Animation Showreel Jan - April 2017

My latest showreel (which I also put on YouTube) showing the animation exercises I did for this semester:

- Title sequence animatic and effects

- 2D background shot

- Experimental short involving animation and live-action

- Stop motion exercises

- Life drawings

- Stop motion films involving lip synch

Toonish Art

 I love the classic cartoon style (hence why this blog got a re-design), which also means I love classic cartoon characters. I've been on a kick of watching some old shorts and it's no surprise why they're classics. These characters are just so likeable! 

 So here's some toonish fanart I did for Betty Boop, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Felix the Cat. Bendy and Cuphead are here too since I still love playing Bendy and the Ink Machine and can't wait for chapter three, and the release date for Cuphead has just been released on E3, which is SO exciting!

The Betty Boop fanart is an experiment, mixing my traditional sketch with digital colouring. The fanart with the boys was where I decided to play around with lighting, and I just thought the whole thing looked so adorable!

The digital artworks are also on my Deviantart: http://louisethesim.deviantart.com

 I don't usually show people my Deviantart since there's artwork on there from when I was a teenager and I hate most of them, but you can have a look if you're interested.

The Importance of the Editor

 A lot of people forget that editing is a crucial job in making a film, mainly because it's unnoticeable in the final product, and that's a good thing. If the editing is noticeable to the audience and doesn't flow as naturally as it should, it's probably not good editing. Editing is meant to be hidden, in order to immerse the audience into the film and forget they are watching a man-made product.

 Live-action editors are usually introduced in post-production, where the footage and audio is handed to them and they, along with the director's guidance, take control of how the film will be pieced together to create an immersive illusion. They have a lot of responsibility in making the film work.

 Animation editors do the same as live-action editors but are deemed   by others to have an easier job than live-action editors. All they have to do it put the finished pieces of animation together along with it's sound, right? 

 But the success of making an animated film resides on the decisions of the pre-production team and how they they plan the script and storyboards. The story is the most important part of any creative art. If the story or visuals aren't  perfect during production, live-action filmmakers can go back to pre-production to  take things out or put things in before they can reshoot the scenes. In animation however, 'reshooting' isn't an option. The pre-production teams have more pressure on them to make the script and storyboards right the first time before the animation process, as re-animting a scene can add more time and money to the budget. So in order to make sure the story and visuals are just right, the editor is brought on from the very beginning. The editor can add an extra opinion on the story as they already have an understanding of how film is put together. If something in the script doesn't add up in their head, they can talk about it to the directors, storyboard artists and even the writers. The editor's input saves time in remaking animated segments and makes it easier for the pieces to be put together in post-production. Animation editors don't necessarily have a harder job than live-action editors, but they feel pressure to make the film work from the very beginning.

 Animation can most definitely be edited, but we rather don't want to as we don't want hours of work from the animators going to waste. Editors overall do have a crucial job, but a very rewarding one when they see the final film becoming the illusion it was meant to be. Editing is a process that I myself am very interested in, especially editing in animation, as I can then have a say in the story, which in itself is exciting! I think I know what I really want to do in this industry now...

Puppet and Furniture Making

 Above are the furniture pieces and my handmade dog puppet for my stop motion project. The table, beanbag chair and bone are made out of clay and painted on. The book was made out of card with the help of this tutorial on how to make small books: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNrJNi3tR44

The dog puppet is my 3rd prototype and will be my final puppet once I've made some changes to the body and added bits of fur to him. He is a Giant Schnauzer (hence the beard) and his eyes and mouth will be made out of paper, making it easier to change mouths when lip syncing him.

There's More to Storyboarding than You Think

 Last semester when I was doing the storyboard module, I was surprised. And now I'm once again surprised when I made a portion of the animatic for the Title Sequence Project. I was surprised because I didn't know how difficult and time consuming it was to storyboard!

 Before I came to university, I have made storyboards for short films I worked on during my time in A Level and BTEC film. At the time, I was the only one making the storyboards because nobody else wanted to do it and they knew I was the best at drawing out of all of them. The criteria for making storyboards during the course was to make one…and that's it. I wasn't really taught how many drawings to make for a shot or how many notes you need to write around the panel, as long as I made one for the team I would've done my job properly. These film courses were mainly about production and post-production, so pre-production didn't matter at the time…well it did to me but it wasn't needed to pass the courses (this is why I know so much about editing in Premiere Pro).

 So naturally when I found out I was doing a storyboard module in the first semester, I thought I was going to pass with flying colours because that was my main job for the past three years! I thought I can easily become a storyboard artist when I leave university because of having experience before anyone else. The key word here is thought. I thought I can easily pass this and be a storyboard artist. In reality, I knew nothing.

 Storyboarding is more than drawing scribbles on a page and labelling the type of shot underneath it. Unless you're a fast worker and are already good at drawing, this module would've been tough, and it was for me. 

 First of all, despite people telling you you don't have to be good at drawing to be a storyboard artist...you have to be good at drawing. I know this because the students who were already good at drawing had the better storyboards. They had textures and prominent shadows and expressive faces to really show how the characters are feeling. The drawings were simple but they had the fundamentals of of a drawing that represent a part of the movie. My drawings were far too simple, like what I did during my A Level and BTEC, having no shadows, no textures, the characters looking very stiff and some objects not even looking like objects! I ONLY JUST passed the module because of this.

 On top of that, everyone used a tablet to draw the storyboards and they knew how to use it. I got my first tablet a month before I moved to university and was still trying to get used to it. The digital storyboards looked horrendous, so I ended up drawing the storyboards on paper and scanning them into the computer.

 Another thing I didn't understand was how many drawings to make for a shot. The more action that's happening in a shot, the more panels you should draw. I, on the other hand only made a few panels for an action shot. The drawings didn't match the action-packed feel of what's happening on screen. Even if the characters are just sitting down and talking, having multiple drawings for a shot adds life to the storyboards and looks more complete.

 Finally, the notes around the storyboards: shot type, shot number,  action on screen and dialogue (if any). Do this for all shots or panels (if action or dialogue changes during each panel). These notes will be helpful for the director, producer, editor, animators and practically everyone whose trying to get the grasp of the story.

Storyboarding is harder than you think and I found it extremely difficult to make one when I realised that how I made them before was NOT how to do it in the real world. Some studios might even be particular with thier storyboards, wanting them to be extremely detailed or allow you to be as messy a you want. I don't think I can ever a storyboard artist when I enter the industry as it's not my  niche anymore, but after that learning curve I'm very appreciative of storyboard artists and you all should be too.

Can Women be Directors?

 OKAY. So a while back my course got a visiting lecture from an animation director who came to talk about directing (mainly to help the third years with their final films). He was a very funny guy, giving us advice on how good directors work and showing us most of his sketchbooks, explaining how certain things he draws can turn into ideas. I really liked this lecture! But there was one element that caught me off guard during part of it, and that was when he explained why there aren't as many female directors as there are male directors.

 We were shown pictures of many great male directors from multiple studios, including Aardman, but the thing we spotted the most was the lack of female directors. Out of the many directors Aardman has had, only one woman has managed to direct a feature film; Sarah Smith of Arthur Christmas. We also noticed that there were a lack of male producers in the animation industry as well, most of them being female. Our visiting director then told us right there and then that there aren't many female directors because women don't make good directors. At first I laughed at this because I thought he was just joking, but as he then continued to show scientific evidence that women are better at producing because they were more organised than men, I started to feel uncomfortable.

 I have always believed that it doesn't matter whether your a man or woman, if you're good at something, then you're good at it, regardless of who you are! But I'm also not one to turn down scientific evidence…because it's science. You can't really argue with it. I found myself so conflicted about this! Is this the true realisation that women are genetically better at producing? Or can a person defy science by just being so good at what they do? We have had good female directors in the past (again, Sarah Smith who made the brilliant but underrated Arthur Christmas), so why is it so hard to believe that women can be good at directing?

 I have seen people use these facts against women doing certain jobs before. Back in 2016, a Studio Ghibli producer claimed that women can't direct Studio Ghibli films as women would be 'too realistic' in their direction, botching up a good fantasy film. I almost feel unsure about this one, because in a way I agree with him. I would love to write for an animated film one day and even try my hand at directing, but the ideas I come up with for animated features are  set in very realistic situations and environments. I want the audience to relate to my films and feel for the characters that are going through real problems that real people go through. Animation can empathises these sort of things with extravagant images sticking in someone's head. But then again…this is just me. What about women who love fantasy stories? Most directors in Japan are male anyway, not allowing women to make films at all, let alone realistic films! So where is this producer getting these ideas from?!

Now I know that there are many women out there who are producers because they like doing it! They're aren't forced into the job. But I can't help feeling that, as well as women wanting to be directors, there are men out there that want to be producers, but they can't because 'it's a woman's job'. The scientific evidence may be true (I admit that I'm quite good at organising like a producer), but we should encourage ANYONE to be what they want to be regardless of that! You can't stop learning a certain skill because of your gender, but you can stop learning by giving up or being lazy (trust me I know). I can't wait to work with great producers and directors no matter who they are, and I myself can't wait to write and direct like I've always wanted to. Can women be directors and men be producers? Duh, of course they can, because they can!

How a 3D Pen Can Be Used in Stop Motion

Above: The 3Doodler making the Eiffel Tower

3D pens started with the 3Doodler by WobbleWorks Inc, and are growing more popular each day in the art community. Now there are many 3D pens on the market to buy, like the 3Doodler Start, Scribbler, LIX and 3DSimo Mini. All have their own qualities, like temperature and speed settings, but they basically all make 3D art in mid-air, with the same sensation as drawing with a regular pen.

Looking at different blogs and YouTube channels, many artists have tried the 3D pen and have given it good reviews, whether it be for fun or to create an installation piece (just look up '3D pen' on Pinterest!). But being an animator [in training] I always like to go back to stop motion and see what new things we can use to make more outstanding visuals! 3D printing has already taken the stop motion world by storm, and the 3D pen is a piece of technology that is perfect for creating objects and small details during stop motion production.

Above: Face sets for Paranorman

There are some things you can't use a 3D pen for in stop motion, however. A 3D pen's filament can dry very quickly and stay put in mid-air. A puppet's hair, skin or clothes need to move easily between frames, so therefore needs to be made out of flexible materials, unlike newly heated filament. 3D pens aren't advised to use whilst making soft or cushiony objects like pillows or bedding, the filament will shine after it dries and will loose the illusion of a soft bed or a comfy sofa. Large sets also seem impractical for 3D pens. Though it is possible you can use them to make sets, it will take a long time to complete an entire building out of filament. Make your life easier by using large materials like cardboard boxes for large sets!


The following things however, are things you can use 3D pens for in stop motion:

Set Details

You've used your cardboard or clay to make the building itself, so now move onto your 3D pen to create the doors, windows, ledges, balconies and artsy details that make the building extremely fancy-looking! Why stop at buildings though? Add more flowers to the garden set or complicated gadgets to the puppet's car! If you want to go more practical than artsy, make an armature for your building in order to make the set more stable before adding on your main materials.

Props

Props are the first thing you should turn to a 3D pen for! Smaller objects like crockery, cutlery, plant pots, garbage, instruments and weapons are quick to make with a 3D pen and ready to be put onto set immediately after it cools. Do not underestimate the small things in stop motion set. The more you have, the more you add to the atmosphere and environment.

Nature

I've mentioned garden sets and plant pots before, but adding that one extra leaf on a branch or more magical mushrooms can be just what your woodland set needs! Nature doesn't stop at the woods though, more rocks and boulders will add to that pebble-filled beach, and more vines will turn the rainforest into more of a jungle than before. Twisted branches and roots are also good to make with a 3D pen, as the way you usually use a 3d pen is by twisting the filament around until you get the object desired, and then carve off the unwanted parts in order to create a smoother shape.

Puppet Armature

Whilst the outside of the puppet will mostly be plasticine and clothing fabric, the skeletal armature itself can be made by a 3D pen! Just remember to make a plan of your puppet first and make it in parts before putting it together with the nuts and bolts. You want your puppet's joints to bend like real joints do, and some filament won't bend after it dries.

Puppet Accessories

Sure you can't make the clothes out of filament, but things like hair clips, bracelets, helmets, armour, rings and phones are also good to be made out of a 3D pen. Like props, they are easy to make and quick to add to the set after being cooled.

Above: I know this isn't a puppet's phone but use your imagination!

Glue

Yes! F*ck the glue gun (even though it's an extremely handy tool and I love it), use the 3D pen to glue pieces together! However this time the filament will be able to match the object, therefore the 'glue' will be camouflaged!


Find what 3D pen suits your liking in this video:

3Doodler blog: http://the3doodler.com/blog/

3D Pen Lab's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOvm1ePlttS6hWatuHThw_A 

Make Anything's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVc6AHfGw9b2zOE_ZGfmsnw

Stop Motion is hard…but I still love it.

From this point on, Monday 13th - Sunday 19th will officially be regarded as one of my most stressful weeks as I was convinced I was cursed to not complete any of my work, due to technical malfunctions and minor illness.

Dragonframe is a stop motion software that the university uses, and I do love it compared to any other stop motion software out there, but this week every single computer that had Dragonframe on it malfunctioned whenever I tried to import images of a face set. Clearly I did something wrong in the making of the images but can you blame me into thinking that I was cursed?! So this week I had to do some of my stop motion work manually and alter the images in Photoshop before trying to import them on Dragonframe again.

The videos above show what I filmed this week, the green screen one being made manually, and the other from what I managed to make on Dragonframe. These are some paper plane tests for my group title sequence project, where for a small part of the sequence, we would show a stop motion paper airplane over a map of the world.

I've always preferred stop motion over any other animation technique  as it requires you to get physical and create the sets and characters! Nowadays, it's the only kind of animated film where not everything on screen is done on computers, which gives the audience some real and often breathtaking visuals. A lot of animators however, while appreciating stop motion, would choose not to go into it because there's no money in the market. If you want a guaranteed job, 3D is really the way to go. Even films like Kubo and the Two Strings or The Lego Batman Movie both have stop motion and CG elements in them to create some outstanding animation, but in the end it still looks more like CG than stop motion. It's now become uncommon to see a full stop motion movie (PS. Defiantly go and see Kubo and Lego Batman, they are amazing movies!).

I always knew that if I were to make my own stop motion film, it'll be tough but also fun at the same time. This week was the first time I realised that production will not always go so smoothly, and that setbacks will ensue and cause you to loose track of time, causing the entire process to be even harder. I imagine that huge animation studios also have to deal with weeks like this during production, when everything just goes wrong and you have no choice but to take a break.

I almost broke down this week when I didn't get my work done, but it still doesn't take away how much I like doing stop motion. The video with the green screen showed the first time I tried moving the camera and the puppet at the same time, to create the illusion of zooming out to show the bigger picture! The fact that I at least managed to learn one new thing is still good! Creating something you like is at times painful but to you it's a lot of fun, so if everything goes wrong, there's no shame in taking a small break to claim your sanity back before you keep going.

Life Drawings: I'm getting BETTER??

Here are the latest drawings to my life drawing sketchbook. And, no joke when I say this, but my life drawing teacher says I'm getting better! I really think I owe it to the needle technique I mentioned in my 'Drawings Drawings Drawings' post. If you could just ignore the faces and focus on my improvements on body proportions, that'll be nice, thank you.

2D Background Project: A New Inspiration

In my last post, I said that I wanted Indre Bankauskaite to be my inspiration for the naturalistic environment of my background project. However, it turned out that their work was to stylised for the shot and that I couldn't use them. I was rather hoping I'd use their art, but I wasn't sure what constituted as a naturalistic artist at first. It turns out I should chose an artist who actually tries to replicate real life! So life drawings…for environments.

I decided on Stepan Fedorovich Kolesnikov since I really like his almost-sketchy drawings put together with only a few shades of colour. The winding trees he paints are also good for the trees I'll be drawing in my background shot.

The paintings above are my intimidations of his work (even further above). I was using watercolours since most background artists use watercolours to blend everything together in the background whilst the character animation stands out. I'm still not sure whether it would be better to use watercolours or acrylics to intimidate Kolesnikov's work. 

As you can see, my watercolour skills aren't up to scratch. I've always liked painting since it's a very therapeutic hobby, but I know it's not something I'm talented at. Some of the brush strokes look too messy and first painting looks like it's been blended too much. I like some parts of the second one, but it's still lacking.

I went on to practice my watercolour skills still in the style of Kolesnikov, and ended up with the paintings above (and one pencil sketch). I feel myself getting better at painting, mainly because I used colours that I enjoy blending with. Kolesnikov's colours are quite subdued in his work, but I decided to try using shades of red since I like the combination of fiery colours. My favourite pieces are the mountains, mainly the one with patches of red on it, as I feel like it instantly tells me where the mountain resides: in a hot area where not much green is seen.

I even tried drawing and painting in a city environment to see if I'm better at that! The shading on the pencil drawing is good and I do like how I painted the lamp, but the block tower became a mess and I didn't enjoy painting it.

IN OTHER NEWS!

The thumbnails for the 2D background project are done and so is the storyboard of the shot I will be making! For the project we only have to make one background and some character animation for one shot, but it was deemed helpful to look back on thumbnails for a whole scene based around the shot. The scene shows two children, who press a button on a control panel to turn the environment into a beautiful landscape of nature. The girl (who is going to be animated in the shot I'm making) turns to see a bicycle against a tree, which reminds her of an alien boy she knew, and cries.

In the thumbnails, the area highlighted in pink is the background shot for my project. The storyboard itself shows in more detail how it'll look in the end. The areas that are outlined in black indicate the character animation (the girl, birds flying, trees blowing in the wind). The camera will also pan across the shot, from left to right.