ANALYSIS
♕ IDEA & INTERPRETATION
My idea was meant to be extremely clear cut and to the point! I had noticed before that I had way too big of ambitions during my independent study, which led to an unclear story and miscommunication. I sincerely took the advice, and simplified my story and interpretation of the story in order to not be misconstrued. The animation begins with the two characters, Akriel and Koal in their living room, sitting at their table and chatting. Right away, I wanted to get to the point of what they did not know- the meteor showers. Having close up shots for the two, they went back and forth talking about the current meteor showers in their world, and how it had frightened Akriel's friends. As a way to add personal charm to the characters, I had Koal tease Akriel about also being scared, which directly led to Akriel loudly disagreeing. It then cuts to a shot of Akriel stirring a spoon in his tea absentmindedly, muttering how 'of course he isn't scared!' when he clearly is a bit scared. Koal leans over the table, resting his head and day dreaming of kicking the meteor and saving the 'damsel in distress' Akriel. The angel Akriel notices, and begins to wave his arms and attempt to snap Koal out of his silly little dream. Once spooked away, Akriel nags at Koal how he never pays attention, is always spacing out, and how 'everyone thinks I'm the ditzy one when it's you!' Koal simply nods, the two both unaware of the meteor about to hit the table. BAM, it really did hit the table. Obviously now terrified, Koal passes out from shock while Akriel peaks over curiously to see the meteor shake. The space rock pops open, and out comes a tiny little purple bat. Now unafraid, Akriel simply picks up the bat and sighs at all the trouble it caused. I interpreted this directly, as in finding something they didn't understand, and finding out soon what it was. The idea took me a while to form, as at first I wanted to explore deeper terms like not knowing love, or not knowing family, as both of those themes fit with my characters. However, I understood my time limit, and decided pushing myself that hard when I have had few and far experiences with story telling would only lead to my doom.
♕ ANIMATION PRINCIPLES
I did keep in mind our good ol' principles of animation during this project! I used staging in the beginning to really put the importance on where the characters were. Using up close shots, I made sure to make it personal with these characters, and made sure to include the window in almost every shot I was able to put it in. As the window is the center of action and the climax, it was very important that it wasn't discarded in people's thoughts immediately. Secondary action was a requirement for this project, so I made sure to address that next. Akriel spoke in the first scene, and as a secondary action, he picked up the tea in order to sip it. There were many other instances, such as Koal's arms moving up and down as he lifted and lowered them from the table. Anticipation was used next- when Akriel retorts to Koal's teasing. He starts back, with his arms crossed, then moving them back in order to move closer and point a finger at Koal. Leaving space on the right side of the screen, it allowed for the audience to expect and take in Akriel's next movement. Follow through was another requirement- this was used frequently and throughout the animation with Akriel's ahoge (the hair standing up like an antennae). I used the wave principle in order to show follow through, and when it sadly waved in the air as well. Timing was used next, with the meteorite falling through the window and onto the table. I put more frames in the beginning to show weight, and less in the middle to show speed. When the meteorite fell, it bounced slightly to show that the object was weighted, and added a less stiff appearance to it to allow it to flow. Exaggeration was used next, in the scene where Akriel and Koal are startled by the meteor. Akriel jumps up, eyes wide and hands in the air; while Koal passes out hard and a little ghost comes out from his body. The exaggeration helped add appeal to my characters as well, showing more of their features. For instance, Akriel has a much more childish, fluffy appearance. Meanwhile, Koal wears a loose hoodie an has short, curly hair and horns, showing a more mischievous and relaxed feel compared to Akriel's nice jacket and bow.
♕ GROWTH & ACHIEVEMENT
One of my favorite scenes was the meteor crashing through the window and falling onto the table. I was so proud with the timing, and how smooth the cup had lifted up and the liquid spilled out. The book moving too, with the pages expanding when knocked up. I have never been able to pull off such a heavy fall and chain reaction, and honestly was more than proud how well it came out. Another aspect I've grown in is my posing, and how dynamic my art has become. It feels less stiff- more real and fluid. Such a boost in confidence from that! I feel as if I really have learned and grown from over the year in my style, and the way I go about drawing. In the beginning, I was too afraid to ever try a new pose- and copied and pasted nearly everything in order to save myself the trouble of fear. I was afraid, I didn't want to animate a drawing that looked 'bad' to me, but through learning and rigorous study; I came to the conclusion that I truly only grow by trying. Drawing stick figures on the sides as reference, then bubbling out a shape, then finalizing, has become my biggest friend when it comes to figuring out how to move bodies. I can now say that I am proud of my art, and glad I've tried this much.
♕ IMPROVEMENT
Definitely, however, I'm aware that my timing and line art needs drastic improvement. One area of the animation I felt was poor would be the beginning scene, it felt stiff and robotic with the head tilts. During the sketch stage, it was certainly fluid and smooth, but as I did the line art, I was getting confused by which frame was which, and didn't break it up enough to truly stick to the original sketches. I feel if I took a day out of my sketching stage to focus on that scene, it would've smoothed my progress by adding confidence. Another area I feel like I struggled at would be the final parts of the sketch- I didn't expand enough in my storyboard on how Koal would fall to the ground, and it left too vague of an option that was hard to find. I was between decided on having his fall backwards, which I couldn't animate properly since depth is not my friend, or lean over the table. If I had just stuck to what was realistically easier, I wouldn't of spent so long being frustrated over it.
♕ OVERALL
I think my strategy worked pretty well. I tackled this by dividing up days for me to finish, setting goals and understanding the severity of this project. I refused to let my brain wander or doodle on the sides (outside from my reference images), and made the most use of my time as I could. Perhaps if I simplified some of my shots, the sketching and lining would have moved along a lot faster, and I would've had more time to include shading and splashes of darker colors. I would've loved to add another scene at the end, where the bat would fly around the room and bring the ending slide into view by a string- however, I understood that was too complex for me to finish in time or attempt, so I scrapped that idea. I learned the importance of pacing yourself, and really understanding what one can achieve realistically. This project taught me patience as well, and being self sufficient enough to problem solve when there is nobody around to help me. I had my stressful moments, the moments where I felt like I wanted to throw out the entire project. Definitely, I am thankful for the stress it's caused in a way. I've grown stronger because of that, and I've learned to overcome adversities. Next time, however, I promise to save every three seconds! Seriously, however, next time I would love to focus more on poses, and dynamic movements rather than still movements.
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