Thursday 30 January 2014

Wednesday 29 January 2014

Life Drawing Lesson 8

We started of the life drawing class with quick 2 minute pose to loosen ourselves. After that, we did 1 minute, 30 and 15 seconds poses to understand the movement of our character.

Quick 2 Minute Poses

1 minute and 30 Seconds Poses

30 Seconds and 15 Seconds Poses
Following the quick pose sketches, we did a sketch of 8 minute each as our model turns around but sticking with the same pose.


8 Minute Poses
Lastly, we did a feature study of our choice and I have decided to go the face again. Though it does not look like the model, I think I have gotten the shape of the face right this time. Adding more wrinkles and lines to the facial feature would have been helpful.
Feature Study- Face
I personally think that I have gradually improved in my drawings. :D

Cutting Edge Film Programme: The Birds (1963)

Figure 1: Movie Poster [Still Image]
The Birds (1963) is a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is a film that has been categorised under the suspense and horror genre.  This film is loosely based on a short story written by Daphne du Maurier. It is a story about a perfect woman from the city whose life becomes chaotic and messed up when she comes to stay in a rural seaside town. Daniels presence in Bodega Bay is simply to play a prank on a smart ass lawyer but instead, her perfect hairdo knocked into her face by a passing gull. Not long after, the birds are everywhere, occupying any available space. In their attack, the birds destroyed numerous windowpanes and continuous peck on the door could be heard. The film has an opening ending where Daniels, the Brenners and the lovebirds slowly leaving the town, heading for the hospital. Tens and thousands of birds are seen loitering around, perched. However, they stayed put and did not charge an attack.

Figure 2 : Birds Gathered At The Courtyard [Still Image]
The subject of a series of widespread and viscous birds attacking the town over the course of a few days is sudden and unexplainable. A film about of having ten and thousands of birds attacking a town may not be interesting but give this idea to Hitchcock, he made a masterpiece. As Kermode writes in her review, “The Birds is a textbook exercise in taking a simple story and creating a devastating film. These days the special effects may look shoddy and some of the complexities of character and period may be lost on younger viewers, but it's still a powerful film.” (Kermode, 2009)

Figure 3 : Birds' Point Of View As They Attack The Town [Still Image]
Just like Psycho(1960), the sounds in The Birds are brilliantly composed. An example would be how the mono track controls your hearing senses with the way the bird noises are presented and the beating of wings as the birds fill the Brenner's household. Additionally, in a scene where Melanie walks slowly as she passes the crows on the playground and making her way to Annie's house is another example of how great this audio mix sounds. No cawing from the birds except for the abundance of disturbing clicking of beaks. The mix has been able to perfectly capture and relay the discomforting sound. As Peck highlights in his review, “This mono track is quite impressive when it comes to conveying the fear and terror of deadly flocks of birds. It truly showcases the way this movie should sound." (Peck, 2012)

In addition to that, an emotion that Hitchcock tries to portray in this film is how the birds feel when they are being caged.  Their freedom has been compromised and this also restricts their movement in the confined space. Likewise, in one of the scenes, he had Daniels seek refuge in a phone booth. This left her caged in a place where she cannot leave to find help.

Figure 4 : Melanie Seeks Shelter In A Phonebooth[Still Image]
In conclusion, this film covered all aspects of a great filmography really well. Both the exceptional visuals and sounds are the contributing factors of what makes it a masterpiece. This can be supported with Smithey’s statement when he states “Endlessly watchable, "The Birds" is a masterpiece that can be read on many levels, providing insight into every aspect of modern filmmaking and dramaturgy." (Smithey, 2009)

List of Illustrations:

Figure 1 The Birds(1963) [Poster] at http://www.cartelespeliculas.com/galeria/albums/042/hX6lqJ8%3D.jpg (Accessed on 29 January 2014)

Figure 2 Birds Gathered At The Courtyard (1963) [Still Image] at http://thesouloftheplot.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/creepybirdsmassing.jpg (Accessed on 29 January 2014)

Figure 3 Birds' Point Of View As They Attack The Town (1963) [Still Image] at http://thisdistractedglobe.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/The%20Birds%20Alfred%20Hitchcock%20pic%204.jpg (Accessed on 29 January 2014)

Figure 4 Melanie Seeks Shelter In A Phonebooth (1963) [Still Image] at http://payphonepictures.com/51527-4/birds_hitchcock_25m36s20.png (Accessed on 29 January 2014)

List of Bibliography:

Kermode, Jennie (2009) The Birds (1963) Film Review At: http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-birds-film-review-by-jennie-kermode (Accessed on 29 January 2014)

Peck, Aaron (2012) Alfred Hitchcock: Masterpiece Collection - The Birds At:  http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/8010/hitchcock_masterpiece_birds.html (Accessed on 29 January 2014)

Smithey, Cole (2009) The Birds - Classic Film Pick At http://www.colesmithey.com/capsules/2009/01/the-birds.html (Accessed on 29 January 2014)

Soundscape OGR




Soundscape: First Animatic Sequence

Soundscape Storyboard


Soundscape: Post Produced SFX with Descriptions

Sunday 26 January 2014

Character Design Lesson 3

For this week's lesson, we were told to draw a Caricature of our friend in the style of Bob Godfrey.
First Row - Rosalyn
Second Row- First two is of Anthony, Damynm Kyle
The next challenge was to come up with a prop for our character. I got Gru from Despicable me. Since he is an inventor and also kind to the kids, I have decided to make a Bubble Producing Machine from A Chair. This is so that while he is working, he could sit down, cycle around his work area and at the same time entertain the kids with the bubbles that are produced :D
Gru from Despicable Me
Gru's Potential Prop

Last challenge for the class was to come up with a character from the objects we brought it. I brought a DSLR keychain.
However, since it does not differ from the actual camera except for the size, I was asked to think of who would use it. I came up with 3 characters. The first camera character of mine depicts a student photographer who is always excited to take new photos. As  I was drawing my second character, Mater from Disney/Pixar's CARS came to mind. More of a goofy kind of character. My last character has a long pointy nose, depicting a fashion photographer. This is to show the snobbish, bossy side of a fashion photographer as he directs the models on how to pose for the camera.

CGAA Speed Paint Challenge: Celebrities In The Style Of Bob Godfrey

For this challenge, I have decided to do Bob Marley & Chester (Linkin Park) in the style of Bob Godfrey :)

Bob Marley
Chester (Linkin Park)

Saturday 25 January 2014

Animation Lesson 7- Final Sandbag Animation

After exporting my sandbag animation, I have decided to bring in to photoshop and added a background with the box. Also, I brought in to premiere pro to add music to my short animation. I did this just to get myself familiarise with Premiere Pro and Audition, the two softwares I picked up from the other classes.

Animation Pacing in Photoshop

Wednesday 22 January 2014

Life Drawing Lesson 7

Today's life drawing class was different because instead of drawing on white with charcoal, we drew on black with chalk. It was easier to control in comparison to using charcoal and I really enjoy doing something different :)






My first attempt in trying to do a portrait. I have not done a full facial feature because I feel that what I have sketched on my paper is no where near similar to the actual person himself. Though it is not my strongest point, I think that I did put a bit of character to my drawing. I hope to improve as I practice on more portrait drawings :)

Script to Screen- OGR

Cutting Edge Film Programme: Psycho (1960)

Figure 1: Movie Poster [Still Image]
Psycho (1960) is an American suspense, horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock.  It is a film based on a novel written by Robert Block in 1959 with the same name. The story got its inspiration partly from an actual event involving the infamous 50s serial killer from Wisconsin, Ed Gein.

The film revolves on the encounter between a secretary, Marion Crane, and Norman Bates. Bates is a quiet young man who seems to be dominated by his mother was the one who manages the motel. Crane finds herself retiring for the night at The Bates Motel after a long drive in a stormy weather. Earlier that day, she had embezzled her employer’s money of $40, 000 and left town. She did so as she saw this as an opportunity to start a new life with her lover, Sam, who was in California, which was several hundred miles away.

Figure 2: Marion Stopping over at the Bates Motel [Still Image]
From the start of the film, it can be seen that there was something strange and peculiar about Norman. Despite it all, this young man tries his best to behave like any other average person. His loneliness, staying and managing a secluded motel was fully understood because Anthony Perkins played his character’s role very precisely and brilliantly. As Ebert accurately observes in his review Perkins does an uncanny job of establishing the complex character of Norman, in a performance that has become a landmark. Perkins shows us there is something fundamentally wrong with Norman, and yet he has a young man's likability, jamming his hands into his jeans pockets, skipping onto the porch, grinning.” (Ebert, 1998)

Figure 3: Bates Standing By The Porch [Still Image]
Not only were the roles of each character was a success in terms of propelling the story forward but also the captivating visuals. An example of this would be the scene right before Marion was murdered. Guilt had consumed her and when she decided to return the money, she took a shower. 70 different angles, mainly close ups were used to create this scene.

Figure 4: Multiple Shots Of The Shower Scene [Still Image]
There was a reason why the camera was being placed at each angle. It was because Hitchcock wanted to tell a story and ensures that the audience would be affected emotionally afterwards. This statement is supported by when Hitchcock states in his journal article “The point is to draw the audience right inside the situation instead of leaving them to watch it from outside, from a distance. And you can do this only by breaking the action into details and cutting from one to the other, so that each detail is forced in turn on the attention of the audience and reveals its psychological meaning.”  (Hitchcock, 1937:62)

Just like the cinematography, sound and music score by Bernard Hermann was the contributing factors of what makes Hitchcock’s Psycho an unforgettable one. The soundtrack played a crucial role in this film as it helps to create the film’s atmosphere and delivers the narratives. Sullivan emphasized on the importance of Hermann’s contribution when he states "Herrmann’s music is inseparably linked with the film in the popular imagination; indeed, without it, Psycho would probably not exist.” (Sullivan, 2006: 243) Sullivan is accurate when he states that because take the shower scene as an example. The shrieking and the staccato violin did not only engage and conveyed the mood precisely but also enhances and dramatizes the action.

In conclusion, no matter how many times you watch this film on TV, you will not be prepared for it on the big screen, surrounded with anxious audience who are always at the edge of their seats. Total Film summarises this film accurately when they said, It's a darkly amusing, manipulative film that's still compelling in its vision of human desperation.” (Total Film, 1998)

Figure 5: Bates Smiling Sadistically [Still Image]

List of Illustrations:

Figure 1 Psycho (1960) [Poster] at http://movieboozer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/pyscho-movie-poster.jpg (Accessed on 21 January 2014)

Figure 2 Marion Stopping over at Bates Motel (1960) [Still Image] at http://iwanticewater.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/tumblr_mubpc30jug1refaz7o1_r1_500.gif (Accessed on 21 January 2014)

Figure 3 Bates Standing At The Porch (1960) [Still Image] at https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLM2PCTyAulsFvcnLwgPkfw_Q7-u06e2qCkPMQYLNopkF_eQ-I7zYT5bwqBF767fVI1mgdh7jQPaKgbWC0AsV0tZprVL25yfcBl53J3Z66ip2IwtXC7tgLJLpmYVXg1pzx69BwCs9c3kWz/s1600/perkins.jpg (Accessed on 21 January 2014)

Figure 4 Multiple Shots of The Shower Scene (1960) [Still Image] at http://cinephilefix.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/hitch1.jpg (Accessed on 21 January 2014)

Figure 5 Bates Smiling Sadistically (1960) [Still Image] at http://www.funzine.hu/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Norman-Bates.gif (Accessed on 21 January 2014)

List of Bibliography:

Ebert, Roger (1998) Psycho At: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-psycho-1960 (Accessed on 21 January 2014)

Hitchcock, Alfred. (1937) ‘My Own Methods.’ In: Sight and Sound 6(22) pp. 61-63.

Sullivan, Jack  (2006) Hitchcock's Music Connecticut, USA Yale University Press

Total Film  (1998) Psycho At: http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cinema/psycho (Accessed on 21 January 2014)

Monday 20 January 2014

Script to Screen: Further development of Logline, Premise and Step by Step Outline

Logline: 
The artist who fishes to find the perfect bristle

Premise:
What would happen to the animals in the zoo if the artist does not stop his fishing to find the perfect bristle for his perfect brush?

Step by Step Outline:

Act 1: In the Studio

1. Alvaro is seen painting in his studio and agitation starts to surface when his brush strokes becomes clumsy and rough.
2. He eyes darted to a wall calendar where he had mark “National Arts Competition Dateline”.
3. He looks at his paintbrush, and rushes out of the studio.
4. As he enters multiple art supply shops to get his replacement, he was disappointed when none of them had the exact replacement for it. 
5. While waiting to cross the road on his way home, he sees the sign to the zoo.

Act 2: At the Zoo

6. The way Alvaro sets up his easel at the zoo showed that he was a perfectionist. 
7. Despite the setup, no actual work was done because he was observing the animals’ enclosure very carefully. Raul, the zookeeper notices this and finds the behavior of this artist odd and suspicious.
8. After learning about his victims, Alvaro would sneak into the zoo and setup his catch. He will lure and net the animals from their enclosures in search of the perfect hair to recreate his paintbrush.
9. Once Alvaro kills his victims and arranged the hair off of them to make his bristle, he would test them out. He would continue fishing until he got his perfect match.
10. When Raul realised that the animals under his care were disappearing, he decided to engage the press and posted a reward to find the culprit.
11. As Raul begins to observe Alvaro more closely, he notices that Alvaro acts suspiciously around the animals that were going to be his next victims.
12. Alvaro, on the other hand, was not aware of this because his obsession to recreate his brush got his full attention.
13. On a particular night, Raul caught Alvaro in action and confronted him.
14. A scuffled began, a man’s life ended. The killer was not known until an article about the incident was reported on the local newspaper the next day.
15. A photo of the deceased zookeeper, Raul, was splashed across the front page of the newspaper with half of his well-groomed moustache missing.
16. A sadistic smile was painted all over Alvaro’s face as he admires his fat new brush and his perfect painting in his studio.

Introduction to Character Animation- Arm

Introduction to Character Animation- Toadstool

Introduction to Character Animation- Chain

Script to Screen: Idea 7 (Further Development)

With the suggestion to keep my story visually more interesting and engaging, I made the changes to my opening scene for this project. 

Idea 7: The Obsessive Artist

Character 1 Biography:
> Alvaro, a 42 year old artist
> Quiet in person but expressive in terms of his artwork
> Visits the Emerald Zoological Gardens regularly to do his paintings
> Perfectionist
> Medium Built, about 5’8” weighing 165 lbs

Character 2 Biography:
> Raul, a 38 year old zookeeper

Alvaro is seen in his studio, painting when his brush started to fail him. His brushstrokes appear to be clumsy and rough. His eyes darted immediately to the wall where there was a calendar. On one particular date, it says “National Arts Competition Dateline". The urgency to finish his artwork started to kick in. He rushes out the studio and went on to several art supplies shops in search of the perfect replacement for his paintbrush but was unsuccessful. Filled with disappointment and anger, he stomps out of Johnny’s art supply shop, which was his last hope. While he stopped at a junction, waiting to cross the road, he sees the sign to the zoo.

The way he sets up his easel in the zoo showed that he was a perfectionist. However, despite the setup, there was no actual artwork being produced. Alvaro was there to observe the animals in their enclosures very carefully for his new side project.

Every night since, Alvaro would sneak into the zoo and set up his net to lure and later, trap his victim, in search of the perfect match to recreate his paintbrush. The search of finding the perfect bristle has triggered this madness.

Meanwhile, the disappearance of the animals becomes a very serious issue that the zoo and the press worked together by publishing articles 'The Fisherman Strikes Again At Local Zoo” and a reward would be given in return. Alvaro was very determined and obsessed to find his replacement bristles that these wanted signs were not even once seen as a slightest threat to this madness nor did he realise that Raul, the zookeeper was onto him. One night, the zookeeper caught him in action and confronted him. A scuffled started, a man’s life ended. It was not known who was killed until a photo of the zookeeper splashed across the front page of the newspaper, with half of his well-groomed moustache missing. A sinister, sadistic smile was painted all over Alvaro’s face as he admires his fat new brush and a perfect painting.

Sunday 19 January 2014

Introduction to Character Animation- Pendulum

Script to Screen: Logline, Premise and Step by Step Outline

Title: The Obsessive Artist

Logline: 
The artist who fishes to find the perfect bristle

Premise:
What would happen to the animals in the zoo if the artist does not stop his fishing to find the perfect bristle for his perfect brush?

Step by Step Outline:
  1. The zoo is packed with visitors and aspiring artist and Alvaro was seen setting up his easel at his favourite spot, by the river lodge. He can be identified as a perfectionist by the way he places his tools while setting up.
  2. As Alvaro starts painting, he becomes frustrated and annoyed by the way his painting was turning out as the brush strokes becomes clumsy and rough.
  3. He instinctively knew that his paintbrush have been fully utilised and he needed a replacement.
  4. He lured and netted animals from their enclosures in search of the perfect hair to recreate his paintbrush.
  5. Once Alvaro kills his victims and arranged the hair off of them to make his bristle, he would test them out. He would continue fishing until he got his perfect match.
  6. When Raul, the zookeeper, realised that the animals under his care were disappearing, he decided to engage the press and posted a reward to find the culprit.
  7. Raul had his eyes on Alvaro because he was acting suspicious around the animals that were going to be his next victims.
  8. Alvaro, on the other hand, was not aware of this because his obsession to recreate his brush got his full attention.
  9. On a particular night, Raul caught Alvaro in action and confronted him.
  10. A scuffled began, a man’s life ended. The killer was not known until an article about the incident was reported on the local newspaper the next day.
  11. A photo of the deceased zookeeper, Raul, was splashed across the front page of the newspaper with half of his well-groomed moustache missing.
  12. A sadistic smile was painted all over Alvaro’s face as he admires his fat new brush and his perfect painting.

Script to Screen: Idea 7 (Changes)

After taking into account the suggestion that was given to make my story have a better ending, I altered my story accordingly.

Idea 7: The Obsessive Artist


Character 1 Biography:
> Alvaro, a 42 year old artist
> Quiet in person but expressive in terms of his artwork
> Visits the Emerald Zoological Gardens regularly to do his paintings
> Perfectionist
> Medium Built, about 5’8” weighing 165 lbs

Character 2 Biography:

> Raul, a 38 year old zookeeper

Artist of all ages are always seen setting up their easel in front of an animal’s enclosure of their choice, as they attempt to capture nature’s beauty on to their canvases. Alvaro is one of the artists who frequent the zoo, as he loves to paint the wildlife. Alvaro style of painting is very distinguished because of his precise brushstrokes. Just like any other day, as Alvaro was in the midst of creating a masterpiece, he realised that the strokes that began to appear on his canvas was clumsy and rough. Instinctively, he knew that his favourite paintbrush have been fully utilised. A perfectionist, he believed that he was not able to function any further if he does not get his bristles replaced immediately. The search of finding the perfect bristle triggered this madness.

Every night since, Alvaro would sneak into the zoo and set up his net to lure and later, trap his victim, in search of the perfect match to recreate his paintbrush.

Meanwhile, the disappearance of the animals becomes a very serious issue that the zoo and the press worked together by publishing articles 'The Fisherman Strikes Again At Local Zoo” and a reward would be given in return. Alvaro was very determined and obsessed to find his replacement bristles that these wanted signs were not even once seen as a slightest threat to this madness nor did he realise that Raul, the zookeeper was onto him. One night, the zookeeper caught him in action and confronted him. A scuffled started, a man’s life ended. It was not known who was killed until a photo of the zookeeper splashed across the front page of the newspaper, with half of his well-groomed moustache missing. A sinister, sadistic smile was painted all over Alvaro’s face as he admires his fat new brush and a perfect painting.

Script to Screen: Idea 7 Refinement

Idea 7

Title: The Obsessive Artist

Character Biography:

> Alvaro, a 42-year-old artist
> Quiet in person but expressive in terms of his artwork
> Visits the Emerald Zoological Gardens regularly to do his paintings
> Perfectionist
> Medium Built, about 5’8” weighing 165 lbs

Artist of all ages are always seen setting up their easel in front of an animal’s enclosure of their choice, as they attempt to capture nature’s beauty on to their canvases. Alvaro is one of the artists who frequent the zoo, as he loves to paint the wildlife. Alvaro style of painting is very distinguished because of his precise brushstrokes. Just like any other day, as Alvaro was in the midst of creating a masterpiece, he realised that the strokes that began to appear on his canvas was clumsy and rough. Instinctively, he knew that his favourite paintbrush have been fully utilised. A perfectionist, he believed that he was not able to function any further if he does not get his bristles replaced immediately. The search of finding the perfect bristle triggered this madness.

Every night since, Alvaro would sneak into the zoo and set up his net to lure and later, trap his victim, in search of the perfect match to recreate his paintbrush.

Meanwhile, the disappearance of the animals becomes a very serious issue that the zoo and the press worked together by publishing articles such as 'The Fisherman Strikes Again At Local Zoo” and a reward would be given in return. Alvaro was very determined and obsessed to find his replacement bristles that these wanted signs were not even once seen as a slightest threat to this madness. A sinister, sadistic smile was painted all over Alvaro’s face upon the discovery that the combination of his last victim’s hair and a personal touch from his well groomed moustache, his perfect bristle has been recreated.

Saturday 18 January 2014

Script to Screen: Idea Possibilities


After the feedback, I went on to rethink about my idea for this project. Both ideas have similar concept but I think Idea 7 would work better as animation in the given time frame.

Idea 6

Title: You’ve Been Fished
Character 1: Alan (Zookeeper who is the fisherman)

Character Biography:
> 30 year old man
> Socially awkward individual who had an obsession for animal’s hair
> Works in the zoo because that is the only place that had all kinds of animals with different hair texture that he could care for

Character 2: Tom (Craftsman/Souvenir Shop Owner)

Character Biography:
> 52 year old craftsman who had a huge obsession over crafting wood
> Works at the Zoo’s souvenir shop
> Found a new obsession: individually customising the handles with intricate designs representing the animals he had used to make the bristles of it.
> Designed a special section in the shop to display and sell his collection
> Business was booming

Story:
Alan and Tom knew each other, as they were colleagues at the Zoo. During a discussion over lunch, Alan and Tom were brainstorming on how to earn more as they did not earn much from their jobs. Knowing that Alan has access to all the animals at all times and his obsession over animal’s hair, Tom took advantage of Alan. He had manage to successfully convinced Alan to help  him to fish out the animals with the best hair so that he could bring his idea of crafting a collection of paintbrush as souvenirs come to live. To cover up their tracks, Alan pretended to be alarmed and reported the missing animals that were under his care. Posters of the wanted “Fisherman” were seen all over the zoo. Tom’s new collection at the gift shop, on the other hand, was flourishing as his artworks were seen as exquisite. Neither felt threatened by the signs and carried on with the plan. It was until one day, an undercover officer who was assigned to this case, caught them in action. Alan and Tom were caught in the net of this under cover investigation.

 Idea 7

Title: The Obsessive Artist
Character Biography:
> Alvaro, a 42-year-old reputable wildlife artist
> Quiet in person but expressive in terms of his artwork
> Employee at Emerald Zoological Gardens
> Perfectionist
> Medium Built, about 5’8” weighing 165 lbs

Artist of all ages are always seen setting up their easel in front of an animal’s enclosure of their choice, as they attempt to capture nature’s beauty on to their canvases. Alvaro is the zoo’s artist. He gained recognition for his artwork after one of his painting won the prestigious Turner Prize award. An award that only the best in the field will receive. He is employed to paint animal portraits and scenes of the zoo that are being sold at its gift shop.

Alvaro’s artworks are very distinguished and admired because of his precise brushstrokes. Just like any other day, as Alvaro was in the midst of creating a masterpiece, he realised that the strokes that began to appear on his canvas was clumsy and rough. Instinctively, he knew that his favourite paintbrush have been fully utilised. A perfectionist, he believed that he was not able to function any further if he does not get his bristles replaced immediately. The search of finding the perfect bristle triggered the madness.
As an employee of the zoo, Alvaro had the access to be in it after the closing time.

Alvaro took this opportunity of the late night stays in the zoo and went on fishing for the animal he thought would be a perfect match. He started of this craze by netting smaller animals such squirrels and mongoose. After experimentation, he realised that this two types of animals was not to his expectation. He went on to fish for his next victims, a pony and subsequently a badger, always experimenting it in his small studio at the back of the zoo. Meanwhile, the disappearance of the animals was an alarming issue at the zoo and signage of rewards were put up to help capture what the zoo called “The Fisherman”. Alvaro was very determined and obsessed to find his replacement bristles that these wanted signs were not even once seen as a slightest threat to this madness. A sinister, sadistic smile was painted all over Alvaro’s face upon the discovery that the Ox, his last victim, was the key animal to craft his perfect bristle.

Friday 17 January 2014

Animation Lesson 6- Animating The Sandbag

For today's animation class, our task was to animate the sandbag to go over an obstacle which is a cube box. Before we did that, we were taught what our animated character needed. 

Anticipate > Jump > Recovery

To animate the sandbag, I needed to
1. Understand my character. (Stretch, Squash, Volume, Weight and Personality
2. Plan my scene (Staging, Proportion, Camera, Story)
3. Mapping the actions (Keyframes, Arcs of Motion)
4. Timing and Spacing my In Betweens using Ladder
5. Animate!

For my sandbag, I have decided to make it a flexible dancer, showing off. I would still need to redraw some of the sandbag because it has either gained or lost weight.





Thursday 16 January 2014

Life Drawing Lesson 6 Assignment

Our assignment for the life drawing class was to draw another feature study of our own self. Since drawing hands is not something I am strong at, I've decided to draw it. For this assignment, I have decided to be an adventurous ambidextrous and drew both my hands. It does require a lot of concentration as I drew my right hand and though it was challenging,  I am very pleased with the outcome. 




Adobe (Audition/Premiere Pro) Lesson 2

For this week's class, we were taught how to set up our project in Premiere Pro. 

These are the things we are required before starting a new project:
1. HD Bars & Tone
2. Front Plate (This is where you have the title, version and date of your project)
3. Universal Counting Leader

After adding all of the above, we had to reset the timecode to be an hour as this is used in the industry.  We were told to always do this as it will prepare us for the industry in the near future.
The subsequent step would be that we had to place a video effects time code on our image for the project. This is to ensure that the video and sound are in sync for easier editing.

Once everything was set, we were tasked to compose a music score for the Soundscape project using Garageband. I took this opportunity to string together the different sounds from various instrument in that software and this was my rough cut.

As my intentions for this project is to make a musical,lively sequence, I think this soundtrack is working. This is far from done as specific noise such as the cracking machine as it being pushed around, sound of men humming and water flowing have yet to be added. 

Wednesday 15 January 2014

Character Design Lesson 2

For the second Character Design lesson, we learn that different shapes can represent a certain type of character. For example, triangles generally represents danger, anti heroes with all the edges and points. Circles, on the other hand, has a safer, gentler context attached to it. It is also used for younger character designs like Winnie The Pooh or Piglet. Square has characteristics broad, sturdy, stability, strength and rigidity attached to it. So, our first task was to draw the character we were given by altering a shape from it. My character was Fred Flinstone. I decided to make him chubbier and rounder.



The next part of the class was to design three characters with the word we were given. The word I got was Mad Scientist. What comes to mind immediately was lab coats, test tubes and weird hair. However, after having a chat with Justin, he gave me several ideas of how I could make the costumes for my characters more interesting. I used all the three shapes -Triangle, Circle and Square when I created my character to give it a bit of variation. Another reason why I used the different shapes was because I wanted to see what kind of results I would get though the word I was working around was the same.




Life Drawing Lesson 6

Here are my studies from the life drawing class. We had a new model, Francis. Our task was to study on features, stance and gravity. My first drawing for the class was not the best because I was still learning and understanding the proportions for this new model. But after awhile, it got better. 

4 of 5 Minute Poses

Feature Study- Leg
Draw the whole figure but focus on one feature

For the last exercise, as we were tasked to draw the figure but focussing on one feature, I have chosen the arm as I have previously did the leg.

I personally feel that my drawing is getting better because I was not able to draw a feet, let alone a detailed one, when I first started this class.