Author: Pai Janhirat

BRIEF:

The brief for Lip Sync is to make a 10-15 second animated piece using the audio that I recorded around the theme and topic of London.

During this project, we will be focusing on the mouth movement and body language in relation to the dialogue and sound.

AUDIO:

The first thing I had to do was ask someone for permission to use their voice and interview them based on the topic and theme of London. The audio or dialogue had to relate to London.

We were meant to interview someone we didn’t know to practice going outside our comfort zone, but I didn’t want to do that because I felt very uncomfortable and panicked, so I decided to interview a close relative instead, mostly my mother.

We planned to go out for a walk to record it, but it wasn’t a good day and we were tired, so we did it in the garden. There was a lot of background noise like wind, trees moving, pigeons, planes, and sometimes trains.

I asked questions like what does London mean to you, do you feel at home in London, and if there is a place you feel attached to.

After recording, I had to cut and simplify the audio to around 10–15 seconds using Premiere Pro. I chose one audio, I don’t fully remember which question it was, but it was something about why my mother came to London. In the dialogue, she mentioned living in America before, which surprised me because I didn’t know that. That audio stood out because it gave me more emotion and confusion than the others, and it was close to 15 seconds, so I picked that one.

MY CONCEPT:

After I chose the audio, I took inspiration from the wind and pigeon sounds, which made me think of setting it high above London in the clouds instead of a forest or normal city. I preferred that because you would hear wind and birds, so my concept is just being in the clouds with London below in view.

For the dialogue, I just used my imagination like the brief said. The story comes from being surprised that my mother lived in America, so the dialogue is about why she came to London and then mentioning America.

To show the story, I thought about adding a second, smaller character on the shoulder, like the one interviewing. I would use different camera angles to show both the speaking and the reaction. When America is mentioned, the second character would react with shock or surprise. I need to make sure that the audience understands this, because they don’t know that I didn’t know, so I have to show the surprise clearly through the reaction and camera. I haven’t fully developed it yet, but that’s the idea.

MY MOODBOARD:

For my moodboard, I first listened to the audio. I mostly listened to the background first. The main things I could hear were wind and pigeons. That immediately gave me the idea of being high above the clouds, because you can mostly hear wind up there.

Because of that, I used an image of someone sitting on a cloud, a pigeon, and people holding onto a tree. The tree image was mainly to show the wind, because there were not really any other images that showed wind clearly.

After that I listened to the dialogue. At first there was a lot of talking about living in America. That gave me a feeling of surprise and confusion, so I picked two images. One was someone looking confused, and the other was more like a thinking face, almost contemplating what the comment was and how they lived in America first.

Then they talked about Tokyo. Tokyo was already known, but I still grabbed an image of it. In the animation, though, I am probably just going to use the flag instead of trying to animate an entire country.

The main colours I wanted were white, grey, light blue, and yellow.

White and grey were mostly for the clouds. I did not want the clouds to be permanently white because if it is purely white, you are not really going to see much. So I added a bit of grey to make them feel more like clouds instead of just a big white puff of cotton.

Light blue was mainly for the sky.

Yellow was going to be the reflection of the sun. I was also thinking of maybe putting some yellow on the clouds themselves.

For the main character, I took the idea of sitting on a cloud, so they are physically sitting on one. Only half of the body is in the cloud.

The character is a mix between a mannequin, like the small humanoid figures people use for art, and a biblically accurate angel.

I combined those two ideas together, and that became the concept for the whole animation.

CHARACTER DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION SHEET:

Main Character:

For the character, it’s kind of like a biblically accurate angel, but simplified because the full version would be too complex. I made it more like a marionette, with separated joints and limbs, and wings partly covering the face with eyes on them.

For the sketches, my first attempt was to draw the character more like the way I normally draw, more alien looking, and I tried to make the character look more feminine based on the voice. But the more I kept sketching, the more I realised the design would probably be confusing to animate, so I scrapped the first idea and moved onto a new design.

The second design looked more promising and was much easier to draw, so I decided to keep it as the final design. I also experimented with different eye designs to make the character more expressive. At first, I wanted to place the eyes on the wings or the head, but they looked too small, so I decided to move the eyes somewhere else, like the chest area, because there was more space.

I also tried making another version that was more bulky, while still keeping parts of the second design, but it did not work out because it looked too human and too bulky. In the end, I stuck with the second design because it looked much better than the others.

Character Inspiration:

I originally got inspired by using small mannequin models for the body design of my angel character instead of using a more traditional angel design. As time went on, I realised I maybe was inspired by the idea of the DevilTechs, especially the way their limbs are separated instead of connected with normal joints. The limbs float slightly apart from the body, almost like magnetic robot parts.

Persona:

Instead of sketching a whole new character, I decided to use an already existing character which my persona. I sketched it using photoshop to be my side character and it will be on the main character shoulder interviewing them. As my persona will be showing both my reaction and my body language in the animation.

Character Turnarounds:

First attempt:

I disliked doing the character turnaround because it was one of the most difficult and stressful exercises I have done. Even though I understood why turnarounds are important, I still struggled with them a lot. I understood that they are used to show the character from all angles, like the front, side, and back, almost like showing a 3D model instead of just a flat 2D drawing. They are also important for animation because characters need to be shown from different angles in scenes instead of always facing forward.

I found it difficult because it was my first time doing turnarounds, and my character has a curved shape which made it harder to draw from specific angles. I also struggle with proportions, especially when dealing with perspective and 3D shapes. Things like hands appearing bigger when closer to the camera and smaller when further away made the exercise confusing and stressful for me.

Even though I struggled with it, I still want to practice turnarounds more in my own free time without the pressure of assignments.

Second attempt:

I struggled with turnarounds at first because they were not explained properly, so I did not understand the structure. My first attempt was difficult because I tried to draw every angle, including the front, side, and back views. I also found it hard because I usually draw characters very large, so shrinking them down to fit on one canvas was challenging.

For my second attempt, my teacher advised me to draw over my original drawing and adjust it instead of starting from scratch. I decided to do two main views and then create the back view by copying and flipping the front view. After that, I erased parts of it and redrew around the joints rather than drawing the whole character again.

This method worked much better, and I was able to complete the turnaround. I am happier with my second attempt because it looks much cleaner than my first version, which looked quite messy.

Pose sheets:

I did not have enough time to make a pose sheet for my character. There also was not a lot of poses for the character to do because most of the movement was only head movement, arm movement, hand and finger movement, and blinking. There was not really any full body movement because half of the character’s body is hidden in the clouds and not fully visible.

If I had more time, I would have experimented more with different poses and movements, maybe even making the character move in a more dramatic way like a ballerina. Instead, I mainly worked on the poses directly during the animatic and animation process.

Character Colour Concept/Palette:

Brain Storming: For the main character, I’m thinking of using a basic monochrome or simple colour, like white with a bit of other colour, so it doesn’t blend into the background and actually sticks out more. I want it to almost feel illuminated, especially at the joints, since they are slightly separated and hovering. So I might add a glow in between the joints and also around the head since it’s floating. I’m not fully sure on the exact colour yet. Something like yellow would stand out a lot, but it might be too obvious, so I need to think more about a colour that still glows but isn’t too distracting.

For the small shoulder character (my persona), I’ll also use a monochrome colour that stands out, but doesn’t clash with the main character or the background.

STORYBOARD:

For this storyboard, the first frame is a rough sketch above the clouds, high above London, with London peeking through the clouds.

The second frame has the main character with my little persona sitting on their shoulder, talking about London high above it.

The third frame is a close-up of them and they continue talking.

The fourth frame is when the character mentions living in the US. The persona on the shoulder looks confused and shocked, with question marks. I did not know, so it was a huge surprise.

The fifth frame is when they continue talking about going to Tokyo, but the side character is still confused about the US. They are very deep in thought and still confused.

The sixth frame continues with talking about getting a job in London. The persona on the shoulder is still stuck on the US, still deep in thought, and just cannot get past it.

That is how it ends. It just cuts to the ending.

ANIMATIC:

My animatic was made to help me plan out the full animation. It helped me figure out the poses, actions, and where the characters were supposed to be positioned on screen. It also helped me understand where the eye should be looking and where the hand gestures should go so the animation would not become confusing.

The animatic also helped make sure my storyboard made sense, even if it was still rough. Another reason I used it was to separate the two characters more clearly by using different colours. The main character was coloured bright blue while the other character was purple, because if they were both the same colour it would have been confusing to tell who was who.

BACKGROUNDS:

Background Rough Layout:

For my rough layout and background, I started by making rough sketches of the background concept for the audio. The idea was to have the main character high above London, with half of their body hidden inside the clouds. I drew the city of London below them, almost like a pocket opening in the clouds where you can see the city underneath while waves of clouds surround it above.

I also made other rough background sketches that were mostly focused on the clouds. I wanted the character to feel far above London, looking down and talking about the concept of London, instead of standing somewhere normal like on top of a building.

Background Colour Layout:

For the background colour, I used a mix of photobashing and regular painting in Krita. For the London background, I photobashed an image of London because I did not want to fully draw or paint an entire city since it would have taken too long. I cropped the image and positioned it onto my rough layout, then painted around it and blended it into the background.

I painted the clouds using different shades of white, light grey, and dark grey to create shadows and wave-like patterns instead of making the clouds look flat. I wanted the colours to feel soft and smooth, so I painted over the rough lines and blended everything together to make the background look more calming and natural, almost like carving or smoothing the colours together.

I also added small amounts of yellow onto the clouds and blended them out to make them look like soft sunlight shining across the clouds. The overall mood I wanted was something calm and relaxing, almost like a peaceful field made out of clouds.

I am happy with the results of my background and I am hoping on making more backgrounds like this one in the future.

X-SHEET:

I found the process extremely frustrating and annoying because it was my first time using an X-sheet. It took much longer than I expected and I spent a lot of hours working on it.

One of the hardest parts was creating and editing the transcript. I used Premiere Pro to transcribe my audio and then had to separate the dialogue into individual sounds and letters so I could place them correctly on the X-sheet. For example, I had to work out where each sound started and ended within a word.

Another problem was that the transcript audio sometimes got confused with certain sounds and words. Some sounds could be treated as separate words, which made it harder to break the dialogue down into the exact letters and sounds I needed.

Even though I found the process difficult, I understand why X-sheets are important. They are used to sync the lips with the dialogue and help get the mouth movements right.

I am not completely sure how much the X-sheet helped me with the actual animation process, but I understand why it is important and why people use it.

If I create animations with dialogue in the future, I will probably have to use X-sheets again because they help keep the speech and lip movements synchronised. However, I still find the process frustrating and would not choose to use it unless it was necessary.

MOUTH SHAPES:

Mouth shapes are used to make a character pronounce different letters and sounds when speaking. Different mouth positions are needed for sounds such as A, L, E, H, V, F, and others.

I found the process difficult and confusing because most mouth shape references use teeth, tongues, and detailed mouth movements. My character does not have teeth, so I had to improvise.

I took inspiration from how frogs and birds move their mouths, especially how birds are animated when they are made to talk like humans. Instead of using teeth, I focused on changing the shape of the lips and using the tongue to show different sounds.

For example:

• For A, the tongue rests inside the mouth.
• For L, the tongue lifts upwards.
• For sounds like TH, the tongue almost sticks out.
• For V and F, I made one lip almost bite the other because my character has no teeth.
• Simpler shapes such as M, O, and U were easier to create.

The hardest mouth shapes were sounds such as T, CH, N, G, S, SH, Z, and D because the reference sheets showed lots of teeth. Since my character only has lips, these shapes were difficult to adapt, so some of them are still a work in progress.

Reflection: When I started, I found the process complicated and stressful. It was good practice, but I did not find it very enjoyable because creating mouth shapes for a character without teeth was difficult.

If I need to improve these mouth shapes, I would research animations with characters that have no teeth, such as birds in Rio, and study how their lip-syncing works.

Whether I use mouth shapes again depends on the type of character and project I am making. If I need to create a speaking character or do lip-syncing in the future, then I would use this skill again.

KEY FRAMES:

At first, I was unsure what to do with keyframes. I understood them as where the action starts and where it ends. For example, if I wanted my character to raise their hand up, I would need to know where it starts and where it ends. My teacher gave me a useful tip by starting from a point like the edge of the wrist or hand and then following it from one frame to the next, from point A to point B, until the final position. The same idea applies to other actions, like if I want a leg to kick, I would pick a point like the ankle and move it from point A to point B.

Once the teachers explained it and gave me a simple tip, it helped me understand it better. Thinking about it as ease in and ease out helped me more than just thinking of it as keyframes.

I was also told that keyframes are more like pose to pose and I need to think about where the joint actions are supposed to start and end and what angle they should be at.

I will use keyframes in the future for certain animations, especially smoother ones or smaller movements, like someone walking into a café. But for faster animations, like fight scenes or very quick actions, it can get confusing because everything moves too fast to clearly plan the start and end of each action.

I used Toon Boom for this work.

FEEDBACK:

• Your keys are looking excellent – I think it’s time to move into inbetweens. Good job on following the process and getting to know ToonBoom.
• You should have one drawing every 2 frames, unless your character is in a ‘hold’ or pausing in a pose.
• You should add your mouth shapes at the end, again working on 2s, so having one new mouth shape every two frames.
• Pay attention to ease in and ease out when animating – make sure if you want to ease an arm move, your inbetweens are drawn more similar to the first key, with the movement increasing in distance, and then decreasing again into the second key (the difference in the drawings getting closer and closer together).
• Be confident in your artistic style! It’s great to see your unique artistic voice moving into motion.

IN-BETWEENS:

I understand in-betweening as creating the movement between one action and the next. For example, if I was animating a punch, I would start with the beginning, middle and end poses, then create the actions between those points. I worked frame by frame between the beginning and middle, and then between the middle and end, to create the full movement.

When working on the in-betweens, I found it both difficult and easy. Some movements were straightforward, but I found it harder when I needed to get specific angles right. This was especially difficult when rotating the hands because the fingers were separated and moving at the same time. To help with this, I sometimes copied and pasted the fingers and blended the different positions together to create the movement I needed.

The most difficult part was turning the head. I needed to know exactly where the face was facing and keep the mouth and wings at the correct angle. I had to make sure I did not accidentally make them look flat because I was trying to make the movement feel more 3D. Getting the exact angles and movement right was one of the main challenges during this process.

Throughout the project, I received positive feedback from Jess, my teacher and, earlier in production, from my peers. The feedback was about areas such as the wings, the body movement and the angles used in the animation.

Overall, in-betweening helped me work from the beginning pose to the end pose by creating the actions between them. Although some parts were challenging, especially the angles and head turns, it is a technique that I will continue to use in future animations.

MOUTH SHAPES WITH TEETH:

During production of my animation, I made another set of mouth shapes instead of creating them separately. I decided to do this because it took less time and was easier to manage. If I had made another full set separately, I would have spent too much time on it and taken time away from working on the animation itself before the deadline. Instead, I created the mouth shapes and added the teeth to them during production, which helped me focus on completing the animation.

I am happy with the results of the mouth shapes in my animation. If I had more time, I would have practised mouth movement more and tried to improve it further. I would also have recorded myself moving my lips and used that as a reference instead of mostly eyeballing the movement.

During production, I found it frustrating to get the mouth shapes working with the dialogue audio because the lip sync was not matching properly. The audio was moving too quickly and the frames were not keeping up, so I had to adjust the X-sheet dialogue to match the main audio and make the lips sync better.

Although I am happy with the final result, I think the lip sync could have been improved. I found that some parts of the audio did not match the timing in the X-sheet because of very small pauses and differences in timing, which made syncing difficult. Even though it was not fully synced in every place, I am happy that it works well overall and that the mouth shapes are on the character and follow the dialogue.

PERSONA:

For my Persona, I did not have enough time to animate the character the way I originally planned because of the short deadline. Instead, I drew over my original sketch, copied and pasted the drawing onto three frames, and adjusted the angles before placing the Persona on the shoulder of the main character. Since I could not add the movements and expressions I had planned, such as looking at the main character and then looking away, I used a speech bubble showing the Persona’s face with different reactions. I also added exclamation marks and question marks to help show emotions such as surprise and confusion.

I am happy with the final result, although I wish I had more time to develop the Persona further and include the additional movements and expressions I originally intended. Despite the time constraints, I think the Persona worked well and successfully communicated the reactions I wanted to show.

TOONBOOM:

Toon Boom was not my favourite software to use because I found it difficult compared to Photoshop and other software. It felt old-fashioned and sometimes made me stressed while working. However, I used Toon Boom throughout the project to create the animation, including the keyframes, rough animation and clean-up process.

Although I was not always sure about all of Toon Boom’s features, I understood that it was useful for constructing the animation and organising movement. It helped me create key poses and build the animation frame by frame rather than drawing everything from scratch. While I found the software challenging to use, it was still an important part of producing the final animation and helped me develop the movement and structure of the project.

FINAL ANIMATION:

FINAL REFLECTION:

1. Reflecting on My Research

Research helped me decide what I wanted to make for the character and environment. From the audio, I focused on the strong winds, pigeons and the feeling of being outside. Because of that, I decided on something high above London in the clouds.

For the character, I researched angels and biblical angels. I thought if the character was high above the clouds, I should think about what would be on the clouds. That led me to the idea of an angel.

I also researched virtual models with separated limbs. Originally, I wanted to separate mannequin limbs, but I did not want them to have joints or balls around the limbs because I thought it would be awkward to animate and an eyesore. Looking at these models helped me decide on separated limbs instead.

The audio was the main influence on my idea rather than the visual research. I kept listening to the audio and focused on the background sounds, which helped me think about the atmosphere and feeling I wanted to create. The research helped me visualise the character and environment more clearly and refine the concept. It was most useful for helping me create the background, atmosphere and overall feeling of the animation.

2. Reflecting on My Concept

The biggest surprise from the recording was finding out that my mother used to live in America. I already knew she had lived in Tokyo before and then lived in the UK, but America was the one thing that surprised me more than anything else.

That surprise gave me the idea for my concept. I decided to have my persona on the main character’s shoulder so they could show the surprised reaction when the recording reaches the part about living in America.

The audio also made me think about being high above London in the clouds, which led to the idea of creating an angel-like character.

I chose to focus on the surprise moment because I wanted to show my reaction in the animation. If it was only the interview by itself, it would have felt more like a normal interview and less interesting. Having my persona react made the animation more entertaining and helped show something that could not be heard in the audio itself. Although the audio was quite monotone, the animation allowed me to show the surprise visually and make the scene feel more expressive.

I decided to place my persona on the angel’s shoulder because I imagined the angel-like character as a huge figure inspired by biblical accurate angels, while my persona remained human-sized. This helped show the difference in scale between the two characters.

I also chose to interview my mother because I felt more comfortable talking to someone I knew. I was shy about interviewing strangers, friends or neighbours, so speaking to my mother felt less stressful and allowed me to focus on the recording itself.

I decided to focus on one main idea rather than developing multiple concepts because I wanted to keep the project focused and manageable within the deadline. Overall, the surprise about America stood out the most in the recording and helped shape the direction of my concept.

3. Reflecting on My Process

Some parts of the process were more challenging than others. The turnarounds were stressful because I struggled to draw the shape correctly and found it difficult to keep the character consistent from different angles. I eventually found a solution by drawing over my original sketch, which helped me understand the structure better.

The X-sheet was one of the most stressful parts of the project because I struggled with the timing, wording and sentence placement. I had to go back and forth many times to correct mistakes and make sure everything matched the audio correctly. I also found the mouth shapes difficult because my character originally did not have teeth. After receiving feedback, I decided to add metallic teeth so the character could perform the full range of mouth shapes needed for the lip sync.

Working in Toon Boom was also challenging because it is not my strongest software and is very different from programs such as Photoshop. The keyframes and in-betweens were confusing at first, and I found the animation process stressful because I was still learning how the software worked. However, as the project progressed, I became more familiar with the process and gained more experience using the animation tools.

Time management was another challenge throughout the project. As the deadline got closer, I realised I would not have enough time to animate my persona the way I had originally planned. Instead of removing the persona completely, I found another solution by tracing my drawing, copying it onto the frames and positioning it correctly on the character’s shoulder. I then used speech bubbles, facial expressions and text to show the persona’s reactions. Although this was different from my original idea, it allowed me to complete the project on time while still communicating the reactions I wanted to show.

Looking back, I think the biggest thing I need to improve is time management. If I had managed my time better, I would have had more opportunity to develop some of my ideas further, animate the persona more fully and add colour to the final animation. Despite the challenges, the project helped me improve my understanding of the animation process and taught me how to adapt when things did not go according to plan.

4. Reflecting on My Final Outcome

Overall, I am happy with the final outcome, although it does not completely match my original idea. The main character followed my original concept closely and developed in the way I had planned. The design remained consistent with my research into biblical accurate angels and the idea of being high above London in the clouds.

The biggest difference between my original idea and the final animation was the persona. Originally, I wanted the persona to be animated and interact more with the main character. However, because of time limitations, I was not able to complete that part of the animation as planned. Instead, I used speech bubbles and facial expressions to show the persona’s reactions. Although this was not my first choice, I think it still worked because the persona was showing thoughts and reactions rather than speaking directly.

I am particularly happy with the character and environment designs because they match the atmosphere and concept I wanted to create. The background supports the idea of being above London in the clouds, and the angel-like character fits the setting well. I also think the ending works effectively when the main character notices my persona’s confused reaction, as it helps communicate the idea I wanted to show.

There are still aspects I would improve if I were to do the project again. I would spend more time animating the persona, adding colour and developing some of my original ideas further. I would also like to make the animation connect more closely with elements of the audio, such as the birds and other background sounds. Looking back, time management had the biggest impact on the final outcome, and it is the main area I need to improve in future projects. Even so, I am pleased that I was able to complete the animation and find solutions to problems when they arose.

BRIEF:

The brief for Sonic Vision was to create a 30-second sound first, before making the animation. It had to be exactly 30 seconds, not more.

At first, I thought we were going to use our own sound for our own animation, but actually we had to make our own sound, give it to someone else randomly, and then use a random person’s sound to animate.

We were also encouraged to be playful and experiment with the sound.

MY SOUND:

PROMPT:

The prompt I chose was “by the skin of my teeth”, and I decided to make it more horror and suspense based. I was inspired by A Quiet Place, thinking about how being quiet feels safe but sound makes it scary. I imagined a character alone in an empty house, with sounds like ticking clocks, water dripping, and a fridge humming, but then something starts crawling and scurrying around, building tension.

PROCESS:

For my process, I used objects around me to create sounds. I did knocking in sets of three, typing on a keyboard for crawling, used a lanyard for wind chime sounds, and opened and closed a headphone case for clicking sounds. I also added a fridge hum to make it feel more like a real home. I used Adobe Audition and Premiere Pro to edit, change pitch, volume, and pan sounds from left to right to make it feel more 3D. I mostly experimented because I wasn’t fully confident with the software.

FEEDBACK:

The feedback I received was that my idea was strong and open to interpretation, but I needed more ambience and more layers, and to experiment more with space. The sounds were good but a bit monotone, so I needed better mixing and more dynamic sound. I was also told to build it up to a climax and have a better ending, like a fade instead of a sharp cut.

REFLECTION:

I did enjoy the process, especially mixing and changing the sounds, but I struggled with time management and keeping everything exactly 30 seconds. I tried to follow the feedback by adding things like the fridge hum and panning, but I couldn’t experiment as much as I wanted. I am happy with my final result, but I could have improved it by adding more wind, better ambience, and adjusting the timing of the sounds more carefully.

SOUND GIVEN FROM OTHER STUDENT:

MY FIRST IMPRESSION:

The exercise was for everyone to create a soundscape and then exchange it to other students through Padlet, where it would be randomly selected. My first impression on the soundscape I was given was terrifying and horrifying. The first sound made my skin crawl and gave me a flashback of being horrified from a video game. The chains sounded like something crawling behind me or gates opening. The heavy breathing confused me because it was very long, like someone running for a long time. Then there was loud thunder and explosions, which made me think of danger or escaping from something. The splashing sounded like someone diving or drowning. At the end, the music box felt calm but also strange and mystical, which made me question why it was there.

MY CONCEPT:

Because all the sounds just sounded like a whole thing, I decided to explore a horror thriller. I first thought about a war zone, but it would have been too difficult and too long, so I didn’t want to do that. Instead, I focused on the main character escaping from something dangerous, like a creature. I was thinking about chains, thunder and water, and the only thing that popped up was an abandoned port or a factory near water, so I stuck with that. I also wanted it to be more horrifying or thrilling based on the sound. The music box made me think of creating a creature that looks horrifying but has music coming out of it.

MOODBOARD:

I started to create my moodboard by thinking about the sounds I heard, like chains, thunder and water. I focused on abandoned places that are closed off and no one is allowed in. For the thunder, I didn’t want to show lightning striking directly, but instead have flashes of light coming through a window. For the explosion, I looked for something like a nuke explosion. For the splashing, I used waves hitting the side to create that effect. For the drowning, I found an image of someone falling into water. I only used Pinterest for my research, because I couldn’t find the right or comfortable images on other websites like IMDb or ShotDeck, so I just used regular imagery from Pinterest.

SKETCHES:

I first drew silhouettes of both the creature and the main character on Photoshop to play around with ideas.

LURKER:

I called the creature the Lurker. It became something like a walking music box with music coming out of it. I didn’t do many poses for the monster because I had limited time.

MC:

For the main character, I sketched different poses like running, falling and drowning.

RUNNING

PANTING

LOOKING AROUND

FALLING

DROWNING

PANICKING

MOODBOARD ANIMATIC:

I used Premiere Pro to create the animatic because I wasn’t at the After Effects stage yet. The animatic shows the main character running from the creature, explosions happening, and eventually falling into water and drowning. At the end, the music box plays and then cuts off.

REFLECTION:

I wish I had more time. My time management was not good and I had to rush parts of the work. If I did it again, I would plan better, manage my time properly, listen to the sound first, and make a storyboard before starting. The sound complicated my thought process, so I had to improvise a lot.

BACKGROUNDS:

After the mood board animatic, I started making my backgrounds for the animation. I followed the images I used for the moodboard as inspiration, not copying them but making something similar to the environment.

I decided to have the main character run through an abandoned factory or port. For each background, I focused on the colour and environment. I first made the layout on my iPad using Ibis Paint, using the grids and shapes to help me draw straight lines and build the environment. Then I exported them to Photoshop and painted over them using warm colours to give a worn down, rusted, oxidised look, like metal turning red or green with moss growing.

I made different backgrounds like the start, a small room with a gate, a hall, a main hallway, and a window view. All of them keep the same rusty, murky, creepy atmosphere, with broken doors, pipes, and closed spaces. I didn’t focus on making them perfect, just quick backgrounds to support the animation.

At the end, I realised some backgrounds looked too much like a boat instead of a facility.

START

GATE

MAIN HALL

HALL

WINDOW

FEEDBACK:

The feedback was to use photo bashing, meaning blending multiple images together instead of drawing everything. I was told to simplify things and not overcomplicate it. They suggested using textures and overlays to fake backgrounds instead of making everything from scratch, and to use lighting like flashes.

BACKGROUNDS – PHOTO BASHING

For the last 10 seconds of the animation, I followed the advice to use photo bashing. I found a image of a catwalk above the water and quickly made the background by photo bashing over it, which made my process much quicker.

My process was to take one image and crop around it. After that, I coloured over it with a little bit of green and made it foggy so it looks like a murky background. You can still slightly see the real image mixed with the colour. This was to make fog only.

I learned that photo bashing is not the same as collage. It’s similar, but you use images from different images, cutting pieces and putting them together to make one image. It is quicker and practical to create a background and helps with time management.

I used Photoshop for the backgrounds because I wanted to make this quick. I didn’t experiment with After Effects because I didn’t have time, but I will probably use After Effects in my next elective.

Photo bashing helped me with time management and helped me finish my animation. I would use it again if I want to make a background.

ANNOTATED ANIMATIC:

MY PROCESS:

After I created my backgrounds, I then did an annotated animatic. I first made rough sketches of the characters to show actions like running or crawling. I did this directly in Photoshop, on top of my backgrounds.

I followed my moodboard animatic and also the sound from that. I didn’t copy it, but I used it as a reference.

I used colour coding so it wouldn’t be confusing. Green was for the characters and their actions, showing where they start and where they end. Blue was for arrows and text to explain what is happening, like where the character moves or when the entity emerges.

I used rough drawings because if I drew them properly, it would have been a mess and taken too much time. I wanted it to be an annotated animatic plan. Without it, I wouldn’t know where to start or where to end. It helped me plan and time my animation before doing the final animation.

I prefer doing this instead of a storyboard on paper because if I did that, I would come back and change too many things, get confused, and be more stressed. Doing the annotated animatic on top of my backgrounds helps me visualise everything better and makes more sense to me. It is more efficient and more comfortable for me. I used a similar process before and it worked well.

Camera and Visuals: I didn’t use zooms or cuts. I used different camera angles depending on the action, like overhead views, front views, and low, crooked angles to create a weird perspective.

ANNOTATED ANIMATION:

FEEDBACK:

On the last day, I showed my work to both teachers and student, and got positive feedback. People said they understood the story and liked the camera angles.

The person who did the audio said they didn’t expect a creature, but the audio was confusing for me, especially the explosion and other sounds, so I interpreted it as a port environment. It showed that everyone has different interpretations of the sound.

REFLECTION:

What I could do better: One thing I could do better is time management. I still struggle with it a little bit. This was also part of the feedback from my teacher, where they suggested using other ways of finishing the animation, like photo bashing, so I don’t waste time making more and more backgrounds, and using textures and overlays to fake the background instead of crafting everything.

Tools and Future Improvements: I only used Photoshop for this and not After Effects. I might not have time to use After Effects for this project, but I am still practicing it and will try to use it in future projects.

Final thoughts: I am happy with the annotated animatic part of the process. I like this planning method more than storyboarding. It is more efficient and more comfortable for me.

ANIMATION PRODUCTION:

For Sonic Vision final production, I didn’t fully finish my annotated animatic. I was missing around 10 seconds, and because I didn’t have enough time, I went straight into production instead of finishing it first.

I began by creating the characters. I changed the character designs a lot during the animation, but in the end I based them on my sketches because I wanted to make the process faster and not spend too much time making fully detailed bodies.

Animating the character was slow and I had to be careful. There were a lot of mistakes and trial and error. From the 12 principles, I used the pose to pose method instead of straight ahead, and then added the in-betweens to make the movement smoother instead of skipping actions.

During production, I had technical problems where frames were getting mixed up or attached to each other by accident when I tried to move them. At first I panicked, but instead of restarting everything, I went back and fixed layers and frames. I also reset my computer to fix any glitches and started saving more carefully. I also separated my backgrounds into a different canvas to avoid the problem again.

For the Lurker, I used the same pose to pose method. I didn’t use the same colour as the main character because it would blend in, so I chose a lighter grey so it could be seen more clearly.

The annotated animatic was very helpful. It made the process faster and easier for me, even if it was messy. I prefer working digitally, especially for storyboards.

For the last 10 seconds, I had to work quickly. I made two backgrounds, one using photo bashing and one quick 5-minute background for the deck. I didn’t have time to annotate, so I went straight into production. The final part included an explosion, the main character flying into the water, and the Lurker appearing above.

I am happy with what I made, but I could have improved my time management. Some parts were messy, and the colours were a bit too dark. If I had more time, I would have learned more about how to use After Effects to improve lighting, flashes, and atmosphere. I wanted things like lightning through windows and flickering lights to make the environment feel less empty and less boring.

In the future, I would like to remake this animation and improve the atmosphere and overall quality.

FINAL ANIMATION:

FINAL REFLECTION:

Reflecting on my research

For my research, I mostly gathered images for my mood board and my mood board animatic. I didn’t really do anything too research-heavy and mainly focused on visual references.

The main thing I researched was the environment. The first image I used was the inside of a port or factory, and I used that as a reference and experiment for how the environment should look.

I also explored colours, textures, and atmosphere based on the sound. I didn’t want to copy directly from the images, so I experimented with colour instead. I chose darker tones like deep green for the environment and red for rusted metal.

The sound helped guide my ideas. It influenced the environment, lighting like lightning and explosions, and the actions of the characters, such as running or reacting.

For the characters, I didn’t really research references. I just used simple actions like running or turning because those are easy to understand.

I wasn’t inspired by any specific artist or animation. However, when I looked back at my drawings, they slightly looked like stencil-style or African-style drawings, even though that wasn’t intentional.

Reflecting on my concept

My concept was about a main character being chased by a creature through a port or factory environment.

I created a creature called Lurker. I didn’t get inspiration from any existing creature or artist. I followed the sound, especially the music box at the end, and used that idea to create something like a creature connected to music.

I didn’t start with a clear message, but it could be about the fear of being alone in a place you’re not supposed to be, like an abandoned area. It reflects the feeling that something might be following you even if you can’t see it.

Most of my ideas came from the sound rather than external inspiration.

Reflecting on my process

I started by collecting images, mostly from Pinterest, and creating a mood board. Then I made sketches to explore ideas for the characters and backgrounds.

As I developed the animation, I had to think about how to save time. Instead of making detailed characters, I based them on my original sketches and kept them simple so I wouldn’t spend too long designing things like clothing.

For the creature, I first created a concept in my sketchbook, then simplified it for the animation. Some features stayed the same, like the horns and arm shapes, but overall it became more abstract to make it easier to animate.

For the backgrounds, I first created layouts in Ibis Paint because it helped with straight lines and structure. Then I moved them into Photoshop to paint over them. In the final parts, I used photo bashing, which was a new technique for me. It felt similar to collage but worked differently, and it helped speed up the process.

One of the main challenges was layering. I created my backgrounds as one full image, which made it difficult to place characters behind objects like railings or doors. To fix this, I had to copy and paste parts of the background into separate layers so the characters could move in front of and behind different elements.

I also used pose-to-pose animation to plan key movements, and straight-ahead animation for other parts to help speed up the process.

Reflecting on my final outcome and overall experience

My final outcome didn’t fully match what I originally wanted because of time limitations. I would rate it around an 8 out of 10 because I put in effort, but I know it could be improved.

If I had more time, I would make the backgrounds cleaner and less messy, and improve lighting and shadows. I would also make the characters more refined instead of very simple.

I would have liked to use software like After Effects more to improve the overall atmosphere.

During this project, I learned new techniques like photo bashing and improved my understanding of animation methods like pose-to-pose. I also realised that my time management still needs improvement, as I spent too long on some parts and had to rush others.

Next time, I would plan more carefully, manage my time better, and develop my ideas more before starting the final animation.

BRIEF:

GROUP PROJECT: The Indecisives

• Amy
• Elena
• Vlad
• Favor
• Olga
• Virgil-Pai

We had to choose six words from word cloud and write a story. The final outcome was to deliver a 30 seconds video. Once we had chosen the keywords, we each worked on concept ideas.

The Key words used were: Tiny, huge, decay, hope, disruption, trust

PRE-PRODUCTION:

INITIAL CONCEPT:

Once we had chosen the keywords, we each worked on different concept ideas. Everyone tried different ideas, such as flying stories, treasure hunting, weird characters, and insect adventures. Eventually, we agreed on the insect story, which then evolved into the caterpillar and ant looking for a berry. We called the story Journey for Berried Treasure. This started as a pun, and we decided to stick with it. I struggled with this part of the process because I became stressed about finding a story idea, but I did agree with the final concept. This is something I need to work on, as I get stressed very easily when I am asked to think of a concept under pressure. I also need to realise that there are no bad ideas.

Concepts from group:

Initial concept: Two ants (or otherwise tiny creatures – later changed to a caterpillar and a ant) are travelling the forest floor to make it home, but must cross a log submerged in a puddle. They cautiously try to make it across, but the log is rotten and breaks apart when the second one is halfway through. The second one loses hope and thinks they will drown, but must trust their partner who helps them back up. Relieved, they continue to head home to their colony.

Initial script: Two bugs, an ant and a caterpillar, set out to find food before they starve. They travel through a rotten, lifeless forest and reach a gushing stream that looks impossible to cross. The ant studies a map while his hungry, clumsy caterpillar companion waits beside a small boat made from leaves.
The ant looks up and sees ants flying overhead. His wings flutter, but they are too small to lift him. Annoyed at first, he regains focus when the caterpillar calls to him. They board the boat, with the ant steering, until it suddenly lurches. The caterpillar has been eating the boat, and they begin to sink.
The ant is angry, but seeing his friend in distress, he grabs him and pulls. His wings push out and flap desperately, and after a struggle they reach the other side, right in front of the berries. They hug in relief, and the ant is proud of overcoming his struggle. If there is time, it cuts to an overhead shot showing how small the puddle really was.

STORYBOARDS:

My storyboard:

We all focused on creating a storyboard for 1 scene. I found the process difficult because I kept drawing blanks in my head. This was before we had a clear idea, so my scene kept changing. My original idea was to have the ant looking up and seeing ants flying, then looking down at his own wings trying to fly. Because the story and scenario kept changing after teacher feedback, this idea was eventually scrapped and redesigned to fit the final version.

Other storyboards from the group:

The storyboard process was stressful and changed many times. We made several storyboards, but none of them stuck at first. When the teachers checked it, we were told it the story was not clear enough. We had to keep changing the scenario based on feedback, which made it feel like we had to redo the storyboard many times. Eventually, it was green lit, and we were able to move forward.

INITIAL SKETCHES & CHARACTER DESIGN:

In the beginning, we all worked on sketches and concept ideas for the characters. Everyone tried different ideas and designs to see what would fit the story. We went through several versions before settling on a final direction. Some ideas were scrapped because of time management and how difficult they would be to animate.

My sketches & character design

I made several sketches at the start. One idea I liked was a worker bee that could have been a background silhouette, flying to flowers or doing normal worker bee things. I also focused more on sketching the ant, as I am more comfortable drawing sharp and pointed shapes. I struggled with the caterpillar because it had a lot of round shapes, which made the process stressful for me. Because of time and story changes, most of my ideas were not used, but I still made sketches in my free time for fun and practice.

Sketches & character design from others in the group:

Other people in the group also made different designs for the ant and the caterpillar. We tried out multiple versions, including different body sizes, shapes, and accessories. In the end, we chose a design that stood out more, with the ant being short, angry, and wearing a scarf, and the caterpillar being big, round, and goofy, and carrying a backpack. The final design felt more clear and fit the comedic tone of the story.

Final design

Feedback

We received feedback from the teachers during the concept stage. Some designs and ideas were changed because they were not clear enough or would take too long to animate. We redesigned the characters several times based on this feedback. Even though this was frustrating at times, the feedback helped us simplify the designs and choose concepts that worked better for the animation.

ANIMATICS:

After the storyboard was approved, we moved on to animatics. Several people in the group made different animatics with different scenarios and endings. Some of them were red or yellow, meaning they were not clear enough. Only one animatic got the green light from the teacher.

We chose that animatic because it was clearer, funnier, and easier to understand. One person made the animatic that we used for the final animation. Once it was green lit, we were able to move forward into production.

Green lit animatics:

Favor

Other animatics:

Amy

Amy

PRODUCTION:

After the animatic was green lit, we moved into production. At first, everyone was given specific roles, but because of time management, we could not fully stick to them. If everyone stayed in separate roles, it would have taken much longer, so everyone had to pitch in and help where needed.

Several people worked on rough animation, outlining, colouring, and backgrounds across different scenes. Some focused on outlining characters and objects, while others worked on colouring scenes and backgrounds. One person mainly worked on editing in After Effects and also animated the backgrounds.

ROUGH:

OUTLINE:

COLOUR PALETTE:

COLOURING:

I mostly did colouring. I coloured the ant and the boat, especially the frames where the ant pops up from the boat with the stick. I did not colour the caterpillar. At first, I did not want to use the bucket tool because I disliked it and found it messy if a pixel was missed. However, when time was running out, I had no choice but to use it, and even though I still did not like it, it saved me time and I will use it in the future.

During production, I also screen recorded my colouring process and made a speed painting video including free copyrights music to the show the process, which I shared with the group. I also showed others in the group how to do screen recordings how they thought it was a great way to show their progress.

BACKGROUND & EDITING:

Vlad worked on editing using After Effects. He also worked on the background animation. The teachers gave feedback mainly on the background, especially the grass. They said the grass should move more like it is waving in the wind instead of slithering like a snake. This feedback was taken on board and changed during the After Effects stage so the background movement looked more natural.

All from Vlad

SOUND EDITING:

Sound was worked on by a few people during production. Olga mainly worked on sound compositing, using a mix of sounds that were recorded by Olga, Amy, and Elena, as well as other sounds. Amy voiced the ant, and Elena voiced the caterpillar.

I am not fully sure who did every sound, but I know that Olga and a few others worked on putting the sounds together. The sound design worked well with the animation and helped make it feel more lively and clear.

THUMBNAIL:

I made the thumbnail by myself during production when I did not have anything else to colour. It was my own idea and I worked on it solo. Instead of using Photoshop, I used Krita because it gave me more options with brushes and tools. Everything in the thumbnail was created by me, including all the textures and details, and I did not use After Effects at all.

The reflection in the water was difficult and frustrating to make. I used a mirror tool to copy the shapes to the other side, then coloured them. To make it look like water and not a clear mirror, I added another layer, lowered the opacity to around 50–75%, coloured it blue, and added textures so it looked like a lake. The process was a nightmare, but it worked in the end.

At first, I struggled with drawing the caterpillar because of the round shapes, as I am more comfortable drawing sharp and pointed shapes. When working on the thumbnail, I pushed myself to do it anyway. Even though it looked strange at times, I realised that I can also draw round shapes, which boosted my confidence.

Once I showed the final thumbnail to the group, they liked it, especially the water reflection. I then used it as the thumbnail for the YouTube video.

Made by me (Virgil-Pai)

FINAL VIDEO:

The production stage was stressful because of time pressure and changes, but everyone pitched in and worked together. We talked, shared ideas, and helped each other to avoid slowing the project down.

Credits:

Animators: Amy, Favor, Olga, Vlad, Elena (El), and Virgil-Pai

Characters: Amy, Favor, and Elena (El)

Background & Editing: Vlad

Sound: Amy, Elena (El), and Olga

Thumbnail: Virgil-Pai

Feedback from peers:

Strengths

• Strong voice acting and sound design
• Smear frames and animation motion are very well done
• Feels very Looney Tunes–style and nostalgic of classic cartoons
• Bouncy, fluid animation with clear actions
• Characters are cute, squishy, and full of personality
• Great character expressions and contrast between the duo
• Comedic timing, gags, and pacing work really well
• Perspective changes and camera work are effective
• Warm, lively atmosphere and appealing art style
• Narrative pacing is tight and engaging
• Clear storytelling and easy to understand

Improvements

• Watch out for cropping in some shots
• Some scenes could benefit from slightly wider framing

Final Thoughts:

Out of Your Head was an interesting group project to be in. We worked together well in developing the story, designing characters, storyboarding, creating multiple animatics, and eventually completing our final animation. During production, we learned to collaborate in the animation process, taking roles on who would be doing the roughs, outline, colouring, and editing. 

At the start of the project, I felt nervous because it involved working in a group, and I am very shy. However, I slowly became more comfortable interacting with my team and gained confidence in talking, sharing ideas, and being part of the group. Even if I only shared small ideas, I still contributed to character creation and animation decisions. I learned that working in a group means making compromises so everyone can agree. Although this was sometimes difficult, it helped the project move forward.

One thing I learned about collaboration is that people can share knowledge and strengths. For example, I showed others how to use a Mac for screenshots and screen recording, and they helped me with colour choices. This showed me that teamwork is about supporting each other and working toward the same goal. I now feel braver about joining groups and sharing my thoughts.

As a team, we explored different concepts before deciding on the insect story with two characters that had different personalities and sizes. I enjoyed collaborating with creating character designs and developing the concept. We communicated well, especially during group calls where we solved editing problems and shared ideas. Our team’s strength was creativity and cooperation, while our weakness was organisation and time management when sharing files.

Overall, this project was challenging but rewarding. I feel proud of the final animation and happy that I was part of the team. It helped me see that collaboration can be positive, creative, and enjoyable, and it encouraged me to keep experimenting with difficult things and pushing myself in future projects as well as looking to work with others.

In this rotation, I worked together with 2 other students (Christine and Valentina) to create a stop motion short film. This was an analogue exploration of creating a movie using stop motion.

The aim of this rotation was to be introduced to stop motion animation using the software Dragon Frame. We were asked to create a puppet and explore how to manipulate puppets to create movement. Overall, the aim was to learn basic stop motion techniques.

The main theme of the stop motion project was metamorphosis or transformation.

We also learned about replacement animation, which is a stop motion technique where different parts of a character are replaced frame by frame instead of moving one single puppet. This includes swapping parts like heads, faces, or limbs using materials and sometimes magnets to allow precise changes in movement.

WEEK 1:

In week one, the focus was on exploring materiality, which means using and experimenting with different materials to create characters.

We built a puppet and then practiced how to manipulate and move it for stop motion. This helped us understand physical movement and how transformation can be shown through materials and puppet animation. The idea was to create a puppet that could be manipulated by 2-3 people.

We designed and built our puppet using cardboard, and we chose a dog as a concept. We only used recycled cardboard for making the puppet, which is in line with creating art in a sustainable way, rather than using new products.

The dog was made entirely out of cardboard. We peeled the skin of the cardboard to create texture and fur. The cardboard was torn, cut, folded, and crumpled to make it more flexible and easier to move. Folding and crumpling helped the limbs move without being stiff. The legs were designed so fingers could fit through them, allowing movement during animation.

I was responsible for creating the front legs for the puppet, the other two made the head and the main body of the puppet. Once we had everything, we began experimenting with Dragonframe, to explore and practice how to manipulate and create a narrative.

Video:

Reflection: At the start of week one, working in a group felt confusing and awkward, and I was quite shy. After some time, I became a bit more confident. I think working in a group is good for stop motion because it allows people to share ideas and collaborate on character design. Instead of one person deciding everything, everyone can suggest ideas about how a character should look, such as its shape, colour, or features, and give feedback to improve the concept.

Working in a group also helped with sharing responsibilities. Different people could work on separate parts of the puppet, which made the process easier. I enjoyed making parts that could actually move, especially the legs with joints. Even though they were not fully used in the animation because they broke, I still enjoyed designing and building them.

I also learned about sustainability and really enjoyed using recycled materials. I prefer using found or old materials instead of new ones, such as things from a toolbox or around the house, and then manipulating them to create characters. I like materials that feel unusual or slightly uncanny. In my past work, I have often used metal because it makes characters feel dangerous or like they should not be touched. However, depending on the character, different materials are needed, such as paper or cotton for something softer.

I found replacement animation interesting, especially as part of mixed media work. It can be useful for difficult movements like mouths, fingers, or hair, which are hard to animate in stop motion. In the future, I could use replacement animation together with digital animation to make these movements easier and more effective.

Video: Righteous Robot

Righteous Robot, is a stop motion animator that uses frame by frame replacement for mouth motion. For example, he made a dialogue video that explains how he made video and how he used the replacement technique.

WEEK 2:

Our task was to design and create a 30 second stop motion animation, using our puppet and include a transformation or metamorphosis sequence.

The animation is about a dog that starts off falling apart. Each body part acts on its own, like they don’t want to be part of the same body anymore. The legs try to walk off and play, the head gets frustrated trying to lick a bottle, and the body wanders around bumping into things. In the end, the body parts find each other again and rebuild themselves, becoming whole once more. The transformation shows the idea of wanting to be together instead of being separated.

How we made it:

A hot glue gun was used to hold the joints together. The fur was added gradually during the animation instead of all at once, using small amounts each frame. Only half of the dog was fully covered, and the puppet was angled so the unfinished side was less visible. The focus of the project was material transformation, and the story developed naturally while making it.

We made the background fully black so we could hide our hands using dark clothing. The puppet was kept light, so it stood out from the background. Two people moved the puppet while one person operated the camera, which was connected to a computer. Some of us used black gloves, and others covered their hands with dark materials like tape or sleeves.

The puppet could not stand still, so we had to move it very slowly while the camera took photos. The camera was timed to take one photo every second, instead of moving the puppet and taking photos separately. There were a lot of frames, too many to count.

We used Dragonframe to control the camera and capture each frame. It is mainly used for stop motion and helps the camera take photos smoothly. For editing, we used Premiere Pro, but only for sound. We did not change the movement because it would make the animation look choppy or slow. There was no detailed storyboard. Ideas came up during the process and were decided together, like using the bottle. The animation was done in one go for each scene, but we had to stop and continue on different days because it took a long time. Each scene was animated separately and then put together in the edit.

Final video & screenshots:

Reflection: For week two, I feel happy with how the final video turned out. Making it was silly but very long and tiring because stop motion takes a lot of time. We had to stop constantly, move small pieces, and take photos frame by frame. Holding the puppet in place was painful sometimes, especially since parts were not supported and had to be held by hand. Even though it was frustrating, we managed to make it work in the end by gluing everything together, which was fun.

The editing part was difficult, mainly because we struggled to find sounds that worked well with the animation. I still enjoyed the process, but it was rushed due to the lack of time. Working in a group helped a lot because it sped up the process. Doing this alone would not have worked, and the animation would have been much shorter or unfinished.

Timing was one of the hardest parts. If we moved the puppet too fast, the animation looked wrong and unnatural. We had to slow everything down so movements lasted a few seconds instead of happening instantly. This helped the animation feel more readable, even though some movements still looked a bit jerky.

The concept was simple because we had very little time. We chose one idea and stuck with it: a dog made of separate pieces trying to come back together. I am happy with the concept, and I think it worked well for the short time limit.

Sustainability was very important in this project. We only used recycled materials like cardboard and old pieces, instead of buying new materials. This is something I already enjoy, as I like collecting found objects and using them to build characters and backgrounds.

Overall, the experience was confusing and frustrating at the start, but also funny at times. I still do not enjoy doing stop motion because it takes too long, but I like working in a group and making puppets. In the future, I would prefer to collaborate by contributing digital or 2D elements or using replacement animation alongside stop motion rather than animating everything physically.

In this rotation, I learned the difference between a storyboard and animatics. I learned how to turn storyboard into animatics. A storyboard is a static blue print where an animatic is the video version of the storyboard. Watching the animatic from the movie ‘UP’ helped me understanding the difference.

We were given a few ideas with different plots. I chose to create a BAR Dispute scene. I wanted the story to be about discrimination against people and not to mess with them.

I am used to creating storyboards but I struggled to create the storyboard as an animatic.

The Script:

Below is my initial script. I started by using sticky notes, but I initially struggled with this process. We were given the option to write down the story or use sticky notes. I found writing the story was easier for me to process my ideas at first. This was also a short project, and because of time, I decided that for this step, I would write it down.

• Somewhat busy day in the bar cafe.
• 2 people sit down and drinks (coffee or other drinks).
• Blaze serving the other customers and talking to his friends.
• The 2 people causing a seen lying about the drinks being bad and threatening by knife point.
• The first person swiped at Tox who was going to attend to a different customer.
• Tox mask cracked, then she looks at the first person with a piercing stare and slowly pull out a bone saw out of her medical bag.
• The 2 people back away and bump into Zal who is towering over them.
• They swing around to strike Zal, but he grabs their arms and crush their wrist making them drop their knives.
• Blaze picks the knives up and melts them.
• The 2 people cower as the 3 look down at them with big deadly smiles.
• It goes black, then the bar cafe returns to normal? (The 2 people either dead or having a horrifying night)

BAR DISPUTE SCENE – VERSION 1:

Digital Storyboard:

This is my initial storyboard. I found drawing my storyboard digitally easier as a process here. I designed the storyboard on my tablet using an app called ibisPaint X. The general I received from my tutors feedback during this process was to add more frames with different angles, close ups and wide angles to make the story clearer.

Animatics:
During this rotation, I learned how to use Premiere-Pro to edit my animatic. This is a process I enjoy doing and I find Premiere-Pro fun to use when editing stories.

Feedback from teacher and peers:

• Take time to think through the steps of the story. Slow it down. There needs to be time to process what’s happening.
• Film language could be clearer. It needs to be easy for the viewer to understand the plot.
• Bring the characters into all scenes of the animation, even scenes that are establishing shots.
• The black scene at the end could be an indicator of the passage of time.
• Next look at your animatic and pace it out better – change the timing of each panel so that it tells the story better – make sure the panels are not all the same length.
• Good approach – that you distinguished between colours – that was really clear.
• Good idea that you added yourself into it

BAR DISPUTE SCENE – VERSION 2:

Following the feedback, I added several frames to bring the characters into all scenes and tried to make them more active in order to make the plot easier to follow. I made some of the frames longer and others shorter to improve the pace. I also removed unnecessary frames to make the story shorter and easier to understand. I added a soundtrack using props, for example slamming on a table, cutlery dropping, and bones cracking. I also used music and other sounds downloaded from free-copyright websites. I think this made it clearer to the audience. However, if I had more time, I could have added speech bubbles or captions to make the plot clearer.

Digital Storyboard – Additional frames:

Animatics:

Feedback from teacher and peers:

• Good, strong, establishing shot – improvement from last time.
• Good zooms that help the pacing speed
• Maybe take a few shots out 
• Sounds make it easier to understand
• Lost at some point with the plot
• Maybe some help understanding the characters and the story
• Difficulties: Slowing down the scenes is hard. Lack of time.

Personal note: Fort this project, the feedback was helpful at first, but the more I received feedback, the more stressful, confusing and frustrated I became. For example, the previous feedback was to make more animatic frames, the animatic shorter and then, make the animatic longer, or another make the animatic easier to understand.

Staging in Animatics:

Alan Becker is one of my favourite animator and he has made video tutorials of the 12 principles which I find very easy to understand. For animatics, I watched his video on staging which helped me understand the feedback I was given better.

Personal Reflection:

During this process, I first struggled with understanding the difference between animatics and storyboards. I had to do some research to fully understand how they are different and how each one is used.

My original concept was about discrimination. This idea was important to me, but due to limited time and feedback that was sometimes confusing, it did not fully come through in the final animatic. As I worked on the project, I had to focus more on making the story clearer rather than fully developing the original concept.

I struggled with time management, which affected the editing process. However, the final animatic improved after I added sound effects and background music. I especially enjoyed the editing process, particularly sound editing.. Feedback helped me understand the importance of clarity and pacing, and my animatic improved after I followed the feedback. However, I was still unhappy with the result because the pacing was confusing in places and there were too many frames. I also did not have enough time to improve the drawings or the editing by adding captions or speech bubbles.

Overall, the experience was challenging but useful. It helped me understand the importance of clear storytelling, strong pacing, careful staging, and realistic planning when working within a short deadline.

Brief: Imagine an origin story of how The Elephant & castle might have got its name. Create a “book” that tells that origin story. the only rule is to have an element of movement.

My concept: Create a stop motion picture book using paper cut outs. It tells the story of a baby elephant that lost its herd. Years go by and its mother found him and they are finally reunited.

My process:

This was a group animation project, but I didn’t have a group when I started UAL. Because of my neurodiversity, it was difficult for me to find and speak to the other students. This reflection is about how I made this animation by myself. I made this animation using a mix of a stop motion picture book animation, by drawing the elephant and environment on scrap plain paper and then cutting around the drawings afterwards. For the editing, I didn’t know how to use Premiere Pro yet, so instead I used a different software called iMovie. For the beginning and end of the animation, I recorded a stack of paper to make a flipping-through-pages effect, to make it feel like the animation itself is travelling through a book.
(The flipping-through-pages idea was inspired by the animator Gildedguy from YouTube. In most of his animations, he starts with a flipping-through-pages animation.)

Storyboard:

Video editing: iMovie

Video:

Personal Reflection:

I found the start of this project very stressful, because at first I was not clear on when this was supposed to be handed in. At the beginning, I also struggled to find an idea for the story, because we were not allowed to research Elephant & Castle. Then, through sketching a storyboard and brainstorming, I stuck with the storyboard and made it into the animation as a stop motion. I like the flipping of the pages and the movement it creates, and the feeling it gives that you are entering the story of the book. If I had time, I would have added sound to it.

Time management was the main issue for this project, as well as connecting with the brief and finding a story. However, it made me realise that when I am stuck with finding ideas, the best way is to draw anything that comes into my mind to start shaping a story. A little bit like an abstract painting that can become an idea.

Inspiration: Page flipping

From 00:00 to 00:07 – Book flipping

Concept overview:
Anger is an abstract look at what it feels like to be completely overwhelmed by rage. The main idea is to visually show how isolating and explosive intense anger is. It feels like a huge pressure inside that has to get out.
Synopsis:
An asteroid falls from the sky and crashes to the Earth. An alien crawls out of the crater and wanders around. Then a rock falls on its head, triggering anger that turns into a total meltdown. The alien starts running and destroying everything around it. It then completely goes out of control in a full spiral before vanishing.

Video:

Artist’s statement:

Anger is an abstract metaphor for overwhelming rage. It explores how isolating and explosive intense anger feels: an extreme internal pressure that, once out, leads to destruction. Although the design is abstract and non-human, I used key animation rules to make the emotion feel real. This project, inspired by the Uncanny Valley discussed in the stop-motion lecture, explores how rage can be communicated without words.

I used Krita for its range of tools and brushes. Rather than drawing defined forms, I worked using soft and rough strokes, allowing shapes to emerge through movement. This emphasised the emotional state and helped make the animation feel unsettling through distortion. Emotion is communicated purely through sound, movement, colour and shape.

The main challenge was depicting anger in its simplest, most abstract form without relying on familiar facial expressions or emotional poses. The raw look draws from the idea of making the abstract experiential. The creature embodies anger and acts as a substitute, allowing the audience to feel the rage.

Its movement is intentionally unnatural, inspired by the kinetic biology seen in the Edge of Tomorrow or A Quiet Place. Its motion is both fluid and jagged, symbolising the volatile nature of intense anger – the eerie calm before an outburst versus the painful, aggressive reality of the explosion.

Metamorphosis is the central visual tool. The creature never holds a fixed shape, beginning as a loose, fluid form before compressing and expanding into a destructive solid state. This reflects the feeling of being “transformed” by rage. As Paul Wells states, transformation is the “constituent core of animation itself” (Wells, 1998). The creature cannot hold its form because there is “too much rage in one body.”

Peter Millard’s Bomb (2014) influenced my use of an unpredictable, messy, janky style. Although the creature avoids human realism, its unstable movement creates eeriness—something familiar in a completely alien body.

This is a deeply personal expression of anger: an intense experience of when “words don’t suffice”, and a creative process aimed at getting the anger out of my body and onto the screen.

Through this process, I gained a deeper understanding of how abstract movement and form convey emotion, and I plan to develop these ideas further. If developed further, I would push the abstraction by using unconventional viewing angles to increase instability.

Creative process:

Mind Map:

Colour symbolism in emotions:

Colours are always part of my animation and art process because colours are tied to emotions, and they are important to me when I create characters. In this case, I want to create an animation that shows what it feels like to be angry. This is very personal to me, as I have trouble expressing my emotions properly. I always think about emotions in colours. Different cultures use colours with different meanings and symbolism. Anger is most commonly symbolised by the colour red, which also represents blood, fire, danger, and rage. Black is another colour that can represent intense anger, mystery, or the unknown. In India, for example, black can represent evil, negativity, and a lack of energy. In other contexts, it can be a powerful accent colour. My plan is to use both of these colours in my animation to underline the power of my character’s anger and rage.

BOMB BY PETER MiLLARD

I like the messy and violent feeling when watching Bomb by Peter Millard. The sudden changes in the character’s shapes and the immediate disappearing of those shapes make me think about how rage appears suddenly before disappearing. It also feels unstable, which is how I want my character to feel.

Moodboard:

The concept is a meteor falling from the sky and crashing onto the earth, revealing an amalgamation of two creatures in one, inspired by the Death Angel from A Quiet Place and the Mimic from Edge of Tomorrow. I want the creature to have the feel and movement of the Mimic while keeping the Death Angel’s aggressive movement. I also want the creature to move like liquid metal and then transform into a solid form when enraged.

The Death Angel from A Quiet Place

The Mimic from Edge of Tomorrow

Sketches:

Storyboard:

The storyboard starts with an empty frame, then a meteor falls from the sky and crashes into the earth. It doesn’t feel like a smooth animation — it looks like something that suddenly slammed into the ground. The camera snaps or zooms in, like someone observing the crash site, trying to see what’s there.
A creature emerges from the crater. It isn’t animated smoothly; it twitches and glitches out. Each frame feels scribbled and abstract, making it feel unnatural, like an amalgamation — a creature that shouldn’t exist or be here. Its movement is wrong and unsettling.
The creature crawls out of the crash area in an awkward, unnatural way. Its fingers twitch, its body moves strangely, and it looks around while walking at the same time, as if it has multiple faces or heads reacting at once. As it wanders, a rock falls and hits it directly on the head. The camera zooms in, switching between the rock and the creature’s face.

There’s a pause, like it’s processing what just happened. Then it becomes enraged, almost like a tantrum exploding out of nowhere. Its movement is not like an animal, insect, or anything recognisable. It doesn’t walk or run normally. Everything about it is abstract, unnatural, and unsettling, focusing more on emotion and feeling than realism.
This internal turmoil is visually externalised when the creature’s face splits open, depicting the sensation of being “split apart” by overwhelming rage – a visual substitute for internal screaming or an explosion from the inside out. The creature’s subsequent chaotic charge reflects an uncontrollable expulsion of this internal pressure, an effort to externalise an unbearable “too much rage in one body.” This constant state of metamorphosis underscores the creature’s emotional and physical instability.

The sequence culminates with the creature self destructing and disappearing.

The animation uses a monochromatic colour scheme to show anger, mainly red or dark crimson. Different tones, shades, and tints of red show movement, emotion, shadows, and possibly glowing. Black or grey is added to give it a rocky, almost liquid rock appearance. The creature feels like it’s from another world, abstract and unnatural.

Production in Krita: showcasing use of brushes

Contact Sheet:

Bibliography:

Uhrig, M., 2018. Emotion in Animated Films. New York: Routledge, pp.39–58

Uhrig discusses how animation represents emotions in unconventional ways through audiovisual metaphors, such as personifying emotions as animals. Similarly, I explored this by creating an inhuman creature with unnatural sound as a metaphor for anger.

Wells, P., 1998. Understanding Animation. London: Routledge, pp.59–68.

This chapter discusses experimental versus traditional animation, particularly the Uncanny, as described by Freud, which blurs the line between the imagined and the real. I explored this by presenting a familiar human emotion in an unfamiliar, non-human form to create discomfort.

Wells, P., 2008. The Animated Bestiary: Animals, Cartoons, and Culture. London: Rutgers University Press, pp.64–76.

Wells discusses using animals to represent human characteristics and describes metamorphosis as a way to show changes in space, time, and existence. Similarly, I used the transformation of an abstract creature to illustrate emotional change through metamorphosis.

References:

A fireball (n.d.) [Online image]. GeologyIn. Available at: https://www.geologyin.com/2016/09/huge-meteor-crashes-to-earth-as-flash.html (Accessed: 10 December 2025).

Bomb (2014) [Film]. Directed by P. Millard. UK.

Cecepbinsae (n.d.) Red abstract background. [Online image]. Freepik. Available at: https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/red-abstract-background_42646550.htm (Accessed: 7 December 2025).

Garzilli, A. (2022) Why links between colors and emotions may be universal. [Online article]. Psychology Today. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/color-psychology/202202/why-links-between-colors-and-emotion (Accessed: 7 December 2025).

How do the mimics in Edge of Tomorrow reproduce? (2023) [Online forum post]. Reddit. Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/scifi/comments/17dz33p/how_do_the_mimics_in_edge_of_tomorrow_reproduce/ (Accessed: 10 December 2025).

Kushnaryov, P. (n.d.) Abstract chrome metallic shapes flow smoothly, shiny glossy liquid metal. [Online image]. Dreamstime. Available at: https://www.dreamstime.com/abstract-chrome-metallic-shapes-flow-smoothly-shiny-glossy-liquid-metal-c (Accessed: 10 December 2025).

Paramount Pictures (2024) A Quiet Place – Death Angel. [Online image]. Entertainment Weekly. Available at: https://ew.com/everything-we-know-about-the-creatures-from-a-quiet-place-8674939 (Accessed: 10 December 2025).

Rugged stone texture (n.d.) [Online image]. Stockcake. Available at: https://stockcake.com/i/rugged-stone-texture_119450_12288 (Accessed: 10 December 2025).

BREAKING CHARACTER

Breaking Character was about exploring how to show emotion and personality through movement instead of dialogue or detailed facial features.

ORIGINAL IDEA

My original idea was to create a bird character using collage materials, but it became too complicated to animate because of the number of moving parts.

Concept 1:

Concept 2:

I wanted to use these two triptych concepts but realised they were going to be difficult to animate and too time consuming. I scrapped the first, but kept the second concept on animating a bird instead, as they were easier and more fun to experiment with, sketch and animate.

BIRD: Character Creation, Expressions & Turnaround experimentation

I focused on studying bird behaviour, especially pigeons, and how they express emotions through head and eye movement. I also explored the tilting of a head and expressive emotion through facial expressions and body language to show what my character is expressing instead of using plain expressions.

For example, a head tilted downward can show sadness or depression, while tilting the head backwards can suggest boredom or sleepiness. Shaking the head can feel nervous or scared, and stretching the head forward can show surprise or shock. I used these movements to experiment with expression before designing my final character.

ROOK: Character Creation, Expressions & Turnaround experimentation

• Initial idea for Rook: My initial idea started with birds, especially pigeons, because they are easier to use to show emotion through movement. The pigeons were mainly used as experiments to study head tilts, eye direction, and body language. From this, I wanted to create a more serious and stronger character, which later became Rook.

• Design process for Rook: Rook’s design developed slowly through sketches and experiments. He changed from an early idea into a more snake-like, sharp-looking bird. I focused on shape language, making him sharp and pointed to contrast with the pigeon’s softer and rounder design. His character traits were stern, cunning, and guarded, which influenced how he looked and behaved. The name “Rook” came from chess pieces, as it was the first name that came to mind and felt strong and fitting for his personality.

• Background story:
  Character Development: Stern, Cunning, Guarded
  The character is a stern creature that prefers to be left alone. He is unlike any of his kin, as he likes to sleep and hunt alone. Because he’s protective for his own survival than any of his kin, and he dislikes any humans that disturbs him (for example documentary or human technology). He likes to be curled up into a ball when sleeping, if he’s on the ground he would slither up on trees and jump off to help him get enough height to let him fly. His wings are made of a tough scales that can protect him from other predators and he can use his wings to dig through tough rock or dirt. He is quite intelligent, as he can find materials in many locations and use them to make tools, traps and equipment to help him survive alone.

Feedback from peers and teachers:

The feedback I received was mostly positive and focused on character exploration. Jess said she really liked the personalities of both the pigeon and Rook, and that the differences between them were very clear. She felt they came across as separate characters with different emotions and ways of being, which is what the project was looking for.

The feedback also mentioned that the design choices worked well, especially the contrast in shape language. The pigeon had a softer, rounder, and more fluent appearance, while Rook looked sharper, more aggressive, and more guarded. This contrast helped communicate their personalities clearly.

Overall, the feedback confirmed that the emotions and personalities were readable through body language, movement, and expression, rather than just the drawings, which showed that the concept was successful.

ROOK: Motion Plan

My general idea for the motion plan is for Rook to start curled up and guarded, appearing vulnerable. As he wakes up, his expression is stern before becoming alert and slightly surprised. His cunning is shown through how he quickly reads the situation and realises the danger is too big for him to handle, choosing to fly away instead of reacting aggressively.

I plan to use Squash and Stretch only on the eye to show disbelief and surprise. Anticipation will be shown through the eye movement, where he will open his eyes, look in one direction, close them, then open them again before reacting. I will also use Anticipation by slightly jerking his head before unfolding and flying off. I will use Staging simply by placing Rook in the centre of the screen on a tree. I plan to use Arcs mainly for the wings, with Rook flying out of the screen and moving in curved, natural motions rather than straight lines. For Timing, my plan is for each body part to move at a different pace, with slower unfolding and more majestic wing movement.

ROOK: colour palette

For my colour palette, I used various colours, but most of them are used through shading. Rook’s head is a dark grey, while the main body and wings are brown. The underbelly uses a lighter skin-tone colour, with bright yellow lines inspired by a snake’s underbelly to make it textured. I am happy with the colour choices for the whole body, as they help Rook feel like a mix between a bird and a snake, even though I could have pushed the design further.

For the eye, I focused on making it stand out. I used a black pupil, red rings, a yellow iris, and small purple lines for detail. I enjoy designing eyes, and I wanted Rook’s eyes to feel unique and expressive, as the eyes helps define the character’s personality.

Personal Reflection:

Overall, my experience with Breaking Character felt fun and enjoyable. I liked that I could use any material to create a character, like junk, mixed media, or collage, instead of only drawing. When we were given the materials, I felt confident because I had made characters from recycled materials before. It felt easier and more fun to start by making something physically, then later turn that into a 2D character.

I enjoyed the process of creating something without fully knowing what it would become, then letting that inspire the drawing. This process helped my creative thinking feel more controlled and helped me visualise characters before putting them on paper. Learning about birds, especially pigeons, really helped. Studying their head tilts, bobbing movement, and expressions made things click for me and pushed me towards creating Rook.

Rook’s design changed many times because I kept thinking about how it would work in animation. I kept redesigning his head until it felt clear and readable from different angles. I am happy with my final drawing, especially the eye design, as it gives him more personality. I also chose stronger, colder colours because I did not want him to stand out too much or look overly colourful.

Through this project, I learned that you do not need to use all 12 principles of animation, only the ones that fit the character and motion plan. This is something I would use again in future projects.

MAKING CHARACTER

The aim of the rotation was to bring our characters to life. Following the motion plan and the 12 principles developed from Breaking Characters, and create an 5-8 second animation, using Photoshop.

What I did:

I planned for Rook to start asleep, curled up and guarded, then slowly wake up and fly away using different animation principles. My plan wast to use Squash and Stretch only on the eye, Anticipation through eye movement and a head jerk, Arcs for the wings, and Timing where each body part moved at a different pace.

In the final animation, I only managed to use squash and stretch on the eye and some anticipation when Rook opened his eyes and reacted. The staging stayed simple with Rook centred in the frame. However, I struggled with timing and my animation was too quick, especially when Rook unfold himself before flying off. I could not fully use arcs or timing as planned because all the body parts were in one frame and I did not have enough time to separate them.

Final Video & screenshots:

Feedback from peers:

• Rook is rounded and curved and then unfolds and unwraps and the shapes are convex and the contrast is good and makes him look more dynamic.
• We like to expressions and anticipation of it getting up to fly.
• Very expressive well animated eyes.
• The design, the sharpness of the head feels stern. The characteristics come through really well
• The beginning furled up pose feels very guarded and the eyes feel cunning
• Rook starts off vulnerable whilst asleep, but then you see the sharper shapes and, guarded, cunning character come through.
• You chose a hard perspective to do the flying pose from, but the way that the character comes out of the screen is really well done and you can see you put a lot of thought and work into making it smooth.
• You responded to feedback well and made the head move well and added more emotion and detail to the eyes, squeezing. Eye movements are good.
• The downward curve of his mouth makes him look stern and serious, but perhaps you could make the neck/mouth shape easier to understand anatomy wise.

Personal Reflection:

Overall, I am happy with the final outcome of my Making Character animation. I wish I had more time to fully finish it, especially adding colour and sound, but for the limited time, it works well on its own. I really like how the animation feels, particularly the wings. They are slow but smooth, which makes it feel almost like slow motion.

The process was mostly okay at the start, especially animating the body and head. The most difficult part was animating the wings, as they looked unnatural at first. With help and feedback from a peer, I learned how to use curved, rippling movements, which improved the animation a lot. This showed me that collaboration can be really helpful.

My concept changed during the process, and I did not fully follow my original motion plan, but the final idea still works. I used some of the 12 principles of animation, such as squash and stretch, anticipation, arcs, and timing, mainly in the eye, head, and wings. From this experience, I learned the importance of feedback, time management, and choosing animation principles that fit the character. I will use this process again in future projects to make my animations more expressive.

Welcome to my blog. Comments and feedback are welcome!