Semester 1 Reflection

At the beginning of the course, walking into the classroom my emotions were mixed. Nervous, excited, unsure and a little overwhelmed. Of course, this was probably the feelings of every new member of the animation course. That nervousness didn’t last long however, after being welcomed so well into the class. The 2nd years especially were great, making our 1st year class feel right at home. With having such a small class for university everyone was able to properly introduce and get to know one another. It took only a few days for me to realise how lovely all of my class mates were and didn’t take long to feel comfortable. As for the lecturers, Conánn, Michael, Alec and Yuanyuan, they were all very welcoming and didn’t scare us too much!

My main concern when entering this course was my drawing skills. Having no art experience in school, my skills were only that of the doodles I did at home. Sketching is a big part of this course as it shows how you think and create ideas. At first I was a little hesitant to draw anything in my sketch book, especially after seeing the skills of some of the class. It was a little overwhelming and a slight blow to my confidence. However, even though it was frustrating, sketching had to be done, and as they say “Practice makes perfect”.  Entering the Life Drawing class you could imagine how daunting that was for me, as drawing a person was never something I had done before. This class was a great help towards my drawing skills. It give me new insight on how to look at drawing and that could be seen in my sketch book.

A noticeable difference in my confidence is when talking in front of the class during presentations. At the beginning my voice would shake, I’d feel breathless and my mind would go blank. Now it is not a problem. As long as I am prepared for the presentation my voice is a lot stronger and more confident and the nervous feelings are gone. This is definitely due to the weekly presentations of our task to the class, although these are informal they have helped greatly.

Drawing digitally on Photoshop was something completely new to me. Individuals in the class had been doing this for a while and their ability drawing with the graphics tablet is amazing. So of course I bought my own graphics tablet and gave it a go. Naturally, my first attempts were terrible, but practice makes perfect! Watching tutorials and on how to do this has really helped me and will continue to do so.

In the first Semester the software Maya was only used briefly during our time looking at the 12 principles of animation. With some experience on another 3D software I had some understanding on how this works. The next semester will involve learning more on animating 3D which I am very excited for. Now that I am more prepared for Semester two… Bring it on!

 

Making the Game

Now for the fun part! Putting all our plans and concept drawings together and making it into the physical game.

Phoebe collected some pebbles from the beach and we picked our favourite ones. Lorna and Bethnay then painted on the clan symbols on each. Lorna even went and made a bag out of velvet material!

The questions and symbols for the tokens were printed out, cut and stuck together.

We created the spinning board using cardboard, printed out the symbols and cut them as circles. We printed out and stuck the games picture on the front and the title of the game on the back. This is my favourite part, I could really see this being used in an actual professional game.

Next was the puzzles! We went to a photograph printing store called Jessops and printed out all 8 images aswell as the clan symbols. We then put the relevant symbols on the back of the puzzles. We used cardboard to make the pieces more sturdy.

And there you have it, The Puzzling Paradox game was completed! It was so fun to do and I was surprised to see that we were the only team to physically create the game? Here are some pictures of our class mates having a go:

We quickly discovered that we needed alot more questions for the amount of people that is playing the game, but everyone got the initial idea. Everyone seemed to enjoy it so we were very pleased!

 

The Puzzles

Victorian

What better image of Victorian time than Queen Victoria herself riding on a Penny-Farthing bike! This amazing digital art work was created by Phoebe!

Futuristic 

Tall buildings… lots and lots of buildings. Created by Phoebe:

Prehistoric

I thought it would be nice to bring back Beans and Toasts from the previous character designs. They are enjoying some nice fire inside a cave. Create by myself:

Western / Cowboys 

A desert wasteland with a cactus and skull finished of with an abandoned hat. Phoebe created the background and I added in the objects. Bethnay then added in some line work.

Pirate

A small island perfect for hiding pirate treasure! Phoebe created the background and island. I added in the flag and ship and Bethnay did the line work:

Roman

Chariot racing was huge back in Roman times! Created by Phoebe and line work by Bethnay:

Egyptian

Egyptian pyramids says it all… Created by myself and line work by Bethnay:

Viking

A traditional Viking ship sailing in the seas. Created by Phoebe line work by Bethnay.

Game Concept

Alrighty! So now that we have our back story we can move on to creating the physical game that has came from that event. Below is a diagram of the ideas that we brainstormed as a team:

There are so many ways we could go with this game but we finally… finally came up with several traits we definitely want it to have.

• Spinning Board
• Questions
• Puzzle
• Competition
• Strategy   
• Element of Chance

The symbols that where designed from the event will be used within the game aswell as keeping to the eight clans.

Here are some concepts of how the game is played and what the scoring system is:

Lovely concepts done by Lorna of a puzzle game:

SO THE RULES ARE…

Up to 8 players can play (Not including Game Master)

At the beginning each player must choose a pebble that signifies which clan they will be playing for. Here is a concept drawing kindly done by Phoebe:

A player will then spin a Circular board that has the eight symbols. Concept drawn by Bethnay:

Which every symbol it lands on, the Game master will pick up a question token with that same symbol. The questions relate to that timeline. Concept drawn by Phoebe:

If the player answers the question correctly they can have a lucky dip in the bag of puzzle pieces. Each of these pieces are part of 8 Pictures that relate to each clan. The aim of the game is for the player to get all 8 puzzle pieces of their selected clan.

Here is the tokens with the different questions related to that timeline. On one side is the clan Symbol. On the other side is the questions with three multiple answers. Each clan has its own colour. The correct answer is in white. Myself and Lorna had fun researching the different times and learning interesting facts about them as we picked the questions.

 

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Name of the Game! We almost forgot…

We wanted it to have something to do with the clans or for it to be a Pun. We had to Google a few names we came up with because we didn’t want one that had already been done. Finally we came up with the name:

Bethnay created the Typography using a trait from each clan in each letter. It looks fun, unique and interesting. Bethnay also created a picture of the clan members playing the actual game! This looked great, its my favourite image for the game. Its so detailed and shows all different personalities of the characters.

Game Back Story

So our team decided that we want this game to originate from an event that takes place within the Paradox world. So the first thing we had to think of was WHAT is the event. We came up with so many ideas that could have possibly happened in this strange world. With so many cultures and clans, there could possibly be a clash. Could the event be a game in itself? Over things such as:

• Power
• Land
• Immortality
• Money
• Peace
• Entertainment

Could there be a possible story or myth that has eventually created an idea of a game over time? Here is an idea I quickly drew up. It is a story of a magically Egyptian jewel that captures the eyes of many, resulting in a series of events that sees the jewel travelling to each land and culture.

We decided that as there are so many different time lines in the paradox world, we should select only a certain few that would be included on the game. As a team we picked our favourite 8 timelines

• Egyptian
• Roman
• Victorian
• Prehistoric
• Pirate
• Western / Cowboys
• Futuristic
• Viking

A decision was made. Land would have been an issue within the clans, so they peacefully decided who gets what by competing in challenges. Whoever wins gets the land they are battling for. These games can be both physical and mental, and also have an entertainment factor. We brainstormed different ideas on how the clans could be chosen.  I had an idea of a spinning eye, which can be seen in the image below. It could just point to the two or more clans that will be competing in the challenge. I also played about with possible symbols or one symbol that portrayed all the clans.

 

Lorna came up with a really good idea for a challenge. The Clan (In this case Egyptian) would have to create their building like a jigsaw. Whoever creates theirs first wins the land.

We looked at the different symbols that these 8 clans could have.

The following are symbols designed by Jonny Rooney in an early weeks task. We really liked the unique, futuristic look to the style and considered using these as inspiration for the final symbols.

Lorna did some amazing symbol designs using Jonny’s designs as inspiration. Each clan logo has a symbol that is immediately recognisable to that timeline. For example, the Cowboys will have a Cowboy hat. Here are the final symbols:

As the challenges are also for entertainment they need a stadium for the audience to watch. We brainstormed different possibilities that could still relate to all of the clans. We looked at Roman Colosseum that could be surrounded by water on top of a pyramid. Something crazy but realistic?

Lorna does it again and creates this amazing digital drawing of a pirate ship. It has Egyptian stairs, futuristic symbols, Victorian floor and a Viking design. This is where they games would take place in the paradox world.

What better way to show how the event took place than a little fun animatic? Grandma Cave wants her plot of land for her dream home, but others have their eyes set on it. Will she be able to enter the games and win her plot?

Of course she does! Here are some quick storyboard sketches of the animatic:

Character Design Redo

After looking back at the Character design week I realised that I did not do enough for this task. As it was near the beginning I had little confidence in my drawing skill and I played it safe. So I have decided to do a redo.

This is the Demon gate Keeper “Anger”. I have kept to our teams decisions and kept the horns of a bull. The rest of his body is a mixture of animals. I have been doing an essay on the character design of Beauty and the Beast and was inspired by the way the “Beast” character was create by a mixture of animals.

 

Image Link: http://conceptartworld.com/?p=9657

Image link: http://www.123rf.com/stock-photo/bull_horn.html

For the Demon Gate keeper “Greed” I have kept the beak of the Vulture. I thought an octopus or squid would be a good animal to portray greed with the many arms and tentacles sticking to everything they  touch.

Image link:http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/octopus-chronicles/there-are-plenty-of-octopuses-in-the-sea-mdash-or-are-there/

Image link: http://www.northrup.org/photos/turkey-vulture/

Game Research

New Task! Create a Game that is relevant to the world. Teams were changed again aswell as the world I will be working on. I am now on the Paradox world. This world is a mix of the different timelines that have lived on earth, for example, Caveman, Romans, Egyptians etc. The cities of this world have a mash up of the different peoples from each culture or time.

My new team is:

• Phoebe – Blog 
• Lorna – Blog
• Bethnay – Blog

Create A Game??

We must create the game that can be played into the world. We should include a back story as to where the game originates. As this is the last two weeks of the module it will be presented and assessed. We must show all the different elements that we have been learning these past weeks. It should include:

• Research
• Planning
• Storyboards
• Colour
• Tonality
• Characters
• Animatic
• Sound
• Motion Graphics

 

Research 

For research we looked at popular games and where they originate. It could give us ideas for our own game and how we could use an event or history as the base idea of the game.

Chess: This game has been going for over 1500 years. It originates from India and has a military system. Each piece has different abilities and movements. The pieces have  had their names and appearances changed over the years, but they have mostly kept the rules of movement the same. The winner of the game is determined by the capture of a certain piece – the King.

Below is a really interesting image of two Indian Gods, Krishna and Radha Playing Chess.

Link to image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_chess

Egyptian Board games. 

In ancient Egypt the Egyptians like to relax by playing Board games. These would include “Mehen” and “Dogs and Jackals,”. The most popular game would have been “Senet.” This game goes back as far as 3500 B.C. It involved a long board painted with 30 squares. Each player had a set of pieces that they could move along the board depending on their throw of a dice or sticks.

Below is an image of an Egyptian royal playing the game ‘Senet’

Link to image: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=senet+egyptian+game&espv=2&biw=1170&bih=513&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjTo8T217jJAhWBtxoKHeb-CzQQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=l8BK6X_0M1mQhM%3A

Chinese Checkers 

Below is an image of Chinese Checkers. It is a game that can be played with up to 6 people. The aim of the game is to get your coloured marbles over to the opposite side of the star before the other players. It is very basic but would be competitive, coming up with strategies and discovering your opponents strategy.

Link to image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_checkers

Question games

I wanted to look at question games and move away from board or card games. My favourite TV game show at the moment is “The Chase”.  The multiple answers make the questions slightly easier, although my favourite aspect of this is when the show produced make Bradley (The host) read out questions that are funny or rude.

Below is an image from the show that had an hilarious reaction from Bradley. I was thinking some questions for our game could cause a laugh.

Link to image: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=the+chase+quiz+game&espv=2&biw=1170&bih=513&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjZyvDW27jJAhXH0hoKHSt4APIQ_AUIBygC#imgdii=0l2owxMnKY9BNM%3A%3B0l2owxMnKY9BNM%3A%3BFxbk1gn5mdZi7M%3A&imgrc=0l2owxMnKY9BNM%3A

 

Through our research we have been inspired by so many elements that could be in our game. We want to make it original which is really hard! Especially since our world is basically earth, and there as been thousands made through the years. We have looked at certain elements that we want to consider:

• Audience (is the game for children or adults or both?)
• Will it be a board game?
• Will it be physical or mentally challenging?
• Will it be fun?
• Could it be 3d? (like would you have to build stuff?)
• Gambling? Could it be strategic, perhaps have to sacrifice to win (e.g chess)
• Questions? could it be educational

My team has came up with so many possibilities with this game. It is so hard to decide as it can go in so many different ways! We will keep brain storming ideas and unique styles of the game, baring in mind that it must be relevant to the world.

This world has so many cultures that there would definitely be some fighting and disagreement. But would it be over culture? Territory? Or could they all live in peace and they might do something that brings them together? Sooo much to consider!

Here is a diagram of the different games that we explored as a whole team:

 

 

Opening Title Sequence

The shapes

After looking at different title sequences we decided to take some inspiration from ‘Monsters Inc’. The way they used the different shapes and colours to respond with the text could work with ours. The previous groups had created the characters with certain shapes to each music type.

• Rock Music – Squares
• Techno – Triangles
• Pop – Bubbles

Our group thought we could use the shapes in our title sequence. Ryan came up with the idea of having the shapes come together into the shape of a character then fall apart.

Now we needed a little story to go with our title sequence. We wanted to use ‘Equaliser’, the character from previous weeks as she was used in the animatic. The idea of her not liking any music is a big part in the sound world story so we wanted to include that. But I wanted to think of WHY she doesn’t like the sound. What makes her so different? Could there be a unique story behind her reason. Here are just some thoughts from my sketch book:

We decided to keep it simple and just have ‘Equaliser’ not enjoying the music (the reason will be in part 2). So here is a storyboard of what we want the title sequence to look like. It will start with someone playing an instrument and creating the sound wave, then the world will zoom in. Using the simple shapes, the characters will appear before falling apart and showing the titles. Then finally settling on ‘Equaliser’ who is looking less than impressed. She then gets up and turns off the music. The scene will end like a TV would, with the screen going to black with a white line closing across the screen.

Typography 

John looked at different font that we could possibly use. We were thinking of using something relevant to sound, like the shape of a sound wave or music notes. here are some sketches of his research.

As a group we decided on taking inspiration from the font ‘Moon Flower’. It works wells with the simple shapes that we will be using as it itself is simple. It is a San Serif font, straight up and down and we want to have it white with the black background. Instead of just using the font we used a graphics tablet and drew the words, using the same style.

Music 

Megan is the only team member that can play an instrument. As it is a sound world we definitely had to use her talent. So she brought in her Ukulele and played the four different notes that can be used in so many tunes. We got this idea from this YouTube video, where the artist prove just how many songs have been played using those four notes:

 

Garage band was used to edit the sound of the Ukulele recording. We wanted to have different styles of sound for each shape (as they symbolise different music types) but it didn’t quite sound right.

The final Title Sequence

 

The software

• After Effects – Animating the shapes and the character
• Photoshop – Writing the Text
• Garage band – Editing the music
• Imovie – Putting everything together

 

 

 

Opening Titles Research

New task! Teams where swapped around and for the first time since week 1, I have been split up with Rebecca! 😦
New team is:

• Megan –Blog
• John – Blog 
• Ryan – Blog

The new world is the “Sound World”. This world is a microscopic planet that moves on soundwaves. I was in this world in week 1 and it has come along way. Each team has added more elements and characters. I love the main character “Equaliser”. She is a female character that can’t seen to find the type of music that she likes.

‘Equaliser’ from Kirsten’s Blog:  https://kirdraws.wordpress.com/

 

Research

We wanted to look at as much movie opening sequences that we could to give us an idea and inspiration on what we could do with ours. From previous teams the characters have been created using basic shapes, such as squares, circles and cubes.

Below is the title sequence for ‘Monsters Inc’. We liked how they used simple shapes and doors to interact with the text. It is colourful and fun to watch, not just typical writing popping up on the screen.

 

‘Hotel Transylvania’ credit scene is so fun to watch. They have the characters in 2D that are interacting with the text. The colour scheme is simple with a red background and white font, but with the character movement it is certainly not boring. They are telling a story on their own, it makes you want to watch all the credits (and who ever does that?). The music is a song by Becky G -Problem ft Will.i.am. It is upbeat, which follows the ending scene of the movie (A Party). Again this would make staying for the credits more probable if you like the song.

I looked at Shawn of the Dead Title Sequence. This is hilarious. The movie itself is live action but the opening is animated. The audience can tell straight away that this movie is a comedy. The style is also like silhouettes or shadow puppets and the characters have a cartoon style. Colours have been kept to a minimum, with red being the only vibrant one (resembling blood). The music is quirky and fits the comedy theme.

 

This is one Megan came across. It is the opening title sequence of ‘Catch me if you can’. It’s very smartly done.  Even though it is for a live action movie the sequence is animated and tells a story. The text has a uniqueness to it by using lines expanding from the letters, its like the text is part of the scene. Such as a wall, a door or even road markings. The colours are fairly minimal although they do change throughout, there would only be two colours to each scene. The music gives a mysterious feeling, like someone is up to mischief.

 

‘Lemony Snicket’s A series of Unfortunate Events’ is amazing. I absolutely love the style and art work in this. It is pretty long for an opening title, over 5 minutes, but its so easy to sit and watch it all. The way the style looks like cardboard cut outs and how they have used the text with the movement. It shows the three main characters and tells a story as they move throughout. The colour scheme is very dark and eerie aswell as the music.

Animatic story board – Week 8

After research we started on our storyboard. We planned each scene out with timing  and camera angles aswell as sound effects. In our team we took different tasks to later combine our work to make the final storyboard. I did the outline of the Character. Phoebe did the background and Rebecca added the detail. All together we had 57 different scenes to make up the animatic. Below are an image for each scene:

I’m really happy with the outcome, I think it looks well. I was panicking a little about getting it done as we only had over the weekend to work on it. But I had faith in my team and we all worked hard to get this finished.

Here is our finished visual storyboard: