Sabriel Tests

Animation Test

This is a quick test of what my animation would look like. There isn't any scenes properly done, however, it gives an overal view of how I want the animation to look. I am quite pleased with the structure of it and believe that it will be able suitable for the target audience.

Running

 

This is a run test from the back. I intially did the smallest size and then decided to scale it up to three times. This was to see how much you could see depending on how close or far the camera was. I think it's a good experiment and I was able to learn a lot from this.

 

This is the first test of the run that I did. Having it run in negative space is handy however, I think it would be better to look at what the animation would be like if it were in a background.

 

I wanted to do a running cycle test to see whether I could incorporate it into my animation. I put it with an old background I had created to get an idea of what it would be like. I am very pleased with the fluidity and results of the animation.

 

I had no idea how I was going to animate the hair. I decided to just go in and tackle it without really considering any reference. As you can see from this video it was pretty useless. The hair looks and moves very badly. I will redo this at a later stage when I am animating the running scene.

Hair

For this sequence of hair I based it from Pocahontas. I wanted to do something similar, whilst including the the right amount of fluidity in the hair. Sadly I believe that there isn't enough frames in this and therefore it looks slightly jittery.

  

 After doing the previous animation I looked at my own animation and decided to do a rendered version of this. Unfortunately I still believe that the hair is still slightly static. I've taken into consideration the direction of the wind and kept it consistant through-out.

Bag and Hand

 

I drew the bag and the water. I didn't really animate the water, however, by using a block of colour I got an understanding of how the bag would look when it was submerged and when it got resurfaced.

  

I wanted to add a bit of perspective to the drawing and therefore looked at a waterfall/cascade. I think this angle adds a bit more interest to the overall look. I looked at the water from a film and referenced how it moved.

 

After getting someone else to do the backgroudn for my animation, I decided to once again look at the hand. I wanted to see if this was okay and the hand would work by going up and down with the set background. Thankfully it worked well and the background added some dimention to it.

Rotation

 

This is a rotation test I did. I am pleased with the overall look. I have considered the timing and the weight. I know there isn 't any hair in this example however, I was mainly focusing on the movement of the body and the timing.

Summoning

 

This was my first attempt at drawing the body sumomning. I didn't really change much of it. Instead of drawing it I decided it would be best to simply copy and paste each layer on top of one another and therefore create a fast animation. I realize that this was lazy and can be seen on the final results. To improve this I should consider the body and the movement rather than simply copying and pasting the arms.

 

I have begun working on the lineart for the animation. This is just a test to see if it will work. Sadly I know there is an issue with the timing which will be rectified for the final animation. Overall I am pleased with the results.

 

This is a better development of the summoning. I feel that the fluidity in the body is a lot better. I think the summoning of the orb works well aswell :).

   

I am happier with the result of the animation with the hair. It looks and works a lot better now. Therefore that has made me improve my own animation.

Here I was attempting to incorporate a better use of the hand movement with the hair. I realise that the hair is still flying about and doesn't really look believeable.

 

 I used base colours heres to get an idea of the animation. I also fixed a few glitches in the hair. I'm still not happy with the hair however, I'm getting a better understanding for it.

Rain

 

I wanted to do an animation of rain. In the end I didn't use it. I read from a book that in order to create a useful sequence in rain you must rotate it from time to time. For example, you have four frames, it would be 1,2,3,4 then perhaps, 4,2,3,1, then 3,2,1,4 etc. By doing this I would ensure that the rain doesn't stay consistent and makes a more believable animation.

Research

Summoning

  

I wanted to know how to base my characters animation/ interaction. I thought that by conducting a few experiments it would be usefull in order to understand the body and the way it moves a bit better.

  

In order to make sure that I have sufficient reference, I conducted each recording once or twice. This meant that I could pick and decide which would be better when using as reference for the animation.

 

I couldn't decide at first how I wanted my character to summon the orb. I thought of different ideas and got reference for it. I thought this example would be a bit cliche as it looks like she is creating something from her hands.

Running

 

 This is a running test for a female from the side. I know that the way a woman/girl run is different from a male and therefore, I know that it would be more useful if I had a female running as my character is a girl.

 

This is a run from the side. You can see that the tempo and the weight from the body shifts. Also having taken the way the hair moves and the archs in the body to create a suitable balance.

 

Shooting the running scene from a different angle.  This is to make sure that it's consistant etc.

 

This is the run from the front angle and therefore will be interesting to use for the animation. I might use it in the final piece, however, if not, I will ensure to make sure a reference video out of it

 

I am also taking into consideration how the hair is moving because this is an angle that I will choose to do this for my final piece.

 

 This is run from the front. I thought it would  be useful. But in the end decided not to bother because it wouldn't be relevant for the overall design of the animation. 

 

This is a run with a slight twist on the camera. I was looking at a clip from naruto where they did this and thought it could be incorporated into my animation. I decided in the end not to bother with it.

Hair

In order to understand hair  I decided to shoot a couple of tests to see how it works. I've found out that it works simply by going up and down. Although, this was shot with a normal hairdryer... The conditions outside didn't change much of the overall flow.

 

I needed to ensure that the test that I had done was not the same. For this I had to do a couple of tests and concluded that it was indeed purely relying on the person.

 

 

This is a shot from the side of the hair and the back, as my character will be running in the animation, I thought it would good to see the hair being blown by wind from all angles.

 

Having conducted this hair test on someone else, I have concluded that hair is very much dependant on the person and type of hair they have. Some people have thicker and wavier hair, thus creating a completely different result.

This is the video  my friend made when he had longer hair. As my character rotates there is no movement in the hair. This video has allowed me to understand how hair moves and what can be done with it.

Hands

 

I wanted to look at how the hand moved and therefore did some experiments with a 'sack' of chocolate. I realize that sometimes the bag got stuck so reshot it.

 

When the hand is going back into the water, I wanted it do something. For this reason, I thought it would be useful to adda bit of realism with the fingers. I also noticed that it would be more interesting if something would be happening.

 

I wanted to add a bit of rotation to the hand when releasing the bag. I realise that the bag got stuck in my hand and therefore didn't become very useful. I decided reshooting this would be a better idea.

  

This shows the hand from a further perspective. It also shows how slow the fingers move when releasing the sack. This is what I had to take into consideration when animating the release of the sack.

Elements

 

The water coming from the fountains was a good part of reference, however, I dont believe that it would be vital or necessary for the animation as the water is coming from a different source.

 My animation is based in the underworld and therefore I needed to have a design that reflected this. For me creating a feeling of dampness and a cold atmosphere was one of the key points. I had water and therefore needed to understand how it would move and also, animate. 

 

 I was looking at fire because I thought it could be incorporated to the overall design and feeling of my animation. After developing and looking at my strategies I concluded that this was no longer useful or relevenat to the overall animation.

Baby Animatic

This animatic is too perverse and wrong. I dont feel comfortable in doing this kind of illustration. I have demonstrated how I would have done the story of Sabriel for an 'older' target audience.

Teaser Snippet Script

Sabriel

Who will guard the living when the dead arrise...?

Sabriel ran forward and an arm pushed out towards her, the neck of the sack clutched in its fingers. She reached out, missed, then tried again. The sack was secure in her grasp, as the current took the creature completely under. Sabriel looked after it, hearing the roar of the First Gate suddenly increase as it always did when someone passed its falls. She turned and started to slog back against the current to a point where she could easily return to life. The sack in her hand was heavy and there was a leaden feeling in her stomach. If the messenger was truly Abhorsen's, then he himself was unable to return to the real of the living.

And that meant he was either dead or trapped by something that should have passed beyond the final gate

Research

a selection of trailers that have type on it, this can show just how varied they are when it comes to selecting an adequate font face.

The text overlaps the movie whilst it's still playing, for this reason they have had to ensure that the film is kept quite dark so they would be able to read the information through-out the trailer

The paranormal trailer looks at a selection of shots that may look into key frames and stuff.

Choo Choo Bar

Evaluation:

The experience of the project has been a mixed ride from day one. Upon meeting the members and creating the group, it would seem like things could only go well. After the introductions were made and we went to collect our own research, we found complications began to arise. Primarily were the members of the group didn’t attend. It left us somewhat disadvantaged because of certain expectations that couldn’t be met. For saying this was a group project, from the original 7, only three were consistent throughout.

Working with a group will always have its complications. It can be because of miss communication or just mismatch of personality.

The way in which the other people attacked the project was interesting. I’m used to being more reserved and structured, yet found myself liking their method or working. Still demanding, yet somehow it felt freer. Coming from a Graphic Design background, I am used to tight design and working once again with Graphic Designers reminded me of that.

After several weeks, our synch began to fade. Less and less people started to make it to the group meetings. Each week, felt like we were taking one step forward and two back. When people turned it, they didn’t like what was done so we had to change. Eventually, we realised this wasn’t a way to work and therefore changed the choices. Those who didn’t attend didn’t have a say. It seemed tough and strict at the time, yet seemed to convey the message across.

Overall, I’m not sure how I’ve felt. Whether it’s the way we have approached the work, the different styles involved or redoing things over and over constantly. I’ve learnt the technique of Rotoscoping and found out how demanding it actually is. Although the motion is accurate, the length to create the final piece is a lengthy one.

Given the overall effect, I am pleased with how it turned out. I think those who attended mostly have worked well and it has been reflected in the final piece.

This advert came out at the right time with the animation. I don't know what the train thing is called, however, know that it was very useful to look at the squashing of the body. I came across it one day watching tv, and knew that it would be something which could influence both my camera angles and the movement of this machinery.

I wanted to use Charlie Chaplin's Train robbery, because it was based on the heist. Although not exactly based on the same concept as our heist (using horses instead of carriage) the way the pull it and the exaggaeration of the characters acting is what helps it and makes it what it is. I like the black and white appeal as well as the sooty texture you can get- somewhat grainy, something seen less commonly in todays animations/videos.

This isn't quite the scene I wanted to base it off, because I was looking for the film one NOT the videgame, no matter though. The concept still remains.... there is a heist and you have to solve it. The background design work is similar to what we have done as are the extra pieces in the landscape. Overall, you could say that this is one of my influential pieces.

At the begining of the project, we were going to do a project based on the Alice theme that I had created. Unfortunately to do artistic difference, and influences from other members the design got simplified and had to be changed. I do like the film effect that I applied. I still believe


This song has a catchy tune. It seems that this is the perfect time to launch this product. The choo choo bar and the choo choo song ( Trainline) would go perfectly hand in hand. It also gives me the idea of taking the choo choo audio and playing it on a continuos loop for the animation. Lately major business are promoting trains etc... if there was ever a time to launch this bar- IT'S NOW!

This is a test I used for the animation. I was only given one image to work on, so used the liquify tool on Photoshop to attempt to create some bending and motion on the animation. Sadly it doesn't work that well, but the rotoscope is a major improvement.

This video is what I used as reference for my rotoscope. We took it in turns to see who would look better and the ways each of us would interpret getting hit by water. It was a fun activity and was good to see we didn't take each other to seriously.

This is the one I did... .Unfortunately i didn't achieve the desired effect and it resembled me 'pawing' at the water in some cat manner. Although very comical, I don't think it would have benefited the animation well

Disney

Final Animation

Tests

This is just a test to see how the character moves from side to side. I'm trying to make sure that the timing works well and it isn't off.

I have found that the first animation doesn't work so well. There seems to be a sudden jump when it goes from the back to the side. In this preview, I have incorporated the use of a middle shot, which should hopefully make the transition a little smoother.

I used the walk cycle which can be found in the Animators Survival Guide. Overall I think that it was very helpful as I came to understand how to animate the character. The book really does what it say on the front and it was thanks to this, that I was able to create my walk cycle.

I wanted to see in this test, if I would be able to get away with using a simple static background and working with the character. Although he only appears to be walking on the spot at the moment. I think that with some minor tweaks, I should be able to give the illusion of someone walking into the distance.

Although my character is female, I wanted to see what the movement would be look( referencing the looking over the shoulder). I know that I have included a quick sketch in the RVJ however, believe that capturing on film is always better.

In a lot of Japanese animation, you can see a character jump back and hold this stance as a self defense mechanism. Although sometimes it can be seen serious, I am hoping to add a little twist to make it somewhat humorous.

This is also part of the reference on how the walk looks from behind. I have also incorporated a walk back just incase I decide to include it in the animation.

Moodboard

This photo is one that I have decided to use in order to create the character outfit. I have collected the images from Next and will plan to base some of the outfits on it.

This is the animatic that I have created for the animation. I notice that it might go a little quick, however, hopefully you will be able to come to understand what I am trying to achieve. If you want the storyboard- it can be found in my sketchbook along with (paper research).

The only reason for using this- ignoring the audio, is because I needed the reference of someone eating a watermelon. Preferably a child, because this would help me depict what it would look like on my character. Also, the fact that a child tends to eat more messily(could be one of the benefits/behaviors) of my Character (Vlad).

This is a cartoon taken from Scooby Doo. The reason for using it and including it in my blog is because there is some Anticipation in the episode.

I have used the character design from Jack Skellington as my influence for the Vlad character design. The reason for using this character is, for the over exaggeration of the legs. Overall, I hope that this will help and I should be able to achieve the desired look for my character.

Influencing Animation

I love the design of this animation. I don't know whether it was created on flash or another software however- the simplicity of the character design is very appealing. One thing that I have noted is that the animation uses constant Anticipation, something which I also am planning to use on my animation. The colours are a little too vivid for me at the moment, and would probably tone it down a little. Perhaps the use of blues and purples would work well in the animation. I like the smoothness of it, and style of drawing. Effective yet simplistic.