Key Text - Ten Most Cultural Trends of The Last Descade

After realising the importance of acknowledging the deeper aspects that will influence the design of my characters, inside and out, I decided to carry out some research into some of the most significant cultural changes that have gradually been evolving in recent years. The reason for this is because, the term "Culture" is something I have often steered away from. Not because I have a lack of interest in it, but because I have often been quite lost when trying to establish what the term "culture" refers to. However, after coming across an online article "Ten Most Significant Cultural Trends of The Last Decade" by Andy Crouch, I feel my general knowledge on the topic has become more enhanced. 

(Crouch, A. (2016) ‘Ten most significant cultural trends of the last decade’, Available at: http://qideas.org/articles/ten-most-significant-cultural-trends-of-the-last-decade/ )

This article covers areas such as:

• Changes and growth in the area of technology and communication 
• Growth in travel and transport
• Popularity for urban life; such as big cities 
• The end of the majority - this refers to specifically the area of ethnicity and religion
• The self shot - the growing urge to refine and adapt our physical appearance due to the growing standards of society
• Informality - the casual appearance, even in the working world is becoming more and more acceptable. 
• The fact that money, has become more and more of a common goal. The pricing of basic things such as housing and food, have fluctuated massively. 

Reading this article was so useful for me, because it actually made me realise how broad the term "culture" is, and how other aspects I have been considering such as religion and ethnicity also fall under it. 

How has this influenced my practical? 

For my two characters, I have decided to have two very differing back stories. This is not just to assist me in creating two completely different characters in themselves, it is also about the audience. I feel it could be quite effective to have a modern day female character who is from a background that is causing her to be on the receiving end of a lot of abuse, both verbally and over the internet, despite the fact that she is a good, hardworking person.

For the second character I have decided to go for something the total opposite. A young boy, who is living during the second world war, and has been evacuated to the country side, who has a love for animals and exploring, and has a strong desire to become a doctor. 

I plan to write up more detailed back stories for these characters when the design work is more thorough, however at this point I feel it is good for them to differ in the way they do because it is not just about the differentiation in their appearances, but also the deeper aspects of their lives and how their living in different time zones has an impact on this. 

Group Tutorials - Practical Progress

During our first group tutorials we were asked to discuss the progress made so far in terms of the practical side of the module. I felt quite confident about this because I had spent two days prior to this focusing on my design work. By this point I had begun to develop ideas in regards to not only the physical and emotional design of the characters, but also their backstory.

Since I had decided to develop two of the design I had produced over the summer, I already had something to build up from. I continued on by simply sketching and experimenting with face and body shapes. Since I now knew that I would also need to consider aspects such as culture, ethnicity and religion, I felt it was important to consider this when sketching.

The two characters currently being designed are not supposed to be compatible with one another, since they would be from completely separate stories, the only thing that they would need to have in common, is that they are both animateable in both 2D & 3D.

At this point, I was able
My research so far, has really helped me thunk deeper about the design of these characters, not just their appeal, but the importance of simplicity. I have toned down on the design and simplified the clothing of these characters because I need to be realistic with my time, and I believe that if they are well animated and are able to perform well, it will be perfectly acceptable for them to have quite simple clothing. Especially after reading "Producing Animation" by Catherine Winder and Zahra Dowlatabadi, it was brought to my attention, the importance of not making things complicated if it will not offer anything extra for the production of the animation, and aspects such as time and money must always be considered, before going ahead with complex designs.

Also, I am not massively experienced in the area of 3D modelling, so I need to avoid giving myself an un-realistic amount to model, because I still need to be able to animate these characters.

Tutorial Outcome

After this tutorial I felt really positive about the work I had produced so far, because not only did I get to discuss the practical developments made, but also the developments in gathering primary research by contacting practitioners. My tutor seemed pretty pleased with the contacts I had made so far, and actually asked what my methods were in terms of getting people to get back in touch with me. Something I have realised since starting to contact practitioners and studios is, they may not always reply, and that is okay, also I find it much less stressful to draft my emails to day before so I can simply do one last proof read and then click send the next morning.

Time to begin Modelling!

After design work for my two characters was well underway, I decided that beginning to model as soon as possible would be a good idea. As long as I had the reference imagery to go off, then I was able to persevere with it. At this point, I had not yet completed all concept work, however I felt I had enough to begin the modelling process and decided it was good practice to crack on with it, because I didn't this process to take longer than needed, because I will still need to animate them in 2D & 3D, as well as doing the same with a third character.

I began by using two of the drawings from my sketchbook as reference, which would then allow me to draw the front and side on drawings needed for me to import into Maya. At this point I didn't worry about making them coloured, I just needed to line work so I had something to work with. 

I decided to leave a holes on the side drawings where the arms would be, because I felt that in Maya I could have a better view of the arm contraction through the front and perspective view. I began with "Toby" who is the character of a young boy. 

I had to get used to the fact, that unlike the character in Matt's tutorials, there were no geometry lines on this character. However this wasn't a problem as I was able to easily figure out with reference to the imagery what would work and what wouldn't.  

This time, I was very aware that the physical build of this character is much skinnier and smaller than the characters I have previously modelled. His head size is also large in relation to his body. I wanted his body to look skinny and for his clothes to look slightly too big for him, to reinforce the fact that he is only a child.





How Did I Find It?

I found the first section of the modelling process to be quite therapeutic, however I had to keep reminding myself that the proportions of this character are not supposed to be anatomically correct. I found myself flicking between the front, side and perspective view second guessing my design, however I decided to just keep going with it, because at this point, it was just a half a body mesh without hair or clothing.

However, after making myself get back into the swing of Maya previously, I feel I got off to a good start!

Getting Used To The Software - Maya

As part of my preparation for my practical side of the work, I knew from the beginning that I would need to put some time aside to re-familiarise myself with Maya. I had previously become quite comfortable with using Maya after our second year Character and Narrative module. Since then, Maya has changed slightly, so I thought it best to spend some time getting back into the swing of it, in order to make my practical work go as smoothly as possible.

I decided the best way to become more familiar with the new Maya 2017 was to use the tutorial's provided the year before, by my tutor Matt. Although these were created in the old version of Maya they proved to be extremely useful. I began following his step by step tutorials again of building a character.

Through out the process of following these tutorials again, I found myself quickly remembering the key tools and techniques required for creating and modelling characters in Maya.  Although this character was not the same as the designs I had created, it was still extremely useful, as I came away after spending just an hour on it and I felt much more capable and confident to begin using Maya again.

What did I gain from this?

One of the most useful things I took away with me after sitting to re-familiarise myself with the software, was the fact that certain parts of the anatomy that I couldn't remember how to build, such as the shoulder and the neck.

After playing about for a while, I felt much more familiar with the tools and the terminology. For example, I quickly felt confident again when it came to manipulating the vertices, faces and edges. This is something that I hadn't fully remembered since this time last year.

Influence from the research.

Over the course of this module so far, I have gathered a substantial amount of research, all of which supports many different arguments. At the early stages of researching, I found myself having the assumption that most of my research would support, primary and secondary, would suggest that 2D is now being outgrown by more modernised 3D animation. However after carrying out some primary research and getting into contact with practitioners, I found myself becoming more enlightened, and realising that this is not necessarily the case.

After getting into contact with Emma Reynolds, who works for Kilogramme Animation Studio, but who is also a freelance Illustrator and Animation art-worker, I was able to hear her view point on the topic, which actually turned out to be really different to what I had anticipated:

Firstly, this feedback from Emma does support some of the arguments I will be wanting to discuss in my dissertation, such as the fact that "appeal" relies on many aspects, not just visual, as well as the fact that 3D animation has definitely become a lot more mainstream. However the significant part of this feedback that really made my perspective on the topic change:

"- If we're talking about television series though, not just feature films - 2D animation is having a massive boom. With the tax break in the UK allowing companies such as Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick to start up again, and Mackinnon and Saunders Digital among others, it's a great time to graduate as a 2D animator with many more jobs available than say 7 years ago.

Adventure Time, Stephen Universe, Regular Show, Rick and Morty - All 2D and immensely popular. And then there's 2D series that have been going on for a lot longer and remain popular such as Futurama and South Park."

This statement from Emma, really made me realise that when it comes to the area of TV series, 2D animation is still hugely popular. Also, the reasonings she has given for why she believes 2D is still so poplar were not vague, she also referred to the financial aspects that have changed in the UK, which have allowed specific studios who work in 2D to thrive. This was particularly interesting and useful research for me, because up until this point, I feel I was slightly unaware of how popular 2D animation is in this area, despite being familiar with all of the shows she mentioned! 

This has completely opened my mind, because up until now I think I was slightly blinded by the fact that all I was seeing in cinemas was 3D animation, as well as old well known 2D characters being brought back in the form of 3D. After gaining this feedback from Emma, my perspective on this topic has become much more broad, and I feel it has opened up new doorways for research. It has also reminded me of the importance of keeping my research open and non-biased. 

Triangulation of Research

For my dissertation I am addressing the question of "How does the use of 2D & 3D animation, impact the audience's ability to connect with a character?" I have chosen this because, as somebody who's area of focus is character design, I feel it would be a very interesting area to look into, especially with the rapid growth of 3D animation. I want to see how this growth has impacted the way audiences today perceive a character, and the extent to which the medium drives their perception. In order to determine this, other areas will need to be addressed, such as appeal, performance, nostalgia, and even financial aspects. At this point, I do believe that the medium of animation has a huge impact on the way a character's performance is put forward and the use of both 2D & 3D can have it's pros and cons.

Their has been much evidence so far that supports the view that the physical design of a character is not always the most important aspect that needs to be considered when it comes to making them relatable and believable. In Chris Webster's "Animation: The Mechanics of Motion" It is stated that "It's the fact that the characters demonstrate the kind of traits we recognise in ourselves and in others that brings them to life" (Webster,C. 2005) This suggests that to an extent the medium in which a character is animated, and their physical design can only go so far when it comes to making them believable to an audience. Webster supports this again by stating "How well they are drawn, or how well crafted the modelling is does not make them real to us." Again this brings us back to the argument that the well thought out physicality of character is pointless without the internal side. "Ideas for The Animated Short - Finding & Building Stories" Holds a similar argument, the argument that it is not about that character's physical performance, but more about the fact that the "..character has the ability to move an audience emotionally through the events of the story." (Sullivan, K Alexander, K Mintz A, Besen, E 2013) This again re-iterates the importance of a character's psychological design, above the physical. There are also other reasons as to why the personality of a character is of the up most importance, for example, the possible limitations when it comes the creating the visual design. This is referred to in "Producing Animation" By Catherine Winder & Zahra Dowlatabadi where it states that if a character "..wears a costume that has intricate details such as lace and buttons, every scene in which they appear will require a lot of pencil mileage, or line work, in 2D projects, and additional development and render time in 3D projects." (Winder, C & Dowlatabadi, Z 2001) This reminds us that, other aspects that are out of the designers control, such as financial aspects as well as technical and time limitations can have an impact on the final visual aesthetic of a character, therefore re-enforcing the importance of the deeper attributes a character holds mentally, which therefore does not just depend on the designers, but also the writers. 

Time Management and Project Planning

In terms of time management, I have realised over the past couple of years that the best way for me to plan my day to day work is to use post-it notes. As somebody who prefers to visually see and establish what my goals are for the day, I find it much easer to make a to do list the night before, stick it in my notebook, and thenI can rip it out when done. (Also, it saves me A LOT of space in my book)
I don't know why I like to work in this way, I just do.

I have also noticed as this module has progressed, doing this allows me to keep note of things such as books, points to research which I can have at the front of my notebook for reference.

A few people have wondered how I manage to work this way, to be honest it works for me, because it's a great visual way of keeping track of things and then being able to discard of them.





I have also dedicated part of my bedroom to the COP timetable that was provided for us, as well as creating my own weekly plan to ensure I stay on track with all areas of the course.

This was once again, really useful for me because I am now able to see exactly how much time each week I should be using for each module. This really helped me to put everything into perspective.










Project Planning 

At this stage, I have done quite a lot of research, both primary and secondary. Although this is still no where near finished, I have become setting time aside for my practical. This is also because, I need to be able to write about the feedback received for the practical, as well as using this to assist my design process for creating a final character. I also need to consider setting enough time aside for actually creating the test animations, as well as rendering time.

At this point I have decided to be well underway with design work this week (the week commencing the 17th October) and to be ready to begin test animations by around the 31st. However, since my research is going to have an impact on my practical side, I am currently keeping an open mind to the possibility that the design work may take an unexpected turn and therefore take longer. Therefore we shall have to wait and see how my development work goes and where my research will take me this week!

Connecting the Reserach and the Practical

Since my recent tutorial, I have become increasingly aware of how important it is for me to constantly allow my research to influence my design work, and to not finalise my designs too soon. Since producing rough concept work over the summer I have since realised that, the characters I design will need not only a strong design, but also a back story in order to aid the audience's ability to find them appealing and to empathise with them.

Through out my research so far, I have definitely gathered information which has had a huge influence on my practical. Whilst reading, there has been constant stress on the design of a character not just being about it's visual aspect, but also the way it performs and what it holds on the inside. This was repeatedly brought to my attention whilst reading "Animation, The Mechanics of Motion" by Chris Webster: "It's the fact that the characters demonstrate the kind of traits we recognise in ourselves and in others that brings then to life." This was something that reiterated to me the importance of performance and movement, and not just the visual design.  

Also, it has become more apparent to me through out the research process that there is no need to create characters that are overly complex, because they need to be transferable between 2D and 3D.

For example, Steve Robert's "Character Animation - 2D Skills for better 3D" refers to the modelling of 3D characters; "..if it's very complexity makes it awkward to animate it completely defeats the object of the exercise" He also later refers to the importance of "..good strong silhouettes.."   

This is definitely something I have been trying to constantly think about whilst producing design work, and it is a constant reminder that simplicity is sometimes better. 

The research I have carried out so far, has encouraged me to go back and reconsider the designs I began producing before the module began, because I now feel I have a better outlook and understanding on my chosen topic. 

Lecture 2 - Methodology and Critical Analysis

This lecture focused mainly in what a methodology is, in order to encourage us to not be afraid to actually use the term in our writing. It was mentioned that every research project needs to have a methodology, and that every project will always have one automatically, even if it isn't well thought out or easy to establish. Although "Methodology" is a scientific word, it's actually straight forward:

• It is a systematic and organised way of addressing a research project 
• It is unique to each research project 

Richard also highlighted the importance of "Explaining and defending the ways in which you have gathered research " because otherwise, how do we know it is valid? 

The "methodology" of our projects must always be established at the start of our dissertations. The importance of "Critical Thinking" was also emphasised. Again, this is actually a very simple thing, it simply means, separating the best from the worst and the appropriate from the inappropriate. This is something that will help me to carry out my research well and to ensure that the information I am providing is relevant. 

We were also encouraged to thin about "Skepticism" which is a term used to describe, stepping backwards and allowing the research and logic to bring you to your conclusion. Also, the use of triangulation will result in more effective, useful research, and will prevent the outcome from seeming biased or ill informed. 

This was a really useful lecture, because it reminded me to constantly be looking for contradictory sources and to make sure my research is not one sided. 

Lecture 1 - Organising Your Research Project

This Lecture was definitely extremely useful, especially since I went into it feeling pretty unsure of how to structure a dissertation! To begin with, Richard suggested two books that could be very useful when trying together together research:

"Critical Thinking Skills" by Stella Cottrell
"Doing Your Research Project" by Judith Bell

Richard highlighted the main points of information about this dissertation, including how long it needs to be, how to structure it and when the deadline is. He did stress that we should have a SUBSTANTIAL DRAFT SUBMITTED BEFORE CHRISTMAS. 


In terms of planning:

• Write down all possible questions to investigate, and then focus on two sub-questions (Focus on Primary and secondary research)
• Pin down a working title
• The key terminology must be used in the working title!

This talk made everything seem less scary, for example Richard suggested we do simple things such as write down our question and stick ut on our wall where we will often to see it, that way the question will become engrained in our minds and means we would be less likely to go off on a tangent. 

Also, we discussed the importance of finding contradictory sources, and a good example of doing this would be to have a look at some online journals. We were also encouraged to think about qualitative and quantitive research, as well as making sure we consider ethics and getting approval from people, to avoid upsetting anybody! 

We were shown the layout that we should try and stick to in order to include the appropriate information:

Intro - approx 1000 words

Main Body - Context and themes

Main body - Case Studies of Practise 

Conclusion - Approx 1000 words

Seeing it approached in this way really made it clearer in my mind, instead if thinking about the amount of writing required, I was able to see the separate sections of the writing that will be required, and this made it all seem more manageable to me.  

What now?

After gaining a clearer view on my area of focus, I have begun to delve into the books, as well as thinking about possible animations that can be analysed as part of my writing. I also need to think about those cultural changes in western characters over the years, and after speaking to my tutor I feel that maybe a good one to look at could be Tom & Jerry.

Primary Research Points to Consider:

• Find out who will be at MAF and contact them ahead of time
• Do an analysis on a character that has recently become 3D from 2D (possibilities include, Paddington Bear, Mr Peabody & Sherman, Winnie the Pooh)
• Discuss some of my favourite animated characters and discuss and provide evidence why.

Secondary Research Points:

• Why do characters get changed to 3D? (it may not always be the designer's or animator's choice)
• Limitations when animating in both 2D & 3D (such as the 12 principles)
• How do you take a 2D design into 3D? 
• How can the design of a character change due to the times we are in/ culture/ politics etc. 

For my research, I have so far carried out a lot of reading and been taking down numerous quotes. I plan to continue to do this as well as using other forms of gathering research such as talks, interviews, animations and websites, as well as the feedback given to me through my practical. 

Reaching Out to People

I knew I needed to get into contact with people to hear their viewpoints on my chosen topic, and to see what they had to say on the matter of 2D  and 3D, and how it effects the appeal and therefore the audience's connection with the character. After trying to word a number of emails that weren't so long that they would bore the recipient to death! I then sent them out hopefully and awaited the replies.


Jon Turner & Emma Reynolds

 I emails Jon Turner, from Kilogramme who I had actually met a few months back on a studio visit, as well as Emma Reynolds, a freelance animation art worker and Illustrator who also works with Kilogramme. They both got back to me very quickly and provided a lot of useful feedback, all of which I know will be very useful to use as primary research.

It was actually really interesting being able to gather different viewpoints from people who work in the industry, especially since Kilogramme works with both 2D and 3D animation. Also, some of the feedback I received was new to me, so not only was this useful to take on as evidence of primary research, but it also just helped to fuel my own knowledge of the topic even more!

The Brothers McLeod 

After purchasing my ticket for their talk on Character Aesthetics in York, and researching their work and realising how cool the stuff they produce is, I got overly excited and actually decided to email them ahead of seeing them, to ask if they would be up for grabbing a coffee after their talk. I did this because I would love to also get some feedback from them on the topic I'm researching. Not only will I be able to gather some really useful information during their talk, but I will hopefully get the chance to ask them some direct questions later on, as well as getting some feedback on my design work so far!

Luckily Greg got back to me almost straight away and said they would always be up for grabbing a coffee, so as I'm sure you can imagine, I danced around for a number of seconds.

I'm really looking forward to Aesthetica, because I know I will be able to gather some really useful research and get feedback at the same time.

Fettle

I was aware that Fettle Animation Studio focuses on 2D, so I thought it would be interesting to hear their views on the matter. After sending a courtesy email to double check that they had the time to spare before bombarding them with all the information, they got back to me quickly and asked me to send them more information. So I'm still hopefully awaiting for them to get back to me again!

First Tutorial

After narrowing down my area of focus for my dissertation, this made things feel so much clearer in my head because there was a lot more focus, and I didn't feel like there was a risk of me going off on a tangent.

My first one to one tutorial with Annabeth was actually useful, and I left feeling really determined and ready to tackle this module. During the tutorial there were some key points covered which I know will really help me in terms of research, for my writing as well as my practical side.

I came out with a clearer idea of the necessary areas of research I need to undertake. The areas we discussed were:

• Look at Pictoplasma and try to find some of their talks online 
• Contact Brothers McLeod and attend their talk on Character Aesthetics in November 
• Look ahead to see who will be attending MAF so I know who to talk to 
• Research the cultural evolution of well known Western character's over the years, such as Tom & Jerry. 
• How much control do the character designers actually have over the medium of animation? 

In terms of the practical side, I also came away with a much clearer understanding of how to address it. Since I know what my practical side will be, I need to make sure that I animate the same action for the characters across both mediums, in order to make it a fair and valid comparison. Also it was stressed to me how important the intellectual side of the design work is, so it is important for me to think about what my characters will represent. 

• Designing three characters seems more appropriate - this means the final character can be influenced by the feedback received on the first two. 
• What do my characters's represent? - think about race/sexuality/political standing/gender/mentality
• It doesn't matter that my audience isn't clear at this point, this will be determined by the work and research carried out. 
• I need to allow my research to guide my design work - so I shouldn't assume something is finalised too early on.
• I must also keep some time aside to become comfortable with Maya again
• I have also decided that I need to keep developing my understanding of Animate CC
• DRAWING DRAWING DRAWING 

Time to get Cracking - Dissertation Research

Luckily at the end of second year I had managed to get myself into a position that allowed me to have quite a clear view on my practical side of my dissertation. My area of focus is based on (surprise surprise!) Character Design, and the way in which the use of 2D and 3D animation has an effect on the performance of a character.

As soon as we started back up, I got the opportunity to present my development so far to my piers. 

I began by showing the samples of concept sketches I had produced over the summer break. The concept work that has been produced so far is quite broad and random, purely because I decided at the time just to develop at least three characters that all looked different to one another. 

I began playing about with colour and decided to produce some turn-around sheets. This was useful because it enabled me to get in some practise, but also it meant that my character development work was already underway, and even though I know my title may change over the next few weeks, my practical side seems to be more set in stone. 

These examples of concept work are not necessarily final, they are simply developments I have made from doodles in my sketchbook, however I hope to pursue them further.

In terms of other research before before presenting, I had gathered information from a number of books, all of which proved to offer very useful information, weather it was in the form of quotes or just information that would be useful for me to know through out this module:

Books

• "Animation" by Andrew Selby 
• "Re-imagining Animation - The Changing Face of The Moving Image" by Paul Wells and Johnny Hardstaff
• "Ideas For the Animated Short - Finding and Building Stories" by Karen Sullivan, Kate Alexander, Aubry Mintz and Ellen Besen
• "Animation - From Pencils To Pixels, Classical Techniques For Digital Animators" by Tony White
• "Drawing For Animation" by Paul Wells

Animations

I had also put some thought into specific animations that would be worth analysing, such as the old and new version of "Paddington" as well as the modern day 3D Winnie The Pooh, in comparison to the original. 

Primary Research

Before this point, I knew I wanted to use the practical side as an opportunity to create both 2D and 3D concept art and animation tests for at least two or three characters, which could then be incorporated into a questionare. 

Feedback From My Presentation 

After presenting, although I felt slightly more worried about the whole thing than I was before, I knew exactly what I needed to do. The problem seemed to be that my areas of research were a bit too broad, and soon after beginning my presentation I realized how wishy-washy I sounded! I also realised that the actual wording of my title needed to be established. After presenting, and gaining a lot of helpful feedback from my tutor and other fellow animators, I knew what I needed to do:

What Now?

• Re-consider my area of focus (narrow it down)

I realised that before hand, I was gradually getting pulled towards the technology side, so much that it was pulling me away from the aesthetic and performance side of things. However, don't get me wrong, I will still be addressing the technological side, just not quite so in depth. I wanted to focus more so on how 2D and 3D animation, has an effect on how the audience can connect with a character. 

• Establish Sub questions 

The thing that was worrying me, was knowing exactly what to focus on in my writing, however after having a discussion with my tutor, we deiced that it would be a good idea to not have too many questions to cover, in order to stay on track. These two questions being "How does the Medium Effect the Character's Performance?" and "How does the Technique Effect The Character's Readability?" At this point, I felt happy because I knew that my idea for my practical side would still work well! After presenting, and having another conversation with my tutor, I felt ready to head back to the library and look for more relevant sources.