PROPOSAL

So after 2 projects and many months of work, we finally get to the Final Major Project (FMP). Today is the introduction day. This is where I find out what I have to do (requirements), decide what I want to do (topic, goals...) and how I will be graded.

This is essentially the plan of the plan. How I will evaluate my work, what my end goal is and what skills I possess from year 12 to get there. Although I would happily write a mountain of writing regarding this, I was limited to a strict word count. As of writing this (24/3) it is unclear weather the 500 words are a minimum, a target (with leeway either side) or a requirement.

Deadline - 7/5/21 - Requirement (Everything DONE by this date!)

The black boxes is everything I was "required" to write about, the rest are "extras". There are many questions to consider when deciding my theme (according to the project brief [Word Document below]) and I will attempt to answer them below.

Street Fighter V: Sakura Punching Red Bull Can With Ultra Combo| Stop Motion - YouTube

11 Second Club - February entry

Why animation and what I wanted to learn specifically

I started this course because I wanted to draw for a living. I was tired of A-level Maths and Physics. I was good at it but didn't enjoy it. Add that to the fact that the only career that even seemed good to me (in these areas) was teaching, it was time for a change. Art (specifically traditional drawing) was a hobby/passion of mine since the age of 7. It was the only subject at GCSE that didn't feel like work. Regardless of how good I was at other subjects, art was the one subject I could do for hours and still enjoy it. January 2020, I sat down at the 6form common room (back in my A-level Maths/Physics/Psychology days) and doodled. The first time I drew since starting my A-levels. It reminded me of the joy I felt back in GCSEs, the thing I was missing during my entire A-level experience (study wise anyway). It was my Psychology teacher that convinced me to make the leap and take art into a career, without her I would be doing Maths at university and probably hating it.

I done some career research and found the field of animation, I was instantly sold. I cancelled my offer to University, applied to South Essex College and there begun my journey.

At the start of lockdown (using birthday money from my nan) I brought my first graphics tablet and fell in love with drawing all over again. Drawing on a screen felt so alien, it literately felt like learning how to draw all over again.

The video on the right, made by me under the username of "TOXIC RAVEN 123" explains my new journey from Jan 2020 to Sept 2020.

It goes into more detail about why I started animation along with my earliest digital works (a showcase of my skill before the course started).

At this point I wanted to do animation videos as well as the older gaming ones of before. I wanted to learn 2D animation specifically and have the skills to create any story I wanted. To not be held back by my skill and reach my ambitions.

In particular I made a promise to myself. I had a Bulbasaur figurine from my Stop Motion Experiment - during the transition work. "One day, Ill make you move". That was my promise. As I learnt more at college my ambition and goal changed. I wanted to experiment and learn all kind of animation techniques, as well as 2D digital drawing (although that has been my main focus).

123, T. R., 2020. The Origins of Toxic Artist (TOXIC RAVEN 123 - Animation video). [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8EDf5QWLpw
[Accessed 24 March 2021].

However my drive to reach a point where I can tell any story never faded. That is my goal. To get to the point where my art/stories are not held back by my skill. To do that I needed to learn how to draw people. My early attempts and journey to master people is documented throughout my Project 1 and 2. They will also be shown and described in more detail at a later date in this project. My experience has taught me the basics in the proportions, shape, anatomy, position and important lines to consider. However these are only the fundamentals. To tell a story, I need to get good at representing emotion (an area with little experience for me). I started the course with empathy and patients being my weakest traits/soft skills. Learning and understanding emotion will bring me full circle. It will also hugely improve my skills in terms of drawing/animating humans. Considering I could barely draw people at the start of the course, this is a huge leap and a big challenge personally. If I can master the skill of drawing people, in any design, position, expression... Then eventually I wont be confined by my own art ability in trying to create the stories I want to tell.

It will also be good in animating inanimate objects (not alive items). If I can give objects personality and emotion, which will only be possible if I understand how to greatly convey emotion, then the possibilities are endless. I also want to carry on with my progress in animating fire and water (as well as people). These areas were all explored in my Project 2 that I want to progress into my FMP.

ATTEMPT 1 - THE PLAN - 24/3

Proposal Introduction

Name - Callum Owen Highfield

Number - 50543926

Pathway - Creative Media Production @ Technology

Project Title - Elemental Emotion

Section 1 - Rationale

what ive done (yr 12) - reflect, review, summarise progress

outline knowledge and skills learnt. now compared to before. how it has affected your project proposal

how ill take it forward (skills - how it will help)

150 words rec - no limit

the connection between fire and water and the study of human emotion

Explain what inspired your project and how you hope to benefit from doing this.

Section 2 - Project Concept

come up with the project i will be doing (aim, concept)

200 words

Explain your project idea and explain what steps are involved. (aims of project, product and performance. as well as research and ideas to support development). what you anticipate doing. types/levels of recourses needed

present final in allocated time

how you will use equipment

Section 3 - Evaluation

Explain how you will reflect on and evaluate your work as the project moves forward.

Proposed Research Sources and Bibliography

Do a mind map of ideas, what research do I have to do to make the animation

(e.g. storyboards (backgrounds, script...), style (colour theory), characters, target audience (market segmentation(who, age, western or asian), software.

Most to least important - most specifics. what you wanna do overall

Above was me figuring out what needed to go into each section. All have to be answered in order to pass - and answered well for a good grade. The recourses available are documented on the left. This was all linked onto the South Essex Moodle Page and the official UAL website. I intended to break down what I must do and how to do it. In order to do well, I need to know the rules of the game. Being honest, I do feel a bit nervous but also extremely excited (and a little impatient) to get going.

WORD - "Project 3 Creative Project Brief" (1)

PowerPoint - "FMP Proposal" (2)

PDF - "UAL Level 3 Diploma and Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production and Technology specification (PDF 1.1MB)" (3)

A wide range of recourses available to assist my planning for the FMP. The PowerPoint was my main source in finding out what to include in each section, as well as getting the correct headers. The Word document

Rough Plan for FMP - 25/3

So after going through the recourses provided to find out what I must include in each section of my proposal (the requirement), I then had to brainstorm possible ideas for what I will be creating. If the black box above says what needs to be covered in each section, this is the rough plan for the actual content of those sections. I find it much more relaxing just writing down many of my ideas as I have them. It is more organised and I won't forget them as quickly. If I don't have a visual source of my idea, it will be gone within minutes. So above I focused on what I wanted to make and what would be required to make it. For example, a 2D animation will need storyboarding and designing the characters and backgrounds before the actual animating can begin.

Now the positive of this is that I can document many possible ideas/directions for the project that I can always come back to later. It is planning in it's most crude form. However, because of this, presentation isn't taken into mind at all. These notes are for me, not for the purpose of someone else. That means my handwriting and messy layout will make it much harder to read for someone else. I could solve this by using a word document instead to write down my ideas. Digital text is automatically clear for any user. Although This is highly impractical due to the time these are normally written. Most of my ideas happen in very late hours. When my mind is at it's least chaotic, my thoughts flow and branch without me consciously knowing at the time. This leads to possibilities that would not appear otherwise. However it would mean (using the word document method) that I would have to turn on my PC every time I want to write so9mething down. Ease of access alone is the biggest benefit of paper and pen. If I was to do this again, I would try and organise my writing more so others no longer struggle reading it. What I plan to do is use these notes as a base foundation (a starting point) for what I will do during the FMP and how I will create my proposal.

I will also re-write my notes in digital format after I have went through the notepad stage. So that the readers can see what I intend to do, I will take ideas from these notes and explore them further in digital format on this site.

OFFICIAL PROPOSAL - 25/3

Name - Callum Owen Highfield

Number - 50543926

Pathway - Creative Media Production @ Technology

Project Title - Elemental Emotion

Section 1 - Rational

WORD TARGET (150) - WORDS (200)

Year 12 taught me almost everything I know about digital drawing and human forms. At the start of September, I had little to no skill in digital art. I learnt the process of character design and attempted to make my own. However, I had major improvements to be made in anatomy. Before this my human drawings was horrible. Through many hours of practice, trial and error and many mistakes later, I can now draw people (taking into account anatomy, lines of action and balance), foreshortening, dynamic poses and mannickisation. I also learnt the fundamentals of 2D animation, researching into the 12 core principles and eventually animating people, fire and water. These are areas I want to build off throughout my final. In addition to all of this, I have also had experience in the Adobe creative cloud (learning extensive knowledge and practicing in Adobe Animate and Photoshop). Overall, although these specific skills have developed, I have much more room to go. I want to develop these further by attempting to understand and incorporate emotion into my animations. It was my previous work with fire and the study of humans that lead me to make them the foundation in my fmp.

Section 2 - Project concept

WORD TARGET (200)- WORD (217)

The key idea is to explore and understand emotion. Many of my human studies have been in physical traits such an anatomy. I want to understand how to portray emotion in human and inanimate objects (like fire). If I can truly understand emotion then I should be able to give non-emotive objects personality. The aim is to tell a story (created in 2D animation) with emotion as its centre. If I can develop my understanding to this point ill be able to create any story I desire, although I know this will be challenging. Considering where I started (unable to even draw a human figure) this will be a huge leap from September. I want to produce a product that people of my age and above can relate to. Show complex emotion and desire through visuals that are fit for 12+. I want to give fire and water human traits, then tell a story regarding it. I will use animate (or another 2D software) to draw this, Photoshop to storyboard it and many research sources to back it up. Artworks, real life examples, movies, YouTube tutorials will all be used. I will need to experiment with style, movement and get much feedback regarding on the 1st impression of the work. Make sure I'm conveying the right emotion.

Section 3 - Evaluation

WORD TARGET (150)- WORD (140)

Each piece during production (through multiple stages of its development) will be evaluated and broken down. Many will follow a loose version of the reflective cycle. I will reference each piece of work underneath where I included it on my website. I will also be conducting blogs from the start of my project development (after planning is finished) to record my ideas/progress. I will also explain my changes and plans for future work within my evaluation for each piece (written form). As well as what I did, I will include positives/negatives of each experience, how I felt, what I will do in the future and what I would of done differently given the opportunity to do it again. Any team work experience will also be documented in this style, although tailored with the benefits/issues it brings to my own work.

RECOMMENDED WORD COUNT = 500, MY WORD COUNT = 557

Proposed Research - 25/3

Photos and videos taken by me of fire/water to help my understanding of how they work (real life experiences). Feedback will be essential throughout all my artworks to help improve them and spot errors I would of otherwise missed. Surveys would be a good form of producing mass feedback response. My own experiments will give me a good idea of what to avoid/how to improve when it comes to the final product. My personal experiences with secondary methods, what I learnt from observing. Interviews (in person or virtual depending on restrictions) between others in the industry will greatly help.

YouTube tutorials to learn new techniques and gain invaluable knowledge in creating my own versions. Artwork examples for inspiration and a source of reference, as well as potential art styles to explore. Internet images and other videos (taken or made by others). Movies to look for examples and new ideas to incorporate into my own work. TV, Anime or any kind of viewable media would work in this regard. Books are a classic but incredibly valuable as a source of research.

On top of all this, I have many (already used) research pieces from past projects that I can also take inspiration from. I have experimentation in these areas already that I can use to help develop my new one. I also have my sketchbook which followed the "blended learning tutorials", a collection of tutorials from YouTube that go into the fundamentals of art. All these ideas and any changes made can be recorded as a blog video and uploaded to show my journey.

If I want to produce a 2D animation, there are many areas to research into before the final draft. It has to be storyboarded. A script needs to be written (a narrative). Characters need designing, backgrounds created and a constant art style to use. Sounds also needs plenty of research. Do I use Foley, voice acting, ambient or music? If so then in what way, what sounds? What story do I want to tell, what emotional drive do I give each character? What kind of art style should I use, is it practical to animate in? What kind of world am I creating and how does this fit into the narrative?

Just take the topic of emotion. To understand it, I need to know how it works. What's it's source? What are the physical effects on the body? How would I show that in an object, to give it human traits? How does personality play into emotion? How do other artists represent emotion. How is emotion used in a story?

All this without even beginning to think about the fire and water aspects of the animation...

Research Sources and Bibliography - 25/3, 26/3

Project 1 and 2 Transfer

Books:

Hart, C., 2009. Figure it Out! The Beginner's Guide to Drawing People. Illustrated edition ed. New York: Sixth&Spring.

Hart, C., 2014. Figure It Out! Human Proportions. Illustrated edition ed. New York: Sixth&Spring.

Hart, C., 2016. Figure it Out! Drawing Essential Poses. Illustrated edition ed. New York: Sterling.

Hart, C., 2015. The Master Guide to Drawing Anime: How to Draw Original Characters from Simple Templates. Illustrated edition ed. New York: Sixth and Spring Books.

Websites:

Dream Farm Studios, n.d. Understanding shape language in character design. [Online]
Available at: https://dreamfarmstudios.com/blog/shape-language-in-character-design/
[Accessed 4 November 2020].

YouTube tutorials/videos (Project 1/2):

Wimshurst, H., 2018. Learn This Trick Before You Animate Water. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeQLbPW1S2Q
[Accessed 8 October 2020].

Pluvias, 2017. Water Painting【Digital Coloring Tutorial】| درس تلوين الماء. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OypsHFBAHj8
[Accessed 15 October 2020].

Manga, W., 2020. How to Draw Faces for Beginners | Anime Manga Drawing Tutorial. [Online]Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgI8pqezB-c[Accessed 14 November 2020].

Moxie2D, 2020. Easy Digital Art Tips That Changed Everything. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EAfjsML4nY&list=LL&index=6
[Accessed 3 February 2021].

Nadiaxel, 2021. Shading Tutorial 🎓 Cartoon VS Semirealism + Rendering Techniques. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkHlaMNDIDg&t=304s
[Accessed 6 February 2021].

Art, M. D., 2020. How to Make a Perspective Grid in Photoshop 2021. [Online]
Available at: youtube.com/watch?v=sisxYrxhJ-c
[Accessed 2 March 2021].

Artworks and Artists:

Project 1 sea images:

Pixels, 2018. Sea Spray on the Rocks. [Online]
Available at: https://pixels.com/featured/sea-spray-on-the-rocks-sandra-francis.html
[Accessed 9 )October 2020].

Pinterest, 2013. Painting by Stemmelen Matthieu (France) | Artmajeur. [Online]
Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/519954719464049967/?nic_v2=1a5QnymG7
[Accessed 9 October 2020].

My Photos/videos:

Beach Photos (Project1, task 1)

My Artworks:

Concept 4,5 and 6. Water Experiments (Project 1, task 1)

Fire attempt 1 and 2

Arm Punch attempt 1,2 and 3

Water animation (interactive)

Story Research:

Screenwriting, a., 2018. Archetypal Characters in the Hero’s Journey. [Online]
Available at: https://online.pointpark.edu/screenwriting/archetypal-characters-heros-journey/
[Accessed 2 December 2020].

Wikipedia, 2020. Three-act structure. [Online]
Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-act_structure
[Accessed 10 December 2020].

JOHNSON, S., 2019. Kurt Vonnegut on 8 'shapes' of stories. [Online]
Available at: https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/vonnegut-shapes?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1
[Accessed 19 December 2020].

Voice Acting:

Khare, M., 2018. I Learned How To Voice A Cartoon. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAc8_NKJuPo
[Accessed 10 February 2021].

Studios, J., 2011. Voice Acting Tutorial!. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hylrH__HunA
[Accessed 10 February 2021].

Russell, M., 2016. How To Make Your Voice Sound Better in Audacity. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQCB72S64L4
[Accessed 15 February 2021].

BuzzFeedVideo, 2018. Voice Actor Shares Secrets To Changing Your Voice (ft. ProZD). [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg3bdspvIiQ
[Accessed 19 February 2021].

BuzzFeedVideo, 2019. I Hired A Speech Therapist To Fix My Boring Voice. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLDRQYeYQJg
[Accessed 19 February 2021].

Foley:

Originals, A., 2016. Foley Artists: How Movie Sound Effects Are Made. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_tqB4IZvMk
[Accessed 24 February 2021].

Audient, 2017. Recording Foley Sound Effects for 'The Night Manager'. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZbCY-PrH5Q
[Accessed 24 February 2021].

123, T. R., 2021. 21st March - glass break tests. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dEX1YUK9lY
[Accessed 21 March 2021].

Interactive Media:

15, P.-. G., 2016. Advantages of interactive media. [Online]
Available at: http://baprmgroup15.blogspot.com/2016/06/advantages-of-interactive-media.html
[Accessed 14 January 2021].

Hallam, T., 2018. Designing purposeful interactions. [Online]
Available at: https://www.hallaminternet.com/purposeful-interaction-design/
[Accessed 14 January 2021].

McCoy, E., 2019. THE 12 BEST TYPES OF INTERACTIVE CONTENT FOR HIGHER ENGAGEMENT: INFOGRAPHICS, WIDGETS, & MORE. [Online]
Available at: https://killervisualstrategies.com/blog/best-types-interactive-content-infographics-design.html
[Accessed 14 January 2021].

Spacey, J., 2017. 12 Types of Interactive media. [Online]
Available at: https://simplicable.com/new/interactive-media
[Accessed 14 January 2021].

Wang, A. I., 2020. Dozens of studies show learning benefits of using Kahoot!. [Online]
Available at: https://kahoot.com/blog/2020/07/01/dozens-of-studies-show-learning-benefits-of-kahoot/#:~:text=improved%20classroom%20dynamics%20and%20created,teachers%20and%20students%20and%20peers.
[Accessed 14 January 2021].

Wikipedia, 2021. The Walking Dead (video game series). [Online]
Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walking_Dead_(video_game_series)
[Accessed 14 January 2021].

Fire:

123, T. R., 2021. Project 2, Year 1 - SOUND - fire experiment and arm punch sound, bowl break. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqc0IgZzves
[Accessed 10 March 2021].

123, T. R., 2021. fire test 2. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUGduCl2rtM
[Accessed 13 March 2021].

Whimshurst, H., 2018. Learn This Trick Before You Animate FIRE. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyWpeexlqp8
[Accessed 2 March 2021].

Anatomy/People Practice:

Proko, 2013. Mannequinization - Structure of the Human Body. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRHfcqjbPq8&list=LL&index=6&t=708s
[Accessed 18 January 2021].

Dunn, A., 2013. How to sketch & draw people Part 1 | How to use a mannequin. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_TO7ELxemE&list=LL&index=18
[Accessed 9 January 2021].

GaryMaldonado, 2015. HOW TO DRAW THE HUMAN HEAD. [Online]
Available at: https://drawasamaniac.com/2012/12/how-to-draw-the-human-head.html
[Accessed 24 January 2021].

123, T. R., 2021. arm punch no 3 video - punching reference. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJrh8CqkItU
[Accessed 18 March 2021].

Arm Punch/Animation:

123, T. R., 2021. slide end mp4 no 2. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDv2kLiAohU
[Accessed 22 March 2021].

Trailers, J. S. @. T., 2015. Marvel's Daredevil Clip: Hallway Fight Scene (HD) Charlie Cox. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urE31pWnR7Y
[Accessed 20 January 2021].

iammanyninjas, 2009. iammanyninjas. [Online]
Available at: https://irwt.iammanyninjas.com/sprite-anim.html
[Accessed 22 January 2021].

AlanBeckerTutorials, 2017. 12 Principles of Animation (Official Full Series). [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDqjIdI4bF4
[Accessed 15 January 2021].

AlanBeckerTutorials, 2015. ALAN BECKER - Animating Walk Cycles. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y6aVz0Acx0&t=163s
[Accessed 17 January 2021].

Adrian's Blog, 2019. Richard Williams – The Walk Cycle. [Online]
Available at: https://adriancotapenwithdigital.wordpress.com/2019/02/14/richard-williams-the-walk-cycle/
[Accessed 14 January 2021].

angry animator, 2010. tutorial-2 : walk cycle. [Online]
Available at: https://editor.wix.com/html/editor/web/renderer/edit/9dc12f41-4e3b-445c-a0a7-aa95a70bf1aa?metaSiteId=b2251390-4ae5-49b0-85c9-a78e0426e87f&editorSessionId=beb56a98-a969-4916-989e-7ba89b46e16e&referralInfo=dashboard
[Accessed 14 January 2021].

Colour Research Sources:

Bucci, M., 2020. Something strange you should know about color | QUICK ESSENTIALS. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ2HOj22gDo
[Accessed 16 January 2021].

Art Therapy, 2020. Color Meanings & Symbolism. [Online]
Available at: http://www.arttherapyblog.com/online/color-meanings-symbolism/#.YAB7g-j7QuU
[Accessed 16 December 2020].

colour hex, 2020. Revenge Color Palette. [Online]
Available at: https://www.color-hex.com/color-palette/4591
[Accessed 16 December 2020].

JEM, n.d. Colours : What Do They Represent?. [Online]
Available at: http://www.jempp.com.au/colours-represent
[Accessed 16 December 2020].

Morton, J., 2015. The Color of Insanity. [Online]
Available at: https://www.colormatters.com/color-matters-blog/entry/blogs-a-news/the-color-of-insanity
[Accessed 16 December 2020].

Personality Research:

Anthony, A., 2018. So is it nature not nurture after all?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/sep/29/so-is-it-nature-not-nurture-after-all-genetics-robert-plomin-polygenic-testing
[Accessed 4 December 2020].

aps - association for pstchological science, 2019. Robert Plomin Receives Grawemeyer Award for Behavioral Genetics Research. [Online]
Available at: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/obsonline/robert-plomin-receives-grawemeyer-award-for-behavioral-genetics-research.html#:~:text=Plomin's%20theory%20on%20the%20%E2%80%9Cnature,raised%20in%20the%20same%20household.&text=%E2%80%9CI
[Accessed 4 December 2020].

Building Beautiful Souls, n.d. The Western Zodiac Signs Personality @ Traits. [Online]
Available at: https://www.buildingbeautifulsouls.com/zodiac-signs/western-zodiac/
[Accessed 4 December 2020].

Chiao, F. H. &. C., 2018. Year of the Horse. [Online]
Available at: https://chinesenewyear.net/zodiac/horse/
[Accessed 4 December 2020].

Crawford, B., n.d. Pisces Zodiac Sign: Traits, Characteristics, Compatibility and Horoscope. [Online]
Available at: https://www.zodiacsigns-horoscope.com/zodiac-signs/pisces/
[Accessed 4 December 2020].

Crawford, B., n.d. Western Astrology – An Introduction to Western Astrology Zodiac Signs. [Online]
Available at: https://www.zodiacsigns-horoscope.com/astrology/western-astrology/
[Accessed 4 December 2020].

Travel China Guide, 2020. Horse - Personality and Characteristics. [Online]
Available at: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/zodiac/horse/
[Accessed 4 December 2020].

On top of all this I also have 2 sketchbooks. 1 from blended learning and the other my own practice. I intend to carry these on throughout the project. It will be a great benefit for practicing human anatomy and will eventually speed up the process of animation human shapes.

Research Sources and Bibliography - 27/3

FMP New Sources

Bibliography

Animations, B., 2018. Perspective Drawing in Photoshop! Grids and Tips. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upxBGNcryRs&t=698s
[Accessed 27 March 2021].

AniMico, 2020. 2019 Animation Demo Reel. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU3GBnnHGJg
[Accessed 27 Mrach 2021].

ECLYPSO, 2018. ice vs fire epic animated fight (check out the description). [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeGYX-57-I4
[Accessed 27 March 2021].

Keyser, J., 2011. alight. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLZJ-E2CWuw
[Accessed 27 March 2021].

Marriott, B., 2020. How to Animate a Water Splash - Liquid Animation Tutorial. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaHrUDdB2sY
[Accessed 27 March 2021].

Marriott, B., 2020. Quick Fire Animation | How to Animate a 2D Flame. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRXrL-8CTmg
[Accessed 27 March 2021].

Whimshurst, H., 2018. Learn This Trick Before You Animate Water. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeQLbPW1S2Q&t=430s
[Accessed 27 March 2021].

Whimshurst, H., 2020. How We Made This Crazy Waterbending Animation. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrUCZvS-Ih4
[Accessed 27 March 2021].

Whimshurst, H., 2021. 41 INCREDIBLE Fire Animations - Compilation. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGLEji9zm6o
[Accessed 27 March 2021].

タキ, T., 2020. Fog Hill of Five Elements - Blood // Water 「AMV」. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAWxNO8puw4
[Accessed 27 March 2021].

Williams, R., 2009. THE ANIMATOR'S SURVIVAL KIT. Expanded Edition ed. London: Faber & Faber; Main - Revised edition (5 Nov. 2009).

Hart, C., 2015. THE MASTER GUIDE TO DRAWING ANIME. 1st ed. New York: Sixth and Spring Books; Illustrated edition (7 July 2015).

Brooks, J., 2016. DRAW WITH JAZZA CREATING CHARACTERS. 1st ed. United States of America: IMPACT Books; Illustrated edition (30 Dec. 2016).

Timetable draft 1 - My Journey (26/3, 27/3)

Start date 24/3, Deadline 7/5/21

So I had to make a timetable in order to show what I will do as the project progresses. My original idea was to plan out my work day by day. However I discovere3d that this was unrealistic. I cant possibly plan that specifically this early on in into my work. Positively, it did give me a very good idea of how little time I have to complete this fmp. With the 2 week "holiday" off college, I am left with just over 6 weeks as of writing this. I keyed the days on the side in order to get a more realistic understanding of what's going on and how much time I have to dedicate to it. The blue is the holiday (where only my weekend job is restricting my work time). I have college days (orange), where the majority of my work will be in structured college time and is semi-controlled style. There is only so much I can do while in class. Any sound related work has to be done at home (due to a loud class environment unfit for recording). I will have to consider any similar possibilities throughout my work. Likewise my main graphic tablet is incompatible with the schools computers (lacking the right drive installers) so any animation will have to also be completed at home. These kind of issues have to be overcome in order to progress. Then there are "work days", days of no time restrictions that allow for as much or as little work as I need. These days have no plans and are only limited to my own time management and self-discipline (2 essential skills in order to succeed). Non-highlighted days are of little importance in terms of study time. These are the days of rest and/or days I have shifts at my weekend job. I will only be able to get a couple of hours work done during these times. The last noticeable day is red, the day of "ADAM". This is the first lesson back from the holidays. It is also when I will be required to pitch my idea in order to validate it for the fmp. In preparation to this, I need to fully form my idea. This includes the story/events, a storyboard, possible character sketches, detailed analysis into each area of development and a strong pitch in order to sell my idea. I honestly feel excited to get started, although definitely a bit nervous. The final lesson (Friday 26th March 2021) before the holidays began feedback suggested I was "1 step away from exploding", according to surrounding students. If I am to do well, I need to regulate my emotional state and give my self time to rest in-between the hours of work. My mental health is important and I cannot sacrifice it like I have done in past projects. This is a constant factor I need to keep in check.

On the negative side, I realised that planning out my life (day by day) was not going to work. I had to overcome this by making my plan much more broader. Planning week by week seemed much more realistic than day by day. Although if a task overruns past it's week then it could negatively impact all work beyond it. I will have to constantly adjust my vision and schedule in order to meet the final deadline. What I intend to do is to create a second timetable to solve the issues with the 1st (screenshotted below). I used excel to help structure my table. Although this allowed for amazing structure and organisation, I was limited by its functionality. Certain punctuation couldn't be used as it would start a mathematical equation (what it was built for). Also text wouldn't drop below onto a second line in the grid. It would overlap and vanish over it's neighbour column. I lowered the impact by increasing the sizes of each column but this only partially solved my problem. In the making of my second timetable, I will not be using excel. Something with more freedom (like word) would be a better choice.

Overall I feel excited. This is going to be fun. Although I am slightly intimidated by the amount of work I want to do and the deadline in which it has to be done. Even with my "holiday", 6 weeks is not long. For comparison, project 2 (the previously completed project) had a deadline of 3 months. The time table made me aware of how little time I have to show my best work.

The evaluation above is an example of how I write and summarise my work. I will be doing this for each small section of my work. I use the reflective cycle in a very loose way in order to make it flow more naturally. If you don't know, the reflective cycle has 6 categories.

1. Outline point

2. How do you feel?

3. Positives/negatives?

4. If I was to do this again, what would I do different?

5. What I will do next?

6. Overall conclusion/ link back to point

Timetable draft 2 - My Journey (28/3)

Start date 24/3, Deadline 7/5/21

This is my second attempt at timetabling my next 6 weeks. The last attempt was far too specific to the point where it would be near impossible to completely follow. Instead of using Excel I decided to use Word. Word provided me with a lot more freedom to group and write up my text while excel restricted me in quantity and format. I was free to move and write as much as I wanted. However, the text boxes did start playing up when adding a second page. The original attempt meant I didn't have enough space on a single A4. However when on a double page, the text boxes started behaving odd. They kept moving without guidance. Furthermore they would also overlap and cover previous info. I was able to move around this by copying and deleting the original boxes (re-sizing everything from scratch). Excel limited the amount of space and also overlapped with its nearby columns so they are even in this regard. However I am much more comfortable using Word, personally feeling more reassured in the process. The outcome was definitely closer to my vision of my timetable.

I have these tasks to get done within the week. It's up to me in what order or for how long. As long as these elements are done by their deadline I will never fall behind. However this can all drastically change. I will need to do more jobs on top of this list in order to meet requirements for the higher grade bracket. Not to mention these tasks could take much more time than originally predicted. The looser style of timetable gives me more freedom to adjust and react to what's needed (rather than what I predicted weeks ago) but I am well aware of the risks. I need to provide enough self-discipline to myself to get these done and not get lazy in my quieter hours. Time management is paramount in order to succeed.

If I was to do this again I would not use text boxes. The standard lines in Word would of been more than enough. I merely ended up making it more complicated than it needed to be. Although I feel like I want to make many small timetables than 1 big one. Do a new timetable week by week. That way I can add and adjust any surprises that may occur during the production/research stage. What I intend to do from here is to double check my Proposal section for any necessary changes. Then start my Production/Research section by discovering as much background knowledge on storytelling and emotion as I can, for the next 2 days. The timetable will be vital for me to stay on trach with my work. Without it I would get lazy with weeks of time, only to realise how little is left in the last week. Overall the impact this has on my project is a big one and I am happy I did it.

A final Issue I wanted to mention before the end was the documentation on wix itself. Due to the aspect ratio of my timetable, the PNG image came up far to small to read on wix. I screenshotted my work and edited it down in a software called "Paint 3D". This allows me to crop, type and draw on top of (very basic brush) my screenshots. Thus providing greater detail of evidence during the production of my work. However in doing so I accidently made the image too big (due to the size of my monitor (screenshots the entire screen)). So I used the inbuilt wix editor to crop down my image in order to get the timetable below. A small issue using a different software and how I fixed it.

New Proposal - Updated 14/4 - 15/4

So I presented my idea to my tutor Adam and a small group of class mates. As expected he said that it is far to long to complete by the end of the deadline. I also found out that due to Covid-19, the deadline has been extended to the 28th of May 2021. This brings my 3 and a half weeks to just of 6 weeks to complete my animation. That brings me to my second point. Although Mitch and Scott recommended a 10 to 30 second animation over 5 minutes. Adam said to keep it to a mere 5 seconds and develop a single aspect. My original proposal is to show emotion and to tell a story in the spam of around 30 seconds. Adam said that he would prefer an amazing, well developed 5 second animation than a 2 minute mediocre one. Focusing on a specific element, such as fire and explosion will give me much more time to deeply explore it - rather than dividing it up between several animation concepts. Furthermore the new deadline means I can further explore these in more detail. It also means that my current timetable has become obsolete.

We discussed in small groups of students what our idea is and how we will change it regarding all the new information. Can we use the red model? How we will develop it...

This talk allowed me to bounce ideas of people similar level to my self and get an insight in what people through of my progress as of the end of the 2 week holiday. Positively, they liked the idea. Exploring emotion and animating fire appealed to them. The story was the especially promising piece of the idea. However there were concerns of weather I would get it done in time, mirroring the teachers advice,. Therefore I decided to shorten down my idea to the 8 frames below.

This will allow me to stay on the same topic as my developed story while shrunk down to meet time restrictions and develop specific aspects.

Negatively this mean the story telling element will have to be abandoned altogether in favour of developing a certain animation skill (such as animating explosions). What I intend to do from here is to re-write my proposal to feature around these new adaptations. A new timetable will also have to be made - one that accommodates 6 weeks rather than 3.

OFFICIAL PROPOSAL ATTEMPT 2 - 15/4

Name - Callum Owen Highfield

Number - 50543926

Pathway - Creative Media Production @ Technology

Project Title - Flame Outrage

Section 1 - Rational

Now all this experience will help me design my fmp. I intend to use my current knowledge of human anatomy, 2d animation and fire to create a 2d animation at the end of my project. I will do this either through adobe animate (my current software of choice for 2d animation) or tv paint. TV Paint is a completely new software in which I have never used before. However I know it has many advantages compared to the adobe software's. Photoshop will also be extremely useful when storyboarding and designing characters, while my previous experience in Audacity will be most efficient in editing sound for my final animation.

Section 2 - Project Concept

Now the main idea is to explore fire. I want to create a character capable of key emotions that can manipulate fire. Within this I can explore specific emotions such as anger and frustration as well as develop my understanding of how fire moves. I aim to create an 2D animation where a creature made of flame shoots an explosion into the air. It will be around 5 to 10 seconds long with an emphasis on flames and smoke. I will need access to a powerful computer capable of handling 2d animation software such as tv paint and adobe animate. I will need to design a character, background, new sound design and storyboard the event before attempting to create the final animation. Interactions and the physics of fire will be a key area of research. Emotions will also be a large research topic, studying facial expressions and body language to convey emotion. I anticipate that I will need to record a combination of sound to match the animation. Not just fire but an explosion. My phone will be used to record and photograph any recourse that will help me outside my pc room. My pc will be used to create any digital pictures and animation. Social media will be key to getting feedback on my work and interviews with those in the industry.

Section 3 - Evaluation

WORD TARGET (150)- WORD (140)

Each piece during production (through multiple stages of its development) will be evaluated and broken down. Many will follow a loose version of the reflective cycle with the red model in mind. I will reference each piece of work underneath where I included it on my website. I will also be conducting blogs from the start of my project development (after planning is finished) to record my ideas/progress. I will also explain my changes and plans for future work within my evaluation for each piece (written form). As well as what I did, I will include positives/negatives of each experience, how I felt, what I will do in the future and what I would of done differently given the opportunity to do it again. Any team work experience will also be documented in this style, although tailored with the benefits/issues it brings to my own work.

SKILL DEVELOPMENT - Lesson 14/4, Wrote 16/4

During this lesson we also delved into time management deeply and self-fulfilling prophecies. From a class test it was clear that many suffered for a lack of time management. So in small teams we discussed strategies and conferred as a class to share ideas. A timetable was brought up multiple occasions but you still need a strong will to follow one. Getting a balance between work and rest is crucial for success. I also suggested post it notes as small reminders throughout the day of what you need to get done. Creating a to do list the day before will let you get what you need done for the morning after. Having parents monitor you is another way, although personally I don't like this idea. Your just passing responsibility to someone else. Having less distractions in your work space will allow you to work much better, it is very easy to branch off into something more desirable. And finally a reward system was said. This is where you get small prizes or motivators to aim towards for completing a certain amount of work. This is a classic form of operate conditioning. Rewarded for good behaviour and punished for bad behaviour. That way your more likely to repeat behaviour that get you rewarded, e.g. completing your work.

Positively, these ideas will only strengthen my planning towards my project. Each one will make the timetable easier to follow or at least contribute to a more productive day. Each idea has its positives and flaws so a combination that varies on the user will be the best fit. For example a reward system would work well for me a help me get enough solid work and rest. However a parent monitoring system would be horrible in my own personal case. I wouldn't be able to work while someone is constantly eyeing my down. Although having someone to keep them in check would help others greatly, especially if they lack self-discipline. That not to say that my preferred methods do not lack flaws. The reward system only works if I see the prize as rewarding, otherwise what point is there to follow it. Likewise I need to make sure my to do list is realistic to get done in the day, don't bite off more than I can chew. If I was to do this again I would of spoke up more. Because I am confident in my own communication and presenting skills I decided to play a secondary role in my group rather than stepping up. I gave my team members a chance to lead and develop their own skills. The skill that I need to work on are more on the side of patients, keeping a cool head and empathy.

Now these are key for the new timetable section of the project. Discussing ideas with others requires great communication and presentation skills when telling them to the class. It also allows for a greater understanding of the subject, 2 heads are better than 1. It may offer me an alternative to the timetable or at least a way to strengthen it. My issue with the 2 previous timetables was that no matter how vague it got I struggled to follow it. Tasks took longer than I planned, distractions were everywhere and it lead me to being lazy. Not only is it a good form of teamwork and a practice of core skills, this primary research will directly impact my fmp. I can use what I learnt to boost my planning and reduce areas of wasted time. For example I can reward myself with a 30 minute break for work a solid hour. Likewise a to do list made the day before will help me outline and plan on a daily how I will get the required jobs done in time. This means that each day is planned and I still have the freedom to do it when I like. Post it notes will be effective for quick reminders.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

This is the concept that if you go into anything say I can't do it then you never will. When it comes to life most of it all boils down to your mindset. Someone who says they have horrible time management and will never improve will never learn. Essentially you need to go into every scenario saying I will win, I will do well. If it goes wrong they say I will get better. This is a similar method to how I tackle many tasks in my head. The trick is to keep my head in that mindset. As I have found that doubt is very easy to creep in. I very easily overthink things and hold myself back. I am my worst enemy as many have told me.

I have spent 2 years trying to improve myself. I watch several videos online for self development. Vids to improve my skills in conversation, communication, body language, physique, psychologically and emotionally. Everything I do is to improve myself or to get me closer to my goals. This technique is a classic and much more effective than people believe. The trick is to maintain it. It also teaches me way to also be a better person in general. If I can sort and maintain my life. I can help other do the same and spread what I've learnt.

Date 16/4 – Timetable Version 3

Now on weekends I work a 5-10 shift. That means I can only really get a few hours work done. Similarly I am at college on Wednesday and Friday, so I am limited to what’s available in class. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday are my main work days.

Week 0 (16th to 18th) – Making the timetable on the 16th, gives me 2 days grace before the timetable takes effect. I have 6 weeks from this point to complete my project. The plan is to get up to date on my writing and references before the start of the 1st week. That way I can start it fresh.

Week 1 (19th to 25th) – This first week I want to focus on the character design. The idea has been limited to 6-8 shots of the original 27, so the small fire character is the only 1 present. I want to research and experiment with his design. This includes constant evaluations, sketches, experiments, feedback and redesigns. Further research into emotion can also be done during this time.

Week 2 (26th to 2nd) – Fire, the constant animation element during my 2d animation. I want to research into fire. How it moves, key details to inspire the design further. Even create some 2d animations to test my ability. I need to improve my skill in adobe animate or learn tv paint during this time. Research into camera angles, lighting, art style.

Week 3 (3rd to 9th) – further animation experiments. A carry over from week 2. However now the focus will be on improving specific elements, while week 2 will focus on the overall animation. This is where development will evidently show in my project. Elements such as smoke, fire, impact frames, explosion effect, expression, body language, body movement… This will also carry on to be explore up until the 5th week.

Week 4 (10th to 16th) – This will be the start of sound development. I need to create the sound of an explosion and the rush of flames. Most of my time will be finding online resources to help me do this. Sound recording, sound editing and running it alongside my current animations.

Week 5 (17th to 23rd) – During this week, I want to focus on the final animation. A whole week to develop the final animation and bring together everything I have learnt during the project. Any improvements will be implemented directly onto this animation. All extra research will be in solving any issues that arise during production. I would of developed/started learning animation software during week 2 and 3 especially.

Week 6 (24th to 28th) – 5 days left. This time should be kept free for any finishing off or nasty surprises to deal with. Any last minute write ups, referencing, uploading or finishing off animations.

Alongside week 1 to 3, I also want to explore backgrounds. However this will be a small task that is done in pieces along with the specific work of each week. Little and often.

DEADLINE = 28TH MAY 2021

Research Sources and Bibliography - 16/4