BrynWilliams UCA.CAA

  Character Design - Main Character Ideas I have done research on the 80's action figures that I want to base my main character off, and I have found one thing that they all have in common, which is the joints. I have seen that they all have the simple shoulder, neck, waist and leg joints and some have the wrist joints to allow movement of the hands. If i want to create a believable 80's toy character I will need to follow these rules...

  Head Modelling 3 We carried on with our organic head modelling and worked mainly on getting everything in the right positions. The mouth more rounded and natural, the face more full, and the eye socket mapped out. I like how my head is turning out and I feel as though I understand the rules of what I am creating.

  Sidekick Character In my character bible, the main character that I have been given has the trait of being not bright. I need to contrast this to push that trait to the viewer. I want the second character in the story to be a wise owl who also works as a firefighter. I think this will be a good show of contrast as an owl is stereotypically smart and wise, so if I make the other character come across as not bright it will be boosted by the appearance of the owl. Below are some owls that I found online and will use as a reference when creating the character.

  Main Character Ideas My main character has the trait of being heroic but not bright. This means that I will have to mimic this in some way the physical character. Since the theme of my character is toys, I want my main character to be similar to a Lego figure, and here is why... They have a very basic range of movement using their arms, legs, and head being the only moving parts. They can also hold things using their cup-like hands. I feel like this links to the fact that the character is not bright by showing a lack of movement, comparing to the other characters in the story that may have more or a free range of movement.  With the character being Lego, there are a lot of accessories that will go with it, using Lego fire hoses, Lego heads, helmets, and equipment. Below are some items and accessories that would come with a Lego character.  The character can have a range of heads and facial expressions. I have researched the film "Lego Movie" to see how they got the stat...

  Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone We have completed our first film series lesson. We watched the film Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone which is a film I have watched many times in the past. However, this time I had to think about it in a very different way. I was watching the film to gain knowledge on the key stages of every film. Not just the beginning, middle, and end but the sub-stages that are in almost every film that we do not notice until researching them. We were briefed about Joseph Campbell's 17 stage Monomyth, which is the cycle of events that appears in all films. Whilst watching Harry Potter we had to look for these events to further understand the cycle.  For example, at the start of the film, the equilibrium is when harry is at home, as a normal kid. Then you have the call to adventure when Hagrid visits the house that the family moved to after the letters became too much for the dad to handle. Then you have the refusal of the call when Harry expl...

  Head Modelling 2 Today we continued with the organic head modelling in Maya independently, asking for help when needed. I felt pretty good about this lesson and got a decent amount done to the head. I am understanding the principles a lot more now for example, when adding edge loops to change the shape of a part, you need to consistently tweak the other vertices to keep a smooth shape. I am enjoying these lessons and will be looking forward to going deeper...

  Object Design Task On Friday Justin had us do a small task involving drawing an object. The reason for this was to understand the power of research before a drawing is done to understand and know that object.  I was given a traffic wardens hat and started to draw what came up on google. Once Justin came round to me he noticed that I was trying to polish the drawing instead of just understanding the shape of the object. I realised that he was right and I had to try and make sense of the different forms of the object at different angles to understand it, rather than going straight for a finished product. I will take this lesson into the work as I progress.  The second drawing is of a torn-up hat trying to give story to the object. Even though the hat has a good story and mystery to it, it doesn't give a lot of personality which is something that I will need to give my objects for the character bible!  The third drawing is just further exploring the shape which is als...

  Character Bible Initial Ideas and Research I think I have a good idea of what I want to do for this project. From the prompts I have been given I have a good story idea in mind. The setting is based in a toy shop and the scene is of the characters sneaking around. I will tie them together by creating a robber that will attempt to rob the toy store. As he is trying to do this the toy characters will be sneaking around the shop trying to avoid his detection until finally saving the store from the robber. The main protagonist of the story will do this by firing his water cannon onto the fire alarm causing it to go off alerting the public to the robbery. This action will tie in the heroic pose and further show the firemans abilities in the story.  Below are images I have found relating to the story and I will hopefully be able to use them as references for my work.

Character Design Project Brief On Friday we had our first character design lesson with Justin. I really want to put my all into this project as I feel as though Character design and anatomy are my weakest points at the moment. I want to improve to the point where I am confident enough to be able to draw my own characters and bodies.  The project is to create a character bible which I like to think is an art of animation terms. We have been given prompts that we have to create part of a story; a scene - where and when, a theme - the style of art, a character, and an action - a pose that the character will be doing in the final render. Main Protagonist :  Firefighter  - Could come as a team of firefighters or similar jobs eg. paramedics/doctors. Style/Theme :  Toys  - A lot of reference to toy figures, characters in films and shows. - There is structure to the character already, toy characters are already a thing. Setting :  70's, 80's New York toy store - To...

  Head Modelling 1 Today we started to model the face of Jetpack Jones, a character created by Alan. This is the first time we are attempting to model a head, apart from the monster that we made. It has proven to be difficult, however, I am starting to understating the process more and more. The eye socket is the thing I am having most trouble with at the moment as I am struggling to make it the same shape as the orthographs. The same with the top of the head shape. I can not seem to model the head to the orthographs. I let Simon know my problem and it will come with time.  Below is a screenshot of the progress made this far...

  MOOM Character Introduction We were introduced to the Moom character this morning, playing around with the rig, creating different poses. The model is a generic character with a large head and a disproportionate body. This means that the art style of our animations using this character will be cartoony and Moom itself is made to be in a cartoon style. The rig has already been made on the model too with many features to be able to position it. It has facial controls which are in-depth and all the controls you would need for the body. As a result of the character being cartoony and disproportionate, there is a lot of opportunity for squash and stretch in the animation. This also means that the comedy side of the animation will come slightly more open for us if used correctly! Below are the screenshots from the session. 

  First Project Briefs The first brief that we were presented with was the essay and dissertation proposal. To be honest, the essay sounds pretty much exactly the same as last year in the fact that we pick a certain media; film, tv show, music, etc. and link it to a theme taught by Umut. As a result, I feel pretty confident with this task. We have not been briefed on the dissertation proposal yet because of the fact we are starting it next year.  For animation, we were briefed on both toolkit 2 and the collaboration project. I am excited for the toolkit project as I know that is where we learn most about modelling, animation and all that comes with it. I am very eager to extend my skills in all of these fields. One thing I do need to work on however is my ability to work in a group. This is where the collaboration project comes in. We are working in teams of three, creating an animated short made up of different skits. It has to be comedic and at around 2 minutes long. I and t...

Start of the year thoughts   I feel as though I am very confident going into the second year of my degree. Throughout the summer I have been contemplating how I should change my attitude towards the year and what I will do to manage my time and work. I am aiming to be completely in control of the year and be able to sort my work so that I can efficiently find what I need at the right times. I don't want to make the same mistake where I lost a couple files of toolkit 1 last year, therefore, losing crucial marks. I want to improve my drawing skills and character art skills. I feel that I am good at drawing but when it comes to imagination and creativity without reference, I struggle.  I am willing to learn and push myself more then ever and I am looking forward to progressing my work throughout the year.