In the two pictures above, it’s evident that the second drawing serves the purpose of preparing for the subsequent motion, a technique known as ‘anticipation.’ Anticipation is typically employed to add strength and dynamism to a movement.
Next, let’s talk about ball and tail animation. Today, we were only instructed to work on the blocking stage. To be honest, I felt quite perplexed about how to begin the blocking phase as this is my first attempt at step animation. I didn’t perform exceptionally well, but I put forth my best effort.
Consider an animator of your choice whom you would define as an auteur, and provide a brief explanation of how the criteria outlined in the lecture may substantiate your assertion.
Makoto Shinkai, a Japanese animator, filmmaker, author, and manga artist, is known for his notable works such as ‘Your Name’ and ‘5 Centimeters per Second,’ among others.
His works delve into deeply intricate interpersonal relationships and convey a wide range of emotions, exploring complex themes like love, distance, and time. The profound emotional connections between his characters resonate strongly with audiences. This emotional depth distinguishes his works within the animation industry, establishing him as a storyteller with a unique ability to deeply touch the hearts of his viewers.
Furthermore, his works also address contemporary societal issues, including the isolation experienced by teenagers and the impact of technological advancements on interpersonal relationships. These themes transform his work into more than just tales of touching love; they also serve as reflections of relevant issues within our modern society.
Anticipation is a key role in animation, it can be defined that before a movement, prepare for it. A good anticipation can show the great strength and mass of an object in animation.
Overlapping is the things move in parts, which means that different part of the body movement does not happen at the same time. The main part of the body moves, and the other parts drag by the main part, which cause a few seconds delay, this is called overlapping.
For the pendulum animation, I made the 2d reference first and then used Maya to create the 3d animation.
Choose a short film you would consider fits the definition of experimental. It could be from a formative or conceptual perspective, outlined in the lecture. Consider how you might present the argument using the following criteria;
• Categorisation: Genre & Sub-genre what is the works background / setting, mood / tone, theme or topic? How does it comment? Does it fit or is it unique?
• Form and Function; interpreting meaning and relating it to the format, or presentational mode (What are the artist objectives and limitations?)
• Process: The techniques, materials and technologies applied within the work and the relationships between message and medium, (Does process, technique or tool become the message?)
• Formal Elements; Use of space, composition, Light & colour, movement, rhythm, timing, pacing, transition and audio relationships. ( does the work investigate these or other formal elements?)Wells, P., 1998. Understanding animation. London: Routledge.
The link above is what I chose to start an analysis. The short film, named “Catharsis,” was described as a journey within one’s deepest thoughts by the author.
First, let’s discuss categorization. The background of this short film revolves around a girl who constructs an imaginative world while chatting with her friends. Despite the absence of dialogue, it is evident that the author aims to convey profound emotions through the play of lights and shadows, colors and music, as well as gestures and performances. “Catharsis” stands out as a unique short film that has garnered widespread praise.
Moving on to the form and function, the artist demonstrates remarkable skill in the use of color. Throughout the film, blue and red lights intermingle with yellow and purple light spots, creating a strong visual impact on the audience.
It is clear that the artist possesses a deep understanding of lighting and cinematic language, which closely relates to the expressions and physical performances of the characters. All these elements collectively represent the active workings of the human mind.
Finally, let’s consider the formal elements of the film. The setting appears relatively confined, focusing primarily on the character’s performance, as well as the interplay of light and shadow. The passage of time and the pace of the narrative are mirrored in the music and the range of movement. Another critical element in the film is the liquid flowing down from the character’s head. This particular scene, which might be considered the climax of the film, blurs the boundary between thought and reality, fantasy and reality.
Red and blue lightthe blue light spotthe red light spotliquid flows through the body
We started with the basic bouncing ball and tried to make it simple. And I learned two new words: Stretch and Squash.
Reflecting on the two classes I attended today, which covered the principles of visual language and the bouncing ball, I realized that using a sequence of line ball images to bring the ball to life was truly eye-opening for me. It has prompted me to approach line animation from different perspectives, such as a bird’s-eye view or a front view. With this, we can easily convey depth through the use of lines, employing thicker or thinner lines to represent foreground and background objects.
I first tried to draw the timeline and reference in Procreate to make sure my speed and frame were correct.
Bouncing ball
After finish the 2d animation, I move to maya to finsh my bouncing ball animation.
To build a world in Unreal Engine, I first create a new level, and then go to Window>Env. Light Mixer to add all the sky light and atmosphere into the scene.
The DirectionalLight is used to change the different time of light
different rotation of the DirectionalLight
To create an emissive material we should create a new material, multiply a colour with a parameter, and let the parameter Default Value as 1.
Using Quixel Bridge is a better way to create a world quickly. There are two ways to put the object into the scene: download and drag. Additionally, we can also use Tools>Merge Actors to quickly merge several objects and save the new one in to folder.
drag and drop objectsMerge objects
We can also open Window>Layers/World Settings/World Partition>World PArtition Editor/Levels to get the easy way to the landscape.
We can also create a new landscape by Landscape Mode and sculpt the landscape we made.
Firstly, this is the elements of art: line, shape, form, value, space, colour, and texture.
Secondly, The priciples of arts is rhythm，balance，emphasis(contrast)，proportion，gradation，harmony，variety，and movement.
With these basic elements and principles, we can focus on different cultures and appreciate how they contribute to the world’s visual expression.
For example, ‘Colorful pottery basin with dance patterns’. The dance patterns can be seen as how ancient people explored to catch the movement. by using repeated lines to illustrate visual dynamics. This can be explained that animation is basically the art of movement that is drawn. Additionally, a Wild boar painting from Cave of Altamira also shows the same result, the people at that time drew eight legs for the boar to portray the running movement.
Colorful pottery basin with dance patterns Wild boar painting from Cave of Altamira
This first week focuses on Unreal Engine fundamental theories, with the 5.2 version and Quixel Bridge plugin.
The main update of the 5.2 version is that it shows better real-time rendering, and is developed in terms of body physics and vehicle physics.
VAULT is like the library that shows the purchase things in Unreal, the difference between ‘Add to Project’ and ‘Create Project’ is that the user can directly use the latter one.
Unreal Engine public Roadmap is where we can see what updates through each version, so it’s the easiest way to find out what we need in the project.
Marketplace is good for finding available free environments, materials, plugins, characters etc.
Quixel Bridge is a desktop application that serves as a supporting tool for browsing, searching, downloading, importing and exporting Megascans assets.
Megascans is a massive online scan library of high-resolution, consistent PBR calibrated surface, vegetation and 3D scans, also including desktop applications for managing, mixing and exporting your downloaded scan data. It’s the product of 5 years of scanning and is a collaboration with top game and film studios worldwide.
Unreal Engine project structure: The structure of UE project is Project>Levels>Sub levels>Actors(objects)>Components(details)Unreal save file as a copy which named as ‘.uasset’ format.
Change measure units: Edit>Editor Prefrences>Measuring Tool Units
Window>Viewport: A handly thing to see different perspective of object.
