CT5CART Cartoon Animation Hand in

Consistency

During the first lesson our lecturer Tony Garth explained how its key to be able to draw quickly and consistency when working in the industry. A team of animators are required to draw the same character  consistently and accurately.

We bagan by drawing as many circles as we could on a page with a consistent shape. 

We then used the circles to draw as any different facial expressions as we could. 

Facial expressions Break downs. 

I read the book  Drawn to life: 20 golden years of Disney master classes by Stanchfield Walt 1919- 2000 to further my research into facial expressions. 

I came across a section on facial breakdowns which i found very interesting. When a character changes a facial expression from one extreme to another you use the same principle of in-between in animating to create a breakdown to flow from one expression to another. 

I use the same principle from the book for my own tests 

Breakdown Tests 

We began by animating a character we were require to design. The brief required use to have a character pick a flower however the character would find it difficult to pull the flower from its roots 

Flower Pick 

First attempted 

Initial Feedback 

Flaws

The range of movement is rigid and I feel the organic feel to the character is missing I will work on this factor in thoroughly to improve in my future work. I found that I was struggling showing the gravity pull from the character to the flower. I did some research and asked for some opinions and learned that in cartoon animation you exaggerate the characters movement as far as you can push it whilst staying true to the characters design.

How I can Improve

I feel that i could improve the anticipation and motion of the jump because the timing and pull of the jump is a little off and I would have liked to have add the climax. 

Push
For the next animation test we were required to create a pull animation. The pull animation we chose was in a character expressing a shock and jumping into the air .

I felt read to dive straight into the animation and chose a simple dog character to text this range of motion out.

I broke down the animation for a closer look at the key frames 

Key Frames 

Animation

I felt that the pull worked well however with the characters design and the type of movement I feel I could push the pull on the character much further using other features.

Dark Dog Character Designs

We were next going to be experimenting with Tony Garth's original animated character Dark Dog the self proclaimed super hero dog.

I was very intrigued with Dark Dog due to his very traditional style of design. An anti hero is always fun to play with but a hero who is seen as the fool but seems to come out on top, this is a character I felt I could do a lot with.

I played with the Superman ripping the shirt open with Datk Dog although this took the character out of character I personally liked the design.

I created some pose sheets for dark dog experimenting with him in different situations and characteristics.

I found Dark Dog to be an enjoyable character to draw to his simplicity and charm. I immediately was drawn to him and wanted to do the best by him. 

I created a colour pallet with a pose I designed to experiment with colours and his characteroistics 

I used pastels to do a quick colour test that I smudged into a hologram design. I had an idea that Dark Dog was called upon by an unknown source to fight crime but doesn't know who this mysterious person is. He communicates with him through holograms and the character remains as a shadow.

Smudged out hologram design 

Key Frames

We were required to animate Dark Dog to eat a chilli and his reaction. I antially designed Dark Dog taking a chilly from the plate of a small character but felt this was out of character for a super hero so changed the design into something more innocent.

Dark Dog Final Animation 

I was surprised how well the animation worked and would like  colour the animation.

 Movie Stars 

 Dark Dogs Idols

I had a thought that was inspired from 101 Dalmatians that Dark Dog would have an action hero idol that he aspires to be like and designed a traditional muscle man action hero and a beautifully formed heroine. 

The styles do not match and would have to bring them into the respected theme and style

Delle the Beautiful Actress/ sidekick 

Al the German undercover Officer 

Existing Character 

Once we had experimented with character designs construction sheets and test animations we were next required to chose an existing character to study and animate. This section of the course was were I felt I found my true progression. 

Through over enthusiasm and excitement I felt I could just pick one character and designed to experiment with many different characters. Through the unit I had progressed a lot and felt I could put myself to the test and experiment with many different types of characters from humanoid to creatures. 

We were instructed to select a 2D character for this section of the unit because the character could be broken down and reconstructed. I decided I would stay true to the brief and select a 2D character for my final design but experiment with many different live action character. I reconstructed the characters into a 2D design then proceeded to test animate them. 

Character 1 

Thorin Oakenshield 

I began by studying Thorin Oakenshield from Pater Jacksons Hobbit series has no 2D design as a test I recreated him from live action to a 2D character to experiment with transitioning characters. 

Thorin Oakenshield Peter Jacksons The Hobbit 

Thorin Oakenshield  Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr The Hobbit 

The design of Throin was not to my particular liking due to my own preference to the design of the live action character.

Detailed Interpretation of Peter Jacksons Thorin Oakenshield 

Simple reconstruction 

Animation Test 

Existing Characters

Eren Attack on Titan Anime Design

The Japanese Anime Attack on Titan a new series has hit the western word by force with its brilliance and unique storyline. I let my excitement get the better of me and selected the character Eren a bad boy,  soldier who has a grudge with the giant titan creatures that have invaded his world. 

I began be recreating a poster I had aspired to draw on sketchbook in fine pen then created a colour version in photoshop. I gave myself a little test and created the photoshop image by using a mouse and the lasso tool and was very happy with the finished piece. 

Whilst designing Eren I quickly felt that I didn't know enough about the character to select him so I abandoned this selection. 

Smaug The Fire Drake 

Smaug is the colossal Dragon in the Hobbit franchise, who had attacked the great dwarf kingdom of Erebor and claimed mountains of gold and great wealth of the dwarves. His great greed and love of gold attracted him to the every growing wealth and greed of the Dwarf King Thror. This character altho is a mythological creature, he has much charisma and characteristics in his confidence and greed. 

I constructed my own design of Smaug based of Perter Jacksons Dragon trying to keep the same presences of the haughty and proud dragon. 

Final Image 

Now to create a 2D construction sheet of the colossal Smaug. 

Construction Sheet

I created a breakdown sheet to give an overview how I constructed Smaug. 

Colour Test 

Next I decided to play with colour and used some alternative colour pallets for Smaug to create a different mood and aura for the dragon. 

3D Sculpt 

I have been recently experimenting with the 3D sculpting software from Pixalation, Zbrush. I was keen to experiment with concept of Smaug and created a rough sculpt of my own interpretation of the dragons head. 

Front View

Side View

I have a love for dragons and dinosaurs from a very young age and played in depth Bethesda Game studios big hit The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim, where the continent becomes invaded my ancient dragons that have come back to life. I gained reference for the movement and weight of the dragon from this game. 

Inspiration And Reference 

Animation Test 

Test 1

The first Test I wanted to create a walk cycle for the dragon. A dragon is a very difficult creature to animate due no living reference for a mythical beast. I had to use other inspiration from watching films such as The Desolation of Smaug and Reign of Fire .

Walking 

I started by working from my own imagination and quickly grasped the forced way the drag drags its heavy body along the ground. 

Taking Flight 

Here was the tricky one how does a creature that is always portrayed as a colossal giant able to take flight at such ease. This animation I experimented many ways but found it very difficult to understand the way this creature lifts itself of the ground. 

Then it came to be the key was all in the previous test I did, the dragon drags itself along the ground so it to fly it would need to drag it self into the air. I watched reference from the Desolation of Smaug and animated the dragon trusting itself into the hair then used reference from the grace and power of an eagles flight dive. 

I was extremely happy with these animation because I have always felt I lacked in my abilities whilst being around such talented animators. I found that maybe I can be just as good with work and research.

Jurassic Park Inspire Tyrannosaurus Rex 

As I explained before I love dinosaurs and felt it would be criminal not to take advantage of the opportunity of animating my own TREX!!

I began by art working my interpretation of an adult Tyrannosaurus Rex

Art work 

Pencil 

Pen

Colour Test 

I then researched into the king of all predators which didn't take too much as I have been reading dinosaur books and watching documentaries since I was a child. 

However again how to animate a create that no longer exists. The key was animation and film reference  or was it? I watched many Dinosaur films, animations, documentaries over the years and had a good foundation of attempting this animation. I researched that Dinosaurs were most closely related to birds through watching documentaries, palaeontologists have stated dinosaurs have similar characteristics as birds and males change colour in breeding season to attract a female. I played with this theory in my design and created a colour pallet for a female and male Tyrannosaurus Rex, being the male being the more vibrant. 

Construction Sheet

I next created construction sheets for the Tyrannosaur with how many head high he is and possible colour pallets. 

Colour Tests 2

I again played with colour and created different colour pallets for the tyrannosaur.

3D Sculpt 

Usually work from reference however since I can remember I have had a deep passion for dinosaurs and have been collecting books, toys as well as drawing them since I was very young. 

Again although I wished to experiment with sculpting, my love of dinosaurs brought out my inner child and I wished to create my own Tyrannosaurus Rex sculpt. I gained inspiration from Stephen Speilbergs Interpretation of the adult Tyrannosaur for my design.

Test Animation 

The key element I had to remember is the anatomy and weight of an adult Tyrannosaur, a creature of this size would be very limited in the range of movement and any movement would be heavy. I decided to play with the concept of a male Tyrannosaur about to chase its prey. I tried to represent the size and weight of the dinosaur as well as the characteristics of the hunter that was clearly at the top of the food chain. 

I was very happy with this animation however I would have liked to represent his size more by adding a background and adding subtle shakes and distortions in the screen. 

Elsa Frozen 

I felt that since he had such an impact on my life as a child I had to select a character from the master himself Walt Disney. I have been watching Walt Disney's animations since I can remember and have a particular love for The Lion King. My lecturers will know I at the point were I have animated lions enough so I selected a character from Disney's most recent sensation, Elsa fromFrozen. 

I cut right to chase with this text because unlike the others Else is a 3D animated character so i had to create a 2D construction that stayed true to the character. 

Construction Sheet

Face Designs Elsa and Anna

I looked closely at the characters facial features and used the characters sister Anna too. I was curious to see when made into 2D can the characters be recognisable to Disney's previous 2 D animations. 

I felt that the shape of the the characters body and facial features stayed true to Disney's pronowned style.  

I played with Elsa's expressions and apparel. 

Test Animation 

I wanted to push myself even further with this animation test and attempt to animate the character using her powers of ice. Elsa is a queen so she is graceful and delicate in her movements so I tried to relict this in the animation. 

I was most happy with the animation test because the complexity of the movement particlarrly the turn and the grace and posture in the movement. I would have like to have fully coloured and created effects for the character and ice. I will come back to this animation in the near future to finish.  

Chosen Character 

Goku Aka Kakarot 

Concept: Goku is the main protagonist in the very popular Dragonball series. He is one of the last dependence of the alien warrior race The Saiyans. The Saiyans are an evil race of blood-thirsty warriors with super powers and incredible strength who send their warriors from planet to planet exterminating all lifeforms for trade and to test their strength and ability. The nature of a Saiyan is to fight, to push themselves beyond their limits to be the dominant beings in the universe. Also the Saiyans send their babies fresh from birth to planets they deem weak enough for their infants to desolate in the space of a couple of years. This is a very ironic factor because Goku is a gentle and kind hearted soul full of life and love and respect for all living things. The reason behind this is because when goku was sent to the planet earth to take over he fell from a cliff and hit his head causing him to loose his memory leaving him a loving and energetic baby raised to be a a gentle earthling. 

Altho Goku lost his saiyan rage and aggression gokus love for fighting and pushing himself past his limits stayed ever true to Gokus character however he used his powers for good and quickly became the greatest hero in history defending the earth and the universe from the constant threat of evil. However Gokus Saiyan blood gave him the power and strength to grow dramatically stronger the further he pushed and when he was in a dire state his Saiyan rage awakened and he tapped into the true potential of Saiyan power becoming the legendary Super Saiyan.    

Through the series Goku learns the Super Saiyan power can pushed to new levels the further he pushed, but unlike the other Saiyans Gokus goal and passion was to protect the ones he loves and become the defence for all good and innocence. 

Goku is the lead member of the earths special forces the Z warriors are the protectors of Earth.

Goku 

Goku and his Super Saiyan Transformations SJ= Saiyan Jin the Japanese terminology and SSJ= Super Saiyan Jin the numbers represent the level of transformation. 

Construction Sheet 

First initial design construction

How to draw Goku's Head

Goku's Heads High 

Goku Colour Pallet

Goku is a very muscular and powerful in his physical form with  gentle and kind heart. he is nature loving simple minded and carefree child at heart character that only shows his intellect and power when in battle. 

Goku Super Saiyan Forms 

Goku taps into his try potential as a warrior and member of the alien warrior race the Saiyans and becomes a Super Saiyan. The Super Saiyan as a very unique character design with striking golden hair eyebrows, emerald green eyes, physical increase in strength power fight ability skill and muscular build and a gold aura when powering up and transformations. 

I used referenced to stay true to the characters form and characteristics. 

Goku Super Saiyan, the characters hair changes to a lighter gold when the energy aura is suppressed. 

Goku also posses skills he learned from his mentor the protector of his part of the galaxy The South Kai. The ability he use is the Kaioken technique where is strength increases several times and power, his body heats and realises a surge of power. His physical form takes a strong red tint and red aura. 

Goku stops using the Kaioken when he surpasses super Saiyan level to Super Saiyan 2 due to the the power surge combining with the Super Saiyan energy becomes dangerous for the surroundings and his body. 

Animation 

The most iconic animation types for this character is powering up and transforming into a Super Saiyan. The actual range of movement for the transformation is very explosive and quick so the build up is and anticipation needs to flow and follow through with the snap of the change.

Explosion of Power

When Goku Transforms into a Super Saiyan he uses much anticipation and explosive movement to portray the surge of power and energy. 

 Anticipation

He first will louver his body and lift his arms to focus his energy gradually increasing his power and energy levels, this sis famous in DragonBall Z for lasting long amounts of times preferable when a character is transforming for the first time to build tension and anticipation. 

 

When character has tapped into the true potential the character extends their body the aura extends and intensifies and the character lets out a roar.

Finally the character stands facing his opponent in the new form ready for combat. 

I merged the character expressions with the break down of the characters transformation stages. 

I felt that the character auras didn't quite fit so I removed them and changed the colour of the Saiyan Hair. 

First Attempt Animation Tests 

When animating Goku the key characteristics I had to remember were Strength, Power, Dominance and Grace to keep the animation true to the character. 

This animation was me first attempt and saw many flaws. I requested feedback the main point was that character doesn't display the anticipation and burst of movement. I needed to show a real pull of quick powerful movement. 

Animation Test 

Test 1

Through feed back and guidance from Tony I applied flicked style lines and blurred the the in between the movement like a breakdown with more extreme emphasis. This fantastic technique worked wonders on my animation when applied wt the right time and created a flowing movement with anticipation and explosive climax. 

Test 2

I used the same technique when testing a transformation animation. However I included an even further explosive blast the a heavy pull after to show the strain and power of the character. I chose the transformation to Super Saiyan 3 so I applied the lines to the hairs extension and muscle growth and found the technique worked for both. Tony suggested that the aura of energy come from the characters centre then the bottom, I would very much like to test this in the near future. 

Test 3

I applied all that I had learned through my experiments and feedback and created a final transformation of Goku with a explosive blast of energy, I was very happy with the final outcome. 

Goku With Effects 

I added effects to the climax of the transformation a glowing flash and electricity with a golden aura around the character

Character Designs 

Next I experimented with a quick character design of Tony, I was curious with Caricature but turned tony into a bear. I like this character immensely he has a very positive vibe and charm to him and will be experimenting more with him very soon. 

Designed Tony as a Cartoon Character

Character Designs 

I was curious about caricatures and had a thought maybe I could recreate myself as a cartoon character. 

I began by creating a cartoon construction of myself with how many heads high with a side and front view. 

I tested the character with my bigger bandana to decide which character design I liked best. 

Through much thought I decided to abandon this design due to I know myself already so I am restricted to my own characteristics. However the character designs did not go to waste because this idea was originally was selected as a dedication to my partner as a first christmas memento and continued with the designs and ended with the final piece bellow. 

Here is the breakdown of how I created this piece with the piece I gained inspiration from 

Caricature Character experiment 

Me and Agnieszka 

Dilemma with Hair Colours!!! 

Correcting skin Tones and adding a fitting Background to Set the Scene

My Character Backstory 

Back Story for Character 

Character Name: Agaris

Age: 32

Build: Athletic

Height: 6ft 2 inches

Ethnicity: Unknown

Class: Rouge Ranger

Appearance: Broad, athletic man with long brown hair, lightly tanned skin, wears faded red apparel with green sleeves and trousers, red boots, carries a golden sword

Agaris is a lone ranger who travels the wilds from town to town from city to city. He is a rogue, an outcast from society who lives by his own rules and bound to his unknown fate.

Background

He has previously served in the imperial army who serve under the reigning King, King Guradalas. He served under his oath as a sworn brother of the Golden Phoenix regiment and protector of the realm. He was orphaned at birth and given into the local orphanage without any knowledge of his parents or their whereabouts. He was a particularly quite child that preferred solitude and enjoying nature then to play as a child. He spent all his time between working as a blacksmiths apprentice in the woodlands listening to the subtle sounds observing his surroundings and watching the wildlife. This gave him a great understanding and talent to live and prosper from nature, making him an excellent tracker and hunter. He was walking through the woods when he came across an imperial wagon being hijacked by an outlaw bandit group. His caring heart refused him to ignore the crime and he uses his surroundings to create a uneasiness amongst the bandits. He is light on his feet and uses the trees and animals to create shadowy sounds that startle the bandits and forces them to retreat. He reveals himself to the guards who were attacked and assists them back on their feet on on their way. However the guards urge him to accompany them to the palace where he was presented in front of the king who rewarded him for his bravery and courage and offers him to receive training to become one of the king’s guards. He joins the ranks and embarks on his fierce training to become a knight of the king’s guard. The palace is astounded of his dexterity and progression within a year he joined the ranks as a fully-fledged knight of the king’s guard.

For 6 years he serves as one of the most skilled and loyal Guards in the city of Kodanas protecting the weak and innocent and bringing the evil perpetrators and thief’s to justice. The Kings young wife Dalarisis takes great interest in Agaris and quickly befriends him, although his nativity and honour as a guard he fails to notice the growing chemistry between them.

On one fateful day on the young Queens name day during the celebrations and festivities in the courtyard of dragon flowers, a plot is revealed for the assignation of the young Queen. A traitorous palace council member attempts to assassinate the Queen, however due to the bravery and skill of Agaris the attack is slain before he can strike the Queen. After the attack Agaris notices a lack of concern in the kings expression and wonders how an assassin can breach the palace unnoticed as such ease. He becomes very paranoid and suspicious and begins to conduct his own private investigation. He overhears two guards speaking of a conspiracy between the King and another nation who have a plot to join their houses and to do so they must eliminate the queen. Agaris is noticed but another guard and the Kings guard attempt to arrest Agaris. He fights his way to the top of the courtyard of the first king at the top of the mountain palace. Agaris cornered is struck by an arrow and falls ove 100ft off the place into a waterfall and pronounced as dead.

However Agaris survives, he is found by an old woodsman how rescuses Agaris from the river and nurses him back to health. In the fall he he suffers from amnesia and loses his memory. He carriers on his life in exile remembering only he is an enemy of the crown. He travels from city to city working and training and is good nature of protecting the innocence.

Agaris on his way back from working in a steel mine stops for a drink at the local tavern unaware that three imperial guards are their waiting for him………………  

Base Model Turnaround Male and Female Humanoid 

I now was ready to create my final character design for my final animation. 

I began with a character base turn around for stereotyped male and female characters. 

I had mis proportioned the female turn around so I redone a more accurate body type. 

I experimented with a female turn around because I was initially considering a female character for my design but then felt with the character style and backstory I felt a male character was more suited. 

Character Designs

I started in my character designs with constructing a face shape and skin tone I tested some different shades of skins and found a tone I liked. 

Skin Tones 

3 Main Possibilities 

Looks very alien 

Looks too feminine 

Now we are talking. 

Next I played with the characters face design and features. The main feature was the hair due to the nature of the animation I had in mind. 

Hair Possibilities 

I wanted to stay true to a medieval style character so longer hair with more rougher features was the design style I had in mind 

Face Design 

I came up with the shoulder length hair broad jaw and serious masculine medieval look. 

I next played with apparel designs and the Kings Guard Knights armour. 

I wanted the Kings guard to look very Devine and grand to dhow their social stature and importance, so I went with a divine holy knight/ templar design tests. 

I experimented in photoshop with my character to create a stye. 

Misty Background

Plain Background 

Expression sheets 

Colour Test

I felt this style was very common and recycled however i require this type of character style so I altered the design and apparel. 

Pose Sheets

My character is highly skilled swordsman so i created some pose sheets of the character in motion.

This quick pose is from my vision of my final animation with the character being ambushed by guards who very quickly regret engaging in combat with Agaris. 

Costume Designs

My character is an outcasted ranger and I needed an apparel that would reflect this character type.

I tested with a fur cloak and  ranger style outfit but felt the character looked too wealthy and stood out far too much a rouge ranger blends in his surroundings specially woodlands and open wilderness so browns dark reds and more simple apparel is required. 

I gained inspiration from the very popular series game of thrones with the northman style dress and big fur cloaks. The style was more rugged and rough but again the style seems too noble and a ranger is light on his feet so a lighter clothing is much more suited. 

I finally came with this design a light casual robe style app real that looked very low class and rough. The character suited this apparel perfectly and it reflected his character type without explanation. 

Very Rough Environment Designs 

The animation takes place in a local tavern so I sketched some very rough compositions of medieval style taverns 

I was more drawn to the final design and I constructed a quick stylised recreation of the tavern in photoshop. 

I added a mist to create a uneasy atmosphere with lots of reds to symbolise the upcoming events. 

I experimented with rough concept designs for my idea playing with the concept of media evil/ stylised enviroments 

I throughly enjoyed my first tests in concept designs and will take some time to practice my skills to progress further. 

Armour Designs 

I had my characters apparel now I need the knights, so I designed some divine style armour types to suit the Kings Guards character, haughty, noble, powerful and stern with a lot of intimidation. 

The darker designs seem far to evil so so i required a light colour to symbolise justice and peace and i felt shades of golds and yellows where the key to the deigns. However with the time scale and requirements of my animation I need to create a design I could redraw constantly and quick. 

My Final Character Design

Character Designs

Turn around and Apparel 

I removed the beard and removed his weaponry to create the element of mystery and fall impression. 

I stuck to very dark and faded colours to show their wear and the characters class. I added the cloak for when he travels from place to place unseen. 

Head Hight from blank t colour 

Expression Sheets

Head High

Head high with both side views 

Weapon Design

The weapon design was key because although not mentioned Agaris kept his sword from the Kings Guard which has the distinctive golden colour and brown sheeth.  

I created a final stylised design for the Kings Guard that stay true to the character type and status. 

I began animating character tests for the characters sword play. The characters skill in combat is essential in the animation so I had to explore how grace and deadly swing of sword can look confident and poised. 

Character Tests

This test shows the character swinging his sword around as an act of defence to intimidate and keep attackers at bay

 

Character Test 2 

I then tested the character charging into combat by unsheething his sword straight into a sword play whilst he prepare to charge. 

I was very happy and felt more confident after the designs and began to construct a sequence. 

I wished to create ambitious fight scene were the character fend soft an attack from the Kings Gaurd at ease and grace. 

The Idea 

I began with the first initial idea of the element of quick reflexes and surprise. 

Final Character 

Rough key frame animation of the fight sequence.

Boot Walking for building tension and anticipation 

The test was effective but left the pause of the character distanced from the attackers i needed a smooth flow of movement that is quick and deadly. 

I sat down and through some discussion with my third year friend Josh Cambell

we came up with the idea of the Knights approach the character and the character turns the attack on them by the prey becoming the predator with a deadly blow. 

I constructed this sequence through one sit down and followed my imagination 

Storyboard Shot Sequence (scroll quickly through to get a flip book effect)

I was very happy with the flow of the design and proceeded to clean the animation read for my character to take life.

Fight Sequence 

I created a more defined key framed sequence with  all the characters movements finalised

Key Frames 

Knight Approach Coloured

I initially was going to have the knights approach first but later took this scene out because I felt that the animation started too slow in comparison to the sequence..

Knights Drawing Swords

Next the Knights were design and I stuck with principle of the knights being very stiff and emotionless in their first approach. They required a forceful preseence and dominance at first sight. The character is seated when the Knights approach making him seem weaker and the Knights more powerful. Here the final design of the Knights drawing their blades half way in a threading way.

Character Fighting Colored

I coloured and tweaked the fight sequence further to the final stage that I was happy with.

Character Fight with Guards Step 1

I know began adding the knights to test if the fight sequence worked. throughout much tweaking I now have a sequence coming to life!!!

Final Without Background

I finally had the animation and compositing ready to add a background.

Bar Design Final 

I designed a from behind the bar view of environment and felt the design fit that animation perfectly adding an animated fire place for effect and detail. 

Final Reder video of enviroment 

Final Fight Scene!!!

After all the hard work the final animation is completed!! I am very happy with the composition and flow of movement. The animation is very fast pace due to the nature of the combat style of the character. This animation has taught me a lot about technique and skill as well as a lot about myself as an animator and feel I am on my own path to my goals.


Vimeo Link: https://vimeo.com/93003956

Production Diary Cartoon Animation

September- October 2013

The unit began with an introduction cartoon animation in specific the design stages of the skills and techniques in how to construct a character from the bear bones. Our lecturer Tony Garth taught us the importance of consistency when designing character particularly when working in industry were a number of animators are required to work on one character fluently and consistently. We worked on a number of exercises ranging from drawing as many consistent circles as possible quickly and effectively to learning the basics of how to construct a character. We learned how to:

·      Design a character using a technique of measuring the height of character from how many heads high he/she is. The heads high technique is used by measuring the size of the character by using a circle the size of the characters own head and lining up how many fit within the character. For the first exercise we were instructed to create a character that was 3 heads high.

·      We next learned the importance of creating expression sheets, which shows the different facial expressions, the character can make.

·      Pose sheets were we use simple character we constructed and place him in as many different poses as possible experimenting with how far we could push a character what he looks like from all angles what is he capable of potentially doing in an animation

These techniques taught me a lot about character design and gave me a lot more of a structure in how to design a solid character. We consisted with classroom activities in designing a simple character ready to be animated.

October – November 2013

Once we had been taught the basics we were give 3 exercises one after the other to put what we had learnt in pervious sessions into practice.

Flower Pick

Using the character we designed we were instructed to animate this character attempting to pick a flower from the ground with much complication. The flower is stuck in the ground the character was required to show trying to pull the flower out. I was unable to attend some lessons due to personal problems and had to animate my character away from the lessons, which was a shame because I was thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere of the class teaching sessions. I used a blank character to pick the flower. I was very keen to set myself a standard each task to progress my skills as far as possible so I attempted to add a surprise jump scene when the character notices the flower. The animation was tricky because I was animating out of my comfort zone and found the pressure of the pull when the character pulls the flower to be a tricky one. However through guidance from Tony and my peers I realised that I need to straighten the flowers stem when the character reached the full stretch of the pull. Also when the flowers stem pulls the character back the character stretching in-between key frames worked very effectively. I feel the animation works well but with some tweaking in the jump and the final pull the animation would be far more effective. I felt I had learned valuable lessons that have prepared me more for the next task.

Take

The next test was called pull where we were instructed to create an animal character and create an exaggerated jump whilst keeping the character true to the design. I felt I had learned many good skills and techniques from previously lessons to dive in headfirst and attempt the animation. The animation required anticipation before the jump so I designed the character to close in stiffly then release with a great leap. For effect we played with the idea of the character ending with a over the top expression. My character opens his mouth very wide and his ears point straight. I was happy with the final animation feel with this practice I was on my way to gaining a good understanding of animation characteristics and far I can push a character.

Dark Dog

The final design was using Tony’s original character Dark Dog by animating him eating a hot chilly. We first deconstructed Dark dog so we could learn how to initially draw him first with ease. Even the simplest of character designs take much attention to detail to draw him true to the original design. I played with the idea of dark dog standing minding his own business and a small funny character walks past with a chill on a plate and slips in front of him, dark dog catches the chilly and eats it. I worked with this concept however I felt the animation is out of character Dark dog is a super hero so I scrapped the idea and changed the character to a balloon floating past with a chill attached. With his simple nature he eats it like any dog would and the chilly sets his mouth alight. I was very happy with the final animation although I could have timed the animation slightly slower and added one or two more frames I am very pleased with the animation ad feel more confident working with expressions.

November 2013 to February 2014

Once we had learned the basics of constructing carters and testing what we had learnt in the first three tests we next we required selecting an existing 2D character and deconstructing the character, creating character sheets showing and understanding the characters design and characteristics. I felt now my time had come to put into practice what I have learned and experiment with a range of different characters. We were instructed to chose a 2D character so I stayed true to brief by selecting a 2D character for the final character but first I experimented with a range of different types of characters from humanoid to creatures.

I experimented with many test animations that I abandoned then I selected the final characters I would deconstruct and then animate which were:

Smaug The Fire drake from The Desolation of Smuag

Smaug was a very interesting character to select because the movement of a mythical creature can be a challenge when all you have to work with is movie and game reference as well as a touch of imagination. I began by watching reference of bats and dragons from the game the Elder scrolls Skyrim and The Hobbit 2 The Desolation of Smaug. I first began with a walk cycle, which I was able to grasp the movement of the dragon on foot fairly quickly. Next I challenged myself further by attempting to animate the dragon taking flight. This proved more challenging due to the fact of how create so large can take flight to the skies. The answer lied in my first animation, the dragon drags himself across the ground so he would drag himself into the air with a great leap and the spread of the great wings to stay airborne. I had surprised myself with this animation test and felt I had progressed to the new level in my personal progress.

Tyrannosaurus Rex Jurassic Park Inspired

With the success of the fist animation tests I chose another complex creature to animate a Tyrannosaurus Rex.  A create of such size and power on two legs was surprisingly not so difficult, from what I had learned in the first lessons the principles and techniques I found I could apply what I had learned to the animations I chose. I chose to animate the dinosaur starting to run at his prey. The key features I found for this animation was the anticipation of the run. When studying predators, before they give chase they lower their bodies and in line with their heads with their neck and spine in a charge like position whilst slowly moving forward. When they are in position the gradually move faster until they are charging forward with an explosive run. I thoroughly enjoyed animating the Tyrannosaur and felt the animation was a success.

Elsa Frozen

I now decided to attempt a humanoid with a special ability so I selected Elsa from Disney new hot Frozen. I was very keen to push myself with this particular animation by animating with a turn. I selected a scene from the film where the character turns whilst wearing a cape and releases ice like magic from her hands. This character is a queen so she moves with grace and poise so I animated with a lose flow to try and emphasise this. I key framed the movement tweaking as I animated, then once I had a rough key frames I could still see an inconstant flow nearer the end of the movement. I took a step back from the animation the return to it and drew the character again using my key frames and through concentration and time I used the characters characteristics in my own animating in a sense to make each movement and boy part flow with each other.  I surprised myself again with the final result of the hard work, it had paid of greatly and the animation flowed like magic, I will colour the animation in detail in the very near future.

The Final Character I selected for my selected character was Goku from DragonBall Z

I chose the character that I aspire most from the main reason I wish to be come an animator the hero Goku. Goku was my biggest obstacle because the character with so much power and strength how do portray this in my animation. I have been watching this character since I was a child and had a great understanding of the characters appearance and his characteristics so I carefully selected the range of movement I wished to animate. I started by attempting to animate

Goku move into a position to power up so I used the anticipation of him breathing in and stretching his body as large as possible before move down into a tight crouched passion. My first test proved that there was something missing from my animation he moves too slowly and the climax to the anticipation was not there.  I received feedback from my peers and Tony and understood the movement after the anticipation needs to be explosive and quick the character must move down so fast his stretches and distorts slightly in-between the explosion. I attempted another test animation using the skills I had learned and added lose sketch lines in the middle of the explosive pull and it worked! I preceded with tow more animations another test of a transformation using the anticipation, explosive retract then the forceful pull up again the techniques worked wonders on the animations. The final animation was of Goku transforming into a Super Saiyan and to my great joy the animation worked very well. I proceeded with a test with lighting effects to enhance the animations, which worked very well.

Finally we were at the point in the year where we were ready to put everything that we had learned into practice and create our own original characters and animate them. I had decided with my love for folklore and medieval genera I chose to create an out casted knight. I began by exploring different sources and references to acquire a character design. I wrote a backstory with depth to give me character a lot of substance to work with. Once I had the backstory I gained a rough character design to work with, so I had my character I had my story now was time to create an animation. I decided to go with a fight sequences where the character is ambushed by Guards and shows his great skill by disposing of the guards in flash of rich movement showing his skill and dexterity. I consulted with a classmate my idea and he showed me inspired me to create the character in cool manor disposing of the guards like a ballerina dances on a stage. This concept gave me much inspiration and sat down in one sitting I design a rough key framed animation sequence of the character whipping the enemies out with sword dance turning and spinning the swords as he moves. I found that I created a complex animation right from my imagination without any assistance. This gave me great confidence and motivation to create the best animation possible and through much hard work and time I finished with a piece I can say I am very proud of.                                                       

Overall I can say that this unit had completely changed my work, I had learned so many fantastic techniques and skills, as well as principles that I can apply confidently to my work. I feel through the guidance of my tutor and the input and feedback from my peers I am a much better animator and I feel I finally have found my own place in animation.