OUAN405 The Classical Element Evaluation

After OUAN 403, this is a good opportunity for me to apply what I have learnt from the previous module. Since we have quite a lot of time to carry on research and pre-production, the work I have done this time is more structured and professional. The four classical elements are all inspirational which I am excited to experiment with and a twenty seconds animation is such a challenge, as I have never done an animation longer than ten seconds. I decided to work digitally this time because it is not the most comfortable working method for me, which I have wanted to improve for a long time.  I hoped to be skilful in drawing digitally, be comfortable to work with computer and hopefully have more digital approaches in the future. At the beginning of the project, everything started with a few character designs and storyboard. Compare with the previous storyboards I did in the last module, I knew how to make a better storyboard that contains more important information in another word the key movements. They tell the story effectively and less babbling. The preparation is more mature and efficient which leads to a better animation. However, I do not feel there is enough research for this project and I am struggles to find relative information to support the work.

The interim crit is extremely useful for me. I am more willing to speak up and feel comfortable within a group. I have never noticed how important it is to exchange opinions between peers before I have gained so much constructive feedbacks to improve my work. It is a shame that I was not able to attend the final crit due to the delay of flight. The time management is optimistic at the beginning, everything is up to date and scheduled. During Christmas holiday I spent back in hometown, I was not working according to the designed plan because of the festive activities, which mess up the schedule. I do not regret going back to Hong Kong but next time I must follow the plan in order to be organised.

I am not good at drawing digitally and after this exercise, I believe that digital drawing is really not my area. It is very difficult for me to draw on a device that my eyes and hands are not focusing to the same direction and therefore it is hard to achieve fine lines and maintain consistency. The computer programmes really get to my nerves as I have encountered so many technical problems during the production, which leave me a depressing experience. If I could do this project again, I might try to start the production very quickly in order to get more precise outline and better overall quality of the animation. Although I did not enjoy working digitally, this is a useful experience for me to challenge my ability and push the boundary. I realised practices really can make perfects which encourage me to keep exploring the world of digital drawing.