The final walk cycles have turned out really well for me, considering this isn't an area of animation I was hugely experienced in. It has encouraged me to think more about how a character's appeal can be delivered, without them speaking, or being placed into a story. But it has also made me think about how these two character would work together with in a storyline. Therefore, I hope to develop this further soon, either in third year or in my own time.
Wednesday 27 April 2016
Final Walk Cycles - production
To begin producing these walk cycles, I used "The Animator's Survival Kit" as reference ad this worked really well for me. Since I had never done a proper walk cycle before I was actually dreading this slightly, but soon realised that it was all very very do-able! My plan was to crate them frame by frame in photoshop, beginning with rough sketches to get an idea and then drawing neat versions of the characters over the top.
Both characters needed to move very differently, hence why I had to figure out their walks beofre drawing them in properly.
Both characters needed to move very differently, hence why I had to figure out their walks beofre drawing them in properly.
I used the main poses of, Contact, Down, Pass and Up. These in cycle helped me create the walks I wanted.
The process of animating the walk cycles themselves wasn't too stressful, because i had recently become familiar with the beauty that is LAYER ORGANISATION. Towards the end however I decided to atlter the hands on the manager character, because his fingers were too stiff and as a result the walk looked unrealistic.
The walks from both characters differ and also give a god representation of the personality these characters may posses, as well as how they would move and conduct themselves with in a storyline.
Where possible, I duplicated layers to speed up the process of colouring these characters once they were drawn. Which helped a lot. This whole process has been hugely helpful to me and has taught me a great deal, because I now understand that animating walk cycles is not something to be afraid of, and that a walk cycle alone can suggest a lot about a character.
Research and Epistemology - Lecture
This lectures was about Research, and how this can help us with our own work when it comes to seminars, lectures, modules and studio sessions.
The first point that was made to us is that research is the gathering of acts and information to influence out work, however there is more to this. Research can also be gathered in other ways such as experiments. However, research can also be gathered through failure, so knowing that something might not work, doesn't mean that it will be a waste of time, because it will at the end of the day, provide us with more information.
In this lecture the four main types of research were covered, these include, primary, secondary, qualitative and quantitive. Firstly, primary research is the gathering of information that does not yet exist, or is for a specific purpose. Secondary research is the gathering of data that already exists and has already been published for another purpose. Quantitive research gathers, factual information such as numbers, measurements and produces evidence that is ready to be analysed. Qualitative research relies on things such as surveys which will result in numerical data.
This was very relatable to my work, because through out these modules and the modules to come, research is a huge part of it. It was a reminder that we are at the centre of our own research and that we can start anywhere and go about it in what ever way we see best, as long as we relate it back to our work and explain why.
The first point that was made to us is that research is the gathering of acts and information to influence out work, however there is more to this. Research can also be gathered in other ways such as experiments. However, research can also be gathered through failure, so knowing that something might not work, doesn't mean that it will be a waste of time, because it will at the end of the day, provide us with more information.
In this lecture the four main types of research were covered, these include, primary, secondary, qualitative and quantitive. Firstly, primary research is the gathering of information that does not yet exist, or is for a specific purpose. Secondary research is the gathering of data that already exists and has already been published for another purpose. Quantitive research gathers, factual information such as numbers, measurements and produces evidence that is ready to be analysed. Qualitative research relies on things such as surveys which will result in numerical data.
This was very relatable to my work, because through out these modules and the modules to come, research is a huge part of it. It was a reminder that we are at the centre of our own research and that we can start anywhere and go about it in what ever way we see best, as long as we relate it back to our work and explain why.
The flipped classroom - Lecture
The flipped classroom is a theory, which allows the roles in the classroom to be somewhat reversed and to allow the students to take more control over their learning, by coming up with their own answers to their own questions. This sparks off a different level of cooperation and interest.
The French philosopher Jacques Ranciere in his book, refers to a teacher Joseph Jacotot who taught in the Netherlands. however his students could not speak French and he could not speak Flemish. His lessons became centred around Fenelon's "Telemaque" (1699) His students were given the original text along with the translations, and were left to figure out the differences for themselves.
The flipped classroom theory is something I can definitely relate to in my own practice, because as a student I am in charge of my own time management and briefs. Being in control of my own work is something that is very different to being under the control of the teacher. Also, being in control of my own work load has different results, because the pressure I put on myself is different to the kind of pressure that would be achieved from a teacher.
The French philosopher Jacques Ranciere in his book, refers to a teacher Joseph Jacotot who taught in the Netherlands. however his students could not speak French and he could not speak Flemish. His lessons became centred around Fenelon's "Telemaque" (1699) His students were given the original text along with the translations, and were left to figure out the differences for themselves.
The flipped classroom theory is something I can definitely relate to in my own practice, because as a student I am in charge of my own time management and briefs. Being in control of my own work is something that is very different to being under the control of the teacher. Also, being in control of my own work load has different results, because the pressure I put on myself is different to the kind of pressure that would be achieved from a teacher.
COP Lecture - Identity
This lecture was about identity and the way it viewed today, as well as the historical views on it. The are three main different forms of identity, these are, pre-modern, modern, and post-modern. Pre-modern refers to a stable and known identity which comes from long standing roles, such as married, government and the monarchy. Modern and Post-modern suggest that identity will come from what words are available to us such as madness, criminality and sexuality.
Identity can also be linked to the topic of stereotypes and a good example of this is the peice of work by Tracy Emin, called "Everyone I have Ever Slept With (1963-1995) " this piece was a tent, in which were the names of all of the people she has ever slept with. However, at first people could be very judgemental because at a first glance she it would have looked as though she had slept with a lot of people, however the actual reality is that all of the names were of people she had ever slept in a bed with, therefore this included family and friends.
This links back to how identity can be used and seen in Animation. Identity is a massive factor in character design. For example, a round shaped character is often kind and soft natured, where as a square shaped character often indicates intelligence. Quite often, characters are symmetrical, which allows them to be more memorable. This is an interesting one, because we can often get a good idea of a character's identity before they have even said anything.
Identity can also be linked to the topic of stereotypes and a good example of this is the peice of work by Tracy Emin, called "Everyone I have Ever Slept With (1963-1995) " this piece was a tent, in which were the names of all of the people she has ever slept with. However, at first people could be very judgemental because at a first glance she it would have looked as though she had slept with a lot of people, however the actual reality is that all of the names were of people she had ever slept in a bed with, therefore this included family and friends.
This links back to how identity can be used and seen in Animation. Identity is a massive factor in character design. For example, a round shaped character is often kind and soft natured, where as a square shaped character often indicates intelligence. Quite often, characters are symmetrical, which allows them to be more memorable. This is an interesting one, because we can often get a good idea of a character's identity before they have even said anything.
Censorship and Truth - Lecture
This lecture was about Censorship and Truth and the way in which photography can obscure risky imagery and how this hides truth.
Ken Jarecke is a photographer who captured a lot of the disturbing truth about war, however he was often censored or his work wasn't even shown in public. This piece above is called "The Death of an Iraqi Soldier" and was not received well by all. This wasn't published in the US due to its graphic nature, however it was published in the UK by the London Observe, but this did still cause quite a lot of fuss. The nature of this photograph is clearly very graphic and disturbing, however it is a good example of the kind of censoring that goes on today. It is also a reminder that an awful information is hidden from us today, and that the impression that we get on TV about war is not realistic.
This is something which can be applied to animation, because sometimes, people make the mistake of thinking that animation is al about pretty cartoons and that there isn't much point to it, when in fact animation can be used to convey some very sensitive and in some cases risky information. It is also a reminder of the fact that, censorship is something that is used very often, and can easily warp people's perception of reality without them even knowing it.
COP Lecture - The Gaze
"The Gaze" is a technological term used to describe the way in which an audience views an object or a person in a visual medium. There is also the "feministic cliche" which refers to the way in which a male audience will view a female. Laure Mulvey quotes that, "The Control of the camera comes from factors such as the assumption of hetrosexual men as the default target audience from most film genres"
The Four different forms of the "Gaze" are the direct, intra-diegetic gaze, spectator's gaze and direct look of the camera. Firstly, the intra-diegetic gaze is, where the male character sees the female character as part of the story. The Direct Gaze, is where the person in the film looks out and directly to the audience. Looking at the camera is the way in which the characters of the film are seen through the eyes of the film maker, through the camera. Finally, the spectator's gaze is the way in which the viewing audience looks at a person, animal or object in the film.
The Gaze is definitely something I can relate to in my own practise, because as an animator, I can be in control of the way the audience sees things, and the way I see the character's in my own work. It has also influenced the way I see other films. Also, as an animator, I can have the control over the way a camera picks up a scene, which will also have an effect on how it is perceived by the audience.
The Four different forms of the "Gaze" are the direct, intra-diegetic gaze, spectator's gaze and direct look of the camera. Firstly, the intra-diegetic gaze is, where the male character sees the female character as part of the story. The Direct Gaze, is where the person in the film looks out and directly to the audience. Looking at the camera is the way in which the characters of the film are seen through the eyes of the film maker, through the camera. Finally, the spectator's gaze is the way in which the viewing audience looks at a person, animal or object in the film.
The Gaze is definitely something I can relate to in my own practise, because as an animator, I can be in control of the way the audience sees things, and the way I see the character's in my own work. It has also influenced the way I see other films. Also, as an animator, I can have the control over the way a camera picks up a scene, which will also have an effect on how it is perceived by the audience.
Character Annotations
I knew it was important to make some character notes, to establish why these two characters possess the features that they have.
Shape experimentation
Once I had a rough idea of how I wanted these tow characters to look, I decided to sketch some different shaped bodies, in order to get an idea of what would work and what wouldn't. I settled on the body shape for the manager character quite early on, because I knew he was going to be very tall and long with broad angular shoulders, however the body shape for the Chef still seemed to be a bit of a mystery to I got cracking with some outlines.
The female character would have an apron covering the majority of her legs at the front, which meant that the shape of this apron was important, because it would influence the shape of her lower body. Also, I decided that her shoulders would be quite narrow, in contrast with the manger, but they would not be completely round. After sketching these shapes out I realised that I preferred her shoulders to be slightly angular. Because firstly, her uniform would naturally do this, but also it would suggest that as a character, she is not completely useless and is actually a very capable individual.
I decided to go with the second example I drew, because I didn't want the apron to be too prominent, because this would replicate a dress like shape, and this is not what I wanted.
Final Colours and Turn arounds
Above are the final colour swatches for my two characters. I have also made it so that these two characters are stood next to each other, in order to get the idea of how they contrast to one another.
I also produced design sheets for each character in order to show what they would look like as they turn. This is something I actually found very difficult. I struggled to keep the perspective on the characters, especially when it came to drawing them at a 3/4 angle. However after much correcting and adjusting, I think I did a pretty decent job.
I used scaffold lines and construction sketching to help guide the final drawings. Producing these drawings proved to be really helpful and I learnt a great deal from doing this. I have produced turn around sheets before, but never payed this much attention to detail. I used the scaffold lines, as a reference for specific parts of the body, to ensure all of the figures were consistent.
Also, after producing these sheets, it made me pay closer attention and put more time into thinking about how these two characters would move. The movement of the Chef would need to be much more expressive and free, with a good bounce. On the other hand, the movement of the manager would need to be much more stiff, and although he is a very regal, tall character , I knew that I wanted to the movement in his upper body to be at a minimal as he walks, with his head slightly tilted backwards to suggest authority and confidence.
Colour testing
I decided to take the two designs I was the happiest with, these were also the two that received the most positive feedback. I placed these into photoshop and began to produce some different versions and experimented quite a bit with colour. I knew that I was going about this process in quite a strange order, however I felt as though I wanted to have a better idea of the characters' colour schemes before experimenting with shapes, because I felt that if I had a better idea of the colours that would be used, It would be easier to settle on the final physical builds for these characters.
For the Chef character, I experimented with three contrasting colour schemes for the skin and hair. Although I liked all of them, I felt that the most appropriate choice was the first. This is because, the black hair and darker skin, were too similar to what I had in mind for the Manager. I wanted there to be some contrast there.
With the Manager Character it took me longer to settle on the specific facial features, so I used played around with different combinations, as well as some differentiations in the skin tones. I knew that this character would need to have very dark hair, since it's design is to make it look very slicked back and in place. This is why the colours for the Chef needed to be just slightly lighter, because this would help reflect their personalities too (especially since there wouldn't be much dialogue in this story.)
I settled on the colours for the clothing of both characters quite quickly, because I had them in mind from quite early on. However I did struggle to settle on a final colour scheme for the manager. After producing these tests I realised that the skin tones I had sampled were slightly too yellowy, and I felt this was too big of a contract between the two characters. They looked physically very different, therefore one of their connecting features needing to be skin tone.
I settled on the colours for the clothing of both characters quite quickly, because I had them in mind from quite early on. However I did struggle to settle on a final colour scheme for the manager. After producing these tests I realised that the skin tones I had sampled were slightly too yellowy, and I felt this was too big of a contract between the two characters. They looked physically very different, therefore one of their connecting features needing to be skin tone.
I decided that the best way to go about this was to use the eye drop tool in Photoshop, to take the same colourings that I used for the Chef and to then alter them to his face. This seemed to work much better, because the contrast between the two was no longer too extreme and they looked much more compatible with each other. I didn't however, want them to look related, which was also why I knew it would be best to give the Chef lighter hair. This is also why I thought it would be better to give her curly hair, because it would separate these two characters and make it less likely for the viewing audience to make the assumption that they might be related.
I decided to go with skin tones that would suggest these characters are not of a British origin, because I felt that this, in combination with the environmental setting would work well, and it would make it easier for the audience to figure out where the story is set.
Initial Idea and Sketching
To begin with, I needed to come up with a storyline. Although it was not my plan to create a narrative, I knew that if I got this in the bag, it would help me in establishing what environment these two character are from.
WHEN INSPIRATION STRUCK..
After having getting into watching Hell's Kitchen with my housemates, I decided that I really liked the idea of having a storyline centred in a Restaurant, and/or the Restaurant Kitchen. I knew that I wanted one character who would be intimidating, and give off those "scary" vibes. I also needed a character who would work in contrast to this. So after having seen quite a lot of Gordon Ramsay screaming at trainee Chefs, I decided to go down this route. However, I wasn't so keen on the idea of having two Chefs. After much contemplation, the thought of having a young trainee Chef, and an intimidating Restaurant Manager seemed much more appealing.
During the development process for these two character I actually came up with a possible storyline, which is something I will be keeping a hold of, as I want to develop this in third year, or in my own time. However this is information that I do not yet want to divulge! This did however really influence and help my design process.
..AND SO I BEGAN TO SKETCH LOTS.
I didn't specifically plan these sketches, they just sort of happened. However this did help me establish the type of character I wanted the Chef to be. I decided to have her as a female, because I thought this would contrast well with the Manager, who would be male. Also, the idea of her being the only female Chef in the kitchen is something that would be big contributor to the storyline.
I don't usually begin my character design process by drawing just heads, but this is where the doodling took me! Whilst sketching I realised that there were certain features that I wanted to avoid for this character.
I didn't want her to have:
I then did the same for my second character. I found that experimenting with different facial and hair structures allowed me to get a good idea of what would work well and what wouldn't.
Also, these sketches allowed me to see what features these characters would need, and what features would need I would need to avoid, in order for them to be compatible together.
After doing this, I passed my book around in order to get feedback from people on what they thought could work and what wouldn't.
After the feedback I received I knew that, the female character needed to look quite small and skinny. This would help to make it clear that she is only young and not been a chef for long. Also, I loved the idea of her uniform looking as though it is almost too big for her, again relating to the fact that she has a lot of space to grow (not literally.)
The male character would need to be much taller in height, and would need to move much differently to the way she moves. The most prominent feature on his face would need to be, wrinkles on his forehead, so suggest he is very experienced and been doing this job for a long time, as well as a very angular pointy face.
So far i knew this:
WHEN INSPIRATION STRUCK..
After having getting into watching Hell's Kitchen with my housemates, I decided that I really liked the idea of having a storyline centred in a Restaurant, and/or the Restaurant Kitchen. I knew that I wanted one character who would be intimidating, and give off those "scary" vibes. I also needed a character who would work in contrast to this. So after having seen quite a lot of Gordon Ramsay screaming at trainee Chefs, I decided to go down this route. However, I wasn't so keen on the idea of having two Chefs. After much contemplation, the thought of having a young trainee Chef, and an intimidating Restaurant Manager seemed much more appealing.
During the development process for these two character I actually came up with a possible storyline, which is something I will be keeping a hold of, as I want to develop this in third year, or in my own time. However this is information that I do not yet want to divulge! This did however really influence and help my design process.
..AND SO I BEGAN TO SKETCH LOTS.
I didn't specifically plan these sketches, they just sort of happened. However this did help me establish the type of character I wanted the Chef to be. I decided to have her as a female, because I thought this would contrast well with the Manager, who would be male. Also, the idea of her being the only female Chef in the kitchen is something that would be big contributor to the storyline.
I don't usually begin my character design process by drawing just heads, but this is where the doodling took me! Whilst sketching I realised that there were certain features that I wanted to avoid for this character.
I didn't want her to have:
- An overly sexualised physique
- stupidly big eyes (which is something I had to rectify)
- "Perfection" - this is character who I wanted to be flawed in her own way. This would add to her element of appeal.
I then did the same for my second character. I found that experimenting with different facial and hair structures allowed me to get a good idea of what would work well and what wouldn't.
Also, these sketches allowed me to see what features these characters would need, and what features would need I would need to avoid, in order for them to be compatible together.
After doing this, I passed my book around in order to get feedback from people on what they thought could work and what wouldn't.
After the feedback I received I knew that, the female character needed to look quite small and skinny. This would help to make it clear that she is only young and not been a chef for long. Also, I loved the idea of her uniform looking as though it is almost too big for her, again relating to the fact that she has a lot of space to grow (not literally.)
The male character would need to be much taller in height, and would need to move much differently to the way she moves. The most prominent feature on his face would need to be, wrinkles on his forehead, so suggest he is very experienced and been doing this job for a long time, as well as a very angular pointy face.
So far i knew this:
- This storyline would be set in an Italian Restaurant
- The characters would consist of a young inexperienced female chef, who struggles to keep up with the fast incoming extent of food orders.
- A tall, intimidating Manager, who is hard to please.
- Both character would have similar colourings, quite olivie skin and dark hair, to make it obvious that they are italian (The storyline may not have much dialogue)
- Their set environment would be in the kitchen of this busy restaurant.
- I would be going about all of this in a 2D Digital format, because if I were to make this animation, this is the method I would use, because this would captured the aesthetic I wanted.
Shape Influences
One of the most important things to think about when designing a character, is it's shape. Different shapes give off different vibes, which will therefore influence the way in which he/she/it is perceived. It is very rare to see a villain with round features. A round build suggests to an audience that the character is soft, kind natured and pretty harmless. Square shapes often suggest intelligence or curiosity. Quite often, a square based character is not "evil" however not as mellow as one that is round based.
Sharp, angular shapes often suggest a more threatening being. Some well known examples of this are above, such as Maleficent and Road Runner. Quite often a simple silhouette of a character is all that is needed for it to be identified, this also goes for the use of colour. This was a good reminder for me, because it encouraged me to focus on the base shapes of my character to begin with.
Cop 2 - Research
Before designing my own characters, I decided to take a further look into examples of well known character, particularly in the area of "good" and "evil". I wanted to analyse some the visual and physical traits of some of these characters, in order to give me, not only inspiration, but a better idea of what specific character traits represent.
One of the main topics addressed in my essay is the element of "Character Appeal"
This is something all characters much posses in order to attract interest. Appeal can be given to a character in many ways. After beginning further research into different examples of character design, it became more clear that "appeal" can be delivered in many different ways. However one of the main methods of making sure a character possesses appeal, is making sure they are visibly pleasing to look at. This does not necessarily mean that the character needs to be "sexually" attractive. Quite often, a character's attractiveness and memorability come from it's colour's and build.
I decided to look into some specific characters that I personally and that I am very familiar with, and some that I am no so familiar with. After gathering together research, I created mood boards on which I have annotated.
COP2 - Proposal
For the visual response to my essay, I decided that it would be really useful to take this opportunity to develop my portfolio for the area I am hoping to work in. The title of my essay, "How does character design effect the delivery of an animated narrative?" sparks up lots of potential ideas in the area of concept design.
This part of the module is very broad, and after developing my essay I had a much better idea of the kind of idea I wanted to go with. My essay covers many topics in the area of character design, development and appeal, and the way in which these factors can effect the way a viewer receives the story as well as develops a connection with the characters.
Initial Idea
very early on I decided that I wanted to design at least 2 contrasting characters, however they must be compatible together. One of the factors that will allow this to be possible, is making it clear that both characters would potentially be from the same narrative.
As well as having character designs and development work leading up to them, I will also be producing a walk cycle for each, and I will show the characters at a full 360 angle, give a good representation of how they would move. I have decided to go down this route because I need to improve my ability to produce walk cycles, because as somebody who wants to work in the area of character and concept design, this is something vital I will need to demonstrate, as well as the ability to draw my designs from all angles.
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