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.