One of the many Draw the Squad memes I created in my free time, starring the Dank Meme Warriors.
This year has been an amazing year in Animation. I learned so many things, strengthened so many friendships, and made so many Draw the Squad memes whenever I didn't have work to do. Today, I am going to reflect upon my time in Animation this year and what it was that made it so great.
Valuable Takeaways
My magnum opus, the In My Element animation.
I learned a valuable takeaway from each of eComm's five guarantees: Technology, Collaboration, Communication, Project Management, and Leadership. For Technology, I learned how to use Maya and Adobe AfterEffects, which is important because it taught me an easier way to animate and a way to animate in 3D. I also learned how to use the Burn and Dodge tools in Photoshop and how to trace paper-and-pencil drawings in Photoshop, which I have since used for my digital art. faced many challenges when it came to both; for AfterEffects, when I was working on my In My Element animation, I originally did not know how to extend the time bar for all the frames, which is why Argentia's mouth doesn't match what she is saying. In Maya, I had many challenges when it came to applying textures, but I eventually learned how to do it. In terms of Collaboration, I had to work with others for the final project. Usually, I'm not very good in group projects because I am autistic and have a hard time socializing with people, but in this group project I managed very well. It helped that two of the people in my group were people I already knew and was friends with. I learned that working on something is ten times more fun when someone else is also working on it with you. In terms of Communication, I have learned even more about how to write engaging and professional blog posts such as the one you are reading right now. In terms of Project Management, I have learned to manage my time wisely and complete projects quickly and effectively. In the second quarter alone, I was so effective with my time management that I ended up having enough spare time to create seven different Draw the Squad memes. I made it my goal to make the most of every second. Finally, in terms of Leadership, I learned how to be my own boss and take charge of my own work.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Another animation I'm extremely proud of- this bottle of Falcon Punch!
My greatest strength is my determination. Once I get an idea for a project, nothing can stand in my way. I will make every second count until it is done. Due to my autism, I am notoriously stubborn, but stubbornness goes hand in hand with determination and refusal to give up. This is why I often complete projects so quickly. However, this undying determination is offset by my tendency to be easily distracted if a project is NOT something I would be interested in. However, nowadays, if a project doesn't sound interesting, I still try to complete it to the best of my ability as soon as possible, so I can get it out of the way. My work ethic has improved drastically from when I used to procrastinate all the time, but I still need to work on quality assurance and making sure everything is the best it can be.
How I Will Use This Knowledge
Penny Geld's official portrait for In My Element, made possible thanks to what I have learned!
I will use what I have learned for my own YouTube videos, especiallymy upcoming web series Dank Meme Warriors. In fact, it's thanks to this class teaching me how to trace traditional art and use it in Photoshop that I have abandoned the previous method of "drawing a bunch of things on an app on my phone and putting them in Photoshop to animate them". As stated before, I also have used and will use this knowledge for my drawings and for the sprites in the games I'm making. This includes the official art for my upcoming book series In My Element, as well as the official art and sprites for my upcoming Touhou fan game Touhou Baseball: Gensokyo League. In fact, I have already created some official art for both of these thanks to what I have learned.
My final project for this year, This Is My Seat.
In the end, I have learned so much this year and I can say with 100% certainty that Animation was my favorite class this year. And that's saying something, because Animation beat out Chemistry- a subject that I am passionate about to the point of creating humanized periodic table elements. Overall, while I will miss Mr. Olson, I cannot wait for Animation next year.
For our final project in Maya, we were asked to make a pen. However, the catch was that we needed to model it after an existing pen and make it as close to the original as possible. For reference, this was the pen I used:
So, we had to use all that we had learned to create a pen. I started off by making a simple cylinder, then adding subdivisions. After that, I went into Vertex Mode and made it so parts of it were more pronounced while the end of it tapered downward. Then I separated the grip and the top of the pen from the rest of the pen. After that, I created the push thing at the top of the pen using another cylinder and Vertex Mode. I then created the clip by drawing a NURBS curve, creating a surface from it, and extruding that surface. My initial plan was to use lofting, but that didn't turn out like I wanted it to. Then, after making the main body of the pen translucent, I added the ink and its container using yet more cylinders, and finally, I made the point of the pen with another cylinder and Vertex Mode. I also added colors and textures to everything- the plastic-like Blinn for most of the pen, the matte Lambert for the grip, and the metallic Phong E for the point. After that, I added lights and a floor, and I was done!
This project was a very exhausting one, but it was quite simple once I got the hang of it. After all this time, I'm proud of how far I've come in Maya. I'm amazed with what I have been able to create in Maya recently, and though I prefer 2D animation, at least I know how to do 3D animation now.
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!
