Sophie Costello Formative Assessment Portfolio Graphic Design Year Three
Introduction In the past I had been making stop motion movies and learning about the beginning of animation. I used these vintage methods to inspire me for the use of my own short films. I am also gathering a few photography skills in the making as I am having to take hundreds of frame by frame shots, so try to avoid having to stop and edit them all individually. I’ve also been delving into the history of Disney and where stop motion films began. I had been practicing making my own Zoetropes and other forms of vintage use of motion within illusion last year but now had moved on to designing actual cartoons the way Disney would have in the 50’s. This time round I am looking at more modern techniques of film making and how studios like Chibli have developed in their years. Although I am still unsure of what area of graphic design I am most interested in, I enjoyed where my independent practice took me. I have been playing around with the different mediums of animation and taking inspiration from some mainstream illustrators such as PES and Airside plus the endless amounts of amateur films out there. Looking at the way their short films are both so different but attractive, and seeing the different methods of animation available to me. I have been doing a lot of investigating and mock up ideas but would like to take this a lot further, to create a more professional look on my work and to really learn the ins and outs of flash and after effects, and, if the courage hits me, to maybe tackle 3D studio programs.
My intentions with my final portfolio are to get across a wide range of different skills and interests that I have as a budding graphic designer - and that animation is just one of them. By the time I graduate I hope to have learnt as much as humanly possible on animating techniques and computer software experience to take away with me in to a workplace. I think the next step for me is to try and branch out from the normal design programs that I know so well and use the last weeks at uni to get myself in some workshops, do some tutorials and know how to use the software that will be required of me in the future. With these skill behind me I will have an extensive knowledge of design in a variety of different forms.
Initial Concept Sketches: Designing my Character. The images here show the stages of developing my characters for last years work. I began sketching in pencil and then scanned the images and traced them in illustrator with a graphics tablet. The stage isn’t all too different for the “inking” stage in 50’s animation where employees would trace over an artists work and colour them in for the final film stage.
Further Developement: Here is my attempt at a watercolour background that I used as the setting for my rabbit illustrations. I am in no way a water colour enthusiast but I figure I should give it a shot if I want my animation to be totally my own. I didnt actuallt use watercolours, I got the idea from Peter Emslie to use watered down Gouache paints instead.
Yuri Norstein Yuri Norstein (born September 15, 1941) is an award-winning Soviet and Russian animator best known for his animated shorts, Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales. Since 1981 he has been working on a feature film called The Overcoat, based on the short story by Nikolai Gogol of the same name. Norshteyn uses a special technique in his animation, involving multiple glass planes to give his animation a three-dimensional look. The camera is placed at the top looking down on a series of glass planes about a meter deep (one every 25–30 cm). The individual glass planes can move horizontally as well as toward and away from the camera (to give the effect of a character moving closer or further away). Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, Norshteyn’s animations were showered with both state and international awards. Then, in a bitter twist of irony, he was fired from Soyuzmultfilm in 1985 for working too slowly on his latest film, a (presumably) feature-length adaptation of Gogol’s Overcoat. By that time he had been working on it with his usual small team of three people for two years and had finished ten minutes.To this day, Norshteyn is still working on The Overcoat—his ardent perfectionism has earned him the nickname “The Golden Snail”. (FILLER TEXT THAT WILL BE FILLED WITH INFORMATION DESCRIBING HOW THEY HAVE INFLUENCED ME IN MY OWN WORK.)
Studio Ghibli A Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company’s logo features the character Totoro (a large forest spirit) from Hayao Miyazaki’s film My Neighbor Totoro. It has its headquarters in Koganei, Tokyo. I had been looking into Studio Ghiblie as suggested by Sallyanne and was in awe. Many anime features created by Studio Ghibli have won the Animage Anime Grand Prix award including: Castle in the Sky in 1986; My Neighbor Totoro in 1988; and Kiki’s Delivery Service in 1989. In 2002, Spirited Away won a Golden Bear and an Oscar for Best Animated Feature which remains the only film made outside the English speaking world to have done so. (FILLER TEXT THAT WILL BE FILLED WITH INFORMATION DESCRIBING HOW THEY HAVE INFLUENCED ME IN MY OWN WORK.)
Initial Ideas Some past sketches that I had done whilst trying to come up with a theme for my own work I sketched them and then scanned them in, then edited out the glares.
Initial Ideas Some recent sketches that I’ve been doing. I scan an illustration that I have done or photograph an object or being and then use it to create a line drawing with a graphics tablet.
February February 2012 MON
1.
2.
8.
9.
Pick up feedback & write proposal.
6.
Research & Experimenting.
13.
Research Library.
20.
Research & Experimenting.
27.
Research & Experimenting.
7.
Research & Experimenting.
14.
Research Library.
21.
Research & Experimenting.
28.
Research & Experimenting.
THU
WED
TUE
Preparing for your professional future workshop.
Write proposal.
Research & Experimenting.
FRI
SATS
UN
3.
4.
5.
10.
11.
12.
Feedback & FMP Discussion Meetings 12:30pm Research & Experimenting.
Research & Experimenting.
Research & Experimenting.
Research & Experimenting.
Research & Experimenting.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
Research Library.
Research & Experimenting.
Research Library.
Research & Experimenting.
Research Library.
Research & Experimenting.
Research & Experimenting.
Research & Experimenting.
Research & Experimenting.
Research & Experimenting.
29.
Research & Experimenting.
Timetables February February 2012 March 2012 MON
THU
WED
TUE
1.
2.
7.
8.
9.
Prepare for Formative Feedback Submission.
5.
Prepare for Formative Feedback Submission.
6.
Prepare for Formative Feedback Submission.
FRI
Design Project Management Workshop.
Prepare for Formative Feedback Submission.
Prepare for Formative Feedback Submission. Formative Feedback Stage
SATS
UN
3.
4.
10.
11.
Prepare for Formative Feedback Submission.
Create my storyboards. Prepare for Mock Vivas.
Prepare for Formative Feedback Submission.
Create my storyboards. Prepare for Mock Vivas.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19. Mock Vivas all Week. Creation of animations & movin images.
20. Vivas
21. Vivas
22. Vivas
23. Vivas
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
Create my storyboards. Prepare for Mock Vivas.
Creation of animations and moving images.
Create my storyboards. Prepare for Mock Vivas. Creation of animations and moving images. Creation of animations and moving images.
Create my storyboards. Prepare for Mock Vivas. Creation of animations and moving images. Creation of animations and moving images.
Create my storyboards. Prepare for Mock Vivas. Creation of animations and moving images. Creation of animations and moving images.
Create my storyboards. Prepare for Mock Vivas. Creation of animations and moving images. Creation of animations and moving images.
Creation of animations and moving images. Creation of animations and moving images. Creation of animations and moving images.
Creation of animations and moving images. Creation of animations and moving images.
1st April
Creation of animations and moving images.
My personal timetable, showing workshops, tutorials and the stages of my experimentation.
February April 2012 MON 2.
Developing animations & moving image.
9.
Developing animations & moving image.
16.
Building my portfolio.
23.
Building my portfolio.
THU
WED
TUE
5.
6.
7.
8.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
Developing animations & moving image. Building my portfolio.
Building my portfolio. Prepare for Vivas Voce.
Developing animations & moving image. Developing animations & moving image. Building my portfolio.
Building my portfolio. Prepare for Vivas Voce.
Developing animations & moving image. Developing animations & moving image. Building my portfolio.
Building my portfolio. Prepare for Vivas Voce.
February May 2012 1.
7.
Finishing Touches.
Finishing Touches.
8.
FMP Hand-In
THU
WED 2.
Finishing Touches.
3.
Finishing Touches.
UN
4.
Developing animations & moving image.
Building my portfolio. Prepare for Vivas Voce.
TUE
SATS
3.
30.
MON
FRI
FRI 4.
Finishing Touches.
SATS 5.
Finishing Touches.
UN 6.
Finishing Touches.
Developing animations & moving image. Developing animations & moving image. Building my portfolio.
Building my portfolio. Prepare for Vivas Voce.
Developing animations & moving image. Developing animations & moving image. Building my portfolio.
Building my portfolio. Prepare for Vivas Voce.
Developing animations & moving image. Developing animations & moving image. Building my portfolio.
Building my portfolio. Prepare for Vivas Voce.
Bibliography http://www.onlineghibli.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_Ghibli http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuriy_Norshteyn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRsXU4Q6a0Q http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUedNizfhUY http://www.ubu.com/film/breakwell_diary.html www.the-50.org www.sci.fi/~animato/cartoon/cartoon.html http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animation www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhfp6Z8z1cl http://cartooncave.blogspot.com/ www.disney.com