This assignment is based on the location drawing we made at the Tate Modern Museum. We had to choose a scene and design it as a story that could be told through only three panels of storyboards, with a beginning, middle, and end. I chose an interaction between a grandmother and a little girl, and as I look at them, the little girl is looking at her grandmother and seems to have something to say. I didn’t hear their conversation, but when I saw them standing and selling the artist manikin, I remembered that when I was shopping in the store, I made the three artist manikins into different gestures just for fun. Therefore I used this image and the artist manikins I posed as inspiration to create a story that is similar to the idea of Toy Story which the toys came alive but need to avoid human attention.
I think this activity was very interesting because it made me think that the picture I drew comes to life in another way in my imagination. In terms of what needs to be improved, after sharing with my teacher and classmates, they suggested that I should modify the first panel so that the part when the little girl sees the artist’s manikin is more obvious. This can help the overall story would be more coherent and would not be confused about what was happening.
We were asked to do the observational drawing at a certain location. However we planned to do it outside, but the weather was not good on that day, therefore we changed the location to Tate Modern Museum. I think it was a good change because we could observe people’s behavior and interaction better in the museum. At first, my friends and I chose to observe in the gallery, where we could see the expressions and movements of many people as they viewed the different works, and record them in drawings. However, later we went to the café because we could avoid some awkward situations and the people sitting in the café would stay longer, giving us more time to observe and draw.
The first part of the project we were asked to do was to simply draw people, without adding backgrounds or interactions. The advantage of this requirement was that we only had to focus on their expressions, movements, and clothing. This also helped us to practice our observational skills and drawing skills because it was difficult to draw in a short period of time so that the audience could tell what I have drawn. The reason for this was that I started out by going for details, and I didn’t finish the drawing after the people had left, so even I didn’t understand what I had drawn.
During the second part, we were asked to observe and draw a scene with people’s interaction. My friends and I chose to go to a children’s souvenir store in a museum because there were many people there interacting with children and it was all much more interesting to observe. This part is also for our last assignment, we had to choose a scene to draw a three-panel storyboard. The scene that I choose for this assignment was the top right one in the second image, which was the interaction between the grandmother and the little girl.
I thought this activity was very interesting because I could closely see how other people interacted and acted, and I could express it through my own drawing. I could still recall the scene even after a long time when I saw those sketches I made, which made me realize the power of observational drawing.
In this activity, we practiced a lot of observational drawings, which are simple objects. In fact, I have not studied professional art in the past, but after I came to this school, I found that the foundation of art is important and I also found the benefits of observational drawing. It not only trained me to draw faster and capture the movement of people, things, and objects but also helps me to observe more on my surroundings. We also did observational drawings on the texture that we saw, I think this helped me in the way that I might able to use these shapes and patterns in my artwork in the future, they gave me inspiration.
During this class, we also drew our own hands, but we had to keep our eyes on them and not look at the paper. This practice trained our ability to position ourselves accurately while we are drawing and I think it also made me become more confident in what I am drawing and be more decisive.
The last activity of the class was to draw a large observational drawing, starting with a piece of paper, finding an angle around the classroom, and starting sketching until the edge, then continuing with another piece of paper. I found this activity very interesting because it gave me a feeling of freedom to draw and I could see from my classmates’ work that everyone has a different perspective even though we were in the same classroom.
For this class activity, we learned how to use the 3 act structure to structure our story. We started by having a practice with the movie we picked. The movie that our group picked was Kung Fu Panda, because that was the movie that I watched recently.
I think this event helped me a lot because I was able to learn how to organize a story in the most concise and clear way. Using a familiar story like Kung Fu Panda maximizes the effectiveness of this exercise. I also think it would work well for my own animation work because sometimes I get so caught up in what I’m drawing that I lose the importance of the story itself, and with this, I can easily plan my story beforehand and have a clear storyline that makes the overall work more efficient and clearer.
This was the week 1 assignment that we did for this rotation, We were asked to draw a storyboard with 20 to 60 frames for this activity, and the story needed to be about two people in a cafe. I chose the story of two friends who met in a cafe and got into a robbery accident when they went out. I was excited when I saw the robbery theme because I felt I had a personal connection with it. I had been robbed of my cell phone by a biker in the UK before and the scare was still fresh in my mind. Therefore I wanted to use this experience to create an idea of what would happen if I had the ability to fight back and caught the criminals after being robbed.
I think the assignment was very interesting and I think I learned a lot from it. First, I learned how to plan a whole story better. Because we only have 60 frames and I have a lot of stories I want to tell, it’s important to think about the beginning and the end first and then move slowly through the assignment. I like writing novels, but I used to write them without outlines, therefore I often didn’t know how the story would go. Drawing a storyboard taught me how to organize my thoughts better. The second point is composition and camera angle. Although I had drawn storyboards before, when I did that I hadn’t considered these, this time I added this consideration to this storyboard, and I think it’s more interesting and can show some emotions and character perspectives very effectively.
We shared this assignment with the class and the teacher, and I got a lot of useful comments. I think I still need to change the camera angle in some parts because I didn’t draw it at the right angle, for example, there is a scene from the top where my chair is not drawn properly. Therefore if I want to make this storyboard into an animation, it may cause misunderstanding, so I think the right angle is still very important.
In conclusion, I think this activity was meaningful and helpful as we demonstrated our learning in the lesson through this assignment. I also think it was fun because we had a lot of freedom to design and create our own scenarios, that we don’t actually need to animate out. Moreover, we had the opportunity to ask for feedback from our classmates and teachers to further our abilities.
During this lesson, we were learning about how to create a good mood board. Before I don’t really understand the purpose of moodboard. But after using it for several projects, I realised that it was really useful for organising and collecting ideas. It was like a collection of inspiration and you can easily see what you want to achieve by looking at the moodboard that you created. I also found it helpful because by looking for images and ideas, I am being inspired at the same time, although I may not put them into the moodboard, but I may used them as the reference in the future.
Moreover, this lesson really explained to us what a good moodboard should contain. This small activity was also a really good practice. The theme we choose was Alice In Wonderland but in a style of teenage and psychedelic. We decided to use a lot of bright and highly contrasting color to show the effect of psychedelics and drugs. The part I like the most was how we combined all the elements including illustration, street view, and movie screenshot, just by looking at this moodboard, I already have an idea of how this artwork might possibly looks like.
I think what we need to improve on for this mood board maybe that we need to organize it a bit more because all our images are layering on top of each other, which makes it the audience and us hard to look, also the color scheme is really similar therefore it might be confusing by the first glance.
This was the first class activity that we did in our first-week storyboard rotation. During this class, the teacher introduced to us a lot of different techniques on how to draw a good storyboard. She also showed us a lot of examples such as the famous part from the animation movie “Up” with a side-to-side storyboard comparison, it was a really useful thing to look at because it could give as an idea of how to do a storyboard that is not too detailed but can really show the main event that happens in that frame.
We learned about different things including visual literacy, composition, and cinematography, I think this was a valuable lesson because that knowledge can not only apply to storyboarding, but also in other areas such as 3D animation is still really useful.
The aim of this activity is to draw a scene in one frame, my chosen prompt was “A surprising discovery”. I decided to show depth by showing the size contrast between my two characters. I put the ants on the side to show the effect of an over-the-shoulder shot, to show an ant’s perspective. I also used the magnifying glass to highlight the size difference and give a focal point for the audience.
I think what I need to improve on first I should make the ants lower and smaller because the composition that I have now is not exaggerated enough. I also think that there are some details I need to fix and show, such as the angle of the magnifying glass does not really make sense.
The first five weeks of the class were conducted online and the teachers introduced us to many talented and unique artists. I created a document on my computer to record the names of these artists and the works that interested me, and write down my thoughts about them. I think this will be very helpful for me in the future, for example, when I am looking for inspiration. Moreover, It is also good for reference when I want to conduct artist research later.
I found the five-week course very helpful. Although it was an online course, we still had the opportunity to learn and understand more artists and many interesting works. I was always looking forward to the animations the teacher showed to us in class because some are really interesting and inspire me to create. I think knowing these talented people will help us to know how to improve and understand that there is no limit to art, as long as we have imagination and creativity, it is all art.
We were asked to work in teams of two for this project. My teammate Amber Liu and I decided to draw a 2D animation. The software we used was FlipaClip, which was easy to use and convenient, and we had both used it before, which saved us a lot of time in learning how to use it. The Point of View theme is quite general, therefore we were given a lot of room for imagination and creativity. This is in fact one of the difficulties we encountered, because there is no clear topic regulations, that we were unable to decide on our final idea. It took us a lot time on discussion, planning and brainstorming before we were able to settle on a theme.
Storyboard
Since we had a 30-second time limit, we avoided adding too many details and ideas while drawing the storyboard that will make us exceed the time limits.
I used to draw the storyboard in black and white, but this time we chose to add colors to it. I think was easier to refer back when I need it, and it’s also very clear to see the difference in color because color is a very important part of our story.
Glasses Design
The 3D glasses were an important element in our animation. Because it symbolised the medium that our characters used to see the world and to show their point of view. Therefore we have several designs for the glasses and the final one we choose was the cartoon-style glasses that have only one side of the holder. The reason for this was that we think that our characters are origami which means they are flat, therefore having only one side makes the scene looks more reasonable.
Colors
The color we choose is red and blue because it was the classic color for the 3D glasses, however, we decided to make them into a more pastel color that looks cuter and warmer, which can deliver a more positive feeling to the audience. For the purple, the reason we choose this color was because the color blue plus red is purple. And purple usually has the meaning of wisdom and creativity which were also the concepts that we want to deliver through this animation.
Character Design
I think the character design part was interesting because we were both able to design characters that represented ourselves. We wanted to emphasize that each person is unique, so we came up with the idea of designing our own characters. We hope there will be some elements they got in common and later on, we came out with the idea that they were both origami. We are art students, paper is indispensable to us, it gives us space to create and express ourselves, this interpretation gives another layer of meaning to these two characters that are made out of paper.
We also added unique decorations on them to emphasise the colors they represent so that the audience can understand the story easily.
Character designed by my teammate Amber LiuCharacter designed by me
Reference and Inspiration for Characters
Artwork by gentleinstincts on Tumblr
Characters’ View
Those the views that we design for our characters. For the squirrel, she loves nature and city, therefore I created view based on this combination of both ideas. For the cat, we decided that he loves ocean and space, therefore my teammate also designed this view for him. For the last part of the story, where two world combined together, my teammate used elements from both of our view and recreate a new one. This represent the idea of how their point of view has changed and create a new and better view. This view has color fill in, to emphasise the idea that it is different than the two before. However, the elements of nature, city, ocean and space also represent the idea that although we are all lived on the same planet, but how we seen this world is totally different because of the impacts from our living environment, personalities and other elements.
Sribble’s ViewSkratch’s ViewView after combination (with purple)
Reference and Inspiration for the View
Artwork by Daan Botlek
Music
To create our music, my partner and I decided to use Garage Band software to make because we both have a bit of experience before. We first wanted to use violins and cellos but it was not really suitable for our animation. Therefore later we went for whirly piano and drums can create a sound that is more delightful and happy. However, after the screening feedback section, we had before the submission, the teacher suggest we change the music because the music we had at that time made our animation sounds like a cartoon show or advertisement. Therefore I guess the reason why it may feel that way was that there were no big changes in music in between, therefore we decided to add the electric guitar to highlight the fight scene in between and make the animation became more vivid.
This process was interesting and I was thankful for the effort that my teammate Amber put in for this music. Because we are both not music professionals, she really spent a lot of time on our music and changed accordingly while we have changes in our animation.
This process really trained me to start and think of creating our own music. Because in the future we will need to create that every time when we have new work. We can not use the music from others, because there will be copy right. Therefore learning how to make music that can be suitable for my work is important.
Screenshot from Garage Band
Editing
Once the music and animation were completed, the last part was to combine them together and do the editing. The software that we chose to use is Cap cut, which is a relatively convenient software that can be used on both phones and computers, therefore it is more convenient for us to transfer information and files between different devices. After we combined both animations, the time exceeded 30 seconds. To solve this we used some of the functions in the Cap cut such as speeding up to make some of the movements smoother. For example, the jumping part I drew, after speeding up looked more reasonable. We also added some special effects to make the whole animation looks richer. Although I know I will learn more professional software in the future, I think this kind of easy-to-use software is good for me to practice or use in my leisure time, and it can still help me practice my editing skills.
Keyframes
I am personally very satisfied with this work because these key frames show that we have finished the plot we planned on the storyboard. Although some parts were deleted due to time constraints, the overall story direction has not been changed.
Title pageWriting sceneIntroducing the charactersPut on their glassesTheir viewsThey are surprised by their viewThey bumps into each otherFight sceneGlasses brokeWorld combinedThey are curious and shocked
Final Outcome – Periwinkle-d
Our Story
The red and blue lines represent the viewpoints of the cat and the squirrel, they have their own perspective on the world, which is the scene that they saw when they put their glasses on. The cat likes space and the sea, while the squirrel loves nature and the city. In fact, this also represents that everyone has different preferences and views, and although we all live in the same world, we are concerned about different things. In the subsequent story, they collided together and found that each other’s ideas and their own do not match. In order to defend their own ideas, to prove that they are right, they fought. However after a rapprochement, that is, after the breaking of glasses in our animation, their worlds merged together again. This also shows that their point of view has changed, but also accepted each other’s ideas. Therefore we emphasize the difference in the scene at the end with the color purple. They were both surprised, but both accepted each other and chose to see this new world together. We left a space at the end of the story so that the audience could imagine the rest of the plot.
Moral Behind Our Story
From this story, we wanted to show the audience that everyone’s point of view is worth listening to and respecting. As your worldview is gradually opened up through experience and exposure, you will find new and perhaps more surprising things that might change your life.
Overall Conclusion
Overall, I really enjoyed the project and I was lucky to be teamed up with Amber, who is a very responsible and talented team member. Through this project, I learned how to narrow down the topic to a specific theme that we want to do. I am also delighted to have completed this project, and for myself, it successfully conveyed what we wanted to say. Perhaps the downside is that if we had more time, we could have made the story clearer. For example, the part in the middle that shows the viewpoints of the two characters, I think that part goes by too fast and it’s a little hard to see the details that we have drawn on the two views. The current version, if it’s a first-time viewer, might not get the message we’re trying to convey, and that’s something we need to reflect on and change.
The project was interesting in that we had to find an answer to the question “Why is this place called Elephant and Castle” and express it in an artistic way. I was excited to hear about this theme because when I first came to this place I was also curious about this. The name has no particular connection to the idea of elephants or castles. Therefore I understood that this would be an activity that would stimulate imagination and creativity, and I believe that through this activity I would get to know the place better and see it from a different perspective.
Working Progress
The first step to start this project was to team up with six people and then brainstormed. Each of us had different ideas, and that’s what I think makes this kind of activity meaningful, through communication and discussion we may come up with better and more thoughtful works. I also think our group members are very creative and all their ideas are interesting. My idea was to make a sculpture, either out of clay or cardboard. Because I enjoyed doing arts and crafts, I like this kind of work. I think this will show the different ideas of each person and show the creativity of each person.
But after discussion, we decided to go out and interview people and ask them what they thought about the name “Elephant and castle”. We believe that games like board games or card games can enhance the relationship between people. This is exactly what we hope to convey, and we hope to pass on these stories about Elephant and Castle to more people.
Interview
The second part of what we did was we went out and conducted interviews. We went around the college looking for strangers to interview. I thought this was good training because I’m a bit afraid of communicating with strangers. However, with the company of the group gave me more courage to talk to people. Interestingly, I found that everyone had a different understanding of the subject. The most impressive thing I remembered was that two strangers told the same story about the king and princess of Spain at different times. I don’t know the reason behind this, but the coincidence was really memorable. After interviewing some passersby, we decided to interview some teachers and students in the school, and they gave us many creative stories.
Card Making
To design the product for our projects, we decided to choose 13 stories that attracted us the most. The reason for this is that the full set of poker cards is 52 cards with 13 different numbers. Therefore to achieve the idea of playing cards, 13 stories suit the best. With these 13 stories, each of us will take a few of them and draw them out in our own interpretation. It was a
To design the label of the playing cards, we decided to design them individually and share them with other group membered. The one we choose at the end of my design. I tried to make it simple but directly lead to the point of “Elephant”. The outline design of the card was coming from another group mate. She designed it based on the idea of “castle” I think it was really creative and fits our theme really well.
I think the way we discussed the design was effective because it gave everyone’s ideas a chance to be seen and everyone could explain their work, which not only allowed the person’s ideas to be better understood but also gave other group members the possibility to be inspired and coming up with new ideas.
Final Outcome
The following image was the cards I drew. The story that I got was about the Spanish king, the Spanish princess, and how a princess and an elephant are friends. I decided to include my own interpretation of the story that those people told. I tried a new style of drawing for those three cards, and I think I am quite satisfied with the result. The challenging part for that three-story is the Spanish king and princess because I need to include some Spanish elements, it took me time to do research and ensure that the elements I put in are relevant.
These are the final products that include all the cards that we made. It was an amaze when I see them put together. Each of us has our own style which implicated the idea that each of the stories is unique. Especially some of them includes color and some did not, this gave the final look variety and make it looks interesting.
To make our work more impressive, we also designed the back of the card. After the cards turn around, they will become like a puzzle that created the image of an elephant. And the Ace card will show the image of the castle. This helped to reinforce the theme and makes our work more attractive.
Final Outcome
To present our work, we videoed our cards and also the flipping process and added in the music, video, and also audio of the interviews. The reason that we did this process is to make this piece of work more complete and can effectively share with others in the class.
Overall, I think it was a valuable and memorable project that really helped my learning journey. Firstly working in a group, therefore it helped to improve my team working skills and how to communicate my idea with my group mate and decided on the final decision through discussion. Secondly, I really liked our final product, I think it was interesting and it did deliver the concepts we wanted to convey. We showed the possibility of art and how creativity has this much variety and also showed how everyone has the ability to imagine and created an interesting story.
