Animation Semester Reflection

Over the following semester, we have been creating several things. Today, we were asked to reflect on our favorites. Here are mine.

1. Walk Animation

In this project, I learned how to shade in Photoshop, and that moving the limbs of characters is a lot harder than one may think. You have to move the opposite arm and leg, alternating between them, and make sure the rhythm of the movement isn't off. I chose this project because I am so extremely proud of how Metal Girl looks. She's fully shaded, anatomically sound, and the metal blades on various parts of her body actually look like metal.  Not to mention, this was the first video that I got to incorporate my characters into. I think the best part of this animation was how Metal Girl looks, but the worst part of it is the background, which looks quite out-of-place in comparison to the style of the character. I'm going to use this knowledge of how to make characters walk for my upcoming web series, Dank Meme Warriors. I will also use my new knowledge of how to shade in Photoshop for the official character portraits in my upcoming book series In My Element, among other things. If I were to change anything, I would most definitely use a different background and not just a screenshot from an NES game. In conclusion, I feel like this project showcased how beautiful I can make my characters look and how smoothly I can make them move.


2. Maya Castle

This was our second project using Maya, a 3D modeling software. I learned how to use booleans to make more complicated shapes and how to apply textures to objects. The only reason I chose this project is because we had to choose 2 Maya projects to reflect upon, and one of them is one that I am NOT proud of. I will use what I have learned to make appealing and detailed things in Maya for this class. The best thing about my castle is that it actually turned out decent. Throughout my project, I had no idea how to do a lot of the things due to my terrible memory, so I had to get others to help me on several occasions. However, my castle is a little basic. If there was anything I would change, it would be adding more things to make it stand out. In conclusion, this castle was very difficult, but I am so proud of it.


3. Polything

Going from one Maya project to another, the Polything was our first attempt at using lighting. I learned how to use lighting in Maya, for the most part. I also had some more practice with booleans and making complex shapes. I chose this project because it's the Maya project I'm most proud of. It's so beautiful! I will use what I have learned to make equally beautiful things in Maya. I believe that while I could work on the lighting, the shape and the way the light shines off of it are spectacular. If I could change anything, I'd make the light a little brighter. In conclusion, this is the best thing I've made in Maya thus far.


4. Multiplane Animation
This animation, which I have dubbed "Moonscape" was not only a project that I learned a lot from, but also an opportunity to sneak in references to astronomy, mythology, and pop culture. I learned what a multiplane animation entails, and that the things in the back must be shorter and move slower than the things in the front.  I chose this project because I'm proud of not only how it moves, but all the things I was able to sneak in there. The best thing about this animation is the smooth animation, but I do think it could have been shaded more. Again, I will use this skill when making multiplane animations for my upcoming web series Dank Meme Warriors. If I would change anything, I'd take some time to shade everything. Overall, this animation is truly "out of this world".


5. Story Animation

Finally we come to my In My Element Story Animation, which I consider to be my magnum opus. I learned not only how to put audio into an AfterEffects animation, but also how to use the various skills I have learned to create something beautiful. I chose this project because it is the greatest thing I have created in this class- beautiful, quirky, lighthearted, smooth, heartwarming, and educational. The best things about this animation are the character designs and the voice work. However, there were a few slip-ups, such  as the beginning when Argentia's mouth movements didn't match up to her lips and when Courtney had to have her mouth covering up a clear spot at all times even when she was talking. If I was to change anything, it would be those slip-ups. I will use everything I have learned here not only for my class, but for my own independent projects. In conclusion, this is the gold standard of my animations, that will lead the way for sodium many good animations. It may be a little silicon, and it could be ironed out a little, but as it is, it shows that for me, animations are serious bismuth.

Thanks for reading this, everyone. See you in 2018!
-Madeline

ONW Now- Sophomore Edition

For our final video project of 2017, we were asked to create an ONW Now news segment with other kids in our class. I was one of the two news anchors, the other one being my best friend. I also was asked to do a story about the underclassman play.

The story about the underclassman play wasn't all mine- my best friend helped out. I gave her questions to ask the director as well as information about the underclassman play, and I also helped her get B-roll. At first, I thought that the day she got B-roll would be a day where everyone came, however, I read the schedule wrong, and I wasn't needed that day. I came anyway to see if my friend would get her B-roll, but later she said that I should "go home, do something productive, and pet a dog". So I went home. Later on, I acquired more responsibilities as the anchor.

I learned, for the most part, what being a news anchor entails. It's harder than it looks- you have to smile and speak clearly all while stating the information and looking respectable. I also learned that getting B-roll of a play is easier said than done, especially when you're using the Cursed Tripod.

Next time, I should give myself more work to do, as I believed I didn't have enough to do in this project. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this project and can't wait for Entertainment next semester!

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Story Animation

All of my animation career has led up to this moment.
An animation made by me with an actual plot.


Our final project to conclude our 2D Animation unit was an animation with a story, and from the moment it was announced, I was psyched for this project! As I have stated before, I have a metric ton of characters, both fan characters and completely original ones, so deciding who to use was very difficult. In the end, I settled on characters from my upcoming book series In My Element. In My Element is a series starring humanized versions of periodic table elements who live on a secret island known as Mendelevia, which is concealed from humans. So, now that you understand what the basic gist of the series is, I'll give you a brief rundown of the plot of this animation.

We start at the Central Nucleus Diner, the best (and only) diner in Mendelevia. Carly Buckley, our main character (who represents carbon) works as a waitress there. In the first scene, Carly asks the Geld sisters (who represent the Group 11 metals) what they would like to order, and Argentia Geld (who represents silver) places an extremely specific order. In the next scene, Phoebe Andersen (who represents phosphorus) states that she wants a Coca-Cola. Carly then explains that they only have Pepsi products, but Phoebe threatens Carly with a match and demands a Coke. Then, Courtney Kobold (who represents cobalt) orders 7 plays of What's New Pussycat, then 1 of It's Not Unusual, followed by another 13 of What's New Pussycat (a reference to the John Mulaney skit "The Salt and Pepper Diner). Of course, this makes Carly angry. Later, Carly is walking over to the Halogena family (who represent the halogens) to give them their food, but she trips and drops their food. Flo Halogena (who represents fluorine), the de facto leader of the Halogenas, demands they all attack Carly to get revenge, and they all beat her up. After that madness, Carly goes home, tired and grumpy after all she's been through, only to find that her brother Sidney Buckley (who represents silicon) had heard her day wasn't going well and baked her a cake. And with that, it ends.

I have to say, this went a lot better than I expected. Aside from the occasional animation error, it looks great, and all the characters turned out just like I imagined them. I've learned a lot about how to use AfterEffects to create an animation with a story. I did have to overcome some obstacles- for instance, every time I edited a new scene, I had to extend the length of the layer from 0:15 to 1:54- but it did turn out fine. I learned a lot from this, and this is the first time I've made an animation with a coherent plot, so I looks forward to doing more things like this in the future.

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Feature Story 2: Electric Boogaloo

Now, I had to work with a team to create this video, and my best friend Tate and I worked together to make this. Our group decided to do our feature story on the French class and the Paris trip, and I went along with it even though I wasn't in French. The first thing we did was we went down to the French room to film some B-roll, which was pretty alright. Then, Tate and I put the B-roll and the video footage together. Tate then recorded narration. 

I have to say we did pretty well with this. While this isn't our best work, it's not our worst, either. We could have done better with balancing out the audio, however.

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Multiplane Animation

This week in Animation, we made multiplane animations. Multiplane animation is when you use several layers of animation and move them all separately to create a feeling of depth. It was invented in 1957 by Walt Disney, and he did it using a special device called the multiplane camera, which he and his crew invented. Back then, animations were made using transparent celluloid sheets with drawings on them and large glass frames with cameras above them so they could take a picture of each frame. Then they put the frames together to create an animation. It was a long process, and because of this, old animation studios looked like factories because of how many people it took to draw so many frames.

Now, we don't need to do that anymore because we've got computers! My class made our multiplane animation using Photoshop's multiple layers and AfterEffects' instant motion tweening. I put mine on the moon, because I thought that had a lot of creative possibilities. The first thing I did was draw the earth in the background. Most people in my group put the sun there, but since mine is on the moon, I thought the earth would be more fitting. Then, I created 3 layers of a moonscape, all in different shades of gray, and then added craters on each layer. Then, I added details. On the front layer, I added the Moon Rabbit (a white rabbit from Japanese folklore that lives on the moon, making rice cake) and Majora from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, who lives inside the moon. On the middle layer, I added the American flag from the Apollo 11 (complete with footsteps that will never go away due to the moon having no wind) and Desmond the Moon Bear (from TomSka's "asdfmovie" videos). On the back layer I added a lunar rover and, of course, the one named Sailor Moon! Then I trimmed down the back and middle layers to make them shorter, put them into AfterEffects, and made them move across the screen. And that is how I made my multiplane animation!

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Walk Cycle Animation

Throughout the past 2 weeks, we made a walk cycle animation. Since we weren't skilled enough to make the legs bend, we just didn't bother. Because of this, the instructor recommended we use robots. Now, I have several OCs that are robots, so it was a difficult decision, but I decided to go with Metal Girl, a grumpy and emotional android girl who throws razor blades, is the daughter of Metal Man from Mega Man 2, and is generally Very Edgy™. I sketched her on paper, then drew over it in Photoshop. Also using Photoshop, I separated her arms and legs from the rest of her body, colored her using Metal Man's official art as a base, and shaded her using the Sad Italian- I mean, Burn tool. I worked especially hard on shading the razor blades on her head, shoulders, boots, gloves, and in her hair to make them look metallic. Then, I put Metal Man's stage in the background, put it in AfterEffects, and started animating! The animation went as smoothly as I imagined, and soon enough, I was done.

Most importantly, I learned how to to take a photo of a drawing and draw over it in Photoshop. I also learned how to use the Sad Italian- I mean, Burn tool (no seriously, look at the Burn tool's icon) and how to animate a character walking semi-realistically in AfterEffects.

See why I call it the "Sad Italian" tool?

I think I did best on the character drawing and the actual walking animation. For someone who hasn't shaded digital art before, I find it relatively impressive. And while the walking animation does look like a wind-up doll, that was sort of the intention, since she IS a robot. What I could improve on is giving the background more depth, instead of just using a screenshot from a NES game.

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Feature Story

For the past few weeks in Video Production, we had to do an interview video. My group decided to interview me, since out of the 4 of us, I had the most issues to talk about. On the first day of this project, Mr. Cooper asked everyone to share their story. I talked about my Asperger's Syndrome and how it has affected my life. This ended up being the topic of our interview. The filming process was, put simply, tedious. We originally filmed on Thursday of the first week, but because of one of my group members losing all the footage, we had to reshoot the entire thing. After that was all complete, I chose some relaxing Kirby music to play in the background, and I added B-roll.

Technologically, I learned how to use B-roll, sync up two audio clips better, how to use a clip-on microphone, and how to look like you're playing Mega Man on a PC when you really are just watching a video of someone playing it. I also learned about teamwork, how to not be such a drama queen when it comes to how quickly my videos are made, and how to act when I'm interviewed.

If there's anything I could have done better, it's the decision to use subtitles instead of narration. The only reason I didn't use narration is because it seems a little weird for the interviewee to narrate it at all, let alone refer to herself in the third person. I believe I did an excellent job on editing the B-roll and selecting the right music, though.

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Inchworm Animation

This week was a great one. Why? We got to animate something that wasn't a bouncing ball! YAY! This was our second project this year, and we learned how to use the Puppet Pin tool. So, without further ado, here it is. My inchworm animation.

In this project, we had to create an inchworm and an environment for him to be in using Photoshop, and then make him crawl across the screen using AfterEffects. I made an alien planet covered in thick clouds of gas, some purple grass, and a brightly colored alien worm. The Puppet Pin tool was very easy to get the hang of, and I managed to get it done rather quickly.

I learned how to use the Puppet Pin tool and how to animate something that isn't a bouncing ball. I also learned about subcompositions, parent layers, and how to make shadows.

Overall, I think it turned out nicely! The worm and alien planet both look appealing, the animation is smooth, and the shading looks natural. Overall, I'm happy with how this turned out and am SUPER psyched for the next project- a character walk cycle!

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Bouncing Ball III

This week in Animation, we worked on our first real project of the year, which was to animate- gasp!- a bouncing ball. As if we didn't have enough of those already. But this time, we did something a little different than we did the last few times. Instead of animating everything in Photoshop- which is what I have been doing both for school and for the videos I make in my free time- we simply made the layers in Photoshop, then imported everything into AfterEffects and animated it there. Animating in AfterEffects is like animating in Photoshop, but it's a lot smoother. (However, I don't think I'm going to use AfterEffects for my private animations, because a) I don't have it and b) for me, old habits die hard.) Everything was rather simple and moved smoothly, and I enjoyed it.

What did I learn from this? Well, first of all, I learned how to use AfterEffects. AfterEffects was completely alien to me and I had quite a few difficulties trying to figure it out, but in the end, I managed to make something good. I also learned more about squash and stretch as well as how to make something look 3D in Photoshop.

How did it go? Well, I think it went pretty well. I chose to put the ball in a field at night, as opposed to during the day, which led to the use of several dark and subdued colors. These colors created a beautiful contrast with the ball. The movement is fluid as well, and it bounces in an arc like it would in real life. However, if there's one think I could improve on, it's the speed. The ball's bouncing seems a bit slow, so I'll try to make it faster next time.

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Science Procedures

Ahhhh! After 10,000 years I'm free! (And by 10,000 years, I mean, like 4 months) It's time to conquer Earth- I mean, make videos!

So, in Video Production, we were supposed to make a video about procedures, and my best friend Tate and I decided to do science lab procedures. Here's our video:

The first day we didn't get anything done due to our failure to operate a camera. But on the second day, we filmed everything. Originally, we had dialogue, but since we forgot to turn on the audio while recording, we had to voice over the only line we thought was worth keeping ("Man, forget about this! Let's pour napalm all over the auditorium!") and left everything else to be communicated via our expressions.

Recording day was a blast, I tell you. Not only did I get to mug for the camera and do a thumbs-up on two occasions, I also got to run off with Tate to pour napalm all over the auditorium, watch Tate eat paper and hold up Wilson the Wombat (who is now our unofficial mascot) in the Circle of Life pose, put my hand on a hot plate without flinching, drink sulfuric acid, and play dead on the floor.

I learned, for the most part, how to operate a camera. Before this, we recorded things on iPads, so this was my first experience with a camera. I also learned that my best friend and I can indeed get a lot of things done in 1 class period, and that Wilson the Wombat is the answer to life, the universe, and everything.

Historical Animation

Yesterday, we studied the history of animation and watched classic cartoons like Steamboat Willie and Gertie the Dinosaur. Today, we were asked to find something historical from animation online and explain its significance. I chose an old Betty Boop short called "Red Hot Mamma".

The short begins with Betty trying to sleep during a snowstorm, but she can't sleep because of how cold it is and decides to make a fire in the fireplace. However, the fireplace ends up making it TOO hot, and the fireplace turns into a portal to hell. Then Betty falls into the portal, and ends up in hell where a group of demons are doing their usual mischievous things. Then she sings a song, and then the devil himself appears and turns up the heat until she's surrounded by fire. Then, the devil and a group of demons surround her. She freezes the demons by literally giving them the cold shoulder, and freezes the devil by giving him a literal icy glare. This ends up freezing over hell, and soon she ends up in her house, with the fire having subsided. She then gets back into bed and throws a bunch of blankets over herself. 

This short was clever and fun, and I loved it. The concept is genius and the exaggerated animation and visual puns are very enjoyable. Betty Boop was one of the first cartoon icons to go into more mature territory, which is what led to her popularity and iconic nature. Overall, this short was a joy to watch.

4th Quarter Reflection

My 4th quarter project was exhilarating but fun. My group's product was called the Lingua, and it was a microphone that could translate languages accurately and quickly. Usually, it took us a while to get anywhere with our projects, since CERTAIN members of the group were always lollygagging, but we ended up doing them in the end. One of the big challenges I faced was that I was one of 2 people who were trying to take this seriously, and the one who declared himself the so-called leader of our team was always lollygagging and never got any work done. And while I did make very practical animations and designed the logo, things usually would end up devolving into chaos, as shown by how chaotic our commercial was:

However, I learned along the way that marketing something is pretty easy, and making logos is far easier than I thought. I also learned that making a good commercial is difficult, especially when you have 3 different people to work with (and in the case of one of them, working with him was like trying to herd cats). The feedback we were given was simple. While my work was greatly appreciated, others pointed out that our commercial was far too chaotic or something of that nature. Next time, I hope I don't get paired with people whose ideas clash with my own like that. But I guess that's how group projects are. Group projects are like a game of chance: you roll the dice and see who you get. Sometimes, you get a good group, other times, you get a not-so-good group. However, I believe that my work in 4th quarter was quite phenomenal. Here are some examples of things I did:

In this quarter, I was sure to use my time in class well.  I made sure to make every minute count. Only when I was done with all that I needed to do did I look at funny pictures online. When I was done early, I'd look back over what I had and see what else I could add. Outside of class, I tend to use Photoshop a lot in order to explore what it can really do, so I can better my skills in this class.

As a student in e-Communications and as an employee, I have many strengths. One of them is my artistic talent and endless fountain of good ideas. I tend to think outside the box and see things more creatively, which helps me with projects like this. My knowledge of technology is another good point, considering my ability to use computers well is important in this class. I maximize my strengths by using them more and more, and that way, I can get better the more I do these things.

Areas I have in need of improvement include my ability to work as a member of a group. Yes, I CAN work with others, but when having to deal with someone like Mr. Lollygagger, I blew my top one too many times. I'm known to be slightly temperamental, and with him being the "leader" of our group and still not doing anything, I got angry to the point of crying at one point. However, my mom said that learning to deal with people like him is normal, and I think I should work on that.

This semester was an exciting semester. What I loved most was the Video Production we learned in Quarter 3, which was unbelievably fun. What I would do differently is fix the system of grouping used for our group project, because while you said you grouped us via our MBTI personalities, we were of completely different MBTI groups. I know that the intent was to have two introverts and two extroverts, but still. I have learned several things in this semester that I am most definitely using in the future, and I hope that next year, I can create more complex animations. As for my final thoughts? Well, in short, I'm glad I chose this 21st Century Program. It's well worth having to change schools for it, and it's definitely better than taking regular classes at East.

Product Project- The First Rotation

DAWN OF THE FIRST ROTATION 

3 ROTATIONS REMAIN.

So for the Product Project, we were supposed to come up with a product and advertise it. My group came up with the Lingua, a microphone that could translate things super accurately. We then split up to do our jobs: Riley and Evan did the 3D modeling, Hannah made the website, and I made the animation. So here is what I made.

I put a lot of effort into this. Like, a lot of effort. I spent several days procrastinating and procrastinating but finally it is complete. I now it's cheesy and all, but it's the best I can do.

Return of the Dreamweaver

Our project was to make a website using Dreamweaver using instructions on Google Classroom. Now, this time, Dreamweaver cooperated more and didn't hate me. I learned several skills that I could use for future web projects. 

There were many different colors for us to use, but they were similar, so they harmonized well with each other. The way the text was laid out also turned out very appealing. And I actually was the first one done, so that speaks volumes of how well I caught on. We had to follow the directions precisely. 

Most importantly, I learned how to code for a website. This will likely come in handy in the future. It's surprisingly easy to do it on Dreamweaver. 

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Chase Sequence

This week we made chase scenes. This is mine. I know that I magically changed my sweatshirt at one point, but if you just ignore that, you can appreciate it and all the work I put into it. The background music I used was "Duel of the Fates" from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It really captures the hectic nature of the chase.

I had a lot of fun with this project. And, so ends my video making for Video Production- until next year!

The Apple

So, in order to determine whether we were sensing or intuitive, we had to write about a picture of an apple that our teacher showed us. This is what I wrote. 

"The apple is shiny and mostly red with yellow too. It probably tastes really sweet, and crispy as well. Probably a little tart also. It is the same kind of apple that my mom keeps buying even though she knows I like Red Delicious apples best. It is the kind of apple that I used in my Disney Princess Interview video. It also reminds me of the Leppa Berry in Pokemon."

The Myers-Briggs Test- My Results

We took the Myers-Briggs test yesterday, and my personality type turned out to be Introverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving, or ISFP. To quote the test itself:

"More in touch with the reality of their senses than their INFP counterparts, ISFPs live in the here and now. Their impulses yearn to be free, and are often loosed when others least expect it. The ISFP who continually represses these impulses feels 'dead inside' and may eventually cut and run."

Basically, ISFPs are impulsive and act on their emotions. They are very charming, and tend to find organized education to be boring. They enjoy honing a favored skill for the joy of the experience, not for practice. They are known for outbursts of emotion and acting on impulse. Famous ISFPs include Marilyn Monroe, Britney Spears, Ulysses S. Grant, Paul McCartney, and Marie Antoinette.

This is extremely fitting, as I have been known for outbursts of emotion. Often times, I act on impulse. When I repress my impulses, I feel dead inside. I love doing things just for the fun of it and not to practice. And, yes, I think that school can be a little boring.

The Animal Test- My Results

We took the Animal Test today, and we found out which of four animals we were. I am apparently a Golden Retriever- loyal, friendly, calm, and very sensitive. Golden Retrievers typically have deep relationships, but only with a couple of close friends, and just want to be loved more than anything else. However, they are indecisive and way too soft on other people. 

I have to say, this couldn't fit more. I am loyal and friendly, and maybe a little too dependent on others. I'm very relaxed, but I am very indecisive. I'm also way too soft, and just want to be loved. I have only a few close friends, but those friends are friends I am very attached to. And, ironically, I own a Golden Retriever in real life! 

I couldn't be more pleased with my results in the Animal Test. And, hey, maybe this is why I'm so attached to my own dogs- because I am one! 

Woof, woof!

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Escape from the Exploding Building

This is a film I made for my A to B project with help from my friend Ryan. (He was the camera man.) Unlike my previous short film, "A Disney Princess Interview", this one is actually good. The general plot consists of "the building is going to blow up and our hero needs to escape". 

I did a lot of sprinting while filming this, and it was a workout, I tell you! The music was the escape music from Super Metroid, which I chose because it plays when the planet you are on is about to explode. I also used stock explosion sound effects. The cinematography is, again, very strong, and it was well-executed.

Now, I know how to make something more engaging and better than "A Disney Princess Interview". I had fun making this and can't wait to do other projects in Video Production!

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- A Disney Princess Interview

This is a terribly acted, terribly written skit performed by me and my partner Brianna for my Six Shots Project. Well, I guess YouTube is where the poop is, after all. It stars Snow White (me) and Belle (Brianna) talking about their princes, animals, and apples.

The cinematography is its main redeeming quality, incorporating all 6 shots I discussed earlier. If there is one thing I did fantastically on, it was that. And it was the thing we were supposed to do.

Next time, I'll try to make something a lot less cringeworthy. But, despite how cringey it turned out to be, I enjoyed making it.

The Six Shots- Practice

Today we learned about the six shots- closeup, extreme closeup, wide shot, extreme wide shot, middle shot and over-the-shoulder. These shots are used all the time in film and television, and since I am currently in Video Production, it makes sense that we would have learned these. Then, our teacher  asked us to take pictures demonstrating said shots. Here are mine:

Closeup. And yes, this is what I look like.

Extreme closeup. My eyes look good, but my pimples do not.

Wide shot.

Extreme wide shot.

Medium shot. Yes, I am wearing a Kirby T-shirt.

Over-the-shoulder.