Screen Arts 31/10

Citizen Kane

I keep hearing this title over and over and had no idea what it is about. After a little research though I can see why there is so much hype around it.

The story revolves around a loaded newspaper publisher that dies and in researching Citizen Kanes final word of Rosebud, the reporter retells Kane's life story. Orson Welles based the main character on a stereotype of real life Chicago characters in the newspaper industry and business tycoons. I found the final plot twist a funny yet fitting way to end the movie as well.

Gaming 31/10

Walk cycle done. Thanks to Rachel we have an extension until monday! woohoo!. It was going to be a tough crunch to finish it tonight but now I can focus on getting everything done that I want completed (mainly boss interaction). Procrastination is my skill and kicks me in the butt every time.

Drawing 23/10

Rearranged the second last panel cos the order seemed a lil screwy. Im happier with the new layout for sure. Need to make some kinda mini bio for the last page as well.

2D Animation 21/10

2 weeks til due date. Yikes. Rig is done, although there is going to be some cleanup in the animation as I cant quite get the leg shapes 100% right for the movement. I have also adjusted the blink cycle length to allow for the pause in between.

Ghosties rig is done now too except for changing the bottom half of her body when she moves sideways.

Drawing 16/10

more frame changes. i need to get my butt into gear because time is running out. I do like the way my comic is evolving though, just wish I had more time.

Research 21/10

Done finally. However not asking to confirm the due date was a mistake as I should have submitted last week. Overall Im happy with what I produced in the time required, however if I had to do it again, I would get rid of the black lines around Aeliwina and try to match the background art style better. Next year I am going to pick a topic that is more specific so I have a better direction to go, and hopefully not change my mind 3 weeks before the due date to restart! Now to work my butt off for the next 2 weeks to get my other projects finished before the due date instead of on the due date.

Behind The Scenes BSA106

Due to having issues with compressing my screen recordings, I have instead uploaded them to youtube for your viewing pleasure. I hope you are entertained by my interesting animation methods, please don't judge me lol.

Digital animation: https://youtu.be/triFPt7Xbbw
Scanned Images: https://youtu.be/ZThkbaSDvSM
Photographs: https://youtu.be/8H3srLDK6FM

Screen Arts 26/9

Missed class due to a coding workshop

2D Animation 16/10

Eye blink cycle done. Getting the leg shapes right and the pivot points set in the right place is actually a lot harder than anticipated. Thankfully after tomorrow there isnt anymore assessments until the 1st nov so I wont be as distracted.

Research 14/10

Artist statement revised

Angels have always been a large part of my creative process. My brief foray into character development was focused on how I saw myself, if I was an angel from the world created by Nalini Singh in her Guild hunter book series. Her main character is a badass vampire hunter that becomes an angel yet retains her battle skills. She lives in a world ruled by 10 archangels where gender has no say on positions of power, only strength and intelligence. There are many female characters in this book series, yet every one of them has a trait to ensure they are equals to the males. It is this feminist thread woven through Nalini’s writing that helped inspire me for this research. A major trend that I noticed during my research, is that female fantasy characters have always been portrayed in a very sexual, unrealistic manner compared to their male counterparts. This poster is a visual rebuttal to that research, to show that the strength and resilience of Aeliwina(my character) can be achieved without the sacrifice/sexualisation of her femininity. I picked a battle arena location as a nod to Aeliwinas current goal of becoming the best warrior she can be.

APA References

Bajac-Carter, M., Jones, N., & Batchelor, B. (2014). Heroines of comic books and literature: Portrayals in popular culture. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.sit.ac.nz:2082/legacydocview/EBC/1655587?accountid=46872.com

Singh, N. (2019). Guild Hunter Series. Retrieved from https://nalinisingh.com/books/guild-hunter-series/

Voytilla, S. (1999) Myth and the Movies. Retrieved from www.tlu.ee/~rajaleid/montaazh/Hero%27s%20Journey%20Arch.pdf

2D Animation 14/10

To-Do list for weds

check colours match up with linework
eye blink cycle, eye drawing substitutions.
deformers - curve for tail, bone for forearm
reset pivot points to where they should be
add whiskers




auto patch node connects to main composite in the correct layer order.

Gaming 10/10

Got to redo the background as my attempt to make it a single image was making the quality reduce to a point that I didnt like.

Screen Arts 19/9

Animation 1990s (Catch up as I missed the class due to a Coding Workshop)

The Simpsons(1990) was created by Matt Groening as a way to keep the rights to his Life in Hell comic that he based them on.

Kinda appropriate considering its the end of the semester and Im trying to catch up on everything! lol

Ren and Stimpy(1991) is a Nickelodeon series created by John Kricfalusi. He was inspired by Warner Bros although he was fired for making it too violent and not Kid-friendly. I remember loving this series when I watched it as a kid.

Mike Judge is the creator of Beavis and Butt-Head and King of the Hill. Beavis and Butt-Head became so popular that a feature film was created in 1996. The quote Cornholio! has stuck around for many years.

In 1992, Bruce Timm created Batman: The Animated Series as a character revamp making it darker, with heavy inspiration from the 1986 comic Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. The world wide success of this series led to Bruce producing Superman: The Animated Series in 1996.

Barry Purves created Screenplay(1992) in his bedroom in a single take. It is stop-motion style created in the style of Japanese Kabuki theatre.

The Tick is a spoof superhero created by Ben Edlund in college, and later turned into an animated tv series in 1994.

1994 was when the producer and writers of The Simpsons created The Critic.

Duckman(1994) is an adult cartoon created by Everett Peck and voiced by George Alexander from Seinfeld.



The Big Story is a stop-motion film created in 1994 by Tim Watts and David Stoten. The storyline follows an argument between a young and old Kirk Douglas. It was nominated for an Oscar, and won a BAFTA in 1995 after Quentin Tarantino liked it so much he wanted it to be screened before Pulp Fiction shows.



1991 is when the Cartoon Network bought Hanna-Barbara. 1993 was when they started releasing "creator driven" animated series like 2 Stupid Dogs(1993), The Powerpuff Girls(1995), Dexter's Lab(1995) and Johnny Bravo(1995).

The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb(1995) is a stop-motion/Pixellation hybrid similar to Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel created by Dave Borthwick.

The End of the World in Four Seasons is a 1995 piece by Paul Driessen. It features 8 stories shown in 8 split screens with the stories over lapping and nonlinear.



Toy story (1995) was the first fully computer generated film. It was a partnership between Disney and Pixar when it was still owned by John Lasseter and used the animation principles developed by Disney.

Felix in Exile (1995) was made by William Kentridge from South Africa. The story follows Felix in Paris, missing his home in SA during the apartheid. The basis of this piece is 30-40 charcoal drawings that are modified for each scene by erasing and redrawing sections.

Henry Selick directed James and the Giant Peach in 1996. Based on the book by Roald Dahl, it was produced by Tim Burton and features a beginning and end filmed in live action with the middle using stop-motion.

I Married a Strange Person(1997) is a Bill Plympton animated feature. He is the only animator credited with drawing every single frame in a feature film. The story follows a couples weeding night and all the weird things in the husbands imagination comes true.

Best animation series ever South Park! Matt Stone and Trey Parker created this in 1997 with cutout animation for the 1st episode only. The feature film South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut(1999) holds the record for the most swear words in an animated film, largely thanks to the song Shut Your F*#%ing Face, Uncle F*#%er! Really funny movie in my opinion!

The Gorillaz hold the record for most successful virtual band. Created by Bamon Albarn from Blur, with help from Tank Girl artist Jamie Hewlett, the Gorillaz came about due to these two not liking MTV music videos.

A Bugs Life vs Antz. Both were made in 1998, Antz by Dreamworks and Bugs Life by Pixar/Disney with Bugs Life ending up more popular. Jeffrey Katzenberg used to work for Disney, but created Dreamworks when Disney was in planning stage of A Bugs Life.



The Periwig Maker(1999) took Steffen Schaffler 5 years to make, was animated for an Academy Award and the story is set during the 17th century plague epidemic.

The Old Man and the Sea (1999) is an Oscar winning film by Alexandr Petrov using fingerpainting oil paints onto glass panes. It is based on the story of Ernest Hemingway.



Another physical art film is The Man with the Beautiful Eyes in 2000. Jonathan Hodgson won a BAFTA for Best Animated Short, and he calls his work "bad animation" - based on a poem by Charles Bukowski.



Dutch director Michael Dudok de Wit created the dialogue free film Father and Daughter in 2000. It won 3 British awards, and an OSCAR for the Best Short Film. The story follows a young girl whose father rowed out to sea and doesnt return, but she faithfully goes back to the same spot every day in hopes he will come back.

Screen Arts 10/10

Finishing The Blair Witch project, and watching Being John Malkovich. Good chance to use class time for working on my projects. This weekend is going to be hectic, but I believe I can do it.

Screen Arts 9/10

300: Rise of an Empire

I loved the original 300, so was looking forward to seeing the sequel. Sadly however the storyline is rather minimal, and there seems to be a focus on the 3D and CGI elements. Now dont get me wrong, this movie would have looked awesome in the theatre with 3D glasses but coming off netflix its not enough to make up for the storyline. It was good to see some nods to the original in the cast, and with flashbacks but Im still partial to the Spartans not the Athenians. I believe this movie strayed a lot further from the actual historical battles also.

Queen Gorgo, King Leonidas' wife now in charge of Sparta due to the kings sacrifice at the gates.

https://img.cinemablend.com/cb/d/3/e/6/2/4/d3e62467f7e798c212df3a19d6b88be6221dc838c0ab590b037adb9546f06928.jpg

Artemisia, a greek woman betrayed by her country at a young age, raised and trained by the Persians and seeking revenge on Greece. I included her because she is a total badass.

http://barrystrauss.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/300-rise-of-an-empire-eva-green-2.jpg

2D Animation 9/10

Highlight and Shading - must be done after all the animation cycles are complete and in Render view!!

Two node options:

Create a shading layer and connect it to a Tone node then paint on the shaded area. Same with highlight.












Add Apply Peg Transformation node and connect it to a highlight/shade node. Create a new peg and attach it to the Peg transform then use the transform tool to drag the mask around to show the shadow/highlight.




Shadow - Must be done after all animation and in render view also!!

Create a new Peg transformation node and connect it to the rig and the main composite



To fix the shadow layers, add a bitmap composite and insert it between the peg node and the rig.



To warp the shadow to fit the perspective of the background, add a mesh warp node. Go to View and Show Controls to manipulate the warp peg.



Use the Transform tool to line the mesh up with the shadow



 then switch to the translate tool to manipulate the shadow.



Finish completing simbas segments, mouth and eye substitutions

2D Animation 7/10

Backgrounds are all in, however now I realise I need to modify one for the last few shots due to the bookshelf falling over whoops!. At least it is an easy fix. I am looking forward to getting Simba running around in my animation finally, add a bit of life to it. I also think I need to add a little idle to the human in the full background shots that are visible for longer than a split second.

Look into ease in/ease out parameters to smooth the credits screen movement.

Research 7/10

Artist Statements

Veronica

Describe her project, what, how and why.

A poster showing the differences between reality and dreams. A young boy is daydreaming in a boring class. He has characters in his thoughts showing a contrast to reality using brighter colours. The "real world" is earthly colours. Experimenting with shading and photoshop tools to help achieve the visual differences between the two worlds.

Veronicas summary of my project

After describing my poster to Veronica, I have decided to change the composition of the image. Starting over is a pain but I think the new layout will fit my proposal better. Fingers crossed it doesnt come back and bite me in the ass timewise.

Research artist statements:
What are they used for and by whom? Key things not to do, and key things to include.

Agora: https://www.agora-gallery.com/advice/blog/2016/07/23/how-to-write-artist-statement/
GYST: https://www.gyst-ink.com/sample-artist-statements/
The Abundant Artist:https://theabundantartist.com/how-to-write-an-artists-statement-that-doesnt-suck/
Format: https://www.format.com/magazine/resources/art/how-to-write-artist-statement

An artist statement is a brief summary of the story behind your work. There should be enough information that the reader can being to imagine your art before they even see it. A good artist statement must include How your work was created, What form your art takes and how it links to how you work and Why do you create what you create including the meanings behind your work and influences.
Use onomatopoeia and match the words to the work. Dont start with "My work is" or "My painting is inspired by". Get a second opinion of your statement. Start with a mind map to brainstorm answers to the How, What and Why. Avoid using lots of jargon, the artist statement is essentially the elevator pitch to draw viewers into wanting to view your work.

Do's and Dont's from Format.com

Do

• Get to the point
• Include precise references
• Use active voice
• Use many editors
• Be specific
• Be clear
• Match your writing to your work
• Change your statement based on the opportunity
• Draw the reader into your world

Don’t

• Use jargon
• Generalize
• Use passive or inconsistent voices
• Include unnecessary but pretentious references
• Include biographical information (this should be only used in a bio or CV)
• Romanticize
• Use statements starting with “I hope to…” , “I will…” or “I am trying to…“ instead tell say what you do with confidence

Write your own artist statement for your project. 150-200 word limit and email to Bex. Must be professional presentation.

My 1st draft statement.

Angels have always been a large part of my favourite fantasy genre. One thing I have noticed as I get older, is that female characters have always been portrayed in a very sexual, unrealistic manner compared to their male counterparts. My brief foray into character development was focused on how I saw myself, if I was part of the world created by Nalini Singh in her Guild hunter book series. This poster is a visual experiment of that research, to show the strength and resilience of Aeliwina without the sacrifice/sexualisation of her femininity.

Research 7/10

Concept inspo

https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/q3e0i/what_if_the_male_avengers_posed_like_the_female/c3ugm4c/

Funny look at an artists rendition of what The Avengers would look like if they all were posed as female superheros.

https://assets.mubi.com/images/notebook/post_images/19893/images-w1400.jpg?1449196747

I really like the contrasting colour palette in this poster

https://s29588.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/blueorange-bourneidentity-1024x768.png

the contrast between past and current events portrayed here is something i want to have in my poster, just not in these colours.

Screen Arts 2/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c4IoCA5fY0

Bleach

This anime revolves around a young guy that suddenly gets dropped into the world of Death Gods and souls. Based in a Japan type town, he doesnt fit the norm in that he has orange hair, and can see/talk to ghosts. The anime has 366 episodes with a range of story arcs following the lead character Ichigo as he fights for his world and his friends, growing as a person along the way.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZjE0YjVjODQtZGY2NS00MDcyLThhMDAtZGQwMTZiOWNmNjRiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTA4NzY1MzY@._V1_.jpg

Screen Arts 3/10

1990's Film

This decade is the "Golden Age" for black cinema, "independent" films and  the emergence of an LGBT movement. Independent film is a film/short film that isnt produced in the major studios.

 Miramax Films was created by Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 1979. Before it was acquired by Disney in 1993, it was the leading independent film company. The Weinsteins left in 2005 and formed The Weinstein company. Films include The Piano, Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting.

The Sundance Film Festival was founded by Robert Redford in 1981 as a way to boost storytelling. The first festival was in 1985, spending 10 days showcasing independent films. In 2018 3,901 feature length films were submitted and only 110 were chosen to be shown.

Examples of some 90's classics.

Slacker(1990) directed by Richard Linklater

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTg2Nzg3Mjg5OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNDY3OTk4._V1_.jpg

My Own Private Idaho(1991) directed by Gus van Sant

https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,g_auto,h_1248,w_2220/f_auto,q_auto,w_1100/v1555320510/shape/mentalfloss/idahohed.jpg

The Crying Game(1992) directed by Neil Jordan

https://deepfocusreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/cryinggame7.jpg

Reservoir Dogs(1992) written and directed by Quentin Tarantino

https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/sites/default/files/styles/header_image/public/8.%20Reservoir%20Dogs%20-%20CREDIT%20Lionsgate.jpg?itok=RgsMEF3G

El Mariarchi(1992) written and directed by Robert Rodriguez

https://images2.static-bluray.com/reviews/3684_1.jpg

Heavenly Creatures(1994) directed by Peter Jackson

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZWIxZTUwYjItYzViNC00MmY5LTgxODMtMzA2MjFkY2M0YjA0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDY2NzgwOTE@._V1_.jpg

I never knew this was based on a real murder in christchurch until I looked a little deeper into it. I think its really cool that Peter Jackson used the actual locations for his re-telling.

Clerks(1994) directed by Kevin Smith

https://media.nbcwashington.com/images/1200*675/clerkdeathsmith.jpg

Very very funny, although I prefer Clerks 2 and Mallrats more. Kevin Smith was smart in making his character have very little dialogue, giving him all the time to concentrate on directing the group of movies the way he wanted them.

Kids(1995) directed by Larry Clark

https://filmsdeconstructed.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/kids-1995-03-g.jpg?w=1108&h=737&crop=1

Seven(1995) directed by David Fincher

https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,g_auto,h_1248,w_2220/f_auto,q_auto,w_1100/v1555387638/shape/mentalfloss/seven_primary.jpg

The Usual Suspects(1995) directed by Bryan Singer

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/3a/c6/79/13/e200/44c2/a6aa/da2b6e7fe749/usual-suspects-thumbnail.jpeg?rect=70%2C84%2C1727%2C864&auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&w=650

Every time I see a reminder of this movie, all I can think about was a behind the scenes video I saw in which Benicio Del Toro admitted to dropping numerous potent farts in this scene much to the dismay of the director, as many shots were ruined due to the actors reactions.

Scream(1996) directed by Wes Craven

https://filmschoolrejects.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/billy-1024x599-700x525.jpg

Absolute classic, Skeet Ulrich was a heartthrob and for the 90's the style of horror fit. Of course no-one can mention Scream without thinking about Scary Movie and the sequels!

Swingers(1996) directed by Doug Liman

https://theporkchopexpressblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/swingers.jpg?w=600&h=400&crop=1

Bound(1996) directed by The Wachowskis

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/414uarsjrxL.jpg

Boogie Nights(1997) directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

https://www.gcfilmfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GCFF19_BurleighBrewing_BoogieNights-1.jpg

The Big Lebowski(1998) directed by Ethan and Joel Coen

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V0aDEvmf5u0/maxresdefault.jpg

It was rather shocking to see Jeff Bridges in this role, as I am used to only seeing him in more serious roles like Tron and Iron Man.

Velvet Goldmine(1998) directed by Todd Haynes

https://akns-images.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/20181131/rs_1024x759-181231102325-1024-velvet-goldmine.cm.123118.jpg

Being John Malkovich(1999) directed by Spike Jonze

https://www.kinok.ch/medium/download/width/500/xMedium/4337

Election(1999) directed by Alexander Payne

https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/images/9351-475f26b61e8c9fe13ac7f33df95b6507/Current_29335id_139_medium.jpg

The Blair Witch Project(1999) directed by Eduardo Sanchez and David Myrick

https://spectrumculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/blairwitch.jpg

Research how blair witch was made and whether it would still be possible to do today.

I think today the general internet user is far more skeptical of what they see, so the reality aspect of this movie would not be nearly as successful. As a known fictional horror movie however I believe it would still find success because the horror genre never goes out of fashion. I do believe however that there would be more issue taken with the treatment of the actors if a production team attempted to immerse them in the same way. Whether thats me being cynical or people in general becoming way to precious in this day and age, I am not sure.

Gaming 3/10

List of things to do:

Animations for Simba and Ghostie (walk, jump, scratch for simba, blink and arm wiggle for ghostie)
Finish expanding backgrounds to cover camera area
Fix re-play coding
Add boss health
Add collider trigger reset scene script (somehow) for books/final boss
Script for final time shown on end of level canvas

Drawing 28/8

Random Monster (Not pokemon inspired i swear >.> )

The legendary Stumpicorn (Inbreeding fail)

Leprechaun in Space (He has achondroplasia)

More ink play, using prompts from classmates. I still really am not comfortable using ink, Im guessing just due to the lack of practice and thus not very happy with the images I ended up creating.

Drawing 2/10

Good to be back, only issue with missing a couple weeks of class is its a bit disorienting coming back. Found some nice new angles that i want to use to change it up from straight side on, so far so good. I need to get a mvoe on tho and start doing the final "inking" and colour.

2D Animation 2/10

I regret having 36 shots! Most definitely thankful that my backgrounds were done in Toon Boom so I can literally just drag the layer over and keep it editable for each shot. This is still very tedious and time consuming though! I am putting the computer under a stress test having 3 different toon booms open while opening and closing a 4th for each shot. If it explodes, you know why....

On a real note though, the last two weeks have been 98% coding workshop, so I definitely have a bit of catch up to do. 26 shot backgrounds done, 10 to go..