Week5&6-Detailed Reflection on Messys

From the studies of the past three weeks, my biggest problem is tempos. This was probably the first time I worked under the camera without onion skinning. It was difficult to get track of the timing and the speed of the motions. If I did one move wrong, I had to redo everything, and this really made me frustrated especially my camera was not stable and it shifts every time I shot a frame. The tempos didn't work for the first and second messy practices (the second messy practice improved a little bit though), so during the making of the third messy practice, I gave myself a little assignment which I could get familiar with stop motion again. I made three practices, and the flow of the movements were overall satisfying, though I didn't have the time to work on the fourth practice which will be a walk cycle.

I am still aiming on puppet animation. More interested in the creation of puppets and background setup than the actual animating process.

Week4-Messy3

Finally it comes to 3D! I mean, not in maya or anything, cause I know NOTHING about that.

I always want to make a 3D environment and character with craft materials ever since I watched Corpse Bride. But I have to admit that it is not easy at all. My puppet (which obviously is not to the stage of completion), is quite easy to move around and is able to hold the pose. The problem is her small feet are not going to support her weight so I have to tie it to the ground. This make me frustrated because every time I make a move, I have to untie and then tie the feet back to ground. This cause me having difficulty getting track of the movement when I don't have onion skinning available.

By the way, it was a lot if fun using the funny repetitive dances that are popular on youtube. (see reference on vimeo)

 

Week3-Messy2

This is the first time every I animate with paper cutouts. There is once I could have tried this material during foundation year, but I sew a doll instead of using papers, because I think fabric makes strong joints.

I still have some problems with tempos, and I found that I forgot to make some holds so the actions are separated. That would make this animation not so busy all the time, and rest viewers' eyes a bit. The other difficulty is to stick the paper on the wall (I did it in 90 degree), because the body parts kept falling down but I didn't dare to use a stronger tape, otherwise it might get hard to animate. So I bear with it.

Week2-Messy1

This week I get to explored different 2D materials and techniques which I never done before.

It is quite a convention that most animators start with pencil and light-table. On one hand, it is necessary to learn the essentials, but on the other, I lose the fun of exploring different possibilities. This is a good exercise. It is weird at first, but a lot more interesting than I thought.

Here are my try outs:

Messy1-1
I am having difficulty imagining the movements because charcoal is not erasable! Plus, I have to work and layer drawings on one single paper instead of a pile of papers which I am more used to be.



Messy1-2
I never thought of using sand for animation. It's only a shadow, and I am very bad at catching shapes and poses. The tempos of this one is messed up, making everything going to quick.



Messy1-3
Black paints make my mind full of horror! I would say this is a piece out of my unconscious. Basically, I paint and erase and paint and erase and paint... I like the creepy face at the end :)