The Final

This is the final render of my showreel. I feel it's a decent compilation of my work. I didn't get as much stuff done for Pups as I wanted due to my panic of my showreel being boring with it all being the same thing. Overall I feel I've done well. I plan on working on Pups some more in my own time over the summer, hopefully it'll be ready for animating in the 3rd year.

Billy

This was also a video I started for fun last year and quickly abandoned. Only recently finishing it for the show reel, I had no intention of putting it in but a friend suggested that it showed good character animation, despite the actual character design being bland. The more the merrier I guess.

The video it's self uses dialogue from this video. The premise being two guys watching a boy named Billy trying to play Mario for the internet. Half way through his mother calls him and Billy finds out what exciting thing he's getting for Christmas!

Crab 2: Electric Boogaloo

The previous animation but now with colour and a background. I'm not sure if the final backgrounds in Pups will look exactly like this but this is a good place holder.

Snip

An animation of Jenny acting. I was going to try and lip sync her but in the end I couldn't think of what audio would suite her and instead of just making things complicated for myself I decided to just do her acting. In this she picks up a shell and is shocked to find someone is still living in it.

I'm thinking of colouring and adding a background to add some more test footage for Pups.

Rain Drop

An old animation I did last year in between doing the sting. I didn't even think about putting this in my show reel until it was suggested to me. I showed it to Peter Dodd and he seemed pretty pleased with it so some of things might show it's self in my show reel.

The video is simply me animating to the song Cloisonné by They Might be Giants. I enjoyed the exchange given between the singer and 'rain drop' as you could put your own spin on it. It sounded slightly threatening but like most of TMBG's songs you can't really be sure what's going on.

Pup moves along

Does this count as a walk cycle? Sure why not.

Some animations of Pup now. The top one was just an experiment to see how he would move, seeing as he he's not really built to move in the traditional walk cycle method. He just flops along the screen and I think it's adorable. Also the way his scarf flaps along with him has a lot of appeal.

This video was just to play with how seals move underwater. It's brief but I think it has a lot of appeal. Also it was great to animate the bubbles around him, this is something that was challenge but with some advice I think overall it came out rather well.

Life Drawing

I worried that due to Pups large headed and cartoony nature that I was losing touch with how to draw the human figure. I decided to show up to some of the first years life drawings classes for a refresher course.

Wrex doesn't like to be shot (who knew?)

First Draft

Second Draft

Wrex comes back for a little lip syncing. The line is from the game Left 4 Dead 2. It's a reaction line when a character gets shot, in this case the line is:
"Unless you want to be picking your teeth off the floor, stop shooting me."
The first version had him going in and out to much, after discussing is with Peter Dodd it was suggested to have him just constantly go more forward, seeing as it was a threat and the character would want to get closer to whoever he's saying it to just so he seems more serious and threatening.
I might clean it up some more before putting it in my show reel but for now I'm going back to focusing on more Pups development work.
I do like the final movement Wrex displays, I hope the most fun animating his ears. I plan on doing another lip sync but with Jenny as I find lip syncing fun and it would be great to see her talking.

With Audio

Dog Walk Cycle

Harry walks along at a joyful pace.

While home for a few days I was inspired by my pet dog to do this small walk cycle. What was originally going to be a doodle turned into something I'm proud of. Thanks Harry.

Jenny Walk

First Attempt

Small example of Jenny's walk cycle. It also was a good chance to test out how the colours will work with the character. I wanted to create a shimmering effect, like Rhubarb and Custard. A nice traditional look but done in a digital medium. There was my first attempt but the footing was off also her pocket was missing. Plus her face moved to much. The second attempt was much cleaner and over all more appealing.

Second Attempt

It may also be apparent that her arms in both versions are moving the wrong way. This was something I didn't do on purpose. It simply looked right, when putting the arms the right way something seemed off. I couldn't explain it. I showed it to Peter Dodd and he said that the animation still works and should keep it the way it is. This makes me wonder whether I should put this in my show reel. I'm proud of it and it was a good test of the colouring method but will the fact the arms are wrong lose me getting work? I'll work on another walk cycle and decide if it's worth it when I edit the reel together.
                                 

Pup's Evolution

Early Pup Sketch

Pup didn't really change to much but the species of seal did. At first pup seemed more based on a Galapagos Fur Seal, characterized by his ears and much larger fins. I enjoyed this but I really wanted it to be set in a more English seaside and as the name suggests these types of seals were not commonly found in the English shores.

I researched what seals would be near the British seas and I discovered the most common were the aptly named Common (or Harbor) Seal. I enjoy the common seals small pudgy bodies and smaller fins as it creates an enjoyable waddle, or slide.

Pup with boots (scrapped concept)

More Harbor Seal looking pup

Final Character Sheet

Pup's design came together rather quickly although his snout was still to long and needed to be brought in a bit. Also his back fins could do with being simplified for not only animation purposes but also sometimes his fins seemed a bit to realistic compared the rest of his very simplified body.


Soon his design became even rounder and more solid. The ear hole though in the final design was scrapped as I found it wasn't entirely to appealing to the overall design and would just be another thing to animate that may have cause some issues. In the end I feel that Pup is an appealing character that will complement Jenny's design quite nicely.

Evolution Of Jenny

Jenny, first sketches.

Jenny was a very vague idea to begin with. I knew I wanted a young girl but I wasn't sure how young. In these first drawings she is about 11-12. The original concept was that not only would she give up her scarf, but also her boots. The seal would grow fond of the boots and keep those as a memento. I didn't like this concept as she would have to walk around on pebbled roads with no boots (as pictures on the left). I felt it would just be better if the seal kept the scarf instead. Simpler in many aspects in terms of animation and the poor girl get to keep her feet safe from the harsh pavement.

First Sketchbook concept drawings.

Picture of Jenny and Pup

Eventually when I got a sketchbook she began to develop into a younger and chubbier child. Her hair became messy and her eyes became smaller and rounder. Her shapes became more baby like. Now she was around about 6 years old. I felt more appeal in her smaller eyes are larger head, more innocence was conveyed in her face but she also brimmed with confidence with her large smile.

I liked the look the pens would give to the image. This is something I'd like to transfer over to the animation. It'll add an interesting shimmering movement to the over film with I hope can add appeal.

First draft of Jenny's character sheet.

The first character sheet didn't quite work. Her hair was to symmetrical and her face shape made it seem like she had a marshmallow skull. The overall character needed to become more solid and her hair needed to be simple to animate but not so simple her hair suffered from being to neat. She was a girl who explores the seaside and here it is clear that her hair is just to tidy.

I also found I was drawing her boots in a the wrong perspective. Sometimes her mouth would be to close to her nose. All in all not a great character in terms of animation. She wasn't terrible but needed improvement.

Improved Sketches

In these images Jenny's skull became more defined and more appealing and her over all her structure was more solid. Still her hair wasn't quite right but the strand that was near her eyes gave her hair a bit more of a scruffy look and add a nice asymmetry to her over all design.

Final Character Sheet

The finale sheet has her hair behind one ear and just neatens the overall design. I feel Jenny has come a long way and has become the character I wanted her to be when I first envisioned this idea.

Wrex Harrison

Wrex and Tiggles Abella

Wrex Harrison is an idea I have for a point-and-click adventure game, which will probably never be fully produced (I'm not a programmer), but I would like to use the world, and its characters, for my showreel.

The story is set in an everyday-looking town, but the plot centres on a secret animal society where the household pets go to at night to socialise, hidden under the city streets. The main character is Wrex Harrison, a Doberman who runs the most popular bar in the area. Recent murders near his bar, combined with his chequered past, have made Wrex suspect number one. In an effort to restore the reputation of himself and his business, Wrex uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to drive animals and humans apart...

Wrex encounters many colourful characters and species, including Tiggles Abella, a cat who dreams to sing centre stage in a bar where dogs get the best gigs; a hamster scientist who keeps to himself and may be harbouring dark secrets; and the animal Mafia (working title), a shady organisation run by an embittered bunny rabbit.

This is an idea that I have had in the back of my head for a while now. Although not as prominent in my mind as Pups, it helps to break up my workload and focus on a wider variety of ideas. I don't know how much I will actually revisit this idea for my final show reel but I am planning on doing something with at least the main character Wrex. Time will tell.

Reel of Examples

I find when looking at showreels the best are usually around a minute and showing a variety of character and animation styles.
You get something like this. A Calarts student who has shown her skills right off the bat with sturdy drawings and animations filled to brim with character.
The only problem is this it goes on to long but this is only a minor flaw. Overall it's a confident reel.

On the more flash based reels you get examples like this. The most impressive is there work on  El Tigre which showcases good character motions and design. The video proudly showcases the competence use of Flash.  
The timing doesn't go on for to long the only real problem is the animation falls a bit flat at the end but it has already gained so much interest from the beginning.


 
This one above is my favorite as it shows a variety of styles and a wide knowledge of multiple programs. It doesn't last to long and over all gets straight to the point. You can see this persons talent from start to finish.

Proposal

I enjoy doing many things when it comes to the production of animation. I like character design, storyboarding, making the animatic and animating. I find it hard to just choose one specific thing because I honestly feel I would enjoy work in all these fields. I also enjoy coming up with story ideas; from films to games, I just enjoy the creative process that comes from these ideas. That is why I've decided that my showreel will consist of the production work of my third year film, its current title being “Pups”. This will include character sheets and test animations as I try to get the style down, as well as storyboards, layouts, and perhaps the animatic. All these things will help expand the production time for my third year film and help to make it as good as possible. The film is a 2D piece as I have found 2D is the route I enjoy going down the most. Pups is very much the film that I have wanted to make for a while; always having rough glimpses of it in my head, I find now is the time to bring it to life. The whole feel is based on personal childhood nostalgia, back when the weather was bad but we would go on holiday regardless. The film will have a limited colour pallet of greys, blues and whites, as it suits the film’s cold wintery theme and will hopefully give the film a memorable look.

Pups will probably be a one-and-a-half-minute film. It will be the story of a 6-year-old girl named Jenny and a seal pup called Pup. Jenny lives in a beach town; as it is set in winter, the town is pretty much empty. Whilst collecting shells on the beach, Jenny encounters Pup, a seal who wants to go into the sea, but “the water is too cold.” Jenny helps him out by providing him with clothes from her house on the hill, adding more and more layers until Pup is a big ball of clothing. When Jenny runs out of clothes to give to him, and decides he’s ready to return to the ocean, Pup reveals it wasn't the cold he was afraid of – it was the sea itself. By this point, though, he’s started rolling down the hill. Jenny runs to stop him, but she trips, and Pup rolls into the sea. Jenny goes home, sad, but wakes up the next morning to find an ornate shell on her table and a pile of wet clothes in her sitting room, confirming to her that Pup’s fears have been conquered. We end on Pup popping his head out of the water, still wearing the scarf, and then he vanishes to swim further out to sea. The end message is that to conquer fear, sometimes we just need a push from a friend.

I hope that I can create a film that is simple but beautiful, and that if I start production work on it now it will mean a better film in the future. I can also add other things to my showreel to make it more visually pleasing, such as other ideas for projects that may not ever become fully-fledged productions, just to demonstrate variety. Also, seeing as Pups has its limited colour pallet, it would be good to bring in these other things, just to show I have a wider grasp of colour and design.

Overall I am confident in the idea of Pups. I hope it can be something that could get me noticed in the industry. This is why I feel I must start production this year, to make the film as showcase-worthy as possible.