causes problems down the line, like you're seeing now, because that horrendous sense of panic is starting to surface... And I HATE panicking about my work. 

We Live In A Rainbow Of Chaos.

You know what's cathartic? Knowing that you have a small, little idea which you're actually pleased with!
Can you believe that I've fully concluded the reworked idea? And I'm actually happy with it!! The new premise is easier to execute, more comical and all in all, a bit more... Me.

There are about 10 new storyboards. the good thing is, animation is mainly prominent within lip syncing and that's pretty straight forward depending on how I go about it, I could make a series of standard faces with different mouth movement on each and just sync it up digitally, or do it all traditional, I'm more tempted by the former since, well... It's easier.

Scene 1, the opening scene is well is under way, backgrounds, although not as I'd like them are at a stage where I can go, "It'll do" and use them. "It'll do" isn't a commonly used quote I say, in fact, I never say it. It's only after meeting Illustrator Paul Hess that brought about this sense of having importance in drawing a line with your work, I explain to Mr. Hess that I am a perfectionist and it was great having an individual from industry being able to relate to the issue's that I'm constantly met with. He explained that you should draw the line, that you do need a life outside of work and that although you, yourself may not like the standard of work, the viewer's or in this case, audience will think differently and it's relaxing to a degree knowing this. Backgrounds are a contrast to animation and you'll find that a detailed background allows for bold character animation to stand out more... If you didn't already know, not only that but working with backgrounds is, like I've said, something i'm really not keen on, next to 3D animation, it isn't my strong point but I like to think that I'm getting there.

So, back to the point about work.

With there being 10 storyboards each consisting of 9 images that's about 90 scenes accounted for, thankfully, not many of them are really in depth... In fact, I've worked it so that it focuses on loops and drawn out scenes which don't require allot of animation, lazy, but it's really getting there and knowing this is great!

As to date this is the end of the 8th week and that IS scary but I'm thinking that yeah, I should be sound if I stick at it and really just grit my teeth... Easier said than done. Finally, here's 3 tests of the same animation, why 3? Well, let me elaborate.

With Test 1, I did exactly what I usually do, took pictures of pictures and made them move. I captured on 2's with each image and I think you can see that although somewhat smooth, it takes to long to get from one emotion to the other, especially considering that the emotional shift includes shock and when you think of shock, you think, "BAM!" it's instantaneous, shock isn't a slow build up, it's a hit to the system and this first test was missing that. 

Test 2 took the frames from Test 1 and reworked them to achieve a greater sense of emotional shift from A to B, whereas before the transition was smooth, here it's erratic and Piper is put on edge in an instant instead of having a slow build up. What's good is that frames were taken out and the overall animation benefits from the lack of frames, makes the job SO much easier.  

Test 3 brought the timing of Test 2 and rounded it off with the last few frames, I'm actually pleased with the outcome and it's nice to know that my skill as a traditional animator is slowly improving and it's nice to see the ball slowly moving but it's a hobby and to be able to pursue a career in something I love is something only few can brag about.

A Dose Of Adversity Is Often As Needed As A Dose Of Medicine.

Well, not going to lie, it has taken a small while to complete but I'm satisfied with the results of this long, panning scene, this isn't the finished version, the black interval between the tree tops and field are to act as a title introduction so a bit more will be added there. I am pleased with the results but satisfied? No, but I'd be sat for a long time if I was to try and amend every single flaw and I wouldn't get finished, so for now, I'll have to knock it on the head. 

Water Which Is Too Pure Has No Fish

Due to the fact I work better at home, I've managed to conjure up allot of work today, backgrounds, something which I tend to be terrible with, are actually coming along all right, again, nothing amazing but I'm gradually learning and getting there and although unfinished, the idea of what they represent is noticeable.

This first establishing scene has so far been my favourite piece to work on, purple rock formations and detail really remind me of the work of Doug Tennapel for some bizarre reason, though Tennapel himself is an animator and illustrator whose work I greatly admire. The UFO is a nod to the work of a very good friend of mine, check out her blog! http://ingrid-daisy.blogspot.co.uk/ 

I'm in two mind frames as to whether or not I'll leave this the way it is, chances are I'll add a small amount of detail to tops of each tree set and have the detail dimmer the further down it goes, what I quite like here is that the tree's seem to represent their own land scape of mountainous regions, I'll throw in a few subliminal messages later on... Maybes. 

It all descends into this... This... Mess... This is how the last two images originally started out, blocky, ugly arrangements like this, but getting into the finer detail of it all is unbelievably cathartic, some nice music and left to your own experimentation, thing is, I just hate it how I'm not always in the mood for stuff like this.

So with all of these pieces, how does it meld together? Well, although it's all nowhere near finished, it will look round about something like this...

This will all be imported into Adobe After Effects, looking at it, I'll make the black transition slightly longer,  just to emphasise a sense of descent, but so far I'm happy and I plan on adding more to the scene, mainly to give it life... It should hopefully pay off... Hopefully.

When In Danger Or In Doubt, Run In Circles, Scream And Shout!

Happy Mothers Day! Don't know about you but I made my Mam cry with the sweetest words ever conceived... "Fuck you". In all seriousness though I did near that pinnacle of making my Mother cry by telling her how much I think of her, next year... She'll fall into cardiac arrest due to upset, that's the goal.

So what about today? Well, I pursued in trying to produce some backgrounds for my animation, more detailed and less Chuck Jones, more ME so to say, now backgrounds are something I haven't had allot of experience with so the final outcome wasn't anything outstanding but it's a start, and I think i'm getting there slowly, but surely.

This first attempt was abysmal, I don't know what I was after, the line work and detail were especially horrendous, so I scrapped it, it was ugly to look at and honestly, I knew I could do better. 

So I gave it another shot, I think this is all right, nothing amazing but a start, I'd like to try and get the backgrounds all like this so that the line work and backgrounds well and truly contrast each other unlike before where, let's be honest, it looked a mess.

Speaking of line work, I did another line test, I enjoyed it too! There are some issues I have to fix up, detail isn't consistent, mouth movement can be cut down which will help but the more I do these little video's the more I realise I get more enjoyment out of a simpler premise, I want Piper to carry the story but I'm still baffled as to how it'll conclude, like I think I've said, I want this to be a singular character arc, nothing more, once the animation's done, its over and I'll never re-use the character's, it's not much of an issue...

But it is to me...

Furthermore, I realise that the sound is a bit... Shoddy, if I can, I'd like to get ahold of an actual recording Microphone, they're about £100 but it just means I can get clarity without much noise or "wind". Also! For those interested, I've started back tracking through my blog, making adjustments, adding things, it's getting there, it's by no means professional, but it's not meant to be, it's here to be enjoyed and gazed upon, sure I had to make it for college but I've got a relatively high view count so even if it's just a few people skimming through, its at least something. 

What people don't realise is, is that with a blog, you're one of a thousand bottles in the ocean, and if you're lucky, someone'll pick you up and you'll get those 5 seconds of fame you lavish over.

Anyone Who Isn't Confused Really Doesn't Understand The Situation

Every attempt at publishing a post I've made, I always think, "Nah..." mainly because it's only recently that I've pulled myself out the gutter which is life.
What some may find hard to believe is that I honestly can't wait for the next 8 or so weeks to pass... That's not hard to believe at all... The idea of waking up in the morning and not having that idea of a soon to be deadline looming ever closer is something words alone cannot describe, though I am taking up a third year in education, I don't know where about's I'll end up.

So as with most things in life, there has been change... In regards to my work, more change.
You see I noticed something, what I was producing, wasn't me... It happens. You ever had it when you're aching for an idea and you know what you want, you just don't know how to get it and when you do get it, it's not what you wanted? Something like that. What I narrow it down to, is that it was me trying to "fit in", what I've noticed is that I had tried to follow a style which was appreciated by other people but not me, the course I'm on, although good, does favour more contemporary approaches to design and honestly, that medium of work has and probably never will infatuate me, although simplicity is a saving grace at times, especially in terms of animation, it isn't the be all and end all as many people and even festivals have given the impression of, the contemporary art industry is without a doubt an incredibly bias one and being someone who never took an interest in art but more so on the expression of idea's, then I can honestly say from a grounded perspective that what people consider, "art" I consider a 4-year old drawing, this of course is my own opinion and chances are, someone thinks my drawing's are abysmal, which by all accounts I'd agree, they are, but contemporary "artists" get far more credit then they deserve. I realise I've slipped off topic but as many who know me are aware, the art industry as a whole is one which now, really makes me question whether or not talent and drive are prominent, this of course doesn't apply to everyone, but a majority. Going back to what I was saying, I decided to once again change my idea, each and every module has signified a change and I'm glad to say this is the last but ironically it's the one in which I'm most sound with.

The story this time around is of just Piper and Hapless and even those names are in the air as to whether or not they'll change, Piper isn't an elephant shrew anymore, why? Because people know what a Rat is more so than what an Elephant Shrew is and therefore know what's what. The premise this time around is that Piper is trying to negotiate to be kept alive, he's been captured and about to be cooked, unlike before he again is the central drive, his characteristics are more satirical and allot more miserable which I'm sure many agree, is perfect for me. As I'm writing this I'm piecing together a more up-to-date script and the only set back i'm having is in regards too the end, typical. What you may have noticed is that Piper now talks, up until this point, no one spoke, so it's interesting to start and play around with lip syncing, especially considering Dragon Stop Motion makes the whole situation of syncing movement surprisingly easy. 

What I have in mind, is that Piper is quite well spoken, I think it works well, since he's miserable, I just made him say the only thing which made sense, "I Hate You", I recorded myself, lined it up and gave it a bash, fun? Definitely. 

Furthermore, would you believe that I'm going back to the old Humpty Dumpty Idea? A second short, nothing much, but it's something, what's more, I'm thinking about going back to my 3D module as well, this is all very ambitious so I'm still hesitant as to whether or not I can do it all, especially after my last run in with 3D, it wasn't too pretty, though since then I forgot the majority of things so I downloaded a model just to practice with, it would make sense just to use it but what would I gain out of it? Nothing.

I've been mainly experimenting with making
clothes and exaggerating body types.

I'm contemplating on either a design like this, or a homage to the Playstation 1 era, either way I'm hoping I can get it done, mainly so I have some knowledge under my belt about 3D design, it's therapeutic making model's, at least to me, you can really just go for it and the problem solving aspect is resolved in one way or another... Usually another. 

Experience Is What You Get When You Don't Get What You Want.

So despite the fact that I'm slowly easing in and out of blog posts, I like to keep using quotes as my header's, just adds a nice bit of personal flair I think to an otherwise bland blog. Though truthfully, it's a quote I've come to love since it expresses allot of what I experience (I wonder if you can guess where this is leading too), fact of the matter is, from day 1 I've never been totally content with my idea, I have a bizarre view on work and prefer singular story arcs which are established and resolved and that's certainly something I want to have established with my character's, I've constantly been back and forth between idea's and it's not because I'm indecisive, it's that I always see fault with my work and how it could be improved, in a way it's a blessing and a curse in the sense that yes, I'm always out to strive for the best result but that project rarely ever see's the light of day.

So, what am I getting at exactly?

Well, I've decided to just tell the story differently, change a couple of bits and bobs but make the project more personal, what I found with my old work was that it just wasn't ME, I was trying to pursue a standard of work which didn't suit my creative expression and I know that sounds completely and totally smarmy but when you finish a piece of work, sit back after a week and go back to it with fresh eyes and instead of looking forward to pursuing it, dread it and see it as shit, well... There's a problem.

My new approach consists of shortening the script, making less work for myself but making it short, simple and easy to follow and honestly, that bit more sadistic. In conjunction to this I'm also hoping to get some old projects off the ground and done, nothing big or fancy, simple and straight forward, such as the 2.5D Humpty Dumpty Animation... I'd also REALLY like to get a 3D piece done if possible since it's not my strong point but I'll just see how it all pans out.

I'll have to throw onto the blog sooner or later, I keep meaning to back track, I really want to fix this blog, it's just horrendous. Me and my fancy words.

So, I have until May 11th to get everything sorted... Am I ready?

Sometimes Life's Hell. But Hey! Whatever Gets The Marshmallows Toasty.

Today I handed in my module for AD206, it was, without a doubt an enjoyable. The problem being that by the time I started on the frames, it was during the beginning of the week so I had a week to try and get as much as I could done, I really pushed myself, cut myself off from college and people in general and stayed in my room, the last week I've just lived off of crap at its absolute finest!

I have a bin bag next to me, full of paper from during the week... I went through a damn bit but the results were satisfactory, from roughs, to line tests to the fina- well okay, the final result wasn't what I wanted but it's a start... Not a very good one, but a start none the less. 

If you're going through Hell. Keep Going!

So I'd like to think this is my first post in a long time which signifies that I'm getting my life back on track after my downfall through substance abuse, refresher bars are a terrible addiction which I need to weed myself off of.

Anyway!!

I've been thinking, people have short attention spans, people complain and people expect you to explain without thinking for themselves. I was thinking... I might produce occasional videos, not animation related, just video's which explain my current work flow... Not V-log's. The idea has been shunned, told that it's a copy of "Sequalitis" (YouTube it) and that it's too much hassle (you know who you are). That aside, what I received was a generally good response, see, people don't like to read essay after essay...

Unless their that way inclined.

Like me.

Another thing, I know I'm meant to upload frequent work to this decaying mess of a blog but I can't help but feel a bit anxious when doing so, the idea of a small house troll in China checking my blog and stealing my content and flogging it on the flea market is terrifying which is why, for those of you with a keen eye, you'll notice that my uploaded work is always in a mediocre JPEG format, it's not that I think my work's good, I'm just paranoid as hell.

I set out to keep up this blog and its post, I didn't. The course I'm currently studying, Animation (would you believe it) just asks for more than what the average 20 year old asks of, it's a frequent battle with work but the outcome pays off, sure I get bombarded with the usual, "you need to get out more", "you don't have a social life", "you're anti-social" but the truth of the matter is, i'm content, I enjoy working away in my cave of a room, I don't see the point in drinking myself into a coma and let's be honest, you drink to make yourself happy, "drink brings out the real you" is a stupid quote, what it actually does is turn a boring sod, into an interesting one.

This all aside, work is coming along well, my ability to throw out relatively quick tests have been beneficial and by the end of the week, I'm hoping to have at least one scene done, the main crux of the entire module has been based around the development of my character's and plot, I'm quite frankly not going to pursue something unless I'm satisfied... Which is very rarely the case. In any case, here's a rough pencil test I threw together this morning, it gets the basic movement down and once it's inked and captured with the correct lighting, it'll be pretty straight forward to colour... I say that now, nothing's ever that easy.

If you're already walking on thin ice... You might as well dance.

I've really let this blog slip, I've had allot more on my plate than usual and this, THIS BLOG has really taken a hit because of it. I've started on my first scene, the backgrounds are produced for the scenes and the environment is built within a 3D structure so architecture is consistent. Amazing what you can do with technology.

First of all, I drew out a really quick map on Photoshop Microsoft Paint with my foot.

I then began building the mountains in Cinema 4D,
using the map as a template, extruding and shifting things into place.

After a weeks worth of work I finally had the scenery ready,
and I think you'll agree, it's a work of art!

So using really professional handiwork, I zoomed in on a scene I wished to use,
then I took hold of my DSLR camera and took a picture of it,
I then wired the camera in my computer and traced back over the
black and white since the original picture was heavily distorted. In total it took a month. 

I then produced this in Microsoft Paint by
means of importing the previous image in and drawing over it.

Then I installed a Microsoft Paint plug-in called "Adobe Photoshop"
and added more effects to make the background less in your face,
more subdued and more reminiscent of the old Wile.E Coyote cartoon's. 

The character's have changed too, can you believe that!? I can't, I'm fickle like that... But I'm pleased at how the character's turned out. A few questioned whether or not the line work was digital, it isn't, it's just the work of a 0.5 and a 0.05 fine-liner.

Piper is now an Elephant shrew whose nose deflates when under pressure.
Snorre Hapless now has a bigger nose and his hair formation has changed.
Magnus Gabbro isn't a segmented character, he's more boulder-like, that said, he's also a puppet!
Blob is a character who isn't set in-stone just yet,
if I DO use him, he'll reside in Gabbro's head in a paddling pool using levers to control Gabbro.    

Piper is too dark in colour here so his palette will be lightened.
Hapless has red hair as opposed to black, it was advised to give him coloured pants... I doubt I will.
Gabbro was also advised to be lightened, this said he doesn't work well as a lighter palette.
Blob was laughed at... People like him... Her... It...

Furthermore, here's my first test animation in regards to scene 1... The first leg movement is a bit flimsy but easily fixed... Which is why I fixed it in test 2... Still not 100% but I think it does the job.

Within the next week, hell, I just want to get my work done. That's all to be honest... I could be elaborate and go, "well gee... I have to write up my progression, get stuff drawn and then animate it and composite it all..." And a note to myself... I need have my CV and Personal Statement done in about 2 weeks... This is really depressing to know... 

Finally, I want to give word about a currently under-looked musician, YouTube user, Italented. I don't know the guy but I really like his work, it's different so if you can, wrack up his views, make him feel special.

Your Life Is An Occasion. Rise To It!

So anyways, health wise I haven't been great... Stayed up the majority of last week in a panic to get everything done... It put a bit of a strain on my body to say the least and I'm still feeling the bad back, chest pains and lack of drive. Fantastic. In any case, the actual presentation didn;t go as bad as I thought, my time management was slated... Mainly because I just had an explosion on my page and said, "basically... I'm going to panic..." This aside, my project was taken mostly with favour, a few colours were told to be changed on the character's and Piper is to be simplified... Again! The animatic received some laughs... Mainly because of how bad it was... 

Given that the animatic has no sound, here's a piece you could choose to listen too... Or not.

Now, a few notable changes are to be made to the animatic, at the end, Hapless again tries to catch Piper, the thing is, Piper is able to escape and Hapless finds himself running in mid-air, his halo and wings disappear and he drops into the fires of hell. I also need to find ways to cheat footage so that I can repeat loops, speaking of which I was told to parody the use of recycled footage, anyone who watch the old He-Man cartoon's will know what I mean. 

Here are a couple of concept pieces I produced for the presentation... I thought they were decent at the time... They're really not. 

The best way out is always through.

So then, interview... At Sunderland University... Not going to lie... I was pretty terrified. It's a big deal y'know? I'd really like to pursue a third year in education and leave with a bachelor of arts qualification, it's what I set out to do 4 years ago... Jesus Christ... Has it really been 4 years!?

Anyway! The preparation for the interview, such as print out's and wallet's cost me near £60... That's a bit of a dick when you think that really, £43 of that money went towards the print out's... Mind you, I had in total about 20-30 sleeves so my portfolio was anything but bare.

I added a fair bit to the portfolio, it was pretty much filled with screen shots of previous work.
Not going to lie... I cried allot when composing the sheets... I hate the majority of my work, especially 2.5D...

Allot of people liked this, it was my 2011 life draw... Yeah... Life draw...
Anyway, I took a snappy-shot with my camera, brought out the contrast more and stuck it in my portfolio...
The sheet is what... A2? And the image is PACKED with detail so I doubt I'll ever be able to produce a digital image which shows EVERYTHING!

Finally, my showreel, I wasn't particularly pleased with it considering it was produced at 2am on the day of my interview (but it's our little secret). Honestly, I hate the work I had to put into this... And I was even told that I'm far too modest and that I don't sell myself, I just find it hard to be arrogant, I hate arrogance. Sunderland seems all right though to be fair, sure, I'd like to have known more stuff on the tour but I got to ask questions in the interview and that was good enough for me. 

It took me over an hour to get there... And an hour to get back... My MP3 player ran out of batteries and I was sat there, with a stinking bad head ache... And a back, knotted with tension. What's worse, I've found out that the Dr. Carbonate model I made...

Is none existent...

Great...

I was pretty pleased with that model but the truth of the matter is, if I've done it before, I can do it again, and most likely better than before. What I'd like to do is make his design more reminiscent of a Playstation 1 polygon model, much like Crash Bandicoot.

But one thing I have promised myself to do is go ahead with my Cancer idea at some point, preferably next year, I've begun doing my own research, mainly taking inspiration from Batman since the context is similar and I'm sure some purist will knock me down because of that. What I've learnt however, is that no idea is ever truly original, nearly everything that can be done, has been done, it's about taking such a premise that has been done and put a spin on it and that's what I'm aiming for.

TenNapel

Doug TenNapel, an animator, musician, author, essayist, Eisner Award-winning artist and full time Christian is someone who, for the most part of my later years in life, is someone who I've aspired too.

Most people know Doug through the iconic character, Earthworm Jim a series which started off as a game and soon became a 90's Saturday Morning cartoon which shared allot of traits with that of the game itself, both were never too serious and completely out there in terms of creativity, character designs were also outstanding and unique, comprising of different body types, structures, shapes and exterior personality, what's interesting to note is that the character's of Earthworm Jim, Psycrow, Evil the Cat and almost every other character, was that Doug produced all of them within an hour or so and that in itself is worth bragging about. 

What am I getting at? To be honest, I wish I knew. This is just a student showing his appreciation towards an animator who offered something, idea's, inspiration, style and technique, too often people people aspire towards the well known, I won't deny that I've praised the work of Chuck Jones, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera until I was blue in the face, but I praise them for a reason and it's the same reason I praise TenNapel, because what he offers is a form of escapism, world's which are so alike yet abstract that you can really delve into them and explore them whether it be the world of The Neverhood, Gear, Earthworm Jim, Creature Tech, Zoo, which ever one you pick up, granted it will be different from the other, even in the slightest detail. 

What I particularly love about TenNapel's work, both old and new, is the use of colour and how it's applied, with the conceptual art of Earthworm Jim in particular, TenNapel portrayed his character's beautifully through means of simplistic cartoon shapes with impeccable attention to detail with colour giving a two dimensional character, that sense that it's in three dimensional space. The use of colour in general is, I think really well done in anycase, vibrant, bold but easy on the eye. Nice. It's TenNapel's work which has for a long time, inspired the exterior creation of my character's, making a character speak for them self instead of it consisting of big eyes, spiky hair and another generic Eastern culture voice but that's a rant for another time. I may add more to this little article later on and definitely will do more consisting of other artist's which, well, I aspire too. 

If by some weird turn of events Doug DOES read this... 

I love you. 

My week so far!

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-ll of good times.

Also I like cheese!

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

I stressed out a fair bit over work and in doing that put a massive strain on my body, I really need to learn that life isn't all about work but then again, if I don't try, I won't succeed. My back is knackered along with my chest and honestly, I feel broken. Marvellous.
With word of interviews coming up, I've begun producing piece's to add to my portfolio, this piece was what I originally wanted to pursue in the first place instead of "Standing Up for the Little Guy", it's a more personal piece but its undertones and general premise were classed as, "too touchy" which I highly disagree with, that aside I feel it has potential to get somewhere so I'm going to stick at it, not to mention, it was fun to do.

With this, I have also began producing an animation test or two, just to, well, experiment, it's been fun too! I'm starting to flesh out the world and its people, myself and a very good friend are bouncing idea's back and forth and it's really working wonders! The more I work on this idea the more I wish I had been granted access to work on it, like I said, it's a personal piece but one which I feel could be justified, it certainly isn't malicious, nor does it fall under my usual sadistic humour, it is what it is and what it is, is something i'll explain in more detail once the ball gets rolling. 

Furthermore, I was informed of some competition sites, so it doesn't hurt to keep note of them...

Watershed Call for Entries

AOI Comps

Future Lions

D&AD

YCN

Eyeka

It's Just Life. Just Live It.

It's been so long since I've written on here, I have, to a degree, had time but drive to write on here about work? Nope, no drive whatsoever. I've done a fair bit of work, drawing's n' stuff, but my blog just feels lack-luster lately, bare... Well, because it is.

So, I handed in my work from the last module, the group work, y'know, the module I never spoke about... And I did pretty well... Despite the fact that the CD I handed in didn't work. Typical. So for this current module, AD206, we have to prepare for a presentation next Friday and I can only say how absolutely enthralled I am about this... What's more, the proposal and treatment that need to be written up, the treatment has been written up twice and there may be a final third draft, I need to come to a conclusion over this weekend, as well as reproduce updated Character sheet's, nothing too fancy, I wouldn't mind producing something along the lines of this...

 

See, what I particularly like is how the page isn't over crowded with information, the main character takes centre stage, both facial and bodily elevations with small miscellaneous annotations evenly spread throughout, plus I need to be realistic, this style of elevation is easy to achieve and I need to have it done for next week so I need something effective but achievable. 

The character's have been redesigned, simplified with there being an apparent influence from animator's Chuck Jones, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera as well as Jim Henson. These are a couple of sketches I recently did, Piper the Rat still retains that name, Piper, I really like it, Snorre however, has a new name in relation to his diminished IQ and Neanderthal persona, Hapless and instead of a weapon such as a club or mace, he uses his life long friend and toy, Wishes the Bunny of whom is fed rocks. Magnus is now, Bolt-Gabbro of whom I need to produce a new model for, the silhouette doesn't give much of a clear indication as to how it looks, but he's more cartoony and allot more pissy. In comparison, Piper is now a coward, intelligent but a coward none the less. Hapless in comparison to his previous incarnation is less violent, and more involved in surviving, he's just hungry... And stupid... Mostly stupid. Bolt-Gabbro is hostile, he doesn't like being disturbed and lashes out in retaliation to being attacked. All of this takes place in The Middle of Nowhere which is also the animation's new title.    

So, this weekend what I want to achieve is to just knock the proposal on the head, it's nearly done, produce new, up-to-date character sheets, finish the storyboards and begin the animatic, I don't have much to do and I have a fair amount of development already.

Finally, I've agreed to work with someone on producing a book, we know how to go about publishing... It might have something to do around this really rough image I drew up... But if things go to plan, it should work out pretty well!! 

I need to back track, talk about my previous work in greater detail and just update my blog, it's not much to do, I just to make it look appealing and every time I delve into it... I get bored of it, plus I wouldn't mind learning about the coding aspects of Blogspot, you can achieve some really nice results presentation-wise. So that's that. 

Thanks for reading!