LAUAN502, Study Task 1

Study Task One 

• Identify 5 things you have learned so far on the programme

1.   Patience.
2.   Time management.
3.   New softwares.
4.  Social networking can aid when looking for connections. 
5.  My strengths and weaknesses.  

• Identify 5 things that you want to know more about

1.  Teaching is a carer I might be interested in pursuing. My next steps are finding out how to go about that.
2.  Concept/Background designs. 
3.  Character designs.
4.  Storyboarding.   
5.  What companies am I interested in working for? 

• Identify 5 skills that you think are your strengths.

1.  Working well in a group and being a team player. 
2.  Learning from mistakes and improving my skills by listening to the advice around me. 
3.  Meeting my deadlines. 
4.  Finding ways around the obstacles in my way. 
5.  Digital art. 

• Identify 5 things that you want to improve.

1.  My time management has slightly improved since the first year of university however, I still fall a bit behind due to procrastination. 
2.  To start practicing drawing and animating during free time. I could do this by entering contest like 'Loop de Loop' that are short and can be made simple. 
3.  I want to have more confidence in myself and in my work; to be able to talk and show my work without feeling worried about the feedback. Be confident in the mistakes I make.
4.  Stop procrastinating!
5.  Be able to speak in front a class with confidence. 

• Identify 5 practitioners that demonstrate your interest in Animation

1.  Noah Bradley is mainly a concept artist for game design but is also the founder of art camp, which is a website that has fully narrated videos helping people become better artists.  
2.  Karl Thiart is a concept artists for film and video games. He mainly focuses on 2D art but sometimes moves into 3D design.
3.  Patrick O'Keefe is best known for being an art director in many well-known films such as: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation, and Invasion. 
4. Kate Moross is a graphic designer, illustrator, and art directer. She owns and runs her own studio called, 'Studio Moross' and is solely based in London. 
5. Alicia Braumberger is Australian freelancer since 2009. Her specialties lie in concept design and illustrations. 

• Identify 5 websites/online resources that demonstrate your areas of interest within the creative industries.

1. The website ArtStation is a place online which an professional artist can upload their work and showcase their portfolios: https://www.artstation.com/about
2. Digital Art Served is an online gallery that showcases work done with Adobe software such as, photoshop: https://www.behance.net/galleries/1/Illustration
3. Pinterest is an online resource in which you can create mood boards with images found on a certain topic searched. It is also possible to add your own images: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/search/pins/?q=digital%20art
4. Computer Arts is an online magazine that showcases tutorials, tips and advice on how to become a better designer: https://www.creativebloq.com/computer-arts-magazine
5. Concept Art Resources is an online website that provides tips, reviews, inspiration, resources and interviews: https://conceptartempire.com/resources/ 

Websites for each artist: 

https://www.artstation.com/karlthiart
https://www.artstation.com/okeefe
https://www.studiomoross.com/?home#projects
http://www.alicia-b.com/about/
https://noahbradley.com/

presentation 2

Presentation Two 

For my second presentation I came into the room with notes after planning exactly what I wanted to say on each slide. This did calm my nerves slightly however, at times I did panic and ended up speaking to fast. I think my presentation could have been more visually appealing however, it was still kept to the point and I did not make the presentation too long or too short as I kept to the time limits. After improving myself from the last presentation with planning what I wanted to say, for next time, I want to get better at speaking in front of an audience. I will do this by practicing my public speaking in front of friends and family. 

presentation 1

First Presentation

For my first presentation I struggled massively with my public speaking. The presentation itself was visually interesting and I had added many videos and pictures for the audience to look at why I was speaking. However, I rushed through my presentation which lead to me missing out on some of the things I had planned to say. To improve my presentation skills for the next presentation I will make notes on what each powerpoint will be about and what I will say on each slide. This will help me to be more prepared and more focused on the task in hand. 

study task 9

Practitioners 

Damon Bard

Damon Bard is a freelance artists that designs puppets and develops characters and creatures.  He is known to have worked on movies such as, kung Fu Panda and Coraline. I decided to look in Damon Bards work because I was interested in different styles of character design so for me this includes sculpting. I think his work is very thought-out and precise. His designs are so different and unique as they seem to look aesthetically different based on the project he is working on. I want to get better at fitting my designs to the brief as I want to be able to better my style when designing my characters.  

Adam Elliot 

Adam Elliot is a stop-motion animator writer, director, and producer. I chose this artist because I wanted to look at the different jobs within the stop-motion role. As I had already looked at the makers on an stop-motion puppet I was also interested in the movement of them. Adam Elliot's full length movie was in 2009 with the making of 'Mary and Max'. I liked his work because when I read an interview where he talked about his work (http://www.skwigly.co.uk/adam-elliot-interview/) it said about how he visually made the models look like they was made for a children's show however, they would have dialogue that could only be used for adult entertainment. 

Study task 9

Practitioners 

Katharine Asher:

Katherine Asher is a illustrator that studied at the Harrow College of Art. I decided to look at an illustrator because they work in a similar but slightly different way to an animator. After looking at Katherine Ashers work I liked her light brush work that still came with an outcome of a painting that looked visually beautiful. The paintings never hold much detail however, they still have a visually strong impact when looking at them. She mainly uses water-based colours and relies heavily on movement. She has worked for many different people such as: Louis Vuitton and Mac Cosmetics. 

Andreas Besser 

Andreas Besser is the second illustrator I chose because he focuses mainly on character design. His work mainly hits the children market as his illustrations are fun and bubbly. He starts his practice by simply drawing in his pad and then scanning them in to digitally continue and finish his illustrations. Andreas Besser keeps his work very simple yet very visually strong as he adds detail when needed to fit the brief given to him. He has currently worked with Nintendo DS and Warner Bros. 

Study Task 9

Practitioners 

Mackinnon and Saunders:

Who are they? 

They make a produce animation for tv shows and movies using different types of animation such as, 2D and 3D art. 

What is their specialist practice? 

They take 2D, stop motion and Cd production right from the first idea or concept up until the very last delivery. 

Who they work for? 

After meeting at Cosgrove hall films in the 1980s they quickly became friends and went on to set up their own business partnership called, 'Mackinnon and Saunders'. 

Why their work inspires me:

After deciding what I enjoyed most within my first year of animation I looked at many of their tv shows or movies. Their characters are built and created down to the last detail and the work they create is not only visually beautiful but very well hand-crafted. They work as a team of people to get the job done and in the end always achieve an amazing outcome. I could learn from this because I want my designs to be more planned out and visually beautiful. 

Shady Safadi

Who is he? 

Shady Safadi is a concept artist that guides a team of 3D artists for an outcome of visual aesthetics. 

What is his specialist practice? 

Safadi's special practice is his detail for his concept art boards and character and enviroment designs. 

Who he works for? 

He is freelancer that is hired by intermittent studio gigs. However, his most known work was in 2006 of February for 'Naughty Dog' as a senior concept artist. 

Why his work inspires me:

I chose Shady Safadi as one of my artist because the look if his work is different to my style. I think by looking at different styles of work this will help me with my drawings as I will gain new ideas and be able to change my style to fit the brief. 

Study task 10

Showreel 

For my end of year presentation in professional practice we were asked to put together a showreel to show to the class. I picked out my most favourite parts of every task that I did. My main focus was to show my character designs as this was what I enjoyed the most this year. Going into second year, I would like to focus on improving my character design and getting stronger with my drawing skills. To do this I am going to practice drawing more often over summer and entering competitions to get my work seen. 

Showreel: 

Study task 8

Competitions

Conscious Cartoons 

They put on competitions every few months based on storytelling. They are not looking for any abstract pieces however, it can be humorous or dark if need be:

http://consciouscartoons.org/submit/

Encounters 

Encounters is a British festival for animated short films. Im interested in this competition when my work in animations gets better and hopefully being able to submit my work will get me noticed:m

http://encounters-festival.org.uk/awardwinners/

Loop-de-Loop 

is an animation competition monthly where the animation can be based around different subjects. This is a fun competition as not only are you getting your work noticed but its a chance to have some fun with my animations. 

Character design references

Is a website that puts on monthly competitions based on a theme. The competition is based around character design. This would be a good idea for me to try out because I most enjoyed character design this year and this will give me time to practice my characters design while also in for a chance of winning: 

https://characterdesignreferences.com/news/theme-of-the-month

11 Seconds Club

This website as mentioned in previous blog posts also holds monthly competitions for animators mainly based around character design but also branches out onto other design from time to time: 

http://www.11secondclub.com

Animation world network

Animation world network is an online magazine that gives you up dates of competitions that are happening and is a good tool to use to find the right competition for you:

https://www.awn.com/animationworld

Study task 7

Public Service announcements 

American Dream doll house part 1- Introducing Samantha- HomeMattersAmerica

This is an public service announcement for homeless people or people struggling to pay their rent and  mortgages. 

Community Ownership Support Service - An animated guide

is a Scottish government funded programme to help communities. 

Think! Hedgehog king of the road. 

Road-saftey advert. 

Fire safety- International Labour Organization 

European Agency for Safety and Health at work-Napo

Student: Hannah Grace about mental health awareness.

Think! Road safety: Tales of a road campaign  

A Safe Place: short film by Angelos Roditakis. 

About child abuse and how to be aware of these problems and how you can help. 

NSPCC- preventing child abuse. 

How people surrounded by the child can make their environment safer. 

Larva TUBA- drink driving safety. 

Study task 6

Documentary Animation 

Mend and Make do- Bexie Bush

This is about a love story of a women and man during the war.

The chaperone Fraser munden

This is about a motorcycle crash that happened during a middle-school dance. 

Mr Madila- Rory Waudby-Tolley

This is about the conversation about the inner-mind. 

German Shepard- Nils Bergendal.

This is about a Jew growing up in Baltimore and how his life told the stories of his Holocaust-survior mother. 

A kiss, Deferred- Moth Collective

This is about a 12-year olds life in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and how it changed her life. 

Father Dim Yagodin

About how peoples Fathers have hurt them. 

Yellow Sticky Notes- Canadian Anijam

Canada's independent animators draw about one day of their lives, simply just on yellow sticky notes. 

My Mother's Coat- Marie-Margaux Tsakiri-Scanatovits

Beyond years- Freddy Arenas

This is about a couple that never saw age-gap as a problem until the man had a heart attack. 

The story of two girls that lives changed after they have been sexually assaulted and their fight about speaking out publicly.    

Study task 5

Animation commercial Adverts around the world. 

1. Loterías y Apuestas del Estado “Justino”

This animation was created in Spain for Christmas advertising the Spanish lottery.  It was created by Leo Burnett, I chose this animation because of the story behind the film. I think an animation becomes more attractive to an audience when theres a meaning behind the characters. 

2. Comcast Xfinity “Emily’s Oz”

This commercial is showing a gadget sold by Comcast XFINITY to help blind people; it is a talking guide built to help blind people imagine what they are seeing when watching their favourite movie. This advert is based on a little girl called Emily, they take her favourite movie and build characters based around what she imagines them to be like in her mind.
https://www.xfinity.com/emilys-oz

3. You Can’t Get Any More Ribenary, Ribbon

4. SSE “Pier”

5. Oreos

5. One Sweet World | Ben & Jerry's EUROPE

 

6. The World of Autism PSA | Autism Speaks

7.Commercial Project: Mask

8.nescafe award winning animation commercial

9. Honda "Paper"

10. Stop Motion Animation Commercial Greater Nevada Credit Union “Lending”

11. Kit Kat- Vending Machine 

Redbull- Stop-motion

Study task 4

Animation as Entertainment 

'Birdboy: The forgotten children' is a Spanish animated movie that has English subtitles played throughout the movie.  This story is based on friends that have been stranded on a post-apocalyptic world and are trying to find a way to escape.  It is co-directed by Alberto Vàzquez and is based upon a graphic novel.
      

Spirited Away is a Japanese animated feature that tells a story of a girl who finds an abandoned amusement park.  Chihiro is told she has to work at the amusement park, which holds supernaturals beings, to release herself and her parents who have been turned into pigs.  This was directed by Hayao Miyazaki. 

'Anomalisa' (2015) was released  on the 11th March 2016 in the United Kingdom however, it is an American stop-motion animation. The directors of this stop motion are Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson. The film tells a story of man that looks at every individual as the same and struggles to come to terms with life; until he meets Lisa who may be able to help him escape from inside his head. 

'Waltz With Bashir' (2008) is an Israeli war animated film that was directed by Ari Foleman. Ari Foleman also stars in this movie as an 19 year old soldier. This movie is based on the events in which occurred in the 1882 war with Lebanon and after all the terror Ari Foleman's character has no memory of any of the events. This film mainly focuses on post-traumatic stress and disorders. 

'The Wrong Trousers' (1993) is a British stop-motion animation directed by Nick Park. It tells a story of the well-known characters 'Wallace and Gromit' that has created a mechanical object that will be able to dress him in the morning. However, an evil penguin then starts to take over Wallace's life and Wallace and Gromit are left to save the day. 

 

'My Neighbor Totoro' (1988) is directed by Hayao Miyazaki and is an Japanese animated film. After moving into an old country house. A girl named Satsuke and her sister Mei stay while their mother gets better after an illness left her in hospital. When the two sisters start to look after the house they come face to face with spirits in their house. 

A Scanner Darkly (2006), by Richard Linklate

Coraline (2009)

The Little Prince (2015)

A single life

THE PLAGUE DOGS (1983)

LOVING VINCENT (2017)

Study task 3

10 online sources:

1.Vimeo: 
This is a website that lets anyone upload their work onto. This would be useful because you can search what you want to look at and discover different artists work.

2. 11 Second club:
This is a website that does monthly competitions. I think this is a good resource as it is able to give you ideas about what direction to go with your work. As well as this, it gives you an opportunity to get your work out there.

3. ANIMATIONWorld magazine: 
This is an insight into the animation world.

4. Animation Insider

5. Thinking Animation

6. Youtube

7. Freesound

8. The animation podcast

9. Cartoon Brew

10. Animation Arena

5 print based magazines or journals:

1. Digital Creative Arts 

2. 3D World 

3. Disney Junior 

4. ImagineFX

5. Creative live 

5 books:

1.The Animation survival guide, Richard Williams:

A book the teachers told us to get to help us when stuck with an animation task. 

2.Freehand Figure drawing for Illustrations, David H. Ross:

Helps to draw the human body and the poses.  

3.  Cartoon animation, Preston Blair.

4. The Illusions of Life, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. 

5. Animation for Beginners, Morr Meroz

3 places:

1. Manchesters animation festival 
2. Leeds art university Library 
3. Leeds Central Library