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Week 7 (GAED1)
Unit 1: Introduction to media processes and technical skills
Unit 2: Introduction to design and research skills in creative media production
Unit 3: Introduction to professional practice in creative media production
Unit 4: Critical and contextual awareness in creative media production
What we're doing, how we're doing it and why we're doing it
What we're doing, how we're doing it and why we're doing it
Intent: Understand the difference between primary and secondary research, when we would use them and how we can use the data collected to inform our creative practice.
Implementation: Through investigation, discussion and practical tasks
Impact: Knowledge of primary and secondary research. Understand the importance of each and why we need to use them in our work.
Soft skills: Investigation, attention to detail, problem-solving, patience, communication, adaptability, data interpretation.
Industry: Watch any behind the scenes footage and you'll see how much research is used in industry. It's a vital skill!
SMSC: Curiosity, reflection on personal preferences, fair judgment, ethical Issues, collaboration and teamwork, presentation and public speaking
Task 1 - Secondary Research
Task 1 - Secondary Research
Secondary Types:
Secondary Types:
Books
Documentaries
Websites
Online courses/tutorials
Podcasts
Blogs
Devlogs
Magazines/Journals Reviews
Advantages:
Advantages:
Data is usually cheap and easy to access.
Data is useful for analysing target market segments
Data is often already in an easy to interpret format.
Disadvantages:
Disadvantages:
Data not always up to date or relevant
Data is available to everyone, including competitors
Data is not specific to the product or idea
On your google sites:
Explain secondary research
Advantages
Disadvantages
All research must be linked and it made clear what information is yours and what's been sourced.
Task 2 - Biccies!
Task 2 - Biccies!
What do I do?
In pairs, try to find out the following:
World's most popular biscuit
Country's most popular biscuit
Some facts about biscuits
You need to document the research you gather to find this information
On your google sites:
Biscuit research
Analysis of research (what is it? What have you learned from it? How will it help you?)
Going further:
Tell us more about biccies! Where do they come from? What's the etymology of the word biscuit?
What type of research is this?
When is this type of research most effective?
What type of research is this?
When is this type of research most effective?
Task 3 - Primary research
Task 3 - Primary research
Secondary Types:
Secondary Types:
Interviews
Focus groups
Surveys
Questionnaires
Polls
Screenings
Playtests
Product testing
Advantages:
Advantages:
?
Disadvantages:
Disadvantages:
?
Help each other! You can host focus groups, can share each others surveys and polls with each other.
On your google sites:
Explain primary research
Advantages
Disadvantages
All research must be linked and it made clear what information is yours and what's been sourced.
Task 4 - Biccies! Actual biccies to put in our pretty mouths yum yum yum
Task 4 - Biccies! Actual biccies to put in our pretty mouths yum yum yum
What do I do?
We're going to eat some biscuits. While we're noshing on them, we've got some things we need to do:
Collect evidence: Take pictures, record video, etc. Once all the biccies are gone there'll be no more and pictures of crumbs will not do
Find out the following:
What is everyone's favourite bisgedi?
What bigedi's do people like/dislike, why?
What is the most popular bisgedi in the class?
Which bisgedi is your favourite? Analyse at least 3 bisgedis. Consider shape, size, texture, taste, how it fares when faced with the wrath of a cup of tea.
Collect and evidence this data
On your google sites:
Biscuit primary research evidence
Your favourite analysed
Your peers favourite biscuits and why
Data on the class's favourite
Reflection (What did you do? What data did you get? What did you learn from this?)
Going further:
Consider social and econmic factors when deciding your favourite biscuit. You could consider price and/or the ethics around biscuit manufacture.
What type of research is this?
When is this type of research most effective?
What type of research is this?
When is this type of research most effective?
Task 5 - Research Reflection
Task 5 - Research Reflection
How to research effectively:
How to research effectively:
BE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED TO FIND OUT
What do you need to learn and how will your research help you? Write a clear and appropriate question to help direct your research e.g. "How do I create an inventory system?".IDENTIFY POSSIBLE SOURCES OF INFORMATION
List as many sources as you can find and be specific. What books do you think may be able to help you? What websties? Are there any museums, galleries or libraries you could visit*? What games, streams and talks can you engage with? What techniques do you want to find out about?SELECT THE MOST APPROPRIATE METHOD
Your methods should be defined by your research questions. Do you need to survey a particular group of people? What's the best way of reaching them? If you are researching a particular game genre will annotating visual examples help your more than written articles?PLAN YOUR RESEARCH
Dedicate time in your schedule to research. When can you visit a library? When will you read a book? Where will you hold a focus group? Keep yourself organised by creating a timetable and/or a Gantt chart just for research and stick to it.WRITE NOTES AND KEEP THEM ORGANISED
Summarise what you are learning in your own words, this will help you to recall and understand new information. Bullet point key pieces of information, use page markers and post its to make your notes easier to navigate.RECORD EVERYTHING
If you are unsure whether a book or website will help, record it anyway. Create a bookmark folder on your Internet browser and save every link you follow, take pictures of the cover of every book you read. This will help you find information later and show the scope of your research.DEFINE YOUR NEXT STEPS
Regularly evaluate your research and alter your plan if you need to. Have you answered your initial question? Have any other questions occurred during your research? If you need to, go back to step 1 and start again. If you're confident in the quality and quantity or your research, start thinking about practical experimentation.
*A lot are now offering digital tours often with free resources for you to use.
What do I do?
Reflect on what we've learned. You should be able to explain the difference between primary and secondary research, when you would use one over the other and how this knowledge can be used to enhance your creative practice.
Enjoy a biscuit if there's any left.
On your google sites:
Reflection covering the above.
Going Further
What do I do?
Primary and secondary tell us how you accessed research but doesn't tell what you're going to do with it. Think about what you might do for your end of year project and think about your research in the following three way:
Skill based:
Skill based:
What skills will you need to know?
What will you need to learn?
Influence based:
Influence based:
What will your project be like?
What can you learn from your influences?
Audience based:
Audience based:
Who is your project aimed at?
What kind of feedback will you need from them?
What we're doing, how we're doing it and why we're doing it
What we're doing, how we're doing it and why we're doing it
Intent: Create a sprite sheet and animate character movements.
Implementation: Through research, experimentation and practical skills.
Impact: Practical experience in creating sprite sheets and animating character movements for games. Understand the importance of timing and keyframes in creating convincing animations.
Soft skills: Creativity, attention to detail, problem-solving, patience, communication, adaptability.
Industry: Pixel art is a common art style in the game industry. Character design and animation are relevant skills for game development. Walk cycles are also considered a right of passage in some animation communities.
SMSC: Creativity, importance of attention to detail, engage in social interactions through peer reviews and explore the cultural significance of pixel art in gaming history and various game genres.
Task 1 - Context
Task 1 - Context
What is animation?
What are pros and cons of pixel art animation? Why is this useful knowledge to have?
What is animation?
What are pros and cons of pixel art animation? Why is this useful knowledge to have?
On your google sites:
Context questions answered in YOUR OWN WORDS. Any research supporting your argument must be appropriately linked and referenced.
Task 2 - Research
Task 2 - Research
What do I do?
Gather at least one primary and one secondary source for inspiration/study
On your google sites:
At least 1 primary source:
At least 1 secondary source:
Reflection - What is it? Why have you looked at it? How will it help you with your animations?
Going further:
Find more sources!
Task 3 - Animate
Task 3 - Animate
What do I do?
Use Aseprite. Animate a character (can use a character from last week if it's appropriate) and animate them walking.
Start with a 4 frame walk and experiment with the timing. If your keyframes are strong enough, it will look good. The focus is on animation and movement. You should have each body part on a different later and not be putting detail in at this stage.
Use the tutorial below to support
Export and upload
Reflect
On your google sites:
Development: screenshots, gifs, videos, etc of your character's walk
Exported gif of your finished walk
Reflection
Going further:
Choose either -
More frames for your walk. Learn to inbetween. Where you choose to inbetween will change how the walk feels. Experiment with a 6 or 8 frame walk
or
Complete your spritesheet:
Walk
Idle
Jump
Defeat
Animating Walk Cycle
Animating Walk Cycle
What do I do?
Watch the video and learn how to create a basic 4 frame walk for your character.
Remember! Walk cycles are kind of a right of passage for animators, they seem daunting but the more you do them the better you will get.
Task 4 - Spritesheet
Task 4 - Spritesheet
What do I do?
Explain what a spritesheet is, with examples
Reflect on your work:
How do you feel about translating your mascot to pixel art?
How to you feel about creating pixel art?
How do you feel about animating?
How do you feel about doing this as a potential career?
On your google sites:
Your explanation of a spritesheet. Examples of spritesheets
Your spritesheet exported (it's ok to have a separate spritesheet for each animation)
Reflection on your work this week
Going Further
What do I do?
Watch the video. Gain an understanding of keyframes in animation. Strong keyframes and timing is all you need for good pixel art animation! Especially if your going for a retro feel.
Find some examples of strong keyframes
On your google sites:
Link to video
Explanation of keyframes
Examples
Tutorials
Want to develop your pixel art skills further? Excellent! There's a wealth of resources available. The best way to improve is through a combination of practice and study. Try tutorials, look at artists work you admire and try making pixel art using all manner of sprite sizes and palettes. Good luck!
Derek Yu's (Spelunky) has a fantastic pixel art tutorial, I've pinched some of it wholesale for this.
There's loads of tutorials on places like YouTube and twitch. Take everything taught with a pinch of salt, there's always exceptions to rules and not everyone making tutorials always has the experience or knowledge they claim but it's worth exploring and experimenting. Below are a couple I'd recommend:
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