Ellie Bridgman

Animation IFY

FYR101 EXPLORE

0 - cardboard costumes

Our overarching theme for this project is pirate tales. for our induction week, we were put into teams to collaborate on a cardboard costume based on our trip to the maritime museum and the currently running pirates exhibitions which included costumes, art, stories, and sculpture. We were very inspired by the use of skulls and weaponry and eventually decided to use this idea in our project to create a final design.

here are some of the designs and sketches that most inspired me and the creation of our cardboard costume :

Mainly, we were most inspired by these costume designs due to the skeleton we also liked the aesthetics of the bones and felt it was realistic to complete in the two days we had to complete the project, especially if we were to break it into stages. there was also a trap near the exit which still had a skull that could not be removed without damaging it. this also influenced our design.

some sketches I did as brainstorming for initial ideas around the actual exhibition and in the cafeteria

I also created a sketch about the components of our costume idea before we started, based on my teammate's design.

One member of our group created a sketch during the visit that we were all able to build on and adapt to create a functional design for our costume. Most of the time, we all worked together to make the components to create the entire costume. for example, someone made the pirate hat and then I added some detail to the feathers, or someone made an outline of the skull bodice and someone else cut it out. I think this teamwork made our piece pop with different styles that ensured our design looked put together but still maintained individual aspects from each of us. we also used different details to add to the realistic look that the original pirates had. for example, we made a sword and a gun with specific buttons based on a reference photo. we also had a belt to store the gun and the sword, however, this ended up breaking as soon as Bella started to perform. overall, I think the best part of our costume was the mask as we all worked together to ensure the size and composition of it worked and sat well on the face. we also spent the most time to ensure that it looked presentable

this was our final creation. we had lots of details such as weapons, rings, and a belt to hold these weapons. overall, I really like how it turned out. I feel even though most groups went with more extravagant and bold designs, i feel ours also captures the essence of the theme in a more minimalistic and detail-based way. However, our costumes fell apart easily. I think we could have secured the costume together more and done more trial runs to ensure this did not happen. also could have made a more interactive performance in order to make ours more interesting and memorable.

the golden age of pirates & female piracy

I have found pirates interesting throughout my life so I was very excited when the overarching theme of this project was said to be pirates as it gave me a chance to research and explore the world of pirates, and also how traditional pirates differed from the westernised idea of pirated. The golden age of piracy is considered to be between the 1650s and 1730s. During this time there were three prominent eras of piracy itself: The buccaneering period, the pirate round and the post-Spanish succession period. Each of these had the same factors that contributed to piracy itself and are influenced by the rise of precious cargo and its transport to Europe over the ocean, the changing and training of the European navies - especially in the British navy, and the corruption of ineffective government in overseas colonies. As suggested in media productions of pirates, they often engaged in battle with these colonial powers. This is significant as it shows the motive behind the pirate's struggles and life on the seas. Furthermore, the media often overlooks the female pirates which also have a significant history. For example, Mary Read, who had to dress like a boy her entire life by her mother and spent time in the military in England and joined Calico jacks crew after leaving her husband. She later revealed her true identity after being accused of having an affair. This shows that Female pirates were just as prominent as Male pirates, if not more so as they had to conceal their identity in order to be respected overseas.

1 - photoshop induction

i experimented with Photoshop using Yago Partals work as inspiration:

inspiration : yago partal

Yago Partal is a Spanish artist and filmmaker from Barcelona who combines photography and illustration to create detailed zoo portraits using collages seamlessly to create a realistic look. He blends the human body and outfits, often using casual jumpers or suits with an animal head. He also uses accessories to further this idea. throughout the project, he continues to expand and explore the theme and develop his style. he utilizes the depth of the original photographs by replicating them in the montages to create a natural look

I created my own using Photoshop work inspired by Yago Partals and what we were taught in the induction. I used collage techniques including masking and layering. I started with a cat. I decided to put the cat in a dog costume for comedic effect. Also, I added paws and blended them in with the erase tool on a softer setting to make it look more realistic.

Furthermore, I also made a pirate-themed collage to suit the overarching pirate theme throughout this module. I decided to make a horse pirate holding a carrot instead of conventional accessories to maintain the horsey vibes. I used the same techniques that I used through the original piece including ensuring that the photos look fairly natural and realistic while still playing with how far I could stretch those capabilities. I also used a background of a pirate cavern but I edited the filters on it to make it warmer fit with the lighting and blend into the horse pirate creation.

further research - Sergey Nehaev

Nehaev is a Russian digital collage artist. he started collage initially in 2012 with traditional use of magazines but later switched to digital collage which widened the outcomes of what could be achieved. he also reflects on themes of television and the use of propaganda on the mind which is inspired by his journalism, as well as inspirations from people, music, and his experience of meditation. therefore a lot of his work contains the lotus position to replicate the level of peace that is

although this artist wasn't an initial inspiration, I do find similarities in the way he combines images in My Horse Pirate and how he uses individual elements to combine and create a composition. Furthermore, the way he increases the mood of the scenes through his backgrounds to create a supernatural and sci-fi look. He also creates an almost unnatural collection of these images which, whilst they do blend, also have slightly different positioning or cropping that give it an overly fake but unnerving look. I think this works well with our overruling theme of pirates which are often seen to be fantastical and mythical. this links nicely to Yago Partals as both artists use similar techniques to distort the reality of the original image.

MAYA induction inspired by sea of theives

for our first Maya induction, we had to use basic shapes and techniques to create some sort of totem pole. I learned how to size, rotate, flatten, and inflate objects to create 3D modeling and prepare to work from a reference to make a more convincing design. on this specific totem, I wanted to see how the shapes could blend and create other shapes. this was a pretty basic an exploration but I also created some further models.

I then tried to create a realistic submarine based on one model. however, I still am not confident enough in Maya to establish the amount of detail. I initially tried to create a shape using a lengthened tube and a sphere but I found it did not blend in the way that I'd hoped. then I tried manipulating the faces on them to try and match it to the face of the sphere. however the faces got all distorted. in the end, I decided to move on to another project with the invaluable skills I had got from this experience to create some successful assets instead!

To create a more realistic asset for Sea of Thieves I decided to research the game further.

Sea of Thieves is a pirate game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft in 2018 for Windows and Xbox One. it was one of the earliest first-party games released within the Xbox game pass for subscribers. the game player plays a pirate character who completes voyages for different trading companies. the game is set in a shared multiplayer world meaning players can play with friends in a range of different roles such as steering the ship, manning the cannons, navigating, boarding enemy ships, and scouting.

the game is very stylized, and the assets are pretty realistic but the cartoonist coloring makes it more fantasy-based and separates it from a realistic world setup. It uses a rustic design, through the colours and the rugged look of the characters and assets by using a simplification of shapes and form. It also uses a painterly texture in the colour to make this more cartoonist atmosphere. The environment is pretty bright. the water mechanics are super realistic and add to the style and aesthetics of the game. For example, a lot of the assets feel rugged and used which works well with the pirate theme due to the rocky seas and often violent lifestyles of pirates. this can be seen in the assets below (George O'Keeffe) through cuts, dents, and general wear and tear.

I created a sea of thieves-inspired assets using the skills I had learned so far and the general research I had done on the game. I liked the aesthetics of the barrels and knew that I could replicate it with my current skills. I used a cylinder to add new subdivisions to manipulate the shape more specifically and make the inflated look of the barrel. I also utilized resources that I made to use it throughout. the bars around the barrel were made from a collapsed cylinder and placed inside the original barrel. I then duplicated this to make another one next to it and then duplicated these two to create symmetry through the barrel. this was useful as it allowed me to create identical assets and make them look more coherent. Furthermore, I did a similar thing for the bar around the top and bottom of the barrel. I made one and ensured it was the correct size and shape before duplicating it and putting it at the bottom too, to ensure that both sides had the same proportions. However, for this one, I did have to play around with the circumference as the sizings were a little different to keep the barrel with a strong bottom and in theory be able to stand up on its own. this makes it feel more realistic. I am pretty happy with the way this barrel turned out, however, I think could have added flatter faces to create the more hexagonal field that the original barrel has. Also, I plan to create another asset in the future to experiment with more of the subdivisions to do this, as well as adding divots and wear and tear to the barrel in order to replicate the sea of thieves style.

Furthermore, on further explorations within the program, I decided to add bevels to each of the assets. I think this creates a more realistic, wooden effect that barrels have and also makes the metal panels blend into the rest. furthermore, I decided to make the top of the barrel hollow by duplicating and resizing one of the metal surrounds and I also resized and tilted the handle, after advice from Adam to make it more realistic looking instead of looking like random donuts on the front. this was rather successful in finishing up the project ready for basic colouring. I used the flat colouring to create a simple colour. I noticed that the grey in the reference was purple-tinted and the browns were orange-tinted, therefore giving it that playful, cartoon style that reflects that of the game. overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. i also experimented with HDRS in order to see how it impacted the render.

2- David Hockney

we continued exploration through the use of collage and Photoshop focusing on exploring the program and using teamwork to come up with a narrative together and using photos taken together to replicate the style of David Hockney.

David Hockney began experimenting with collage in the 1980s and is influenced by his family and friends but also landscapes and interiors. He uses a lot of mixed media throughout his life including photography taken by himself. his collage uses parts of cubism especially to explore perspective and fragmentation and plays with perspective and layers. he also uses multiple photos to create 'joiners' allowing for movement and fluidity to replicate what the eye sees, in what he believed to be closer than what the picture captured. Hockney shows an incredible ability to master new mediums and break limitations to create a new way of using photography

I teamed with May, Nori, and Merlin to create a three-picture narrative. Nori created simple thumbnails to plan out exactly what we were gonna do. whilst we ensured the narrative was concise originally we were planning on having the scenes go; waving to a friend, approaching the door, and banging into the door but we felt it would be more expressive to merge the waving and approaching and have a third scene of falling on the floor. I feel this was a good decision as it showed more dynamic movement to the piece and made it more engaging. Then we took the photos, I volunteered to be the model whilst Nori took the photos as they have the best phone quality whilst the others helped direct and compose the image. we used the spiny doors in the Compass building, mainly because they are scary looking as they're not automatic and very easy to mess up but also because we felt it had the best lighting to fulfill our task. we took a multitude of photos which can be seen in the contact sheet below. I used a couple of these in each pose to add different elements and facial expressions that replicate the artist. Afterward, we decided to individually create three scenes. I did mine as three separate images but other people did theirs in the same one making it easier to show the progression. whilst the way I did, it may have been closer to Hockney's work.

I then used Photoshop to manipulate the images, I took a similar approach in all three. I decided to first use a rough lassoed outline of the initial pose to create a focus point on the action itself, for the second image this was very circular but for the other two I ended up with a much more rectangular design, this works well as it gives it a more linear look and the image might be seen as intentionally different to suggest a change of moods and the squishing of human against door, therefore giving a more cramped and spaced out emotion then i cropped out squares from an image and pasted them into the scene to create this cubism, mosaically look. Overall I'm happy with how they turned out as they have replicated the style well. however, I feel at times the narrative got slightly jumbled and confusing and I'm not sure how easily an outsider would be able to tell what is happening.

contact sheets:

shape language and minimalism - Tomatoro and Lou Romano

tomatatoro

one artist that inspired me is tomatatoro. he focuses on shape silhouette and colour in order to simplify characters. he uses different shapes to convey different personalities. including but not limited to

Round = charismatic, harmless, endearing
Box = reliable, uniform, traditional
Triangle = cunning, dynamic, competent (downward pointing more aggressive)

(quoted directly from the artists https://tinyurl.com/tomatoro

He also mixes shapes to create more complex characters. furthermore, they block their silhouette to ensure that it is strong and readable. Tomatatoro also uses music that relates to the character to get in the correct mindset of the character, IE klezmer music when drawing the reaper. In this particular series of works, Tomatatoro uses pink-red, white, and black. Most of the time, red is used as an eye-catcher to select or separate important features from the rest of the black-and-white photo. For example, in the top middle of the photos, the red highlights some sort of weaponry and makes it indifferent from the black of the cloak, making it seem dangerous and exciting. However, the one below uses more red than white to highlight the face. that, alongside the triangular nature of the face further highlights how the use of red in his work shows danger or evil. he limits the palette for unity and impact, using the 60-30-10 rule to distribute the colours.

I created two pieces using shape language and a reduced colour palette to convey the character that I chose, in this case - Amity from the owl house. I had to break down her personality. Amity is pretty uptight and untrusting but soon develops into a very kind and loveable character. in the first image, I used squares and triangles to represent this as she is reliable but also dynamic and could be seen as more of an evil character to begin with. I used only the shape tool for this apart from the hair I used a lasso tool because I wanted it to be softer to reflect her softer undertones whilst keeping the sharp fringe to suggest a moodier feel. I wanted to keep this one pretty simple as to

week three

we went to the Eden project and were given tasks to get our ideas flowing. I wanted to experiment a lot with textures. especially in how wooden texture differs but also in leaves and plants and the different colours of nature.

the Eden Project is a visitor attraction in Cornwall. it's situated in a reclaimed china clay pit that was repurposed into an ecological dome that seeks to educate and benefit the environment to benefit the earth and reduce the impact of global warming. there are two covered biomes; rain forest and Mediterranean alongside an outdoor garden represent the temperate regions of the world with various national or international species of plants

parralax

parralaxfull.mp4

parralax2.mp4

parralax.mp4

I created three versions of Parallax animation using Photoshop video features and a photo from the Eden project. I chose one with an obvious divide between foreground and background and also that had a fairly simple shape to cut out. Therefore, the masking part was pretty easy. However, I also had to invert this and create a smart generated response behind the leaf mask so that when the leaf moved, it would look natural and not show the second leaf underneath. I did experiment with new tools to fix this such as the stamping tool and clone tool to make a slightly more natural finish, even though it would not necessarily be shown. then I utilized the video features and keyframes and was able to make the background and leaf zoom in individually at different speeds to create a 3d illusion. I had to fix up some things and make sure that both objects move enough to look realistic but not too much as to just look unseparated.

week four

Lou Romano

to continue our 2d exploration, we started to look into Lou Romano's work in order to replicate his style with the theme of pirates.

Lou Romano is an American animator and voice actor. he has voiced many Pixar films such as the Incredibles, Cars and ratatouille and he has completed design work for monsters.inc and the Incredibles. He uses over exaggerated, shapely designs that reflect the personality and theme of the characters. his scenes almost always use dramatic lighting and strong confident shadows in order to set a narrative that shows a variety of moods and themes. i am really inspired by him and wanted to bring it into my own designs.

I wanted to plan my character before I went into the final design. I really wanted to show the idea of a younger pirate who thinks he's super tough but in reality, is fairly clueless. To increase this idea I gave him a bandana instead of a pirate hat to illustrate that he isn't as experienced as other pirates. For the shape language, I used mainly rectangles and circles in order to further communicate that inexperienced and unintimidating. this is because the design lacks many strong points or angles, even in the hair it is soft and curved which further suggests this fact. I also wanted to use fairly neutral colours which were originally blue and orange but later switched to a grey so that I could use a blue background d and increase contrast. furthermore, I wanted to include lineart even though Lou Romanos's work does not so that I could make the character stand out against a background. originally, I had both legs straight but I wanted to make it less stiff looking so I decided to bend the legs toward the left to give it the look of movement through swinging on the right.

I tried three versions of backgrounds to see how it would impact the final result. The first one with no background gives the image a brighter look as if the pirate is practising his swings in a well-empty room. I then tried to use a blue background inspired by comics. I feel this makes it look more dangerous and meaningful. for the third, I wanted to play into the lighting that Lou Romano uses in his work. this makes it look quite mysterious and dangerous which could juxtapose the original characters' messages. However, I think it looks pretty cool. Although the lighting might be slightly inaccurate I still think the idea is communicated the same. Overall, I mostly like the end result as it fits the theme well and I think the messages I wanted to show have come across successfully.

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