Study Task 10 - Showreel

My Showreel for 2019.

I have seen a huge improvement in character design and storyboarding over this year but I can also seen a big need to improve my animation skills as well. However, over this year, I have definitely come to realise that I excel more in pre-production than actual production and this is the area I want to focus on more.

Character Design Challenge - Alebrijes

I entered the Character Design Challenge for their 51st challenge: Alebrijes.

Alebrijes originate from Mexico and they're actually a relatively new addition to Mexican culture. First created by Pedro Linares as sculptures of non-existent animals that he saw in his dreams; a donkey with butterfly wings, a rooster with bull-horns, etc. The whole idea of alebrijes is that they can be whatever you imagine them to be and that they are sort of your spirit animal when you pass over to the afterlife.

I decided to combine two of my favourite animals to create my own alebrije; a wolf and a deer and then I decided to mix in eagle wings as well.

Initial sketch

I tried to go for a realistic wolf look but it looked really strange with the unnatural colour palette:

I decided to go extremely cute and simple instead:

And I toned down the colour palette to compliment the style better.

Study 9: Collective Enterpise

My team was formed of; Cara, Jess, Rhys and myself.

We decided to create a collective that focused on finding work for freelancers, particularly animation freelancers and artists. As we are all wanting to focus on pre-production and that it is hard to find work for such freelancers.

I did research into how to start a company, looking into studio spaces in Leeds, Wakefield and Manchester, as well as software necessities, desktop computers and laptops.

We also created a website for our collective; "The Hungry Artist Collective"

https://carajeal.wixsite.com/thehungryartist?fbclid=IwAR2xAqM01UX3pjWcuHmWKpEJVybp2jn3kDwHl2DSmJ8JNmbQBu8qfnqep8Y

            Logo designed by Rhys.

I really like the idea of this collective and I would like to explore this idea more.

Study Task 2: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

Into the Spider-verse

One of the most talked about films in late 2018 and for very good reason. This amazing 3D/2D hybrid animated film came surprisingly from Sony Animation Studios (who also brought out the hated "The Emoji Movie" and the even more hated "Peter Rabbit 2018). 

The film tells the story of Miles Morales, a character that has only be known in the comics and had a very small cameo in the 2018 Spiderman game, and his story of becoming his universe's Spiderman.

It is revealed that there are many different universes and each one has there own version of Spiderman and due some very extraordinary circumstances 6 of them are brought to Miles'. 

Each of the Spiderpeople has different styles, not just costumes and fighting styles but animation style. Peter Porker is inspired by old school Looney Tunes and is animated accordingly, SpiderNoir is coloured in black, white and grey and Penny Parker is heavily inspired by anime. 

This blend of different type of styles and animations makes this a truly unique experience for any animation fan but it is also an engaging and entertaining story with a lot of charm. Miles chemistry and clever banter with the rest of the cast make the character dynamics so fun to watch and seeing him grow and accept his role as Spiderman is an endearing way of telling the story of Spiderman.

Study Task 8: Working Freelance/ Self Employed

If I work as a freelancer I will need to create a professional portfolio and post it on a professional website. 

I understand that it is important to keep up a social media presence on Instagram and Facebook, and on Art specific websites like Artstation, Deviantart, etc.

I am also aware that YouTube is a popular and good way to create a passive income by creating videos, which is something I have been considering for a long time.

On average freelance artists usually charge between £15-£25 per hour, this will be an outline for me to keep in mind.

I wrote out a commission contract that I can use in the future, I made sure to cover myself in regards to copyright and social media rights over the work I create. 

Study Task 2: Steven Universe: Battle of Heart and Mind/ Change your Mind

Steven Universe: Season 5 Finale

Steven Universe has been a leading modern cartoon for everyone, especially for the LGBTQ+ community. The most recent season has had huge character arcs and reveals that the fans have been waiting for almost the five years that the show has been on the air.

Battle of Heart and Mind was the show the conclusion to the confrontation between the Crystal Gems and the Diamonds. Steven has allied himself with Blue and Yellow Diamond to reason with White Diamond. When that doesn't go to plan Steven must find another way to get through to White Diamond...

In this Season finale, the Crewniverse (The crew that works on SU) went all out on animation, characters and story writing. As a big fan of the show for many years, this episode was a treat as a viewer and as an aspiring animator. 

The most talked about scene is definitely when the protagonist Steven fuses again with his gem side. This scene was animated by veteran Disney animator James Baxter; many had speculated that this scene had used a 3D model of White Diamond to get the panning shot, but it was all done by hand which is truly impressive.  

Study Task 7: Social Media Pro

Social Media that I use:

Instagram:  I use Instagram quite regularly, I check it every day several times and I try to post my art 3 times a week and to reach a wide audience.

Deviantart: I have a Deviantart "Core" Membership, which helps you gain a bigger audience on the site, I post quite regularly on the site, I try to post every week but due to uni work it is probably once a month. 

Facebook: I hardly ever post on my art facebook page, I only post when I post on Instagram but I don't always remember to link the posts to the Facebook page.

I want to engage with my audience more and get feedback on my art.

Things that I want to do to help gain a larger audience:

- Be more active on Instagram to gather more followers and to gain a bigger audience.

- When my Instagram reaches 100 or 500 followers I will post a video on my Youtube Channel.

- Create a proper Youtube Channel for my art.

- Post a video on self-improvement for 100 followers on Instagram.

- I also plan to do the "Mermay" challenge, to post a picture of my art every day and at least one video of me creating one of the pieces of art for my Youtube Channel.    

Study Task 6: How much do you need?

Here is my finance calculator for my annual expenditure:

This was quite an eye-opener for me, it was actually quite scary to see how much I spend in one year and made me evaluate what were my necessities and my luxuries.