Studio Brief 1: I See Faces - Final GIFS

These are my final set of GIFs that have been constructed using photoshop. I coloured them all digitally using brushes and texture overlays to give them more depth and authenticity.

I didn't want to overcomplicate the aesthetic of this GIF and kept it quite simple, with a dull background. I think that the colour scheme of grey and brown works really well to create a dull, and somehow humorous effect.

In this GIF I used bold colours and polka dots to create a sense of the character. As the character is a teen girl, I wanted to use colours that would relate to this, such as pink and blue. 

For this GIF, I once again decided to keep it quite simple, and placed it onto a paper texture background to create the idea of a drawing/doodle coming to life, which I think looks quite effective.  

Studio Brief 1: I See Faces - Character Development + Method

Character Development

Here are a few pages from sketchbook, where I have really explored my chosen characters, and pushed them further, in terms of media and narrative.

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Storyboarding

To illustrate my intentions for my GIFS for a group crit, I created a set of storyboards which I found really useful in terms of helping me to get my ahead around the order of my stills etc. I feel like I really pushed myself creatively to think up strange and wacky scenarios my characters could be in. 

For this gif I was inspired by my tutor who said that the more subtle the gif, the more powerful it may be, so I was toying with the idea of doing something simple, well. 

Here I went a bit crazy and thought about a sequence that would be really complex and challenging, but very exciting. I planned for a miserable teen girl to be blowing a bubble with bubblegum, so big, that it grows a face and eats her, shrinks back into a piece of gum and is eaten by the teen again. A really complex storyline but something that I am very willing to try out.

I did not feel that I needed a storyboard for the Poo Man GIF, as his actions would be very subtle, for example blinking. 

Construction Of GIFS

When creating the artwork for my animation, I found myself thinking of innovative ways to solve the problem of creating animation cycles, a method I found to be really complex and quite time consuming. 

BEARD MAN

Original Artwork for Transformation Of Beard

Original Artwork for Blink Cycle

Source

My attempt at a Walk/Turn Cycle

POO MAN

Blink, Drip and Flies Buzzing cycle.

I found this gif to be quite complex to draw because of all the different aspects of it. I found it difficult to visualise the movement of flies and the way that his face would melt down, which I felt I had to really understand before drawing it.

BUBBLEGUM GIRL

Bubble Popping Cycle (I found it easier to draw it, and then erase it)

Mouth Chewing Cycle

Studio Brief 1: I See Faces - Jon Boam Character Workshop

Recently I took part in a Character workshop with illustrator Jon Boam. It was amazing to see his sketches and original drawings, which I thought were incredibly detailed and imaginative, reall reflecting the importance of sketchbooking. 

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After the session, I took part in a game where I was really challenged to make images quickly. The random words aspect to the game was really exciting, and I feel helped me to make some interesting pictures, something that I intend to continue doing in my spare time using a random word generator on the internet. Here are my drawings from the day;

I found the second half of the session to be really interesting also, whereby our partners drew random shapes that we then had to turn into characters. I love how the game pushed us to make images using new media, and opened my eyes to how diverse character design can be. One of my personal favourites from the sheet, is the green faced guy. I found myself really getting into developing this character, as a loser security guard who gets bullied at work. Amazing how from a potato shaped squiggle I achieved this character, who I am considering using for my final GIFs. 

Studio Brief 1: I See Faces - Peer Assessment

Alot of my feedback from my character sketchbook was really helpful in terms of understanding which ideas stood out and if the element of humor was conveyed. I found out alot about which ideas would be interesting to explore further aswell. I agreed with all of my development comments also, especially those relating to my choice of media. I felt that I was using the fineliner to just get ideas down on the pages but didn't grasp the importance of trying out different medias in order to create different tones of voice. 

On top of these comments, I revisited my sketchbook and decided to experiment more with creating texture and pattern, most of which were created by dry felt tip which gave my characters a more unique look. 

Studio Brief 1: I See Faces - Mono Printing Workshop

Recently I went to my Mono printing induction at Vernon Street. I found the process really exciting as I've never done anything like that before. When creating my prints, I didn't really have any intentions and just wanted to get my head around mono printing for future briefs. I do not think that this form of media would have worked well with my chosen GIFs.

These are a few of my prints;

I really love the aesthetic of this method and think it creates some really beautiful textures. From the prints that I created I intend to scan them in and in future use them for photoshop texture overlays to give my images an authentic printed feel. 

Studio Brief 1: I See Faces - Amuse/Frustrate/Interest + GIF Research

In order to complete this task, I created a large list of things that either amuse, frustrate or interest me, in order to create starting points for developing character designs. I really enjoyed this task and felt that I threw myself into it, designing a variety of characters. Throughout the task, I focused alot on facial expressions and how I could convey meaning, using the Scott Mccloud handout heavily. I also tried to express humor through my drawings by creating quirky unique characters using thick markers.

I think however that my use of media in the sketchbook was not experimental enough as I mainly stuck to fine liner and felt tip pens creating simple line drawings, which is where I feel most comfortable. I intend to experiment with a dip pen to see how varied line quality effects my images and the tone of voice they create. 

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SOURCE:charleshuettner.tumblr.com

I found this GIF on giphy.com, which was created by Charles Huettner. Huettner is a digital artist who creates mainly shape driven imagery using bright and crazy colours. I really liked this GIF as I felt it had a really unique way of moving. The way that the arms almost 'flop' as the character is walking creates a sense of the character and adds subtle humour. I think this GIF is a really successful piece of illustration and something that I will take inspiration from when creating my character GIF. I am currently really interested in working digitally and really like the aesthetic of the work created. 

Studio Brief 2: Visual Communication - Illustrator Workshop

Recently I took part in an Illustrator Workshop where I learnt how to use vectors in the form of basic shapes, overlapping and cutout shapes. I found the software quite simple to use and actually quite enjoyed it. I love the aesthetic of vectors and think that even after this brief, I will use them alot more.

Culture Task 

This image was just an experiment and messing around with what illustrator had to offer. I chose to base my idea around the culture of lumberjacks (because I just felt like drawing a lumberjack). Although it was just a small task, it really made me think about what 'culture' meant, and realized it can apply to pretty much anything in society today (something to think about for the brief??)