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.
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
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.
