Friday, 21 February 2020
Monday, 17 February 2020
Character Design Contest
Another competition I came across that I thought would help me build up a portfolio was the Character Design Contest. In 501, 503 and 504, my focus has been on character concept art and the evolution of character design so it only makes sense to find a competition for 502 that incorporates that focus.
The aim is to design an original character, that fits the current theme which is "enemy stereotype". The first ideas that came to mind were more villainous, such as a witch or a crime boss. As these were my first ideas, I thought they would be too obvious so I tried to think of another stereotypical enemy from another angle and that's where I got the idea to make a bully.
I was originally going to design this character in a turn around sheet however, when looking at previous winners, none of them had done proper turn arounds. Instead, it would be a drawing or two, next to a short description of the character. So, I did this instead.
The deadline for this outcome is the 26th April 2020.
I believe I am getting better with shading and that I'm becoming more experimental with dynamic posing. I usually draw very skinny, long-legged characters so I also tried something different by making this character top-heavy. While I think the pose on the left looks good, the middle pose is definitely the weakest design.
While I'm trying to make the characters look less stiff, the shot of him wedgie-ing someone especially, still looks quite stiff so I need to work on being more fluid. If I had more time, I would take some photographs of me doing certain poses and then draw from reference. This should have been my first step so in the future, I will always work from reference.
© Emily Kate Mullis 2020
The aim is to design an original character, that fits the current theme which is "enemy stereotype". The first ideas that came to mind were more villainous, such as a witch or a crime boss. As these were my first ideas, I thought they would be too obvious so I tried to think of another stereotypical enemy from another angle and that's where I got the idea to make a bully.
I was originally going to design this character in a turn around sheet however, when looking at previous winners, none of them had done proper turn arounds. Instead, it would be a drawing or two, next to a short description of the character. So, I did this instead.
The deadline for this outcome is the 26th April 2020.
I believe I am getting better with shading and that I'm becoming more experimental with dynamic posing. I usually draw very skinny, long-legged characters so I also tried something different by making this character top-heavy. While I think the pose on the left looks good, the middle pose is definitely the weakest design.
While I'm trying to make the characters look less stiff, the shot of him wedgie-ing someone especially, still looks quite stiff so I need to work on being more fluid. If I had more time, I would take some photographs of me doing certain poses and then draw from reference. This should have been my first step so in the future, I will always work from reference.
© Emily Kate Mullis 2020
Study Task 3 - How Much Do You Need?
In class, we looked at the cost of living, and how to go about pricing up your work.
We were then asked to fill out a spreadsheet to see how much we spent annually. After class, I needed to fill the spreadsheet out on my own to get a more accurate outcome as there may be certain expenses I need to account for that others don't, such as running a car or renting a flat.
Link to Cost of Living Sheet
The total came to £14,315.
© Emily Kate Mullis 2020
We were then asked to fill out a spreadsheet to see how much we spent annually. After class, I needed to fill the spreadsheet out on my own to get a more accurate outcome as there may be certain expenses I need to account for that others don't, such as running a car or renting a flat.
Link to Cost of Living Sheet
The total came to £14,315.
© Emily Kate Mullis 2020
Saturday, 15 February 2020
PP2 Update (LoopdeLoop and Studio Brief 3)
Recently, my LoopdeLoop video was posted to the official Tumblr page which reassured me that I had submitted the video successfully. However, I didn't win. When I went on the page, despite it once saying 'Whoops' would be the last theme for six months, another theme has been posted and the deadline is 26th April 2020.
Before we were officially briefed on Studio Brief 3, I had messaged some classmates who I hadn't worked with before yet wanted to, so that I didn't have to worry later on when it came to choosing a team.
After the briefing, my team and I started looking at names for a potential studio. We looked through lists of animal names, cool words, and even experimented with our own names. I then suggested looking at breeds of animals, particularly cats and we ended up with Bobtail Studios.
However, on my route home, I did also consider Bobcat Studios, and when I got home it appeared that so did another one of my teammates. So, we made a poll in our group chat between Bobtail and Bobcat, and the latter won.
In class, I made a list of jobs and a list of names and started delegating tasks to my teammates. For tasks such as the logo, we decided a few people could experiment with this as we had time to, and then we could choose which logo was the best at a later date.
Above are my first concepts for potential logos. I want to incorporate the cat as if we have time, we might be able to animate a short outro for the show reel that includes the cat jumping up or running across the screen to reveal the name of our studio.
© Emily Kate Mullis 2020
Before we were officially briefed on Studio Brief 3, I had messaged some classmates who I hadn't worked with before yet wanted to, so that I didn't have to worry later on when it came to choosing a team.
After the briefing, my team and I started looking at names for a potential studio. We looked through lists of animal names, cool words, and even experimented with our own names. I then suggested looking at breeds of animals, particularly cats and we ended up with Bobtail Studios.
However, on my route home, I did also consider Bobcat Studios, and when I got home it appeared that so did another one of my teammates. So, we made a poll in our group chat between Bobtail and Bobcat, and the latter won.
In class, I made a list of jobs and a list of names and started delegating tasks to my teammates. For tasks such as the logo, we decided a few people could experiment with this as we had time to, and then we could choose which logo was the best at a later date.
Above are my first concepts for potential logos. I want to incorporate the cat as if we have time, we might be able to animate a short outro for the show reel that includes the cat jumping up or running across the screen to reveal the name of our studio.
© Emily Kate Mullis 2020
Wednesday, 12 February 2020
Study Task 2 - CopyShop
In this lecture, we were shown a few different copyright laws, and how to apply them to our own pieces of work. Some cases were more difficult than others. For this task, I need to review my current online presence and list the actions I will take to protect any work I upload online in the future.
I currently upload my animations, illustrations and paintings to Instagram. I haven't copyrighted any of my posts so far. Despite not taking these extra measures, whenever a page does want to share my work, they have always credited me. For instance, a fan account called "The Sheehab" have reposted my work on both Instagram and Twitter and every time they do so, they have messaged me first, asking for my permission. Even in their own captions, they have credited me as the artist and added the copyright symbol.
As I am a UK resident, I will follow the UK Copyright practices, by captioning all the work I upload with: my name, the year and the copyright symbol. Something else I am considering is to add a watermark on my pieces as at the moment, I only add my initials, which people could easily edit or crop out.
My lecturer also advised us to copyright our blog posts, so from now on, I will start doing this.
© Emily Kate Mullis 2020
I currently upload my animations, illustrations and paintings to Instagram. I haven't copyrighted any of my posts so far. Despite not taking these extra measures, whenever a page does want to share my work, they have always credited me. For instance, a fan account called "The Sheehab" have reposted my work on both Instagram and Twitter and every time they do so, they have messaged me first, asking for my permission. Even in their own captions, they have credited me as the artist and added the copyright symbol.
As I am a UK resident, I will follow the UK Copyright practices, by captioning all the work I upload with: my name, the year and the copyright symbol. Something else I am considering is to add a watermark on my pieces as at the moment, I only add my initials, which people could easily edit or crop out.
My lecturer also advised us to copyright our blog posts, so from now on, I will start doing this.
© Emily Kate Mullis 2020
Study Task 1 - Networking: Who, What, When, Where and How?
After the Christmas break, we had a series of lectures on the importance of networking and other skills such as building a CV and mindfulness. In those classes, we were advised to create an online presence, and attend events where you could form connections and put your name out into the world.
As I specialise in animation, and in my spare time I paint portraits, I decided to set up an Instagram account dedicated to each practice.
Once Employability Fortnight was over, we returned to our usual schedule. The first lesson I had was in a new module: Professional Practice 2. In class, we were briefed on what we were expected to produce in this module, as well as our first study task. In which, we needed to identify six networking events.
1) Manchester Animation Festival
At the start of my first and second year of University, I attended MAF. While there are no 2020 dates available yet, the event is usually on during November. The festival offers a series of networking events, as well as talks from professionals in the industry. Next year, I'm considering applying to volunteer as this should hopefully make the trip more affordable.
2) Motion North
Motion North is a group based in Manchester that hosts regular networking events for animators and VFX artists. The closest event is on 16th April 2020 at 6:30pm. There, I would be able to talk to other people working in my field, and build up confidence when talking about my own work. I would have to consider how to get there and back.
3) The Brussels Animation Film Festival (Anima)
This year's Anima festival is taking place from 21st February - 1st March 2020. Unfortunately, I won't be attending the festival this year however next year, I am hoping to go. Similarly to MAF, the festival offers masterclasses, talks from professionals, and hosts a series of social events so that attendees can network.
4) Annecy International Animated Film Festival
I have been advised to attend this festival during the summer of my final year, as the cost for students is much more affordable than normal ticket prices. While I don't know the 2021 dates yet, this year's Annecy festival runs from 15th - 20th June 2020. A few classmates and I have already discussed attending this together, as apparently, the festival is a coveted event which means I could have the opportunity to network with more people who I most likely wouldn't meet if not for the event.
5) aNEmates
This group offers free monthly meetups for animators to network. This month's meetup took place in Newcastle upon Tyne on 6th February 2020. An event like this would help me gain confidence when talking to other animators in the area. It would also be a chance to see other people's work.
6) Cardiff Animation Festival
This year's Cardiff Animation Festival runs from 2nd - 5th April 2020. This is another festival that is promoted through the University. CAF offers Q+A sessions, networking events, and also runs "Animation Nights", which is a free event where animations from around the world are shown. I am hoping to attend however, I need to make sure I can afford it.
The second part of this task was to make a LinkedIn account.
I made a profile picture for this account and at a later date, I will add a header.
Link to LinkedIn Profile
As I specialise in animation, and in my spare time I paint portraits, I decided to set up an Instagram account dedicated to each practice.
Once Employability Fortnight was over, we returned to our usual schedule. The first lesson I had was in a new module: Professional Practice 2. In class, we were briefed on what we were expected to produce in this module, as well as our first study task. In which, we needed to identify six networking events.
1) Manchester Animation Festival
At the start of my first and second year of University, I attended MAF. While there are no 2020 dates available yet, the event is usually on during November. The festival offers a series of networking events, as well as talks from professionals in the industry. Next year, I'm considering applying to volunteer as this should hopefully make the trip more affordable.
2) Motion North
Motion North is a group based in Manchester that hosts regular networking events for animators and VFX artists. The closest event is on 16th April 2020 at 6:30pm. There, I would be able to talk to other people working in my field, and build up confidence when talking about my own work. I would have to consider how to get there and back.
3) The Brussels Animation Film Festival (Anima)
This year's Anima festival is taking place from 21st February - 1st March 2020. Unfortunately, I won't be attending the festival this year however next year, I am hoping to go. Similarly to MAF, the festival offers masterclasses, talks from professionals, and hosts a series of social events so that attendees can network.
4) Annecy International Animated Film Festival
I have been advised to attend this festival during the summer of my final year, as the cost for students is much more affordable than normal ticket prices. While I don't know the 2021 dates yet, this year's Annecy festival runs from 15th - 20th June 2020. A few classmates and I have already discussed attending this together, as apparently, the festival is a coveted event which means I could have the opportunity to network with more people who I most likely wouldn't meet if not for the event.
5) aNEmates
This group offers free monthly meetups for animators to network. This month's meetup took place in Newcastle upon Tyne on 6th February 2020. An event like this would help me gain confidence when talking to other animators in the area. It would also be a chance to see other people's work.
6) Cardiff Animation Festival
This year's Cardiff Animation Festival runs from 2nd - 5th April 2020. This is another festival that is promoted through the University. CAF offers Q+A sessions, networking events, and also runs "Animation Nights", which is a free event where animations from around the world are shown. I am hoping to attend however, I need to make sure I can afford it.
The second part of this task was to make a LinkedIn account.
I made a profile picture for this account and at a later date, I will add a header.
Link to LinkedIn Profile
Monday, 10 February 2020
Friday, 7 February 2020
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