The Animation Student
A blog about the neverending learning process in Animation
A blog about the neverending learning process in Animation
A bunch of of artists/animators come together to reanimate an episode of a cartoon scene by scene, a different animator for each scene. Each animator receives a random scene and can interpret it however they please. This was a non profit collaborative project. The final video will not be monetized in any way as respect for all of artists. Staging and Board Reimagining the Characters from Kirby Background Layout Animation
Composer: RockeyKeting
Animators : Karolina Bielskyte ,LuisaCruz, AlexCoad, EwanSchwarz. Location: Shoreditch Town Hall, THE DITCH, Old Document Store Running time: 1:30s. ​ Our video projection idea is based on the door that leads from Old Document Store to Rivington Room. We used this opportunity and create a site-specific animation that was projected on top of the Old Document Store door and the sidewall with element from the Bauhaus art movement. The annual collaborative project with the Royal Academy of Music which involves collaborating with composers to realize a site specific experimental music film. The project was based in the Three Penny Opera from 1928. We used two projectors to cover the wall with the door and the corner of the wall on the right. ​
I had the experience of my grad project which was a two video Installation Art.
​all the info about that one is here: CATS MAKE YOU WANT TO STAY IN (2015)
Space
Storyboard
Animatic
Installation
The idea of interpreting this conversation about growth and acceptance with flowers came from the graphic relationship between potential, growth and blooming, that I found while listening to Suzy and Bridget talk about the potential they see in people and in themselves and the disappointment that often comes with it. This is the reason I choose to follow the growth of the pink flower, who is unsure of growing and blooming, something that flowers are supposed to do but when she had a bad experience with others, left her unsure about it. She fulfills her potential only when she finds a real friend, with whom she can learn from and bloom together, leading her to accept herself and finally open.
Release date
PROCESS
1. Beatboard I am a hands on drawer and I do make stories directly on images. Thinking about the beats in the phrases and even the palette I wanted to use to set the begining tone of the story while I was re-revising it. I wanted to do a short film by myself to learn bits of the entire process, i had a deadline and from the begining I visualized it to be able to work with minimal backgrounds and at the same time have my desired atmosphere of growing. ![]()
2. Schedule
I learnt the most important lesson: plan everything even the parts where you need to be flexible. It is by far the most important part, even more for the animation since each shot has its own value and you need more time for some, other are easier.
2. Studies
To get the story rythm, and later on the animation right I studied plants growing also to give a personality to my new beloved characters. Knowing the options for shots I had for the board and how timeconsuming it would be. Thinking several steps ahead is one of the many important things a director has to do so everything fits in the exact moment it is needed. Avoid surprises that can be a downfall for the entire project.
3. Storyboard and Animatic
My favorite part. Figuring out timing for some shots and being decisive about if something is needed or not. being as clear as I can. And several versions of each so it keeps working on, figuring out if the rythm is good or if some gesture is confusing. if it is not in the animatic it wont be on the animation, in my case I could make decissions while animating later on,because I was doing everything, but at the same time could see how it could be a problem for someone else. And fixing it. It is so important to be as clear as possible it also keeps on developing the characters and designs, being perceptive about it is the key.
4. DESIGNS
Character sheets and promts, how to make a character likeable and beliveable...and also them being flowers. I wanted to have a flower do lipsync and still move flowly and delicate to watch them grow.
Schedule PART II
Animation is the single most time consuming thing and it have to be carefully planned or you can throw away an entire afternoon when you dont have an entire afternoon to throw away. This is my animation schedule and marking the process every day is important. You need to be able to sit one day and say: i need to work more on this one so i may aliminate the entire background of one scene and it has to be so well planned that it can actually be done without comrpomissing the quality and general sense of the entire film. Having time to be flexible. Planing the most complicated things. Knwing when a background have to be done and knwing what to compromise. ​
5a. Animation
The acting the timing, it was all done in TVPaint and following a thinght well planned schedule. following that deadline was key to have it all done on time.
5b. Backgrounds
I wanted to play with the minimal but feeling that the flowers were prt of something bigger, growing and realizing their enviorment is part of the entire journey. Having them ready at the same time as doing the animation to be able to put it all together on time was a challenge, that is why in the boards the background were mostly color blocks, and this one being the final scene, it was about the flowers having more around them.
6. Composing
make sure to have everything correctly named and knowing exactly how a scene will go. Back up files and learning how to organize archives not only for yourself but for the software you will be using.
When all is done...
I learnt lots and lots and every time I think about my process I learn a new thing: -The animatic is the single more useful thing and i have to b clearer and more eficient and I can ramble during hours about this. I amglad I did this one in the most ortodox way i could manage because now i see how each step relates to the other. - Schedule, knowing how you work and how yoru team work is something you learn and also apply - Never fall out of lve with your project, i may be new but i can but love the process and even tho i see its faults I also can appreciate things i see, and at some points only the cheer emotion of seen it with colour with background or two scenes together was the only thing that saved me from frustration. And that is something you have to learn. - Listen to others and learn what to compromise. ​ Organization as key to achieve...anything Working on several different projects at the same time during my MA led me to the first and more important lesson: organization is vital. As I have noticed in my research, storyboard artists (and freelance artists in general) need to be perfectly organized to tackle all the challenges of a production and keep the pipeline flowing, but the concept goes further, since work needs to coexist with independent practice, study and the ordinary life. The ability to multitask is appreciated in this scenario, and it’s something the industry values greatly, but, at the heart of it, what counts is efficient scheduling, skill that I had to learn during the first months of the MA. The time I spent getting to a workflow and learning how to prioritize aspects in a production or in my own projects was worth it, since now I know the way to perform more efficiently without stressing over getting things done. I spent my first weeks understanding how I work, to be able to improve as much as possible in a short time. I kept a record of my work times next to a task list, to check the relation between what I had to do and what I was actually getting done. Currently, my activities are divided in three categories: projects of the MA, skills development and academic research. My schedules are separated by project, each having a different set of requirements and timeframes. Also the general approach to each is different and it requires a specific adjustment in the development pipeline. I personal use minimum 2 Schedules, Personal and Professional Practice Schedule Refers to software training, practice in animation principles, life drawing, colour studies and speed painting. It also includes the MA lectures, industry scoping, readings about animation, composition, storytelling, and interviews with professional artists ![]() Finding a way in in which I complete my goals was more efficient every week and that is how I developed this “weekly goal” schedule.
In this way I can see quickly the specific thing I am working on a week and determine their priority. It also help me to see if I am overloading by having too many or too little tasks. It is a personal way to maintaining each project running without feeling overwhelmed by it and that has been helping my practice since I started making it every week. Tips: - Work smarter not harder, meaning that there are several resources online for scheduling from the web, from your phone...even from excel. - Some use and only use the classic pen and paper on a notebook. But working on several projects even more if they are collective projects using online ways of planing is a probably a smart option, in my opinion, - Excel is a perfect tool, only by the fact you can use tables that are already there, and that Drive from Google and Microsoft and probably more services have their version, that can be updates online. By this moment I am fairly used to organizing important data in my online schedule, since I can adjust it and , overall, be more professional about important data. And Remember
Following a schedule also implies knowing when it requires certain flexibility to respond to the different problems that each project may have during their production. Reference: I took video reference for makings believable limp and not make it look like an animation mistake, that can happen quite often with limps) Video reference -> making the walk cycle a Loop -> add details I made a quick sketch of any variation I could think for a corpse. Main Selection: I choose the designs that where closer to what I was looking and more appealing. I like the idea of this magic - spirit light inhabiting a corpse For Animation: testing the pipeline Thinking about the animation, how I had a deadline to submit it and that I could only work in photoshop I tested for a way to color while saving the major part of inconsistencies and to make no background. Animation Clean up: It is a long process, but the best way is to go by steps in all frames While doing it, I keep checking how is it looking without any background and also correcting things I find looking weird from the previous steps. (I think it could be more efficient with some adjusts from the beginning) Screenshot of how I animate in photoshop. The Key is having the correct actions in the keyboard and a lot of patience for keeping the layers organize The Mask of the Necromancer The mask is an artifact used to revive a corpse moving it by its bone; the mask generates and artificial breath of life that inhabits the corpse until it falls apart or the mask is taken away. Details: |
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