Week 1 - Week 15 : 22 Apr 2024 - 4 Aug 2024 Tan Yi Yun
0345559 Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media Task 1: Design
Proposition Task 2: Project Management Task 3: Project
Presentation Task 4: Final Project
LECTURE
Mr. Asrizal and Mr. Kannan briefed us about what we should prepare for
major project. This project will be solely consultation-based. We shall
propose a topic/theme to him next week and hence, he can assign a lecturer
to each of us. Proposal should be finalised by Week 3. It is not advisable
to change a topic on Week 5 onwards, but modifications are
allowed. We should be aware that the major project should be treated similar as an
assignment. There will be an external moderator to inspect our works to see
if they meet the rubrics.
There are a few pathways to decide a theme. Firstly, we can use the
research outcome from our dissertation and devise creative solutions.
Secondly, we can find an actual client. Thirdly, we can come up with something new, but do take note of its
purpose, target audience, and the problems it aims to solve.
This time the lecturer accepts group work. However, it will be evaluated
individually. If you are an animation student, do not be too ambitious
and deviate from the timeline. Mr. Kannan encouraged us to have a vast area
of exploration before deciding on our topic. Furthermore, we should show the
though process (sketches) throughout the weeks so that it can be presented
it as "behind-the-scenes". Animation is very niche (focus on a field) - look at what's the available
positions in the industry.
Final Assessment = 50% (Presentation 10%, Final project 40%)
Things to prepare
- Prepare your concept/theme, proposal next week
- Decide to work individually/group
- Problem/Issue
INSTRUCTIONS
TASK 1 : Design Proposition
THE PRE-PRODUCTION PHASE
Research
I began with some research by looking into the art concepts I'm interested
in. I would like to try on magical/sorcery theme.
Figure 1.0, Magical/sorcery theme (reference from Pinterest)
Idea Generation
I jotted down some early idea in my sketchbook to be discussed during the
first class. My ideas #1 are generally sets in a magical world where people
use magic to fight, but there will be a little girl who stands out of the
crowd. I have written down 3 different storylines using the same setting but
I find them too lengthy to be animated.
Figure 1.1, Idea generation #1, Week 1 (22/4/2024)
Figure 1.2, Idea generation #1, Week 1 (22/4/2024)
Figure 1.3, Idea generation #1, Week 1 (22/4/2024)
Then, I came up with another idea of the little witch that grows plants.
The story can highlights several values of nature-caring, make use of
natural creatures to achieve certain needs, envious of others' success,
humanity (greed, flaunting, envy).
Figure 1.4, Idea generation #2, Week 1 (23/4/2024)
Figure 2.0, Character turnaround, Week 3 (8/5/2024)
Script
Personally I prefer transcribe my ideas into quick sketches first before
turning into a formal script. Hence, I only start doing my script after
thumbnail sketches are completed and viewed by my lecturer.
Script, Week 3 (9/5/2024)
Storyboard
I use Toon Boom Storyboard Pro to produce and animate my
storyboard.
Storyboard, Week 4 (19/5/2024)
Animatics
Animatics, Week 5 (23/5/2024)
TASK 2 : Project Management
THE PRODUCTION PHASE
Action Study and Pose Reference
Before starting animating, I took some action references from Pinterest and
YouTube. I also recorded myself doing a certain actions and 3D modeling some
scenes with high or low angles. Hence, I could refer to those from time to
time to get a more accurate and believable animation.
Figure 2.1, Action study, Week 6 (31/5/2024)
Figure 2.2, Pose reference, Week 6 (31/5/2024)
Besides, I also prepared a Gantt chart to organize my production workflow. I
classified the scenes into easy, medium and hard. This is because I wanted to
balance the task difficulty for each week, and avoided putting off the
difficult scenes in last minutes.
*I tend to be very organized as I wanna make sure all the tasks are
completed before the deadlines. No procrastination!*
Figure 2.3, Gantt chart, Week 6 (31/5/2024)
Background Art
I drew the background in Photoshop, separating each objects into
different layers to be composited in After Effects later. I would convert
my background art into black and white to check the values and distinctive shapes. A similar process was executed for
the remaining scenes.
Figure 2.4, Scene 1-Background art, Week 6 (1/6/2024)
Figure 2.5, Scene 2-Background art, Week 6 (1/6/2024)
Figure 2.6, Background art, Week 6 (2/6/2024)
The background were created larger than the display canvas, so that it
could move around without being cut off at the edges during the
compositing phase. Scene 11 features a tracking shot where the camera
moves from left to right, following the characters as they move through
the environment. To accommodate this continuous motion, the background
for Scene 11 needed to be significantly longer than the backgrounds for
other scenes. This extended background allows the camera to maintain a
smooth and steady movement without encountering the edges of the
artwork.
Figure 2.7, Background art - Scene 11, Week 7
(3/6/2024)
Animation
The background was then imported into Toon Boom Harmony. Starting with
rough poses, I sketched the basic movements and key poses, focusing on
timing and spacing. The rough sketches were refined into clean lines.
Using the chosen color palette, I then inked the cleaned-up drawings. My
animation process was summarized as below:
Figure 2.8, Animation process, Week 7 (5/6/2024)
There were 39 scenes in this animation. Each scene was animated separated
in Toon Boom Harmony.
Figure 2.9, Animation process, Week 7 (5/6/2024)
After inking, I then created a new layer for shading using the tone effect.
Figure 3.0, Shading, Week 8 (11/6/2024)
THE POST-PRODUCTION PHASE
Visual Effects
The visual effects were done in After Effects. In Scene 18, I darkened
the color of the potion by adjusting the hue and saturation. Besides,
the smoke is blended into the scene by adjusting the blending mode to
screen. In Scene 19A, the potion in the ladle is animated using
Turbulent Displace to create the wave effect.
Figure 3.1, Visual Effects - Scene 18, Week 8
(11/6/2024)
Figure 3.2, Visual Effects - Scene 19A, Week 8
(11/6/2024)
The knife slash visual effects were produced using CC Particle Systems
II. I adjusted the physics to make it a circle moving along a path. After
duplicating several slashes, I precomposed them and added a glow effect. I
also animated a glowing star effect to indicate the impact spot. Finally,
the timing was stretched to create a quick, clean slash effect.
Figure 3.3, Visual Effects - Scene 28, Week 8
(15/6/2024)
Color Correction
After each scene was animated, they were arranged in sequence and
subjected to a color correction process to enhance the overall visual
appeal and maintain a consistent style throughout the film. I applied a
series of color correction tools to adjust the brightness, contrast, and
saturation levels, ensuring that the colors appeared vibrant but
balanced.
Figure 3.4, Color correction (before and after), Week 13
(15/7/2024)
Audio List Audio editing is a crucial step to enhance the
audio quality of existing recordings or to create new ones. Hence, a
list of sound effects and music are listed down in a Google sheet to
determine which audio should be present in a particular scene.
Audio List, Week 11 (1/7/2024)
I recorded the sounds using Voice Memos in my phone, taking advantage of
its convenient portability and good audio quality. For various sound
effects, I utilized everyday objects found around my home. For instance, I
rubbed the plastic bag to create the friction of opening a plastic sachet,
while the creaking sound of a door was captured as I slowly opened and
closed it. Additionally, I incorporated the sounds of my own body by
knocking my knuckles against a table or thumping my fist to produce a
thud. The rest of the audios were taken from Freesound and Pixabay.
Figure 3.5, Self-recording, Week 12 (11/7/2024)
To begin with audio editing, I imported the audio files into Adobe
Audition. I labelled and renamed the audio files to make them easily
accessible. For the self-recorded audio, I made sure to reduce the noise
using Noise Reduction. The following steps were to listen to each clip and
trimmed the desired part to sync with the actions.
The common effects I had applied includes Reverb, Pitch Shifter, Flanger/
Chorus, Hard Limiter, and Parametric Equalizer. Besides, I also adjusted
panning to move the sound left or right in the stereo field, so that a
sense of direction and space in the audio environment could be
created.
Figure 3.6, Audio Editing, Week 12 (11/7/2024)
In certain scenes like the fighting scene above, I applied sound
layering to enhance the overall storytelling experience. Sound
effects like light beam and bass drop were layered with the epic
music in the background.
Figure 3.7, Audio Editing, Week 12 (11/7/2024)
In the final step, the visual sequences and audio were compiled and
exported in a video format.
TASK 3 : Project Presentation
We had a physical presentation on Week 11. All lecturers were presented
in the hall and gave me some feedback.
Proposal - Week 11
Art Book
I compiled the process of making the animation "Grow" in a book. I used
InDesign to arrange the texts and images. Then, I published the art
book online and also bound it into a physical book. This concept art
book serves as a window into the creative process behind “Grow." Spend
some time to read this book as you will find a collection of sketches,
designs, and visual concepts that bring the world of “Grow” to life.
I spent the remaining weeks to prepare my merchandise. I had a lot of
idea in mind, however, reality hit hard, and I had to narrow down my
choices.
Die-cut sticker
I drew my characters in a cute style. Then, I created the outer line in
Adobe Illustrator. I arranged the stickers in A3 to be printed out later.
I chose to coat a sparkling lamination to get a special
texture.
Figure 3.8, Stickers mockup, Week 14 (24/7/2024)
Figure 3.9, Sticker arrangement in Adobe Illustrator, Week 14
(24/7/2024)
The acrylic stand is approximately 15cm(H) x 10cm(W).
Figure 5.5, Acrylic stand mock up, Week 14 (25/7/2024)
Figure 5.6, Acrylic stand (physical), Week 16 (5/8/2024)
Art card
I took screenshots from my original animation and resized them to be
printed as art cards. I also created a new scene (vintage style) by
incorporating elements from my slide design into an art card.
Figure 5.7, Art cards, Week 16 (5/8/2024)
Figure 5.8, Art cards, Week 16 (5/8/2024)
Booth Display
I printed a 80cm(H) x 55cm(W) standee on quality foamboard, and planned
to display it beside my booth.
Figure 5.9, Standee, Week 15 (1/8/2024)
Figure 6.0, Standee, Week 15 (1/8/2024)
Figure 6.1, Poster and art book snippets, Week 16
(7/8/2024)
Figure 6.2, Art cards preparations, Week 16
(7/8/2024)
Figure 6.3, Name card (info), Week 16 (7/8/2024)
Figure 6.4, Name card (art), Week 16 (7/8/2024)
Figure 6.5, Name card (physical), Week 16 (7/8/2024)
I also spent a few days at Taylor's to work do laser cutting. It was not
my first time doing laser cutting and engraving on woods and acrylics as I
had some experience to produce keychains for my orchestra club.
Laser cut, Week 16 (6/8/2024)
Laser cut, Week 16 (6/8/2024)
Figure 6.6, Engraving on acrylic, Week 16 (7/8/2024)
Figure 6.7, Engraving on acrylic, Week 16 (7/8/2024)
Figure 6.8, Engraving on acrylic, Week 16 (7/8/2024)
Acrylic art with light, Week 16 (8/8/2024)
Behind-the-scenes of assembling the acrylic art, Week 16 (8/8/2024)
Figure 7.1, Group photo on Day 3, Week 16 (11/8/2024)
FEEDBACK
Week 2 :
Try to fit in the theme "equality" into the story to join the
competition. Produce more visuals to show on next class.
Week 3 :
Make Miu taller than Myra since Miu is 2 years elder than Myra. For the
environment design (interior of Myra's house), do take note on the
setting of the design, can make it more old & ancient looking. Hayao
Miyazaki's work - Yubaba's office is a great reference. The key artwork
looks fine, just make the title "Grow" more readable by arranging "O" in
the middle, acts as the container. The side characters may appear as a
subtle silhouette at the back. Since the three characters have different
height, you can add a table or make Bubu sits on one's shoulder.
Normally long shot is needed to show all the characters of different
heights.
Week 4 :
Do take note on the design of the layout of animation, always try to
achieve rules of third so that the composition looks more
appealing. Besides, you can follow the 180-degree rule to show the
left/right relationship of the different subject matter. In certain
scenes, you can pause and hold a bit longer to play with the characters'
change of emotions. Some scenes like Myra at her study table may be
removed since it doesn't serve a good purpose to the storyline. The story
structure is considered good, as long as the 3-act structure is applied in
a short animation (2-3mins). Can explore on other story structures for
longer animation during your free time.
Week 5 :
The plant stopped growing at Panel 8. Make sure the continuation of Panel
11. Don't hold too long at the end of Scene 15 - make it a transition. You
can decide where to add fade in or not during the post-production stage
later. Add close-up on her face after she takes the book (camera moves up
and focus on her evil face). She should be enjoying doing the potion.
Maybe can hold a bit longer on Panel 19, showing the results, the feeling
of "finally" showing on her face. In Scene 21, can add exaggeration on the facials (evil laugh) before she
realize something's went wrong. Scene 23 can be moved to behind Scene 21
to show how the veins move, as it breaks the pace. Don't reveal Miu yet on
Scene 27, keep it as a shadow, then only reveal them at Scene 30. Keep
Scene 34 longer, and make the ending more slow pace.
Week 6 :
Scene 2 - You can saturate the tree branches at the background a little
bit more (during post-production later, if you have time) Scene 3 -
It's better to show the outside of the scene through the window. The
silhouette of the foreground is too blur, make it less blur and play with
a clearer/detailed silhouette. Maybe can remove the plant on the top right
corner, just play with the objects on table. Scene 37 - The
camera moves too fast, do hold it 3 seconds for the first panel. Then,
adjust the curves of the camera peg to add more slow in & slow
out.
Good progress, you've reached 10% of the entire progress.
Week 7 :
Scene 3, 7, 9 and 12 is good.
Scene 11 character already walking before the camera zoom in. When Miu
kneels down, can hold for another 6-12 frames. The walk cycle is
good.
The ending part is good. So far the quality is good, just need to speed
up the process and try your best to submit for the competition.
Week 8 :
No consultation due to professional development week.
Week 9 :
Scene 8 - Looks okay, can move the pupil to right to focus on the
leaf. Scene 11 - You can make the fruits swing especially when the
pot are placed on the ground, add drop shadow on the ground. If you have
time, you can add shadows on the characters. Scene 16 - The BG
can be less lighter to create more contrast. The light can make it bright
and solid, it may look better without blending mode. Scene
18_19_19A - This one is good. Scene 20 - Bring the character closer
to the pot because there is a lack of continuity of the spoon and the
position of Myra's hand. Maybe you can just cut the scene. The first scene
focuses on the liquid and zoom in the pot. Then zoom out for the second
shot, reduce the angle of the pot. Scene 21 - The second one of the
smiling mouth, make it lesser. On the last expression, you can rotate the
eyebrow as well to make things more noticeable. You can make the head
tilted higher if you have time. Scene 22 - Good. Can make it slower to make the slow-mo effect. Scene 24 - Can make it tighter. Scene 24A - Can shrink right away, no need to wait first. Scene 26 - Can make the veins move a bit, to indicate the slow-mo
effect.
Week 10 :
Scene 10 - You can add more expression on the worm by making the eye
shaking, and add mouth to the worm to show expression. Make it glow more
and add blur at the edge of the magical element. Scene 15 - Good. Scene
25 - Good. Scene 27- Add more contrast, make the background brighter. Scene 30- Let the right vein drops faster.
Good
progress.
Week 11 :
Mr. Kannan suggests to take reference from anime to add action line,
split screens, or make minor adjustments on certain angle to make the
scene looks more dynamic. Overall it's good progress. Can also add certain
scenes like the evil eye/mouth when Myra is preparing the potion
pot.
Week 12 :
The animation title can hold a bit longer (around 3 seconds). Just
finishing up the audio and prepare for submission. You can play around
with transitions for the trailer and end at the exciting part.
REFLECTION
Words cannot describe how I experienced the journey of creation. It was
ambitious in the beginning, dreaming of creating something impactful,
touching people, and being visually stunning and mesmerizing. In Week 2,
when we were informed that we should create an animation revolving around
“Equality” to prepare for a contest submission, I knew my narration
couldn’t be too abstract (even though I initially wanted to make it an
open ending). I wished I could do something creative and illusional like
my peers in the UK.
I insisted on delving into the genre of magic and fantasy, inspired by
animations like Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Fairy Tail, and Spirited
Away. Animation is wonderful because we get to craft fantastical worlds,
exaggerate expressions, and create limitless actions. However, the actual
process of creating animation is very carefully planned. A solo animation
project sounds impossible to complete in 2 months (excluding the idea
generation phase and the exhibition preparation month).
After re-crafting the storyline and project timeline, a film of 2 minutes
and 30 seconds would be my limit. In the tug-of-war between quality film
and usage of time, I had to keep the marker in the designated area.
Keeping myself motivated was the key to getting through the production
phase. I set up goals for every day and every week, set countless alarms
to keep track of time, and suffered sleepless nights because my brain was
too active. Once all the animation scenes on my Gantt chart turned green,
it was time to slightly relax and move on to the post-production phase.
Audio recording and editing took the entire week since I had to produce
the soundscape for a silent film. I wished I could make my own music
instead of searching through Freesound and Pixabay. My body was screaming,
and in the end, I was still seeking help from free sources and recorded
some random sounds to edit in Audition. After submitting the animation to
the competition, I took a few days' break (but was still working on
another animation project). Then, I prepared some merchandise for the
exhibition. It was a hectic month of preparing merchandise because I
recreated most of the drawings instead of reusing the original animation.
Thankfully, the merchandise arrived safely, and the quality met my
standards. I also took this opportunity to produce a physical art book of
“GROW.”
I was glad that everything I learned in the previous semesters had been
helpful for this project. Multiple software programs like Photoshop,
Illustrator, Procreate, Blender, Toon Boom Harmony, Storyboard Pro, After
Effects, Premiere Pro, Audition, and InDesign were utilized to complete
this MAJOR project. Not to mention, I also enjoyed the process of laser
cutting and clay modeling. I laser-cut my QR codes on plywood and art on
an acrylic board at Taylor’s. The process of cutting and assembling parts
together was very satisfying.
I really appreciated the guidance from Mr. Kamal, my supervisor, and the
other lecturers who gave me invaluable feedback during the presentation
week. I hope I can stay motivated to produce more animation with different
styles in the future.
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