Models Research

In the Bradford Animation festival, we had chance to look at the actual muppets they use in the film which is SUPER cool and it is very valuable to look at professional work in a very close distance. The hair, the costumes and even the material of it are done so perfectly, so much details and really realistic. 

Shapiro introduced a lot of information about the behind scene like how long it takes to finish each shoot and the time management etc and I understand it is very hard to finish a stop-motion animation. There are so much to prepare before hand like sculpting the models, prepare different facial expression parts for each characters and creating the backgrounds. It sounds so crazy that they can only film 2-3 seconds of the film per day so the animation is full of precision and patient.

Evaluation

This module is the most enjoyable and useful experience so far which is very nice to end up this year. I had the opportunity to try out different media like Maya and the ceramic model making lessons and they have broadened my eyes on the formation of models in both digital and analog. Studio brief two allow an overview of the animators in the real world. I enjoy the concept of understanding and meeting the clients’ need when creating an animation for them that really help to experience the reality of the career. I have learnt a lot of new animating techniques in After Effect for examples use 3D layers to create depth and cast shadows, investigate the use of particle playground and film the composition with different camera angle using the camera tool etc. These skills are extremely useful that I also have applied in other module and it increases my interest of animating digitally which would be approached more in next year perhaps.

I have managed the time efficiently and effectively in this module. It is because I follow the timetable that was set in the beginning of April and every scene is promptly done according to plan. I end up having more than a week before the deadline. This feels so good when being organised and provide a little more to focus on the other module. During this module, I have talked to more classmates and asked for feedbacks and comments, which were something; I was scared to do before. I soon find that is very beneficial and aid the adjustment of the animation in various perspectives. There is a significant up hill on both technical and social within a short period of time therefore I gain a lot of self-esteem and confidence in this module.

However, there are still a lot of improvements I need to commit with. For instance, I have been avoiding not to use Maya because it is really hard to understand the tools and controls which I know is needed to be faced. I hope to improve Maya skills by forcing myself to base a task on it next year. Also, I did not come to school in the spare time. Although I am more productive at home, it is important to come back and seek for advises and feedbacks from everyone. It might totally change my working style and it is important to gain constructive comments on the work.

Nevertheless, it has been the best time of the year and I enjoy the module more than I expect. It sets a firm foundation and there are a lot of experiences that are valid to apply in the next academic year. I hope there will be more challenging briefs that could provide opportunities to learn different skills or take them to an advance level so that I could be prepared for the future.

Final-Crit

We had the final crit on Monday and there was the chance to see everybody's work! There are so many strong and professional animation for the classmates and I feel so lucky to be in this class with so many talented people. I get so inspired and motivated! It is good to receive and give feedback that are constructive and could help improving the work. The comment I receive is something I never noticed, they advised that the white title should need to stand out more with a borderline or some kind of box around it. I agree totally but it is difficult to get the exact timing as the title in aftereffect so I could not create a borderline under it that sync the appearance. However, I 3D layered the title so that it casts some shallow shadows so it stands out more than before. 

Music for the animation

The last thing I need to do is to find a suitable music for my animation. I noticed that if I am using musics that are licensed, informative work needed to be done like asking for permissions or pay for the music. However, I am not going to do that since this is only for personally use. 

I want some oriental music and the first option came to my head was the original sound track of the game Journey. The music is definitely oriental and very dramatical for the game but I could not find a suitable section that could be used in the animation. I noticed calm, spiritual and oriental sort of music is what I am looking for.

I then look for some random game original sound track but they are all battle feeling and not really suitable. I do not know if there are any traditional Japanese-based video games so I decided to go for the real traditional Japanese music.

I found this eventually which has a very steady beginning which slowly lead into the main part. I am going to use this beginning part of the song (about 30 seconds) and I feel like it is the most appropriate music for the animation.

Drawing the monk

I want to included the back of the monk in the first scene to give the animation a Buddhist atmosphere which match the concept of the book. I found references online and trace the basic shapes of the picture then draw on clothes for the monk.

I coloured only the clothes and in grey and black so that it could stand out from the pink background. In the experiment, I use yellow on his robe but it blends with the surroundings so I paint shades of the tree on his shoulders so the animation is more lively and dynamic. This is so far my favourite scene because it tells a lot of story and he appears like a ghost of memory which fits the concept behind.

Transition

I try to introduce some layer effects like overlay and burn effects that can let the petals blend in more beautifully. 

It is quite important that the transition is nicely done otherwise the scenes after it might not be link together. I found a lot interesting transition in aftereffects and experiment with them.

I have made mistakes in some so the background would not show and the petals are not big enough to reach the effect I want. It can be correct by altering the birth rate of the particles and the directions.

Japanese Monk in real life

The monk ‘s happy life in Japan

deoleshowker

21-09-2011

http://myhappylife2011.blog.com/2011/09/21/the-monk-s-happy-life-in-japan/

Happy Life

 We were on the highway, will not see the Japanese monk wears goggles, large cuff floats drive heavy Mitsubishi motorcycle go by like the wind cool scene, a little regret. Japanese monk lives a wealthy, most overweight, see them riding on such a small motorcycle, I often ride a donkey Lu Zhishen funny feeling.When a monk is a promising occupatio.In China, to see monk, I am afraid not go to the temple to be. While the Japanese monk socialization degree is very deep, is a very active class.

The middle of an ordinary life, monk ‘s shadow is also often flashed during. Osaka is the biggest the gate of the subway station, a perennial atop a hat at the monks there begging for alms, regardless of the weather. This monk never speaks, but some people put their money into the bowl of the time, will knock the bell appreciation method. Large hats, the monk face cover hermetically, very let a person produce some mysterious feeling. However, a friend told me, it got so mysterious, because it is actually several monks shift, rain down, no one will notice this monk and two hours ago has not one of them. The move was excellent, if after people see a monk from the early to late, even a posture also unchanged, admiration, not giving all have to find ourselves a reason.

However, the monk in Japan so hard, not too much. In Japan, when monk is a promising occupation. Most Japanese monk a wealthy person, look on their motorbikes be leisurely and carefree look, it is not ordinary office workers are able to more than. For example, my neighbor the fat monk, don’t look at the person acting out riding a motor scooter, which is accustomed to. Lotus Temple near by fat monk house, I made a friend in real estate estimate, how also in more than 100000000 yen, to know that the Japanese Emperor ‘s daughter married a dowry, but also this number … … But he in a Japanese monk, is a ” well-off” level.

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This is a article about the daily life of a monk in Japanese in the contemporary. I understand there must be a huge difference when comparing the status of the monks in the past and now, it is very interesting to know that monk is a promising occupation in Japan. From paragraph two, the author suggests that the monks wear large hats with mysterious atmosphere, unchanging posture through a time has amazed me, what a crazy world. Since they are so mysterious, I hope to add a monk character(to indicate Kenko the author of the book) in the first part of the animation with a blurry silhouette with fade colours, sitting under the cherry blossom trees and drinks sake. Will people see monks as a respectful character? After reading this article, I am not sure how to define monk. In my point of view, monk is not an occupation and I am a bit disgusted by the way they earn money. Anyway, humans' mind is complicated then we thought and the appear of monk has also reflect the status of the society and show how strongly-bond human beings are.